Martial Skill Cultivation

"At last, my painstaking efforts have not been in vain; this Body Tempering Pill is finally perfected!"

Watching the wild rabbit in the cage regain its vitality, Lin Yiqing did not hesitate, picking up a pill and swallowing it directly.

He was intimately familiar with the medicinal herbs used in this Body Tempering Pill. Since he had confirmed its efficacy, it was naturally safe to use as an aid for cultivation; as for the dosage, it was merely a matter of experimenting a few more times.

As the pill slid down his throat, a wave of warm medicinal energy began to disperse through his limbs and bones. Wherever the energy passed, the chronic injuries and damage accumulated from his past training began to heal, and his physique grew a fraction stronger.

"Truly excellent. If one could have an abundance of these pills to assist during the Body Tempering Realm, it would certainly yield twice the result with half the effort!"

Lin Yiqing felt the changes within himself and could not help but feel a surge of joy. With the help of this pill, he finally possessed a significant advantage in his cultivation.

Moreover, as he continued to develop various other pills, it would undoubtedly bring him even greater returns in the end.

After cleaning up all traces of his work, Lin Yiqing stepped out of the small courtyard. An innocent man may be innocent, but he is guilty of the crime of holding a treasure; until he possessed sufficient strength, it was better to keep the Body Tempering Pill hidden.

"Fourth level of the Body Tempering Realm—it is finally time to practice a martial art!"

With this thought, Lin Yiqing's mind stirred, and he headed toward the Lin Family Martial Arts Pavilion. Although he had reached the fourth level of the Body Tempering Realm, he still knew far too little about the martial arts of this world.

Previously, he had been busy scraping together resources, relying on the basic fist techniques he had learned in the past to temper his body. While he could hold his own in a fight, he was still lacking compared to those martial arts that could drastically boost his combat power.

However, now that his short-term cultivation resource issues were resolved, he could free up more time to enrich his repertoire.

The Lin Family Martial Arts Pavilion was located in the back courtyard of the Lin Family and was one of the Qingyang Lin Clan's most important sites. Generally, one could only enter with permission.

For clansmen of the branch families who had rendered meritorious service, the Lin Family would issue tokens to enter the Martial Arts Pavilion, allowing them to exchange for and learn corresponding martial arts based on the scale of their contributions.

Lin Yiqing's parents had left him two martial arts tokens. According to the rules of the Lin Family, he could choose two first-grade martial arts to exchange for.

His goal for this trip was to find a martial art that could enhance his combat power and broaden his means of dealing with enemies.

Martial arts in this world were divided into nine grades and three tiers. The first, second, and third grades were the lower tier; those following were the middle tier; the seventh to ninth grades were the upper-tier martial arts. As for anything above that, it was rare in the world, and many had not even heard of them.

While martial arts were classified, the most important factor remained the person themselves. In the hands of a true expert, even an ordinary first-grade martial art could unleash astonishing lethality; the stronger the practitioner, the more powerful the martial art they wielded.

The Lin Family Martial Arts Pavilion housed hundreds of lower-tier martial arts, though most were of the first-grade level, with fewer second-grade and only ten third-grade martial arts.

However, those ten third-grade martial arts were not something ordinary clansmen could covet.

As he walked along the path, he encountered more and more people. Lin Yiqing silently observed the passersby; most were of the younger generation of the Lin Family, and their cultivation levels were generally not high.

From this, one could see that the foundation of the Lin Family was actually quite shallow. After all, they were newcomers to Qingyang Town, and compared to the other major powers, they still lacked a certain depth.

There were guards stationed at the entrance of the Martial Arts Pavilion. After showing his Lin Family identity tag, Lin Yiqing entered as he had wished.

"Two lives and decades of hard work, only to be exchanged for two first-grade martial arts in the end!"

Lin Yiqing's face revealed a bitter smile, and he could not help but mock himself. When it came down to it, his branch of the family had withered away; otherwise, why would it come to this?

In this world where martial arts were supreme, death was staged at every moment, and people's hearts had long since become numb.

Whether one died for the interests of the family or for personal gain, once the other party died, everything they possessed would eventually be seized and taken over by others!

The living enjoyed glory and wealth, while the dead fell forever into the nine netherworlds. This was a gamble with life as the stake; if one could not transcend, one would eventually sink forever in the sea of suffering.

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. When he opened them again, there was no longer any superfluous emotion in Lin Yiqing's eyes.

He stood as if upon the blue clouds, his heart clear as the bright moon.

Stepping through the door, a scent of aged books, refined by time, rushed to meet him. Lin Yiqing scanned the area and found that the Martial Arts Pavilion was quite spacious, with rows of bookshelves arranged in an orderly fashion, each holding various martial arts scrolls.

Seeing such a vast number of martial arts classics, Lin Yiqing was somewhat surprised; he had not expected the Lin Family to have such a collection.

First-grade martial art, Rolling Stone Fist.

First-grade martial art, Maple Leaf Palm.

Swords, spears, blades, halberds, fists, palms, claws, and fingers—there was no shortage of various martial arts. Clearly, it had taken a great deal of effort for the Lin Family to amass such a collection.

Lin Yiqing walked to the very back of the main hall and saw a small door that could only accommodate one person at a time; clearly, this was the entrance to the next hall.

At the entrance, a middle-aged man of about thirty or forty sat at a desk, reading a book in his hand with great relish. It was evidently a more profound martial arts classic.

Seeing this, Lin Yiqing began to turn back; the martial arts further inside were clearly of a higher grade, but they were not meant for him.

When it came to martial arts, one had to be rigorous. Lin Yiqing walked through almost the entire hall before stopping in front of a bookshelf.

The bookshelf was ancient and sturdy, holding ten antique-yellow scrolls. Below each scroll stood a separate wooden plaque with a detailed introduction to the martial art.

"First-grade martial art, Roaming Dragon Palm: Body like a roaming dragon, palms following the wind."

"First-grade martial art, Thousand Mountain Slash."

Lin Yiqing's gaze swept across the shelf, and in the end, he chose a fist technique: the lower-tier first-grade martial art, Through-Back Fist!

There was no helping it; among the many martial arts recorded in the Lin Family Martial Arts Pavilion, only a few were outstanding, and this Through-Back Fist was among the most powerful.

Through-Back Fist involved sticking to the opponent's clothing to exert force, emphasizing training through the garment and striking from a distance. This fist technique had nine forms, also known as the Nine-Echo Force, because each level unleashed would produce a crisp sound, each one stronger than the last. Once all nine echoes were completed, its power was comparable to a second-grade martial art.

This Through-Back Fist could be considered the ceiling of first-grade martial arts. Being able to learn this technique was a result of both his past knowledge and a bit of luck.

After all, this was the best he could access at the moment.

For the other martial art, Lin Yiqing ultimately chose a movement technique: the first-grade martial art, Roaming Body Steps.

After all, in battles at this level, having good footwork to dodge the opponent's numerous attacks was extremely important. In certain situations, this might even be the key factor in achieving victory.

Having selected his martial arts, Lin Yiqing registered with the guards and hurried toward the back mountains of the Lin Family. He could not wait to begin practicing the martial arts he had just acquired.

His figure moved like a tiger, leaping and bounding while his arms swung as if a Through-Back Ape were stretching its limbs. In an instant, a series of crisp, rhythmic snaps—like cloth being whipped—rang out continuously.

At this moment, the contents of the martial arts manual flowed silently through Lin Yiqing's mind. His focus condensed involuntarily, and he subconsciously ignored everything around him, leaving only the movements of that fist technique to play out repeatedly.

"Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!"

Four crisp sounds rang out in succession, and only then did Lin Yiqing react. He had not expected his martial arts aptitude to be so outstanding; on his very first attempt, he had managed to unleash four snaps.

One had to realize that this was his first time practicing the Through-Back Fist, and he had not relied on any external assistance, nor had he even had guidance, having explored it entirely on his own.

I didn't expect to pick it up so quickly!

Thinking of this, Lin Yiqing could not help but feel a surge of excitement. With such martial arts aptitude, perhaps he would not be far behind the geniuses of those legendary great factions.

Good talent could bring about so many conveniences.

For example, with the same martial art, it might take others a month to master it, while he might only need a few days. In this way, the gap between them would widen significantly.

It was easy to imagine that his path of martial arts would be much smoother as a result!

He was not particularly surprised by this outcome. In the past, when he learned various fist techniques at the martial arts gym, he had always picked them up extremely quickly. Back then, even the instructors had praised his martial arts aptitude.

Taking a Body Tempering Pill from his bosom, he swallowed it. Taking advantage of the warm medicinal energy flowing through his entire body, Lin Yiqing continued to practice the Through-Back Fist. The Body Tempering Realm was the time to lay a foundation; one could not afford to slack off for even a moment in physical tempering.

However, just as he was intensely preparing to redouble his training, a plump youth walked slowly and leisurely into the woods.

"Sss... Lin Shan, you bastard! I clearly already admitted defeat, yet you still hit me! Sss..."

The chubby youth clutched his bruised right cheek while cursing and swearing.

"Lin Changqiang?"

Lin Yiqing spotted him the moment he appeared. The other boy was covered in mud, with two fist-sized bruises on his cheeks; clearly, he had just been beaten up by someone.

"Are you Lin Yiqing? Ah, sorry, I disturbed your training. I'm just passing through and will leave immediately."

Seeing Lin Yiqing's surprised expression, the little fatty's face turned bright red, and he began to limp away in a hurry.

Seeing this, Lin Yiqing couldn't help but find it amusing. This little fatty was quite concerned about his pride; when it came down to it, he was still just a child.

"Hey, catch!"

Thinking of this, he quickly called out to the other boy and casually tossed a bottle of medicine he had pulled from his bosom.

"What is this?"

Lin Changqiang looked at the small porcelain bottle in his hand, his head full of confusion as he asked.

"Medicine for injuries. Apply it to the bruised areas and you'll be better soon."

This was an ointment Lin Yiqing had recreated himself based on the medicine from the town's clinic. It wouldn't arouse anyone's suspicion, which was why he dared to give it to the other boy.

"Many thanks, Cousin Yiqing!"

Hearing this, the little fatty's face showed gratitude, and he spoke in a low voice.

Although he was also a direct grandson of Lin Zhentian, he was younger and lacked strength, so he was often bullied by his other cousins.

Lin Yiqing waved his hand dismissively; it was merely a casual gesture to him.

After the other boy left, he continued to practice the Through-Back Fist. Given his current situation, he still needed to remain hidden until he had sufficient ability to protect himself.

If he were to attract the attention of others, it would inevitably bring him trouble. The road ahead was long and difficult.

He remembered that this Through-Back Fist could reach ten snaps, though that was the perfected version. He didn't demand that he reach ten snaps, but at the very least, he had to ensure he could smoothly transition to the next stage.