There were no years in cultivation. Half a month slipped by like flowing water.
For the past half month, Lin Yan had stayed at the martial arts hall, practicing his fist.
There weren't many people on the training ground.
"I knew you'd be here, Junior Brother Lin. Come give me a hand."
Li An was carrying a large pot. Seeing him, Lin Yan hurried over and helped set it down in the center of the training ground, where a temporary stove had been set up.
Lin Yan eyed the black, ointment-like substance in the pot, curiosity in his eyes. "Senior Brother Li, what is this?"
"Skin Refining Paste. Our master made it himself, especially for disciples like you who haven't undergone Skin Polishing even once. You can use it for free until you've been here a month. After that, you'll have to pay."
So this was the secret medicine for Skin Polishing?
In the half month since entering the martial arts hall, Lin Yan had learned a little about martial arts.
For a martial artist, Skin Polishing was three parts training and seven parts medicine.
Without secret medicine, no matter how hard you trained, a year of practice wouldn't match the results of one month spent training with the medicine.
"The master's rule is that you can apply as much of the medicine as you like before the hour of the Rooster."
Li An lowered his voice. "I won't put on too much the first time. Once it's on, grit your teeth through the pain and practice your fist. By the hour of the Monkey, it should be mostly absorbed. Since it won't be the hour of the Rooster yet, you can apply it again. Put on a thicker layer the second time, and it'll last until the hour of the Pig."
Lin Yan's eyes lit up. "Thank you, Senior Brother."
"You've earned it with your diligence, Junior Brother Lin. Not everyone could keep at it." Li An smiled and instructed him, "Take off your outer clothes and trousers."
Lin Yan didn't hesitate. He stripped down to his underpants and let Li An scoop ointment from the pot and smear it over his body. The moment it touched his skin, a fiery sensation seeped into him. In just a few breaths, it turned into a searing pain.
Smack! Smack!
After applying the paste, Li An patted Lin Yan's thighs. "All right. Go practice your fist."
Lin Yan put his clothes back on, endured the burning sensation, and began practicing the Mountain Splitting Fist.
At first, the ointment's burning sensation spread like a wildfire, making his skin sting.
When he took his stance and circulated his qi and blood, the pain grew even more intense.
Lin Yan clenched his teeth and forced himself to bear the burn, moving from one move to the next.
One set of the Mountain Splitting Fist, then two.
As he performed each punch and kick with care, Lin Yan discovered that the heat on his skin was being drawn along by his inner breath, broken apart and seeping thread by thread beneath his flesh.
"Secret medicine really is something else!"
Lin Yan's eyes gradually brightened. Free secret medicine was a rare opportunity.
With a thought, he activated his Stone Waist Savage Spine physique. It could improve the growth of his qi and blood, which meant it could also speed up how quickly he absorbed the Skin Refining Paste.
Not far away, Li An occasionally glanced his way. Seeing how steady Lin Yan's stance was and how even his breathing remained, a trace of surprise flashed in his eyes. "He's adapting this quickly the first time he's used the medicine? Looks like Junior Brother Lin will manage a second application."
Two hours later, Lin Yan looked at the smooth skin on his arms and walked back to the pot.
This time, Li An applied a thick layer to him. His eyelids flickered a few times. "Junior Brother Lin, hang in there."
Some things were better left unsaid.
The ointment was twice as thick as before. Before Lin Yan had even begun to throw punches, the burning pain came surging back, more intense than last time.
Even lifting his arm brought agony, as if flames were licking his skin.
"No wonder Master doesn't care how much Skin Refining Paste the disciples use. If you want to apply more, your body has to be able to take it."
He'd reached the limit of what his body could bear.
Enduring the pain, sweat streaming down his head, Lin Yan calmed his mind and began practicing his fist on the training ground.
Every time he circulated his qi and blood, the pain was fierce. But when he saw the Martial Dao Tree in his mind slowly growing, it all seemed worth it.
Pain and hardship you could see leading to progress—that was striving.
Late at night, Lin Yan dragged his exhausted body away from the training ground, thoroughly satisfied.
For seven days straight, Lin Yan lived in pain and bliss.
The pain came from the burning Skin Refining Paste; the bliss came from watching the tender leaves of the Mountain Splitting Fist in his mind gradually grow, while the Martial Dao Tree reached seven inches in height.
He was only three inches short of the one-foot height required for his first Skin Polishing.
At his current pace, he'd reach one foot in two more months and undergo his first Skin Polishing.
Lin Yan was pleased with his martial progress, but maintaining it meant applying Skin Refining Paste twice a day.
The master only let the disciples use it for free for half a month. Once they'd been at the hall for a month, they'd have to pay if they wanted to keep using it.
One tael of silver a day. Just thinking about it made his heart ache.
And that was only the first Skin Polishing. There were still the second, third, and fourth.
Lin Yan hardly dared think about the expenses of martial arts training to come.
"When you reach the mountain, there'll be a way through. I'll take it one step at a time. With the Martial Dao Tree, my starting point is already higher than many people's. I can't reach for the stars."
The next day.
Lin Yan arrived at the training ground as usual, but Senior Brother Li An was nowhere to be seen. Another senior brother was there instead.
The Yang Family Martial Arts Hall had many disciples, and its master, Yang Qingfeng, didn't come to the training ground every day. Lin Yan had only met him that day because a new disciple had just joined before him.
The master only appeared in the central courtyard when teaching a new disciple their martial arts. Most of the time, he stayed in the rear courtyard, where disciples who had undergone Skin Polishing trained.
Those who hadn't undergone their first Skin Polishing were taught by the senior brothers.
"Senior Brother Ge is really strict. He just refused to let one of the senior brothers apply extra."
"Forget applying extra. Senior Brother Ge doesn't even smile. Compared to him, Senior Brother Li was so much nicer."
Listening to the discussions among the disciples around him, Lin Yan furrowed his brow. He stepped forward, applied the Skin Refining Paste, and began practicing his fist.
Two hours later, the ointment on his body had been completely absorbed. Lin Yan headed back to the pot.
"What are you doing? Each person can only apply it once a day. Don't you know the rules?"
Ge Hui barked at him, but Lin Yan didn't retreat. "Senior Brother Ge, Senior Brother Li said that Master prepared the Skin Refining Paste for us, and we could apply it more than once as long as our bodies could absorb it."
"You haven't even been here a month. You're lucky Master lets you use it once for free. Now get out of here."
Ge Hui was impatient. The hall paid disciples like him, who had undergone their first Skin Polishing, to teach new junior brothers. But the pay wasn't enough, so he'd set his sights on these new disciples.
If they wanted a second application, they'd have to pay.
The hall charged one tael of silver, and he only took two hundred cash.
Just as Lin Yan was being stopped, another disciple went to the pot and began applying a second layer.
"If Senior Brother Ge says each person can only apply it once, why is that senior brother allowed to use it twice?"
"Master put me in charge of teaching you. That means I make the rules."
Ge Hui stepped forward, the imposing presence of someone who had undergone his first Skin Polishing radiating from him. He'd seen plenty of troublemakers like this, but under the pressure of his qi and blood, they always ended up backing down.
Lin Yan felt the pressure Ge Hui exerted on him, too. But his martial future was at stake, and he had no intention of backing down.
"If that's what Senior Brother Ge says, then I'll have to ask Master to settle this."
"Ask Master?"
Ge Hui sneered. "Who do you think you are, asking to see Master? He hates being disturbed. If you make him angry, you'll be kicked out of the hall."
Listening to Ge Hui, Lin Yan's expression didn't change. A young boy might have been bluffed by those words.
But he wasn't.
Though he'd only met his master once, Lin Yan had already formed an impression of him. The man was calm by nature, but from the way he'd treated Lin Yan on his first day, it was clear he wasn't irresponsible.
Lin Yan ignored Ge Hui and turned toward the rear courtyard.
Seeing Lin Yan actually head for the courtyard gate, Ge Hui could no longer hide the sneer on his face. "Stop!"
"I said stop!"
When Lin Yan didn't halt, Ge Hui took a few strides and blocked his way.
Lin Yan calmly looked at Ge Hui, who stood in his path. "Senior Brother Ge, are you planning to lay hands on me? I remember the hall has a rule against senior and junior brothers fighting without cause."
"So you're Lin Yan. Fine. Apply as much Skin Refining Paste as you like."
Ge Hui gritted his teeth, his face so dark it seemed ink might drip from it.
"Thank you, Senior Brother."
Lin Yan paid no attention to Ge Hui's attitude. As long as the man didn't stop him from applying the Skin Refining Paste, he didn't want to take the matter to his master.
After applying the paste, Lin Yan returned to his previous spot and resumed practicing his fist.
"Junior Brother Lin, that wasn't a wise move."
"Yeah. Senior Brother Ge has undergone his first Skin Polishing. If you offend him, he might make things difficult for you."
"Senior Brother Ge just wants a little money. You could've paid him two hundred cash."
The two disciples beside him spoke in low voices, but Lin Yan shook his head. If he paid two hundred cash today, he'd have to pay two hundred cash again tomorrow. He was already short on money for his own training; how could he give it to someone else?
His aunt had to spend half a month mending clothes for other people to earn two hundred cash.
Disciples weren't allowed to fight without cause. He wasn't afraid of Senior Brother Ge coming after him.
The worst Ge Hui could do was stop teaching him, but with the Martial Dao Tree's help, Lin Yan had already mastered the Mountain Splitting Fist. He didn't need anyone's guidance.
"Two hundred cash is enough to cover a month of expenses at home."
His words left the two disciples beside him stunned. Their families were better off than Lin Yan's, though not by much. They'd nearly emptied their families' savings to study martial arts at the hall.
But that was exactly why they were even more afraid to stir up trouble or offend their senior brothers.
"Anyway, Junior Brother Lin, be careful from now on."
The next day.
When Lin Yan returned to the training ground, he noticed that the senior brothers who had previously stood near him had moved away.
Seeing the smug look in Ge Hui's eyes as he folded his arms, Lin Yan understood. Ge Hui had told the other disciples to ostracize him.
The two senior brothers who had warned him the day before gave him apologetic looks. Lin Yan's expression didn't change. He understood.
Ferocious beasts always walked alone; only cattle and sheep gathered in flocks.
He'd simply get an early taste of what that loneliness felt like.