Stone Waist Savage Spine

Wang Family Pharmacy.

"What would you like to buy, sir?"

As soon as Lin Yan stepped through the door, the shop assistant greeted him with enthusiasm.

"How much is the Qi-Nourishing Decoction?"

From Zheng Guang, Lin Yan had learned the names of several medicinal soups used by martial artists, and the Qi-Nourishing Decoction was the most suitable for beginners.

"One hundred coppers per dose, and one packet can be decocted twice. You've come to the right place, sir; our pharmacy's Qi-Nourishing Decoction is famously effective."

"Give me one dose."

"One dose?"

The assistant's expression turned strange. Everyone who came to buy this decoction was a martial artist.

Although many people drained their life savings to practice martial arts, this customer looked so young and appeared to be just starting out; he shouldn't be this stingy with his spending.

If you have to buy Qi-Nourishing Decoction one dose at a time, why even bother practicing martial arts?

Lin Yan ignored the shift in the assistant's demeanor. He still had plenty of the three taels of silver Zhang Dahai had given him; buying a single dose certainly wasn't due to a lack of funds.

He fished out the coppers, took the medicine packet, and turned to head toward another pharmacy on the street, where he bought another packet.

He repeated this at three different shops, buying one packet from each before finally heading home.

Master Zheng's words had seemed sincere, but one must always be on guard. What if Master Zheng had some arrangement with the Wang Family Pharmacy to steer customers there for a commission?

He had to test whether the Wang Family Pharmacy's decoction was truly superior.

Others might not be able to discern the difference, but he had the Martial Dao Tree; he could judge the quality by the growth of the leaf.

Back home.

Liu was in the room preparing dinner. Seeing Lin Yan carrying the medicine packets, a look of confusion appeared on her face: "Yan'er, did you buy this medicine?"

"Aunt, when I went out today, I ran into Uncle Zhang, a friend of Father's from before he passed. He recognized me and took me to a teahouse to sit for a while. These pastries are from the teahouse; I packed up what we didn't finish. Uncle Zhang also gave me some silver."

Lin Yan recited the story he had prepared. His father had worked as a medicine collector for a merchant in the city, traveling to villages to procure herbs, so he had indeed known many people.

"Uncle Zhang said Father helped him in the past, and this money is just repaying that old favor."

"What is this Uncle Zhang's name?"

"Zhang Xiaohe."

"Xiaohe, that's a rather strange name."

Liu noted it down. She knew that when her brother-in-law worked as an itinerant merchant, he had made several friends, and it was through those connections that he was able to procure high-quality herbs from the countryside.

With his aunt satisfied, Lin Yan began to decoct the medicine, consume it, and then practice the Rock Stance.

Three days passed in succession.

Lin Yan looked at the leaf patterns he had drawn on paper; the one in the middle had clearly grown more.

"I was being small-minded. Master Zheng was right; the Wang Family Pharmacy's herb quality is the best."

He sketched the leaves from his mind, not just to verify which shop's decoction was most effective, but for another purpose as well.

Based on the current shape of the sprout, he could predict what it would look like when fully grown, and thereby judge how long it would take for him to successfully complete his foundation.

After some calculations, Lin Yan reached a conclusion.

At the current growth rate of the sprout, he would meet the requirements for Skin Refining in three months.

Of course, this was on the condition that he consumed the Qi-Nourishing Decoction every day; otherwise, the time would increase fivefold, taking nearly a year to achieve.

This was far shorter than the three years of foundation-building Master Zheng had mentioned.

Master Zheng had said that for an ordinary person, it takes a year or more to even get started with stance training, yet I can reach this point in just three months.

This credit belonged to the Martial Dao Tree.

A beginner without guidance would likely struggle for a long time just to get the basics of the stance down, and their posture might not even be the most standard.

Of course, there was another possibility: he had a natural talent for martial arts and was a martial genius.

Days passed, calm and steady as flowing water.

Three months flew by in an instant.

The sprout in his mind was nearly fully formed, its vibrant green color intoxicating to behold.

Lin Yan looked on with great satisfaction; this was the fruit of over two months of hard work.

He specifically bathed and changed into clean clothes. Standing in the courtyard, he had a premonition that today, his foundation would be complete.

After all, this was his first breakthrough in the Martial Dao; a sense of ceremony was necessary.

He assumed the stance, and as he breathed in and out, the warm current in his dantian stirred in response.

Once, twice, three times...

On the fifth repetition, the warm current in his dantian suddenly surged, pushing his internal energy to circulate faster.

Lin Yan's eyes lit up. His body felt as if it had transformed into a massive furnace, and the blood and Qi throughout his entire body were boiling.

Dry heat, agitation.

This was a situation he had never experienced before.

He suppressed the fluctuations of his emotions and continued to cultivate, allowing himself to slowly sink into a state of self-forgetfulness.

Until that constantly expanding warm current, having reached its limit, began to collapse and condense inward following his rhythmic breathing.

Until a certain moment!

"BOOM!"

A soft chime, perceptible only to him, resonated within Lin Yan's body.

At his dantian, the core of the intensely active heat flow suddenly shrank, then stabilized.

A dense, explosive "force" erupted from the deepest part of his dantian, rushing toward his limbs and bones.

Lin Yan raised his right arm and threw a punch; a sound of air being torn apart echoed through the room.

The force quickly dissipated, but Lin Yan could clearly feel the changes in his body.

He walked toward the stone lock not far away—a hundred-jin stone lock he had bought half a month ago.

"Up!"

With a soft shout, Lin Yan took a deep breath, lifted the stone lock to his chest with one hand, and silently counted the time.

Ten breaths, a hundred breaths—he still had strength to spare.

It was not until one hundred and fifty breaths had passed that he felt his arm grow sore and numb, and he set the stone lock down.

"Master Zheng said that holding a hundred-jin stone lock for a hundred breaths is the benchmark for establishing a foundation of qi and blood. Now that I've achieved it, that tender leaf should have taken shape."

Thinking of the tender leaf, Lin Yan hurriedly looked inward at his mind.

In his mind, the very last curled leaf tip on the strange tree's green branch quietly unfurled at this moment.

It was round, plump, and vibrant green, with veins as clear as a painting, radiating a soft and flourishing vitality.

Lin Yan focused his intent, and the green leaf trembled.

A heavy, turbid heat flowed straight down from the crown of his head, slamming deep into his waist and spine.

Lin Yan felt his lumbar vertebrae suddenly tighten, his Shenshu acupoints on both sides burning like fire, as if his waist and abdomen had been cast into a solid iron block, weighing heavily upon his pelvis.

Almost simultaneously, his coccyx gave a soft "click."

A tingling, numbing force snaked up his spine, segment by segment, like a living serpent.

Crack, crack, crack...

His spine erupted with a dozen crisp, fine sounds. It wasn't painful; rather, it felt like a rusted chain being shaken loose and straightened out link by link.

His entire spine suddenly "came alive," each vertebra becoming thick, dense, and interlocking perfectly.

His tendons tightened, concealing elastic power.

Lin Yan subconsciously tucked his waist and chest slightly.

Snap!

The large tendons on his back twitched violently, emitting a muffled sound like a fully drawn bowstring.

The muscles on both sides of his back rose and fell like waves, their lines suddenly becoming sharp and filled with primal tension.

"The green leaf has formed, and it has actually bestowed a Root Bone upon me."

[Root Bone (Unique): Stone Waist Savage Spine: Stone Waist anchors the root, Savage Spine channels power]
[Bonus Effect: Refines the body, provides additional growth to qi and blood]

The details of the Root Bone "Stone Waist Savage Spine" appeared naturally in his mind.

Lin Yan looked down at the stone lock at his feet and gripped it with his right hand; this time, lifting it felt much easier than before.

"Is this the power of a Root Bone? It can increase my strength... no, it's a short-term burst of power."

After exploring for about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, Lin Yan grasped the true nature of his Stone Waist Savage Spine.

When he activated the Root Bone, both his speed and strength increased significantly, though he couldn't conclude exactly by how much without measuring tools.

Lin Yan looked inward at his mind again. The green leaf seemed to have fulfilled its mission; it drifted slowly down to the roots and was quickly absorbed by the Martial Dao Tree, causing the trunk of the tree to grow a little taller.

As the Martial Dao Tree grew, a stream of information flooded his mind, and a look of realization dawned in Lin Yan's eyes.

The height of the Martial Dao Tree was linked to his realm.

Every time his realm improved, the Martial Dao Tree would grow.

Just as Lin Yan was pondering the wonders of the Martial Dao Tree, Zhang Dahai's knocking sounded at the courtyard gate: "Brother Lin."

Lin Yan brought the stone lock inside the house before going to open the door.

"Brother Lin, good news! That martial artist has returned. You've been drinking that medicinal soup for so long, your body should be ready. It's time to go see that master."

"That's great! Brother Zhang, wait a moment, I need to go back inside and grab something."

Lin Yan hurried back into the house, changed into a set of loose-fitting clothes, and the two left the Lin residence. As they reached the street, Lin Yan suddenly stopped in his tracks: "Brother Zhang, wouldn't it be improper to visit empty-handed? Should we buy some pastries?"

Looking at the shops to the side, Zhang Dahai smiled and said, "Brother Lin, your thoughtfulness is impeccable; that lord will surely be even more satisfied."

However, Lin Yan stood rooted to the spot, his expression somewhat awkward. Zhang Dahai's eye twitched; he had a familiar premonition.

"Brother Zhang, could you lend me some money to buy pastries?"

Zhang Dahai wore an 'as I expected' expression and couldn't help but ask, "You didn't bring any money? Then what were you doing back in your room just now?"

"I went back to change my clothes, Brother Zhang. Don't worry..."

"Enough, I only have sixty wen on me. Take it."

Zhang Dahai didn't want to hear another word from Lin Yan. Just one more time—as long as Lin Yan signed and pressed his thumbprint this time, the Lin family estate, including the house they were currently living in, would all be theirs.

"Many thanks, Brother Zhang. I will certainly repay you many times over when the time comes."

Zhang Dahai forced a smile and waved his hand, not wanting to say another word.