Fate Too Exceeds the Standard

"Twenty taels of silver for three months of martial arts training, including three servings of Foundation Building Soup per month to assist your cultivation..."

"After three months, if you wish to remain at the martial arts hall, you must pay ten taels of silver each month..."

"Do you understand these rules?"

The speaker was a tall, well-built young man in a white robe embroidered with pine branches. He was handsome, and the aura he exuded was quite formidable.

He was undoubtedly an eighth-rank martial artist.

"I understand," Lin Yi said, cupping his hands.

The young man smiled and said, "My surname is Liu, and I am called Liu Lie. Just call me Senior Brother Liu. Have you had your bone structure tested?"

Lin Yi replied, "I previously went to the Hidden Origin Chamber of Commerce and had a martial artist test it, but I am not sure if it was accurate..."

Liu Lie nodded and reached out to place his hand directly on Lin Yi's shoulder.

Lin Yi's expression shifted slightly as he tensed his body, hurriedly concealing the yin energy belonging to the Corpse Puppet Path.

At that moment, Liu Lie's voice reached his ears.

"I will help you test it again. Take a deep breath, don't hold it, it might hurt a little, so bear with it. Feeling dizzy is normal..."

With that, Liu Lie's hand probed inch by inch across Lin Yi's shoulder, collarbone, and spine...

Following the series of probes, the bones throughout Lin Yi's body crackled and popped.

"Oh?" Liu Lie's eyes brightened, and he let out a soft exclamation: "Not bad, you actually have Grade B-minus bone structure..."

Lin Yi felt a sense of relief and bowed to Liu Lie: "Thank you, Senior Brother."

Liu Lie waved his hand: "It's nothing."

Seeing that Lin Yi had decent talent, Liu Lie became more inclined to chat.

"Do you know why martial arts halls value bone structure so highly?"

Lin Yi said, "To a certain extent, it determines the speed of cultivation and the height one might eventually reach."

Liu Lie smiled and said, "That is both right and wrong."

"Bone structure is important, and it has a significant impact on cultivation speed."

"Master Yuan once said that a Grade A bone structure cultivates once with the efficiency equivalent to ten sessions for a Grade B, or a hundred sessions for a Grade D. That is roughly the efficiency."

"Furthermore, the quality of one's bone structure often determines recovery after cultivation. Recovery is crucial in martial arts; it is the beginning of progress, what we call 'supercompensation'."

"With a Grade D bone structure, no matter how hard you try, your talent limits you to at most one session a day; any more would only deplete your body's potential. But with a Grade B bone structure, you recover quickly. After one session, you only need half a day to recover before you can continue."

"And the monstrous thing about Grade A bone structure is that one can cultivate five times a day."

"Over the years, those with Grade A bone structure naturally become much stronger than others."

"But the most important point is that those with Grade A bone structure may possess a 'Fate'."

Lin Yi became interested: "A Fate?"

Liu Lie said, "Yes. In the parlance of us Qi Refiners, a Fate is an experience that occurs when one's talent exceeds the limits of the physical body. For example, if your bone structure exceeds Grade A, the excess might be favored by the Heavenly Dao and transformed into a Fate."

"Thus, a saying has spread: those who possess a Fate must have Grade A bone structure, but those with Grade A bone structure do not necessarily have a Fate."

So, logically, Lin Yi was born with a Fate.

Those who possess a Fate should also have the heaven-gifted Grade A bone structure.

It was just that what he obtained from his biological mother was the [Jade Cicada Cocoon]; breaking the cocoon would guarantee the acquisition of a Fate.

However, the gestation process required the supply and nourishment of his mother's [Molting Jade Cicada] Fate.

Given that his birth mother hated him enough to want him dead, it was absolutely impossible for her to provide such nourishment.

Therefore, for over a decade, the gestation of the [Jade Cicada Cocoon] could only rely on Lin Yi collecting precious materials across the mountains and constantly consuming his own bone potential.

His bone structure had been depleted as a result.

It had been consumed from Grade A down to Grade B.

However, now that the Fate [Empathic Corpse Dissection] has finally molted from the [Jade Cicada Cocoon], it wasn't a waste of my efforts, Lin Yi thought to himself.

Sacrificing a bit of bone potential in exchange for a Fate that allowed him to absorb the knowledge and experience of the deceased through physical contact was a trade Lin Yi considered well worth it.

Coupled with the effect of [Know Heavenly Fate] to clarify his own state, he could see his own cultivation progress.

Combining the two, it was practically like using a cheat code for martial arts cultivation.

With this Fate in hand, plus the experience of Hu Ma as an eighth-rank martial artist, Lin Yi felt that breaking through the martial barrier, condensing true Qi, and embarking on the martial path within the remaining three months would not be very difficult.

"Alright, enough talk," Liu Lie said. "I will pass on our martial arts hall's Qi-entry technique to you."

"The Qi-entry technique is specifically designed to break the martial barrier, enter the state of true Qi, and become a martial artist."

"Once you succeed in entering Qi and become a martial artist, come find me to exchange for martial arts techniques."

With that, Liu Lie led Lin Yi into the instruction room.

Thanks to Hu Ma's experience, Lin Yi was already very familiar with the Qi-entry technique, the Long Rainbow Technique.

He parried a couple of times to keep up appearances.

An incense stick of time later.

Liu Lie looked at Lin Yi with a face full of astonishment: "I didn't expect that not only is your aptitude good, but your comprehension is also astonishing."

Lin Yi offered a compliment: "It is thanks to Senior Brother's excellent teaching."

Liu Lie replied as a matter of course: "That is true."

He then did not forget to add a reminder: "Your aptitude and comprehension are both good, but what martial arts cultivation requires most is resilience. Do not let yourself become arrogant."

Afterward, he took Lin Yi to the large dormitory where the martial hall apprentices lived.

That is to say, the apprentices' quarters.

The dormitory where Lin Yi was assigned was a room for four.

The number of apprentices in this batch was not very large compared to previous ones.

Therefore, Lin Yi's room was not full; besides Lin Yi, there were two other roommates.

However, neither of his roommates seemed to be in the room today.

"There are two other people in your room. Their families have some influence and belong to the Fishermen Gang. They stick together quite closely, so be a little careful. If anything happens, remember to tell me."

Liu Lie gave one final instruction before leaving.

Once he was able to cultivate, Lin Yi did not delay.

Lin Yi walked straight to the training ground and headed toward a rather dilapidated training post in the corner.

He lowered his stance, circulating the blood energy throughout his body.

In his mind, he followed the experience of Hu Ma's previous cultivation of the Long Rainbow Technique.

He struck the training post in front of him according to the required flow.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Following a series of dull, heavy impacts, a line of small text began to appear before Lin Yi.

[Long Rainbow Technique proficiency +5]

Feeling the increase in proficiency and the surging of blood energy throughout his body, Lin Yi could not help but feel wild joy in his heart.

Lin Yi could clearly feel that every time he circulated the Long Rainbow Technique, he made obvious progress.

Seeing this, Lin Yi no longer let his mind wander.

Instead, he threw his full attention into practicing the Long Rainbow Technique.

Fists, legs, knees, and elbows—his blood energy surged.

Lin Yi felt as if every cell in his body was operating and cultivating at the highest efficiency he could currently achieve, following the technique.

Lin Yi was so immersed in it that he did not notice the passage of time.

Time slipped by quietly. Most people would rest after practicing for an hour to replenish themselves with meat and dry rations.

Haste makes waste; long periods of cultivation without replenishment would over-exhaust the body's energy and could even damage one's foundation.

Soon, the people replenishing themselves at the training ground noticed Lin Yi, this anomaly.

For no other reason than that Lin Yi had already been practicing for two hours straight.

"What's this guy's background? He's been practicing for two hours without stopping?"

"He must be a newcomer, a hotheaded fool. If he keeps training like this, he'll ruin himself sooner or later."

"It's a pity, a waste of the room's resources."

"Who's to say? And at this rate, he probably won't break through, and he's likely to damage his foundation."

"..."

The crowd shook their heads in mockery.

Such hotheaded newcomers who had just started learning martial arts often pretended to work hard for a while, only to slink away once they realized the reality of the situation. There were too many such people, and the old hands in the martial hall were long used to it.

"So, have all of you broken through the martial barrier?"

A cold voice came from behind the crowd.

Everyone turned around instinctively to see a tall, well-built young man walking slowly from the inner courtyard of the martial hall with a powerful, steady stride.

"Senior Brother Liu!" The crowd stood up in awe and hurriedly bowed respectfully to the newcomer.

The master of the Rainbow Martial Hall had a total of four indoor disciples.

The Senior Brother before them was the third in rank.

The Long Rainbow Hall Master had taken his inner-chamber disciples to a neighboring county for a martial arts exchange these past few days, leaving only Senior Brother Liu behind.

Currently, the entire Rainbow Martial Hall was essentially under the sole authority of Senior Brother Liu.

"I am asking you all, have you broken through the Martial Pass?" Senior Brother Liu barked lightly.

His aura was imposing, causing everyone to shudder involuntarily.

"Not yet..."

"You haven't even broken the Martial Pass, yet you are still this slack, finding time to gossip behind people's backs? Do you even deserve to practice martial arts!"

Senior Brother Liu let out a cold snort.

He then cast a glance at Lin Yi, who was deep in focused training, and noticed that the boy's internal blood and qi were still quite abundant, his stamina far from exhausted. He felt a flicker of surprise, but did not dwell on it.

Regardless, he had already given the instructions he needed to give.

He then walked straight toward the inner courtyard.

The crowd looked at one another, their faces flushing red and turning pale by turns, and they dared not say another word.