Breaking Through the Pass

"Junior brother, let me introduce you. This is a new disciple who has just joined the martial arts hall, named..." Liu Lie was in the middle of his introduction.

"Big Brother Lin Yi!" the youth suddenly let out an exclamation.

As the aura of fortune surrounding the youth before him dissipated, Lin Yi finally saw him clearly.

He was thin and lean, with delicate features.

"Xiao Dong." Lin Yi called out the newcomer's name.

"Hmm? You two know each other?" Liu Lie raised an eyebrow. "That works out perfectly. No need for me to say anything more. You two can catch up yourselves; I have matters to attend to, so I'll be off."

"Let's go inside to talk." Lin Yi glanced at Xiao Dong and then walked into the room.

Xiao Dong hurriedly followed.

Lin Yi looked at Xiao Dong, who was sitting on the bed and acting quite constrained, his thoughts drifting.

Xiao Dong lived on the same street as him; they were close neighbors.

He had heard that the boy had lost his father at a young age and was raised solely by his mother.

His own connection with the boy began three years ago.

Three years ago, following the divination text of his Know Heavenly Fate, he went up the mountain to search for a precious material called 'Long Root Life' and encountered Xiao Dong, who had fallen into the water and was nearly drowning.

He had simply reached out and saved him.

Afterward, the boy's mother brought him to his home to express her gratitude.

After the two families began to interact closely, they became acquainted.

However, he had clearly seen that Xiao Dong's fortune was ordinary before.

Why was it such a monstrous, ominous black fortune today?

Lin Yi's eyes darkened.

As it concerned the destiny-reading ability of Know Heavenly Fate, Lin Yi took it very seriously.

"Brother Lin Yi, Mother knew you were also studying martial arts at the hall, so she asked me to bring you some pastries to try."

Xiao Dong took some pastries from his bundle and respectfully offered them to Lin Yi.

"Aunt Xiao is too kind." Lin Yi smiled as he accepted them, then immediately took some dried meat from his own pack and shared it with Xiao Dong.

Xiao Dong's eyes lit up; he swallowed hard, accepting the dried meat with a mix of excitement and embarrassment.

His family situation was average, and he hadn't eaten meat in a long time.

"Have you had your bone structure tested?" Lin Yi asked.

Xiao Dong scratched his head, looking embarrassed.

"Senior Brother Liu must have forgotten to test it."

"Besides, I didn't bring enough tuition when I arrived, so I have to wait two days. I felt too embarrassed to ask Senior Brother Liu to test me."

"But the hall master will be back in three days, so Senior Brother Liu just let me stay for now."

Lin Yi nodded.

Afterward, Lin Yi chatted with him about daily life, taking the opportunity to probe whether he had encountered anything strange lately, hoping to understand the black fortune surrounding him.

But he didn't gain much.

Lin Yi stopped probing.

Whatever he was meant to know, he would know sooner or later.

As long as it didn't affect his martial arts training, this black fortune had little to do with him.

In the afternoon, Lin Yi arrived at the martial arts arena again.

The arena was much livelier now than it had been in the morning.

A massive crowd was gathered together.

"Hey, brother, what's going on today? Why is the arena so crowded?"

"Senior Brother Wu is going to attempt to break through!"

"Senior Brother Wu? Senior Brother Wu Shi? I heard he has Grade B bone structure."

"That's right. He's only been in the hall for four months and is already attempting a breakthrough. It's truly enviable."

"Once the breakthrough is successful, he can officially become a disciple of the martial arts hall. Afterward, he can use the hall's reputation when moving about the county! He'll be a big shot in the Naked Tower!"

"I wonder if Senior Brother Wu will succeed. Four people have attempted the breakthrough this month, and all of them failed. If the breakthrough fails, the blood energy dissipates, and the chance of success for the next attempt becomes even smaller."

"..."

The crowd chattered and clamored incessantly.

Lin Yi looked from afar at Wu Shi, who stood in the center of the arena, and cursed silently to himself, "Fool."

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A martial artist's breakthrough is a major event. Most people would choose a secluded spot; who would ever attempt such a thing amidst a noisy, crowded spectacle?

The shouting of bystanders would inevitably disrupt the focus required for a breakthrough.

Furthermore, if an enemy were to interfere during the process, all previous efforts would be rendered futile.

The only reason the other party would choose to do this was out of youthful arrogance—a mere desire to show off.

To gamble one's future on a momentary impulse was truly foolish.

It was just a pity for that Grade B aptitude...

Lin Yi had relied on the vast amount of precious materials collected through [Know Heavenly Fate].

Combined with the experience gained from Hu Ma's Empathic Corpse Dissection.

Only then had he managed to break through to the third level of the martial hall in less than a month with his Grade B aptitude.

Since his [Empathic Corpse Dissection] had not yet successfully gestated, Lin Yi felt that the path ahead would be even more difficult.

Lin Yi cast a faint glance downward.

He then turned and left the martial hall directly.

There was no helping it; since this guy had suddenly occupied the spot, the surrounding throng of people made it impossible to practice.

The inner courtyard of the martial hall had a place for martial arts practice, but that was reserved for those who had already become martial artists, and he couldn't enter at all.

"Forget it. I can't stay at this Martial Practice Platform anymore. I'll just go to my house in the suburbs to practice, and I might as well consume the precious fish while I'm at it."

Lin Yi arrived at the outskirts once more and entered the house he had purchased.

He descended into the secret passage.

Inside the passage.

The Three-Eyed River Goby swam incessantly within the fishing basin.

"It is time to break through," Lin Yi murmured softly.

[Long Rainbow Technique (Third Level)]
[Proficiency: 762/1000]

Now that the Long Rainbow Technique had reached the third level.

After consuming the precious fish, he should be able to break through to the fourth level.

"Half a month!"

"Give me another half a month, and I will become a martial artist."

A burning light erupted in Lin Yi's eyes, and he hesitated no longer.

He killed the fish, scaled it, scored the flesh, and set it to boil...

The method for consuming the precious fish involved simmering it with specific medicinal herbs until the bones and flesh were completely dissolved, then drinking the broth in one go.

Lin Yi had already prepared the herbs before he arrived.

Half an hour later, once the fish soup was ready.

Lin Yi did not hesitate and drank it all in one gulp.

In an instant, Lin Yi felt the surging blood and energy within his body transform into waves of immense power, crashing through him. His blood and energy, like spirit snakes, raced wildly through his limbs and bones.

His meridians throbbed with pain, and his muscles were continuously torn apart and reconstructed.

Lin Yi could clearly feel it.

His bones were being scoured and compressed by the magnificent surge of blood and energy, causing fine, hairline fractures to appear.

The five martial passes: Skin Pass, Flesh Pass, Blood Pass, Bone Pass, and Viscera Pass.

He was currently in the breaking stage of the fourth pass.

Without hesitation, Lin Yi immediately began to circulate the Long Rainbow Technique.

[Long Rainbow Technique Proficiency +1]
[Long Rainbow Technique Proficiency +1]
[...]

The proficiency of the Long Rainbow Technique rose at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Time slipped away slowly.

As Lin Yi practiced with increasing intensity, gusts of wind whistled, and the candlelight was quietly extinguished by the gale generated by his movements.

The secret passage plunged into darkness.

Only Lin Yi's eyes shone with a frightening brilliance.

Then, a sound that only Lin Yi could hear—the snapping and shattering of a shackle—echoed within his body.

The fourth level of the martial pass, the Bone Pass, was complete.

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