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Early the next morning, just as daylight fully broke, the four of them once again followed the mountain path toward the exposed rocky area. The morning air was a little cooler than yesterday, and dew still clung to the roadside grass, dampening their pant legs as they passed. Sunlight slanted through gaps in the canopy, forming irregular patches of light on the ground that constantly shifted with the swaying leaves.

By the time they reached the rocks, the sun had risen considerably. Son Gohan stood beneath the old pine tree from yesterday, empty-handed, as though he had been waiting there for some time. When he saw the three approach, he turned his gaze to Lin Chen. "How did that retracting motion from yesterday go?"

Lin Chen stood before the rocks, rolled his wrist, and threw a punch. His fist struck the rock face with a crisp sound. The path of his retraction was smoother than yesterday, without any obvious hitch. He pulled back his arm and straightened up.

Son Gohan walked over and pressed a hand against Lin Chen's shoulder after he had retracted his fist. "It's looser than yesterday. But while pulling back, your elbow was too high. That locks the force in your shoulder during the retraction, making your next punch half a beat slower. Try again. Focus on your elbow joint and feel its range of motion."

Lin Chen punched again. This time, he adjusted the height of his elbow as he pulled back, keeping it level with its position during the punch—neither too high nor too low. After drawing back his arm, he felt that the entire motion was indeed smoother than before, like airflow moving through a fixed pipe without creating turbulence at the bends.

[Ding! Picked up Martial Arts Experience Fragments ×2. Current Basic Physical Technique Experience: +12%.]

He lowered his arm and felt a wave of warmth flow from his shoulder to his elbow, as though it had traveled that same path again. It moved swiftly, lingered at his elbow for a moment, then faded.

Seeing his adjustment, Son Gohan nodded slightly. "That's good enough. The rest is just practice. Next, we'll change the way you train." He walked to the side of the rock and pointed at a protruding edge. "Strike this spot with your knuckles. Don't use your full strength; feel the feedback from the contact. If your force is evenly applied, the feedback will be continuous. If it breaks, that means the force is getting blocked."

Lin Chen went to the side of the rock and tapped that edge with his knuckles. When his knuckles touched the surface, there was a short, sharp crack. He felt the feedback travel upward through his finger bones, pause slightly at the joints, and only then continue to spread upward. He adjusted the angle of contact and struck again. This time, there was no pause.

After watching for a while, Son Gohan turned to Krillin. "For the angle of your sidestep direction changes, you can lower your torso more when you stop suddenly. That'll bring your center of gravity lower." He drew several guide lines on the rock. Once he had explained them, he straightened up. "You practice first."

Krillin adjusted his movements as instructed and performed several sets of sudden stops and direction changes, lowering his torso a little more each time. By the third set, he stopped. "This feels steadier. My legs can support it."

After finishing the knuckle-striking exercise, Lin Chen also practiced a set of punch transitions on the ground nearby. He did not use the pickup system, merely repeating the movements and letting his body develop muscle memory on its own. The sun gradually climbed higher, drawing the shadow at his feet inward until it gathered near his soles. As he continuously repeated the movements, he felt the coordination between his wrist and shoulder becoming more natural than before.

Goku was practicing turning punches nearby. His movements were tighter than before, and every turn showed the force of his entire body. Lin Chen watched for a while and saw that after Goku completed several consecutive sets, his transitions had indeed become smoother, with no unnecessary movements.

During a pause when Goku stopped to catch his breath, Lin Chen asked, "You pulled your shoulder in tighter when you turned just now."

Goku looked down at his shoulder. "Grandpa said that if my shoulder was too loose when I turned and punched, the force would scatter. I tried it, and it really does make my punches steadier."

At noon, the four sat beneath the shade of a tree. Son Gohan took out a dry flatbread from his clothes, broke it apart, and distributed it among the three. The bread was hard, its edges already cracked and dry, as though it had been sitting for quite some time. Lin Chen took a piece, bit into it, and chewed for a long while before swallowing. Wind blew up from below the valley, carrying the dry scent of dust.

Krillin sat on a rock nearby, still gesturing through that set of sidestep direction changes, as though trying to commit the movement to memory.

Training continued in the afternoon. Son Gohan had Lin Chen practice sudden stops: after throwing one punch, he was not to retract it, but immediately change direction and throw a second. This move demanded more control than any transition he had practiced before. The landing point and angle of force for each punch had to be completed in an extremely short time. He practiced more than ten sets. The first few were clearly stiff, the middle sets gradually became smoother, and the last few were almost without pause. When he lowered his hand, he felt that the connection between his shoulder and wrist had become much smoother, as if a point that needed breaking in had been polished flat.

[Ding! Picked up Martial Arts Experience Fragments ×3. Current Basic Physical Technique Experience: +18%.]

He felt that warmth travel back and forth between his shoulder and wrist several times, faster than before, as though it had already become familiar with the route. By the time they descended the mountain at dusk, his right arm had adapted more fully to that rhythm of extension and retraction. There was no longer any stiffness in his movements, as though the motion was becoming ingrained in his memory.

When they returned to Kame House, the lights in the courtyard were already on. Master Roshi was sitting beneath the porch. When he saw them enter, he stood and hung an oil lamp on a hook in the corridor. "The food's in the pot. Serve yourselves." After saying that, he turned and walked into the kitchen, disappearing behind the doorway. The lamplight swayed once in the evening breeze, casting trembling shadows on the wall before settling again.