Iron Palm

Next came the basic moves.

Fang Zhixing copied the method, using the same approach to memorize them. He sketched stick figures on the ground, each performing a sequence of connected movements.

Unfortunately, Cheng Tian'en was too weak. He could only demonstrate the moves for Fang Zhixing once per day.

Even with Fang Zhixing's excellent memory, it still took him five days to sketch out every movement.

After that, he practiced by following his drawings.

At first, his movements were extremely stiff and disjointed.

He was rigidly copying the forms, imitating a cat by drawing a tiger.

Some of the more difficult moves, such as somersaults, even turned into painful tumbles.

Fortunately, he was already a Force Unification martial artist. His control over his own strength was minute, allowing him to make quick adjustments and draw inferences from one example. With persistent practice, he gradually mastered all kinds of difficult movements.

As for somersaults, after only two or three days of practice, he could easily perform side flips, aerial flips, one-handed flips, front flips, back flips, and more.

"No, no. This movement of yours is still a little off."

Cheng Tian'en had not taken the money for nothing. He instructed and corrected Fang Zhixing from the side, paying attention to every detail until Fang Zhixing's movements became increasingly standardized.

In the blink of an eye, ten days passed.

At noon that day, after finishing lunch, Fang Zhixing walked into the courtyard. He drew a deep breath, closed his eyes, and focused completely.

In his mind, he simulated an entire set of moves once.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes. His entire body began to move, flowing through a continuous set of forms with smooth, unrestrained grace.

A fist-sized bulge could clearly be seen traveling across his body like a yo-yo.

[2, Practice the moves once (Completed)]

[Requirements for Iron Mountain Art, First Layer—Max Level, have been met. Upgrade?]

"Hah..."

Fang Zhixing let out a long breath, the corner of his lips rising.

Hard work had paid off. He had mastered it!

"Mm, not bad."

Cheng Tian'en watched him and nodded approvingly.

"By the standards of the Iron Mountain Art, you should now be at the early stage of Force Unification. As long as you practice diligently, your strength will gradually increase, advancing you to the middle stage, late stage, and eventually perfection."

He continued, "But you are already at Force Unification. And judging from the state of unity between man and blade that you displayed, you are currently at Force Unification perfection. So you will most likely skip the intermediate stages and quickly advance to First Layer perfection."

At this point, he raised his hands and gestured. "When you reach the perfection stage, remember to polish your techniques well. You might have a chance to awaken a burst skill."

Fang Zhixing was surprised. "You mean not everyone has burst skills?"

"Of course!"

Cheng Tian'en raised his voice. "Although everyone can practice martial arts, each person's comprehension and proficiency differ to a certain extent. The requirements for a burst skill to appear are extremely high, extremely demanding. Only those who have cultivated a martial art to its utmost limit may obtain a burst skill."

As he spoke, he raised his right hand. A nostalgic look surfaced on his face as he slowly said, "Back then, I painstakingly trained the First Layer of the Iron Mountain Art. I persisted for over five years without resting a single day. Only then did I awaken the burst skill, Iron Palm.

"With a pair of Iron Palms comparable to blades and swords, I participated in the Clear River Martial Tournament and won seventh place. That was how I earned the title 'Iron Palm Cheng Tian'en.'"

Fang Zhixing clicked his tongue in amazement. Then he suddenly noticed something odd and asked, "From the sound of it, Iron Palm is unique to you. No one else can train it?"

"Not exactly."

Cheng Tian'en smiled, and his smile carried traces of his former pride.

He explained, "Different people cultivating the same martial art—even if every one of them reaches perfection and the utmost limit, and even if they all awaken burst skills—their burst skills will not necessarily be the same. It varies from person to person."

He waved his right hand. "The Iron Palm I trained might be attainable by others as well. The result could be exactly the same, broadly similar with slight differences, but more likely, others would awaken an entirely different burst skill.

"As far as I know, those who cultivated the First Layer of the Iron Mountain Art to its utmost limit have awakened over a hundred different burst skills, such as Iron Palm, Iron Fist, Iron Finger, Iron Leg, and so on."

Fang Zhixing understood. Damn, burst skills even had drop rates. It was like opening a blind box.

At that thought, he could no longer wait. He turned around and went back to his room to rest.

As soon as he entered the room—

Fang Zhixing looked up and saw Skinny Dog sprawled on the bed, listless and idle.

"What, are you depressed?" Fang Zhixing mocked.

Skinny Dog did not even lift an eyelid. He could not be bothered to respond to Fang Zhixing.

Fang Zhixing was now on the right track. After coming into contact with martial arts, he would only grow stronger and stronger, gradually reaching the peak of his life.

But what about him? What was the meaning of his efforts? Reaching the peak of a dog's life?

Fuck!

The more Skinny Dog thought about it, the angrier he became. He wanted nothing more than to slam his head into something and die.

"Upgrade!"

Fang Zhixing sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and moved his mind.

In an instant, he entered an unfathomable state, as though he were dreaming.

In the dream, he painstakingly trained the First Layer of the Iron Mountain Art. His understanding and insights into this martial art gradually deepened until he slowly reached a level of consummate mastery.

Who knew how much time had passed? Perhaps several months, perhaps several years. His body gradually changed.

The muscles on his body became increasingly compact. Some muscles swelled, while others slimmed down somewhat.

At the same time, his bones became thicker and stronger.

[Iron Mountain Art, First Layer—Perfection]

[Burst Skill: Iron Mountain Lean (Lv1)]

"Oh, it was actually this burst skill." Fang Zhixing's eyes lit up.

Iron Mountain Lean was a close-body ram.

The instant one closed in on an opponent, one suddenly stomped, producing a momentary burst of acceleration, then fiercely drove an elbow or shoulder into the opponent—rising hard, falling hard, smashing through by force!

"Not bad, not bad. Pretty damn good!" Fang Zhixing glanced at Skinny Dog and deliberately sighed.

Skinny Dog remained unmoved.

Fang Zhixing clicked his tongue. "I've upgraded again. What about you?"

Skinny Dog glanced at his panel. There was not the slightest change, and he immediately became even more discouraged.

"Fang Zhixing, tell me, what meaning is there in me staying alive?" Skinny Dog lay on his back, staring blankly at the ceiling as he asked.

Fang Zhixing gloated and said contemptuously, "If you don't want to live, then go die. No one in this world will miss you."

Skinny Dog could not help getting angry at those words. He scrambled up and roared, "What the fuck are you so pleased about? You really think you got the script of some overpowered webnovel protagonist?"

Fang Zhixing scoffed. "Are you jealous, or are you envious?"

Skinny Dog bared his teeth. "I hate you! I want to bite you to death!"

Fang Zhixing's expression darkened as he said coldly, "Then try it if you don't accept it."

Skinny Dog flew into a rage. He charged out in a flash, leaped up, and pounced at Fang Zhixing, his fangs fully exposed.

"Burst Skill—Iron Mountain Lean!"

Fang Zhixing's body swayed, then abruptly shot forward, leaving an afterimage behind. He raised his elbow and slammed it straight ahead.

Skinny Dog's vision blurred. Fang Zhixing's body filled his entire field of view.

Bang!

Teeth shattered and flew away one after another. The bones in his face cracked and crumbled to powder.

Skinny Dog's neck twisted violently and snapped. His entire body warped grotesquely before he was sent flying with a whoosh, crashing heavily into the wall and then falling to the ground, leaving behind a pool of bright red blood.

Dead!