Breakthrough

At the bottom of the cliff was a damp, frigid cave.

The faint light filtering through cracks in the rock wall flickered on and off. From outside came the deep roars of demon beasts beneath the cliff from time to time, muffled by thick layers of stone yet still enough to make one's scalp crawl.

Shen Yuan leaned against the icy stone wall, the broken ribs in his chest still throbbing faintly.

He had just deduced the Subduing Tiger Fist to the perfect realm in the Martial Arts Simulation Space. That special method of circulating blood and qi was slowly flowing through his body. A numb, warm current drifted through the gaps in his shattered bones, restoring his injuries several times faster than simply lying down to recuperate.

But his body in reality was still weak and frail.

His ribs were broken, the wounds all over his body had yet to scab over, and only 1 Martial Dao Point remained on the Heavenly Stele panel within his sea of consciousness—clear at a glance.

Without enough Martial Dao Points, I can't continue deducing stronger recovery methods, Shen Yuan murmured inwardly.

He closed his eyes, and his consciousness sank into his sea of consciousness once more, stepping into the vast white Martial Arts Simulation Space.

In the void, the phantom forms of the perfect Subduing Tiger Fist floated silently. Without Martial Dao Points, he could not begin a new deduction, but martial arts that had already been deduced could be simulated and practiced over and over without limit.

Time flowed differently in the outside cave and the Martial Arts Simulation Space. The time it took for one incense stick to burn in reality could be squandered here as several hours.

Perfect. I'll use this chance to carve this fist technique completely into my body's memory.

Shen Yuan stepped forward and followed the phantom, practicing the Subduing Tiger Fist again and again.

Burst Fist! Tiger Pounce! Tiger Treads the Mountain!

Move after move, his fist wind howled.

The Martial Arts Simulation Space would not inflict real physical injuries; it merely fed a portion of the pain back to the soul. With every exertion, Shen Yuan carefully experienced every detail of his blood and qi circulation, engraving the Heavenly Stele's optimized exertion techniques into his very bones.

Once, ten times, a hundred times.

He did not know how many rounds he had repeated within the Martial Arts Simulation Space.

Outside, in the cave, Shen Yuan's physical body remained seated and motionless. Within it, that thin wisp of blood and qi continuously circulated and grew along the route of the Perfect Tiger-Subduing Fist.

His once-exhausted, declining body was gradually awakened.

Buzz...

The blood and qi in his body suddenly trembled.

A faint yet tangible force rose from his flesh, tendons, and bones.

First Stage of Body Tempering!

Shen Yuan abruptly opened his eyes, a flash of brightness passing through them.

His shattered bones had not directly healed, but as the deduced route of blood and qi continued nourishing them, traces of new vitality slowly began to grow between the gaps of those bones, which had once resembled shattered porcelain shards.

It really works. Shen Yuan clenched his fist, feeling the strength welling up within his palm.

Though he was still far behind an ordinary person, compared to the half-dead state he had been in when he first fell from the cliff, it was the difference between heaven and earth.

The stabbing pain in his ribs had eased considerably, and some of the shallow wounds on his body had begun to scab over.

But the danger had not yet passed.

He was trapped in a cave at the bottom of the cliff, with no food. He could not last long by relying solely on the spring water dripping from the rock wall. He had to find a way out.

Supporting himself against the stone wall, Shen Yuan slowly stood and tried moving his limbs. His movements were still somewhat stiff, and his broken ribs could not endure large exertions, but at least he could now walk on his own.

He slowly made his way to the cave entrance and looked outside.

The entrance was wedged halfway up the sheer cliff face. Above and below were vertical, precipitous rock walls, jagged with strange stones and dotted with sparse vines hanging from crevices. Looking upward, the lofty cliff top was hidden within mist and clouds—the place from which he had fallen. Below lay a bottomless abyss of darkness.

Climbing straight up is too risky. The rock wall is loose; one misstep and I'll be smashed to pieces in a fall. Shen Yuan frowned deeply.

Just then, a rustling sound came from the pile of rocks below the cave.

A Cliff Rock Wolf, half the height of a man and covered in gray-black fur, was climbing upward through the cracks between the rocks. Its pair of gleaming green wolf eyes were fixed firmly on Shen Yuan at the cave entrance.

A demon beast!

Shen Yuan's heart suddenly clenched, and he instinctively took two steps back.

Rock Wolves were First-Order Demon Beasts, equivalent to cultivators at the first or second stage of Body Tempering. Their sense of smell was keen; it had likely caught the lingering scent of blood inside the cave and followed the trail here.

The Rock Wolf let out a low, rumbling growl, its claws gripping protruding stones as it advanced toward the cave entrance step by step.

There was nowhere to run.

If he wanted to live, he could only fight.

Shen Yuan took a deep breath and suppressed the tension in his heart.

Without a weapon, he bent down and picked up a black stone with sharp edges from the cave floor, gripping it in his hand.

Perfect. Killing this Rock Wolf will give me food, and slaying a demon beast might even earn me Martial Dao Points.

He recalled the information sent by the Heavenly Stele. Actual combat and life-or-death fighting were precisely one way to obtain Martial Dao Points.

Shen Yuan focused his mind and stood on the inner side of the cave passage. He spread his feet apart and assumed the opening stance of the Subduing Tiger Fist.

The Rock Wolf suddenly sprang forward, its huge jaws opening wide, its fangs flashing with cold light as it lunged straight at Shen Yuan!