Breaking the Limits

With no clues to support him, Lu Li could not think of an answer.

But he knew this was only temporary. One day, he would decipher everything here, including the Celebratory Cloud Lamp.

His thoughts were unconstrained yet logical, and he began to examine everything about himself.

What he wanted most urgently

was to raise his Skin Tempering realm as quickly as possible, and the progress of Skin Tempering depended on his proficiency in the Form-Intent Secret Stance.

The deeper his Primordial Unity Force, the faster and better his Skin Tempering would be. At present, he was only at the first layer of Primordial Unity Force.

At this moment, there was not a trace of impatience in him. He was exceptionally calm.

He assumed the Three-Body Stance. Form-Intent Fist was an unadorned art of killing, with no dodging techniques. Its five forms—"split, crush, drill, cannon, and cross"—corresponded to metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Master one and all would follow; train it to the depths, and one punch could decide life or death!

Lu Li stood firmly, his front and rear feet staggered. His front foot touched down lightly while his rear foot was planted solidly.

His knees bent subtly, neither thrusting out nor collapsing inward. His tailbone sank, his chest drew in and his back rose, his chin tucked slightly, and the crown of his head lifted as though suspended. His hands stood one before and one behind—the front hand posed as if embracing a mountain, the rear hand as if concealing an edge.

Unhurried and composed, he assumed the most precise posture. The slightest flaw was corrected.

Once learned, it would never be forgotten.

His shoulder bones gradually relaxed, his waist and spine remained steady without sagging, and his entire skeleton seemed locked into a single solid timber. With every movement and release, his breathing was deep, steady, and even... As he focused and pondered, his heart became still as water. While the muscles throughout his body relaxed, Primordial Unity Force slowly sank, strength hidden within his body. When his fist struck, it darted like a snake.

He set his movements and began to train.

"The landing point of Splitting Fist is neither the chest nor the face. The critical points are the glabella, the crown, and the bridge of the nose. In a life-or-death struggle, one palm strike downward can shatter the cranial cavity, crush the bones, and kill in an instant.

"The arm is merely the blade of the axe; the waist is the axe handle.

"When this form reaches perfection, it descends from above, invincible against all obstacles, made to break through the death gates of the upper three paths—the head!"

"Crushing Fist is a single line. Strike a man before he even sees you. The fastest, fiercest, most lethal form of Xingyi is Crushing Fist."

"Splitting Fist can kill head-on; Drilling Fist is the ultimate sneak attack."

"Cannon Fist specializes in explosion, in fierce and forceful bursts. It is made for close-quarters combat."

Very quickly, he comprehended every crucial point of the secret arts of Form-Intent Fist. Within this clear and empty span of time, he rapidly raised his strength.

[Form-Intent Stance · Secret Art] Perfection (2500/2500)

Lu Li paused, standing where he was and silently reflecting. At last, he sighed softly. "I wonder how much time remains?"

Each batch of lamp oil accumulated by the Celebratory Cloud Lamp allowed him to remain here for only one year. Once the oil ran out, he had to return to his physical body.

Without delay, he began practicing the saber again.

[Eight Trigrams Saber Technique] Greater Mastery (567/1200)

The foundation of Bagua Fist lay in the trigrams. It moved in circles and wound around curves, twisting at the waist and setting the hips. His feet moved with the Swimming Dragon Body Technique, turning with every step like a coiling dragon.

Again and again, Lu Li replayed the foundational diagram of the Eight Trigrams Saber Technique's secret art in his mind, continuously rehearsing it. Starting from the first form, he advanced step by step until he flawlessly completed the final saber form.

[Eight Trigrams Saber Technique] Perfection (1600/1600)

Just then, like a flash of lightning in his mind, a new scene emerged before his eyes.

"The core of Bagua has always been the turning of yin and yang, the alternation of solid and empty."

Those words lingered over and over in his mind... A circle was not a slow rotation, but a fulcrum for turning the blade by borrowing force! He immediately withdrew his stance and stepped out anew.

The original Swimming Dragon Step underwent a thunderous transformation!

It became a new, unprecedented art of swift movement.

[Eight Trigrams Instant-Shadow Step · Secret Art] Beginner (1/1500)

"I broke the limit!"

Lu Li's heightened perception and thought were stirred with delight, brimming with surprise.

He felt utterly clear within. His body's postures were completely different from the records of Bagua Fist—a leap-like transformation. Every movement was incomparably smooth and sharp.

He immersed himself wholeheartedly in martial practice...

He forgot everything else. Every thought in his mind concerned the Instant-Shadow Step. During this process, he even felt that his Primordial Unity Force was improving as well...

Until, at a certain moment, he suddenly sensed progress.

[Eight Trigrams Instant-Shadow Step · Secret Art] Minor Mastery (1/2000)

He let out a long breath. There had been no surprises or mishaps; the Instant-Shadow Step had reached Minor Mastery, and he could feel that his Primordial Unity Force had also improved by leaps and bounds.

At the same time, his spirit gradually became more vigorous.

He continued pouring himself into his self-forgetting practice...

Time flowed on, and the lamp oil was exhausted.

He emerged from his state of enlightenment. He had remained in that land of emptiness for one year, and this time, he had achieved astonishing breakthroughs.

[Martial Arts]:

"Eight Trigrams Instant-Shadow Step · Secret Art" Greater Mastery (26/2800)

"Xingyi Saber · Secret Art" Beginner (399/1500)

"Form-Intent Secret Stance" Perfection (2500/2500)

"Eight Trigrams Saber Technique" Perfection (1600/1600)

"Eight Trigrams Fist Technique" Perfection (500/800)

"Eight Trigrams Moving Stake" Perfection (800/800)

"Eight Trigrams Embracing-Circle Stake Art" Perfection (500/500)

[Realm]:

Fourth Skin Tempering (Fifth Layer of Primordial Unity Force)

[Lamp Wick]: 0

Lu Li opened his eyes, and the ethereal emptiness in their depths faded away. He felt the strength of his real body—he had already reached the Fourth Skin Tempering.

He was only a step away from the fifth Skin Tempering!

How had this happened?

At this moment, Lu Li looked rather horrifying.

He was gaunt and skeletal. The once-full flesh of his cheeks had visibly caved in, his cheekbones abruptly protruding, his eye sockets deeply sunken. Though his nose bridge remained straight, the flesh over it had shriveled tight. He looked haggard and withered, as though more than half his flesh and blood had been violently drained away.

Only those eyes remained bright and spirited, shining with sharp light!

He walked to the weapon rack.

Taking out a practice saber, he drew it across his arm. It was swiftly bounced away, leaving only a faint bloody mark.

He tried secretly circulating Primordial Unity Force, coating the blade with a secret art, and drew it across again. A vivid red wound split open and blood seeped out... Yet it quickly scabbed over, taking less than ten breaths from start to finish.

After another half cup of tea's time, the wound had actually begun to heal.

Fourth Skin Tempering.

Not only had it comprehensively raised the toughness of his skin and membranes, it had also made his healing ability more vigorous and powerful.

In addition, his physical qualities had improved across the board.

His saber skills and movement technique far surpassed what they had been before, and his practical combat ability had risen enormously.

Lu Li chuckled softly in silence. Such immense progress, such a transformation like a butterfly breaking from its cocoon—amid this indescribable harvest and sense of fulfillment, there was no reason not to feel joy. His soul felt clear and peaceful, his body and mind pure and delighted.

He had practiced martial arts for only two months, yet he had already reached the Fourth Skin Tempering. What a terrifying rate of progress. Even superior natural talent would likely struggle to attain such speed.

Lu Li lowered his gaze, his brows relaxed and tranquil, his spiritual platform clear and at ease.

Such a chasm-like leap was not some hollow breakthrough, but a solid accumulation built upon a firmly laid foundation. Every step of his enlightenment in that land of emptiness and silence had been steady and flawless.

There was only one shortcoming: because of this breakthrough, part of his flesh and blood had been forcibly overdrawn and squeezed dry. But he knew clearly that it had not harmed the origin of his body.

It was only a pity for his formerly robust physique.

The training clothes that had once fit him now hung empty around his body. The coarse linen swayed with his faintest movements, making his frame appear increasingly thin.

After taking off his outer garment, each of his ribs was clearly visible. His waist and abdomen had become hollow and sunken, and the taut definition he had trained into his waist had vanished completely.

Lu Li gave a self-mocking smile.

"Who would have thought that a graceful young man with strong sinews and bones could, in just a few breaths, become this withered, flesh-starved ugly sight? What a frightening appearance..."

He suddenly came back to himself and fell into quiet thought. What would others think upon seeing me like this?

Would they think I had failed Gate-Breaking?

In Lu Li's view, this strange change in his body was instead a protective talisman that could conceal him.