Two days later.
Before dawn had fully broken, Yi Yang stood in the middle of the little courtyard, his arms hanging at his sides and his fingers slightly spread. The strand of Inner Energy in his body completed one final circuit through the tiny gaps between his skin, muscles, and bones.
The progress of the Horizontal Refinement Martial Extremity Body ticked upward silently in his mind.
2940.
2980.
3000.
There were no wondrous signs in heaven and earth at the moment of breakthrough, nor any surging waves of qi. Yi Yang merely felt the elusive toughness that had always lingered over his body suddenly solidify.
It was like a thin, invisible suit of armor, fitted against his flesh and embedded in his muscles and bones.
He raised his left hand and flicked the inside of his forearm with his right index finger.
A brief, muffled thud sounded. It was not the sound flesh should make on contact, but more like a fingernail tapping a pebble.
The corners of Yi Yang's mouth twitched.
Horizontal Refinement Martial Extremity Body, Minor Accomplishment.
He immediately switched his footwork. His toes touched the ground as he threaded between the stone table and water vat in the courtyard.
After reaching major mastery in Treading Water to Cross the River, the feeling was entirely different. Every step was astonishingly light, his soles touching the ground so briefly that even the fallen leaves had no time to be flattened.
In three steps, he had reached the wall, without a whisper of wind or a rustle of clothing.
It was too quiet to seem like someone walking.
He ended his practice.
Standing in the corner, Yi Yang summoned the panel only he could see.
``` [Cultivation: First Inner Qi Realm · Qi Sea Formation]
[Wood-Nurturing Longevity Art · Inner