Mu Qing stared at the scene, dumbfounded.
His face was full of disbelief.
Although he was not a Soul Master, he had seen Soul Masters fight before.
Generally speaking, to cause destruction like Yu Tianheng had, a Power Attack System Soul Master would have to use his First Soul Skill. At the very least, he would have to use Martial Soul Possession and draw on the power of his Martial Soul to attack. Yet Mu Qing had just seen with his own eyes that Yu Tianheng had thrown that punch using nothing but his flesh and blood. Not even a Soul Ring had lit up in the process. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought he was just an ordinary person.
But how could an ordinary person's punch possibly be so terrifying?
Was this the Martial Dao?
Yu Tianheng lowered his fist and looked at Mu Qing's shocked expression. "This is just the tip of the Martial Dao's iceberg. Once you reach its peak, a casual strike can split mountains and destroy cities, making you no weaker than a Titled Douluo. Now I'll ask you again: do you want to learn?"
"Of course I do!"
Mu Qing knew there was no free lunch in the world. Before receiving any benefit, he had to pay a sufficient price. Yu Tianheng was neither family nor a friend, so he had no reason to teach him the Martial Dao for nothing. He would surely want something from him later. But after seeing the power of the Martial Dao, Mu Qing longed for it too much to worry about that now.
"Good!" Yu Tianheng smiled in satisfaction.
Although the early stages of Martial Dao cultivation did not place much importance on innate talent, one still needed an appropriate cultivation method to get started.
Otherwise, even a lifetime of training would be like drawing water with a bamboo basket-all for nothing.
Fortunately, Yu Tianheng had come prepared. He stepped in front of Mu Qing, pressed a fingertip to the center of his forehead, and used the Soul Seizing secret art to pass on a basic Martial Dao cultivation technique.
The technique was called the Body Tempering Skill. It could temper and strengthen the body and was divided into three levels. It was only a yellow-grade technique, the lowest grade, and had cost Yu Tianheng 200 Heavenly Mandate Points to exchange for.
The main reason Yu Tianheng taught him this technique instead of the higher-grade Innate Skill was that he did not trust him. After all, they had not known each other long and were still unfamiliar with one another. It was unrealistic to hand over a divine cultivation manual right from the start.
Besides, the technique Yu Tianheng himself currently cultivated was only the profound-grade Innate Skill. Where was he supposed to find a higher-grade technique?
For now, this would have to do.
Once Mu Qing grew stronger, it would not be too late to teach him a better technique.
Mu Qing felt dazed for a moment. When he came to his senses, he abruptly discovered that a cultivation method called the Body Tempering Skill had appeared in his mind. It recorded a way to cultivate the Martial Dao, leaving him shocked.
Just then, a system notification sounded in Yu Tianheng's mind: "The host has treated Mu Qing and taught him a Martial Dao cultivation technique, changing his fate. Reward: 30 Heavenly Mandate Points."
Yu Tianheng had expected this and was not surprised. He continued:
"There are nine realms in Martial Dao cultivation, each divided into nine levels. The first few are the Skin Refining Realm, Flesh Refining Realm, Sinew Refining Realm, and Bone Refining Realm. As their names suggest, they involve tempering your skin, flesh, sinews, and bones to strengthen your body."
"Now that you have a cultivation method, start training and try to enter the first realm of the Martial Dao, the Skin Refining Realm. I'll see how long it takes you to succeed."
"Yes!" Mu Qing nodded excitedly, but then his face clouded with difficulty.
Seeing this, Yu Tianheng asked, "What's wrong?"
Mu Qing smiled bitterly. "Master, now that I'm following you to cultivate the Martial Dao, there won't be anyone earning money. My younger brothers and sisters are still too young to earn anything. At this rate, we won't even have food to eat. What should I do?"
Yu Tianheng smiled. "It's all right. That's a small matter." With that, he pulled a heavy money pouch from his pocket and tossed it to Mu Qing.
Mu Qing caught it and opened it. To his surprise, it was full of gleaming Gold Soul Coins, at least a hundred of them.
Yu Tianheng said, "There are 150 Gold Soul Coins in there. That's enough to cover your expenses for the next few years."
"Don't worry. As long as you follow me, I guarantee you'll eat well and drink well. Of course, you should also understand that I don't support good-for-nothings. If I find out you're not putting your heart into cultivating the Martial Dao, then sorry, but get as far away from me as you can. Understand?"
"Yes, Master. I'll cultivate the Martial Dao diligently." Holding the money pouch, Mu Qing nodded firmly. Whether for himself or his family, he would train hard and make something of himself.
For the days that followed, Yu Tianheng stayed in the slums, teaching Mu Qing to cultivate the Martial Dao.
Whether it was because of his natural talent or because Mu Qing had trained exceptionally hard during this time, Yu Tianheng did not know.
In any case, the result was good.
In just five days, Mu Qing officially became a martial artist, entering the first level of the Skin Refining Realm.
A month later, Mu Qing reached the third level of the Skin Refining Realm.
That cultivation speed was by no means slow.
Yu Tianheng had not been idle during that month either. Aside from teaching Mu Qing the Martial Dao, he spent the rest of his free time cultivating.
He converted all the Innate Qi he had accumulated from a month of arduous cultivation with the Innate Skill into True Qi, raising his realm by one level and breaking through to the sixth level of the Sinew Refining Realm.
Yu Tianheng opened the system's character panel to check his attributes.
Name: Yu Tianheng Age: 13 Affiliations: Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, Heaven Dou Royal Academy Realm: Soul Master level: level 36 Power Attack System Battle Soul Master; Soul Ring Configuration: two yellow, one purple; Martial Dao realm: sixth level of the Sinew Refining Realm Skills mastered: Thunder Dragon Claw (First Soul Skill), Thunderous Might (Second Soul Skill), Thunderous Fury (Third Soul Skill), Dragon Claw Hand (mid-grade martial skill), Aura Concealment Technique (secret art), Thunder Piercing (mid-grade martial skill), Basic Spear Technique (low-grade) Cultivation techniques mastered: Innate Skill (perfected, profound-grade cultivation technique), Tyrant Dragon Body Tempering Art (clan's Self-Created Soul Skill) Heavenly Mandate Points: 5,000 Inventory: Body Tempering Liquid, several Origin Stones, Purple Lightning Spear (mid-grade Spirit Weapon)
After checking his attributes, Yu Tianheng looked over at Mu Qing, who was training hard not far away.
Deep in the mountains, amid dense forest, Mu Qing stood straight atop a massive green rock, dressed in a black training outfit as he began his Martial Dao training for the day.
Many sandbags weighing dozens of jin in total were strapped to his body. He started by running up the mountain from its foot, then back down again, making the trip back and forth many times without stopping.
In the afternoon, he did push-ups, squats, and other kinds of high-intensity training.
Whenever Mu Qing was on the verge of exhaustion, Yu Tianheng would have him stop and circulate the Body Tempering Skill, breathing and performing various movements according to the methods recorded in the technique to temper and strengthen his body.
Mu Qing did not rest at night either. He lay in a large bathing tub filled with Body Tempering Liquid supplied by Yu Tianheng. It helped him recover his strength while also accelerating the tempering of his body.
And so it went, day after day.
Soon, another two months passed.
Under Yu Tianheng's careful instruction, Mu Qing progressed rapidly in the Martial Dao, reaching the ninth level of the Skin Refining Realm. With some more cultivation, he would be able to break through to the second realm of the Martial Dao, the Flesh Refining Realm.