Mountain-Bearing Walk, the Green Bamboo Key's First Response

Divine Dragon Secret Realm.

Black stone steps stretched upward.

There was no end in sight.

Dong Jian stood before the first step, the injury to his right leg more than half healed.

The healing teacher still forbade him from doing high-intensity weight-increasing training.

But Mountain-Bearing Walk was not simply a matter of increasing the weight of one leg.

There were only four lines of instructions on the stele.

The soles bore the force.

The knees and waist relieved it.

The spine distributed it.

In the end, it returned to the earth.

Dong Jian stepped onto the first step.

His body immediately grew ten percent heavier.

This time, he did not let his right leg bear the burden alone.

Both feet came down together.

His knees bent slightly.

The added weight traveled up his calves to his thighs, then dispersed through his waist and spine.

Finally, it passed back into the step through his other foot.

He was steady on the first step.

The second step.

The weight increased by twenty percent.

Dong Jian still did not pause.

The third step.

The fourth step.

By the time he reached the sixth, his body weighed more than twice its normal weight.

His shoulders began to sink.

A slight ache and swelling came from the old injury on his right leg.

Dong Jian instinctively wanted to make his left leg heavier to share the burden on his right.

Black Soul Power had just begun to gather when the stele lit up red.

Failure.

The step beneath his feet suddenly tilted.

Dong Jian lost his balance.

He tumbled all the way down from the sixth step.

Bang!

His back hit the ground.

The Panda Martial Soul sat beside him and rolled over twice as well.

"I can't let the other leg take its place."

Dong Jian lay on the ground.

"My whole body has to bear it together."

He got back up.

On his second attempt, he reached the seventh step.

His right shoulder gave out first.

Failure.

On his third attempt, he reached the ninth step.

The transfer of Soul Power through his waist faltered.

Failure.

The fourth attempt.

Dong Jian had just stepped onto the fifth step when the sudden increase in weight forced him to one knee.

The force added by the steps was not entirely fixed.

Sometimes it fell on his shoulders.

Sometimes it concentrated on his waist.

It could even press down on his arms without warning.

He had to adjust his body's structure before the weight shifted.

He could not wait until he saw where the weight had increased and then improvise a remedy.

Instead, he had to keep his entire body in a state where it could transfer force at all times.

Dong Jian realized for the first time.

His old Light-Heavy Conversion was more like moving a heavy stone from one place on his body to another.

But Mountain-Bearing Walk did not require him to move it around.

It required his whole body to become a complete bridge.

It did not matter where the weight fell.

As long as it could travel along his bones, muscles, and meridians, it would not remain in any one place.

His thirteenth attempt.

Dong Jian stepped onto the ninth step.

The weight on his shoulders suddenly increased by fifty percent.

He did not force his shoulders to hold it up.

He lowered his waist.

Bent his knees.

And pressed both feet against the step.

Whoosh-

The force entered the ground.

The tenth step.

The weight shifted to his left arm.

Dong Jian pressed his palm against his knee.

His arm no longer bore the burden alone.

Instead, it sent the force into his torso.

The eleventh step.

The twelfth step.

When he reached the fifteenth step, he finally fell again.

But this time, the old injury in his right leg did not hurt.

A new line of writing appeared on the stele.

Load-bearing method correct.

Dong Jian sat at the foot of the steps.

He looked at his hands.

He had not gained a new offensive ability.

Nor had he enabled his Martial Soul to add more weight.

He had merely learned how not to be crushed by his own strength.

But that was more important than simply increasing his strength.

From that day on.

Dong Jian entered Mountain-Bearing Walk only once a day.

Whenever he felt a sharp pain, he withdrew immediately.

Li Man checked his stance and the flow of weight in the real world.

"Your shoulder's raised again."

In the bamboo grove.

Li Man gently tapped Dong Jian's right shoulder with a stalk of Green Jade Bamboo.

"You're instinctively avoiding the weight."

"No, I'm not."

"Your right shoulder is half an inch higher than your left."

Dong Jian adjusted his stance.

His feet spread apart.

His knees bent slightly.

His waist and back relaxed.

Li Man pressed the tip of the bamboo against his shoulder again.

Soul Power flowed out along the Green Jade Bamboo.

The pressure gradually increased.

Dong Jian did not use Bear Astral Energy Body Protection.

Still less did he make his shoulder heavier to resist it.

He let his body sink slightly.

The pressure traveled along his spine to his waist.

Finally, it passed through his legs into the ground.

A shallow depression appeared in the soil beneath his feet.

But his shoulder was unhurt.

"That's good this time."

Li Man withdrew the Green Jade Bamboo.

"What about your right leg?"

"No pain."

"Your meridians?"

"Normal."

Li Man took out her record book.

She drew a circle after today's training entry.

It meant he had not exceeded the agreed limit.

Over the past six months.

The two of them had developed a new training method.

Before each time Dong Jian entered Mountain-Bearing Walk, he had to undergo a physical examination.

Afterward, they also recorded his pain, Soul Power flow, and recovery time.

If any of the data was abnormal, the next day's training was canceled immediately.

The same went for Li Man.

Her Green Bamboo Binding Formation had officially been divided into three layers.

Two fixed bamboo shadows were responsible for maintaining the formation.

They no longer needed Li Man to actively control them at every moment.

They simply maintained the bamboo vines within a preset range.

Two Mobile Formation Eyes were responsible for shrinking or expanding the control area.

Their paths had to be determined before the Soul Skill was activated.

Only the Instant Formation Eyes were generated by Li Man on the spot, according to changes on the battlefield.

The main formation layer.

The Moving Formation layer.

The Instant Formation layer.

Three-Layer Bamboo Formation.

When she first trained, switching between the layers was very awkward.

When Li Man controlled the fixed formation cores, the Mobile Formation Eyes would briefly stop.

When her attention shifted to the Instant Formation Eyes, the main formation's bamboo vines would also loosen.

"Third layer."

Dong Jian stood at the center of the Green Bamboo Formation.

Li Man had her eyes closed.

Two fixed bamboo shadows stood to the left and right.

A mobile bamboo shadow slowly advanced along its preset path.

Li Man's attention was focused entirely on the Instant Formation Eyes.

The first instantaneous bamboo shadow rose beneath Dong Jian's feet.

He moved to the side.

The second appeared behind him.

A bamboo vine coiled around his waist.

It did not snap back immediately.

Li Man first switched back to the main array layer.

She confirmed that the fixed bamboo vines were stable.

Then she turned her attention to the Instant Formation Eye.

"Now."

The bamboo shadow bent.

It snapped back!

Dong Jian's body flew forward.

He did not hit the wall.

Both feet bore the force as he landed.

His waist sank.

His body came to a steady stop.

Li Man opened her eyes.

There was no ringing in her ears.

Her vision was not blurry either.

"How long did you maintain it?"

Dong Jian asked.

"A quarter of an hour."

"Can you keep going?"

"Yes."

Li Man glanced at the record book.

"But as agreed, that's enough for today."

Dong Jian nodded.

He did not urge her to practice one more time.

They both understood now.

Real growth did not mean pushing to the brink of unconsciousness and fractured bones every time.

It meant being able to bear a little more today than yesterday.

Half a year passed.

Dong Jian progressed from the ninth step to the thirty-third step of his Mountain-Bearing Walk.

He named his new weight-bearing posture-

Sinking Body Stance.

It was not a move.

Nor was it a Soul Skill.

As long as his feet were touching the ground, Dong Jian could adjust his bones and center of gravity to transfer part of the external pressure and his Martial Soul's weight into the earth.

Its shortcomings were also obvious.

Sinking Body Stance required stable footing.

If both feet left the ground, or the ground was too soft, its effectiveness would drop sharply.

Li Man's Three-Layer Bamboo Formation had likewise not fully matured.

There was still a brief pause when she switched her attention.

Against an enemy who was too fast, a single pause could let them break straight through.

One day.

Yu Xiaogang suddenly came to the bamboo grove.

Tang San followed behind him.

Tang San had already reached level nineteen.

The presence of his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul was tougher and more resilient than it had been half a year ago.

"Teacher wants to test the results of your recent training."

Tang San said.

Dong Jian looked at Yu Xiaogang.

"How?"

"Actual combat."

Yu Xiaogang's tone was calm.

"Tang San won't use Hidden Weapons."

"And you must not rely on Li Man's array."

"This is only to verify whether your weight training has really been effective."

Li Man frowned.

The purpose of this spar was obvious.

Yu Xiaogang wanted to prove something.

The half year Dong Jian had spent developing Sinking Body Stance had been no more effective than Tang San's steady strengthening of his Blue Silver Grass.

Yet Dong Jian did not refuse.

"Come on."

In the clearing outside the bamboo grove.

Tang San and Dong Jian stood facing each other.

Li Man, Xiao Wu, and Yu Xiaogang stood at the edge of the clearing.

"Begin."

Blue Silver Grass rose from the ground.

Tang San did not test the waters.

He activated his First Soul Skill at once.

"Blue Silver Entanglement!"

More than a dozen vines surged in from all sides.

Dong Jian spread his legs.

Sinking Body Stance!

The first strand of Blue Silver Grass wrapped around his left arm.

The second wrapped around his waist.

More vines tightened around his legs.

Tang San pulled his hand back.

In the past, Dong Jian would have immediately increased the weight of his legs.

Or activated Bear Astral Energy Body Protection to tear the vines apart by force.

This time.

He did not directly resist the Blue Silver Grass.

The vines pulled at his left arm.

The force entered his shoulder.

Passed through his back and waist.

And into his legs.

Finally, it went into the ground.

The soil beneath his feet kept cracking.

Yet Dong Jian's body was not pulled away.

Tang San's gaze shifted slightly.

Half a year ago, when Dong Jian's right leg was injured, he could not have withstood this kind of sustained pulling at all.

Now, he had not increased the weight of any single part of his body.

Instead, his body was even more stable.

"Just standing firm won't do you any good."

Tang San increased his Soul Power.

Blue Silver Grass continued to grow along Dong Jian's body.

Vines wrapped around his shoulders and neck.

The Mandala Snake venom began to cause mild paralysis.

Dong Jian activated Bear Astral Energy Body Protection.

Not to build up impact.

But to block out some of the venom.

The weight of his right arm briefly increased.

His fist smashed into the point where the vines crossed.

Crack!

The first strand of Blue Silver Grass broke.

Tang San had already closed in using Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.

His Mysterious Jade Hand struck toward Dong Jian's chest.

Dong Jian wanted to use Light-Body Bear Steps.

But he stopped before taking the first step.

The Soul Power routes for Sinking Body Stance and Light-Body Bear Steps were complete opposites.

One required stability.

The other required his legs to become lighter.

If he forced the switch, the old injury in his right leg might suffer another impact.

Tang San seized on the pause.

Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon pulled at Dong Jian's shoulder.

Dong Jian's body pitched forward.

Sinking Body Stance lost its full support.

Blue Silver Grass tightened around him again from behind.

Bang!

Dong Jian was pinned to the ground.

Mysterious Jade Hand stopped at the back of his neck.

"I lost."

Tang San withdrew his Soul Skill.

Yu Xiaogang walked into the clearing.

"The result is clear enough."

"Half a year of training has indeed made you steadier."

"But your speed and offensive ability haven't improved."

"If you had continued strengthening your existing Bear Astral Energy Body Protection, perhaps you would have had greater strength to break free by now."

Dong Jian rose from the ground.

He checked his right leg.

There was no pain.

No blockage in his meridians.

Not even the slightest ache or swelling.

"Half a year ago."

Dong Jian said:

"That round of pulling would have reopened the fracture in my bone."

"Now I've lost."

"But my body isn't injured."

Yu Xiaogang frowned.

"The result of the fight is still a loss."

"Growth doesn't necessarily turn into victory right away."

Dong Jian replied.

"At least, when I face a stronger force in the future, I'll be able to stand my ground first."

Tang San said:

"But if you can't counterattack, standing your ground can only prolong your defeat."

"So Sinking Body Stance isn't the end."

Dong Jian looked at him.

"It only gives me the qualification to continue training for the next step."

Tang San said nothing more.

He could not say that Sinking Body Stance was completely without value.

That first round of Blue Silver Entanglement really had failed to budge Dong Jian.

It was just that the gaps in Soul Power, speed, and skill had ultimately still given Tang San the victory.

Yu Xiaogang, however, did not change his conclusion.

"You always like to explain away present shortcomings with results that might appear in the future."

Li Man suddenly spoke.

"Then when you use theory to predict the effects of future Soul Rings, Grandmaster, aren't you doing the same thing?"

Yu Xiaogang looked at her.

"My predictions are based on a great deal of information."

"Our judgment is based on our bodies and actual combat."

"Information tells you what might happen,"

Li Man said.

"Our bodies tell us what actually happened."

The atmosphere grew tense once more.

Xiao Wu stood to the side.

She had wanted to suggest they fight another round.

In the end, she held back.

This was no longer an ordinary spar.

It was an argument between two ways of cultivating.

Strengthen known abilities steadily,

or take risks to forge a new path.

No one could conclusively prove who was right with a single victory or defeat.

That night,

Li Man entered meditation alone.

Green Jade Bamboo appeared before her.

The golden patterns on its joints had spread from the tip to the middle.

Her First Soul Ring trembled gently.

The call from Dragon Spine Valley rang out once more.

"Come..."

The voice was clearer than it had been six months ago.

Li Man did not immediately withdraw her consciousness as she had last time.

She concentrated,

letting the Green Jade Bamboo's Soul Power flow slowly along the golden patterns.

"Who are you?"

The rustling of bamboo leaves continued.

There was no direct answer.

The map of Dragon Spine Valley in her consciousness gradually grew larger.

In the center of the valley,

a golden bamboo grove appeared.

One stalk of bamboo in the grove was exceptionally tall.

Its stalk was covered in golden patterns resembling dragon scales.

Its roots stretched out in every direction,

protecting a great many young bamboo shoots that had yet to mature.

The image lasted only a few breaths.

Soon, it blurred once more.

Li Man opened her eyes.

Her forehead was covered in sweat.

She had not clearly seen the plant Soul Beast's full appearance,

but she could be certain of one thing.

In Dragon Spine Valley,

there truly was a power that shared the same origin as the Green Jade Bamboo.

And the call was not asking her to hunt and kill anything immediately.

It was more as though it was waiting for her to meet some condition.

"A key..."

Li Man murmured.

"What exactly is it meant to open?"

Early the next morning,

the bell at Nuoding Academy suddenly rang.

It was not the class bell,

but three consecutive rings signaling an emergency assembly.

Dong Jian and Li Man arrived at the training ground at the same time.

All the academy's teachers were already present.

Several patrol Soul Masters who had hurried back from outside the city were giving their report.

"Large numbers of Soul Beasts have appeared, moving through the area north of Nuoding City."

"Their ages are generally low."

"But their numbers are still increasing."

"They haven't attacked any villages."

"They're just fleeing south like mad."

The vice dean unfolded a map.

The source of the Soul Beasts' flight lay in the mountains north of Nuoding City.

When Dong Jian saw the location, his expression changed slightly.

That mountain region was not far from the abandoned Black Stone Mining Area.

It was also the direction in which the Return to One Society's test subjects had fled.

Li Man touched the Green Jade Bamboo to the ground.

Beyond the academy,

countless chaotic vibrations were moving from north to south.

It was not migration.

Nor was it a seasonal change.

It was fear.

A great many Soul Beasts were fleeing from something far more dangerous.

"What are they afraid of?"

Wang Sheng asked quietly.

No one answered.

Just then,

a stone stele trembled deep within Dong Jian's consciousness.

Words from the Hundred Battles Hall appeared of their own accord.

High-intensity external combat detected.

The first stage of the Mountain-Bearing Walk has been terminated early.

Trial objective changed.

Bear the load on a real battlefield.

Dong Jian raised his head and looked north.

Half a year of training.

Thirty-three stone steps.

The Sinking Body Stance.

The three-layer bamboo formation.

All the results would be put to the test against a real Soul Beast onslaught.

Above the distant mountain forest,

a thin column of black smoke slowly rose.

From beneath the column of smoke

came a roar that belonged to no ordinary Soul Beast.