武动乾坤 - Wu Dong Qian Kun by 天蚕土豆 - Tian Can Tu Dou

[chaossojer]

Hi All!!

We have recently started translating this web novel, 武动乾坤 - Wu Dong Qian Kun by 天蚕土豆 - Tian Can Tu Dou. Who is also the same author who wrote 斗破苍穹 - BTTH and 大主宰 - The Great Dictator. (Some of his other works which we know are currently being translated)

Here's a really short synopsis of the story:
Lin Dong, a child of an offshoot branch of the Lin Clan finds a mysterious Stone Talisman inside a cave. From then on Lin Dong’s destiny slowly begins to change.

Do come and find out more at our current website:
https://yellawlaw.wordpress.com/
(Yes, we have moved to wordpress due to server issues xS)

we hope you enjoy our translations~
ty.

[chaossojer]

Chapter 1: Lin Dong

“Wu.” (Oh ?)

When Lin Dong gathered every ounce of strength to open his heavy eyelids, a simple, crude yet tidy room appeared before his eyes. This familiar scene caused him to blink distractedly, unable to make sense of why he was here, though soon after, he promptly turned his head in a flash of understanding. Sure enough he saw the two figures of a man and a woman seated at a table in the room.

“Father, mother……”

As Lin Dong gazed at the two figures, he grew spirited and let out a soft cry.

“Dong-er, you’ve woken?”

Hearing his cries, the woman first turned her head, as she saw Lin Dong finally opening his eyes, she immediately exclaimed in happiness.

Dressed somewhat plainly and about thirty years in age, the outline of her cheek gave a sense of elegance to her face and also a type of sweet-tempered and gentle feeling. This was Lin Dong’s mother, Liu Yan.

“Unskilled and yet you pick fights with others, you are literarily asking for trouble.”

Seated besides the woman was a man who looked to be about thirty or forty years old. His body was slightly frail yet he had a bit of sternness in his brows, he also seemed to be suffering from serious injuries as his face was pale which in turn masked up a large part of his sternness. This was Lin Dong’s father, Lin Xiao.

Turning to face his oftentimes stern father, Lin Dong ostensibly displayed a sliver of fear, pulling back his neck, though soon after he somewhat defiantly declared: “Who asked them to call my father useless right in front of my face…”

As he spoke, Lin Dong reached to feel the still aching wound on his chest, and clenched his teeth. Today was merely one of the tests for the Lin Family and he had only went down to gauge his progress. Today’s setback hardly dented his faith in himself because he had only been training for about half a year and he did not expect to make much progress. He remained confident that given the same time and conditions to train, he would not lose out to anyone.

Nevertheless, right after the test ended, as Lin Dong was preparing to make his way home, he encountered a fellow which he had some bad history with. His original plan was to ignore that chap, however after a few rounds of deliberate provocation, he could no longer stand it and in a moment of fury, the young and hot-blooded Lin Dan attacked the provocator. Nonetheless, the results were clear as day as he was immediately soundly knocked out by a heavy punch…...

“Lin Shan, you had better remember this! The next time, I vow to smash your head into a pulp, or my name is not Lin Dan!”

Ling Dong grinded his teeth together. The Lin Shan mentioned, was the perpetrator of this incident, and also the number one enemy in Lin Dong’s heart. Because their fathers had bad blood between them, Lin Shan constantly tried to inconvenience Lin Dong, and the latest incident was just one of many.

One moment he was resolutely clenching his jaw, yet the next, Lin Dan was hanging his head dejectedly. Though Lin Shan was extremely vile, the fact remained that he was currently already at the 4th layer of Tempered Body. In the Lin family, this kind of achievement was considered better than average. Compared to the 2nd layer that Lin Dan was at, it was indeed much better.

In the path of training, the body should be trained first as everything begins with one’s body. After all, the human body is the most wonderfully mysterious thing in the world.

Simply said, Tempered Body was the cultivation of one’s body, allowing one’s body to gradually strengthen and eventually grow stronger from outside to within. When the muscles and bones within the body have strengthened to a certain level, it will give rise to a seedling of Yuan Power. Only when a seedling of Yuan Power naturally appears in the body, can one then be called a true practitioner.

Tempered Body is divided into 9 layers, the difference between the first 3 layers is not significant as it only improves one’s physical body and foundations slightly. Only when the body has been cultivated to the 4th layer, will the advantages of training gradually surface. At that level, the skin will slowly harden to become as tough as wood or rock, and both one’s strength and speed will be substantially upgraded.

Since Lin Shan was currently at that level, Lin Dong, who only mastered the 2nd layer of Tempered Body, was clearly outclassed.

As for why there was such a disparity between the two, although they were both of similar age, it was not due to a difference in their potential. For the Tempered Body levels, talent was not a key factor, in fact it could be said that anyone could train in it. However, how far they were able to progress, would depend on one’s wealth and affinity.

Nonetheless, to reach the 9th layer of Tempered body is an extremely difficult and tiring affair. This was because only by constantly pushing the limits of one’s physical body, could one’s body gradually grow stronger.

Yet this way of testing one’s limits was akin to squeezing out the potential in one’s body. If one’s body was not sufficiently restored after the ‘squeezing’, one’s body would be injured due to the strain. At that time, not only would the training be affected but the whole body would be riddled with injuries. An overall loss.

Thus, as one attempts to master the Tempered Body, they would need various nourishing elixirs to supplement their body before they can progress with their training. However, as these elixirs are mostly expensive commodities, those without adequate wealth would not be able to afford it.

And this is the so called wealth!

The reason why Lin Shan was able to surpass Lin Dong by 2 layers was not because he had trained for half a year more but largely because his father was in charge of the finances in the Lin family. In comparison to Lin Dong who lacked this good fortune and therefore the access to elixirs to nourish his body. Thus his training progress was naturally much slower than the former…….

Suddenly, as Lin Xiao heard Lin Dong’s mutterings, his palm that was resting on the table clenched tightly, as his expression grew a shade darker. To the side, Liu Yan who had seen this change promptly signalled to Lin Dong with her eyes before the latter hastily shut his mouth.

“No need to whine, concentrate on training and others will naturally shutup.”

Lin Xiao waved his hands as he said: “Liu Yan, take that Red Ginseng and pass it to Dong-er, with the Red Ginseng, his training should go slightly faster. There’s only half a year left till the family competition, if he doesn’t make the most of this time to train, he will only bring shame to us.”

“Xiao-ge, that Red Ginseng is for your injuries……” Liu Yan hastily said before she fell into a quiet stupor.

“I am already a useless person, no matter what kind of remedies are used, it would all be for naught. In the future, I will spend more time finding elixirs in the mountain for Dong-er.” Lin Xiao declared in a self mocking tone as he shook his head.

“Father is not useless, Father used to be the strongest practitioner in the family excluding grandpa!” Hearing Lin Xiao’s words, Lin Dong exclaimed, red-faced. As a child, his father was the biggest figure in his heart.

“Strongest Practitioner……”

Lin Xiao’s subsciously clenched his fist tightly as a deep pain flashed across his face. A moment later, he stood up and tiredly walked outside the room.

“Liu Yan, brew the tonic for our child, my injuries are fine, it’s already been so many years, what use would one stalk of Red Ginseng possibly be?”

Gazing at his somewhat decrepit back, Liu Yan’s eyes reddened, who could have imaged that that the man who was once the most gifted and remarkable man in QingYang Town would end up in such a slump.

“Mother, don’t cry, Dong-er promises that he will work hard in his training. And when the time comes, I will find a way to cure father.” Lin Dong softly said as he pulled at the corner of Liu Yan’s clothes.

“Dong-er, don’t blame your father if he is strict towards you. It is just because he has devoted everything to you, after all, you should know that you are his only hope.”

Liu Yan muttered softly as she lowered her head, lightly wiping at her eyes and stroking Lin Dong’s tiny head while she gazed at the earnest expression on Lin Dong’s young and tender face.

“Mother, I have heard that top three contestants in the upcoming family competition will obtain a type of 3rd grade elixir called Vermillion Blood Clotting Fruit. I once heard an uncle say that it is very effective in treating injuries. If I manage to obtain it, it would definitely aid to heal the wounds in Father’s body.” As if he had suddenly thought of something, Lin Dong lifted his head as he said while watching Liu Yan with shining eyes.

“Vermillion Blood Clotting Fruit……” Hearing these words, Liu Mu was slightly taken aback. Nonetheless, she helplessly shook her head: “It is not easy to be the top three in the family competition, it is good that you have the heart. Mother will leave first and brew the Red Ginseng for you.”

As she finished, Liu Yan turned to walk out of the room. Within the current younger generation in the Lin family, there were already a few that had obtained decent accomplishments, therefore it would not be easy for Lin Dong to enter the top three and obtain the Vermillion Blood Clotting Fruit. Hence, she did not take this matter too seriously.

As he gazed at Liu Yan’s leaving back, Lin Dong’s lips pursed tightly together, clenching his tiny fists: “Mother, rest assured, I will definitely obtain that Vermillion Blood Clotting Fruit and heal the injuries in father’s body!”

As Lin Dong thought of Lin Yan’s injury, a deep hatred suddenly surfaced in his eyes. The reason why father was often ridiculed by many in the family was all because of that one man!

The Lin family that Lin Dong belonged to was only a small family, even in QingYang Town, they could not be considered the best. Yet this unremarkable looking Lin family had a highly respectable background that would shock many people: they were of the Lin Clan.

One of the four great clans of the Great Yan dynasty, the Lin Clan!

From a certain point of view, the Lin Family of QingYang Town could count as an extension of the Lin Clan, yet to Lin Dong who had never travelled beyond a hundred miles of QingYang Town, the overwhelming strength of the Lin Clan in the Great Yan Dynasty was just another unfamiliar and distant thing.

What Lin Dong knew from the occasional scraps of information gleaned from his father, was that the branch they belonged to was actually once part of the inner circle of the Lin Clan. It was only because of one mission. The failure of Lin Dong’s grandfather in that mission had lead to a huge loss for the clan, consequently, he was expelled from the inner circle and banished to QingYang Town.

Here, he established this small Lin Family and over these tens of years, he has tried everything he could in order to fulfill a lifelong dream: to return to the inner circle of the Lin Clan.

Yet all his efforts did not amount to much. All that he had accomplished was not even worth mentioning to the huge and incomparable Lin Clan. Therefore, he could only turn his attention to other places, such as the Ten-Year Clan Gathering of the Lin Clan.

This was the most important gathering of the Lin Clan and also an extremely famous event in the entire Great Yan Dynasty. Held every ten years, each gathering presented the perfect opportunity for the younger generations in the clan to stand in the spotlight and make a name for themselves. Moreover, many of the prizes for this humongous competition were naturally so generous, that they would draw covetous gazes. Yet, the most appealing caveat for Lin Dong’s grandfather lay in the fact that as long as one could enter the top ten in this gathering, even if you were an outsider to the clan, you will be promoted into the inner circle with no obstructions, and obtain unparalleled honor.

Thus, the clan gathering had become the new dawn in Lin Dong’s grandfather’s long night of despair. But because of his age, he was already unable to participate, therefore he placed all of his hopes onto his five sons that came from different mothers. Naturally the most outstanding one of them all, Lin Dong’s father, became grandfather’s and the entire Lin Family’s ray of hope.

Even though Lin Dong’s father carried this heavy burden on his shoulders, he did not betray their expectations. Among the 5 brothers, he was the earliest to breakthrough the 9th Layer of Tempered Body, and advance into the “Yuan” stage. Furthermore, in another short four years, he once again broke through the “Yuan” stage to become the 2nd Heavenly Yuan master in the Lin Family after grandfather Lin Zhen Tian.

This spectacular progress caused the normally quiet and stern grandfather to elicit a kind and gratified smile on his aged face every time he met his father. It was said that in all of the ten long years, this was the time that grandfather smiled the most.

However, when the Ten-Year Clan Gathering finally arrived, the outcome shocked all the members of the Lin Family, and left them deep in the abyss of despair.

One move!

In just one move, his father, the shining ray of hope for the Lin Family, was cruelly defeated!

Furthermore, this happened in the first match right at the start of the gathering!

Years of expectations and nurturing crumbled into dust within that brief moment.

The final reward for losers was naturally countless peculiar gazes as well as an endless stream of mocking sneers. Like a pack of stray dogs, they returned to QingYang Town defeated.

That night, his father left the inner district of the Lin Family and moved to live on a small, desolate hill at the furthest reaches of the Lin Family territory. From then on, he never again touched anything from the Lin Clan. According to him, he had already lost all right to do so.

However, fortune never arrives in pairs; disaster never strikes alone.

After that defeat, what had been bestowed onto Lin Yan was not merely depression. Afterwards, he was even more grieved to find that the person he had fought with not only defeated him with one palm but also, without a shred of mercy, used an almost beast-like violent Yuan force to ravage the insides of his body till it was a total mess.

With injuries of this degree, Lin Yan’s lost his Heavenly Yuan level of strength and returned to the Earthly Yuan level. In addition, the serious injuries also caused the channels in his body to be disrupted and clogged up, and no matter how he trained, he found further advancement nearly impossible.

Within the family, what was once respectful gazes had gradually turned to sighs and disappointment…...

Faced with disaster after disaster, Lin Yan finally gave up all hope. Everytime he got drunk, he would furiously pound at his own chest. The sound of the dull thuds broke his mother’s heart as she could only stand aside and quietly brushed off her falling tears. Even though Lin Dong was still young when he witnessed this scene, he felt as though his heart was sliced to shreds. At the same time, in his young heart, seeds of hatred were quietly planted towards the man who had humiliated and devastated his father.
He not only destroyed my father but he ruined his family as well!

As for the man in question, later on, Lin Dong by chance heard his uncle and the others mention him with loathing and powerless tones.

At 10, he started training.
At 12 he broke through the 9th Layer of Tempered Body to enter into Yuan territory.
At 14, he advanced to the Earthly Yuan level.
At 17 he advanced to the Heavenly Yuan level.
At 25, the Yuan Qi in his body exchanged Yin and Yang, finally succeeding in forming a Dan. Like a carp that became a dragon, in one fell swoop, he joined the ranks of the rarified few in the Great Yan Dynasty to ever form a Yuan Dan before the age of 30.

The story of his life was practically one legendary feat after another.

His name was Ling Lang Tian.

In his room, Lin Dong’s clenched his fist tightly, as thick hatred brewed in his eyes.

[chaossojer]

Chapter 2: Penetrating Fist

In the wee hours of the morning, stood a lonely mountain peak surrounded by a thick white fog that caused one's vision to become fuzzy.

“Huff~huff~”

Within a dense forest behind the mountain peak, a sudden and intense gasp sounded out. Upon taking a closer look, in an open space within the woods, a tiny figure could be seen hanging from a thick and sturdy branch using both of his hands. This tiny body borrowed the pulling force from his arms to move up and down repeatedly. As he made these movements, his body formed some strange poses; the kind of poses that utilized all the muscles in the body, exercising all of them together.

Additionally, there were a few pitch-black iron weights hanging on his arms and ankles. Sweat dripped off his clothes and onto the metal weights, causing them to likewise become dripping with wetness.

Naturally, this tiny figure was Lin Dong. Unlike his peers, he did not enjoy the luxury of wealth and riches due to his childhood circumstances, but rather his strict father taught him that the most important things for training were willpower and diligence. These things were his only advantage over the rest of his peers who were blessed with a good amount of wealth.

Sweat dripped into his eyes causing a stinging pain that made Lin Dong clench his jaw in response. He could already feel the pain stemming from extreme overexertion. At this point, most people would definitely choose to take a break and rest. However, he remembered what his father told him: that only during this time, will one be able to break through his limits. Hence…...he must endure!

He absolutely must not let go!

For the Family Competition half a year later, he needed to train as if his life was on the line!

The sensation you receive as you approach your limit leaves you feeling dizzy and nauseous. Nonetheless, Lin Dong gritted his teeth and persevered on. Suddenly, he felt a strange heat gushing from within his body, and immediately this feeling refreshed him and lifted his spirits.

It was the power of the Red Ginseng!

Several days ago, the stalk of Red Ginseng was meant to be used to heal Lin Xiao’s injuries. However, upon Lin Xiao insistence, it was finally delivered into Lin Dong’s body.

It must be said that this kind of elixir truly provides a major boost for a low-leveled Tempered Body practitioner like Lin Dong. Within a mere few days of training, Lin Dong could clearly feel that his body had become at least twice as strong as it used to be.

However, while the Red Ginseng’s provided a major boost to Lin Dong’s training, the power of the elixir was not unlimited. After all, this Red Ginseng was merely a grade 1 elixir. Therefore, after five days, the effects of the elixir gradually started to dissipate.

However, as the effect of the elixir dissipated, it did not completely disappear. This was because Lin Dong’s body was only at the initial stage of the strengthening process, thus it was unable to absorb all of the medicinal effects of the elixir. Hence, some of the medicinal effects remained hidden within the deepest parts of his body. Only when Lin Dong’s body was pushed to the extremes, would it finally be squeezed out and devoured by his hungry body.

As the warmth of the medicinal effect slowly seep into his body, Lin Dong felt as though he could hear the countless cells in his body rejoicing together as all his fatigue and pain were gradually replaced with an invigorating energy.

“Hei…”

Lin Dong grabbed onto the tree trunk and violently flung his body, with a somersault, he flipped in the air and steadily landed on the ground. He stretched his back as all the bones in his body suddenly made popping sounds. To Lin Dong’s delight, he found that his body had indeed became much tougher.

“Tempered Body 3rd Layer!”

Lin Dong gripped his tiny fists tightly as he enjoyed the power surging through his muscles, his tiny face breaking out into a smile of surprise and delight. Due to his family circumstances, ever since he started training, he had little opportunity to make use of elixirs. Thus, he did not expect that just after a single use, the results actually turned out so good.

“Hmm, not bad…”

As Lin Dong was busy celebrating his advancement, a voice echoed from beside him. He hastily turned his head to see Lin Xiao standing below a big tree, clothed in a plain attire. Furthermore, he could see a shadow of a smile emerging on Lin Xiao’s usually stern face.

“Father.”

Lin Dong excitedly proclaimed when he saw Lin Xiao who was standing beside the tree.

Lin Xiao nodded his head as he approached Lin Dong. Scanning his son’s body, a rare smile finally emerged as he said: “Tempered Body 3rd Layer, not bad.”

“It was all thanks to the Red Ginseng”, Lin Dong chuckled as he dipped and shook his head.

“The Red Ginseng is merely a grade 1 elixir, even if others consumed it, it will still take them at least one or two months to advance the Tempered Body from the 2nd to the 3rd Layer. This is the result of your hard work and training.” Lin Xiao softly sighed as he gazed at Lin Dong who was standing before him. He had naturally noticed how hard Lin Dong was pushing himself during this period of time. Several times, he would see his wife tearing up and even though he did not say anything, as Lin Dong’s father, he nonetheless felt some heart-ache.

He understood that the reason why Lin Dong was training so incessantly was because he desired to achieve a good result in the upcoming annual Family Competition that was half a year away. This would restore some of his father’s honor and reputation in the Lin Family.

Lin Dong grinned happily as he felt that all his hard work and effort after all this time had finally bore some fruit. He felt that he was catching up to the top students in the Lin Family.

“You can throw away the iron weights now. Since you have already mastered Tempered Body 3rd Layer, you are now just eligible to train in martial arts. Let me impart a set of fist techniques to you.” Lin Xiao said.

Upon hearing this news, Lin Dong’s jet-black eyes immediately lit up. Even though he had finally reached Tempered Body 3rd Layer, he did not know any techniques at all, and when he fought with others, he could only rely on brute force. Therefore, in his heart, he was very eager to learn these martial arts in order to boost his fighting potential. However, because of the temperament of his father’s body, Lin Xiao had yet to teach him any martial arts. Now that his chance has finally arrived, he was naturally ecstatic.

“All the martial arts in the world can be classified into nine levels and three categories. The levels 1,2 and 3 belong to the lower category while the levels 7,8 and 9 belong
to the top category and the rest belong to the middle category. What i am about to teach you is a lower category, level 1 fist technique, termed as the “Penetrating Fist.” Lin Xiao explained.

Lin Dong nodded his head, he did not feel upset even though he was only learning a lower category, level 1 fist technique. He understood that you need to take things step by step, and that for most people, it was already a great opportunity to learn a level 1 martial arts skill. It is said that within the Lin Family, the highest martial arts was merely a level 4 martial arts skill and this was obtained by grandpa from the Hidden Scripture Pavilion through chance when he was still a inner circle member of the Lin Clan.

“Even though martial arts have different levels, the most important part lies in the user himself. In the hands of a strong user, even a level 1 martial arts skill can become a powerful and deadly force. Therefore, the stronger one’s body is, the more powerful the martial arts’ attacks become.” Lin Xiao extended his palm and signalled to Lin Dong: “Come, use all your strength and your greatest speed to attack me.”

Lin Dong blinked his eyes, as he discarded the iron weights strapped on his wrist, before dashing forward to deliver a punch at Lin Xiao.

As he faced Lin Dong’s full-power blow, Lin Xiao merely stretched forth his hand, and deftly slid his palm across Lin Dong’s sleeves. A crisp crackling sound then followed before Lin Dong jumped in pain. Gritting his teeth, he hastily rolled up his sleeves only to discover that his entire arm had turned red.

“Penetrating Fist requires one to exert force while sticking closely to one’s clothes. If I had exerted more force or even used a trace of Yuan power, your whole arm including your bones will be completely shattered.” Lin Xiao casually followed up: “ In order to master Penetrating Fist, you need to train with your clothes. Since this martial art emphasizes on exerting force while sticking closely to one’s clothes, when you are training in this skill, the clothes that stick to your body will produce a sound as well. There are a total of 9 forms for this skill, also known as the 9 echoes. This is because when you use each form, a crisp sound will echo out. And as each form is used in succession and the 9 echoes eventually all sound out, its power can even be comparable to that of a level 2 martial arts skill.”

“You had better watch closely and memorize all nine forms closely!”

With a low shout, Lin Xiao stretched out his limbs and positioned his stance, seeming as fierce as a tiger. And when he exerted his moves, it looked as agile as a monkey. A series of crisp crackling sounds continuously sounded out from his clothes.

Lin Dong gazed attentively as Lin Xiao’s fists danced around, his mind concentrated solely on the sight before him. Everything else was ignored, and all that was reflected in his eyes was this set of fist technique!

Because he was teaching Lin Dong, Lin Xiao purposely slowed down and repeated each move a few times. Finally he gently slowed to a halt and turned to face Lin Dong, asking: “Have you memorized it?”

Lin Dong muttered to himself for a while before nodding his head, somewhat unsure.

“Oh? Why don’t you show me?”

Astonishment streaked across Lin Xiao’s face, although he had slowed his speed by quite a bit, these 9 forms of the Penetrating Fist were not extremely easy to learn. Moreover, this was Lin Dong’s first ever contact with martial arts, could he have actually managed to memorise it so quickly?

As if he could sense Lin Xiao’s astonishment, Lin Dong took two steps forward, and extended both both fists outwards before he performed a set of forms, though in a shoddy and slow manner.

A smither of delight emerged on Lin Xiao’s face as he stood to one side and witnessed his son go through all 9 forms of the Penetrating Fist. Even though his performance was very amateurish and carried little substance, his accomplishment was still impressive especially considering that this was his first ever exposure to the Penetrating Fist. Moreover, this also demonstrated that he was a gifted and talented learner. Upon discovery of this fact, Lin Xiao felt overjoyed as he realized his son had inherited the kind of potential that he had at that age.

“Father, why is it that when I use the Penetrating Fist, there isn’t even a single sound?” Lin Dong helplessly asked as he completed another set of forms in shoddy and slow manner.

“You little brat, if it were so easy to produce a sound, then this set of moves would not live up to its name.” Lin Xiao chided before continuing: “Remember that as you train, carefully feel your power flowing. As long as you can make your clothes follow your power and not the other way around, then you would be considered to have successfully learnt this set of moves. Come, try a few more times.”

Lin Dong’s mouth chanted these words a few times before he tried to turn theory into action as he drilled. Meanwhile, Lin Xiao stood beside him, while occasionally pointing out some mistakes or slipups.


On the vacant land in the woods, a figure of a boy continuously danced about. Even as sweat sprayed his body, it did not distract him even the slightest bit, as his tiny face remained especially serious.

The afternoon quickly passed as Lin Dong continuously practiced without rest, and his efforts was not for naught. Lin Dong gradually became more proficient at the 9 forms of the Penetrating Fist and although he was still unable to produce any sounds, his attitude did not waver at all.

“Let today’s training end here, you can resume your practice tomorrow.” Lin Xiao suddenly said as he glanced to the sky before turning back to look at Lin Dong who was perspiring profusely. The amount of dedication and persistence the latter had displayed in his training had caused even him to be somewhat moved. Soon after, he secretly sighed as he moaned the fact that his many years of dispiritedness had forced his child to mature a lot faster than normal.

“En, father please go back to rest first, let me stay just a little longer before returning home.” Lin Dong replied, his fists did not stop as he concentrated on following Lin Xiao’s instructions to feel the tiny movements and changes in the power flowing through his muscles.

In response, Lin Xiao could only helplessly shake his head. Lin Dong’s improvement was very distinct, but to cause a sound with the Penetrating Fist was not easy, Lin Xiao had previously trained for a whole week before he finally succeeded.

Quickly informing Lin Dong that he was leaving, Lin Xiao turned around with his hands at his back. As he turned, a smiling expression surfaced on his face, the perceptive ability that Lin Dong displayed today caused him to be extremely satisfied.

“This child is unusually perceptive and possesses an unrelenting willpower that even surpasses me at my prime, this shouldn’t be too difficult for him……”

“Pa!”

As this thought flashed across Lin Xiao’s mind, a loud, clear and crisp ‘Pa’ sound abruptly sounded out from behind. Immediately, his face went rigid as he staggered forward. Yet, at this moment, a bright light sparkled in his eyes.

“It appears that it was not too difficult but a rather easy matter for him to accomplish ……”

[norint]

Cool. Keep it up!

[chaossojer]

Chapter 3: The Mysterious Rock Pool

“A sound!”

In the open space, Lin Dong stared blankly at his fist as an euphoric look emerged on his small face. Yet when he lifted his head, he saw that Lin Xiao’s figure was already slowly walking out of the forest.

“Heh heh, tomorrow I will show father, I am sure that he will be pleasantly surprised.” Lin Dong grinned. Suddenly waves of pain emitted from his arm, he hastily lifted his sleeve only to find that his entire arm was covered in blood red marks, so much so that there were even places where the skin had peeled back as blood continuously oozed out.

“Hss……”

Previously, he was so wrapped up in practice that he did not realise, but now that he had stopped, the pain suddenly rushed forth, causing Lin Dong to grimace in pain. He knew that this pain had been caused by the practice of the Penetrating Fist: injuries due to the friction accumulated from long periods of rubbing his skin against his clothes.

“There’s still some time, I guess I’ll go to that place first to soak for a while…….”

Lin Dong lifted his head to glance at the color of the sky before abruptly running off to the back of the mountain. Approximately 10 minutes later, a steep cliff appeared before his eyes. He scanned his surroundings cautiously, before following a path of jutting rocks down the cliff. These rocks were not easy to find, yet they formed nicely into a secret path.

Lin Dong was quite familiar with this path, thus as he carefully descended, there were no accidents. After a while, a cave that was hidden from sight by a few huge rocks appeared before him.

The cave’s location was very well concealed and it was also very well hidden behind the few huge rocks around it. If one was not specifically searching for it, it would be nearly impossible to find. Moreover, in a normal situation, no one would bother doing this kind of thing.

Leaping into the cave, a cool and refreshing feeling blew away the stench and sweat on Lin Dong’s body. Compared to the blistering hot weather outside, the cave was like a different world, and also a great place to take shelter from the heat.

The inside of the cave was not extremely spacious. Other than a 6-10 metre wide rock pool at the centre of the cave, there was nothing else special in this cave.

(TLN: 丈 - Zhang is a chinese ‘feet’ that is equivalent to about 3.3meters, the chinese RAWs state it was about 2 to 3 丈)

Walking towards to the rock pool, one would see that it was filled with crystal clear water, and atop the water a slightly cold breeze floated back and forth.

“Splash!”

Arriving beside the rock pool, Lin Dong quickly took off his clothes, and straightaway jumped into the water. The slightly cold air caused his body to shiver for a little but he quickly adapted to the cold.

Lin Dong had found this cave by chance during his younger years. Only Qing Tan and him knew about this place. The water here was much colder than other places and at the height of summer, Lin Dong loved to come here and immerse himself in the pool. However, besides being cool and refreshing, there seemed to be no other effect.

Of course, this was not exactly accurate as every time after Lin Dong soaked in the water here, he would unknowingly feel his mind become particularly sharp and no matter what he did, he would be able to quickly enter into a concentrated state.

There did not seem to be any merit to this kind of feeling before, but now that Lin Dong had learnt the Penetrating Fist, he realised that being in a concentrated state had quite a substantial effect on his training progress. Or else, he would probably find it hard to pick up Penetrating Fist in such a short period of time, not to mention practicing it until he managed to produce a sound.

“Is it just me?”

As he laid in the rock pool, Lin Dong cupped some water in his hands and watched it slowly flow off. His small face creased, if this thing was so miraculous, he would have achieved the level of Yuan Power long ago, unlike his current slow pace.

“Once I’ve trained till the Tempered Body 6th Layer, I would be able to refine essence into Yuan and with Yuan Power, I would finally become a true practitioner!” Lin Dong excitedly proclaimed as he slapped the sides of his face, looking forward to that day. Nonetheless, within the younger generation of the Lin Family, there were only a handful who had reached that level.

Yuan Power was the most important thing in training. It is said that a strong practitioner would be able to cause landslides with just a sweep of his hands. This earth shattering might was difficult for Lin Dong to imagine, as he was still a tiny brat at the first stage.

And the source of this kind of might was Yuan Power. A type of miraculous force that floated between Heaven and Earth. Yet to absorb the Yuan Power from Heaven and Earth, one is required to train until a Yuan Power Seed is produced. Only then, could even more Yuan Power be absorbed into one’s body.

Lin Dong leaned against the edge of the rock pool, as he relaxed, his head facing upwards with his eyes shut. His thoughts ran wild for a while before unexpectedly ,he gradually fell into a deep sleep. This period of training was too extreme for him and now that he had finally found some time to relax, his pent up exhaustion started to spread out from his bones.

As Lin Dong soundly slept, the cave once again became peaceful as the pool water gently heaved about.

“Plop……”

Amidst the silence, a disturbance suddenly started in the clear water. A dark red drop of blood rolled down from Lin Dong’s injured arm and quietly fell into the pool.

As this drop of blood fell, the originally peaceful water abruptly started boiling. One by one, bubbles with faint traces of blood-like color emerged to rise up from the surface of the water before bursting around Lin Dong’s resting body. Traces of faintly red colored liquid scattered in the air and as if they had a mind of their own, moved to twine around Lin Dong’s body before finally quickly entering through his pores.

Just as these faintly red colored liquid seeped into Lin Dong’s body, it gave rise to a sensation as if the muscles all over his body were violently compressed. Like a tide, a torrent of sweat gushed forth, converging together and then streaming into the water.

Just as the sweat riddled with back impurities seeped out from his body, Lin Dong, whose body had previously grown by a centimeter after he broke through Tempered Body 3rd Layer, felt that his body had shrunk back to its previous size. This sensation was akin to ferociously squeezing out all of the water from a wet sponge.

After approximately 10 minutes, the water in the pool stopped boiling. Just as the pool water began to calm down, Lin Dong suddenly awoke and shouted : “Hot!”.

“Splash!”

As he screamed, Lin Dong swiftly ducked his head and immersed his whole body in the pool. After a while, he finally broke the surface to catch his breath. A look of bewilderment was plastered on his face as shortly before he awoke, he felt as though he was being baked in a furnace, and the burning sensation he experienced was what caused him to involuntarily scream out.

“Why would it be so hot in here?” Lin Dong pondered as he stood in the pool for a while in order to cool himself off, before he finally decided to climb out.

Standing besides the rock pool while thinking for a while, Lin Dong wordlessly shook his head. Just as he grabbed up his clothes and started to put them on, his gaze suddenly paused at his arm.

“Huh?”

Lin Dong stared at his arm in wide disbelief. He clearly remembered that this arm was previously scarred with bloody wounds after his training, yet now all of his wounds seemed to have miraculously disappeared?

Perplexed, Lin Dong gently stroke his once wound ridden arm, suddenly, his body stiffened. An incredulous look swiftly surfaced on his face as he discovered that the skin on his arm had substantially hardened.

This kind of situation was a sign that he was rapidly approaching the Tempered Body 4th Layer.

“How……is this possible?!”

This discovery left Lin Dong dumbstruck as he stood in a daze on the spot.

[chaossojer]

Chapter 4: The Secret of the Rock Pool

“Illusion... An illusion... It must be an illusion!”

Foolishly gazing at his arm for a moment, Lin Dong shut his eyes and firmly inhaled in a few breaths of air. Only when his mind gradually calmed down did he once again gently stroke his arm, though still slightly trembling.

Under his touch, the outer layer of skin felt reasonably hard. Although it had yet to reach the level of hardness of rocks or wood, Lin Dong’s skin was clearly several times harder than before!

This was indeed a sign that he was just about to advance into the Tempered Body 4th Layer. He just needed to wait for this kind of skin to harden a little more and then it would truly be at the Tempered Body 4th Layer.

Yet…...Lin Dong’s mouth fell open, the disbelief on his face was like he had seen a ghost. He had only just advanced to the Tempered Body 3rd Layer today and it had not even been half a day since then. How could he suddenly be on the verge of advancing to the Tempered Body 4th Layer?

This miracle straightaway caused Lin Dong to be somewhat giddy. Flushed red with excitement, he continuously walked to and fro at the side of the rock pool. If he were able to continue at this kind of pace, would the top 3 in the Family Competition even be worth mentioning? Even if it were the Ten-Year Clan Gathering of the Lin Clan, he would not have the slightest worry.

“How…...did this happen?”

Although he was still giddy from happiness and excitement, Lin Dong had matured at an earlier age than most, therefore he managed to regain his calm and wits after a while. His tiny face tightly wrinkled up as he started to recall all the details of this affair. Yet there was nothing strange about the cave, thus, after taking a slow look around the cave, his gaze eventually came to rest upon the rock pool.

“Could there really be something strange about this rock pool?”

A stunned look flitted across his face, but soon after he quickly shook his head. Since young, he had soaked in this rock pool countless times, yet it was the first time something like today had ever happened!

What had actually happened?

It could not possibly be because of the Red Ginseng as it was merely a grade 1 elixir. The fact that it allowed him to reach the Tempered Body 3rd Layer in 10 days was already a sky-shattering achievement.

“There was definitely something different today.”

Lin Dong tightly pursed his lips together, a stubborn determination on his small face. He understood that it would be of utmost importance to him to discover the mystery within.

“I was more tired than usual today…...yet this was not the first time…...that I have slept in here? I’ve slept in here before……”

Lin Dong squatted beside the rock pool, his brows tightly knitted together in thought., His palm subconsciously moved to stroke his arm, and he froze. His gaze slowly moved to fix on his arm; where many traces of blood used to be…...

“Blood?”

Lin Dong’s eyes brightened. He suddenly pulled out a small dagger hidden in a slit within a pile of rocks near the rock pool that he had previously left behind.

Lin Dong gently sliced his finger tip with the dagger, causing a drop of blood to emerge He hesitated for a second before he carefully dripped it into the rock pool.

“Plop!”

The sound of blood dripping into the pool resonated clearly within the quietness of the cave. However, Lin Dong kept his eyes keenly peeled onto the location where the drop of blood had fallen.

Just as the drop of blood touched the rock pool, a wave of ripples emerged as the reddish hue of the blood gradually dissipated. Water bubbles swiftly emerged from the serene rock pool, startling Lin Dong. A reddish liquid was faintly discernable within each bubble.

Lin Dong’s throat clenched as he hesitantly extended his hand into the rock pool. Instantly, the water bubbles exploded and a gooey light-red liquid stuck onto his palm. The liquid then slowly seeped in through his pores.

As the light-red liquid seeped into his body, Lin Dong’s palm suddenly experienced a burning sensation. This sensation was exactly the same as how he felt when he was abruptly awoken. Moreover, this time he could clearly feel that as the liquid seeped into his palm, the skin on his palm was gradually becoming tougher.

“This is indeed the case!”

As he noted the changes to his palm, Lin Dong’s tiny face instantly lit up. His had guessed correctly! The water in this rock pool required blood to activate their special properties.

Lin Dong gripped then extended his palm a few times, only to discover that the skin on this palm had indeed become much tougher than the rest of his body. Furthermore, this effect was achieved after only a short exposure. According to Lin Dong’s calculations, he estimated that the effect of this water was truly legendary and even exceeded the effects of those costly level 3 elixirs sold in Qingyang Town.

“Hmm, how is it that this water can bring such a remarkable effect that even surpasses that of a level 3 elixir?”

Over the years, Lin Dong had found out that the water from the rock pool was merely normal spring water. Even though the water was refreshing, Lin Dong was fairly certain that this spring water did not possess any special effects. However, now that he had encountered this situation, he could not find an explanation .

Lin Dong sighed deeply as he rubbed his forehead. This mysterious rock pool had overly excited his emotions and he decided to lie down beside the rock pool to take a breather. Regardless, even though he was unable to uncover the reason why this rock pool held mysterious powers, this discovery was still bound to be highly beneficial to him.

Due to his injuries, Lin Xiao requires several elixirs in order to nurse his health. However, these elixirs are expensive and owing to Lin Xiao’s stubborn nature, he refused to accept any financial support from the Lin Family. As such, he would often try his luck and go hunt for elixirs by himself. Inevitably, this resulted in Lin Dong being unable to enjoy the same privileged training conditions as his peers in the Lin Family.

Hence, at this juncture, the effects of the rock pool was especially important to Lin Dong.

“The effects of this rock pool must absolutely be kept a secret!”

Lin Dong gripped his tiny fist. He understood that he not only required the aid of this rock pool, but that if news of this rock pool spread out, it will surely lead to a huge commotion. At that time, perhaps several other factions in the Qingyang Town may get involved and this may spell a small calamity onto the whole Lin Family.

“Possessing treasure is no sin, but it will often lead to trouble!”

Even though Lin Dong was still young, he clearly understood this principle.

As Lin Dong tightly pursed his lips, he formulated a plan in his heart. Just as he was about to leave, something suddenly caught his eye and he softly gasped. He immediately turned his vision onto the ceiling of the cave as he caught a glimpse of light flickering over there.

Under normal circumstances, if Lin Dong encountered this situation, he would not give it even the slightest notice. However, now that he knew the effects of the rock pool, he became extremely attentive to the whole area surrounding the cave.

Lin Dong kept his eyes firmly locked onto the location where he spotted the flickering lights. Under his watchful gaze, the flickering light appeared again. However, it looked as though the light was flickering slightly more hastily. Soon after, a ray of light fell down into the rock pool.

Due to the ray of light, a gentle ripple emerged on the surface of the rock pool.

Lin Dong stared at the location where the ray of light had fell into the rock pool. As he swallowed, he remembered catching a glimpse of what seemed to be a dark-red liquid within the light. That liquid… it was exactly what Lin Dong saw after his blood fell into the rock pool.

“It seems that the secret is hidden above…...”

Lin Dong softly murmured as his eyes brightened and he lifted his head to gaze above at the ceiling of the cave.

[Chosen5000]

Thanks for translating this novel

[chaossojer]

Chapter 5: The Mysterious Stone Talisman (TN: JoJo’s bizarre adventure anyone?)

“What is this?”

Lin Dong stared blankly at the object in his hand; it looked like a faintly ash-colored stone piece and was about as big as two fingers put together. Though it looked like a stone, as he rolled it over in his palm, it felt strangely soft. This kind of softness did not feel like that of a stone, yet it was also not like jade and even more not like wood.

Like stone yet not stone, like jade yet not jade, like wood yet not wood.

After Lin Dong had painstakingly climbed to the roof of the cave and searched about, he finally managed to find this stone piece in a hidden crevice. From the location it was found, It seemed like the liquid that had dripped into the rock pool had originated from this object.

Embedded within an extremely clear palm impression in such a dark place atop the mountain. If one were to take a closer look at the impression, he would find that it was so well imprinted that even the lines on the palm could be clearly seen. As he looked at the mysterious palm impression, Lin Dong suddenly realized that perhaps, someone had already arrived at this mountain cave long before he ever did.

“What a mysterious object.”

As Lin Dong muttered, he noticed that on this thumb-sized stone piece, some cryptic patterns which looked like some sort of mystical characters were faintly discernable.

These mystical characters covered every inch of the stone piece, causing it to resemble a mysterious stone talisman.

At this juncture, besides the cryptic and profound looking mystical characters on the stone talisman, there were no other unusual aspects. Yet Lin Dong understood that the shining drop of red liquid he had just seen was definitely not an illusion.

“The reason why the rock pool possessed that kind of special property must have something to do with this stone talisman……”

Lin Dong sunk deep into thought. Previously, he had personally seen a drop of light fall into the rock pool, and only this was the only evidence that could explain why the rock pool would possess such a miraculous property.

“Pah!”

As Lin Dong reasoned to himself, the noise of rubble rolling sounded out from outside the cave. Immediately, he stuffed the stone talisman into his inner garments, placing it at the spot near his chest.

“Lin Dong-ge, hee hee, I knew that you would be here.”

Just as Lin Dong managed to hide the stone talisman, like a butterfly, a figure fluttered and appeared at the entrance of the cave. The figure was revealed to be a young girl who looked to be about 13 or 14 years old, wearing simple light colored clothes. Yet these simple clothes were unable to conceal the quick wittedness on her small face. Though the girl was rather young, her small face was rather elaborate, her huge eyes glittered, making her look extremely adorable.

Gazing at the young girl, Lin Dong secretly sighed in relief. The girl was not a member of the Lin Family, rather she was adopted by Liu Yan not long after he was born. She was younger by Lin Dong by just a bit, so the two of them had grown up together and their relationship was akin to that of brother and sister, extremely intimate. As she was an orphan, she did not take on the Lin family name. Thus Liu Yan helped choose a good name for her: Qing Tan. And like her namesake, she was full of liveliness like sandalwood.

“Lin Dong-ge, the sky is almost dark, Mother has been calling you for quite a while.”

Qing Tan laughed merrily as she approached, her small hands naturally pulling at Lin Dong’s arm as she dragged him out of the cave. As she walked, she mumbled: “If the sky had gotten dark, you won’t be able to see the rock path here, don’t tell me that you planned on sleeping in the cave like before?”

Gazing beside him at Qing Tan, whose voice chirped melodiously like a lark, Lin Dong could not help laugh. Soon after, his arm moved to lightly touch his chest area. At the centre of his chest was the talisman, which was emitting a cooling sensation.

Although he did not know where this stone talisman came from, Lin Dong’s intuition told him that it was definitely no ordinary thing.

As the dim light of the night shrouded the land, the cool and refreshing moonlight flowed down, washing away any remnants of heat from the day.

In the room, Lin Dong was fast asleep. Strands of moonlight sprayed from the window, some of which shined on Lin Dong’s body. Suddenly, the moonlight started to ripple like water, soon after a bizarre scene occurred. The moonlight unexpectedly started to gather at Lin Dong’s chest area, as if in response, the simple stone talisman emitted out a bit of light, causing it to be faintly discernable at the center of the light.

As the stone talisman shined, the originally sleeping Lin Dong slightly cracked opened his eyes. However, before he could fully open his eyes, a suddenly dizziness gushed forth from depths of his mind. Following which, he alarmingly found himself in a dark dark space.

There was no light here, only silence and cold.

This sudden change caused fear to rise up in Lin Dong’s heart. No matter what, he was still a 14 year old kid.

“Snicker!”

As Lin Dong choked in fear, a sudden voice broke the silence of the pitch-black space. Soon after, a glowing figure suddenly appeared before him. Carefully examining the figure, he realized that to his surprise, the figure looked exactly like him. However, its face did not have any signs of life, rather it was expressionless like a doll.

“What is going on……”

Lin Dong blankly gazed at the glowing figure in front of him, his brain somewhat paralyzed with fear by this weird sight.

“Pa!”

While Lin Dong was still in a daze, the glowing figure of “Lin Dong” suddenly moved. The figure’s had adjusted its body and extended both its fists, displaying a familiar fist technique with those hands.

“Is this…. Penetrating Punch?”

As he gazed at the fist technique displayed by the glowing figure, Lin Dong’s eyes opened wide in bewilderment. Soon after, a startled expression surfaced on his face as he realized that the Penetrating Punch displayed was even more elegant and refined than Lin Xiao’s!

Pa Pa Pa Pa Pa Pa Pa Pa Pa!

In the darkness, the glowing figure maneuvered swiftly as it moved its fists. Its moves were smooth and agile like a monkey, and seemed much sharper than when Lin Xiao performed it.

9 crisp echos!

Lin Dong stared in awe at the glowing figure that resembled him almost perfectly. As the figure executed Penetrating Punch, he could clearly hear 9 resounding echoes!

“9 echoes…”

Just as Lin Dong mumbled to himself, suddenly he felt a jolt of shock. Just as the glowing figure finished performing the set of fist technique, it’s body jerked strangely. Immediately, a soft echo resounded from its arm!

“What…”

The sound generated was extremely soft. Only because Lin Dong was in a state of high alert within this quiet space was he able to hear that last sound.

10 echoes!

Lin Dong looked at the glowing figure in astonishment. He clearly knew that there were only supposed to be 9 echoes generated from the Penetrating Punch, yet this glowing figure was able to generate a 10th echo?!

At this point, Lin Dong was fairly certain that even if his father personally performed the Penetrating Punch, he would not be able to generate this last echo.

“What is going on?”

Lin Dong was shocked at this sight. Moments later, he finally regained his composure and started to contemplate the situation. Even though he had only witnessed it once, Lin Dong could sense that the Penetrating Punch displayed by the glowing figure was even more natural and sharp than his father’s, or perhaps, perfect.

As to why this glowing figure was able to display such unique ability, Lin Dong was clueless. Nonetheless, he understood that this time, he had found a treasure…...

As this thought crossed Lin Dong’s mind, the glowing figure had yet to disappear. Instead, it once again displayed the same set of Penetrating Punch moves restarting from the beginning.

As Lin Dong stared at the agile glowing figure, he realized that the fear that plagued him at the start had unknowingly dissipated. Feeling a little lost, he decided to gather up his spirits and concentrate onto the glowing figure. With a particularly serious expression, he watched every move again and again, memorizing even the most minute details in each move.

After observing for some time, Lin Dong finally shifted into a stance. Opening up his feet, he begun to mimic the glowing figure and slowly executed the Penetrating Punch.

“Pa!”

In the darkness stood two similar figures, one human shadow and one glowing shadow, tireless repeating the same set of fist techniques. A series of crisp crackling sounds continuously echoed, though a majority of them were generated by the glowing shadow.

Nonetheless, Lin Dong did not feel discouraged. An earnest expression remained on his tiny face, as he unconsciously adjusted his moves to resemble the glowing figure.

Even though these adjustments were merely minor changes, it was akin to adding the finishing touches to a masterpiece as each tiny adjustment brought about significant effect.

“Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!”

As he wielded his fists, Lin Dong’s movements were nimble and agile like a monkey. Suddenly, four crisps echos sounded continuously as enough force was finally generated by his fists!

4 echoes!

Both of Lin Dong’s eyes instantly brightened! He did not expect that a few minor adjustments would cause Penetrating Punch to flow so much more smoothly.

This sensation was akin to having guidance from a legendary master. Moreover, the level of mastery attained by this mentor was a truly terrifying one.

Lin Dong was ecstatic. He had achieved such remarkable progress in just one day that even his father’s jaw would drop after witnessing him produce 4 consecutive echoes. In fact, his father took nearly a month of training before he could reach this stage, yet Lin Dong managed to exceed this by more than 10 times!

After making such progress, Lin Dong’s spirits were lifted. Without taking a break, he once again shifted in fight stance and repeated the Penetrating Punch moves one by one. He was determined to perfect these moves until they were exactly the same as the glowing figure’s…...

As if time had stopped flowing, Lin Dong continuously imitated the glowing figure within the pitch-black space. And as his sweat dripped off his body, his fist technique came to match the glowing figure’s more and more.

In the pitch-black space, a glowing shadow and a human shadow moved in unison, like a pair of lively monkeys. As their fists punched out, the sound of fists breaking through the air echoed out.

[sanjaykanaka]

thanks for the translations !! love the new story )

[billybuton]

this is Jang!!!!
Thanks again for translating another story....

[chaossojer]

Chapter 6: Seven Echoes

“Groan…”

In the middle of his room, Lin Dong could already feel the sun’s rays shining down on his face as he struggled to open his eyes. As he glanced at the sunlight, he suddenly leaped forth from his bed. Though as his feet made contact with the floor, an extremely aching pain suddenly filled his body almost causing him to lose his footing.

“This..….”

The sudden aching sensation shocked Lin Dong. It was as if he had spent an entire night on intensive training.

“It was not a dream?!”

Suddenly, Lin Dong seemed to have recalled something as a look of awe surfaced on his face. Immediately, he gritted his teeth and positioned himself into a stance to begin practising Penetrating Fist. Looking at the proficient way he maneuvered his fists, it was as though he had already practiced these moves countless times. Only he knew that he had only just learnt this set of moves from Lin Xiao the day before.

Still in the room, the young man executed a familiar set of fist techniques with a serious expression on his face as a series of crisp echoes sounded out due to the friction between his arms and clothes.

“Pa Pa Pa Pa Pa!”

When he finally managed to produce five crisp echoes, Lin Dong’s body stopped. On his face, a mixed expression of shock, happiness and a slight tinge of fear was plastered.

“How could I have mastered it so quickly…”

Lin Dong muttered to himself as he gazed at his palms. He could feel that five echoes was definitely not his limit. In fact, if he wished to, he could easily produce seven echoes now!

This training progress bewildered Lin Dong. Among the younger generation in the Lin Family, there were several others who practised Penetrating Fist as well. Nonetheless, he was one of the rare few that could produce seven echoes at such a tender age.

“How did this happen?”

Lin Dong frowned, the eyebrows on his face knitting together. Moments later, his hand moved to his chest area and retrieved the mysterious stone talisman hidden in an inner pocket. This was the object that he retrieved from the cave yesterday.

If there were any items worthy of suspicion on Lin Dong’s body, then this stone talisman will definitely be at the top of the list.

“This object, is it really this powerful?”

As Lin Dong held the stone talisman, he felt a cooling sensation spreading out from his palm. Thanks to this sensation, the aching pain in his body was slightly soothed.

Swallowing the churning emotions in his heart, Lin Dong carefully hid the stone talisman back into the inner pocket. His intuition told him that this stone talisman possessed extraordinary powers and he knew that if news of this discovery got out, it would definitely invite a catastrophe. Therefore, it would be much better if no one else knew about it.

After he kept the stone talisman, Lin Dong opened the door and left his room. First, he proceeded to eat some breakfast prepared by Liu Yan before he slipped off back to the rock cave. Currently, his body was aching with pain, he knew that if he continued to his intensive practice now, it would definitely injure his body. Thankfully, he had discovered the miraculous properties of the rock pool, thus this was not an issue for Lin Dong.

Dripping fresh blood into the rock pool, Lin Dong enjoyed a half hour soak before he finally got out. The ache in his body had disappeared without a trace and his body had returned to its peak condition.

He felt the skin on his body, revelling at the fact that it had toughened substantially once again. This brought a smile to Lin Dong’s tiny face as he knew that at this speed, he could officially advance to Tempered Body 4th Layer within the next ten days.

Climbing out of the rock pool, Lin Dong decided to execute the entire set of Penetrating Fist moves again. This time, he used all his power, holding nothing back.

“Pa Pa Pa Pa Pa Pa Pa!”

Seven echoes!

As his fist fell to indicate the end of this session, Lin Dong’s tiny face flushed red with excitement. Armed with this seven echoes Penetrating Fist, he was confident that if he met Lin Shan again, it would definitely not be a repeat of their last encounter.He would not be so easily beaten without a chance to retaliate again.

Lin Dong’s excitement finally faded as he once again regained his calm. Chuckling at himself, he climbed out of the cave and started his daily intensive training. Even though he now had the aid of this miraculous rock pool, Lin Dong still understood a fundamental principal.

In the journey of mastery, the self is the most important. Outside aid can certainly make smooth the path to mastery, however, how far one ventures along this path is still ultimately in their own hands.

Hence, even though he had the aid of the rock pool, Lin Dong understood that he must continue to strive and work hard. After all, that was still his greatest asset!

A day of training passed. Some time in the evening, a stern-looking Lin Xiao came around to inspect the Lin Dong’s progress. With regards to Lin Dong’s training, he was often extremely harsh and strict.

However, after witnessing Lin Dong produce three consecutive echoes from Penetrating Fists, even though he tried to maintain a strict expression, a slight trace of surprise and satisfaction leaked out onto his face.

Seeing the expression on his father’s face, Lin Dong’s secretly heaved a sigh of relief. In his mind, he chuckled to himself as he imaged what Lin Xiao’s expression will be if he knew that Lin Dong could already produce seven consecutive echoes?

In the midst of the summer heat, every single member from the younger generation of Lin Family were earnestly training. They understood that the Family Competition that was coming up in six months was extremely important for them.

As the Lin Family was not an extremely powerful or reputable family, they were unable to provide every member with the best kind of treatment. Therefore, if one wants to obtain the best martial arts training and elixirs from the Lin Family, one must prove himself to be exceptional.

Therefore this Family Competition was a chance for them to showcase their talent and stand above the crowd. For most of them, this was also their first ever competition, yet on some levels, the results of this competition determined their fates for the rest of their lives.

A man that was heavily groomed by the family will definitely progress much faster in his training as compared to training by himself. Of course, there were some special exceptions...

As everyone was intensively preparing for the upcoming Family Competition, Lin Dong did not encounter much trouble during this period. And for the next ten nights after he fell asleep, he would find a perfect “teacher” waiting for him in the dark space.

It was increasingly difficult to produce the next echo from Penetrating Fist. Especially after the seventh echo, the difficulty soared exponentially. Therefore, even after ten days of intensive training, Lin Dong was barely able to produce the ninth echo. Moreover, he was still clueless on how to produce the final tenth echo.

Nonetheless, he was not discouraged. He clearly knew that being able to produce nine echoes after just ten days of training, was already a terrifying feat.

He knew this fact from Lin Xiao’s expression when he assessed his son’s training progress. After Lin Dong showed his father six echoes, Lin Xiao’s started to look at his son with a strange gaze. When he first started training Penetrating Fist, it took him two whole months before he was able to reach this stage. Yet, Lin Dong took only ten days to match that feat. Hence, upon witnessing his remarkable progress, Lin Xiao was at a loss for words.

Moreover even as Lin Dong was drilling in Penetrating Fist, he also continued to train his Tempered Body. Thanks to the miraculous effects of the rock pool, he was able to stealthily multiply the intensity of the training regime given by Lin Xiao. Every time Lin Dong dragged his aching body into the rock pool, he would wake up refreshed and re-energized after just half an hour of soaking, ready for another round of training.

Even though his training was painful and exhausting, its effects were extremely clear. After a few days, the skin of his body had toughened to such an extent, whereby at times, he could even directly punch at rocks without injuring himself. Furthermore, when he utilized Penetrating Punch, he found that the force produced had grown by more than one and a half times!

Based on this speed, it will only be a short while before he finally reaches Tempered Body 4th Layer…..

[chaossojer]

Chapter 7: Tempered Body 4th Layer


In the cooling cave, Lin Dong relaxed in the rock pool, enjoying the mystically refreshing sensation of the liquid soaking into his body. A look of enjoyment on his tiny face.

Within the rock pool, traces of a light-red liquid gathered on Lin Dong’s body as it gradually seeped through his pores, nourishing his aching muscles and strengthening his bones. Likewise, Lin Dong’s body hungrily devoured the liquid, as if it were a starving ghost.

“Buzz!”

As Lin Dong lay with his eyes shut, he suddenly felt the pool water surge and an itching pain started to swarm across the underside of his skin.

This sudden itching pain caused Lin Dong to panic in response. Hastily opening his eyes, he saw that his body was shedding small bits of skin. At this sight, the panic on his face turned to joy.

Skin shedding! This was exactly what happens when one advanced to Tempered Body 4th Layer!

“I have finally reached this step…”

Lin Dong licked his lips, his heart filled with excitement. Tempered Body consisted of nine layers, the first three layers were simple physical improvements. It was only after advancing to Tempered Body 4th Layer, could one finally gain the real benefits from training. After shedding one's skin, the new skin will become hard like rock or wood. Moreover, one’s strength and resilience will be greatly enhanced, thus the Tempered Body 4th Layer is much stronger when compared to Tempered Body 3rd Layer.

Under Lin Dong’s watchful gaze, the skin on his body rapidly peeled off. After all the skin had been shed, he dipped his entire body into the rock pool before jumping out.He slowly felt the new skin with his palm, finding it akin to touching smooth wood or rock, except it was a more special kind of toughness.

“Pa! Pa! Pa!...”

Suppressing his excitement, Lin Dong immediately begun to execute Penetrating Fist. The wind flowed with his moves, causing the dust on the ground to rise up. His aura was evidently incomparable to before.

With a grin on his face, Lin Dong put down his fists. He cast a glance to the rock pool and chuckled: “Thanks!”

As he laughed, Lin Dong suddenly recalled something. He frowned as he stared at the rock pool. Over the ten days of absorbing, he felt that the amount of light-red liquid inside the pool seemed to be gradually decreasing.

“Looks like the amount of light-red liquid in the pool will eventually run out…...” Lin Dong scratched his head, not the least bit frantic at this fact. He took out a tiny and transparent bottle hidden within a pocket in his clothes. Upon a closer inspection of the bottle, two drops of red liquid were revealed to be contained within.

After carrying the stone talisman on his body for a period of time, Lin Dong managed to uncover a little secret. He realized that every five days, a little crevice on the stone talisman would be filled with a drop of red liquid. This drop of red liquid was not unfamiliar to Lin Dong, as it was the exact same liquid that he saw in the rock pool when it came into contact with his blood. However, compared to the light-red liquid in the rock pool, this drop of red liquid was clearly much more concentrated.

Attachment 10054

“It appears that the rock pool cannot hold the liquid indefinitely.” Lin Dong contemplated. If not, after all these years, the rock pool should be completely saturated with that red liquid. And should not show signs of dissipating after he had used it for a mere ten days.

“It seems that I will have top it up myself on my next visit.”

Lin Dong caressed the little bottle, a little unwilling to part with it. This liquid was extremely rare and valuable, it took a whole five days before he could obtain just a tiny drop. He had also hoped to find a chance to secretly feed a drop of this liquid to Lin Xiao. Since the liquid held miraculous effects, he believed that it would be a great help in treating Lin Xiao’s injuries.

Lin Dong softly sighed as he kept the bottle. Putting on his clothes, he slipped out of the cave and returned to his training spot. Yet, just as he was about once again start his training, a figure suddenly rushed over from a distance away while shouting: “Lin Dong, bad news!”

“Lin Chang Qiang, what has happened?”

Casually muttering those words, Lin Dong cast a glance towards the figure before he lowered his head and then proceeded to resolutely lift two solid stone blocks.

The incoming person looked to be a 13 or 14 year old youth. He was a little plump, and his figure was round like a ball. The youngster’s name was Lin Chang Qiang, and he was the son of Lin Dong’s fifth uncle. The two of them were on pretty good terms, though Lin Dong knew that this guy had only befriended him because he actually fancied Qing Tan. Nonetheless, Lin Dong still had a decent impression of Lin Chang Qiang.

“Something has happened to Qing Tan.” Lin Chang Qiang huffed as he struggled to catch his breath.

“Thud!”

The rock blocks in Lin Dong hands fell to the ground with a thud, causing dust to scatter about. With a stern expression on his face, he questioned: “How?”

Lin Dong was very protective of his little sister. She was a very sensible girl and even though she was young, she did not display the haughtiness usually seen by girls around her age. As such, within their house, even their usually strict father could not bear to be angry at her. Therefore, even though she had no blood relations with them, Qing Tan was undoubtedly princess in the family.

“Blast it, it must be that bastard Lin Shan!”

Lin Chang Qiang swore: “Today, Qing Tan found a stalk of Chiyang Grass (TL note: an elixir) in the woods behind the mountain. However, she was spotted by Lin Shan and his gang, and now they are refusing to let Qing Tan go.”

“Lin Shan again!”

Upon hearing this news, a raging anger flared in Lin Dong’s eyes. He knew that Qing Tan had been going off to the woods in order to find some elixirs to aid his training. In the past, she had done so before. However, after a previously incident where she nearly injured herself while venturing for elixirs, their father had forbid her from doing so. Nonetheless, after a peaceful period with no incidents, she had now sneaked out again.

“Take me there.” Lin Dong commanded as he dusted off the dust on his palms.

“Eh? Just you alone? Why not bring third uncle along?”

Seeing that Lin Dong wanted to leave by himself, Lin Chang Qiang quickly tried to stop him. He knew that Lin Dong had been beaten unconscious by Lin Shan previously. Hence, he was afraid that this time was going to be a repeat thrashing of Lin Dong. Even though he disliked Lin Shan, he had to admit that he was a tough fellow.

“Stop dallying. If we are late, Qing Tan will definitely be bullied and I will make sure you never play with her again.” Lin Dong frowned, the third uncle mentioned by Lin Chang Qiang was his father Lin Xiao. However an adult intervening in matters of the younger generations will at worst result in a harsh dressing down and this was not enough to quench the anger in Lin Dong’s heart.

“Alright, you win. Follow me. Later, when Lin Shan attacks, let me help to block some of the hits. After all, I am at Tempered Body 3rd Layer so I can definitely take some blows.”

Lin Chang Qiang scratched his head, slightly taken aback by Lin Dong’s threat. He then proceeded to lead Lin Dong to his sister.

As he watched Lin Chang Qiang’s round body, Lin Dong involuntarily let out a laugh. However, in the next moment, his facial expression turned darker. Gritting his lips, he swore: “ Lin Shan, this time I am going to beat you like the dog you are!”

[chaossojer]

Chapter 8: Clash

There was a relatively vast forest in the mountains at the back of the Lin Family district. If one were lucky, one could occasionally be able to find one an elixir or two in that forest. Thus, whenever they had some time, the younger generation of the Lin Family would always come by to try their luck. As such, one could probably say that the forest was a rather popular place among the Lin Family.

At this time, there was quite a crowd at the entrance of the forest. These people were all young teenagers, clearly the younger generation of the Lin Family.

Past the human wall, a group of sturdy figures towered at the centre of the road, just happening to block off the pathway. Behind these figures was a young girl in a light colored attire.

The girl’s features were like a painting and her skin was white as the freshly fallen snow. Though she was still young, her beauty was already causing many to be breathless and stunned at the sight. And at this moment, her eyes, which were normally full of life, were now angrily staring at the figures in front of her. Her tiny dirt covered hand tightly grabbed a fire-red plant which was emitting a faint fragrance.

“Lin Shan, don’t be too overbearing!”

Qing Tan glared at the one particular figure at the head of the crowd, traces of anger in her normally lively voice.

“Heh heh, we had already discovered this Scarlet Sun Grass yesterday, it’s just that we waited till today to retrieve it. Yet you’ve taken what was ours, how can you still say I’m the overbearing one?” The figure at the front turned out to be a youngster who looked to be about 14 or 15 years of age. At this point, he was grinning with his arms crossed while gazing at the angry Qing Tan.

“That’s nonsense!”

Hearing Lin Shan trying to twist the facts, Qing Tan’s tiny face reddened in anger. She had spent a lot of effort to find this Scarlet Sun Grass, how could that scoundrel have found it first? And if he really did find it first like he said, how could he have possibly left it there? Could it be that he was deliberately waiting someone else to pick it?

“I’m not speaking nonsense……”

Lin Shan gazed at Qing Tan who looked adorable even when angry. Nevertheless he was all smiles as he said: “Qing Tan, give me the Scarlet Sun Grass and I will let you go.”

“Don’t even think of it!”

Qing Tan grinded her teeth. Over this period of time, she had seen how Lin Dong had so painstakingly trained, as if his life was on the line. She also understood that if Lin Dong does not perform well in the upcoming Clan competition, not only he, but his parents as well, will suffer a tremendous blow.

Thus, during this period, she had always come here in hopes of finding even just one elixir such that she could help Lin Dong increase his training pace. And having finally found one stalk of Scarlet Sun Grass today after much difficulty, how could she possibly hand it over to that horrible scoundrel!

“Since it’s like that, looks like you can only spend the night in this place.” Lin Shan chuckled, glancing towards Qing Tan before continuing: “Just now, that brat Lin Chang Qiang seemed to run away, he should have went to find Lin Dong right? Good, I’m still not satisfied from that last beating I gave him.”

At these words, Qing Tan’s tiny face changed. She knew that Lin Dong and Lin Shan usually never saw eye to eye and they would be itching to fight every time they met. However, every time they fought, Lin Dong always ended up on the short end of the stick.

“Give the Scarlet Sun Grass to me and I will not beat him, how does that sound?” Seeing Qing Tan’s tiny face change, Lin Shan laughed heartily, pleased at himself.

“You scoundrel!”

Qing Tan bit her lip, her eyes already somewhat red. At this look, many would feel somewhat sorry for her. Although Qing Tan was not a part of the Lin Family, but because she was already so beautiful and such a lively young girl, don’t even bother mentioning the Lin Family, she held the adoration of many many youngsters. even in the entire QingShan Town.

Yet, though many in the crowd were sorry for her and felt unsatisfied at this turn of events, after some consideration, they decided not to step in or say anything. Lin Shan was a little tyrant among the younger generation of the Lin Family. Not only did he have a substantial amount of strength, but his father was also the one in charge of the Lin Family’s finances. Thus no one was willing to offend him, and even if they did go and report him to the older generation, Lin Shan would at most be locked up for only one or two days. Plus, after getting out, he would definitely retaliate against the one who reported him. Therefore, among the younger generation, there were very few incidences of anyone coming into conflict with him.

“Won’t you hand it over? If you don’t hurry up, I’m afraid Lin Dong will arrive at any moment……” Lin Shan taunted while deliberately acting as if he were surveying the surroundings, as if he was looking forward to Lin Dong’s arrival.

“Take it!”

Tears of grievance welled up in Qing Tan’s eyes, yet she stubbornly endured. Tightly gripping the Scarlet Sun Grass in her hands one last time, she gritted her teeth before fiercely throwing it towards Lin Shan.

“Heh heh, good girl.”

In response, Lin Shan gleefully stepped forward to catch the Scarlet Sun Grass which had been flung his way. However, just as he was about to snatch the Scarlet Sun Grass out of the air, a figure suddenly broke through the crowd and heavily smashed into his body. The tremendous force straightaway caused him to roll two rounds on the ground before finally coming to a halt.

This sudden turn of events caused everyone to be shocked. Their gazes hastily turned to look at who had come before turning to ones of sympathy.

“Bastard!”

Lin Shan crawled up from the ground, not caring about the dirt all over his body, he stared at the figure who was now standing at the spot he had occupied before. A malicious intent suddenly rose up in his eyes as he sneered: “Lin Dong? Good, looks like you’ve grown some balls in the few days that we’ve not seen each other. I guess I might have let you off too lightly the last time and you’ve yet to learn your lesson.”

“Lin Shan, I’ve already given you the Scarlet Sun Grass, what else do you want?” Qing Tan said in anger as her tiny face changed upon seeing Lin Shan’s malicious look. She quickly picked up the Scarlet Sun Grass that had fallen to the ground and threw it over to Lin Shan.

“I will take the elixir and also beat him today!” Lin Shan caught the Scarlet Sun Grass, sneering.

“You!” Qing Tan’s tiny face grew hot with anger at these words. Her small hands formed into fists, even in her wildest dreams she had never imagined that Lin Shan would be such a scoundrel.

Lin Dong also could not help but sneer at Lin Shan’s rude and unreasonable conduct. Soon after, he pulled Qing Tan to one side and returned Lin Shan’s words: “I will take the elixir and beat you today!”

“Haha!”

At Lin Dong’s words, Lin Shan was clearly stunned though he quickly regained his wits and laughed out loud. With a mocking gaze, he looked at the former and said: “Looks like I might have hit your head a little too hard previously?”

The rest of the crowd also looked towards Lin Dong, baffled. Though it was good to be strong-willed, if one oversteps his boundaries, one would be asking for punishment. The two had fought many times before, but every single time it always ended up in Lin Dong being beaten black and blue.

“Lin Dong-ge, don’t fight with him, we don’t need that Scarlet Sun Grass.” Seeing that Lin Dong wanted to clash against Lin Shan yet again, Qing Tan quickly pulled him back, a trace of worry in her voice.

“Yeah, Lin Dong, a true man knows better than to fight when the odds are stacked against him. Go back and train for a while longer before you come back and teach this bastard a lesson.” Lin Chang Qiang who had followed closely behind Lin Dong promptly opened his mouth to advise the latter.

“Want to leave? It’s not that easy!”

Lin Shan sneered, in the next instant his figure dashed forward. In a few steps, he appeared before Lin Dong, his five fingers quickly gripping into a fist which flew towards the latter’s chest as it faintly emitted the sound of rushing wind.

“Pa!”

Lin Dong gazed at Lin Shan’s fully powered fist, the corners of his mouth turning upwards into a sneer. Yet he did not duck nor dodge, instead his palm reached out and smashed into Lin Shan’s fist, causing the crowd’s gazes to turn to that of astonishment.

As fist met palm, a loud noise like that of rocks smashing together sounded out. However, what amazed the crowd was the fact that Lin Dong had actually managed to receive Lin Shan’s punch!

“Tempered Body 4th Layer?!”

After that exchange, Lin Shan could sense that something was not right, his opponent’s skin felt as though it was at least as hard as his!

Such a tough skin clearly belonged to someone who had reached the Tempered Body 4th Layer!

“How is this possible? This brat was only at the 2nd Layer half a month ago, how could he have suddenly rose to the 4th Layer?!” Lin Shan could not believe it, yet he clenched his jaw, even if you have reached the Tempered Body 4th Layer, don’t even think of fighting with me!

“Falling Rock Fist!”

Lin Shan withdrew his fist and suddenly let out a shout. On his arm, blue veins started to pop out, quickly extending all over his arm. Soon after, multiple images of fists appeared, like rocks, they smashed ferociously towards Lin Dong’s head. That kind of power was akin to the rocks flying out from an explosion.

“Lower Category Level 1 Martial Arts, Falling Rock Fist? To think that Lin Shan has also started learning Martial Arts, Lin Dong is really unlucky.” The crowd was in an uproar after seeing Lin Dong’s current situation.

Lin Dong’s gaze fixed itself on the multiple incoming fist images. Although Lin Shan’s Falling Rock Fist was not weak, he wondered why it appeared so full of flaws and mistakes in his eyes. Without hesitation, Lin Dong straightaway executed Penetrating Fist.

“Pa! Pa! Pa!”

The sleeves of his clothes slapped against his arm, causing a crisp and loud sound to echo out. At the same time, Lin Dong’s fist collided against Lin Shan’s fist images.

“Thump!”

Just as their fists touched together, Lin Shan’s body shuddered as a huge force rapidly rushed forth from his fist. After which, to his shock and amazement, waves of pain transmitted from both his rock hard fists.

“Penetrating Fist, three echoes? How is this possible?!”

At this very moment, Lin Shan’s eyes were thick with shock. Naturally, he had heard of Penetrating Fist, it was very well known among the Level 1 Martial Arts. He had originally planned on learning this Fist Technique, yet he was still unable to produce an echo even after ten days of training. Thus he had no option but to give up. Who could imagine that Lin Dong who was previously never a match for him would actually be capable of such success?!” (TN: 3 echoes = success vs 0 echo Lin Shan)

“It’s not three echoes, its four!”

Lin Dong icily smiled, his arm jerked as another crisp sound echoed out. Following which, an increasingly heavy punch struck against both of Lin Shan’s fists.

“Thud!”

Faced with a four echo Penetrating Fist, Lin Shan’s Falling Rock Fist stance fell apart. Step by step, he staggered backwards before finally falling, to the amazement of the crowd of onlookers.

Yet, just as Lin Shan was about to fall, an arm suddenly reached out to grab his shoulder. With a gentle push, Lin Shan was stabilized.

“Ge!” (TN: 'Ge' means Older Brother in Chinese)

Lin Shan quickly turned his head to gaze at the figure who had appeared at his back, suddenly extremely happy. The surrounding crowd’s expressions also changed as fear flashed across their eyes.

[chaossojer]

Chapter 9: Lin Hong

Gazing at the figure behind Lin Shan, Qing Tan and Lin Chang Qiang’s expressions changed as a look of worry surfaced in their eyes.

Lin Dong face was stretched taut, as he similarly cast his gaze behind Lin Shan. A youngster clothed in white was holding onto Lin Shan’s shoulder, steadying him and preventing him from falling to the ground.

The youngster looked to be around 15 or 16 years old and he had rather handsome facial features. A small smile was on his face, yet in Lin Dong’s eyes, this smile appeared slightly cold.

Lin Hong. Lin Shan’s elder brother and a fairly outstanding member of the Lin Family. He was only 15 years old, yet he had long ago reached Tempered Body 5th Layer. At this stage, he needed only one more step before he will be able to cultivate a Yuan Power Seed. After which, he would definitely be ranked top three among all of the younger generation in the Lin Family.

“Ge!” Although Lin Shan was extremely overbearing towards others, he became as meek as a sheep in front of the seemingly gentle-natured Lin Hong.

“With just this level of skill, why do you go out and embarrass yourself, instead of practising properly?” Lin Hong chuckled as he loosened his grip.

“It was only because I was careless… If we fought again, there’s nothing for me to fear!” Lin Shan’s face flushed red with embarrassment at Lin Hong’s words. Yet Lin Shan’s retort seemed a bit forced, as it was clear that Lin Dong’s punch was indeed very powerful.

“Four echo Penetrating Fist is not something you are capable of blocking.” Lin Hong’s gaze turned towards Lin Dong, scrutinizing the latter for a while before saying: “Lin Dong-biao-di, looks like you’ve been hiding this for quite some time……”

Lin Hong also knew about the difficulty in practising Penetrating Fist. No matter what, in order to train till the 4th echo required months of effort. Yet prior to this incident, he had never heard that Lin Dong even knew this martial art.

“It’s just trickery, hardly worthy of Lin Hong-biao-ge’s attention.”

The corners of Lin Dong’s mouth pulled into a wry smile as he replied. Perhaps because of the feud between their fathers, even if you put it nicely, Lin Hong and his brother had a strained relationship with Lin Dong. Likewise, Lin Dong harboured no good will towards them.

Though Lin Hong seemed polite and friendly on the surface, Lin Dong knew that compared to the menacing Lin Shan, his brother was actually much more fiendish. The reason why Lin Shan could be a little tyrant within the younger generation in the Lin Family, was not only due to his father but also Lin Hong, who had quite a far reaching influence himself.

Of course, most importantly, Lin Dong had heard from Lin Xiao that half a year ago, Lin Hong had actually asked to be engaged to Qing Tan. Thankfully, this request had been flatly rejected by Lin Xiao.

This matter had further deepened the enmity between both parties.

“Lin Dong-ge, lets leave first.”

Qing Tan stealthily tugged on Lin Dong’s sleeve as she whispered. Though she was extremely surprised that Lin Dong had managed to defeat Lin Shan, Lin Hong stood heads and shoulders above Lin Shan in regards to both martials arts and wit. He was definitely not someone to mess with.

“Heh heh, Qing Tan, it’s been so long since we’ve met.” Lin Hong chuckled as he turned his gaze to Qing Tan with a strange lustre in his eyes. Although Qing Tan was young, she was a blooming beauty. Among the younger generation in QingYang Town, many secretly admired her and naturally, he was no exception.

“Lin Shan has always been such an impulsive brat. However, if you need any elixirs, you just need to approach me. A grade one elixir like the Scarlet Sun Grass is after all a little lacking in quality.”

Hearing Lin Hong talk to her as if they were on familiar terms, Qing Tan’s crescent shaped eyebrows tightly knitted together. However, due to the other party's strength, although she was not too pleased about it, she chose not to talk back.

“Dammit, this guy is so repulsive, I will definitely beat him to death in the future.” Lin Chang Qiang muttered behind Lin Dong’s back as he was also extremely disgusted by Lin Hong’s words.

“Much thanks to Lin Hong-biao-ge’s goodwill, however we’d rather depend on ourselves. It’s not easy for the family to earn money so it’s only right that we try our best to save even a little of it.” Lin Dong smiled, ignoring the mutterings of Lin Chang Qiang. If he saw Lin Hong in the past, he could only hope to retreat before anything happened. Yet it was different now, as he possessed the secret Stone Talisman, he knew that surpassing Lin Hong was only a matter of time.

“Oh? Lin Dong-biao-di’s unyielding character is exactly the same as his father’s. Indeed worthy of his legacy!” Though Lin Hong was smiling, anyone who heard his words could tell that they held a hint of ridicule.

Anger flashed across Lin Dong’s eyes as he heard these mocking words.

“Heh heh, since the Scarlet Sun Grass was found by Qing Tan, then it must be returned. Fret not Qing Tan, after all this, I will definitely help you teach this rude fellow a lesson.” Lin Hong took the Scarlet Sun Grass off Lin Shan’s hands and then waved it at Qing Shan while smiling.

Seeing his actions, Qing Tan pursed her tiny lips, not daring to move forward to retrieve the Scarlet Sun Grass. She was worried that Lin Hong may seize this opportunity to create trouble for Lin Dong in the future. If so, she would rather give up this Scarlet Sun Grass.

In response, the corners of Lin Hong’s mouth could not help but slightly raise.

“Seems like Lin Hong-biao-ge is truly a magnanimous individual.”

Yet, before a smile could form on his face, Lin Dong interrupted it with a laugh. After which, under the watchful gaze of the crowd, Lin Dong stepped forward and approached Lin Hong as he unapologetically stretched out his hand to grab the Scarlet Sun Grass.

Lin Dong’s sudden actions caused Lin Hong’s face to turn rigid. The latter stared straight at the former with an icy look in his eyes. Lin Dong’s actions in front of the crowd had hurt Lin Hong’s pride.

However, Lin Dong turned a blind eye to Lin Hong’s stare as he attempted to exert more force to snatch the Scarlet Sun Grass. Nevertheless, he found that Lin Hong’s hand continued to hold onto the Scarlet Sun Grass like a pair of metal pincers. At once, Lin Dong smiled and asked: “So…? Does Lin Hong-biao-ge suddenly fancy this Scarlet Sun Grass now?”

Upon hearing these words, the corners of Lin Hong’s eyes twitched as he slowly released his grip. Staring daggers at Lin Dong, he laughed and said: “Lin Dong-biao-di, I am also interested in your Penetrating Fist, would you be willing to engage in a light duel with me?”

Without waiting for Lin Dong’s reply, Lin Hong suddenly took a step forward as his palm flew towards Lin Dong’s chest. The gust that followed was much stronger than before when Lin Shan attacked.

Seeing as Lin Hong launched his attack as soon as he spoke, Lin Dong’s facial expression darkened as he swiftly raised both of his arms in front of his chest, to protect his vital organs.

“Thud!”

As they exchanged blows, Lin Dong immediately felt a vigorous force and sharp pain ricocheting through his arm, forcing him to move ten steps back. Thankfully his foundations were solid, thus he did not end up convulsing on the ground.

“Yuan Power? Tempered Body 6th Layer?!”

Steadying his body, Lin Dong muttered as he stared at Lin Hong. He had clearly seen an extremely weak light engulfing the latter's fist. That was obviously the effects of Yuan Power!

This means that Lin Hong had actually entered the realm of Tempered Body 6th Layer and a Yuan Power Seed had been born in his body!

Lin Hong shot a glance at Lin Dong, his brows knitting together. The fact that he had unexpectedly failed to defeat the latter in one move did not sit well with him. Yet, he remained confident that he could defeat Lin Dong within five moves. This was the confidence that he had in himself, who had achieved Tempered Body 6th Layer.

“Lin Dong-biao-di is indeed skillful, come again!”

The dangerous glint in his eyes hinted that Lin Hong did not plan to let Lin Dong off so easily. With a quick laugh, he once again rushed towards the latter. This time however, many in the crowd gasped in response as they could clearly see that on his body was shrouded in an extremely weak light.

As he stared at that formidable Lin Hong, the rage in Lin Dong’s eyes intensified. He gritted his teeth as he prepared to launch an all-out counter with his Penetrating Fist. Yet before they clashed again, an angry voice suddenly shouted out.

"Both of you stop right now!"

Lin Hong’s footsteps immediately halted as the voice filled his ears. As he turned to look, he saw a young lady walking out from the crowd, red hot anger on her beautiful face.

The young lady was clothed in red, and she looked approximately seventeen to eighteen years old. She was slightly older and bigger than the rest, and her facial features could be considered beautiful. As her brown ponytail hung down to her slim waist, her slightly vertical eye brows gave her a heroic spirit that would not lose out to any man.

“It’s Lin Xia-jie!”

Upon witnessing the said lady, the surrounding crowd erupted.

“Oh, looks like its Lin Xia-jie.” Lin Hong smiled at the lady clothed in red.

“Lin Hong, since we are all from the Lin Family, do you really need to use Yuan Power during a duel?” Lin Xia replied, frowning as she surveyed at the crowd.

“We were just playing. Since Lin Xiao-jie has spoken, we are naturally all good now.” Lin Hong casually muttered.

At this instance, Lin Dong also withdrew his fists as he politely greeted Lin Xia-jie. This lady was the daughter of their first uncle, and even though she was female, she was the most outstanding individual among the younger generation in the Lin Family. In fact, it was rumoured that she had already advanced to Tempered Body 6th Layer half a year ago, and right now no one knew just how far she had grown since.

Lin Xia’s reputation could be considered pretty good, even among the younger generation in QingYang Town. Hence, in the Lin Family, she held quite a high status, and even Lin Hong did not dare to offend her.

“What is the point of fighting against your own brothers from the same family? If you are really capable, when the QingYang Town Hunt begins, you ought to compete with the younger generation in other families. Only if you win, then can you be considered as skilled.” Lin Xia retorted. Like a female gang leader, her words carried some weight.

“Lin Xia-jie is right.”

Lin Hong lazily replied. He approached Lin Dong with the Scarlet Sun Grass in hand and threw the elixir towards the latter. Promptly using a soft tone that could only be heard between two, he lightly muttered: “I will enter the top three in the Family Competition coming up in six months. After that, I will ask Grandpa to allow me to be engaged to Qing Tan. In the mean time, please take good care my future bride.”

As he finished, he patted Lin Dong’s shoulder as though they were already brother-in-laws, before he turned around with a smile on his face, and left with Lin Shan.

As Lin Dong stared at Lin Hong’s back, he slowly tightened his fists into balls as an icy look flashed across his eyes. He will definitely stop this bastard from marrying Qing Tan!

“Want to be top three, it’s not that easy!”

Even though Lin Hong’s abilities were vastly superior to his, Lin Dong remained confident that with the help of the stone talisman and his own hard-work, he would definitely catch up with Lin Hong before the Family Competition!

[chaossojer]

Chapter 10: Golden Jade Branch


Lin Xia watched Ling Hong and his brother leave before walking over to Lin Dong, a smiling on her face: “Lin Dong biao-di, are you alright?”

“Yes, thank you Lin Xia-jie.” Lin Dong nodded in acknowledgement. Lin Xia and her father had always been good to him since young. Hence, their relationship was considered pretty good and it was only because Lin Xia has been busy with training these past few years that their interactions had decreased compared to before.

“I just witnessed your duel with Lin Shan, I’m guessing you've reached Tempered Body 4th Layer?” Lin Xia asked, surprised. She knew that Lin Dong’s had only been training for less than a year, yet he had already reached 4th Layer. Truly an astonishing pace.

“It’s just a fluke.” It was not easy to hide the fact that he had reached Tempered Body 4th Layer. After all it’s effects were showcased at the outermost layer of one’s body. Hence, Lin Dong did not bother to conceal it, nodding his head in response to Lin Xia’s question.

“Looks like you’ve inherited your father’s talent.” Lin Xiao grinned, her expression turning serious: “ However the current you is still way behind Lin Hong. According to my knowledge, he had already progressed to Tempered Body 6th Layer three months ago, and birthed a Yuan Power Seed within his body. Hence, it is best for you to avoid fighting with him or you will surely lose out.”

“Yes, I know.” Lin Dong did not try to put on a brave front. Based on his current abilities, he knew that he was still outclassed by Lin Hong. Nonetheless, he remained confident that he will definitely surpass the latter!

“Hehe, alright, keep up the good work, I will be heading back now. Remember to work hard for the upcoming Family Competition, you know how much your father cares about that event.” Lin Xiao smiled as she patted Lin Dong’s head. Then, after she greeted Qing Tan and Lin Chang Qiang, she swung her ponytail and walked away suavely.

“Hehe, Lin Xia-jie is really cool, even Lin Hong had to back down in front of her. You know, Grandpa really adores her, and sometimes he even teaches her martial arts personally.” Lin Chang Qiang enviously said, as he watched Lin Xia’s slender figure walking away.

“You are just lazy.” Lin Dong rolled his eyes at Lin Chang Qiang. Without further ado, he immediately signalled to Qing Tan and turned to leave. Lin Chang Qiang followed them for a short distance, but as he saw the darkening sky, he somewhat reluctantly left the two.

“Lin Dong-ge, I am so sorry. I promise not to sneak off to find elixirs again…” Qing Tan pitifully cried, as she tugged at Lin Dong’s sleeve on their journey home.

“It’s fine. Once I become stronger, no one will dare to bully you ever again.” Even though Lin Dong had initially planned to scold her, her pitiful face was like bucket of cold water over the flames of rage in his heart. He helplessly shook his head, before slapping his chest as he replied with a laugh.

“I want to train too!” Qing Tan suddenly said, as she lifted her cute nose.

"Weren't you afraid that training would make you ugly?” Lin Dong jokingly asked.

“No way, look at how beautiful Lin Xia-jie is. If I could become like her, then Lin Hong will never again dare to bully Lin Dong-ge anymore”. Qing Tan replied cutely as she stuck out her little pink tongue.

Lin Dong smiled as he shook his head, his finger moving to flick Qing Tan’s forehead. He then told her: “When we return home, do not tell anyone about what happened today. Do you understand?”

“Ookkk…” Qing Tan childishly dragged out her reply, as she a frown formed on her tiny face.

Although Lin Dong had reminded Qing Tan not to mention anything, in the end, he was unsuccessful in concealing the day's event.

“You fought with the Lin Shan and his brother this afternoon.” Lin Xiao casually remarked during dinner as he laid down the chopsticks in his hand.

Upon hearing these words, Lin Dong and Qing Tan immediately felt their bodies tense up. Liu Yan, who was also present, also helplessly shook her head as she gave a disapproving look to the two of them.

“Father, this has nothing to do with Lin Dong-ge. Its all my fault…” Qing Tan timidly said.

Lin Xiao glanced at the two of them, his facial expression steady. He kept his eyes glued onto Lin Dong as he asked: “ I heard that you defeated Lin Shan?”

Lin Dong scratched his head, wryly smiling as he nodded.

“Give your hand to me”. At Lin Dong’s acknowledgment, Lin Xiao’s eyes flashed as he stretched out his wide palm and gripped the latter’s arm. Gently tapping the arm, a smile surfaced on his usually stoic face : ”Tempered Body 4th Layer?”

“Yes.” Lin Dong once again nodded.

“Haha, excellent!” Upon receiving Lin Dong's confirmation, Lin Xiao finally let a out hearty laughter, filled with joy and contentment.

As he watched Lin Xiao laugh so heartily, Lin Dong’s heart finally heaved a sigh of relieve. It looks like he won’t be scolded after all…

Liu Yan could not help but purse her lips into a smile when she saw Lin Xiao’s heartfelt smile. Looking at Lin Dong with doting eyes, she understood that Lin Xiao had invested everything he had into Lin Dong. He had always blamed himself for causing the loss of a genius in the Lin Family and destroying their hopes. Therefore, due to his stubborn nature, he had always hoped to ‘return’ a genius back to the Lin Family and that genius he had hoped to ‘return’ was naturally Lin Dong.

“Correct me if i’m wrong but you had only just reached Tempered Body 3rd Layer ten days ago right? How did you progress this quickly?” Even though he was ecstatic, Lin Xiao had his suspicions. To progress from 3rd to 4th Layer in ten days time was an extremely rapid pace. How did a Lin Dong without the aid of any elixirs manage to accomplish this?

“I’m not too sure either…...ever since I ate the Red Gingseng, my training progress feels much smoother than before.” Lin Dong’s heart skipped a beat upon hearing Lin Xiao’s queries. After a slight hesitation, he eventually decided to tell a little lie. Somehow, he always felt that it would be best not to reveal the secret of the stone talisman, or else there would be a major calamity heading his way.

“Oh?” Lin Xiao frowned upon hearing Lin Dong’s reply. The Red Ginseng is merely a Grade 1 elixir, how could it be so potent?

“Maybe Dong-er’s body has a special affinity with elixirs and can absorb their effects more effectively? I have heard that some people are blessed this unique gift and their bodies are able to absorb elixirs more effectively than most people.” Liu Yan offered a possible explanation as she smiled.

“True, it might be because of that.” Lin Xiao nodded his head in agreement, he had also heard of similar cases before. If Lin Dong truly possessed this miraculous body constitution, it would not be impossible for him to train at this breakneck speed.

“Looks like I have been neglectful in the past, if Dong-er really possesses this gift, it will not be difficult for him to achieve a good result in the Family Competition.” Lin Xiao smiled in contentment as he reached into his garments. Carefully taking out a bundle wrapped in a roll of cloth, he gently placed it on top of the table. As he spread opened the cloth, a fragrance instantly spread out across the room and a light-golden branch appeared before their eyes.

The branch was coloured gold, and within that golden glow a light green liquid gently flowed through, similar to a chalcedony.
(TN: I assume it's a kind of rock?)

“This is…...a Grade 2 elixir, Golden Jade Branch?” Liu Yan gasped as she saw the golden branch.

“Is this what a Grade 2 elixir looks like?” Lin Dong peeked at the golden branch out of curiosity, the corners of his mouth pulling downwards. Even though it looked out of the ordinary, the amount of Ling Qi contained within was lackluster compared to the mysterious liquid that came from the stone talisman.
(TN: We believe Ling Qi is a type of mystical spiritual energy found in powerful mysterious objects, we’ve updated it in our WDQK World page)

“Heh heh, I had the good fortune of coming upon this elixir in the mountains yesterday. Liu Yan, boil this elixir for Dong-er tomorrow.” Lin Xiao smiled as he said. Yet soon after, his face turned slightly pale as he violently coughed twice.

“Father, I do not need this. Please keep it for your own injuries.” Lin Dong hastily replied.

“No worries. I merely expended a bit of energy to deal with a troublesome beast yesterday when I was acquiring this elixir. It's no big deal. After all, I have lived with my injuries all these year, these elixirs will hardly be able to make a difference for me.” Lin Xiao said, as he waved his hand from side to side. “Besides, in a few months time, it will be the Family Competition. During this period, you should focus on your training. Do not worry about the elixirs, let father handle this problem.”

Lin Dong’s eyes reddened, as he saw the happy expression on Lin Xiao’s usually stern face. Without a word, he lightly nodded his head as he muttered to himself: “Father, do not worry. I will not disappoint you.”

“Its late, get some rest. You still have training tomorrow”. Lin Xiao waved his hand, beckoning Lin Dong to go and rest.

“Yes.”

After Lin Dong replied, he and Qing Tan left the dinner table and walked to their rooms. Even as they left the room, they could still hear Lin Xiao’s hearty laughter. This laughter was something they had not heard in a long time……

As he gently clenched his fist, Lin Dong turned his head and indicated for Qing Tan to return to her room to rest. Yet, he suddenly saw her beautifully sculpted face turn pale as threads of white and cold air gradually seeped out of her body, causing frost to grow on the surrounding ground.

“Oh no…...the chilling cold has flared up again!”

Upon witnessing this abrupt development in Qing Tan, Lin Dong’s expression also changed.

[chaossojer]

Sorry this kind of slipped my mind~

Chapter 11: Yin Pearl


“Qing Tan, has the chilling cold flared up again?”

As he felt waves of chilling cold emit from Qing Tan’s body, Lin Dong could not help but shiver as he anxiously asked.

“Yes.” Qing Tan squeezed out an answer through clenched teeth. Her frail body constantly shivered from the cold, a look of suffering on her tiny face.

“I’ll go and call father!” Lin Dong quickly said.

“No, please don’t go!” Upon hearing those words, Qing Tan swiftly grabbed on to Lin Dong’s sleeve. Immediately, the chilling air swifty formed a thin layer of frost on his sleeve. “It’s not use. Besides, its rare to see Father in such a good mood. Please do not trouble him, I can endure this.”

As he looked at Qing Tan’s tiny yet deathly white face, Lin Dong felt a growing ache in his heart. Gritting his teeth, he finally nodded. He knew that Qing Tan was right, even if he called father over, it would be of little use and will instead only increase the number of worried people to two.

Qing Tan had frequently suffered from this chilling cold since young. After a certain period of time, an extremely dense chilling air will explode from within her body. Under the effects of this chill, her insides will be tormented by extreme pain. Over these past ten years, she has suffered immensely due to this chilling cold. However, even Lin Xiao could not find any solution to alleviate her condition. He once tried to use Yuan Force to forcefully expel the chilling cold, but in the end, he had to spend nearly half a month in bed in order to remove the chilling cold that entered his body.

Therefore, every time the chilling cold flared up in Qing Tan’s body, the three of them could only helplessly watch as Qing Tan suffered while their hearts were cut to pieces on the inside.

“Let me carry you back to your room.” Observing that Qing Tan was paralyzed with pain, he suddenly lifted her up, hugging her tightly in his arms, and ran like a mad man towards her room.

“Hsss hss!”

As he dashed into the room, Lin Dong swiftly placed Qing Tan on her bed. Then, he hastily rubbed his arms, which had turned numb from the chilling cold and felt as though they were being pierced by needles.

“Lin Dong-ge, you…...you should return first. I can endure this.” Qing Tan hid her frail body under the blanket as she feebly mumbled. However, as she spoke, her body started to tremble even more violently. It seems that the chilling cold was even more intense compared to previous times.

“So cold…...so cold…...”

Qing Tan popped her little head out of the blanket, her tiny face white as sheet and her hair glittering with ice crystals.

Upon witnessing this scene, Lin Dong, who was standing beside her, became extremely anxious and agitated as he paced up and down her bedside. Suddenly, his footsteps stopped. Clenching his teeth, he tore off his shoes and jumped onto her bed before proceeding to hug Qing Tan tightly through her blanket.

People who train posses a strong and vigorous life-force. Lin Dong hoped to use his body warmth to alleviate some of Qing Tan’s pain. Even though he understood that his actions would hardly amount to anything, he could not bear to watch Qing Tan being tortured by the chilling cold all by herself.

“Lin Dong-ge, please don’t!”

Qing Tan hurriedly replied as she felt Lin Dong’s embrace. Even though Qing Tan was nearly unconscious from the chilling cold, Lin Dong’s movement caused her to regain some of her senses. She clearly knew how potent the chilling cold in her body was, as even Lin Xiao, who was at Earthly Yuan level, had a difficult time dealing with it. How could Lin Dong, who was merely at Tempered Body 4th Layer, handle it?

“Be good, I’ll be fine…...” Clenching his jaw, Lin Dong tenaciously held on to Qing Tan tightly. Even though they were separated by the blanket, he felt as though he were hugging a piece of millennial ice. The bone piercing chill was akin to thousands of razor-sharp needles relentlessly stabbing into his body.

(TN: millennial ice - is ice that has stayed frozen for a millennia )

Needless to say, moments later, Lin Dong’s body began to shiver as well. Frost appeared on his eyebrows as his teeth chattered nonstop. Nonetheless, despite the pain, Lin Dong’s grip only grew tighter.

Qing Tan rested her tiny head on Lin Dong’s chest, her eyes gazing at the constantly shivering Lin Dong, who was now biting his lips as he endured the cold. Tears began to flow as she felt a faint warmth blossom from the depths of her heart. She knew that she was only an orphan, yet Lin Dong and his family had always treated her like one of their own.

“Thank you, Lin Dong-ge”. Qing Tan lightly mumbled as she slowly lost consciousness, her eyelids slowly falling in response.

As the layer of frost on Lin Dong’s body grew thicker, his consciousness began to fade as well. Suddenly, moments before he was about to faint, a strange suction force arose from his chest area. Soon, he felt the relentlessly chilling cold in his body gradually sucked away by this force.

The bone-chilling cold swiftly left his body and Lin Dong slowly began to regain consciousness. As he stared at the melting frost on his arm, he was dazed for a second before he hurriedly opened his shirt. There, lay the stone talisman that he had kept close on his body, emitting a light glow. At the same time, he could also vaguely feel a cooling sensation coming from it.

“The stone talisman sucked up the chilling cold?” Lin Dong blinked as a disbelieving smile surfaced on his face. He did not expect that this chilling cold, which had even stumped father, could actually be sucked away by this stone talisman!

While Lin Dong was still in awe at this turn of events, Qing Tan, who had originally fainted, let out a soft cry. Her eyes slowly opened, immediately detecting the changes in her body and exclaiming: “The chilling cold has subsided?”

“Seems like it.” Lin Dong replied with a smile, as he scratched his head. Then, he let go of Qing Tan and said: “Now that it has subsided, it's all good. Get some rest.”

“Yes, Lin Dong-ge, thank you.” Qing Tan softly muttered, her cheeks turning a light pink as she looked at Lin Dong’s smiling face.

“We’re family, there’s no need for you to say these words.” Lin Dong patted his chest, smiling as he said in a manly manner. Seeing that it was late, he decided not to linger any further and waved goodbye to Qing Tan before turning to walk out of her room.

Gazing at Lin Dong’s leaving figure, Qing Tan looked like a little belle as she laid on her bed, her languid self appearing somewhat charming and lovely. Her cheek rested on her tiny hands and her little feet, which were as white as jade, slowly swayed over her back. On her lips, a sweet smile hung, brightening her angelic face.
(TN: We tried our best T.T here’s an image to help)

After leaving Qing Tan’s room, Lin Dong rushed to his room at lightning speed. He quickly locked his door before taking out the stone talisman that was tucked near his chest. Under the lights, three milky white bean-sized crystals appeared from the small crevice in the middle of the stone talisman.

Lin Dong carefully removed the three milky-white bean-sized crystals. As they rolled onto the palm of his hand, he felt a cooling sensation which reached into the very marrow of his bones. The chilling cold within these pearls was almost the same as the chilling cold within Qing Tan’s body, except the chill from the crystals seemed much more gentle.

“This should have been condensed from the chilling cold that was sucked out from Qing Tan’s body……”

Lin Dong muttered as he closed his fingers on the three white pearls, gripping them in his hand. The Yin Energy contained within these pearls did not have the violent nature of the one observed in Qing Tan’s body. In fact, it could even be possible for one to absorb the Yin Energy from the pearls into one’s body.

Although he was far from reaching the Earthly Yuan level, Lin Dong knew that after advancing to Earthly Yuan level, the most vital step was to absorb Yin Energy, that existed between Heaven and Earth, into one’s body. After which, the Yin Energy will merge with the Yuan Power that lies in one’s body, greatly enhancing the attacking potential of one’s Yuan Power. Subsequently, when one advances to Heavenly Yuan level, one must absorb the Yang Energy, that exists between Heaven and Earth, into one’s body. Eventually, when the Yin and Yang Energy within one’s body synergizes, a Yuan Dan will be formed.

Hence, this way of training was termed as ‘Stealing Yin and Yang’.

Thus for the Earth Yuan and Heavenly Yuan stages, Yin and Yang Energy could be considered the most important components. However, within Heaven and Earth, Yin and Yang Energy can be classified into different grades and categories, with each possessing their own advantages and disadvantages. Most people would however, choose to absorb Yin Yang energy directly from Heaven and Earth because it was the most convenient method. After all, special Yin Yang Energy is not so easily chanced upon. Naturally though, this method would result in them being slightly weaker.

Of course, some wealthy people would rather choose to absorb special Yin Yang Energy. This way, they will end up distinctly stronger than a practitioner on the same level as them.

Besides, the higher the quality of Yin Yang Energy absorbed during the Earthly and Heavenly Yuan stages, the stronger the Yuan Dan formed will be!

Thus, some wealthier people will expend vast resources in order to find various kinds of special Yin Yang Energy to allow their Yuan Dan formed to be of a higher quality.

Obviously, though Lin Dong had never come into contact with Yin Energy before, he was very certain that the white Yin Pearl in his hand was definitely much higher in quality than the natural Yin Energy found between Heaven and Earth.

Perhaps, the Yin Energy contained within can be classified as 3rd Grade or even higher.

And to expert practitioners at Earthly Yuan level, these are highly prized treasures one would kill to obtain!

[chaossojer]

Chapter 12: The Tenth Echo

“These Yin Pearls could be secretly given to Father for his usage…”

As Lin Dong licked his lips, a fire lit up in his eyes as he gazed intensely at the three Yin Pearls in his palm. Since Lin Xiao had fallen to Earthly Yuan level, if he could absorb the Yin Energy in these pearls, his strength would definitely be greatly enhanced.

However, treating Lin Xiao’s internal injuries still took priority because, the longer it dragged on, the worse it became for him.

“Sometime in the next few days, I will find an opportunity to feed Father the red-liquid from the stone talisman. Lets see if it will help to heal the injuries in his body.”

The current Lin Xiao suffered from grave internal injuries. After so many years of dragging himself around even with these injuries, a tremendous amount of damage had been done to his body. If these injuries are not treated, Lin Xiao will likely be unable to safely absorb the Yin Energy in these pearls.

“If Father can recover his previous strength, our status within the Lin Family will be immediately reinstated. After all, even after all these years, only three people from the Lin Family have advanced to Heavenly Yuan level.”

Even within QingYang Town, those who reached Heavenly Yuan level could be considered as elite practitioners. In this town, the strength of one’s faction largely depends on the number of Heavenly Yuan users that they have. Therefore, if Lin Xiao was able to recover his Heavenly Yuan strength, not only will his position be restored, but any impediment towards his progress should disappear as well. This was a future that Lin Dong, Liu Yan and Qing Tan had long dreamed of.

As he imagined Lin Xiao’s recover his majestic figure of the past, Lin Dong involuntarily let out a little chuckle. Then, he proceeded to look for a tiny bottle in his room and very carefully placed the three Yin Pearls inside. He knew that if he wanted to, he could probably exchange these items for Grade 3 elixirs as they were quite valuable.

After he finished, Lin Dong finally heaved a sigh of relief. Suddenly, an aching sensation emerged from his body. Even though the stone talisman had helped to suck out the chilling cold from Qing Tan’s body, his body was still affected by the Yin-nature chill.

“Has the chilling cold entered my body?”

The aching sensation in his body caused Lin Dong’s complexion to change. Moments later, he felt as though the aching sensation had stuck itself to the marrow in his bones. It felt as if something was attempting to drill it’s way into his bones.

“Bone refining?”

At this sudden realization, Lin Dong’s eyelids blinked rapidly. Bone refining was a key step to achieving Tempered Body 5th Layer, which would greatly enhance the toughness of one’s bones, resulting in an enormous upgrade in both power and speed. However, Lin Dong had only just advanced to Tempered Body 4th Layer. Based on his calculations, even if he had the aid of the liquid from the stone talisman, it would take up to ten days before he should reach this step. How did it appear now?

“It must be due to the chilling cold within Qing Tan’s body!”

After pondering for a while, Lin Dong finally guessed the answer to his question. Instantly a look of amazement surfaced on his face. Did the chilling cold in Qing Tan’s body really have such a miraculous effect on Tempered Body practitioners?

“The chilling cold in Qing Tan’s body was too savage. The stone talisman must have filtered out all of the savageness and left only the beneficial parts in my body.” Lin Dong frowned as he recalled that even Lin Xiao, who was at Earthly Yuan level, had a devastating time dealing with the chilling cold and had to recuperate for half a month. Therefore, compared to himself who was only at Tempered Body 4th Layer, his ability to handle the chilling cold would be a joke. In the end, it was mostly because of the help from the stone talisman.

“I did not expect the chilling cold in Qing Tan’s body to possess this kind of effect. However, it will still be a while before the chilling cold flares up again…”

Upon muttering these words, Lin Dong hastily spat in disgust. Every time the chilling cold flared up, it caused Qing Tan an immense suffering. If this is the price to pay for these Yin Pearls, Lin Dong would rather not have them.

As he quickly suppressed this horrible idea, Lin Dong stretched his body and then laid down on his bed. His eyes gradually closed, while the stone talisman on his chest once again emitted a faint glow.

Over this period of time, Lin Dong had gained a better understanding of the stone talisman. He now knew that the dark space that he had found himself in could be considered as a spiritual domain where his physical body could not enter. Nonetheless, every thing that he learned there could be brought back completely to the real world.

In the darkness, a glowing shadow and a human figure flickered, as crisp echos sounded out continuously.

With rapt attention, Lin Xiao concentrated on the movements of the glowing shadow. Even the slightest twitch by the latter, was clearly memorized by him.

After such a long period of training, even though Lin Dong could not claim to be at the pinnacle of Penetrating Fist, he could be considered to have a very high level of mastery. On a good day, he could often generate all nine echoes.

However, even though Lin Dong was quite well-versed with Penetrating First, he was still unable to make any progress with the tenth echo.

“Pa Pa…”

When the glowing shadow once again produced the ninth echo, Lin Dong’s concentration abruptly rose to it’s peak. In that moment, he experienced an unreal sensation. He felt as though he had become the glowing shadow. The glowing shadow’s every minute movement and even the tiniest changes in its control of force were clearly engraved into his mind.

“Pa!”

A low, barely discernible echo sounded out as a powerful force once again followed the route through the channels and erupted from the palm of the glowing shadow. The strength of the last echo was truly monstrous.

“So that's how it’s done…”

Lin Dong’s eyes gleamed as a joyful expression surfaced on his face. He had finally grasped the so called trick behind the tenth echo!

While he was in that mysterious state, Lin Dong had clearly experienced how the glowing shadow utilised the flow of force. He found that the tenth echo was not generated from the arms, but rather from within the body!

The first nine echos were on the outside, while the tenth echo was from within!

“By perfectly coordinating one’s muscle and bones, one can break through the limits of the ninth echo and reach a new high. That is the tenth echo of Penetrating Fist!”

Lin Dong’s body trembled in excitement. This unique combination was something that even Lin Xiao did not know about. If he had not entered into that mysterious state, Lin Dong would never have grasped the secret behind the tenth echo!

Based on his calculations, if he could execute the tenth echo, Penetrating Fist would not be considered weak even among the ranks of Level 2 martial arts.

Even though Lin Dong had yet to truly grasp the tenth echo, he was confident that after this realization, he would finally be successful in mastering it!

Moreover, he knew that once he had mastered the tenth echo, it will definitely become his signature killing move. By then, Lin Dong was confident that he could match up even to someone like Lin Hong, who exceeded him by 2 layers and wielded Yuan Power.

As he recalled all the unscrupulous means that Lin Hong had adopted to force his Father consent to an engagement with Qing Tan, the rage in Lin Dong’s heart burned even hotter.

“This time, I will make sure to thrash you until you lose all face to bring up this issue ever again!”

Lin Dong sneered, yet his expression quickly turned to one of seriousness. He positioned himself into the stance of Penetrating Fist and began to practise. He knew that Lin Hong was still ahead of the current him, thus he must continue to work hard!

“Pa Pa…”

In the darkness, the young man’s figure flowed gracefully like a monkey. Even as sweat rained down on his body, he tirelessly drilled Penetrating Fists over and over again as a series of crisp and clear echoes continuously reverberated in the air!

He must quickly master the tenth echo!

[chaossojer]

Chapter 13: Treatment


In the next few days, Lin Dong’s lifestyle resumed its usual pace. In the day, he would franticly train his body, and once he was unable to endure the exhaustion, he would slip into the rock pool. Barely half an hour later, he would run out of the pool feeling refreshed and full of energy. Subsequently, sets of Penetrating Fists were vividly executed, causing a series of crisps echoes to continuously reverberate around the forest.

Among the younger generation in Lin Family, there was probably no one else who could maintain this intensive regime. After all, the effects of the rock pool were arguably better than that of a Grade 3 elixir. Furthermore, as the red-liquid was diluted, it became mild and gentle. Therefore, it would not hurt one’s body at all. In fact, this was most suitable for someone in the initial training phase like Lin Dong.

During the night, Lin Dong would once again enter into the darkness of the Spiritual Domain. In there, he would tirelessly repeat set after set of his increasingly familiar Penetrating Fist. As he drilled without rest or food, his mastery of Penetrating Fist greatly improved until Lin Dong could now easily generate nine echoes! With regards to the tenth echo, Lin Dong was also gradually gaining a better understanding of it. Though he had yet to successfully master it, he knew that it was only a matter of time.

Furthermore, perhaps it was due to the strength that Lin Dong displayed at their previous encounter, Lin Shan, who previously loved to cause trouble for him, had stopped appearing before him. The latter probably understood that he would only be digging his own grave if he dared to cause trouble for Lin Dong again.

Therefore, right now, Lin Dong was able to peacefully dedicate all his energy into his training.

In a blink of an eye, a week passed amidst the peace and tranquility.

Within this week, Lin Dong had actively looking for opportunities to feed the red-liquid from the stone talisman to Lin Xiao. However, during this period, Lin Xiao was constantly away, hence Lin Dong had little opportunity to do so and thus had no choice but to temporarily suppressed the thought.

This situation continued on till the eighth day, until Lin Dong finally could no longer endure it any further. This was because Lin Xiao was injured once again...

As he was training, Lin Dong heard Qing Tan’s anxious screams. Instantly he reacted and fled home. He barged into the room to see Lin Xiao lying on the bed, his face as pale as a sheet of paper. Drops of blood marking the ground below his sleeves.

“Father met a powerful beast when he went deep into the mountains to look for elixirs…” Qing Tan softly muttered from behind Lin Dong, her eyes red with grief.

Upon hearing these words, a wave of guilt gushed out from Lin Dong’s heart as tears dropped from his eyes.

“Men should not cry. Its just a small injury”. As Lin Xiao saw Lin Dong standing by the door, he attempted to lift his body up. Just as he attempted to display a stern expression, a sharp pain emerged from his wounds, causing his expression to twist up in agony.

“Why are you still trying to put on a brave front now. Here, let me boil this elixir for you.” Liu Yan glared at Lin Xiao before she picked up a stalk of light-green herb by her side.

“Hey, that is for Dong-er!” Lin Xiao hastily said, upon witnessing this scene.

“Mother, let me boil this elixir. You and Qing Tan should take care of Father.” Before Lin Xiao’s words could fade away, Lin Dong dashed forward and snatched the elixir from Liu Yan’s hands. Without saying another word, he ran out of the room.

“This brat…”

As he watched Lin Dong’s slip away even faster than a rabbit, Lin Xiao did not know whether to laugh or cry. He helplessly shook his head, a warmth bubbling in his heart.

Shortly after Lin Dong left, he came back holding a green porcelain bowl in his hand. The bowl was filled to the brim with a dark green medicine with a medicinal fragrance that could be smelt even from a distance away.

“Father, please drink this medicine.” Lin Dong smiled as he brought the medicine over.

“*Sigh*, you cheeky boy.” Lin Xiao helpless shook his head. Even though his heart was aching, he could only receive the bowl. Without a word, he gulped down the medicine.

As he saw Lin Xiao finish the medicine, an eager expression surfaced on Lin Dong’s eyes.He had naturally added a few drops of red-liquid from the stone talisman into that bowl of medicine. However, he did not know how much aid it would provide to Lin Xiao’s injuries.

“Gulp.”

Upon finishing the medicine, Lin Xiao placed the bowl down and stared at Lin Dong, who was intently looking at his father’s face. Just as Lin Xiao was to put on a stern look, he suddenly felt his cheeks turn red as though a fire had been lit within his body.

“Father!”

Witnessing the change occurring to Lin Xiao, Qing Tan who was standing to one side turned pale.

“Cough, cough!”

As Qing Tan and Liu Yan turned white with fear, Lin Xiao’s body temperature continued to rise as his face became even redder. A split second later, he suddenly opened his mouth and spit out a mouthful of filthy black blood.

“Xiao-ge, are you alright?” As she saw Lin Xiao unexpectedly vomit blood, Liu Yan hurriedly rushed over with tears in her eyes. Lin Xiao was the backbone of this family, if something happened to him, what would happen to her and the children?

As Lin Xiao gasped for air, the redness in his cheeks swiftly retreated. In place of it, a healthy reddish glow surfaced.

“My injuries....”

As Lin Xiao stared in disbelief at his palms. All of a sudden, he could feel that all the injuries that have been accumulated over the years in his body, had mostly been swept away.

The feeling of his channels once again free from any obstruction refreshed him and all his internal organs surged once again with power and vigour. This sensation was something he had not experienced for a long time.

“Liu Yan, my injuries, my injures…” Lin Xiao trembled with excitement as he grabbed tightly onto Liu Yan’s hands. A wide smile of delight filled his usually stern face.

Liu Yan’s regained her wits as she witnessed the emotion in Lin Xiao’s eyes. A look of disbelief surfaced on her face as she asked: “Have you recovered?”

“Yes, Yes, almost, almost…”

Liu Xiao had become so emotional that he lost the ability to string words together. In the end, he could resist no longer and he tightly hugged Liu Yan while letting out a joyous, heartfelt laughter. Contained within his laughter were sounds of relief after the long years of torment. During these years, his progress has stagnated due to his internal injuries. Even though he pretended to give a strong front on the outside, anyone could tell that the person who was once the most impressive member of the Lin Family, was gradually replaced by a rotting husk.

However, if there is a will, there is a way! After all these years, his injuries which had hindered him to no end and showed no signs of recovery were finally going away!

As he looked at his jubilant parents, Lin Dong rubbed at the corners of his eyes, a wide smile forming on his face. The effects of the stone talisman had vastly exceeded his expectations. He knew that if Father drunk the medicine a few more times in the future, eradicating the injuries and making a full recovery was no longer an impossible dream.

And when his injuries have healed and recovered completely, Lin Xiao’s strength will increase by leaps and bounds!

As Lin Dong heaved a sigh of relief in his heart, he pulled Qing Tan, who was smiling joyously as well, and slowly left the room.

“Creak.”

As he gently closed the door, a smile floated on Lin Dong’s face. He softly murmured to himself: “Father, rest assured. You will definitely become the pillar of support for the Lin Family once again!”

[chaossojer]

Chapter 14: Grade 5 Yin Energy


The red-liquid from the stone talisman was more effective than expected in treating Lin Xiao’s wounds. Within five days, the pale expression that had almost become a part of Lin Xiao’s normal look, had gradually faded. In it’s place was a strong vitality, which had once again surfaced within Lin Xiao’s body.

The fact that Lin Xiao injuries were gradually recovering was the most delightful news in their family. No matter what, Lin Xiao was the main pillar of support for the family, if he were to fall, the rest of them would definitely suffer.

As Lin Xiao’s injuries recovered, the long festering resentment in his heart also gradually disappeared. Radiant smiles began to spring up frequently on Lin Xiao’s usually stern face. Anyone could tell that his heart was also filled with many happy emotions.

Lin Dong was naturally delighted to witness the changes occurring in Lin Xiao, in turn, it caused him to feel more energetic when he trained.

Over this period of time, the red-liquid in the rock pool had also completely dissipated. As such, Lin Dong had to start dripping red-liquid back into the rock pool. Thankfully, each drop was able to sustain him for more than ten days. Combined with the fact that the stone talisman produced a drop of red-liquid every five days, he was still able to maintain his current training pace.

Thanks to the stone talisman and his own exceedingly hardworking nature, Lin Dong’s training progress was very rapid. Within these past few days, the itching pain from his bones became more and more intense. The sensation, was akin to having numerous tiny ants gnawing away at his bones.

Even though the sensation was horrible, this was definitely great news for Lin Dong. He understood that this only happened when one was about to complete Bone Refining. Therefore this clearly implied that his current stage of training had extended from his skin to his bones. When the itching pain finally reaches its climax, his bones would have achieved the initial level of strengthening, at which, he would have officially advanced to Tempered Body 5th Layer.

Of course, it took time to strengthen one’s body. Even with aid from the stone talisman, it would still be approximately a month before he could complete this step.

Even though time was running out, Lin Dong clearly enjoyed the feeling of the strength within his body increasing every day. At the same time, he also drilled to become more and more proficient at Penetrating Fist.

Thanks to guidance from the mysterious glowing shadow, the nine echoes Penetrating Fist has been brought to the point of perfection by the Lin Dong. When he executed the moves, it felt extremely natural and also gave him quite an imposing image.

As for the tenth echo, after the constant practise over these past few days, Lin Dong was gradually becoming better at it. At times, he could faintly hear the last echo sounding out from within his body. Even though it could not match up to the deep and low echo produced by the glowing shadow, it was still a pretty remarkable achievement.

“Pa Pa Pa…”

In the vast empty fields of the Lin Family, a shadow danced like an agile monkey, as a series of crisp clear echoes sounded out in the forests.

Six echoes. As he finished his moves, six echoes sounded out.

“Good, not bad at all.”

Lin Xiao nodded, satisfied with Lin Dong’s performance. The fact that he could generate six echoes within a month of training, was indeed a truly astonishing achievement.

“Heh heh”. Lin Dong cheekily smiled, yet in his heart he secretly mused: Would Lin Xiao faint instantly if he knew Lin Dong could actually produce nine or even ten echoes?

“Father, you seem well recently. Have you recovered from your injuries?” Lin Dong asked with a smile as he wiped the sweat off his forehead.

“Hmm, almost there.” If Lin Dong had asked this question half a month ago, Lin Xiao’s face would darken immediately. However, right now he answered instantly with a merry look on his face.

Upon hearing these words, Lin Dong cheerily remarked: “So, Father should be able to return to Heavenly Yuan level soon?”

Lin Xiao shook his head, as he let out a sigh. With a pained smile on his face, he replied: “It’s not going to be so easy. After all, I have suffered from such serious injuries all these years. Even though my injuries have largely healed, there may still be some after-effects. Therefore, whether I can return to Heavenly Yuan level, still depends on luck.”

Even though he said these words, Lin Xiao had a fairly large amount of faith in himself. After all, he was once the man who was hailed as a genius in the Lin Family. All these years, his progress had stagnated only because of his injuries. Once his injuries were healed, there was no telling how far he could progress.

Lin Dong nodded his head in understanding. He knew that it would not be easy for his father to reclaim his place among the elites in QingYang Town.

“Father, two days ago, I found this object in the woods. Can you tell me what it is?” Lin Dong inquired as he quickly took out a white bean-sized pearl and passed it to Lin Xiao.

At first, Lin Xiao did not pay much heed to this request as he casually took the item from Lin Dong and glanced at it. As he was about to dismiss his son’s find, he suddenly felt a stream of pure Yin Energy gushing from the pearl, causing his expression to change dramatically.

“Grade 5 Yin Energy?”

Lin Xiao foolishly stared at the seemingly ordinary white pearl as shock surfaced in his eyes.

“Grade 5 Yin Energy?” Lin Dong curiously asked. As he was still far from reaching Earthly Yuan level, he did not know much about Yin Energy.

“Where did you get this from?” Lin Xiao looked Lin Dong in the eye and asked him excitedly.

“I picked it up in the mountains.” Lin Dong muttered. Though he had complete faith in his Father, he had the feeling that if news of this miraculous stone talisman got out, it may lead to the destruction of his entire clan.

In response, Lin Xiao was shocked. Forcing a smile, he nodded his head. After all, he realized that it would be too greedy to ask for a large supply of this invaluable treasure.

“Father, what exactly is Grade 5 Yin Energy?” Lin Dong asked again.

“Between Heaven and Earth, Yin and Yang Energy, can be classified into nine grades. Grade 1 being the lowest, while Grade 9 being the highest. For most Earthly Yuan practitioners, when they absorb Yin Energy from between Heaven and Earth, it is at best Grade 2 or Grade 3. In the past, the Yin Energy that I absorbed was merely Grade 3.” Lin Xiao replied as he tapped into his memories.

“Based on my judgement, the Yin Energy contained within this Yin Pearl should be at least Grade 5. For some Earthly Yuan practitioners, this pearl holds a highly seductive appeal.”

“Earthly Yuan practitioners absorb Yin Energy, while Heavenly Yuan practitioners absorb Yang Energy. When the Yin and Yang Energy synergize, a Yuan Dan will be formed.” Lin Xiao continued, as he licked his lips. “You might not know this, but even within the Yuan Dan stage, there are different ranks. To describe in detail, there are a total of nine different ranks, termed as the Nine Stars of Yuan Dan. A One Star Yuan Dan is the lowest level, whereas a Nine Star Yuan Dan…… I have never heard of anyone in the Great Yan Empire that possesses this quality of Yuan Dan. Of course, it might be because of my seclusion.”

“And the final quality of one’s Yuan Dan, will hinge upon the grade of Yin Yang Energy that one absorbs during the Earthly Yuan and Heavenly Yuan stages. Thus, the Earthly Yuan and Heavenly Yuan stages could be considered as building blocks of sorts for the Yuan Dan stage.”

Upon hearing these words, Lin Dong was stunned as he had never realized how important Yin Yang Energy was.

“If word of this Yin Pearl got out, it would definitely attract the attention of many Earthly Yuan practitioners. Heh, after all, Grade 5 Yin Energy is truly a rare find.” Lin Xiao remarked.

“Hehe, since Father is at Earthly Yuan level, please take that Yin Pearl and use it.” Lin Dong cheekily replied.

Upon hearing these words, Lin Xiao’s slightly aged face reddened. Letting out a dry cough, he immediately kept the Yin Pearl without acting coy. After all, the Yin Energy contained within was indeed very vital for him.

Lin Dong silently smiled as he saw Lin Xiao keep the Yin Pearl. Though soon after, his eyebrows knitted together. This Yin Pearl was condensed from the chilling cold that emerged from Qing Tan’s body. If the chilling cold that emerged was already at Grade 5, then how powerful was the chilling cold that resided within Qing Tan’s body?

“Such a terrifying chilling cold… exactly what is going on with Qing Tan’s body?”

[chaossojer]

Chapter 15: Tempered Body 5th Layer


A hot month of summer passed by in the blink of an eye.

During this month, Lin Dong continued to secretly add the red-liquid from the stone talisman into Lin Xiao’s medicine. Thanks to its miraculous properties, Lin Xiao’s injuries had completely recovered, and his previously depressed and pale faced self had also in turn faded into oblivion.

During this period of time, Lin Dong had likewise achieved remarkable progress in his own training. Thanks to the red-liquid from the stone talisman, the itching pain in his bones kept growing in intensity. Lin Dong could clearly feel that amidst the itching pain, the tenacity and strength of his body were rapidly increasing.

This sensation delighted Lin Dong because he knew that he was swiftly advancing to Tempered Body 5th Layer.

“Huff, huff.”

In the cool and refreshing mountain cave, a shadow firmly supported his body using only both his thumbs while his feet hovered off the surface of the ground. He relied solely on the strength of his thumbs to support his entire body as he moved his body up and down using his arms, what we would liken to a push-up. Sweat already drenched his clothes, yet new waves of sweat continuously dripped onto the floor, forming a giant puddle.

“Thud!”

Every muscle in his body was being fully utilized. Approximately half an hour later, Lin Dong finally collapsed in exhaustion. As he laid on the floor, hurriedly trying to catch his breath, an extreme aching sensation slowly spread throughout his body.

“Splash!”

Lin Dong clenched his teeth, as he struggled to lift his body and overcome the pain from the overwhelming exhaustion. Without taking off his clothes, he weakly fell into the rock pool.

As Lin Dong plopped into the rock pool, light-red bubbles surfaced immediately and tunneled into Lin Dong’s body through its pores.

Lin Dong floated lazily in the rock pool, the current him only had the strength to gasp for breath. It felt as if every cell in his body was protesting against him. However, these “protests” instantly turned into greed as his cells hungrily devoured the light-red liquid that burrowed into his body.

Lin Dong closed his eyes as he enjoyed this nourishing sensation. Just as he stretched his body, it suddenly began to shake uncontrollably. A sharp pain reverberated from within his bones and swiftly spread out to his entire body.

This sudden pain caused Lin Dong to clench his jaw in agony. Yet a look of excitement surfaced in his eyes.

“Breakthrough!”

This sensation was exactly what Lin Dong was anticipating. His chance for a breakthrough had finally arrived!

The pain swiftly spread throughout his body. It akin to someone drilling through every bone in his body all at once. However, in this instance, Lin Dong could clearly feel every bone in his body gradually becoming stronger and tougher!

The sharp pain left as quickly as it arrived. In less than five minutes, the pain gradually weaken.

After the sharp pain dissipated, Lin Dong’s felt spirited and full of energy. As he leapt out of the rock pool, he stretched his body, causing a crisp crack to sound out from within. Right now, he seemed to have grown taller and looked much fitter than before.

“Pa Pa Pa Pa…”

As soon as he landed, Lin Dong immediately executed his familiar set of Penetrating Fist moves as a series of crisp sound clearly ricocheted in the mountain cave. From the faint echos, one could tell that the force behind his fists, seemed to have grown to a whole new level.

“Thump!”

As the ninth echo sounded out, Lin Dong smashed his fist onto a huge boulder. Immediately, a few cracks appeared on the boulder. It seems that both his strength and power had been greatly enhanced after reaching Tempered Body 5th Layer. Truly incomparable to the 4th Layer.

Upon witnessing this scene, Lin Dong grinned. Just as he was about to rest, a thought sprung up in his mind. Maintaining his form, he closed his eyes and tried to enjoy the mysterious sensation surging through his bones.

As he enjoyed the sensation, Lin Dong’s body adjusted and moved in conjunction with the flow of energy coursing through his body. Even on the skin under his sleeves, tiny ripples started to surface.

Every muscle in his body moved in unison as waves of force surged forth and gathered at Lin Dong’s arm.

“Pa!”

When the waves of force reached his fist, Lin Dong eyes suddenly flew open as an extremely tiny echo quietly vibrated out from within his body.

This echo was not loud, yet it was packed with an immense force!

“Bang!”

As the force was finally about to arrive at the tip of his fist, Lin Dong took in a deep breath. Releasing a low shout, he violently punched the solid boulder before him. A low echo sounded out as the cracks began to spread all across the boulder. Finally, it exploded with a massive bang.

“Such fearsome might!”

Lin Dong stared at the rubble which was once a huge boulder, a look of disbelief on his face. The force displayed was virtually comparable to that of Lower Category Level 3 martial arts!

“So this is the true power of the tenth echo from Penetrating Fist!”

Moments later, Lin Dong finally regained his senses. A look of excitement bubbled in his eyes. This was the first time he properly executed the tenth echo! He now understood why it was so difficult to master the tenth echo: it possessed such a terrifying strength.

According to Lin Dong’s calculations, if he encountered Lin Hong now, he could rely on this Penetrating Fist tenth echo to fight to a standstill with the latter. Even in the Lin Family, Level 3 martial arts were rare to come by. Plus among the current younger generation, there was no one who was capable enough to learn them.

“Heh heh, Lin Hong, just you wait……”

As he recalled the vile manner in which Lin Hong casually assumed Qing Tan to be his possession, Lin Dong involuntarily tightened his fist. With a sneer, he cast his gaze towards the rock pool as he eyebrows knitted tightly together. Over this period of time, he realized that the effects of the diluted red-liquid from the stone talisman had begun to wore off and was now not as potent as before.

“Seems like the diluted red-liquid is no longer able to satisfy my demands. If i want to quickly advance to Tempered Body 6th Layer, I may have to use the red-liquid directly.”

Tempered Body 6th Layer can be considered as the most important checkpoint for a new practitioner at the initial stages. At the 6th Layer, one can finally refine a Yuan Power Seed. Once that is accomplished, one can then be considered as a true practitioner!

Therefore, the significance of this step cannot be overlooked.

As Lin Dong’s expression turned serious, he took out a transparent bottle from his sleeves. It was already half filled with the crimson red liquid from the stone talisman.

As he gazed at the bountiful amount of red-liquid, the corners of Lin Dong’s mouth finally turned upwards to form a smile of contentment.