The next morning.
After breakfast, Lin Xun got into position and gazed at Xia Zhi, who was already in position ten feet away. He was overflowing with fighting spirit this morning.
He had barely slept last night. After his aeth qi and spirit cultivation sessions, he had spent the rest of the time revisiting Xia Zhi’s battle techniques.
It had been a battle of pure physical prowess with the aim of tempering his body. However, after Lin Xun’s tragic loss yesterday, he suddenly understood a certain principle. Strength paired with technique could also be an effective killing method!
Xia Zhi was a prime example. Her combat capabilities were absolutely terrifying despite not using any aeth power.
“Let’s begin.”
Xia Zhi’s expression was tranquil. The gentle rays of the morning sun bathed her face in a dazzling holy aura.
Huu!
Lin Xun stepped forward without hesitation. He moved like a galloping horse, his presence compact and heavy.
On closer inspection, the muscles on his body had swelled like an undulating ripple, concentrating all of their power. His entire being was akin to a fully pulled back bow, ready to strike with full power.Tiger Roar Echoing in the Mountain Forest!
The punch had a completely different feel from yesterday: simple, clean, and direct. Power flowed from his arm to his shoulder and finally submerged into his spine, drawing along the core muscles near the ribs. All the tightly wound muscles abruptly sprang up like a spring.
Boom!
His fist blasted through the air, creating a muffled boom.
Xia Zhi was completely unfazed as she twisted her hand and trapped Lin Xun’s wrist like before. However, before she could exert any force, she felt his wrist muscles vibrate at an extreme speed, making his wrist as slippery as a mudfish.
He instantly escaped from her vice-like grip.
Lin Xun’s eyes brightened. Sure enough, by applying the proper technique and force through his muscles, he could move every muscle, bone, and joint in his body as if they were his hands and fingers!
Previously, he had only known a fighting style that centered around aeth power. It was only after a night of reflection did he understand that every inch of muscle, tendon, skin, and joint in his body contained great power. Once he mastered how to move them all in harmony, he would be able to display unimaginable power.
To better elaborate, the body could be likened to a battlefield. The muscles and joints were the soldiers deployed at various positions across the battlefield. If the commander was able to direct them as a single harmonious unit, an unstoppable army would be created!
However, before Lin Xun could celebrate, Xia Zhi’s fingers suddenly moved like a hissing snake. Her fingertips lightly brushed his wrist, causing him to lose all feeling around the area.
Almost immediately after, his body was once again flung by the arm, smashing painfully into the ground.
Lin Xun gritted his teeth, flipped to his feet, and charged forward once more.
Xia Zhi’s fingers had precisely found Lin Xun’s wrist joint, disrupting his flow of power. This was why he had lost feeling in his wrist.
Lin Xun understood what had happened immediately. As such, he was now on guard against this possibility.
However, he was beaten back to the ground again two moves later!
This time, he was defeated by an unexpected wrist lock. Xia Zhi’s arms had clamped around his wrists like metal hoops. She then pushed forward with her left hand and pulled her right hand back, creating an opposing force that dislocated his wrists.
The clean and effective maneuver caused Lin Xun’s wrists to fall limp with a crack. He only felt the intense pain after his body kissed the ground again.
This was the art of separating tendons and dislocating bones!
After reconnecting his wrists, Lin Xun looked toward Xia Zhi again. However, there was no trace of dejection in his gaze but instead a burning fighting spirit.
Although he only lasted two moves, it was a huge improvement from yesterday. This allowed Lin Xun to feel how rapidly he was progressing.
“Continue!” With a low shout, Lin Xun moved. He had already abandoned the Marching Army Fist’s forms. Since he was no longer fixated on the forms, his movements had become much more agile.
Thud! Thump! Thud!
Subsequently, a slew of goosebump-inducing sounds rang out from the yard.
At some unknown time, the residence’s main gates had been opened and a group of young kids dashed in. The village children could not help but gasp in shock when they saw their most respected martial instructor Lin Xun being repeatedly defeated by Xia Zhi.
Xia Zhi was only six-years-old and she was no bigger than several of them. In fact, she was younger than most of them. Despite this, she was inconceivably crushing Lin Xun time and time again.
The village children’s hearts shivered each time Lin Xun was smashed into the ground. They were secretly relieved that they had not slighted Xia Zhi before, and did not dare to imagine what kind of fate would await them if they had.
The uncles and aunties of the village were soon drawn over, keen on partaking in the excitement as well.
Although they likewise felt pained by the beating Lin Xun was receiving, they were even more shocked by how kick-ass Xia Zhi was.
Only now did they find out that this unbelievably beautiful little girl possessed combat capabilities that could overwhelm even Lin Xun!
Was this still a five-year-old?
With so many people watching, even a thick-skinned person like Lin Xun could not help but feel embarrassed. He gritted his teeth and tried to ignore them as he cast his entire being into the fight.
Xia Zhi, on the other hand, was completely unaffected. She countered each attack that came at her, sending Lin Xin to the ground time and time again in a merciless fashion.
In her view, everything was for the sake of helping Lin Xun temper his body and thus needed to be treated with the utmost seriousness. Moreover, concepts such as dignity did not exist in Xia Zhi’s dictionary.
After watching Lin Xun’s face kiss the ground numerous times, even Xiao Tianren was no longer able to continue watching. He glared at the surrounding villagers and waved his hand, “Is everyone so free? Then follow me to Fiery Smoke Mountain!”
He swiftly scattered the crowd and shut the gates, leaving Lin Xun and Xia Zhi to focus on their sparring.
Only when night fell did Lin Xun finally drag his battered body into the wooden tub and began to review the details of the sparring.
As for Xia Zhi, she went straight to sleep.
……
This routine continued for five days.
Over these five days, all Lin Xun did was eat, spar with Xia Zhi, and recover from his injuries using medicine soup while reviewing the details of the fights. Although monotonous, the training regime was extremely effective.
Lin Xun gradually became familiar with the technique of controlling his body, and could skillfully maneuver every muscle, joint, and tendon.
In addition, his body had undergone a remarkable transformation. Although it still looked like the same thin body on the outside, every inch of muscle, skin, and bone had been refined thousands of times, becoming as hard as a rock while also pliable like a steel wire; every inch had been repeatedly polished like jade and tempered like steel.
Moreover, his qi and blood had also grown more robust!
Although five days of nonstop defeats seemed soul-crushing, the benefits were clearly visible; Lin Xun’s physical abilities had entered a whole new level.
This was something that undoubtedly raised Lin Xun’s spirits.
However, his supply of beast meat, aeth grain, and various aeth resources was also being depleted at an alarming rate.
Not only were they used for his recovery, both of their food intakes had also risen.
Now, Lin Xun could eat half an adult snow spotted leopard and ten pounds of aeth grains!
As for Xia Zhi, she never ate less than him and would often eat much more.
At this rate, the supply of meat would be finished in less than half a month, while their stock of aeth grain would not last beyond a month.
Lin Xun had no choice but to begin thinking about how to replenish their supplies.
Fortunately, the villagers had already started mining operations under Xiao Tianren’s leadership and had already collected over a hundred pounds of ore. Once the ore was refined, there should be around fifty pounds of Feiyun Fire Copper.
If sold, it could fetch a small fortune.
Lin Xun planned on making a trip to the Qingyang Tribe soon. Besides the Feiyun Fire Copper, he had several other valuables which could be traded for a tidy sum.
On the morning of the fifth day, Lin Xun was surprised to find Xia Zhi missing. There was only a single strip of paper in the room on which a simple sentence had been scrawled—‘I’ll be back soon.’
Relieved, Lin Xun felt like chuckling as he gazed at Xia Zhi’s message. The characters resembled crawling earthworms and were so ugly that he was barely able to recognize them.
Since Xia Zhi said she would be back soon, there was no need to worry. Lin Xun walked into the kitchen and began preparing breakfast.
When Lin Xun placed the steaming breakfast on the table, the residence’s main gates were opened with a loud thump. A calf-like creature that was covered in a flame-like mane was thrown into the yard, shaking the surrounding ground.
It was a fire mane boar!
The boar was bound by thick and tough vines, and its mouth was gagged with mud. All it could do was lie there on the ground and try to growl, its scarlet-red eyes filled with rage and hatred.
Meanwhile, Xia Zhi’s tiny figure walked in. She washed her hands, sat at the table, and began to eat.
Lin Xun dazedly stared at this scene. He pointed at the fiery mane boar, “You went out to catch this brute?”
Xia Zhi nodded, “After breakfast, you will fight this pig. Only through bloody battle will you learn how strong your body has grown.”
Lin Xun’s expression turned somewhat conflicted, “If I lose, won’t it mean that I’m less than a pig?”
Xia Zhi pondered before she earnestly answered, “Indeed.”
Lin Xun’s heart felt stuffy. It had merely been pure talk before. To think that she would actually capture a fiery mane boar. This was putting him in a difficult spot!
“Don’t worry, I won’t lose to a pig!”
Lin Xun viciously glared at Xia Zhi. He also sat at the table and began to eat with gusto as if pumping himself up to slaughter the pig.