Chapter 6
[Task: Spar with Lin Xia. Reward: One bottle of Second Grade Blood Qi Pill. Completed, would you like to claim it?]
"Do not claim!"
Hearing the system's prompt, Lin Yun refused to claim it with Lin Xia present, planning to take it out when he got home.
"Lin Yun, you've mastered two martial arts, you have great talent in martial arts cultivation! Come on, I'll take you to the martial arts hall."
Lin Xia said happily.
Before long, the two arrived at the martial arts hall.
Before entering the martial arts hall, Lin Yun also attempted to establish a task.
[Task: Obtain a body technique martial art. Reward: A pair of iron shoes weighing a hundred pounds.]
[Task: Obtain a Second Grade martial art. Reward: One Second Grade Cleansing Pill.]
"Surprisingly it worked!" Lin Yun felt secretly pleased and silently gave the system a thumbs up.
The guards at the entrance of the martial arts hall recognized Lin Xia, and after a brief exchange, they agreed to let Lin Xia take Lin Yun inside.
Stepping into the martial arts hall, a rich scent of books greeted them. The martial arts hall was not small, with several redwood shelves crisscrossing each other, filled with numerous martial arts books.
This wasn't Lin Yun's first time here.
However, he had previously only been in the First Grade martial arts area.
"Come on, let's directly pick from the Second Grade martial arts," Lin Xia said, pulling Lin Yun forward, crossing several rows of redwood shelves to reach the Second Grade martial arts section.
Compared to the First Grade martial arts, the number of Second Grade martial arts was significantly reduced, with only three or four shelves, containing about a hundred books.
Lin Yun first searched for body technique martial arts, which had a very limited selection.
"'Dragon's Roaming Technique,' Second Grade martial art..."
"'Wind-Soaring Steps,' Second Grade martial art..."
"'Eight Steps to Catch the Cicada,' Second Grade martial art..."
After looking through a dozen body technique martial arts, some focused on explosive speed, while others emphasized agility and flexibility.
In the end, Lin Yun made his choice, selecting "Eight Steps to Catch the Cicada," which, as the name suggests, allows one to catch a flying cicada within eight steps.
This was an extremely powerful lightness skill martial art, emphasizing lightness and swiftness, combining flexibility and speed, with explosive potential.
"Lin Yun, this martial art is only Second Grade, but it is one of the best among the Second Grades. Once mastered, the speed can nearly compare to Third Grade martial arts. The reason it hasn't been classified as Third Grade is mainly that this martial art is very difficult to cultivate, requiring high physical standards, and one must achieve a certain level of coordination in their limbs to master it. No one in the clan has successfully cultivated this martial art in a long time. Are you sure you want to choose it?"
Lin Xia advised, as she often came to the martial arts hall to read and was familiar with most martial arts, quickly pointing out the drawbacks of "Eight Steps to Catch the Cicada."
"I'll give it a try. If it doesn't work, I'll switch. At that time, I'll trouble Sister Lin Xia to make another trip," Lin Yun joked.
Lin Xia replied, "Whether I run or not doesn't matter; after all, we're in the clan, it's just a few steps. The main thing is you. Well, you have high martial arts talent, so trying it out should be fine."
After selecting the desired body technique martial art, Lin Yun followed Lin Xia's suggestion and chose a Second Grade attack martial art.
After some selection, Lin Yun chose the Eight Desolations Palm that Lin Hong had learned before.
This martial art was quite popular in the Lin family, and many people practiced it. Lin Hong was a major practitioner of this palm technique, and Lin Yun would also cultivate it later.
Lin Yun had a bit of a mischievous side and wanted to join in the fun to see who could cultivate it better.
Of course, this palm technique was also quite suitable for Lin Yun, as it involved hand techniques. With a foundation in two types of boxing, combined with the Eight Desolations Palm's reputation for being fierce and powerful, it was similar to the Falling Rock Fist, making it easier for him to cultivate.
After leaving the martial arts hall, Lin Yun and Lin Xia parted ways.
...
[Task: Spar with Lin Xia. Reward: One bottle of Second Grade Blood Qi Pill. Completed, would you like to claim it?]
[Task: Obtain a body technique martial art. Reward: A pair of iron shoes weighing a hundred pounds. Completed, would you like to claim it?]
[Task: Obtain a Second Grade martial art. Reward: One Second Grade Cleansing Pill. Completed, would you like to claim it?]
"Claim!"
Returning to the quiet small courtyard, Lin Yun immediately claimed the rewards.
One bottle of Second Grade Blood Qi Pill, one Second Grade Cleansing Pill, and one pair of iron shoes weighing a hundred pounds.
The Cleansing Pill was a milky white pill the size of a longan, exuding a pleasant fragrance, round and full. This pill had the effect of cleansing the meridians and marrow, capable of improving one's constitution and enhancing talent.
Lin Yun directly swallowed the refined medicine.
As the medicinal power spread throughout his body, Lin Yun felt impurities being forced out of his body.
Before long, a layer of black, oily substance appeared on the surface of Lin Yun's body.
After a refreshing shower, Lin Yun began to establish tasks, practicing the Eight Steps to Catch the Cicada and the Tongbei Fist.
The iron shoes weighing a hundred pounds were very suitable for practicing the Eight Steps to Catch the Cicada; generally, practicing lightness skills would involve using weighted methods.
Imagine, when Lin Yun practices wearing these shoes, once he masters the Eight Steps to Catch the Cicada and takes them off, how fast will he be?
One month later!
In the courtyard, Lin Yun opened his palm, and a cicada flew out from his hand, flapping its wings at a high frequency, instantly flying dozens of meters away, about to leap over the wall to escape.
Lin Yun smiled slightly, letting the cicada fly for three seconds first.
After three seconds, Lin Yun moved his legs; the hundred-pound iron shoes did not affect him at all. His figure nearly turned into an afterimage, his toes touched the ground, he pushed off the wall, and with a light leap, he reached the top of the wall, extending his hand to catch the flying cicada.
The cicada lay motionless in Lin Yun's hand.
This cicada had been captured for practicing the Eight Steps to Catch the Cicada, released and recaptured repeatedly over a hundred times, and at this moment, it had lost all desire to live.
[Task: Practice the Eight Steps to Catch the Cicada 10 times. Reward: Eight Steps to Catch the Cicada minor proficiency +1. Completed, claim?]
"Claim!"
[Task: Master the Eight Steps to Catch the Cicada. Reward: A bottle of second-grade Vitality Pills.]
"Claim!"
[Vitality Pill: A pill refined from the essence of heaven and earth, capable of enhancing vital energy.]
Lin Yun smiled with satisfaction; after a month, he had finally mastered the Eight Steps to Catch the Cicada.
As expected of second-grade martial arts, it took much longer than first-grade martial arts.
The main reason was that during the initial practice, he spent ten days, but after mastering it, he repeatedly practiced to gain experience, and it only took five days to reach mastery.
Of course, during this time, Lin Yun also practiced two other fist techniques and the Eight Desolate Palm.
The Eight Desolate Palm had already reached minor proficiency.
During this period, Lin Yun tried to establish tasks for achieving entry-level and minor proficiency, but found that he could not meet the task requirements for either martial art at that level.
Only by reaching mastery could he establish tasks.
However, the reward for mastering second-grade martial arts was the same level as that for achieving perfection in first-grade martial arts.
It seemed that mastering second-grade martial arts might yield even better rewards, and Lin Yun immediately established tasks.
[Task: Master the Eight Steps to Catch the Cicada. Reward: Agility Talent (Beginner).]
[Task: Master the Eight Desolate Palm. Reward: A bottle of second-grade Vitality Pills.]
[Task: Master the Eight Desolate Palm to perfection. Reward: Palm Technique Talent (Beginner).]
"Just achieving perfection can grant a talent reward; truly worthy of second-grade martial arts," Lin Yun sighed, preparing to push for the perfection of the Eight Steps to Catch the Cicada and the Eight Desolate Palm.
As for the already perfected Tongbei Fist, he would set it aside for now, as reaching a transcendent level required 10,000 repetitions.
Lin Yun currently had pills and food.
The demon beasts he had hunted were stored in the Qiankun bag, which could preserve them for a long time, so he didn't have to worry about food and resources for a short time.
He could focus on closed-door cultivation.
Twenty days later!
Lin Yun successfully mastered the Eight Steps to Catch the Cicada and obtained the Beginner Agility Talent.
After claiming the reward, a peculiar energy merged into his body, seemingly breaking some shackles within him, allowing his limbs and acupoints to flow freely, and his vital energy to operate smoothly.
Practicing the Eight Steps to Catch the Cicada again became much easier.
At the same time, Lin Yun noticed that the task he established for practicing the Eight Steps to Catch the Cicada had changed due to obtaining the Beginner Agility Talent.
[Task: Practice the Eight Steps to Catch the Cicada 10,000 times (1/9,000). Reward: Eight Steps to Catch the Cicada perfection proficiency +1.]
Originally, it required 10,000 repetitions to increase the proficiency once, but it was directly reduced to 9,000, saving him 1,000 repetitions.
This saved Lin Yun quite a bit of time.
It seemed that the enhancement of physical attributes and talents had a significant effect on the progress of cultivation.
This further stimulated Lin Yun's determination to obtain the Palm Technique Talent and Fist Technique Talent.
Lin Yun was invigorated, immersing himself in the practice of the Eight Desolate Palm and the Tongbei Fist.
In the blink of an eye, another month passed.
One day, someone suddenly came to visit him.
When he opened the door, it was Lin Xia.
"Sister Lin Xia, what brings you here?" Lin Yun was somewhat surprised; guests rarely visited his courtyard.
Lin Xia said, "Ever since you got the Eight Steps to Catch the Cicada last time, I heard you haven't gone out, so I came to see how your training is going. Why don't you invite me in to sit?"
"Oh, Sister Lin Xia, please." Lin Yun quickly welcomed her inside.
Lin Xia curiously looked around Lin Yun's yard; it was her first time visiting his home. The yard was very clean but simple, with not much clutter or furniture aside from tables and chairs.
On the table in the yard, there were only a water cup and a towel.
Lin Xia was carrying several bags in her hand. She placed the items on the table and casually picked up the towel to hand it to Lin Yun.
"You're all sweaty; you were just practicing martial arts, right? Wipe yourself off first."
Lin Xia said with some concern.
"I brought you some food. For martial artists, blood and energy are very important. You need to pay attention to replenishing your body. If you keep training without a break, it's easy to overexert yourself, which isn't good. If you need anything, just tell your sister; don't be polite."
She assessed Lin Yun's physique. The previous Lin Yun was thin, but now he looked quite good. Although he wasn't particularly strong, his muscles were even, and his lines were clear, looking very capable.
"Thank you, Sister Lin Xia. I'll be careful; don't worry, my foundation is very solid." Lin Yun said with a silly smile.
"Is that so? Then let me test just how solid your foundation is." Lin Xia replied with a smile.
She then assumed a stance, preparing to spar with Lin Yun again.