Chapter 7
Lin Yun established a task once again, but it was no longer possible to spar with Lin Xia, so he had to add conditions.
[Task: Spar with Lin Xia and remain undefeated. Reward: One bottle of second-grade Vitality Pill.]
"Come on, Sister Lin Xia, I really want to test your depth."
Seeing that the reward was a Vitality Pill, Lin Yun smiled excitedly.
He had already consumed the Vitality Pills he obtained earlier, which had pushed him directly to the peak of the sixth level of body tempering. This pill was very suitable for his current cultivation realm.
Next, he needed a large number of Vitality Pills to break through to the seventh level of body tempering.
It can only be said that Lin Xia came at just the right time; she was truly his lucky star.
"Spirit Sword Finger!"
Lin Xia took the initiative to attack, her fingers like swords, directly stabbing at Lin Yun's front door.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
The sword fingers sliced through the air, and the force at her fingertips howled out a piercing sound. Lin Yun's legs moved continuously, his body incredibly agile, easily dodging Lin Xia's series of attacks.
"You actually mastered the Eight Steps to Chase the Cicada." Lin Xia said in surprise.
In less than two months, Lin Yun had cultivated the Eight Steps to Chase the Cicada to this level; such talent truly shocked her.
Lin Yun smiled without saying a word, delivering a series of punches. His Connecting Back Fist had reached perfection +7, very close to transcending the realm.
Now, any punch he threw could unleash the power he had previously achieved with the tenth strike.
"What a heavy punch, the Connecting Back Fist can be this strong; is this really a first-grade martial art?"
Lin Xia was astonished and had to exert all her strength to counter Lin Yun's attacks with greater power.
"Lin Yun, be careful, Sister is going to use all her strength now."
Lin Xia's vital energy surged, and her aura suddenly intensified. A layer of blue vital energy erupted from her body, far surpassing Lin Yun's vital energy.
"Sister Lin Xia, have you already broken through to the seventh level of body tempering?" Lin Yun smiled slightly, "But defeating me won't be that easy."
Lin Yun was not surprised at Lin Xia's breakthrough to the seventh level of body tempering; she had already reached the peak of the sixth level, so a breakthrough was normal.
"Then let's give it a try!"
Lin Xia said defiantly, increasing the speed of her attacks.
After their last spar, Lin Yun's displayed martial arts talent had pressured her, so she had been diligently training for the past half month.
She didn't believe that being one level higher than Lin Yun would prevent her from defeating her younger brother.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh... Lin Yun's legs moved nimbly, his figure like the wind, darting left and right, as he continuously unleashed punches. His super-fast speed and agile movements allowed Lin Yun to take the initiative in the battle, and with his heavy and powerful punches, no matter how Lin Xia attacked, he could easily block and evade.
After a quarter of an hour.
Lin Xia stopped, panting heavily.
Her vital energy was almost exhausted.
Lin Yun was the same; his vital energy had even run out in front of Lin Xia, but his physique was stronger than hers, allowing him to withstand Lin Xia's attacks for a while longer with his physical strength.
"Ha~"
Lin Xia placed her hands on her hips, breathing heavily, and said, "Lin Yun, you're still the first one in the clan to make me feel so embarrassed. Your movement technique is really too helpless; I can't even hit you. With this movement technique, you can fight above your level."
"Sister Lin Xia, you're overpraising me. If it were a life-and-death battle, I wouldn't be your match at all," Lin Yun replied modestly.
"Hmph, at least you know how to be sensible." Lin Xia smiled proudly.
She had indeed been sparring primarily to test Lin Yun, not intending to put him in a dangerous situation, so her attacks had been rhythmic, starting slow and gradually speeding up.
"Hehe!"
Lin Yun wore an honest smile.
He didn't point out that while Lin Xia was sparring with him, he had also been following her rhythm throughout the fight, never taking the initiative, and before Lin Xia arrived, he had been practicing punches, which had already consumed some of his vital energy.
Additionally, he had not used the Eight Desolate Palm and was wearing weighted shoes that weighed a hundred pounds.
If both were at their peak state in a life-and-death battle, even with a one-level difference, Lin Yun would still have a 70% confidence in defeating Lin Xia.
"Alright, I'm going back; I've worked up a sweat." Lin Xia tidied her clothes and left with a carefree demeanor.
Lin Yun saw her off at the door, "Sister Lin Xia, take care; come visit again when you have time."
[Task: Spar with Lin Xia and remain undefeated. Reward: One bottle of second-grade Vitality Pill. Completed, would you like to claim it?]
"Claim!"
Lin Yun held the Vitality Pill and murmured, "With this bottle of Vitality Pill, I should be able to break through to the seventh level of body tempering."
"Let's see what Sister Lin Xia brought."
Lin Yun opened the several bags that Lin Xia had brought, which were filled with beast meat and medicinal materials for martial artists to replenish their vitality.
Among them was a relatively exquisite redwood box.
Opening it, Lin Yun was slightly distracted, revealing two ginseng roots inside.
"This is the red beard ginseng, a second-grade spiritual herb."
Lin Yun felt a bit moved, not expecting Lin Xia to gift him such a valuable item.
Second-grade spiritual herbs are excellent cultivation materials for martial artists in the body tempering stage and are very precious; there are very few people in the Lin family who can afford them.
This was clearly a resource Lin Xia had cultivated herself, which she shared with Lin Yun.
It should be related to the martial arts talent he displayed last time.
"It might also have been instructed by Lin Ken," Lin Yun thought to himself.
But regardless, he remembered this favor.
With these two second-grade spiritual herbs, Lin Yun was more confident about breaking through to the seventh level of body tempering.
[Task: Break through to the seventh level of body tempering. Reward: Constitution +1, Insight +1.]
Lin Yun established the task and began to consume the vitality pills for cultivation.
Once again immersed in daily training, Lin Yun completed task after task.
[Task: Practice the Connecting Back Fist 1000 times (980/980). Reward: Connecting Back Fist Perfect Proficiency +1. Completed, claim reward?]
"Claim!"
[Task: Connecting Back Fist has reached a profound level. Reward: Fist Technique Talent (Beginner). Completed, claim reward?]
"Claim!"
[Connecting Back Fist (Perfect +10) — (Profound)]
...
Half a month later!
With the help of ten vitality pills and the red beard ginseng gifted by Lin Xia, Lin Yun finally sensed the vitality seed breaking out of his bones.
This was a sign of breaking through to the seventh level of body tempering.
Buzzing... The vitality seed within his body buzzed, and Lin Yun looked inward to see a transparent light mass about the size of a fist, slowly flowing within him, emanating a strange吸力, while under this吸力, faint streams of energy flowed out from the surrounding world, eventually following Lin Yun's breath and entering his body.
"What a large vitality seed."
Lin Yun's face showed joy; according to common sense, a vitality seed that breaks out of the bones is usually only the size of a pinky finger, but his vitality seed was comparable to a sandbag-sized fist, several dozen times larger than normal.
The stronger the vitality seed, the deeper the martial arts foundation.
"It should be due to the special pills I took, like the marrow-cleansing pill, blood-cleansing pill, and vitality pill," Lin Yun thought to himself.
The pills produced by the system are all top-quality; after consumption, they not only have no side effects but also improve the constitution, with extraordinary effects. Coupled with Lin Yun's diligent cultivation and body tempering, these conditions combined led to a solid foundation, which was only natural.
[Task: Break through to the seventh level of body tempering. Reward: Constitution +1, Insight +1. Completed, claim reward?]
"Claim!"
[Insight 8 (Ordinary) — 9 (Ordinary)]
[Constitution 9 (Ordinary) — 10 (Exceptional)]
"Ah, finally broke through. System, check the attribute panel." Lin Yun breathed a sigh of relief; the feeling of breaking through was truly refreshing.
[Name]: Lin Yun
[Talent]: Fist Technique Talent (Beginner), Body Technique Talent (Beginner), Palm Technique Talent (Beginner)
[Constitution]: 10 (Exceptional)
[Root Bone]: 10 (Exceptional)
[Spirit]: 15 (Exceptional)
[Insight]: 9 (Ordinary)
[Cultivation Level]: Seventh level of body tempering
[Martial Arts]: Falling Stone Fist (Major Achievement +6), Connecting Back Fist (Profound), Eight Steps to Catch Cicadas (Perfect +1), Eight Desolate Palm (Perfect +1)
"Hehe, a rich attribute panel looks much better."
Lin Yun smiled with satisfaction, feeling that the efforts of the past two months were worth it.
With two months left until the clan competition, Lin Yun planned to focus on advancing the Falling Stone Fist, Eight Steps to Catch Cicadas, and Eight Desolate Palm.
He wanted to elevate all three martial arts to the profound level.
As for the technique that transcends the path, it requires practicing a hundred thousand times, which he simply doesn't have time for now; he can only wait until his attributes and talents improve, reducing the number of times needed, and then slowly practice.
Even though he already had the profound-level Connecting Back Fist, practicing the Falling Stone Fist was still useful for Lin Yun. The Falling Stone Fist is powerful and heavy, with a shockwave effect that can hit opponents from a distance, making it more effective against opponents with strong defenses, especially when facing tough-skinned beasts like the Ironback Cang Bear, where the Falling Stone Fist is even more practical.
After all, having more skills is never a burden.
Additionally, with various attributes improved, three of them reached "Exceptional," and he even gained a beginner's fist technique talent.
Lin Yun will be much more efficient in practicing the Falling Stone Fist now.
[Task: Practice Falling Stone Fist 100 times (1/60), reward Falling Stone Fist Major Proficiency +1.]
From great achievement to perfection, it originally required 1000 repetitions, but now only 600 are needed, nearly half less.
Five days later!
Lin Yun successfully cultivated the Falling Stone Fist to perfection.
He received a reward, "a bottle of Blood Elixir."
He continued to practice the Falling Stone Fist, and ten days later, he reached the realm of mastery.
He received a reward, "Martial Arts Talent (Beginner +1)."
More than two months later, Lin Yun successfully cultivated the Eight Desolate Palm and the Eight Steps to Chase the Cicada to mastery as well.
He received rewards, "Body Technique Talent (Beginner +2)," "Palm Technique Talent (Beginner +2)."
At this point, Lin Yun's four martial arts had all reached mastery.
However, due to continuously focusing on improving his martial arts proficiency during this time, he had not received any elixir rewards, and Lin Yun's realm was still at the Seventh Layer of Body Refinement.
After the Sixth Layer of Body Refinement, he began to cultivate Yuan Power, and the speed would be very slow relying solely on hard training, making cultivation resources extremely important.
The effects of second-grade spiritual herbs and elixirs on Lin Yun had already begun to weaken.
After that, he would need at least third-grade resources to see significant effects.
Fortunately, the clan competition was about to begin.
The reward for first place in the clan competition was a third-grade spiritual herb, which was a good resource.
Additionally, with many battles in the clan competition, Lin Yun felt he could set up quite a few tasks and should be able to earn many rewards.
Three days later!
As Lin Yun eagerly anticipated, the clan competition finally began.