“A loss is a loss. Making excuses? Is this the caliber of the Ling Clan’s main family disciples?”
Facing Ling Chong’s excuses and the crowd’s murmurs, Ling Xiao tossed out that single line and turned to leave.
Ling Chong gnashed his teeth in fury.
He shouted after Ling Xiao, “Little beggar, you wait and see! Once I’ve healed, I won’t hold back next time!”
With that, he clutched his chest, his face twisted in pain, and was helped away by two outer disciples.
To Ling Chong, losing to Ling Xiao today was just a fluke born of underestimation.
In the past, that kid never fought back when attacked. Today, he’d dared to strike first.
No, he had to train harder. Next time, he’d make Ling Xiao pay!
…
Ling Xiao returned home and told his grandfather about defeating Ling Chong, then retreated to his room to continue training.
He knew full well that his victory today had some luck to it.
First, Ling Chong had underestimated him. Second, he’d relied on the Mountain and River Martial Soul.
But that wasn’t true strength.
Ling Chong’s advanced martial art was among the best in secular techniques, just below the pinnacle tier. If he mastered it, even with the Mountain and River Martial Soul pinpointing flaws, Ling Xiao might not catch them.
So Ling Xiao had already decided: while the Mountain and River Martial Soul was a boon, his own strength was the key.
If he could reach the Second Stage and awaken his second martial vein, he might beat Ling Chong again—even if Ling Chong didn’t underestimate him—thanks to the soul’s help.
But not now. Each martial vein awakening brought a massive boost in power.
The gap between the First and Second Stages was vast.
The human body has nine martial veins, thus the nine stages of Martial Veins.
Every three stages form a phase.
The first phase—the first three stages—is called the Awakening Phase.
As the name suggests, it awakens a martial artist’s power, strengthens the body, and lays the foundation for martial cultivation.
Generally, in the Awakening Phase, each vein awakened adds one to two hundred jin of strength.
At the same time, true qi increases by 100 standard points.
Standard points are the unit of a martial artist’s true qi. Most don’t bother with the term, simply saying “points of true qi.”
In battles between martial artists, victory often hinges on strength and true qi reserves.
So, a First Stage martial artist, compared to a Second Stage one, lacks one to two hundred jin of strength and a hundred points of true qi—a huge disadvantage in combat.
That’s why everyone was so shocked when Ling Xiao, at the First Stage, defeated Ling Chong, a Second Stage martial artist, in one move.
They’d even cling to absurd excuses to explain it.
One or two hundred jin of strength and a hundred points of true qi were critical for a martial artist.
Thus, Ling Xiao figured that since he couldn’t access higher-tier martial texts yet, the best move was to break through fast.
Once he reached the Second Stage, he’d qualify to enter the Ling Clan’s library and choose better martial texts.
The Second Stage was a turning point.
With that in mind, Ling Xiao didn’t hesitate.
He began practicing Barbarian Bull Strength repeatedly in his room.
Of course, each iteration followed the movements of the figure in the Mountain and River painting.
Barbarian Bull Strength had nine forms.
So far, Ling Xiao could perfectly match the figure’s movements only in the first three forms.
That wasn’t nearly enough.
One round!
Two rounds!
Three rounds!
He kept repeating, kept practicing!
Not only did Ling Xiao find his movements flowing like water, smooth and effortless, but each form seemed to carry greater power than before.
Best of all, after a dozen rounds, he perfected not just the first three forms but the fourth, fifth, and sixth as well.
The surprises didn’t stop there.
With each practice, he noticed a stream of energy from the Mountain and River Martial Soul trickling into his dantian and martial veins.
It seemed the soul could convert natural energy into true qi for the martial artist to wield!
Though just a hunch, if true, Ling Xiao’s cultivation of any technique might outpace others dramatically.
He’d be training, and the Mountain and River Martial Soul would be training him too—doubling his progress.
Plus, he noticed a change in the soul: the painting, once showing just a corner of a village through the mist, was revealing more.
Though the increase was slight, it hinted at potential.
The Mountain and River Martial Soul’s effects might not be fully unlocked. Perhaps when the mist cleared entirely and the painting was fully revealed, that’d be the true awakening of the soul.
Keep pushing, keep working!
Though he knew little about the soul, Ling Xiao was sure it meant him no harm.
Once again, he tirelessly ran through Barbarian Bull Strength, this time focusing on perfecting the final three unmastered forms.
From morning till night, aside from mealtimes, he barely rested.
In the end, he perfected the seventh and eighth forms. He figured that mastering the ninth would break the barrier to the Second Stage.
But he wasn’t a machine—just a thirteen-year-old kid. Eventually, he collapsed on the floor mid-practice and fell asleep.
The next morning, Ling Xiao’s first act upon rising was to train again.
He had no choice—the crushing sense of crisis and pressure drove him to strive.
Pathetically, he no longer even had access to the training ground.
That ground wasn’t fought over just for pride.
Built by the Ling Clan’s ancestor with special materials, its stone tiles were unique.
Training there consumed less stamina and yielded greater gains.
“One day, I’ll not only train openly on that ground, but I’ll get my grandpa a better house.”
Their current shack leaked terribly in the rain, barely better than the dilapidated temple they’d lived in as beggars.
This morning, Ling Xiao focused on the ninth form, practicing it relentlessly.
After over a hundred repetitions, he felt an unprecedented ease and exhilaration.
All nine forms of Barbarian Bull Strength were perfected, identical to the figure in the painting.
“The room’s too cramped. Let’s test its power outside!”
Having mastered Barbarian Bull Strength, Ling Xiao was eager to see the might of this basic martial art.
He stepped out—not to the training ground, but beyond the Ling Clan gates to a small grove.
“Hah!”
With a shout, Ling Xiao charged like a roaring bull, slamming into a boulder ahead.
The rock, weighing two to three hundred jin, had once borne only scratches from his strikes—shattering it had been impossible.
But this time, as the raging bull crashed into it, the boulder shattered with a resounding boom.
“Second Stage! I’ve finally broken through!”
