Breakthrough

"If you lost, then you've lost. Why seek an excuse? It turns out the Ling Clan's disciples are this kind of trash!"

Facing Ling Chong's quibbling and everybody's comments, Ling Xiao turned and left, only leaving behind this sentence.

Ling Chong gnashed his teeth in anger.

He roared at Ling Xiao's back, "Little beggar, just you wait! After I recover from this injury, I won't hold back again!"

After speaking, he covered his chest and left with an ugly complexion, supported by two outer disciples.

In Ling Chong's view, he had only lost because he had underestimated the enemy.

In the past, when he had hit Ling Xiao, that kid had never dared to retaliate. Unexpected, today he had taken the initiative to fight.

This wouldn't do! He had to temper himself and make that punk pay the price next time!

Upon returning home, Ling Xiao told his grandfather that he had defeated Ling. Then, he returned to his room and continued cultivating.

He was well aware that today's victory had truly been a stroke of luck.

First, the other party had underestimated him, and second, he had relied on the Landscape Martial Soul.

In the end, that was not his true strength.

Among the secular martial arts, Ling Chong's advanced martial art was second only to peak martial arts. If it were truly practiced to perfection, then even if the Landscape Martial Soul could analyze its flaws, Ling Xiao might be unable to seize the chance.

Fortunately, Ling Xiao had already realized a fundamental truth. Forging iron would always be hard. Although the Landscape Martial Soul was undoubtedly good, improving his own strength was the key.

If he were able to reach Rank Two Martial Vein, perhaps even if Ling Chong didn't underestimate him, he would win again by relying on the Landscape Martial Soul.

However, it was definitely impossible now. After all, the opening of each martial vein brought along a huge improvement in strength.

The gap between a Rank One Martial Vein and Rank Two Martial Vein was not so easily overcome.

The human body had nine martial veins, so there were nine Martial Vein ranks.

Every three ranks were a stage.

The first stage, the first three ranks, was also called the awakening stage.

As its name suggested, it represented the awakening of a martial artist's power, strengthening the body and laying the foundation for cultivation.

Under normal circumstances, in the awakening stage each martial vein would increase one's strength by 200 pounds.

Simultaneously, one's true qi would also increase by 100 standard points.

Standard points represented the measurement units of a martial artists' true qi. Usually, martial artists would simplify measurements of total energy through these standardized points.

In fact, victory or defeat was often determined by their physical strength and true qi reserves.

In other words, compared to Rank Two Martial Vein martial artists, Rank One Martial Vein martial artists not only lacked 200 pounds of strength, but they also lacked 100 points of true qi. Therefore, any battle between them was a very disadvantageous one for Rank One Martial Vein martial artists.

This was why those people were so surprised when Ling Xiao had defeated the Rank Two Martial Vein Ling Chong in a single move with his Rank One Martial Vein strength.

It was to the extent that they were willing to believe an utterly absurd argument.

200 pounds of strength and 100 points of strength represented a single fold increase between the initial two ranks. They were truly too important for any martial artist.

Therefore, without a way to obtain higher-grade martial arts, Ling Xiao's best method to increase his strength was to quickly breakthrough.

As long as he could reach Rank Two Martial Vein, he would be qualified to enter the Ling Clan's Library Pavilion to choose some higher-grade martial arts.

It would be his turning point.

Thinking this, Ling Xiao no longer hesitated.

He continuously practiced Barbarian Bull Strength in his room.

Naturally, every move was performed in accordance with the movements of that figure in the Landscape Painting.

Altogether, Barbarian Bull Strength had nine styles.

At present, Ling Xiao could only copy the figure for the first three styles. This was not enough.

One time!

Two times!

Three times!

Continuous repetition! Continuous practice!

Ling Xiao noticed that his movements became more smooth even as each form and move brimmed with greater power.

Naturally, what made him happiest was that after repeating the styles more than ten times, the fourth, fifth and sixth styles also reached perfection.

Nevertheless, his surprise was not limited to this.

During every round of practice, he noticed energy from his Landscape Martial Soul slowly flowing into his Dantian martial vein.

This Landscape Martial Soul could unexpectedly convert natural energy into true qi that a martial artist could use!

Although this was just a guess, if this matter were true, then hereafter, no matter what merit law he cultivated, his cultivation would be far more effective than others'.

After all, when he cultivated, the Landscape Martial Soul also helped him cultivate, speeding up his improvement.

In addition, he noticed a slight change in his Landscape Martial Soul. Originally, only a corner of a village had been visible in the cloudy mist of the Landscape Painting. Now, the mists gradually receded to reveal more scenery.

Although only a small increment, it represented an exciting possibility.

He had not fully excavated the effects of the Landscape Martial Soul. When the cloud mist completely disappeared, the complete Landscape Painting would appear. At that time, he might completely obtain the true miracles of the Landscape Martial Soul.

He had to work even harder!

Although Ling Xiao knew very little about the Landscape Martial Soul, he knew that this thing could only be beneficial for him.

Once again, he patiently practiced Barbarian Bull Strength again and again. This time, he focused on the final three styles that had yet to reach perfection.

He practiced from morning until night. Except for eating, he rarely rested.

The final result was his perfecting of the seventh and eighth styles. Sensing his own veins, he estimated that as long as he perfected the ninth style, he would breakthrough the bottleneck preventing him from becoming a Rank Two Martial Vein martial artist.

However, he was not a machine; he was a thirteen-year-old child. In the end, he unexpectedly fell asleep on the ground while cultivating.

The next morning, Ling Xiao blearily sat up and unexpectedly immediately threw himself back into cultivation.

There was no way out. His strong sense of crisis pressured him to diligently work.

Now, his circumstances were so miserable that he was not even qualified to practice at the training grounds.

Others fought for the training grounds for an issue beyond simple face.

Built by the ancestors of the Ling Clan using special materials, the training grounds were a precious resource. Even the stone bricks laid on the groundwork were special items.

Training there not only consumed less energy, but also led to much greater.

"There will come a day when I will not only openly cultivate at the training grounds but also let my grandpa live in a better house."

At present, they lived in a dilapidated house. When it rained, it leaked. It was almost as bad as the broken temple where they had lived as beggars.

This morning, Ling Xiao focused on cultivating the ninth.

Finally, after practicing it over a hundred times, he felt an unprecedented comfort. Barely controlling his joy, he hastily stood.

All nine styles of Barbarian Bull Strength had reached perfection. His movements perfectly mirrored the figure in the Landscape Painting.

"This room is too narrow. It would be better to go outside to give it a try!"

After Ling Xiao had trained Barbarian Bull Strength to perfection, he truly wanted to test the full might of this basic martial art.

Leaving his humble abode, he ignored the path to the training grounds and exited the Ling Clan before arriving at a small forest.

"Ha!"

Shouting, Ling Xiao's shoulders broadened; his form resembling a barbarian bull, he directly crashed into a boulder.

From a cursory glance, this boulder was roughly two to three hundred pounds. In the past, Ling Xiao had only left some scant marks upon striking it. Breaking it would have been impossible.

This time, as this violent barbarian bull struck that boulder, it emitted a thunderous shattering sound.

"Rank Two Martial Vein! I finally broke through!"