Chapter 8: Elementary Martial Artist!

  Back in the martial arts hall, Tang Lin saw his father sitting in the main hall from afar, seemingly deep in thought. He walked into the main hall, and the sound of his footsteps startled his father.

  "Are you back?" Tang Tian raised his head and looked at Tang Lin warmly. "Why did you come back so late today."

  "This... " Tang Lin's face showed a difficult expression. If he said he went to the free market, his father would inevitably ask more questions. If he tried to gloss over it, it wasn't what was in his heart anyway.

  From a young age, reading the books of sages emphasizes being honest and true to others, never telling lies. Telling lies to outsiders is for self-protection, but telling lies to loved ones is a form of harm.

  Tang Tian smiled slightly and said: "Is there something you can't say? Never mind, everyone has their own secrets. You go eat first, let Old Lady Song warm it up for you."

  Tang Lin looked at his father with gratitude, a surge of warmth rising in his chest, and almost couldn't help but blurt out everything about the free market.

  "Lin Er." Tang Tian Chong gazed at Tang Lin and said, "Tomorrow, I and your brother will be going out to the Misty Swamp for a training trip. This time, we might need to stay out for about a month, so you'll be in charge of things at home. The Martial Hall has Uncle Zhou as the instructor, don't come back too late every day, and listen to everything Uncle Zhou says."

  "Go to the Misty Swamp?" Tang Lin was shocked in his heart, "There are all fierce beasts there, and also have monsters. These monsters have lived for hundreds of years, have gained wisdom, and can even cast simple magic spells. What if we encounter danger..."

  "Don't worry." Tang Tian said confidently: "With me and your brother, even if we encounter a monster, nothing will happen."

  "Is it for the kickboxing tournament four months later?" Tang Lin asked worriedly.

  Although Big Brother is a high-ranking martial artist, his combat experience is really too immature. Father's purpose this time is obviously to train Big Brother.

  "Hmm." Tang Tian nodded slightly, his expression solemn, and said: "Four months from now, if your big brother can enter the top three in the Kick Hall tournament, our Pure Yang Martial Arts Institute will be able to return to its former state. The rent for the mansion won't be lacking, and we'll even have money to buy many powerful martial arts secret manuals."

  "Top three strong..." Tang Lin's eyebrows furrowed, in this kick-off tournament, the Tianlong Martial Arts Academy would inevitably occupy one spot, and the remaining two spots would be competed for by the Listening Rain Pavilion and other top three martial arts academies, as well as over a dozen mid-tier martial arts academies. It was quite difficult for Big Brother to stand out among so many people, if it were Second Sister who participated, there might still be some hope, but she was far away in the capital and had just joined the Seven Star Martial Arts Academy, with no time to return.

  "If I were a senior martial artist now, I could also participate." Tang Lin thought to himself.

  ……

  Late at night.

  After dinner, Tang Lin took out the materials he had bought from his book bag and placed them one by one on the desk.

  "Xiao Hui." Tang Lin looked at Xiao Hui who was pressed under the book basket, his eyes shining, "Can we start refining the elixir now?"

  "Hmm." Xiao Hui nodded slightly and said, "I can't refine it personally, I can only teach you the method. Be extremely careful not to make any mistakes, otherwise, we'll have to prepare another set of materials."

  Tang Lin's heart tightened, his expression turned solemn, and he said, "How did you refine it?"

  "Refining the elixir is the foundation of a demon-suppressing master, and this 'Blood Cloud Elixir' is just the most basic kind of elixir, not even considered an elixir." Xiao Hui said with a hint of arrogance, "Elixir refinement has three key points: controlling fire, observing color, and smelling fragrance. First, you must control the fire timing well, so that the materials don't turn into a pile of ash. Next is observing the color to see which stage the materials are in. Finally, it's smelling the fragrance; if the aroma is too strong, it indicates two problems: either the materials are about to burn or the elixir is almost successful!"

  Tang Lin listened attentively, knowing it was supplementing his own knowledge.

  "Now, let's start with the first step. First, light up the Longxiang wood charcoal and place it in the copper stove's firebox." Xiaohui explained, lying on the desk: "This Longxiang wood charcoal is made from rare Longxiang wood, specifically used for refining elixirs. Wealthy families also use this charcoal to warm themselves during winter, as its fragrance can repel insects and kill toxins, boosting the body's immunity."

  Under his guidance, Tang Lin ignited the Longxiang wood charcoal and placed it in a copper box at the bottom of the copper furnace. Soon, the heat from the three pieces of burning wood charcoal made the copper furnace scorching hot and turned red.

  "Put the ginseng in and mash it, wait for two minutes, then take out the ginseng juice and put it aside. Next, mash the he shou wu and ba lian ye and put them in, place it on the stove, then drip the ginseng juice inside..." Xiao Hui guided step by step.

  Tang Lin swiftly and nimbly crushed various medicinal pellets and put them in, his fingers and arms steady without the slightest tremble.

  Ten minutes later——

  A thick fragrance wafted out of the copper stove, spreading throughout the entire house, making one feel as if every pore on their body was relaxed.

  "The medicine is ready." Little Gray said with relief.

  Tang Lin was overjoyed in his heart, and hastily opened the copper furnace. He saw a bright red elixir pill lying on the furnace mouth, emitting a refreshing fragrance.

  "After going through the process of taking Dan, adding materials, simmering, and refining several times, it finally succeeded!" Tang Lin's expression was excited, but his hands were carefully and gently pouring ink to extinguish the Longxiang wood charcoal in the copper furnace, before carefully taking out this bright red dan medicine.

  "Hurry up and eat it, don't let the dan energy dissipate." Little Gray reminded.

  Tang Lin didn't say a word, and immediately put the still warm pill into his mouth. Before he could even chew it, he felt the pill melt like ice and snow, turning into a stream of clear fragrant water that flowed directly into his stomach.

  Hot!

  As soon as the elixir entered his body, before it was even digested, a fiery burning sensation immediately spread from Tang Lin's limbs and bones. His entire body seemed to be on fire, with the fresh blood flowing through his meridians like molten lava, scorching hot.

  At this moment, Tang Lin's face was already bright red, his eyes were extremely red, and his whole body's skin turned red, with black stench dripping from above.

  "It's so hot, it's unbearable!"

  Tang Lin closed his eyes in agony, his body trembling slightly, as if a fierce flame was burning inside him, about to burn through his chest!

  "Hold on, it'll be alright soon." Little Gray comforted.

  Tang Lin's brain was almost scorched, his consciousness became blurred, and he could only grit his teeth and endure desperately.

  Slowly, after a few minutes, Tang Lin felt the scorching heat all over his body recede like a tide, replaced by a refreshing and cool sensation that filled his entire being. A light and full power seemed to flow through his limbs and bones.

  Open your eyes, and the view in front of you seems clearer.

  Tang Lin clenched his fist, and immediately felt an unprecedented surge of power, as if he had transformed into a giant, capable of knocking down walls with a single punch!

  Tang Lin thought of "Kang Long Jin", his body moved like a flowing cloud, in the small house, his footsteps were not chaotic at all, and between his two feet, there seemed to be a hidden Tai Chi diagram, no matter how he turned, he didn't bump into the bookshelf or chair next to him.

  "Cheers!"

  The fist technique was executed to its strongest form, and a powerful punch slammed into the wall.

  Power surges through the back of the fist, vigor bursts forth!

  Boom!

  The beam on the wall shook violently.

  Tang Lin's body released a surge of power like a flood, and he immediately felt an indescribable lightness in his body. Looking down, he only then discovered that on the white scholar's robe covering his entire body, a layer of black spots had seeped through, resembling sweat, filled with a foul stench.

  "This is the dust accumulated in your body, go wash it quickly." Xiaohui jumped away and said: "This dog's nose is too sharp, get away from me!"

  Tang Lin couldn't help but burst out laughing, the enormous power brought by his body's transformation gave him unprecedented confidence, all previous gloom was swept away, and he was filled with sunshine and vigor.

  Find a few clean clothes, Tang Lin quickly went to take a cold shower, although it was in the depths of winter, but he didn't feel the slightest bit cold.

  "I don't know if I can lift a hundred-jin boulder now!" Tang Lin's eyes shone brightly, and after changing into a gray outfit, he quietly arrived at the martial arts training grounds. At this moment, there was no one else around, so he walked to the edge of a large bluish-green boulder at the top of the training grounds.

  "This stone should be the one they used for their assessment training." Tang Lin had seen this stone before, it was for beginner martial artists to train with, the martial arts school had specially commissioned craftsmen to carve it, exactly 100 catties.

  "Cheers!"

  Tang Lin hugged the huge stone tightly with both hands, took a deep breath, and then exerted himself to lift it up towards his head!

  Boom!

  The stone was slightly shaken and immediately lifted by his arm over his head.

  Tang Lin persisted for a while and found that his body did not feel tired at all, only feeling a bit strenuous, but there was no sign of trembling or weakness in his waist and legs.

  "It seems that my body, after being transformed by the Blood Cloud Pill, has become as strong as an ox, and belongs to the range of a beginner martial artist!" Tang Lin was delighted in his heart, put down the stone, quickly left the training grounds, and returned to his own room.

  "From today on, I will officially set foot on the path of martial arts and pursue the way of a warrior!" Tang Lin clenched his fists, with a gleam in his eyes.

  "Now your Qi and blood are weak, but they have been supplemented, and the Qi and blood in your body now are more than three times that of an ordinary person. Your body will develop rapidly." Xiaohui jumped onto the desk and said: "From today on, you can start practicing fist techniques to quickly increase your strength!"

  Tang Lin nodded heavily.

  "The boxing technique you used earlier, although I don't know what kind of boxing it is, but it's too basic." Xiaohui shook his head and said: "That boxing technique can barely be used to fight people, but if you use that technique to train your body, at least three to five years are needed to make the 360 bones in your body as strong as steel."

  Tang Lin was taken aback for a moment, then sighed and said: "Our Pure Yang Martial Arts Institute originally had a 'Pure Yang Martial Classics' that was specifically used to train the basic skills of the body, but it's gone missing. If not, cultivating that martial classic would make becoming a warrior easy."

  "I originally had a martial arts manual called 'Dragon Blood Classic' that was specifically used for physical training." Xiaohui shook his head and said, "Unfortunately, your foundation is too weak. At the very least, you need to become a warrior before you can barely practice this manual. With your current foundation, there's another set of fist techniques that are more suitable for you to practice."

  Tang Lin's eyes lit up and he hastily asked: "What fist technique?"