Chapter 30

In the center of Hiyun Village, there is a training ground.

As the morning light breaks, a gentle breeze blows, and a group of children stand with serious expressions, diligently practicing the Marching Fist. Their movements are skilled and well-structured.

Compared to before, the Marching Fist performed by these village children now has a more refined quality, with broad and powerful movements!

Lin Xun, who was standing nearby supervising the children, couldn't help but nod in approval.

In the past, the "Marching Fist" practiced by these children was formless and spiritless, with many techniques for generating power being overlooked. If they continued to practice this way, they would inevitably go astray.

Now, after Lin Xun's guidance and corrections, these children have begun to grasp the essential subtleties of the Marching Fist.

Lin Xun had also speculated, not without malice, that the guards like Lian Rufeng might not have been teaching these children martial arts with genuine effort.

Otherwise, with their keen eyesight, how could they have failed to notice the flaws?

On the other side of the training ground, four children were sitting cross-legged in meditation, including Ying Hao's son, "Ying Liuer."

These four children were all around seven or eight years old, with better aptitude than the others. They had already sensed the flow of qi and could "draw qi into their bodies." With gradual refinement, they could enter the ranks of true cultivators.

Lin Xun did not hold back with them, teaching them the "Embrace Essence Technique" he had learned and using the flesh of snow-spotted leopards and unicorn-scaled lizards to strengthen their physical bodies and replenish their spiritual energy.

This was also for the future development of Hiyun Village.

Lin Xun was clear that if one day Lian Rufeng and his group were eliminated, Hiyun Village would lose all its guards.

Moreover, Lin Xun could not stay in Hiyun Village forever. In such a situation, it was urgent to have someone replace Lian Rufeng and protect the safety of the entire village.

Ying Liuer and the other four were the seeds Lin Xun had chosen.

Before leaving, Lin Xun would impart as much of his cultivation insights as possible to them. From then on, it would be up to them to strive on their own.

While supervising the children's martial arts practice, Lin Xun was not idle. He held a green wooden saber in his hand, not using any spiritual energy, and relied solely on muscle strength to hone the subtleties of the "Six-Character Saber Technique."

Swish!

A small willow leaf fell, and with a flash of the saber, the leaf was cut in half.

This was quite common, and almost any cultivator could do it. However, if one looked closely, they would notice that the cut followed a curved vein on the leaf, not a straight line!

In other words, Lin Xun's saber was not only as fast as lightning but also precisely followed the vein of the leaf.

The leaf was delicate, the saber's edge was like lightning, and he used only the strength of his wrist joint to achieve this. If some highly skilled cultivators saw this, they would surely praise it without hesitation.

This was "Subtle Precision"!

Martial arts also have levels, divided into "Initial Insight," "Subtle Precision," "Precision," and "Perfection."

For the Marching Fist, when one starts practicing, being able to perform all the moves is considered the "Initial Insight" level.

With practice, one can begin to understand the essence of the moves, which is the "Subtle Precision" level.

On this basis, being able to fully utilize the essence of the moves is the "Precision" level.

"Perfection" means thoroughly understanding all the secrets of the Marching Fist and fully unleashing its power.

At this level, each move is as smooth as flowing clouds, and one can effortlessly unleash formidable combat power.

These are the four levels of most combat techniques.

Lin Xun had already refined the "Marching Fist" to the "Precision" level, and was just one step away from reaching "Perfection."

This was quite normal, as the Marching Fist is a basic technique with low requirements for practitioners. However, even the simplest technique is not easy to perfect.

This requires a certain level of insight.

After all, the personalities and spiritual energies of cultivators vary, and the style of the Marching Fist they perform also differs. To reach "Perfection," one must find a style that suits them.

However, most cultivators do not waste time on basic techniques, as they have limited power and are not worth much effort to refine.

For Lin Xun, the Marching Fist was the only technique he knew, and he had no other options. Therefore, he naturally had to spend more time refining this technique.

In his view, even a basic technique, if perfected, could unleash unimaginable power.

To put it in perspective, a high-level technique is like an iron sword, while a basic technique is like a wooden sword. A wooden sword is definitely not as powerful as an iron sword.

But the key is who wields it!

In the hands of a skilled practitioner, a wooden sword can kill, while in the hands of an ordinary person, even the sharpest iron sword is useless.

To perfect the Marching Fist, one needs insight, which cannot be rushed. Currently, Lin Xun is focusing more on refining the "Six-Character Saber Technique."

This saber technique is indeed unique and extremely powerful, but it is also more difficult to practice than ordinary techniques.

Currently, Lin Xun can only achieve "Subtle Precision," and is far from "Precision," let alone "Perfection."

This was achieved through the battles with the blood-red bats. Otherwise, it would be impossible for Lin Xun to reach the "Subtle Precision" level of the "Six-Character Saber Technique."

This experience also made Lin Xun realize that no matter how much one practices, it is ultimately like building a cart in a closed room. Only through actual combat can one deeply understand the essence of the saber technique!

"I need to find an opportunity to go back to that deep forest. If I can encounter some fierce beasts to practice my saber technique, that would be even better..."

A thought formed in Lin Xun's mind.

Actual combat not only hones martial skills but also strengthens one's willpower, courage, and experience. A cultivator who does not understand combat will never achieve much in cultivation!

...

After seven days of effort, all the spirit grains planted in Hiyun Village were harvested, totaling about 6,000 pounds.

Although this was less than in previous years, the villagers were already very satisfied.

They all knew that after the insect disaster, being able to harvest so much spirit grain was truly something to celebrate.

Because Lin Xun had successfully eliminated the insect threat, every household in the village gave him a portion of their harvest, totaling nearly 100 pounds.

In the past, these spirit grains would have been used as goods to be transported to the Qingyang Tribe, a thousand miles away, to exchange for living supplies.

However, this time, no one planned to do so. The villagers understood the reason, though they were somewhat worried about whether Lin Xun could achieve it. This was the decision of the village chief, Xiao Tianren, and they did not oppose it.

...

Peaceful days continued, and before they knew it, nearly a month had passed since the deaths of Lu Ting and the others.

Lin Xun, besides teaching the village children martial arts, spent most of his time on cultivation.

After this period of training, Lin Xun's True Martial Third Level "Opening the Mansion" cultivation was extremely solid, and his combat power was more than twice what it was before.

At this point, if he encountered Qian Qi again, he could easily kill him with one saber strike.

The cultivation of the "Little Netherworld Spirit Technique" also showed significant results, making Lin Xun's soul more refined and powerful. He was just one step away from lighting a star in his sea of consciousness.

Even so, the strength of his soul brought Lin Xun great benefits. He only needed to rest for three hours a day and felt no discomfort or fatigue, saving him a lot of time.

Moreover, the strength of his soul made it easier for him to refine and understand the "Six-Character Saber Technique," a change that delighted Lin Xun and made him realize the extraordinary nature of the Little Netherworld Spirit Technique.

In addition to refining his cultivation and martial arts, Lin Xun did not neglect the cultivation of spirit patterns. He would always set aside some time each day to practice the speed, strength, and technique of engraving spirit patterns.

The only regret was that after the dark gray engraving brush and the ancient scroll disappeared, Lin Xun now lacked a suitable engraving brush.

Otherwise, with the spirit materials he had collected, he could have melted some spirit ink and engraved some real spirit patterns.

Without being able to engrave real spirit patterns, it was impossible for Lin Xun to truly gauge his current level of engraving spirit patterns, and he wouldn't know how far he was from becoming a spirit pattern master.

However, Lin Xun was not in a hurry. The cultivation of spirit patterns is not something that can be achieved overnight; it requires continuous practice, understanding, and improvement, with no shortcuts.

Of course, whether it was cultivation, martial arts, spirit patterns, or soul cultivation... all were progressing in a positive direction, and Lin Xun was already very satisfied.

However, as time passed, the villagers of Hiyun Village were not as relaxed as Lin Xun. They were all very clear that with each passing day, the return of Lian Rufeng and his group was drawing closer, and they might appear in Hiyun Village at any time.

This made the villagers' moods tense and oppressive, though not as gloomy as before, they were no longer as relaxed as before.

Lin Xun could do nothing to change this. What was to come would come, and the most pressing matter was to consider how to deal with it.

One morning, after washing up, Lin Xun put on a white bone bow and a quiver of arrows, and slung the Broken Sky Saber around his waist. He left home and headed straight for the village outskirts.

In the past month, the flesh of the snow-spotted leopards and the unicorn-scaled lizards had been eaten up, and relying solely on spirit grains was not enough to satisfy his hunger.

Therefore, whether to fill his own stomach or for future cultivation needs, Lin Xun decided to return to that deep forest.

This time, he went alone and did not bring the hunters like Zhou Zhong.

This was also for safety reasons. The last time they entered the deep forest, if not for Lin Xun's alertness, they might have encountered the "Molten Rock Wolf," with disastrous consequences.

What Lin Xun did not know was that the "Molten Rock Wolf," which he considered a terrifying threat, had already been killed by a mysterious little girl...

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ps: I'm almost crying from the lack of support. Did I not get a single monthly vote today? I'm really on the verge of tears.