The noon sun filtered through the unclosed gaps in the blinds, casting a beam of light into the room.
Lu Yuan, facing the window, assumed a peculiar posture with his sturdy frame. He stood on one foot, his arms coiled, his head and body curled inward, resembling a slumbering bird.
Lu Yuan’s breathing was steady and prolonged, gently stirring the dust motes dancing in the beam of light before him.
The midday hours of early summer drifted by slowly; within this room, time seemed to have almost stopped. After an unknown amount of time, Lu Yuan’s body gave a slight shiver, as if waking from a dream. His torso stretched outward simultaneously.
Lu Yuan let out a long exhalation, and in an instant, his entire body was drenched in sweat. It dripped audibly onto the cool straw mat beneath his feet. DRIP. DROP. DRIP. DROP.
Lu Yuan picked up a nearby towel to wipe himself down and casually brought up his Profession Panel.
[You focused on training your profession for ten minutes. Experience Points +4]
[Your Crane-shaped Pile skill has improved. Experience Points +3]
[Your Crane-shaped Pile skill has improved. Experience Points +2]
[Profession: Fighter Lv5 (577/1,600)
Intermediate Professional Skill: Crane-shaped Pile Lv2 (178/200)
In another day or two, the Crane-shaped Pile will level up.
During these three days, Lu Yuan had spent most of his time on the Crane-shaped Pile. Lin Zhiquin had once said that the Crane-shaped Pile was a profound martial art created by the Flowing Crane Faction of the Heaven Water Sect, inspired by the movements and resting postures of the Spirit Crane. For this reason, Lu Yuan had specially found and watched numerous nature documentaries about cranes.
This seemed to have some effect. Since watching the videos, his Experience Points gain from practicing the Crane-shaped Pile had increased slightly. Sometimes, while practicing, images of cranes walking, resting, and spreading their wings would unconsciously flash through his mind.
Although there’s no breakthrough yet, my physique has noticeably improved.
Lu Yuan pinched the muscles on his chest and arms while looking in the mirror. Compared to three days ago, his muscles had become slightly more defined and proportionate, no longer as exaggerated. It was like a once-swollen piece of iron, gradually forged to be denser and smoother through repeated hammering.
Of course, his appetite had also increased considerably, and Lu Yuan felt as if he had grown taller again.
When the Crane-shaped Pile breaks through to Lv3, there should be significant changes in the attribute panel, right?
Lu Yuan was quite looking forward to it.
He scrolled down his Profession Panel, and the following information was displayed—
[Profession: Ancient Language Expert Lv2 (138/200)
Basic Professional Skills:
Ancient Dudor Language Lv3 (33/400) Latest content published on NoveIＦire.net
Ancient Xis Language Lv1 (88/100)
Ancient Dolan Language Lv1 (79/100)]
His previous guess was indeed correct: to unlock a new minor ancient language on the panel, it was essential to first understand its related historical background. He had searched online for the historical backgrounds of the two minor ancient languages he had previously self-studied and then successfully unlocked them on the panel.
With a new profession, especially one linked to intelligence and learning ability, Lu Yuan leveled up rapidly. He managed to raise his primary Ancient Dudor Language to Lv3 in just three days, and his [Ancient Language Expert] profession was also approaching Lv3.
The reward for leveling up the [Ancient Language Expert] profession from Lv1 to Lv2 consisted of 1 attribute point and 1 skill point. Lu Yuan temporarily left the attribute point untouched. He had originally, and eagerly, intended to use the skill point to unlock "Crane Cry Punch."
However, he was notified: [Prerequisite skill conditions not met. Unable to unlock].
Having no other choice, he could only add this skill point to [Imaginary Enemy].
Fortunately, the Lv3 [Imaginary Enemy] skill once again gave him a huge, pleasant surprise.
[Imaginary Enemy], activate!
Lu Yuan mentally intoned, focusing his mind to enter the Consciousness Space.
He found himself on the familiar second floor of the Origin Martial Arts Hall. Lu Yuan marched straight in through the door. Without a word, he strode forward and kicked over the glass coffee table in front of Lin Zhiquin.
Lin Zhiquin, who had been sitting on the sofa smoking a cigarette, vanished instantly.
At that moment, Lu Yuan roared, "Pause!"
Lin Zhiquin, who had appeared ghost-like in front of Lu Yuan, froze in place, mere inches away.
Lu Yuan’s mind stirred.
In an instant, a miraculous transformation occurred.
Lu Yuan’s consciousness instantly ’immersed’ itself within Lin Zhiquin’s body.
Immediately, an unprecedented sense of power welled up from the depths of Lu Yuan’s heart.
No matter how many times he experienced it, Lu Yuan couldn’t help but marvel each time. This power couldn’t be described merely by attributes like strength, agility, or physique; it was a... wondrous, almost magical kind of power.
Lin Zhiquin’s body was like a finely crafted machine, its countless gears working together seamlessly from top to bottom. With the slightest adjustment, activating any part of his body would cause a terrifying, unceasing power to emerge.
Is this what a real Martial Artist, a Fighter, is?!
Compared to Lin Zhiquin, Lu Yuan felt like a flimsy, decorative framework, haphazardly pieced together with straw and foam boards—wobbly and unstable.
He took a deep, incredibly long breath.
In reality, Lin Zhiquin gave Lu Yuan the impression of a chain-smoker. But his lungs were so strong they were like high-powered, polished-to-a-shine turbo bellows. His heart, throbbing like an eighteen-cylinder engine, set this intricate and terrifying machine quietly into motion.
Lu Yuan focused intensely, meticulously experiencing every detail of Lin Zhiquin’s punch, every moment of its execution.
A high-pitched cry, sharp enough to pierce clouds and shatter stone, rang in Lu Yuan’s ears. In his daze, a graceful crane shadow seemed to appear before his eyes. Unfortunately, it was veiled by layers of clouds and mist.
I can’t push them aside. I can’t see clearly.
When the punch was less than a few centimeters from ’his’ face, Lu Yuan mentally commanded: Pause!
Everything restarted.
Back in reality, Lu Yuan slowly opened his eyes.
The second hand of the small alarm clock on his desk ticked methodically, having just completed one full rotation.
Exhaling a turbid breath, a sense of wistful loss appeared on Lu Yuan’s face. Lin Zhiquin’s powerful physique lingered in his senses. Every time he returned to his own body after a ’Consciousness Inhabitation,’ he experienced the jarring sensation of switching from a top-tier supercar to an old tractor.
Thanks to the powerful ’Consciousness Inhabitation’ effect of the Lv3 [Imaginary Enemy] skill, coupled with his 12 points in intelligence, Lu Yuan’s understanding of the Crane Cry Punch had advanced by leaps and bounds!
Although, as the saying goes, one can draw a tiger’s skin but not its bones, capturing only the surface but not the essence. However, through this ’embodied instruction,’ repeated many times, Lu Yuan had gradually begun to grasp a sliver of the punch’s core essence.
He had used the rat man in the Consciousness Space to test it countless times. Under the pressure of the transformed rat man’s strength, he had successfully replicated the might of the Crane Cry Punch a total of five times. And each time, he had made more progress than the last.
The crane cry in his ears grew increasingly sharp and clear, and the crane shadow, wreathed in clouds and mist within his mind, also became progressively more distinct.
Almost there, almost there...
Gazing at the gray skill icon on his [Fighter] panel, which seemed to shine brighter with each passing moment, Lu Yuan thought to himself: The day I can fully master this punch is not far off...
The two o’clock afternoon sun was simply scorching.
Lu Yuan dodged the sunlight, moving quickly through the shadows beneath the eaves of various shops.