Lin Mo Chen's back slammed into the ground hard enough to send a cloud of dust rising around him.
For an instant, all the air left his lungs, forcing him to cough.
Nearly two weeks ago, he would have stayed there for several seconds, wondering what the hell had just happened. This time, the moment he hit the ground, he rolled over one shoulder and used the momentum to get back on his feet.
In front of him, Lin Qingshan showed no reaction. Just because he had managed to recover didn't mean his father was going to give him time to breathe, and Lin Mo Chen knew that all too well.
Without lowering his guard, he took half a step back to catch his breath. By now, he knew that technique far too well; his father had knocked him down with it hundreds of times over the last two weeks.
At first, it had always been enough to leave him on the ground. Now, at least, he could get back on his feet before the next attack came.
The slightest movement of Lin Qingshan's right shoulder was enough to make him react at once, perhaps a little too quickly.
When he raised both arms to block a strike that never came, a palm slipped in from his blind spot.
Pam!
The impact lifted him slightly off the ground and sent him several steps sideways. He had barely managed to stay on his feet when a mocking laugh echoed inside his mind.
"Much better, brat. You're spending less and less time with your face in the dirt."
Lin Mo Chen gritted his teeth. Huo Can had woken up almost a week ago.
Since then, the training had gained an extra layer of difficulty he had never asked for.
It was no longer enough to endure his father's blows. He also had to listen to an old man who seemed to enjoy himself far too much every time Lin Mo Chen made a mistake.
"You should be grateful, brat. You found out how weak you were before going off and doing something stupid."
Lin Mo Chen forced his attention back to what was in front of him.
"With your personality, sooner or later you would've tried to get revenge on those three by yourself."
"That sounds like something a protagonist would definitely do, Master. Please don't lump me in with them."
The answer slipped out before he could think about it, and he regretted it almost immediately. Over the last few days, he had learned very well what happened whenever he split his attention.
Taking his eyes off Lin Qingshan for even a moment usually ended with Lin Mo Chen on the ground.
He moved forward again, but this time he didn't attack right away. Lin Mo Chen closed the distance little by little, and when a palm came toward his face, he tilted his head slightly.
The strike passed only a few centimeters from his face. Lin Mo Chen used the opening to step closer and throw a punch, but Lin Qingshan knocked it aside with his forearm and immediately answered with a strike from below, forcing him back before it could reach his abdomen.
He still hadn't managed to hit his father even once. Even so, Lin Mo Chen couldn't help feeling a little satisfied. Two weeks ago, the first move would have put him on the ground.
Now he could at least exchange several attacks before being sent flying. That had to count as progress.
The training continued until the sun began to sink.
Covered in sweat, Lin Mo Chen got back to his feet just as Lin Qingshan stepped toward him. A palm came for his shoulder, but this time he turned in time and, for the first time all afternoon, correctly read the next move.
His right foot stepped forward as he sent a palm toward the center of his father's chest. Barely a centimeter before impact, a hand caught his wrist.
For several seconds, neither of them said anything, until his father slowly released his arm.
"We're done for today. There won't be any need to train tomorrow."
Lin Mo Chen already knew why. Over the last few days, he had seen his father preparing to leave again, probably for another clan mission.
There was nothing unusual about that. A large part of their family's income came from those missions. Even so, Lin Mo Chen couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.
The last two weeks had been painful, exhausting, and far less glorious than cultivation novels had made martial training sound.
But they had worked. Lin Mo Chen looked down at his hands and slowly closed them into fists. He hadn't become a combat genius; he wasn't even close to the level of other youths his age who had trained for years.
But if the current Lin Mo Chen fought the one from two weeks ago...
A smile appeared on his face. He could beat the hell out of him. Probably in a rather humiliating way.
His mother's voice came from inside the house, calling both of them to dinner.
Lin Qingshan walked toward the entrance. Before following him, Lin Mo Chen gave one last look at the wooden post standing at the edge of the courtyard.
He had barely touched it for almost two weeks. His father had insisted that before trying to use the Condensed Rock Fist, Lin Mo Chen first needed to learn how to control his own body.
Now it was time.
Although the manual had already been returned to the Huan Martial Arts Hall, Lin Mo Chen had memorized almost all of it.
Tomorrow, he would try it. But first, he needed sleep.
The next morning, with his hair still damp, Lin Mo Chen sat on a small rock in the middle of the courtyard.
A cool breeze stirred his hair while the surrounding Huan Qi slowly flowed toward his body.
His expression, however, was rather ugly. After integrating the Spirit Patterns, he had thought his cultivation problems were practically solved.
Reality had just reminded him that things weren't that simple.
Every strand of Huan Qi he absorbed was guided with far greater precision. Almost nothing was wasted during circulation, and the energy reached his core in a much more orderly way than before.
The real problem was his natural talent. No matter how much his circulation had improved, the amount of Huan Qi he could draw from the surroundings was still pathetic.
Even by the standards of the cultivation stories from his previous life, this was miserable. Whenever he cultivated, he could barely attract a thread of Huan Qi as thin as silk.
The patterns could make better use of every drop, but they couldn't create water where there was barely any rain.
Judging by his current pace, reaching the sixth level shouldn't be much of a problem. With some luck, he might even make it to the seventh before the coming-of-age ceremony.
Lin Mo Chen slowly opened his eyes. He didn't like that at all, especially because he knew there was a much faster way.
According to Huo Can, once the patterns were integrated, he could absorb and refine part of the energy contained inside beast cores. With enough resources, his cultivation speed would increase considerably.
Naturally, there was one small problem: he had no money, much less beast cores.
And the only one he had managed to obtain had exploded.
Deciding that being depressed could wait, Lin Mo Chen left the rock and headed toward the wooden post.
There was something else he needed to test first. The pages of the Condensed Rock Fist appeared clearly in his mind; over the last two weeks, he had repeated those stances until he was sick of them.
Five fragments slowly rotated around his Qi core as Lin Mo Chen circulated Huan Qi through his body.
The Spirit Patterns hidden beneath his skin responded immediately. A faint warmth spread through him while every current of Huan Qi flowed through his channels without scattering.
All of the energy eventually gathered around his right arm. Lin Mo Chen waited as the calm current began to compress, and the moment a vibration ran through his muscles, he released the punch.
BANG!
A heavy sound shook the courtyard. Lin Mo Chen remained there with his arm extended, unable to understand what he was looking at for several seconds.
Only half of the post remained.
The upper section was gone.
He slowly turned his head to look for it and eventually spotted a chunk of wood several meters away, lying near the wall.
A brief silence followed before laughter echoed inside his mind.
Lin Mo Chen slowly lowered his gaze toward his fist. A crooked smile began spreading across his face, somewhere between excitement and concern.
If he had been able to throw a punch like that when those three men ambushed him, things might have gone very differently.
"Don't get too excited," Huo Can interrupted. "You only managed to execute a Low-Grade Fan Ji technique correctly once. You still have much bigger problems."
The smile slowly disappeared from Lin Mo Chen's face. He knew exactly what Huo Can meant. Looking at the remaining half of the post, he stayed silent for a moment.
He needed spirit cores, and to get those, he needed money. Unfortunately, after his recent purchases, his entire personal fortune came down to four miserable gold coins.
An idea slowly began forming in his twisted mind. After hesitating for a moment, Lin Mo Chen touched the obsidian pendant hanging around his neck.
"Master..."
Strangely, Huo Can said nothing.
Straightening his back, Lin Mo Chen put on the most respectful expression he could manage. After all, perhaps that old man had once been some great alchemist.
Maybe he knew a lost recipe capable of turning a few common herbs into valuable pills.
Worst case, he might know some ancient technique for finding treasures, evaluating minerals, or manipulating fortune.
Lin Mo Chen had nothing to lose. After all, protagonists always got something like that from their mysterious masters.
"As your most respectful disciple, I was thinking that someone with your incredible experience must surely know some easy way to make a lot of money."
A long burst of laughter was the only answer he got. Lin Mo Chen closed his eyes in resignation. Of course... all those novels really must have fried his brain.
He was about to drop the matter when Huo Can's voice sounded inside his mind again.
"If you really want to make money, brat..."
Surprised, Lin Mo Chen opened his eyes. For the first time, Huo Can's tone sounded far less mocking.
"Do you know what a formation master is?"