Lin Mo Chen remained still for a few seconds. Formations? Of course he knew what they were. What reader of cultivation novels wouldn't?
He had read about defensive formations capable of protecting entire sects, others that gathered spiritual energy, trapped enemies, or even altered space. In some stories, a grandmaster only needed to plant a few flags in the ground to turn an entire mountain into a death trap.
Naturally, none of that came out of his mouth. Straightening his back slightly, Lin Mo Chen put on a much calmer expression.
"Of course I know about them. After all, the art of formations is one of the four great noble professions of the Huan Ling Continent."
Along with alchemy, talismans, and spiritual weapon forging, formations made up the four great professions most respected in the cultivation world.
Alchemy unquestionably held first place. Pills capable of speeding up cultivation, healing injuries, or helping with a breakthrough were enough to make practically any clan want to stay on good terms with an alchemist.
The other three professions weren't too far behind either.
A talisman master could store different effects inside special seals. Spiritual forgers created weapons capable of conducting Huan Qi, while formation masters used complex patterns to guide and manipulate the energy of the surroundings.
That was, more or less, everything Lin Mo Chen knew about those professions.
All of it came from a few general books in the clan library. He had never seen a real formation master in action, much less knew how to set up a formation himself.
Luckily, Huo Can couldn't read minds... or at least Lin Mo Chen hoped he couldn't.
"Then do you know how to set up a formation?"
Lin Mo Chen's confidence wavered slightly at the question.
"Knowing what they are and knowing how to set one up are two different things, Master."
An irritated sigh echoed inside his mind. Lin Mo Chen decided to ignore it.
"But if you can teach me, I could make money with them."
Lin Mo Chen's imagination immediately went to work. Even a simple formation had to be worth quite a bit of money. If he managed to make a few, he could buy spirit cores, beast blood, and maybe even some decent pills.
"You can stop smiling," Huo Can said. "You couldn't afford even one."
"What?" The smile that had barely begun to form on Lin Mo Chen's face disappeared.
"Did you think you could draw a formation with ink and paper?" Huo Can laughed as Lin Mo Chen looked away slightly; in truth, he had imagined something fairly similar.
Huo Can let out a disdainful sigh before beginning to explain.
A formation wasn't simply a complicated drawing. Its lines guided Huan Qi, while certain points acted as nodes to stabilize and distribute the energy. For a formation to exist without being tied to one specific location, it needed a medium capable of keeping that circulation intact.
A plate made from spiritual metal was one of the most common choices, but not just any metal would work.
Ordinary metals could withstand a small flow of energy for a short time, but eventually they would lose it or distort the pattern. A true formation plate required material capable of conducting Huan Qi without dispersing it.
Then there was the inscription itself.
To inscribe a functional formation, he also needed a substance capable of holding Huan Qi. Spiritual beast blood, ink prepared from special powders, or certain liquids extracted from spiritual plants were some of the options.
The more Lin Mo Chen listened, the worse his expression became. Spiritual metal, beast blood, spiritual materials... all those words had one thing in common: they cost money. A lot of money.
"So..." he muttered after a few seconds. "You just offered me a way to make money that requires money?"
"I never said you could start today."
Lin Mo Chen looked up at the sky. For a moment, he had forgotten one of the fundamental laws of this world.
The rich had resources to become stronger, the strong obtained even more resources, and the poor could only watch from a distance.
"Then we still have the same problem."
Without beast cores, his cultivation would progress slowly; without enough strength, earning money would be difficult, and without money, he couldn't buy more cores or obtain the materials needed to make formations. A perfect circle, at least in Lin Mo Chen's opinion.
"Not exactly."
Huo Can's tone changed slightly.
"Your Huan Qi isn't the only way to make you stronger."
Hearing that, Lin Mo Chen lowered his gaze toward his arms. After two weeks of training, his body had improved quite a bit. Not only because of the Condensed Rock Fist, but also because of the endless beatings he had received from his father.
Even so, he knew there was a limit to that.
"From now on, we'll temper your body."
Lin Mo Chen frowned. Body tempering wasn't unfamiliar to him. The problem was that Huan Techniques meant for tempering the body required just as many resources as normal cultivation.
"I can't afford a real body-tempering technique, Master."
"You don't need one."
His master's answer immediately caught Lin Mo Chen's interest.
According to Huo Can, the Condensed Rock Fist already had a certain body-tempering effect. Its twelve stances forced Huan Qi to repeatedly circulate through the legs, waist, back, and arms, gradually preparing the body before releasing the strike.
For someone like Lin Mo Chen, that was enough as a foundation. He only needed something that would force his body to adapt faster. An uncomfortable feeling slowly began growing in his chest.
"What exactly do you have in mind?"
For several seconds there was no answer, until Huo Can's restrained laughter sounded inside his head.
"Brat, if you really want to become strong, you have to suffer."
Lin Mo Chen froze for a moment. He didn't like that tone. Not at all.
Huo Can explained that his flames could be used to temper Lin Mo Chen's body. By precisely controlling the heat and the Huan Qi contained within them, he could stimulate his muscles and tendons, pushing them close to their limit again and again.
Afterward, his body would recover and they would do it again. Over and over.
Fortunately, the method had a second part.
They could buy enough common herbs to prepare several simple medicinal baths. Nothing comparable to true body-tempering medicines, but they would help ease the minor injuries caused by the training and speed up his recovery.
Huo Can wasn't some great alchemist, but according to his own words, preparing something so insignificant was far beneath the limits of his ability.
To him, those recipes probably didn't even deserve to be called medicine. For Lin Mo Chen, however, they were exactly what he needed. Even so, one doubt remained in his mind.
"How painful will it be?"
"Very. If you don't want to do it, you can always give up, brat."
Lin Mo Chen remained silent... That kind of answer again. He knew perfectly well that Huo Can was only trying to provoke him, but he couldn't deny that it worked.
He looked at the broken post in front of him, remembering how that sixth-level Ling Qi cultivator had slammed him into a wall like a sack of rice.
If his body had been tougher, maybe that attack wouldn't have left him helpless. And if his muscles could better withstand the circulation of Huan Qi, he could use the Condensed Rock Fist more times before exhausting himself.
Besides, sooner or later he would have to absorb spirit cores, and whether he wanted to admit it or not, a stronger physique would only make the process easier. In the end, curiosity won over his caution.
"Fine, I'll try it," he finally gave in with a sigh.
"I expected nothing less from my disciple."
There was so much satisfaction in his master's tone that Lin Mo Chen immediately began to regret his decision.
Before they started, Huo Can advised him to move away from the residence. Although he didn't explain why, he insisted it would be better if Lin Mo Chen wanted to avoid unnecessary trouble.
Not long after, Lin Mo Chen left home and headed toward the small forest nearby. Thanks to all the times he had walked those paths to avoid Lin Xuan, he knew several routes that were rarely used and soon found a secluded clearing among the trees.
Only the sound of leaves moving in the wind and a few birds calling from somewhere among the branches filled the clearing. After making sure no one had followed him, Lin Mo Chen touched the pendant.
"All right, Master. What do I need to do?"
A faint red light emerged from the obsidian stone, and little by little, Huo Can's illusory figure appeared before him. His long red hair fell over his shoulders while his crimson robe moved on its own.
Lin Mo Chen felt a chill when he saw the excited smile spreading across his master's face. That old man was definitely enjoying this far too much.
"Take off your robe."
"Excuse me?" Lin Mo Chen blinked, looking at him with some suspicion.
"What the hell are you thinking, brat?" Huo Can narrowed his eyes. "It's part of the training."
Resigned, Lin Mo Chen placed the upper half of his clothes on a nearby rock. Huo Can raised one hand, and a small crimson flame appeared above his palm.
It wasn't large, and from the distance between them, it didn't even seem to give off much heat.
"Take the first stance of the Condensed Rock Fist."
Lin Mo Chen spread his legs and bent his knees, keeping his back straight as he slowly circulated a small amount of Huan Qi along the route he had practiced over the last few weeks.
The flame left Huo Can's palm and, before Lin Mo Chen could ask what he was supposed to do, split into several crimson threads that began wrapping around his arms, legs, and back.
For an instant, nothing happened. Then the heat sank beneath his skin, and Lin Mo Chen's eyes flew open.
"Mmmgh!"
His muscles tensed immediately. The sensation was much worse than having his skin burned; it felt like the heat was reaching much deeper.
It was as if small pieces of burning coal had been shoved between his muscles and tendons. For a moment, Lin Mo Chen's knees trembled.
"Hold the stance."
Gritting his teeth, Lin Mo Chen managed to stay on his feet. Every time his Huan Qi passed through an area wrapped in flames, the pain grew worse. Even the patterns hidden beneath his skin began to heat up, guiding the energy through the muscles being forced under that pressure.
Sweat appeared almost immediately on his forehead. A minute had passed, maybe two. Lin Mo Chen stopped counting; all he could do now was focus on not losing consciousness.
When his right shoulder sagged slightly, the flame around it immediately grew stronger.
"Mgh! Master!" Lin Mo Chen clenched his teeth as he forced his shoulder back into position.
Huo Can didn't even blink.
"Don't break your stance."
Another burst of flame ran across his back, tearing a low grunt from between his teeth. Suddenly, the two weeks of training with his father were starting to feel like rather pleasant memories.
Through the pain, Lin Mo Chen managed to raise his eyes. In front of him, Huo Can looked like he was having fun.
Then Lin Mo Chen understood something. When that old man said becoming strong meant suffering...
He hadn't been speaking metaphorically.