Chapter 10 : Training in a vein of ore

Zhou Tong reached out, absorbing the Yang Qi into his body. The Yang Qi, along with his own vitality, flowed through his hand and into Zhou Tong's body, undergoing refinement in his internal organs.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

Zhou Tong's body seemed to explode like a bomb. The surface of his skin gradually oozed a bloody red color, as if flames were burning his flesh.

"This Yang Qi is indeed violent," Zhou Tong frowned slightly, but instead of worrying, he found this warmth very comforting.

"Mm-hmm—"

As time passed, Zhou Tong's face twisted in pain, blood trickled from the corners of his mouth, clearly exceeding the limits of his endurance.

"The cultivation method of Lianxu Fist is truly torturous. If my body weren't extremely resilient, I probably wouldn't be able to endure it at all," Zhou Tong endured the intense pain and continued absorbing.

"That's enough." Zhou Tong muttered, slowly opening his eyes, sweat beads covering his cheeks.

Channeling his elemental power, Zhou Tong condensed the absorbed Yang Qi into his right fist. With a powerful punch, the rock wall several meters in front of him collapsed abruptly.

"Hiss—" Zhou Tong took a sharp breath. He didn't expect that absorbing just a trace of Yang Qi would give him the power to shake a rock wall. If he completely absorbed and refined this Yang Qi, his strength would undoubtedly increase significantly.

Taking out the scroll of Lianxu Fist from his storage ring, Zhou Tong followed the instructions on the scroll, practicing the Lianxu Fist.

Zhou Tong's cultivation speed in Lianxu Fist was fast, but this martial art had its drawbacks. It required incorporating Yang Qi every time it was executed, ranging from a few breaths to dozens of breaths. Warriors needed to continuously absorb Yang Qi to train and improve their absorption speed for victory in battles.

"No wonder the elders in the scripture pavilion said it was peculiar. Constantly absorbing Yang Qi, unless the warrior's body is incredibly strong, it's impossible to sustain. But now..." Zhou Tong smiled.

Directing the Yang Qi from the Yang Yuan Crystal into his right arm, a faint red glow radiated from his right arm. The red glow danced on his right arm, resembling a living creature, emitting intense heat, distorting the surrounding space.

"Bam!"

A punch was thrown, a crimson fist imprint shot out, heavily smashing into the stone wall ahead, directly causing it to collapse.

"Haha, indeed, not bad. Although it consumes more Yang Qi, it can temper the body and enhance strength in battle, truly a weapon for killing enemies."

"With this Lianxu Fist, I'm sure to win the top spot in the clan competition!" Zhou Tong rejoiced.

"The cultivation method of Lianxu Fist has tremendous benefits for enhancing a warrior's cultivation. Within these few days, I might be able to advance my cultivation again." Zhou Tong pondered silently, then resumed practicing Lianxu Fist.

...

Three days later.

"Hum—"

Zhou Tong clenched his fist, a fist imprint appearing out of thin air. The imprint contained a formidable force, causing the temperature in the entire cave to suddenly rise.

"Bang!"

His punch hit the ground, and the earth cracked open.

With this punch, he gathered the Yang Qi in his body onto his right arm, then infused it into the fist imprint. A terrifying force erupted, shattering the massive stone in front of him into fragments.

When Zhou Tong first acquired this martial art, it required dozens of breaths to absorb the Yang Qi every time it was executed. However, three days had passed, and now, Zhou Tong only needed three breaths to execute Lianxu Fist.

"Boom—"

A loud explosion echoed from Zhou Tong's fist. A ball of fiery red radiance flickered non-stop, quickly dimming and returning to its original state.

In these three days, Zhou Tong didn't leave the cave, devoting his entire being to cultivation. Smoke rose from his body, and his clothes were burned and tattered, but his spirit was exceptionally high. His eyes sparkled with vigor, and his overall aura became even more powerful.

Zhou Tong absorbed Yang Qi frantically. After condensing it into a fist imprint, he swung it out. Through continuous practice, Zhou Tong became more adept at using Lianxu Fist. However, he was only practicing the first move of the Desolate Void Fist. The higher-level moves were still beyond his current reach. During this time, Zhou Tong truly realized the tremendous price one had to pay to master the Desolate Void Fist, a seventh-grade martial art.

When the elemental power in Zhou Tong's body finally calmed down, he realized he was just a step away from the mid-stage of the Sky Element Realm. His Yang Qi had also increased to level seven. These were the benefits brought by absorbing Yang Qi for three days. The Yin-Yang energies in his dantian had also reached a balance, undoubtedly good news.

Standing up, Zhou Tong stretched his body, feeling a tingling numbness, as if being pricked by needles. Clearly, he had expended a considerable amount of energy in these few days of cultivation.

But Zhou Tong was satisfied because he was only at the early stage of the Sky Element Realm. In just three days, he had cultivated the first move of the Desolate Void Fist to this level. If Zhou Tong hadn't continuously absorbed and refined Yang Qi to temper his body during martial arts practice, he might have exploded and died by now.

"Phew—" Zhou Tong exhaled, his eyes becoming brighter. He lightly clenched his fist, murmuring to himself, "The Desolate Void Fist I'm currently executing can match the true seventh-grade martial arts!"

"The Desolate Void Fist, truly mysterious and unfathomable." Zhou Tong marveled, understanding that it was a seventh-grade martial art. The first move alone was powerful, not to mention the later moves, including the final sixth move, which Zhou Tong couldn't touch for now.

"Tomorrow is the clan competition. I'll practice until early tomorrow morning before going back." Zhou Tong thought to himself, then continued absorbing Yang Qi and practicing.

...

Early morning, just as the sky was getting light.

"Bam—"

Another punch was thrown, Zhou Tong's right fist struck the nearby stone wall. After these days of practice, the walls of the cave around Zhou Tong were already riddled with holes. Zhou Tong looked at the cracked part of the stone wall, revealing a faint smile.

Suddenly, Zhou Tong frowned and walked towards the cracked area of the stone wall.

"Huh? There seems to be a special fluctuation here."

Soon, he stopped in front of the stone wall, swung his right fist, and the wall instantly turned into powder. Behind the wall, there was a cavity.

The cavity was three zhang in diameter, elliptical in shape. Inside the cavity was a fist-sized stone. The stone was entirely red, like a ruby, emitting a dazzling light, and a hot aura pervaded the surroundings.

"What is this?"

Zhou Tong reached out to grab the stone, feeling his palm heating up, accompanied by a special energy entering his palm.

"Such pure Yang Qi."

"Is this... could it be a Yang Element Stone?"

"No, ordinary Yang Element Stones don't have such concentrated Yang Qi," Zhou Tong murmured to himself. Then, he reached out with his right hand to grab

 the stone. However, at the moment his hand touched it, a sudden surge of scorching Yang Qi invaded his body, violently impacting his meridians.