The fourth gathering and enhancement of cool energy filled Yu Hong’s heart with joy, lifting his spirits considerably.
After wiping off the sweat, he rested for a moment and walked over to the corner of the cave to prepare the tools for digging a new chamber.
“To cultivate mushrooms and lizards, I must first dig out a separate room. But where to dig and how to dig needs careful consideration.” He took a knife and started drawing lines on the ground, contemplating the structural layout.
Before long, darkness fell outside.
It was only when the world outside was shrouded in complete blackness that he suddenly realized that the eerie shadow had not knocked on his door today.
Usually, that shadow would often come, disguising itself as an adult or pretending to be a stranger visiting to lure him into opening the door.
But this time, in the newly completed fully sealed abyss space, he hadn’t heard a single knock.
“It seems the hiding method with the luminous stone is working.” Yu Hong approached the door, gently pulling aside the barrier to peek outside.
Everything was pitch black; he could see nothing.
After confirming that there were no bugs, he lit the fireplace and dragged over his sleeping bag, leaning against the warm fire before slipping into a deep slumber.
The warmth of the fireplace filled the cave, dispelling the coldness, and without the eerie shadow knocking abruptly, he no longer worried about being startled awake.
Sleep claimed him until the following day, almost at noon.
If it weren’t for the dryness in his throat waking him up, he guessed he could have slept longer.
Inside the closed cave, wrapped up in his quilt, Yu Hong gazed at the sunlight seeping through the cracks of the door, his body feeling too weak to move. “It’s been a long time since I’ve slept so peacefully,” he thought, lying still and gazing at the door.
Suddenly, he recalled how he used to curl up in his quilt at home, gazing at the dazzling sun with the air conditioning running, entirely reluctant to leave the warmth of his bed.
Now, the feeling was like a nostalgic return.
But thoughts aside, life must continue.
After a while, Yu Hong crawled out of his sleeping bag and began to implement his previous plan to dig in the cave for a new room.
With the enhanced digging tools in hand, he first drew a circular hole on the floor with a charcoal pencil, then began chiseling along this circle.
The rhythmic sounds of hammering echoed as the hard rock shattered, sending dust flying and filling the entire cave.
Yu Hong choked on the dust, forced to sprinkle some water onto the area and use a piece of Jenny’s clothing to cover his mouth.
The task of digging was indeed tedious, but since he had to wait for the leg techniques enhancement to finish, the following three days were spent sleeping, eating, exercising, and then resuming his digging.
Piles of stones were thrown outside, marking a simple stone courtyard line.
When tired, he would regain his energy with the cool air, and when sleepy, he would take a quick nap.
Supported by the cool energy, his progress was swift.
If it weren’t for his hands developing blisters that became painful, he believed he could have worked faster.
In just three days, a circular hole over a meter deep had been dug out in the corner of the cave, complete with a rough set of steps to go down.
But just over a meter was merely the beginning; Yu Hong planned to turn this into a long-term project, digging out several more rooms to serve various purposes.
All excavated stones could be piled outside, creating a yard or even a pit for a small pond for collecting water.
The courtyard could be reinforced later to form a larger protective barrier, and the pond could provide a water source during dry times.
With water available, some vegetables could even be grown.
Common wild vegetables could be transplanted and cultivated in batches.
Once he got started, Yu Hong felt invigorated, enjoying the joy of building his home.
Another day passed, and it started to rain lightly outside.
Yu Hong didn’t go anywhere or do anything; he merely rested in the cave, focused on the imminent end of his leg techniques enhancement.
The eerie shadow still did not disturb him; he had covered the opening with a wide wooden board inscribed with symbols, creating an environment similar to the luminous stone’s secret chamber.
As the countdown on the board continued to tick down, Yu Hong’s mood gradually became restless, his anticipation making him fixate intently on the countdown numbers.
“What will the enhancement yield?” he mused. “This is a far more refined technique than the fitness regimen I haphazardly put together before. With more than four days of enhancement, it should definitely be stronger than my previous high-level techniques.”
His face was tense, eyes glued to the numbers.
“01 minute.”
This final minute felt as long as a day.
Various thoughts swirled through Yu Hong’s mind.
Finally—
With a soft pop, the wooden board suddenly went blurry.
Thick, layered records of the leg techniques rapidly shrank, condensing into a black booklet the size of a standard book.
The cover clearly stated: Strengthened Leg Techniques.
“Is this the name I had before the enhancement? No changes at all?” Yu Hong gazed at the booklet’s cover, feeling a little speechless. “But the name doesn’t matter; what’s inside is what counts!” He eagerly reached out.
He flipped open the first page.
Li Runshan carefully picked up his daughter and placed her into a wooden box covered in countless luminous stone fragments, sealing the lid.
Confirming that his daughter was asleep, he returned to his desk and picked up the communicator he was adjusting.
“This is indeed one of the origin locations; I have already investigated the traces of the black disaster. The eruption route matches the detected patterns,” he whispered into the communicator.
“Very good. If possible, I hope you can gather some luminous stone marrow,” a gentle female voice responded from the communicator.
“I’ll do my best. I thought someone here had found luminous stone marrow, but it turned out to be a similar material that’s unusable,” Li Runshan replied. “Moreover, the situation here is quite troublesome; I encountered an evil shadow upon arriving. It has devoured at least a hundred people and harmed those marked with blood tide corruption. The situation has mutated, but thankfully I dealt with it in time. Without a host, it’s unlikely to return anytime soon.”
“Thank you for your hard work,” the woman sighed.
“It’s nothing. I’ll attempt to infect Aisena with luminous stone disease to see if it can neutralize the mark,” Li Runshan said quietly.
“The radiation near the luminous stone mine is too intense; you must monitor Aisena’s condition at all times and be careful with the frequency of luminous stone changes,” the woman instructed.
“I understand,” Li Runshan nodded.
“Such a pity; if only Miliang were still here…” the woman lamented.
Li Runshan fell silent, merely a quiet presence.
“Alright, if you need any help, report promptly. I will do my best to arrange things for you,” the woman said softly. “Thank you, committee member.” Li Runshan managed to squeeze out a response.
The communication was abruptly cut off.
After turning off the communicator, Li Runshan sighed and leaned back in his chair.
Knock, knock, knock.
A soft knocking sounded.
“Is Dad there? It’s Iesena.” His daughter’s voice floated in from outside the door.
Li Runshan glanced at the box where his daughter slept but did not move, merely closing his eyes to rest silently and adjusting his breathing.
“Dad, open the door! I’m really Iesena; it’s so scary outside! Something is chasing me!”
The voice continued, soft yet eerie.
Li Runshan ignored it, as if he had long grown accustomed to it.
He casually pulled out a blanket from under the desk, heavily coated in a dense layer of white luminous stone powder.
He tossed the blanket over his head, completely obscuring himself.
Outside, the voice abruptly ceased, completely vanishing as if it were but an illusion.
Inside the cave's safe room, Yu Hong struggled to contain his excitement, gently turning the first page of the black booklet.
His eyes fixed on the contents, he didn’t blink.
Four days of enhancement far surpassed the nine hours of basic techniques, meaning the strength of these leg techniques should far exceed what he had practiced before!
Gulp.
He swallowed hard, his throat constricting as he stared at the page.
“The enhanced leg technique is tailored to individual qualities, spirit, and condition, crafted with precision. It has no universal application; please use with caution.”
This was the top line of advice.
Below it came the specific details.
“First Move: Low Angle Sweep.”
The name hadn’t changed, but the content had become infinitely more complex.
Below was a detailed diagram of human veins and arteries.
On the gray figure, small red and blue arrows indicated the flow of cool energy and the number of repetitions.
At the bottom, an unusual visualization image was drawn, featuring a metal castle monster with thick limbs.
Its limbs were made of metal, robust and powerful, with one foreleg raised as if to stomp forward.
However, as Yu Hong observed closely, he mysteriously noticed that the black lines on the surface of the castle monster strangely resonated with the veins in his body.
He quickly shifted his gaze upward, looking at the human vascular diagram.
After careful comparison, he was astonished to discover that the patterns of the lines on the castle monster’s surface actually corresponded directly with parts of the human veins.
Further down was a neatly arranged line of text.
“Leg techniques differ from fist techniques. Once initiated, they must succeed; otherwise, it is highly probable to lose balance due to defense or being repelled. Therefore, maintaining balance and grounding oneself unwaveringly is the foundation of leg techniques.”
Yu Hong squinted and flipped to the next page.
“Ordinary people possess greater leg power than punching power, but due to balance issues, once a leg technique is used, victory must be secured in a single blow. Thus, leg techniques should either not be used or be delivered with absolute certainty to overcome the enemy.”
Below followed sequential illustrations of the first move, Low Angle Sweep.
All were in black and white, depicting a short-haired man standing firmly on the ground, his body slightly bowed, swiftly lifting one leg to sweep low ahead.
Behind him, a sketch of the castle monster raised its leg in tandem to sweep forward.
Beneath that was new text.
“The second prerequisite of leg techniques is to ensure the legs are solid, tough, and indestructible.”
“Therefore, we must first diligently practice the muscle and bone structure of the legs, hardening them to enhance their defensive capacity.”
“Then, wearing alloy leg guards, complemented with sharp additions to increase armor-piercing strength, allows the sturdy leg muscles and bones to withstand the reactive forces generated during collisions with the alloy guards, establishing the foundation of the strongest leg techniques.”
Yu Hong was left speechless.
These leg techniques… seemed a bit off in a strange way.
He quickly flipped through the subsequent contents.
He discovered that the names of the last two moves remained unchanged, but both had been transformed into special leg techniques enhanced with visualization images and energy application techniques, demanding leg armor to increase their lethality.
The final page contained additional content.
“The visualization images are synthesized and filtered based on real-time body conditions; each person is different, so usage may lead to danger. Please use with caution. Mastering the enhanced leg techniques can accelerate movement speed, quicken internal energy refinement, and nourish leg muscles and bones, in conjunction with internal energy bursts, increasing their power dramatically.”
“Core tip: This leg technique primarily relies on leveraging force to amplify power. The heavier the burden on oneself, the greater the explosive power of the leg techniques, and the stronger the body refinement.”
After finishing the enhanced leg technique, Yu Hong felt undeniably strong.
However, strong as it was, it seemed just a tad different from the martial arts inner strength methods he had imagined before.
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