4: Chapter 4 Rules

The stone block landed with a dull thud.

The Training Ground was deathly silent.

Everyone was looking at Lin Tian.

Looking at the youth who had just lifted a hundred-jin block over his head.

He stood beside the stone block, drenched in sweat, his coarse short-sleeved martial arts attire clinging to his body, revealing a slightly thin but clearly defined muscular outline.

Yet his back was straight as a ramrod.

Lin Jing had her mouth agape, her eyes wide as saucers, as if she were seeing him for the first time.

The sneer on Lin Hu's face froze, turning into incredulous shock.

The team members beside him all wore expressions as if they had seen a ghost.

The most shocked person was Village Head Lin Tieshan.

This bearded captain's eyes were wide, and his beard was trembling slightly.

He stared fixedly at the stone block, then at Lin Tian, his throat bobbing, but he could not utter a sound.

Ten days.

Ten days ago, this kid struggled even to lift a fifty-jin stone lock, and his Great Strength Fist was all crooked and uncoordinated.

In ten days, he had reached a strength of one hundred jin and even lifted the hundred-jin block, which was the hardest to exert force on, over his head?

How was this possible?

Lin Tian turned around to face Village Head Lin Tieshan, his breathing having steadied somewhat:

"Captain, does this count as passing?"

Village Head Lin Tieshan finally snapped out of his daze, swallowed, and nodded slowly:

"It... it passes."

He paused, his voice filled with shock and doubt:

"How did you do it?"

This question voiced the inner thoughts of everyone present.

Dozens of gazes focused instantly on Lin Tian, filled with shock, confusion, jealousy, and bewilderment.

Lin Tian scratched his head, revealing a slightly honest and naive expression:

"I'm not sure myself... It was just like that. I practiced my punches every day, and after practicing for a while, I just learned it."

These words were spoken lightly, but to the ears of the crowd, they only added to the mystery.

The bearded captain furrowed his brows, eyeing Lin Tian up and down.

A martial arts prodigy?

But three years ago, when this kid came to the Martial Arts Team, his Aptitude was clearly average; he couldn't even memorize the basic Moves.

If he were truly a prodigy, it should have been apparent back then.

Could it be...

"Do you guys think he got hit by someone from Wang Family Village, and that stick actually woke up his talent?" a team member muttered in the crowd.

"It's possible! I've heard of people like that before; they took a fall, their brain cleared up, and they learned everything quickly."

"Maybe that stick cleared some of his Meridians..."

"Regardless, he really has the strength of a hundred jin now."

The buzzing of discussions arose, and the way they looked at Lin Tian changed as well.

Village Head Lin Tieshan took a deep breath, suppressing the surging thoughts in his heart.

Regardless of the reason, the facts were right in front of him—Lin Tian truly possessed the strength of a Quasi-Martial Artist and had met the entry standard for the Martial Arts Team.

Rules were rules.

He cleared his throat and said in a deep voice:

"Lin Tian, from now on, you are an official member of the Martial Arts Team."

He paused, then turned to a team member in charge of miscellaneous chores nearby and said:

"Go to the warehouse and get a portion of basic medicinal herbs for him."

"Yes, Captain!"

The team member responded and left. Before long, he returned carrying an oil-paper parcel and handed it to Lin Tian.

The paper parcel was not large, about the size of a palm, and felt heavy in the hand. Through the oil paper, one could smell a faint scent of herbs.

Lin Tian took it, cupped his hands in a salute: "Thank you, Captain."

Village Head Lin Tieshan waved his hand, looking at him with a complex gaze: "Practice well. You get one portion of medicinal herbs every month; come collect it at the beginning of next month. However..."

His tone became a bit more serious:

"The rules of the Martial Arts Team are that there is an assessment at the end of every month. If you fail to meet the standard for two consecutive months, your qualification will be revoked, and the medicinal herbs will stop being issued. Do you understand?"

"I understand." Lin Tian nodded.

"Go on." Village Head Lin Tieshan said no more and turned to continue instructing other team members.

Carrying the medicinal herb parcel, Lin Tian turned and left the Training Ground amidst the complex gazes of the crowd.

After walking a few steps, he heard Lin Hu's lowered voice from behind:

"Just got lucky, that's all..."

There was also Lin Jing's soft sigh, and the chattering discussions of other team members.

But he didn't stop his pace and walked straight home.

When he pushed open the courtyard gate, Zhao was hanging up clothes, and Lin Dashan was repairing farm tools.

"Tian'er, you're back?" Zhao turned her head and saw her son holding something, "This is..."

"Medicinal herbs." Lin Tian placed the oil-paper parcel on the stone table in the courtyard, "Issued by the village. I am now an official member of the Martial Arts Team."

"Wh-what?" The hammer in Lin Dashan's hand fell to the ground with a "clang".

The wet clothes in Zhao's hand also slid to the ground.

The couple stared blankly at their son, then at the oil-paper parcel, unable to react for a long while.

"I passed the assessment and lifted the hundred-jin block." Lin Tian explained simply, "The captain recognized my strength."

Lin Dashan's lips trembled, and his eyes suddenly turned red.

He strode over and slapped a hand onto Lin Tian's shoulder, with such force that it made Lin Tian stagger.

"Good! Good lad!"

Zhao also wiped the corners of her eyes, her voice choked with emotion: "My son... my son has a future now!"

They didn't understand anything about martial arts talent; they only knew that members of the village's Martial Arts Team were capable people who could also receive precious medicinal herbs every month.

This was something they hadn't dared to even think about before.

Lin Tian looked at his parents' excited and joyful appearance, and a wave of warmth surged in his heart.

"Father, Mother, I'm going to go boil the medicine."

"Aye, good, good!"

Lin Dashan replied repeatedly, and Zhao hurriedly said: "Mother will go boil water for you!"

In the kitchen, Lin Tian opened the oil-paper parcel.

Inside were several types of dried medicinal herbs, in various colors—brown, red, and green.

The portion was not large, but they were arranged neatly, showing that they had been uniformly prepared by the village.

Following the method taught by the Martial Arts Team in his memory, he fetched a small clay pot, put the herbs inside, added three bowls of water, and simmered it over a low fire.

Before long, the medicinal fragrance permeated the air, thick with a faint bitterness.

After simmering for about an hour, the medicinal soup turned dark brown, with a layer of oil glistening on the surface.

Lin Tian poured the medicinal soup into a wooden barrel he had prepared, added some hot water, and adjusted it to a suitable temperature.

He removed his clothes and stepped into the wooden barrel.

As the warm medicinal soup covered him, his skin instantly felt a slight tingling sensation, as if countless fine needles were pricking him.

But soon, the tingling turned into warmth, and streams of warm energy crept into his body through his pores, seeping into his muscles and bones.

Lin Tian closed his eyes and circulated the breathing technique of the Great Strength Fist.

He could feel the medicinal power dissolving within his body, nourishing every inch of his flesh and blood. The exhaustion quickly faded, replaced by a feeling of abundant strength.

The muscles that were originally still aching now relaxed, as if soaking in a hot spring.

This was the effect of medicinal herbs.

"Poor study, rich martial arts"—this was truly not just a saying.

Without the assistance of these medicinal herbs, relying solely on hard training would quickly cause the body to collapse, leaving behind hidden injuries and even damaging one's Foundation.

But medicinal herbs were too precious.

Official members of the Martial Arts Team could only receive one portion a month. For someone like him who had just started, he could only receive the most basic grade.

If he wanted more, he either had to exchange it for contributions or buy it with his own money.

But for a farming family, where would there be extra money?

Lin Tian opened his eyes, looking at the gradually diluting medicinal soup in the wooden barrel, calculating silently in his heart.

One portion of medicine could probably support his Cultivation for five days. For the remaining twenty-five days, he would have to rely purely on hard training and food supplements.

The efficiency was too low.

If he could get more medicinal herbs...

Over the next ten days, Lin Tian cultivated even more diligently.

He got up before dawn every day to practice the Great Strength Fist in the courtyard. Once, twice, ten times, twenty times... when he was tired, he would rest for a while, and once he recovered, he would continue practicing.

[ Great Strength Fist Proficiency + 1 ]

[ Great Strength Fist Proficiency + 1 ]

The System's notification sound became his greatest motivation.

On the fifth day, the proficiency reached 150/300.

On the eighth day, it was 220/300.

On the evening of the tenth day, when Lin Tian finished the two hundred and ninety-ninth round of the fist technique and stood still after closing his stance, the long-awaited sound finally rang in his mind:

[ Great Strength Fist Proficiency + 1 ]

[ Proficiency has reached 300/300 ]

[ Great Strength Fist Breakthrough: Minor Achievement ]

[ Next Stage: Mastery ( 0 / 500 ) ]

A warm current surged from his Dantian, instantly flowing through his entire body.

His muscles trembled slightly, and his bones emitted faint "cracking" sounds.

The Qi and blood in his body surged like a river, more than a notch stronger than before.

Lin Tian opened his eyes and clenched his fist.

His strength was greater.

He walked to the hundred-jin giant stone in the corner of the courtyard—the very one he had used all his strength to lift ten days ago.

This time, he didn't squat or wrap his arms around it.

He simply extended his right hand, gripped the edge of the stone with his five fingers, lowered his waist and back slightly, and exerted force with his arm—

"Up!"

The hundred-jin giant stone left the ground in response, lifted by him with one hand, and easily raised over his head.

His arm was as steady as a rock, without the slightest tremor.

One hand, one hundred jin!

A smile appeared on Lin Tian's face.

The Great Strength Fist at the Mastery stage directly increased his strength to about three hundred jin.

This already surpassed most Quasi-Martial Artists in the Martial Arts Team, catching up to old team members like Lin Hu.

Putting down the stone, Lin Tian brought up the System interface:

[ Name: Lin Tian ]

[ Realm: None ]

[ Martial Arts: Great Strength Fist (Mastery) 0 / 500 ]

[ Strength: About three hundred jin ]

He nodded with satisfaction.

But immediately, a question surfaced in his mind:

The Great Strength Fist was, after all, a basic fist technique, mainly used to temper Qi and blood and forge tendons and bones.

In actual combat, its power was limited, and the Moves were simple.

To truly increase combat power, relying solely on the Great Strength Fist was not enough.

He needed to learn some new martial arts.

Blade techniques? Sword techniques? Or palm techniques and leg techniques?

Lin Tian looked outside the courtyard; the afterglow of the setting sun dyed the horizon a shade of orange-red.

Tomorrow, he would go to the Training Ground and ask.