Chapter 108 – Minor Achievement

Ten minutes later.

Yuan Martial Arts Gym hall.

A girl at the front desk was bored, taking pictures of her newly done nails with her mobile phone.

A young man with a face full of acne walked over in a daze.

The girl glanced up, and upon recognizing him, furrowed her brows, ready to scold.

“Liu Xiangyu, aren’t you… uh?”

But as soon as she spoke, she realized the young man wasn’t even looking at her.

He walked right past her, not giving her a single glance.

“What kind of expression is that, like he’s seen a ghost?”

The girl muttered as she watched the young man walk away, looking lost and disoriented.

Just as she finished speaking, three more people walked by, their expressions almost identical to Liu Xiangyu’s.

Eyes wide open, mouths slightly agape, looking like they had just been through a big shock and hadn’t recovered.

“Huh?”

The girl put down her mobile phone, leaned forward, and looked in the direction they were heading, starting to feel curious.

“What on earth happened to these guys?”

“Yan-Jie.”

Suddenly, a voice sounded in her ear.

The girl quickly turned her head and saw a clean and bright-looking young man.

“What’s up, Xiao Yuan!”

The girl smiled brightly, seeing the boy as if he were a completely different person.

“Can I borrow your utility knife?”

“Oh… here, take it!”

“Thanks, Yan-Jie. I’ll bring it back right after I’m done.”

Lu Yuan greeted the front desk, took the borrowed utility knife, and turned back towards the training room.

Returning to the room where he had just been doing resistance training, he found a corner to sit in, covered himself with his clothes, and began to slowly cut the back of his hand with the utility knife.

It felt like cutting through old leather.

The tip of the utility knife couldn’t even penetrate his skin.

Lu Yuan gradually applied more force… finally making a thin, white cut on the back of his hand.

Although he managed to cut it, no blood came out.

It was clear he had only broken the topmost layer of skin.

“After breaking through to Spirit Crane Body level 2, my skin has become much thicker, and my defense power has greatly increased. It’s much stronger than before…”

Lu Yuan placed the used utility knife aside, watching the cut on the back of his hand gradually become finer.

A few minutes later, it healed completely without leaving any trace.

15… no, 16 constitution points brought such powerful regenerative abilities!

After reaching Spirit Crane Body level 2, Lu Yuan’s constitution points increased by 1.

Originally, Lu Yuan’s constitution points were already at 15.

On this basis, even a small rank improvement could enhance constitution points by 1…

The Spirit Crane Body truly lived up to its reputation as the core advanced body training technique of the Crane Style.

“However…”

Lu Yuan pinched the spot where he had just cut with the utility knife and thought, “Although I’ve broken through with the Spirit Crane Body, my Skin Training isn’t fully complete. It feels like there’s still a lot of room for improvement.”

Lu Yuan speculated that his high constitution points raised his upper limit for Skin Training. Additionally, Lin Zhiqin had mentioned that the Sky Water Stream Crane Style’s body training techniques didn’t emphasize skin toughness.

“The Crane Style doesn’t emphasize it, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t. Choosing between agility and speed or ultimate defense? No, an adult should have it all!”

Lu Yuan thought to himself.

He was a man with the ambition to withstand mecha cannons with his mortal body. In terms of defense power, he had to achieve the utmost.

The 1-point increase in constitution brought by the Spirit Crane Body breakthrough not only healed all the hidden injuries from strikes on Lu Yuan’s body, making his muscles and bones denser and tighter, but also provided abundant physical energy.

Lu Yuan felt incredibly good.

With Lin Zhiqin gone and no one to spar with, he decided to practice the Spirit Crane Body by himself.

Unexpectedly, he managed to perform up to the fiftieth move in one go!

With the last few moves, he could even clearly feel the involvement of his bones, hearing the sound of bones grinding against each other.

Having a high constitution was particularly advantageous.

It allowed Lu Yuan to progress faster at every stage of body training, like a senior high school graduate redoing junior high school courses.

He practiced for over two hours straight, until his entire body felt like it was tearing apart, and his bones ached faintly.

Only then did Lu Yuan go upstairs, as usual, to receive a session of acupuncture therapy with secret ointment.

After finishing the therapy session, Lu Yuan didn’t get dressed and go home as usual. Instead, he started practicing the crane stance right in the therapy room.

In the simple and elegant quiet room, a stick of incense burned steadily, its smoke rising like a pillar.

The young man stood barefoot on the floor, his upper body bare, moving his limbs like a crane.

Suddenly, his body shuddered slightly.

“Crack, crack—”

A series of crisp bone sounds echoed.

The young man seemed to grow slightly taller, his originally robust figure becoming more proportionate and slender.

His movements stopped, transitioning into another starting position…

Until he completely halted.

He opened his eyes.

Lu Yuan adjusted his breathing.

He checked his attribute panel.

[Profession Intermediate Skill: Crane Stance lv5 (Max Level)]

“So, the intermediate profession skills also max out at lv5…”

Lu Yuan pondered, then looked at his attribute panel again. His agility points had increased by 1.

His current Four Basic Attributes were—

[Strength Points: 14]

[Agility Points: 14]

[Constitution Points: 16]

[Intelligence Points: 14]

All attributes at 14+!

Unknowingly, he had grown to such a height.

“Next, I’ll practice the first eighteen Skin Training moves of the Spirit Crane Body. The medicinal effects seem to have been absorbed, although the Spirit Crane Body’s experience points haven’t increased at all…”

Lu Yuan examined the skin on his arms and chest, which seemed to have become smoother.

It proved his guess right—there was still room for improvement in Skin Training.

He refrained from showering, fearing it might wash away the invisible layer of secret ointment on his skin.

Lu Yuan got dressed and went downstairs.

Stepping out of the Yuan Martial Arts Gym, the sun was still scorching, but the light had turned yellowish.

He checked the time; it was now 5:13 PM.

Lu Yuan walked to the bus stop across from the gym to wait for Bus Route 945 to take him home.

A few people were scattered around the bus stop.

Standing among the crowd, Lu Yuan’s outstanding physique and appearance made him stand out like a crane among chickens.

Behind him, two girls dressed in JK uniforms were quietly chatting. Lu Yuan could clearly sense their repeated glances falling on him.

“Flap—”

A crow descended from the sky, landing on a trash bin near the bus stop.

A person carrying a laptop bag nearby muttered a curse under their breath and took a couple of steps away.

Lu Yuan’s eyes flickered with interest.

A moment later, Bus Route 945 arrived at the stop.

People at the bus stop boarded one by one. Lu Yuan blended into the crowd and slowly made his way onto the bus.

“Did you stay at the hospital all this time?”

“Let’s wait until tomorrow…”

The next day, at Jiaoyan Central Hospital.

“Where did the money from the card go? Do you know how much money Lin Mo needs for her surgery in Xiabang next month?”

“One of my students got into trouble… Anyway, I’ll find a way to get the money for Lin Mo’s surgery.”

“Find a way… Ha… How long have you been trying to find a way? Every time Lin Mo has a medical issue, I’m the one begging for money. Do you know that my former colleagues treat me like the plague now?…”

“Alright, I know it’s been hard for you…

I’m heading to Weishan in a bit. I might have to stay there for a while. If there’s anything urgent at home, call me…”

“Weishan? Going to see your master again?! Lin Zhiqin! I just don’t get it. They don’t even respect you there, so why do you keep wanting to return? Look at your fellow disciples from back then. Every single one of them is doing a thousand times better than you now! Qin Feng is your junior brother, right? You joined way before him… And look where you are now! You’re just working under him! You can’t even make a decent living with your meager salary! The students you taught, they’ve been calling to complain to me! Lin Zhiqin!…”

“Shut up!”

In the hospital stairwell, Lin Zhiqin’s face was ashen as he glared at the woman before him.

The woman was slender, her face haggard, eyes red, and tears streaking down her cheeks. Yet, she held her head high, staring back at him without backing down.

“Creak—”

The stairwell door opened from the inside, and a nurse wearing a mask poked her head out, frowning.

“This is a hospital. If you want to argue, do it at home. And sir… smoking is not allowed here.”

“Oh, sorry, I’ll put it out right now.”

Lin Zhiqin extinguished the cigarette butt under his foot and tossed it into a nearby trash bin.

He took a deep breath, his emotions gradually calming down.

“I don’t want to argue with you. I’m going in to see Lin Mo now. Don’t come in.”

Avoiding the woman’s almost hateful gaze, he quickly walked past her.

After a quiet corridor.

Lin Zhiqin stopped in front of a ward.

He rubbed his face and carefully shook off the cigarette smell from his clothes.

Then he pushed the door open.

Inside the ward.

On the white hospital bed, a girl in a patient gown was leaning against the headboard.

Her skin was so pale it was almost translucent, her hair sparse, her face haggard.

Yet, from her features, one could still vaguely recognize the once pretty and charming girl.

But now.

She seemed like a flower with petals falling off, quietly waiting to wither away.

“Lin Mo.”

Lin Zhiqin called her name softly, his eyes gentle.

The girl, staring blankly out of the window, appeared to be startled and slowly turned her head.

“Dad.”

Lin Zhiqin smiled at her and was about to walk over.

But her next words made him stop in his tracks instantly.

“Am I going to die soon?”

“Who told you that?”

Lin Zhiqin’s face darkened.

“Look.”

The girl pointed out the window.

On the windowsill, a crow was perched, gently preening its feathers.

“I heard people say that crows can smell the scent of death on a person. When someone is about to die, a crow will land near them…”

“Nonsense, don’t believe such things.”

Lin Zhiqin said expressionlessly, glancing at the windowsill, his eyes seemingly flashing with a sharp light.

The crow perched on the windowsill immediately seemed startled and quickly flapped its wings, flying away.

“See, it’s gone now.”

Lin Zhiqin walked a few steps to the girl’s side, took out a small bottle filled with pink liquid from his pocket, and spoke firmly to her.

“Don’t worry, I will never let you die. Your illness will be cured very soon.”