There were still a few hours before sunset, and Yun Feng had planned to use them to his full potential. Looking at the trees around him, he already had a rough plan for his training.
Although his talent had now awakened, it wasn't good enough to let him ascend to the Awakening Realm. The most it could help with was reaching the peak of the Body Refining Realm.
But that wasn't what Yun Feng wanted, so he dropped his plans to start cultivation and decided to grind his skills first. He would gather True EXP from them and then use it to increase his Talent.
Only then would his cultivation show the true fruits of his hard work.
The first skill he planned to grind was Mountain Shaking Fist, a type of offensive technique that let him disrupt the enemy's momentum and shake their entire body. It would affect both their body and mind — hence the name.
Of course, the elders always preached that if the skill was mastered to perfection, one could even shake mountains. Sadly, no one had confirmed that, as nobody had ever reached the Perfection stage of its mastery.
In this world, mastery of skills was mainly divided into five stages — from lowest to highest: Small Success, Larger Success, Greater Success, Completion, and Perfection.
Yun Feng was at Larger Success in Mountain Shaking Fist, which the system indicated as Level 2.
He stood before a thick tree with jagged black bark and took a deep breath. These trees were known for their sturdiness, and even Martial Artists at the 9th Stage of Body Refining Realm would find it hard to destroy one.
This was the training target he had chosen for Mountain Shaking Fist.
He calmed his emotions, feeling his heartbeat slow down, and then moved gracefully into a specific stance he had been practicing for years.
Building strength from his core and legs through the posture, he clenched his fist and struck the bark, driving all the gathered force into the punch.
The whole tree shook as a few leaves drifted down in the shallow breeze. But the tree remained unscratched. The only visible result was its trembling — as if it were shivering in cold.
Yun Feng stepped back, looking at the tree with a wide grin.
[Mountain Shaking Fist +1]
'It really works,' Yun Feng exclaimed in surprise.
He had already experienced it before, but it still felt surreal knowing he had such a cheat with him. It filled his mind with dreams of a lofty future.
But he quickly snapped out of it and sighed, reminding himself, 'The system is only a tool — it gives me potential, yes, but many others with similar potential have died before reaching anywhere.'
He recalled a famous saying from the martial world:
"A dead prodigy is no prodigy."
Indeed, if one wasn't allowed to grow, there was no point in being a prodigy. The same could happen to him. Even with a system, it wouldn't mean a thing if he died prematurely.
But Yun Feng had confidence in his steadfast will, tempered through a decade of humiliation. Still, he reminded himself not to get arrogant. That path only led to an early grave.
'This is the cultivation world. One slight misstep, and I could end up dead in a way worse than I can imagine.'
Then, he smiled wryly.
'But it's fine. I'll just stay away from all the young masters and especially the jade beauties who always bring trouble with them. I just need to grind by myself.'
He knew it would be tough. Reaching the top meant competing for limited resources and that meant making enemies.
He simply wanted to minimize his involvement in major events and battles. That way, he'd reduce the chances of dying and have more time to grind.
'Whatever. My thoughts are straying again. Need to focus.'
Yun Feng took out a roll of bandages he had picked up from the restaurant and wrapped them around his hands.
Then, he took a deep breath to calm his mind again and punched at the same spot using Mountain Shaking Fist. The tree shook violently, an illusory shockwave rippling outward through the still forest.
There was no notification this time — but that was expected. He knew the higher the mastery, the harder it became to increase it. So he didn't stop and began analyzing his previous movement.
'It might work better if I move my back leg slightly behind and channel force from my thighs first. Alright, let's try this.'
He knew better technique meant more EXP, so he adjusted his stance and punched again — using the improved version.
When there was still no notification, he frowned. Thinking back to the stance, he shifted his shoulder and adjusted the shape of his fist slightly.
Once again, he dropped into position and struck the tree with all his strength. It didn't leave a scratch, but the tree trembled like it was dancing in the wind.
[Mountain Shaking Fist +1]
'Maybe it's just because I punched three times. Once more?'
He exhaled slowly and drew in the cold air again. Focusing, he launched another punch at the same spot. The tree hadn't even stopped shaking before it began its dance again.
[Mountain Shaking Fist +1]
'Noice!' Yun Feng grinned, then a question popped into his mind. 'But these are +1 notifications, and the interface shows percentages. How do I know how much more I need to do?'
Sadly, the system hadn't included that in the information packet, and it didn't seem to know either.
He glanced at the interface and focused on the skill section.
[Mountain Shaking Fist, Level 2 (69%)]
'I gained three points, so maybe 3 points equals 1%?' Yun Feng speculated, then shook his head. 'That's only if progress is linear. It might change with each level.'
It could also be the opposite — maybe each percentage required more and more points as the level increased.
Now, he regretted not paying attention during the Knife Skill training. That had been the perfect test subject.
'Oh well, I'll just continue like this.'
After that, the once-silent forest was filled with the heavy hum of a trembling tree and dull thuds as Yun Feng punched again and again.
A few birds, confused by the sound, tried to land on the tree. But the shaking threw them off balance. Some managed to hold on — and enjoyed the ride.
The sun, burning high in the azure sky like a boiling orb, slowly dipped toward the horizon. The sky took on a tint of red, as if the sun were bleeding into the clouds.
But it couldn't escape its fate and was finally defeated by the rising moon and the encroaching darkness.
Under the cool moonlight and starry sky, Yun Feng struck the tree again — same spot, same technique. There were now visible cracks where his fists had landed, and the bark looked like it couldn't endure another blow.
He wasn't doing much better. Sweat dripped from his forehead as if he'd just come out of a river. His face was exhausted, but his eyes...they burned with unyielding flame.
Without losing focus for even a second, he delivered another deadly punch. The bandages on his hands were frayed, their once-white color now stained red.
As his fist met the cracked bark, splinters flew in all directions. The outer layer of the Blackwood Tree was peeled off, leaving behind a deep, fist-shaped mark in the exposed wood.
[Mountain Shaking Fist +1]
[Mountain Shaking Fist has leveled up!]
[Rewards! True EXP +2]
[Mountain Shaking Fist, Level 3 reached.]