C3 Martial Arts Proficiency

Lost in thought, Meng Yang's gaze was resolute. He had resolved to grow stronger, to at least possess the ability to defend himself. Having already experienced death once, the prospect of facing it again did not scare him, but the thought filled him with a profound sense of defiance.

Succumbing to mediocrity was never in his nature; he thrived on turning setbacks into comebacks. Moreover, the world's mysteries captivated him to such an extent that the mere thought of them sent his pulse racing with excitement. It was, aside from his pupils, the one thing that truly exhilarated Meng Yang.

Soul Stealing Palm: Proficiency 0/10000 Beginner.

Flesh Puppet: Proficiency 1144/10000 Beginner.

Water Serpent Style: Proficiency 0/10000 Beginner.

Meng Yang's spirits lifted as he considered the proficiency he had achieved with the flesh puppet technique. Based on the efficiency and duration of this morning's training, reaching a proficiency of 10,000 would only require two more training sessions.

What changes the flesh puppet technique would undergo upon reaching this proficiency cap was unknown to Meng Yang, but he was eager to find out. Both the Soul Stealing Palm and the Water Serpent Style, as their names suggested, were offensive martial arts. He would need to master all three to a proficiency of 10,000 before he could truly claim the ability to protect himself.

If the flesh puppet technique could improve through taking hits, then surely the other two martial arts could as well. A thought struck him, and Meng Yang's lips curled into a smile as he lay down to rest. The morning's training had left him sore and utterly drained, leaving no energy for other pursuits.

To fully understand the methods of increasing his martial arts proficiency, he would need to wait until his body had sufficiently recovered to explore further.

By noon, the sun blazed overhead. The elderly man who brought their meals arrived punctually at their room. Meng Yang took the opportunity, while sipping his porridge, to discreetly observe the other two who had risen to join the meal. In contrast to Meng Yang's slender frame, both men were impressively muscular. Despite the bruises marking their arms, the vitality in their eyes was a rare sight among the training partners.

They didn't come across as ordinary folks; rather, they had the air of hardened bandits skilled in martial arts.

The pair of eyes that appeared calm held a fleeting intensity of a bandit's glare, which only solidified Meng Yang's suspicions.

The man's rough hands, the bulging temples, and then his forehead...

"What's this?"

Just then, Meng Yang caught sight of a scar on the forehead of the man with the square face.

More accurately, it was a rectangular brand.

Within the neat brand, there was a character.

"Is that the character for 'criminal'?"

Suddenly, Meng Yang's eyes lit up as a realization dawned on him, and he involuntarily gasped.

His memories were clear: the Lin family's training partners were of two kinds.

One was like Meng Yang, who, out of poverty, had no choice but to sign a contract and sell himself to the Lin family.

The other was prisoners living outside the law or criminals wanted by the authorities.

Regardless of the type, as long as they hadn't committed a capital crime, they would eventually be released.

Unfortunately, upon release, these individuals bore the mark of their past misdeeds on their foreheads for life.

Clearly, the two men in Meng Yang's room were ex-convicts.

How they ended up with the Lin family was unknown to Meng Yang, but he was certain there was some undisclosed deal involved.

"No wonder he doesn't look like a regular person, always sleeping with the blanket over his head..."

After finishing their porridge, the two seemed to notice Meng Yang's lingering gaze and frowned slightly before promptly falling back to sleep.

Meng Yang arched an eyebrow and let out a sigh.

He had hoped to extract more information from them after the meal, but it seemed the opportunity had passed.

Shrugging it off, Meng Yang didn't dwell on it. He got up from the bed and stretched his limbs.

With the Soul Stealing Palm technique coming to mind, Meng Yang immediately focused on regulating his breath and steadying his elixir field.

As he assumed the horse stance, his fingers came together and he struck forward with his palm.

The Soul Stealing Palm was executed successfully, increasing his proficiency by one.

Current proficiency: 1/10,000.

"Just as I thought..."

Meng Yang's face brightened with excitement as he absorbed the information in his right eye and struck out with another palm.

The Soul Stealing Palm was successfully executed, proficiency increasing by 1.

Current proficiency: 2/10,000.

"It's as I expected, the Water Serpent Style should work as well..."

With that, Meng Yang closed his eyes and, upon reopening them, his feet moved in an unpredictable five-step pattern.

His straw-sandaled feet, quivering with the tension in his muscles, kicked out rapidly with a spring-like force, producing a muffled boom.

The Water Serpent Style was successfully executed, proficiency increasing by 1.

Current proficiency: 1/10,000.

The kick was extremely low and the movement comically awkward, yet Meng Yang's eyes were alight with fervor.

His mind conjured images of the super experts from television shows in his past life, those who could scale walls and stand unrivaled.

Even though he wasn't certain if such experts existed in this world, it did nothing to dampen Meng Yang's wild elation.

He believed that with perseverance, he would draw ever closer to the elusive figure he aspired to be.

The only discomfort he felt was the room's size; it was so small that five steps nearly brought him to the door.

"It seems he still hasn't learned how to be a quiet flesh puppet..."

The square-faced man lying on the bed couldn't help but turn over, disturbed by the intermittent sounds of punches and kicks.

His gaze settled on Meng Yang's silhouette, and he silently observed.

His keen eyesight allowed him to immediately discern that Meng Yang was an absolute novice in martial arts.

The movements, whether kicks or strikes, lacked any semblance of force, and even the leveraging was incorrect.

After watching for a while, the square-faced man found it uninteresting and turned over, pulling the blanket over his head.

The disturbance also caught the attention of another man in the room, one with an ordinary appearance and dark skin.

After a brief look, the dark-skinned man sighed, shook his head, and turned away.

Unaware of the attention he had momentarily drawn from the two men, Meng Yang continued tirelessly, practicing the Water Serpent Style and the Soul Stealing Palm with sweat pouring down his face.

Training could be monotonous, particularly in such a suffocating atmosphere. Yet, as Meng Yang watched the stream of information flickering before his eyes, he felt an endless surge of energy within. Despite his legs aching and his hands cramping, sweat pouring down like rain, nothing could quench the fiery spirit and relentless determination in his heart.

The Soul Stealing Palm was executed successfully, proficiency increased by 1. Current proficiency: 1322/10000. The Water Serpent Style was executed successfully, proficiency increased by 1. Current proficiency: 1322/10000.

All morning, Meng Yang's mind was consumed with thoughts of gaining strength, the sounds of his kicks and palm strikes echoing around him. It wasn't until his body could no longer cope, gradually losing control and his arms shaking uncontrollably, that Meng Yang, his face twisted in pain, ended the grueling, almost masochistic training session.

Exhausted, he lay on his bed, gasping for air. Staring out at the dimming evening sky, his gaze was intense, his mind racing. As his cracked and nearly bursting heart and lungs finally settled down and sleepiness crept in, Meng Yang drifted off into a deep slumber.

The next morning, he was roused by the clamor from the courtyard. Upon opening his eyes, he noticed the other two occupants of the room were gone. Rising and approaching the doorway, he caught sight of a group heading toward the training ground, including the two individuals he shared his quarters with.

This team was smaller than his previous one, with just over a dozen members. Each person moved with a steady gait, their frames large and imposing. Even the team's leader was no ordinary guard clad in soft armor.

"Intermediate training partner... or perhaps a high-level one?" Meng Yang mused, narrowing his eyes briefly before shifting his focus.

As he turned to ponder whether the proficiency of the flesh puppet technique could be increased in three days, just like the Soul Stealing Palm and Water Serpent Style, a nasal voice inquired from behind him, "Are you the newcomer, Meng Yang?"

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