6: Chapter 6 The Second Life, A First Glimpse into Martial Arts (Part 5)

Returning home, Steward Lin Zhen and his wife were both surprised and delighted to see the medicine packets, repeatedly urging him to strictly follow Instructor Wang's advice.

That night, Lin Shi followed the method his master taught him. After loosening up his body, he soaked himself in the scalding medicinal bath.

The overpowering medicinal strength seeped through his pores into his skin and flesh. An itchy, numbing, stinging sensation washed over his entire body. He focused his mind, guiding the Qi and blood he had been honing for so long, and directed the medicinal power to repeatedly scour the barriers of his skin membrane.

He did not know how much time had passed.

The Qi and blood in his Dantian suddenly exploded, flowing through his meridians to every part of his body. Every inch of his skin and flesh condensed into a layer with a tough, dense texture.

He raised his hand and clenched his fist. Without needing to intentionally tense his muscles, he could feel a solid defensive power beneath his skin, like that of an old tree.

The Tree Bark Realm, it was achieved.

As soon as day broke, Lin Shi impatiently rushed straight to the Martial Arts Hall to find Instructor Wang Zhong.

Instructor Wang Zhong pinched the skin membrane on his body, feeling its uniform and solid toughness. A rare smile appeared on his cold, stern face:

"Good lad, you actually succeeded on the first try. You didn't embarrass me. From now on, you are my official disciple. Go register at the hall in a while."

"Yes, Master." Lin Shi bowed deeply to Instructor Wang Zhong, then turned and walked out of the courtyard gate towards the Disciple Hall.

The manager on duty briefly inspected him, then threw him a wooden plaque. The front and back were engraved with "Ding-37" and his name, respectively.

This was his identification plaque. He was now the thirty-seventh person in the Martial Arts Hall to reach the Tree Bark Realm.

With his status changed, his treatment and position were completely transformed.

He received a monthly allowance of 5 taels of silver, along with two 'Skin-Nurturing and Bone-Strengthening Medicinal Packets', exclusively for those at the Tree Bark Realm and above to daily hone their skin membranes and nourish their Qi and blood.

If that wasn't enough, he could purchase additional ones for three taels of silver per packet, and he could also take on official positions or accept tasks to earn extra money.

More importantly, there was his status. Except for the senior brothers and sisters who ranked ahead of him, all other disciples had to respectfully address him as "Senior Brother Lin" when they saw him.

It was truly different!

The next morning, after finishing his fist practice, Lin Shi passed by the Martial Arts Arena.

He saw a simple and honest-looking youth being cornered and wantonly humiliated by two registered disciples.

The dry rations in his hands were casually snatched away by them amidst laughter, and his training uniform was tossed onto the ground and stomped on several times.

It was Zhao Hu; Lin Shi had heard of him.

He was three years older than him. His hunter father had died under the claws of an exotic beast, and his mother had exhausted all her efforts to scrape together enough money to send him to the Martial Arts Hall as a registered disciple.

His aptitude was ordinary; he had only just managed to complete his stance training after two and a half years. However, he had never been able to save enough money for the breakthrough medicinal packets, so he had suffered plenty of bullying in the hall.

Indeed, not everyone who completed their stance training could receive a free breakthrough medicinal packet. Those disciples without a master had to save money to buy them themselves, and they weren't always in stock.

Thinking of this, Lin Shi could not help but think of himself in his previous life.

It was the same fickle fate, only he had never even touched the threshold of martial arts in his previous life, let alone allowed his mother to live a good life.

Perhaps, if there was a chance, he should secretly go and see his family from his previous life; maybe he could secretly provide some care for them.

However, what needed to be done right now was to stop this bullying and save this youth whose situation was similar to his own in his previous life.

"Stop!" Lin Shi frowned and shouted coldly, his tone carrying the dignity of an official disciple.

"Who dares to disturb my fun?"

The two turned their heads and, seeing it was Lin Shi, their faces instantly turned pale.

"Lin... Senior Brother Lin."

"Get lost. Instead of training properly, you are here bullying fellow disciples. Don't let me see this again." Lin Shi couldn't be bothered to pay more attention to them.

"Yes... yes." The two hurriedly threw the dry rations back, not daring to let out another peep, and scurried away in a dejected manner.

Zhao Hu quickly picked up his training uniform, scratching his head in a simple and honest manner, and bowed repeatedly to thank Lin Shi.

Seeing his embarrassed appearance, Lin Shi felt a touch of compassion.

Afterward, after finishing his fist practice, he would often help him correct his fist stances and striking postures, and share his own insights on honing Qi and blood.

Zhao Hu was honest and straightforward by nature, and he treated him like a brother with whom he had shared life-or-death experiences.

Every time he followed a hunting team into the mountains and caught good exotic beast meat, he would be the first to bring it to Lin Shi.

The two youths of similar age quickly became close friends who could trust each other with their backs.

In the days that followed, Lin Shi continued to practice fist techniques and hone his skin membrane step by step.

When he was free, he would immerse himself in the library, flipping through the cultivation notes and combat insights left behind by senior martial artists, making the foundation of his Tree Bark Realm increasingly solid.

In the blink of an eye, half a year passed.

A notice was posted outside the main gate of the Martial Arts Hall: the annual joint competition between the three halls of Hansha Town was about to begin.

The three Martial Arts Halls—Houshan, Liegu, and Benlei—would each field five main participants and two substitutes.

They would compete on the same stage at the town's Martial Arts Arena, vying for the rare body-tempering medicinal materials issued by the county, as well as the mining quotas for the mines outside the town.

All the disciples were in an uproar. This was a great opportunity to obtain scarce cultivation resources and make a name for themselves in one battle; everyone was eager and ready to go.

Instructor Wang Zhong came to find him: "For this competition, I have registered you for a substitute spot. You don't need to go on stage to fight; it's mainly for you to gain some experience. See what real martial arts combat is like, and recognize the styles of the other two Martial Arts Halls."

Lin Shi felt a surge of warmth in his heart and immediately bowed to express his gratitude.

He knew clearly that there were only 7 spots in total, and even being a substitute was exceptionally difficult to obtain.

This was his master specifically paving the way for him, allowing him to witness higher-level competitions and also to show his face in the town's martial artist circle.

The five main participants from Houshan Martial Arts Hall were all genius disciples at the peak of the Tree Bark Realm, with outstanding aptitude and the potential to challenge the Stone Skin Realm.

The other substitute was a disciple who had broken through to the Tree Bark Realm more than half a year earlier than Lin Shi; his foundation was solid, and he was equally excellent.

It was said that Wang Hao had also competed for the substitute position, but he was rejected due to his unstable foundation. That day, his face looked extremely ugly.

Lin Shi didn't think too much about it; he knew his own position. In this competition, he was just a spectator, there to learn things.

Soon, the day of the competition arrived, and Lin Shi followed the team to the Martial Arts Arena in the center of town.

The Town Mayor, the Captain of the Garrison, and the masters of the three major Martial Arts Halls—these five Iron Skin Realm experts sat at the highest point.

Below them were the heads of the three major families in town, as well as Stone Skin Realm martial artists from various factions.

In the center of the Martial Arts Arena, a square stone platform measuring three zhang on each side had been erected; this was the competition ring.

Lin Shi stood in the ranks of Houshan Martial Arts Hall, observing the disciples of Liegu Martial Arts Hall and Benlei Martial Arts Hall.

The disciples of Liegu Martial Arts Hall wore black martial arts uniforms, their eyes full of arrogance and carrying a fierce, baleful aura.

The disciples of Benlei Martial Arts Hall wore blue martial arts uniforms, their eyes sharp and carrying a vigorous, swift-as-thunder energy.

Instructor Wang Zhong was not sitting in the seats; he was the leader of the Houshan Martial Arts Hall team for this event. Since he happened to be free at the moment, he lowered his voice and began to explain to Lin Shi:

"Liegu Martial Arts Hall specializes in palm techniques and close-quarters combat. Their moves go straight for the vitals; they are ruthless and sinister, and they are best at trading injuries for injuries. Benlei Martial Arts Hall specializes in leg techniques; they are fast, have strong explosive power, and are good at maneuvering and ambushing. They basically don't fight you head-on. These two halls each have their own strengths. Watch carefully, and you will be able to learn a lot."

"This disciple understands." Lin Shi nodded, his gaze fixed tightly on the competition ring.

Soon, the competition officially began.

The first match was Houshan Martial Arts Hall against Benlei Martial Arts Hall.

As soon as the two stepped onto the platform, they immediately started fighting.

The disciple from Benlei Martial Arts Hall had extremely fast footwork. With a change in his steps, he circled behind the Houshan disciple and kicked out with a leg, carrying the whistling sound of wind.

The Houshan disciple was calm and unhurried. With a move of the Houshan Fist called "Mountain-Collapsing Strike," he forcefully blocked the kick. When the fist and leg collided, it produced a dull thud.

The entire Martial Arts Arena instantly erupted in thunderous cheers.

Lin Shi stood under the platform, watching without blinking.

He memorized every move, every exertion of force, and every movement of Qi and blood of the two in his heart.

His comprehension was only 4 points, so he couldn't see through the key points at a glance, but he could remember them and go back to slowly deconstruct and ponder them.

Match after match went by, with each of the three Martial Arts Halls having their own wins and losses; the fighting was exceptionally intense.