Chương 13: Diamond Body Technique

Old Li chuckled softly and kept walking at the same pace. At such a pace, Li Chen calculated they would walk for almost an entire day and that was if the old man's weary bones would allow him.

"Although I'm old, I'm much stronger than you. Had it not been for your impressive will, I would not have saved someone with a talent lesser than mine."

Li Chen shook his head and sighed. Dots appeared mid-air, with quotation marks at both ends. Old Li must have assumed that he had been training from a young age.

"What happened to your face?"

[That's a question I would like to ask the person who brought me here but I haven't seen him ever since I had this mask on.]

"So you once had a face?" Old Li paused and turned to Li Chen. His murky eyes hid a sharp glint that examined Li Chen internally.

[I did. Wait, I almost forgot my horse!] Having remembered his Ferghana horse and the cost, he quickly turned but Old Li spoke.

"Nothing will harm it. I've concealed its location from predators. Besides, I wiped them out decades ago."

[Eh?! Then what about the sea dragons?]

Old Li exhaled loudly, his hunchback posture lowering a little as he turned. "I brought them to that lake for my entertainment."

[Oh?] Li Chen tilted his head. Old Li's choice made him confused.

Suddenly, he felt the terrain change. A vast green field replaced the tall bamboo trees.

[What in the world!]

All he felt was a blur and Old Li grabbed him and flew to his hut, which was at the top of a relatively short mountain.

From the peak, Li Chen could see the vast bamboo forest that spread to the horizon.

Old Li sat, drank a clear liquid from his gourd and exhaled. "You came here to train?"

Li Chen nodded twice.

"Good! Help me fetch water and buy my wine and I'll make you a swordsman."

Li Chen looked down the mountain, into the forest, and back. [That doesn't seem fair.]

"Nothing is fair in the world, kid. You must be about 22, which means if you don't enter a sect before 30, you'll have to wander about, following the route of a self-cultivator and fighting for everything to aid your growth."

Seeing Li Chen remain silent, Old Li leaned backward. "Besides, I have just a few more months left to live and I want to leave a legacy behind."

Having considered Old Li's request, Li Chen realized he had nothing to lose. [Alright.]

"Hahaha! Good, good!" The man laughed loudly, his joy evident in his murky eyes. "Now, show me what you can do."

Li Chen turned in a different direction. His awkward reaction did not escape Old Li's sharp eyes.

"You have no technique?" Old Li's brows went up and creases appeared on his temples.

[I can condense my element and I'm learning "Mountain Slash."]

"That's the only one?"

Old Li's tone made Li Chen feel embarrassed. As the author, he knew many techniques but hadn't selected which one would suit his path and this made him akin to a bumpkin.

"GOOD!" Old Li exclaimed, stunning Li Chen. Unbeknownst to Li Chen, he was akin to a clean slate and it would make it easier to absorb Old Li's teaching.

"Every swordsman must first know what it means to be the sword. Common knowledge is that you must let the sword be an extension of your body, which is right but you'll remain mediocre. A swordsman must train his body like a sword in a forge."

Old Li suddenly stood up, straightened his back, and pointed at three boulders a couple meters away.

"At the peak of the mundane level, a cultivator must have refined his body to be able to lift a weight of 900 jin. Your bones, muscles, and tendons should be strong enough to produce a force capable of shattering one boulder."

Li Chen approached the boulder, circulated his energy, and raised his fist, but a cane smacked his wrist.

[!!]

"You are a swordsman. Straighten your palm!"

Li Chen looked at the boulder and his palm. [I can't do it. I need to learn body art first.] He wasn't prepared to shatter his bones in the wilderness, where treatment would come late.

As if expecting his response, Old threw a scroll at him and walked into his hut, his hands at his back.

[I thought he couldn't walk without his cane.]

Li Chen shrugged, took the scroll, and sat atop the boulder. 'Diamond Body Technique, a powerful name,' he mused.

After studying the diagram, he came down, straightened his palm, raised his right hand upward and struck down.

At the same time, he circulated his star energy but his concentration faltered. Repeating the process again, he felt the muscles in his right chest ache.

[Just the first stance and I already feel like this!]

"Go down to the basin. To learn the diamond body, you have to put your body under intense pressure."

Heeding to Old Li, Li Chen removed his fur-padded coat and walked down a slim path. Once he reached the bottom of the mountain, he found a small basin at the back of the mountain.

Around the basin were large boulders and most of them had clean cuts that divided them. On the left were slabs.

'It can't be that he cut those with his hands, right?'

Although it sounded impossible, Li Chen felt longing for such strength. This was a world where strength ruled. Even Xiu Ying would discard him if he became a burden.

Removing his first robe and his shirt, he smiled at his firm six-pack abs and jumped into the basin.

He landed on the sand and looked up. The light had dimmed considerably. It felt like the sun had gone down at the bottom of the basin.

Circulating his energy according to the diagram, he felt a cool sensation coursing through his bloodstream. As quick as a viper, he struck his palm like he was about to cut something.

However, his movement was pitifully slow due to the pressure of the water.

Time flew by and Li Chen lost himself in his new feeling of feeling every bit of his muscles tremble.

He had no idea when his skin started emitting a faint white glow!

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