Master Liudao Yuan?!

The moment the sound rang out, this name popped into Lu Yuan's mind.

He fixed his gaze on the location where the two blue lights glowed.

Through the faint, ethereal blue light, he could vaguely make out an aged face.

His hair, eyebrows, and beard were all long, and his face was expressionless.

Those two blue lights were, in fact, his "eyes"—embedded in his eye sockets, completely replacing his eyeballs.

At first glance, Master Liudao Yuan looked quite similar to a character from a game Lu Yuan had played before.

"Come closer. Come closer quickly..."

The voice, like a rusty blade being scraped, continued to urge him on.

This time, Lu Yuan saw clearly that the voice indeed came from Master Liudao Yuan's mouth.

"Why don't you turn on the lights?"

Lu Yuan thought for a moment, then took two steps forward.

Master Liudao Yuan, with his two large, lightbulb-like eyes, seemed taken aback for a moment, unsure how to respond.

But then Lu Yuan saw—

Beneath Master Liudao Yuan's head, his body had no arms and no right leg.

Of his four limbs, only his left leg remained.

Even this sole remaining left leg was only a stump, empty from the knee down.

He was incredibly thin. As such, he resembled a long, slender bamboo pole topped with two blue light bulbs—a sight both unsettling and strangely comical.

Lu Yuan didn't walk any further.

Lu Yuan wondered if the inadvertent expression he'd shown moments ago had provoked Master Liudao Yuan.

CLICK—

The two blue light bulbs, the room's only light source, suddenly went out.

The instantaneous annihilation of light caused Lu Yuan's pupils to adjust, plunging him into momentary blindness.

However, his Spiritual Power remained constantly diffused, so he hadn't lost his awareness of his surroundings.

However, in the next instant, something seemed to abruptly intrude into the radiating field of his Spiritual Power.

It moved with unbelievable speed!

Even with his Agility of 16, his reflexes couldn't catch it; his back was already struck hard.

It felt like being violently prodded by a hard object; the immense force sent Lu Yuan staggering forward.

Fuck!

Lu Yuan couldn't help but curse inwardly. More than the pain, however, he felt a chilling dread.

His martial physique, honed through skin and muscle training, was struck so hard that an actual depression formed where he'd been hit, causing excruciating pain.

He didn't need to look to know it was already turning black and blue, his skin and muscles severely contused.

However, before he could recover from that pain, his left side, beneath his ribs, was struck heavily again.

CRACK—

This time, Lu Yuan even heard the faint sound of his own rib fracturing.

"Damn it!"

After two consecutive heavy blows, Lu Yuan's expression in the darkness turned grim.

He roughly guessed Master Liudao Yuan's purpose in attacking him. A vicious glint flashed in his eyes, and he decided to stop holding back.

Lv. 2 [Special Burst]!

Lv. 3 [Absolute Focus]!

Activate!

CRACKLE—CRACKLE—

Lu Yuan's entire body rapidly swelled as if being inflated. His muscles rippled like waves, and thick veins bulged on his skin...

HUMMM—

An invisible, ferocious aura rapidly radiated outwards from Lu Yuan as the center.

He panted, his breaths as heavy and ragged as a giant beast's.

The "sinking sensation" brought by Lv. 3 [Absolute Focus], however, rendered his mind exceptionally clear and calm, like an ice-covered lake on a snowy winter night.

HUUH—

Without any warning, Lu Yuan suddenly threw a fierce punch towards his front right.

His fist tore through the air, accompanied by a series of sharp cracks like ripping silk.

BAM!

Lu Yuan's punch struck the room's floor directly.

The high-quality wooden floorboards exploded with a RUMBLE, creating a large crater as splinters and sawdust flew everywhere.

Lu Yuan braced himself with his left hand on the ground and emotionlessly pulled his right fist from beneath the shattered floorboards.

He stood with his feet apart, Spiritual Power highly concentrated, entering an unprecedented state of focus.

But Master Liudao Yuan, concealed in the darkness, seemed to have ceased his attacks.

CLICK—

Two beams of blue light abruptly illuminated Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan lowered his head, watching the faint blue, diffused beams move back and forth over his body, as if performing some kind of scan.

Following the beams back to their source, he saw that Master Liudao Yuan, his two lightbulb eyes reactivated, had somehow returned to his original seat.

His aged face seemed contorted in a strange state of manic excitement.

That almost fervent gaze fixed on him made Lu Yuan's skin crawl with goosebumps.

"Hit me!" Master Liudao Yuan suddenly said.

"Hm?" Lu Yuan was taken aback.

"I'm telling you to hit me. In your current state. Use your strongest attack and hit me!"

Master Liudao Yuan's voice was tinged with irascibility and impatience as he pressed, "You don't want to take a few more hits, do you, boy?"

A sharp glint flashed in Lu Yuan's eyes.

He swiftly took a deep breath.

"As you wish."

BOOM!

The next instant, the floor beneath Lu Yuan entirely burst apart and caved in...

His massive frame seemed to teleport, suddenly appearing a few meters before Master Liudao Yuan.

His arm, thick as a giant python, rose high,

aimed at Master Liudao Yuan's reed-thin body.

Lv. 2 [Special Burst]—Variable Segment Force Exertion!

Lv. 1 [Crane Strength]!

Lv. 1 [Crane Shadow Floating in the Air]!

Strands of mysterious energetic force erupted from the interplay of muscle and bone membrane.

His fist descended...

Under the blue light, visible blue-white ripples of air were compressed outwards.

In his mind's eye, a Spirit Crane soared, its cry piercing clouds and shattering stone.

Master Liudao Yuan's hair and beard were sent flying wildly by the terrifying wind of the punch. Yet, far from showing any intention of dodging, a smile played on his lips, as if he were eagerly anticipating something.

THUD!

Lu Yuan's punch landed squarely on Master Liudao Yuan's withered torso.

Empowered by [Crane Strength], the sheer force of this punch might have far exceeded three tons.

Lu Yuan was almost confident he could pulverize a light pickup truck with this blow, sending it flying.

Yet, when this terrifying force struck Master Liudao Yuan, it didn't create the slightest ripple.

Instead, Master Liudao Yuan suddenly grew wildly excited, his long eyebrows and beard bristling haphazardly. His mouth opened wide, emitting an ear-piercingly loud laugh.

"Good! Good! Good!"

"Palace of Flesh! It truly is the Palace of Flesh!"

"Boy, from this day forward, you are the sole successor of my Crane Sect!"

Lu Yuan was stunned. Before he could react—

CLICK.

Master Liudao Yuan's figure vanished completely from sight. Then... the pitch-black training hall was suddenly flooded with bright light.

「In the assessment room.」

"It is the Palace of Flesh, there's no doubt," one of the direct disciples said.

They all stood before a video projection, gazes fixed on the paused image on the screen. A strange light gleamed in each of their eyes.

"Such innate muscle control, such incredible Physical Strength. His very flesh and blood are as magnificent and splendid as a divinely crafted palace..."

To the direct disciples, the frozen image of Lu Yuan—his physique ferocious, his muscles gnarled and bulging—was like a world-renowned masterpiece from a grand artist.

Every contour possessed a heart-stopping beauty.

"...I recall the Hundred Refinements Sect produced someone with a Palace of Flesh once, didn't they?" another disciple mused.

"In just ten years, he single-handedly elevated the Hundred Refinements Sect from a mere third-rate sect to a first-rate, almost peak-level power.

It's said that at his peak, that individual dared to battle even a Grandmaster and could tear Rainbow Steel apart with his bare hands...

Unfortunately, his later actions were too arrogant. He provoked the authorities and was eventually besieged and killed by over a dozen Mechas."

One of them remarked with emotion, then paused before adding,

"I never imagined... our Crane Sect would also have the chance to welcome a genius possessing such a talent!"

This statement made the others tremble slightly.

Then, a peculiar, almost fervent light appeared in their expressions.

It was as if... they had all realized something.

"The five legendary talents of the Martial Arts Circle: Skin Abyss, Palace of Flesh, Bone Mountain, Five Internal Organs Fairy, and Brain Divine Power... Each one is a treasure rarely found in this world."

Someone murmured, "This Lu Yuan possesses the Palace of Flesh, and in only three months of martial arts training, he has comprehended the True Skill of our Crane Sect's fist techniques..."

"And it's a profound True Skill he comprehended through Pile Skill, no less."

The short-haired woman suddenly spoke, asking Lin Zhiquin beside her, "I'm correct, aren't I, Lin?"

Lin Zhiquin was still in a daze. Hearing the short-haired woman, he snapped back to reality and nodded instinctively. "Yes, Lu Yuan's True Skill was comprehended from the Basic Pile Skill, but what he grasped initially was merely the surface..."

A collective gasp immediately filled the room.

Everyone's expression was stirred.

To comprehend a profound True Skill that represents the core inheritance of a sect, relying solely on Pile Skill—even if it was just a superficial grasp—was enough to demonstrate Lu Yuan's extraordinary martial comprehension.

Coupled with the Palace of Flesh talent, this level of aptitude... could no longer be described as merely "monstrous."

Even that person who betrayed and fled the sect back then...

Compared to the Lu Yuan before them, even he seemed ordinary and unremarkable.

After a brief period of shock and silence, someone finally spoke up, "Lin, for recruiting such a prime talent for the sect this time, Teacher will surely reward you.

Congratulations in advance, Lin, on rejoining the ranks of the direct disciples."

"Lin, do come for tea when you're free."

"Lin..."

The direct disciples all greeted Lin Zhiquin one after another, hastily mending their relations.

Each one of them wore an expression filled with complex emotions.

Qin Feng was perhaps the one feeling it most acutely.

He and Lin Zhiquin were both in Burnt Rock, at the same martial arts gym.

When Lu Yuan was training at the Origin Martial Arts Hall, Qin Feng had seen him countless times.

Yet, I somehow overlooked such a monstrous genius right under my own nose! It's as if my martial arts practice has blinded me! he thought bitterly.

"Lin... Lin..." Qin Feng opened his mouth several times to speak to Lin Zhiquin, but he didn't know what to say. In the end, with a dejected expression, he turned and left.

The direct disciples, along with their respective recommended candidates, departed one by one.

The middle-aged man with dark hair, who had remained silent with his back to the others, was the last to leave.

He watched the entire video segment by himself. Afterward, he turned around and, his face unreadable, gently patted Lin Zhiquin's shoulder.

He said, "Lin, you've endured much out there these past years..."

When the dark-haired middle-aged man's figure also disappeared through the assessment room doorway,

only Lin Zhiquin, still looking bewildered, and the short-haired woman remained in the vast room.

"Lin..." the short-haired woman began.

Lin Zhiquin looked up at her voice, stared at the woman fixedly for a moment, then said, "Senior Sister... I, I genuinely didn't know..."

The short-haired woman was startled by his words, then suddenly smiled.

"I understand."

She then turned her head towards the image of the young man on the video screen and said softly, "Who could have imagined it? You didn't, I didn't, Second Senior Brother didn't... Even Teacher... He absolutely couldn't have imagined it either..."

* * *

The sudden flood of light was somewhat dazzling.

Lu Yuan raised his hand to shield his face, squinting for a moment before his eyes slowly adjusted to the room's brightness.

The entire training hall was now fully revealed before him.

It was just as he had imagined: spacious and enormous.

Apart from a chair placed before him, the training hall was practically empty.

Not far off, there were several patches of collapsed and shattered flooring, with planks and wood chips scattered on the surrounding ground.

Master Liudao Yuan was nowhere to be seen.

Lu Yuan scanned his surroundings.

He found that the nearest door to the chair in front of him was a good several tens of meters away.

He had no idea how Master Liudao Yuan, who resembled little more than a human torso on a stick, had vanished into thin air.

What an eccentric, moody, deranged old freak!

With a grim face, Lu Yuan mentally slapped these labels on Master Liudao Yuan.

This "interview" experience had left him in a rather foul mood.

Lu Yuan released the muscle control of [Special Burst], and his swollen physique gradually returned to its normal size.

The spots on his left ribs and back where he'd been hit still throbbed with a dull ache.

As Lu Yuan focused on recovering, he recalled the words Master Liudao Yuan had boomed out while laughing.

Palace of Flesh... What is that?

Why was he as ecstatic as if he'd won the lottery...?

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