He didn't want to end up like them. This was especially true after learning Hex Changgong had been bludgeoned to death with a pickaxe during a dispute. A fierce sense of urgency flared within him.
Down in the mine, with supervisors guarding the main tunnels, only the most basic rules of survival were maintained. But once you ventured into the branch tunnels, all rules vanished. Might was the only law.
By the sixth day, Li Haomiao couldn't hold his tongue any longer. He had been watching Xu Yunfan run in and out of the branch tunnel, endlessly practicing the Flying Leg.
"The Flying Leg is about generating power from your legs, coordinating your waist and hips, and tensing the great tendon along your spine. It's a Dharma Gate for training the tendons. If you can master it just by running around like this, I'll eat all my Grain Avoidance—huh?!"
'Your Flying Leg has reached Introduction.'
'Flying Leg 0/500 (Introduction)
Effects: Swift as the wind, nimble body, leaves deep footprints, exceptional endurance.'
In that instant, memories surged through Xu Yunfan's mind.
In the memory, he stood on a long mountain ridge, surrounded by undulating peaks.
There, amidst the mountains, he practiced his footwork, channeling energy as the Flying Leg body technique dictated. His toes dug into the earth as he exerted force with every step.
Day after day, he ran, ignoring his body's limits, covering dozens of miles each day.
One day, he pushed off from the soles of his feet. His toes curled like talons, his tendons pulled taut like springs. A surge of power rose from the ground, launching him high into the air. With astonishing speed, he shot forward like an unbridled stallion.
That single stride covered five or six meters.
At the same time, warm currents materialized within him, flowing and pulsing swiftly through the flesh of his waist and legs.
Xu Yunfan felt his legs swell and his muscles tighten. His great tendons felt like bowstrings, constantly being drawn taut and then abruptly released.
The sensation of his tendons being forcibly opened—a mixture of agonizing pain and exhilarating pleasure—made him hiss in a sharp breath.
If he had rolled up his pant legs to his thighs, one could have clearly seen the muscles on his legs twitching and pulsing. Bundles of muscle rippled like waves, strengthening his tendons and bones.
He had achieved the Introduction level of Flying Leg.
Xu Yunfan stretched his legs, his body feeling unprecedentedly light. When he took a step, it was as if springs were coiling and uncoiling beneath his feet, "launching" him five or six meters forward.
It was a marvelous feeling, as if a force rose from the ground through the soles of his feet, allowing his body to bound away with ease.
He looked up at Li Haomiao. "What were you saying? Something about Grain Avoidance Pills?"
Li Haomiao fell silent for a moment, then simply shook his head, refusing to speak.
Xu Yunfan didn't mind. He glanced at the Skill Bar on his Attribute Panel. After days and nights of relentless mining, both his Copper Body Skill and Mining skill were approaching the Minor Achievement realm.
The Copper Body Skill, in particular, was at 488 Skill Level, just twelve points away. Xu Yunfan had no intention of resting; he was determined to max it out in one final push.
This tangible progress fueled his enthusiasm, and he didn't feel the slightest bit of tedium.
His steps light, he resumed swinging his Iron Pickaxe, continuing to dig around the Ancient Jade Wall.
The Ancient Jade Wall was incredibly hard; he couldn't even scratch it with his full strength. For the past several days, Xu Yunfan had simply been digging out the rock around it, trying to excavate the entire wall.
'You focused your spirit and calmed your breath, gripping the pickaxe tighter. After adjusting your stance, you instantly felt the tool become steadier. Mining Skill Level has increased.'
'Your mind free of distractions, you felt the contact between your body and the air. Adjusting the position of your arms, you instantly felt a greater harmony in the flow between your body and the air. Copper Body Skill Level has increased.'
'...'
Three hours later, a notification suddenly appeared in Xu Yunfan's field of vision.
'While mining, you had a sudden insight, feeling a profound meaning hidden within the act of excavation. Yet, when you tried to ponder it further, the insight vanished without a trace. Mining Skill Level has quietly increased by 4 points.'
'Mining has reached Minor Achievement.'
In a flash, memories flooded his mind: he was an elite miner in this sunless cavern, transformed into a relentless digging machine, mining without rest for over a decade.
Then one day, as he swung his pickaxe, his movement abruptly halted. An unprecedented feeling of perfect flow washed over him from the depths of his being.
The pickaxe felt as if it had merged with his body, an extension of his limbs he could command at will. Every swing was a perfect, fluid connection between mind and hand, utterly without hindrance.
His body grew warm, and a feeling of expansion spread through him.
A warm current materialized within, winding like a spirit serpent through his arms and torso.
Wherever it passed, his strength grew like wild spring vines, and his endurance deepened like a vast pool—unbroken and seemingly endless.
Of course, "unbroken and endless" was an illusion, a trick of the mind caused by the sudden, dramatic improvement in his physical abilities.
Reaching Minor Achievement in Mining had made his once scrawny body much stronger.
Xu Yunfan calmed himself, tightened his grip on the pickaxe, and stared at the man-high block of iron ore that encased the Ancient Jade Wall. Faintly, he felt as if this massive chunk of ore had its own veins, its own grain.
He heaved the pickaxe high, gathering all his strength until his muscles bulged. Following the faint veins in the ore, he smashed down with a speed and force that dwarfed all his previous efforts.
With a resounding CLANG of metal on stone, a shower of sparks erupted, and a large chunk of ore crumbled away.
Where it once took him a dozen swings to just loosen the ore, he now shattered it with a single, effortless blow.
The change revealed a world of difference between his former self and his current abilities in strength, speed, precision, and perception.
'So strong. I wonder if I could kill one of those vicious supervisors with a single swing.'
'Yang Gan... I need to get stronger!'
He glanced at the system notification on his Attribute Panel.
'Mining 1/1000 (Minor Achievement)
Effects: Resistant to cold and heat, hands steady as stone, sharp-eyed and meticulous, dig through earth as if it were mud.'
'A thousand Skill Level?'
'At this rate, does that mean the next level will require two thousand?'
He glanced at the Copper Body Skill in his Skill Bar. It was at 499 Skill Level. Just one more point, and it would reach the Minor Achievement Realm.
He lifted the Iron Pickaxe, which now felt as light as a willow switch. As he dislodged the final large chunk of ore, the last point of Skill Level for his Copper Body Skill was filled.
'As you circulated the Copper Body Skill, the Iron Pickaxe in your hand felt like an Iron Hammer. You seemed to brush against a subtle threshold of the Cultivation Technique, but the wisp of insight slipped away before you could grasp it. Nevertheless, the results of your cultivation were clear. Copper Body Skill Level has quietly increased.'
'Your Copper Body Skill has reached Minor Achievement.'
'Copper Body Skill (Skin Cultivation) 0/1000 (Minor Achievement)
Effects: Abundant Qi and Blood, strength permeates the body, skin as tough as leather, bulging and defined muscles.'
'Minor Achievement in Copper Body Skill!'
As Xu Yunfan rejoiced, a flood of memories about cultivating the Copper Body Skill began to course through his mind.
Inside a crude workshop, a dim, yellow candle flame flickered, stretching and shrinking the shadows all around.
He was dressed in coarse linen, and clenched in his hands was not his usual Iron Pickaxe, but a heavy Iron Hammer.
The head of the hammer was the size of a watermelon, its thick handle worn smooth and shiny from sweaty palms. It glinted with a cold, hard metallic sheen in the dim light.
At first, he struggled just to lift the hundred-plus-pound Iron Hammer. Every swing required him to muster all his might.