Chapter Fifty-Two: A Single Stroke

Gravity chamber.

Shi Yan’s whole body was numb and aching as he leaned sideways against a gravity pillar. His body, bare to the waist, was robust and powerful, each muscle sharply defined, the contours prominent, as if forged from molten steel—brimming with astonishing explosive force.

With his hunger thoroughly satisfied, Shi Yan had doggedly trained for another month, not only growing stronger, but even gaining a few centimeters in height.

Suddenly, the door to the gravity chamber was pushed open.

Shi Jian, Han Feng, and Yang Hai appeared together at the threshold.

Shi Jian’s gaze was piercing, sweeping over Shi Yan from afar. He nodded secretly and said, “It seems you haven’t been slacking off.”

“Of course,” Shi Yan replied, his face weary, maintaining his pose without moving. “I think I’ve nearly finished tempering my body. Next, I should choose a martial technique to study.”

“Whether you’re ready or not isn’t for you to decide.” Shi Jian strode over, his expression stern. “Extend your hand.”

Shi Yan cooperated, stretching out his left hand. With a thought, his left hand quickly turned to stone, dark brown in color.

On the surface of his skin, faint streaks of black light shimmered intermittently. Looking closely, one could see that this hazy black light formed a thin film, as delicate as a cicada’s wing, enveloping his entire hand.

“Hmm!” Shi Jian exclaimed in surprise, his face lighting up. He grinned, “There’s some real progress here! To see a layer of black light appear—clearly you haven’t been lazy. Well done! Very well done!”

Yang Hai was delighted and leaned in to take a closer look. “Foster father, isn’t this the peak of what one can achieve at the Human Stage? When Qing’er broke through to the third tier of the Human Stage, her skin showed the same black glow after petrification, right?”

“Yes.” Shi Jian nodded calmly, though he couldn’t hide a twitch of his lips. “This boy is indeed remarkable. In just a month and a half, to push the potential of his Martial Spirit to this degree—it’s impressive!”

Though Shi Jian feared Shi Yan might become arrogant, he couldn’t help but praise him, his own expression tinged with astonishment. “Boy, how did you manage this?”

“I just followed your method, kept training, and this is the result.” Shi Yan spread his hands, his demeanor indifferent.

“How many hours do you train each day?” Even Han Feng, who rarely spoke, couldn’t resist asking.

“About fifteen hours.”

“Fifteen hours?!” Han Feng and Shi Jian cried out in unison, exchanging glances. Shock was evident in their eyes.

“Impossible! You must be lying!” Shi Jian barked, his tone heavy. “After each session of intense training, your body needs at least eighteen hours to recover before you can continue at such a high intensity. Including meal times, five hours of training a day would already be good! Where do you find fifteen hours?”

Han Feng’s face was full of doubt, shaking his head gently—clearly unconvinced.

“Brat, tell the truth. Don’t play games with your grand-uncle.” Yang Hai snorted, chiding him.

“Who says it takes eighteen hours to recover?” Shi Yan replied easily, with a smile. “I only need four hours.”

“Impossible!” Shi Jian and Han Feng shouted again, stunned.

“With this level of impact, the body simply can’t recover so fast! I’ve run the Shi family for many years, and never seen anyone recover so quickly! Back when Shi Dang was in his prime, even after training at this intensity in the Human Stage, he needed fifteen hours to fully recover.” Shi Jian shook his head repeatedly and snorted. “Are you saying you’re four times faster than him? Do you really think that’s possible?”

“There’s nothing impossible about it.” Shi Yan smiled, suddenly standing and walking to a corner. He retrieved a dagger from his pack and calmly approached. “Grand-uncle, I’ve always had a question. Now that my father is here, I want to run a test—if you’ll allow it.”

“What test?” Shi Jian frowned.

“Han Uncle, I want to make a cut on your arm.”

“Outrageous!” Shi Jian barked, “What, do you think you can do whatever you please?”

“Just a light cut.” Shi Yan’s expression remained unchanged. “I’ll also make a cut on my father’s arm, and one on my own. That way, we can compare.”

“Master, perhaps Young Master Yan has something in mind. Let him try.” Han Feng interjected.

“What exactly are you planning?” Shi Jian was now curious.

“You’ll know soon.” Shi Yan approached Han Feng unhurriedly. “Han Uncle, don’t use any energy to heal. If you bleed, don’t try to stop it, all right?”

“All right.”

“I’m starting then?”

“Yes.”

Shi Yan stepped forward and drew the dagger across Han Feng’s extended left arm, immediately causing bright red blood to flow.

“Father, your turn.” Shi Yan went to Yang Hai.

“Brat, what are you up to? I’m no warrior—be gentle!”

“I know what I’m doing.” Shi Yan stepped up and, with a lightning-fast swipe, cut Yang Hai’s arm.

Yang Hai yelped, staring at his bleeding arm. “You really went for it! I wasn’t ready!”

Under the watchful eyes of Han Feng and Shi Jian, Shi Yan calmly drew the dagger across his own arm, and blood welled up as well.

“Brat, what are you trying to show us? Is there some deeper meaning here? I don’t see anything.” Yang Hai complained.

“Wait a little.” Shi Yan’s face grew solemn, his expression gradually becoming grave.

Han Feng and Shi Jian were puzzled, unsure what he was up to. Their sharp eyes kept darting across his body.

Shi Yan merely smiled and, without explaining, covered his bleeding arm with his clothing, hiding the wound from Han Feng and Shi Jian.

Ten minutes passed.

“Hmm!” Han Feng was the first to notice something. He stared at Yang Hai’s arm and said, “Master, look!”

Shi Jian, whose attention had been on Shi Yan, glanced at Yang Hai’s arm at Han Feng’s prompt.

He too saw something peculiar. “Hai’er, your wound—the blood is coagulating, forming a chrysalis.”

“Ah!” Yang Hai exclaimed, finally noticing his arm. “I have no idea why.”

“My arm is still bleeding…” Han Feng extended his hand for Yang Hai to observe.

“What’s going on?” Yang Hai was astonished. “You’ve trained martial arts for years; your constitution is far superior to mine. Logically, your bleeding should stop sooner than mine. How can this be?”

“Look at my arm.” Shi Yan smiled, finally uncovering his wound and wiping away the dried blood.

The cut on Shi Yan’s arm had, at some point, narrowed to the width of a thread.

The flesh on either side of the wound appeared to be slowly writhing, working to close together, healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Shi Jian and Han Feng both shuddered, their eyes full of shock.

“Brat, what—what is happening?” Shi Jian was stunned for a long time before demanding urgently.

“This is the Martial Spirit—a self-healing Martial Spirit! My father has it too, but he’s never trained in martial arts or been seriously injured, so it was never discovered.” Shi Yan replied calmly, dropping a bombshell.

Shi Jian’s eyes shone brightly, his hands clenched tight. After a moment’s silence, he threw back his head and laughed wildly. “Ha ha! Martial Spirit! Self-healing Martial Spirit!”

“I call it the Undying Martial Spirit,” Shi Yan explained softly. “I think that in its later stages, it could even regenerate lost limbs, recreate vital organs—essentially, the body would never die.”

Han Feng and Shi Jian were stunned. Thinking it over, they quickly realized how terrifying such a Martial Spirit would be. Both struggled to contain their excitement, their breathing noticeably quickened.

“Brat, you mean you have two Martial Spirits?” Yang Hai was beside himself with joy, only realizing this after some time had passed.

“Of course I have two! Is there any doubt?” Shi Jian laughed, slapping Yang Hai’s shoulder so hard that Yang Hai landed on the floor. “Hai’er, I never expected you to have a Martial Spirit too! Ha ha, I wish I’d tried cutting you when you were little—ha ha!”

“Now do you believe I can recover in four hours?” Shi Yan smiled calmly.

“I believe you! Absolutely! Ha ha!” Shi Jian was in the best mood he’d ever been. Ignoring Yang Hai on the ground, he declared, “Boy, come with me! I’ll take you to the Martial Spirit Hall. All the Shi family’s martial arts secrets are there—choose whichever technique you like!”

“Alright.”

…