"What is this?"
Lin Dong looked at the object in his hand with a bewildered expression. It looked like a grayish-white stone about the size of two fingers. However, when held, it felt strangely soft. It didn't quite feel like stone, nor did it feel like jade, and it was even further from wood.
Not stone, not jade, and certainly not wood!
This object was something Lin Dong had racked his brains and exhausted his efforts to obtain, climbing to the very top of the cave to find it hidden in a small crevice. Clearly, the drop of liquid in the Stone Pool below originated from this very object.
It had been embedded in a dark spot on the roof of the cave, where an extremely clear palm print remained—so clear that even the fingerprints were visible. Looking at that mysterious palm print, Lin Dong guessed that someone had resided in this cave a very long time ago.
"What a strange object!"
Lin Dong muttered, staring at the two-finger-sized stone. Faintly, he could make out a few obscure runes. They seemed like some kind of miraculous symbol.
The runes covered almost the entire stone, making it look very much like a mysterious Stone Talisman.
Aside from the profound symbols that easily baffled anyone who looked at them, there was nothing else special about this Stone Talisman. However, Lin Dong also understood that the pale red drop of liquid from earlier was definitely not an illusion.
The reason the Stone Pool possessed such a miraculous effect must have been because of this Stone Talisman.
A look of hesitation appeared on Lin Dong's young face. Earlier, he had personally witnessed the beam of light shining down into the Stone Pool. Only this could explain why the Stone Pool had such a miraculous effect.
*Thud!*
While Lin Dong was still lost in thought, the sound of rolling stones suddenly echoed from outside the cave. He immediately stuffed the Stone Talisman into his inner shirt, pressing it tightly against his chest.
"Brother Lin Dong, heehee, I knew you'd be here!"
Just as Lin Dong finished hiding the Stone Talisman, a figure like a butterfly appeared at the cave entrance. It was a young girl of about thirteen or fourteen. She wore simple, light-colored clothes, but the plain attire could not hide the lively and clever look on her small face. Although she was still young, her features were already delicate and exquisite, and her large, bright eyes made her incredibly adorable.
Seeing the girl, Lin Dong secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She was not a member of the Lin family, but had been rescued from a snowdrift and raised by Liu Yan. At that time, Lin Dong had only recently been born; he was slightly older than her. The two grew up together, their relationship as close as biological siblings. Because she was an orphan, she did not take the Lin surname. Liu Yan had given her a beautiful name, Qingtan, with the hope that she would be just like her name—as elegant as the sound of a zither.
"Brother Lin Dong, it's getting dark. Mother wants you to come home."
Qingtan giggled and walked over, naturally taking Lin Dong's hand in her small ones. She then pulled him toward the cave entrance, muttering as they walked, "It's dark, and you won't even be able to see the path. Don't tell me you want to sleep in the cave again like before, Brother?"
Watching Qingtan chatter endlessly like a little lark, Lin Dong couldn't help but smile. He secretly reached up to touch his chest, where the Stone Talisman was hidden. A faint, icy-cold sensation seeped out.
Although he did not know the origin of this Stone Talisman, his intuition told him that it was by no means ordinary.
------------------
Night fell, blanketing the land. The cool moonlight cast slanted shadows, sweeping away the lingering heat from the earth.
Inside the room, Lin Dong was fast asleep with his eyes closed. Moonlight streamed through the window, softly draping over his body. Suddenly, the moonlight seemed to ripple like waves, and a bizarre scene unfolded. The cool moonlight began to pool on Lin Dong's chest. A glow suddenly emanated from his chest, and within the center of the light, an ancient-looking Stone Talisman could be faintly seen.
As the Stone Talisman glowed, the soundly sleeping Lin Dong suddenly cracked his eyes open. However, before his eyes could fully open, a wave of dizziness washed over his mind. Immediately after, he discovered to his horror that he was currently in a pitch-black space.
There was not a single ray of light here; it was completely silent and ice-cold.
This sudden turn of events struck fear into Lin Dong's heart. No matter what, he was currently just a fourteen-year-old child.
*Swoosh!*
While Lin Dong was still gripped by fear, a faint sound echoed in the dark space, and a figure of light suddenly materialized in front of him. Looking closely, the glowing figure looked exactly like Lin Dong, except its face lacked any trace of life, filled instead with a deathly stillness.
"What is going on...?"
Lin Dong stared blankly at the glowing figure that looked exactly like him, his mind thoroughly spooked by this bizarre sight.
*Pa!*
While Lin Dong was still dazed, the glowing "Lin Dong" suddenly moved. Its figure flashed, throwing out both fists to execute a martial art that Lin Dong was extremely familiar with.
"Isn't this... the Penetrating Back Fist?"
Watching the glowing figure execute the fist technique, Lin Dong's eyes widened. Immediately after, a look of utter shock filled his eyes. He realized that the Penetrating Back Fist executed by the glowing figure seemed far more proficient than even his father Lin Xiao's, flowing as smoothly as drifting clouds and flowing water... Perfect...!
"Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!"
In the dark space, the glowing figure moved like the wind, its fists swinging rapidly, its movements as agile as an ape. Compared to Lin Xiao, it was even more full of spiritual vitality.
"Pa... Pa..." Nine consecutive cracking sounds rang out.
With a trace of shock in his eyes, Lin Dong watched the glowing "Lin Dong" execute the Penetrating Back Fist. He could hear the nine crisp echoes with absolute clarity!
"Nine echoes..."
Lin Dong muttered to himself. But while he was still in shock, after the glowing figure finished executing the fist technique, its body suddenly trembled in a peculiar way. Following that tremor, another faint sound echoed from the figure's arm!
"This..."
The sound was extremely faint. Had it not been for the absolute silence of this space, coupled with Lin Dong's focus being stretched to its absolute limit, he probably wouldn't have been able to hear it at all.
"Ten... ten echoes..."
Lin Dong stared blankly at the glowing figure. The Penetrating Back Fist clearly only had nine echoes, so why did a tenth echo ring out from the glowing figure's hands?
Lin Dong was absolutely certain that even if his father, Lin Xiao, were to perform it himself, he would not be able to produce this tenth echo.
"What on earth is going on?"
Lin Dong fell into a daze. Only after a long while did he slowly snap out of it, frowning in deep thought. Although he had only watched it once, Lin Dong had a very strange feeling: the Penetrating Back Fist executed by the glowing figure was clearly much more natural and fluid than the one Lin Xiao had demonstrated during the day. In other words, it was far more perfect.
As for why the light shadow possessed such a strange ability, Lin Dong had no way of understanding. However, in a vague way, he realized that this time, he might have stumbled upon a true treasure...
While Lin Dong's mind was still reeling with these thoughts, the light shadow, having finished executing the martial art, did not dissipate. Instead, its figure flickered once more, and it began to perform the Tongbei Punch all over again from the very beginning.
Watching the light shadow move as nimbly as an ape, Lin Dong was momentarily dazed, his initial panic completely vanishing. He focused his mind, staring intently at the agile figure. A deep look of contemplation settled on his face as he once again observed and memorized the forms of the light shadow, meticulously etching even the slightest bend of its body into his mind.
After observing and learning for a long while, Lin Dong unconsciously spread his legs, assumed a stance, and began to imitate the light shadow, slowly executing the Tongbei Punch.
"Crack!"
In the pitch-black space, two identical figures continuously executed the fist technique, over and over again, tirelessly. Crisp cracking sounds echoed continuously, though most of them originated from the light shadow "Lin Dong."
Lin Dong felt no embarrassment at this. His young face remained calm and composed. As he practiced, he unconsciously adjusted the smallest details of his movements to match the forms of the light shadow.
Though these adjustments were minuscule, they were like dotting the eyes of a painted dragon, bringing the entire technique to life. This tiny change yielded unexpected results.
"Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!"
As his fists and palms thrust out, his arms as flexible as an ape's, four crisp cracks rang out in quick succession. This time, the wind generated by Lin Dong's punches carried a sharp, whistling sound!
Four echoes!
Lin Dong's eyes lit up. He had never expected that such a minor adjustment could make mastering the Tongbei Punch so effortless.
It felt as though he had found an extraordinary master, one whose expertise had reached a terrifyingly profound level.
This immense progress filled Lin Dong with wild joy. If Lin Xiao knew that Lin Dong had managed to produce four echoes with the Tongbei Punch in a single day, he would likely faint from shock. When Lin Xiao had trained, it had taken him nearly a month to barely reach this level. Lin Dong's training speed had surpassed his by dozens of times!
This breakthrough left Lin Dong feeling incredibly energized. Without taking a break, he threw himself into the forms once more. Over and over, he executed the Tongbei Punch, striving to make his movements a perfect mirror of the light shadow's.
In that pitch-black space, time seemed to stand still. Lin Dong tirelessly mimicked the light shadow, sweat pouring from his body, as his movements grew closer and closer to those of his glowing counterpart.
Within the darkness, the two figures flickered like a pair of highly intelligent apes, their fists and palms cutting through the air with sharp, whistling gusts.