Divine Emperor Demon Emperor

It was common knowledge that once a Martial Artist reached the Primordial Ocean Realm, their Elemental Power would automatically form a protective barrier around their body. Low-level Martial Artists had no hope of breaking through it.

However, Mo Zhi’s Cultivation was at the Seventh Layer of the Primordial Ocean Realm, while Lin Yun’s was at the Celestial Spirit Realm Minor Achievement. Even with a gap of more than an entire Great Realm between them, was it possible he couldn’t even break through Lin Yun’s barrier?

Without even lifting a finger, Lin Yun just unleashed a pulse of Elemental Power, sending Mo Zhi staggering back over a dozen steps.

Withdrawing his Elemental Power, Lin Yun looked at the guards and said calmly, "Your Cultivation is too weak. In the future, the Lin Family can’t just keep hiding away here in the Yanhuang Capital. Your current Cultivation is completely inadequate to ensure the family’s safety. Therefore, I will make you stronger."

Hearing this, the guards grew ecstatic. ’Does this mean he’s going to teach us how to cultivate?’

Seeing their excitement, Lin Yun knew exactly what they were thinking. A wicked smile played on his lips as he continued, "To become strong, you must first understand your weaknesses. Mo Zhi."

Hearing his name called, Mo Zhi hurried to stand before Lin Yun. He knew full well that Lin Yun hadn’t actually hurt him with that last blow.

"Mo Zhi, tell me, where do your weaknesses lie?" Lin Yun asked.

"My foundation, Young Master," Mo Zhi answered decisively. "My fundamentals."

Lin Yun looked at the ordinary-faced, middle-aged man—Mo Zhi appeared to be in his thirties—and nodded. Then he bellowed to the crowd.

"That’s right! Your greatest weakness is your foundation! Compared to the Martial Artists of the outside world, your fundamentals are abysmal. Forget about fighting someone with a higher Realm and Cultivation—even if you were at the same level, you would still be no match for them!"

"So, starting today, I want you to forget everything you’ve learned. You will start over from the very beginning, building your foundation one step at a time."

Hearing Lin Yun’s words, the Lin Family guards roared their assent.

Now that he had resolved to improve the strength of his family’s guards, Lin Yun would not hold back. His goal wasn’t to rapidly raise their Cultivation levels, but to first forge their foundations until they were unshakably solid.

Instead of the Cultivation Techniques and Martial Skills they had been expecting, Lin Yun started with the most basic training imaginable. He gave each man an incredibly thick wooden staff, divided them into pairs, and ordered them to beat each other with them.

In an instant, the entire Martial Arts Training Ground was filled with agonizing screams and the thud of wooden staves cracking against flesh and bone.

"Young Master, how many hits do we have to take?" After several rounds, many of the guards were already spitting blood. One of them, a guard at the Ninth Layer of the Qi Sea Realm, looked at Lin Yun and asked.

"How many times?" Lin Yun declared loudly. "Until they break. Any man whose staff is not broken by the end of today will no longer be a guard of my Lin Family."

’Break them...’ Hearing this, the guards’ faces fell. ’To break staves this thick... won’t that mean beating each other half to death?’

"Hurry up. Anyone who can’t handle it is free to leave right now," Lin Yun continued, ignoring their crestfallen expressions.

Once he finished speaking, the Lin Family guards, though miserable, did as they were told and resumed attacking one another. Since Lin Yun hadn’t demanded a set number of hits but required the staves themselves to break, each man began striking his partner with vicious force, hoping to shatter the wood in a single blow.

A faint smile touched Lin Yun’s lips as he watched the guards unleash their inner ferocity.

After a full hour, the wooden staves of all eighteen guards were finally broken. Now, however, every last one of them was lying helplessly on the ground.

Having had such thick staves broken against their bodies, the guards felt certain that at least a few of their own bones had been fractured in the process.

Every man was covered in bruises, with bloodstains at the corners of their mouths.

"Get up! It’s not time to rest yet!" Without giving them a moment’s respite, Lin Yun bellowed again.

At Lin Yun’s shout, Mo Zhi was the first to stagger unsteadily to his feet. Even though his Cultivation was at the Seventh Layer of the Primordial Ocean Realm, Lin Yun had given him a specially prepared staff, so he was in no better condition than the Qi Sea Realm guards.

Seeing Mo Zhi get up, the other guards followed suit, shakily pushing themselves to their feet one by one.

Just then, Lin Family servants carried eighteen wooden tubs into the Martial Arts Training Ground, filling each with a medicinal bath that Lin Yun had prepared beforehand.

"Get in," he ordered the guards. The medicinal bath Lin Yun had concocted was something the Martial Artists of Yanhuang Country had never even seen. While it might be considered nothing special in the Eastern Heart Domain, it was a treasure nearly impossible to obtain in Yanhuang Country.

They did as they were told and entered the tubs. Instantly, all the guards felt as if their bodies had been plunged into flames. A scalding, excruciating pain immediately engulfed them.

"Endure it! No one leaves their tub!" Lin Yun barked, seeing the drastic change in their expressions.

After a dozen or so breaths, the pain slowly began to recede. At that moment, Lin Yun spoke again. "Now, I will teach you a Cultivation Technique. It is a Profound Level Top Tier technique called the Formless Technique."

The Formless Technique was a Profound Level Middle Tier Cultivation Technique from the Flawless Palace. Nearly all of the Flawless Palace’s Inner Sect Disciples cultivated it. Lin Yun had already discussed passing it on to his family guards with Luo Feng.

For the Flawless Palace, such a technique wasn’t especially valuable, which was why Luo Feng had not objected.

Slowly reciting the Cultivation Mantra, Lin Yun taught them only the First Layer of the Formless Technique.

Soaking in a medicinal bath while injured created the optimal conditions for absorption. By having them cultivate a new technique at this time, Lin Yun was achieving twice the results with half the effort.

The guards soaked in the medicinal baths for the entire afternoon. Only when all the potency of the concoction had been absorbed did Lin Yun allow them to disperse, ordering them to assemble again at the Martial Arts Training Ground at dawn.

As they climbed out of the tubs, each guard felt as if their body had become lighter and was now brimming with newfound strength.

Incredibly excited and wearing looks of disbelief, the men bowed to Lin Yun one by one before taking their leave.

After everyone else had departed, Lin Yun called for Mo Zhi to stay behind.

"Young Master."

"Mo Zhi, you didn’t cultivate that technique just now, did you?" Lin Yun asked.

"I did not," Mo Zhi replied.

While instructing the guards on the Formless Technique, Lin Yun had used his Divine Thought to secretly tell Mo Zhi not to cultivate it.

The reason was simple: Lin Yun intended to give Mo Zhi a superior Cultivation Technique.

Lin Yun led Mo Zhi to Luo Feng’s room. Upon seeing Luo Feng, Mo Zhi bowed with the utmost respect. At this, Luo Feng smiled faintly.

"Yun’Er has already spoken with me," Luo Feng said. "He wants me to bestow upon you the Flawless Palace’s highest-grade technique, an Earth Level Top Tier Cultivation Technique. However, you must promise me you will not teach it to another soul."

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