Walker Of The Worlds

Chapter 3849: Learning From Senior Brothers

Little Bull and the two disciples ended up having another breakfast before they did anything related to training. The servants in the hall did not even question them when they returned so soon after eating earlier.

In fact, the moment they saw three Wild Peak disciples walking through the doors, they simply began bringing out barrels of Immortal Grain Rice and large platters of roasted beast meat without waiting for an order.

Lin Mu had to admit that the servants assigned to the Wild Peak were probably among the most experienced servants in the entire Heavenly Stream Guardian Sect. They knew when to ask questions, and more importantly, they knew when questions were completely pointless.

The three ate for nearly an hour before the two senior disciples finally decided they were ready for training. Little Bull followed them outside, expecting them to head toward one of the large training grounds he had seen scattered around the Wild Peak.

There were several nearby, with wide open areas that had clearly been reinforced by formation arrays. Some even had large stone pillars, weighted platforms, and other tools intended for body cultivators.

Lin Mu had assumed that the two disciples would pick one of those places and begin teaching him there. Instead, they walked right past the nearest training ground. Little Bull continued following them for several dozen meters before looking back.

The training ground slowly disappeared behind the trees.

He looked at his two senior brothers. ”Where are we going?”

”To train,” the first disciple replied.

Little Bull pointed behind them. ”There’s a training ground there.”

The two disciples stopped and looked back before looking at Little Bull.

”Yes,” the first disciple said.

Little Bull waited but the disciple said nothing else.

Little Bull scratched his head. ”Then why aren’t we training there?”

The second disciple seemed genuinely confused by the question. ”Because it’s boring.”

Little Bull looked back at the large training ground as it seemed perfectly suitable for training.

”Why?”

The first disciple thought about it for several seconds. ”It’s flat.”

Little Bull waited for him to continue.

”And clean,” the second disciple added.

Little Bull still did not understand.

The first disciple finally explained. ”When you train there, everything looks exactly the same afterward.”

He gestured toward the training ground. ”You punch for six hours, and the ground is still flat. You kick for another six hours, and the pillars are still standing. You charge into a wall, and the formation repairs it before you even get to admire the hole.”

The second disciple nodded. ”It’s very unsatisfying.”

Little Bull blinked.

The two disciples continued walking. ”We prefer the forest.”

”Why?”

The first disciple grinned. ”You can see the damage.”

The second disciple raised a finger. ”Damage is progress.”

Little Bull stared at him and the disciple nodded seriously. ”If you enter the forest and there are ten trees, then after training there are five trees, you’ve made progress.”

”What if there are no trees left?” Little Bull asked.

The two disciples exchanged glances. ”Then you find another place.”

Lin Mu raised a brow internally.

He had heard many strange philosophies regarding cultivation over the years. Some cultivators believed in comprehending the heavens. Others meditated upon the Dao. Sword cultivators pursued the essence of the blade, while Buddhist cultivators sought enlightenment through understanding the heart.

The Wild Peak apparently measured progress through deforestation.

”Damage is progress,” Lin Mu repeated in his mind.

Xukong chuckled. ”At least their philosophy is easy to understand.”

Lin Mu could not argue with that.

The three continued deeper into the forest. The trees around them became increasingly massive, with many trunks exceeding thirty meters in width. Roots rose from the ground like stone walls, forcing Little Bull to climb or jump over them.

The two disciples moved naturally through the terrain, occasionally leaping between rocks or using tree roots as platforms. Lin Mu followed without difficulty. And after traveling for a considerable distance, they finally reached a small clearing.

Calling it a clearing was somewhat generous. Lin Mu suspected there had once been trees here. Now there were stumps. Several large craters covered the ground.

One crater was nearly twenty meters wide, while another looked like something had repeatedly punched the same spot until the earth collapsed. Broken tree trunks were scattered around the edges of the clearing, and one particularly large tree had somehow become embedded horizontally into a rocky cliff.

Little Bull looked around. ”What happened here?”

The first disciple raised his hand. ”My training.”

Little Bull looked at him and then at the destruction. ”Do you train here often?”

”Every few days.”

The second disciple pointed deeper into the forest. ”My spot is further that way.”

”Is it like this?”

The second disciple smiled proudly. ”Worse.”

Little Bull nodded and this seemed to be a compliment among Wild Peak disciples. The first disciple stepped into the middle of the clearing. ”We’ll start with Stone Skin Guard.”

Little Bull nodded.

”Defensive techniques are better to learn first,” the disciple explained. ”If you make a mistake while attacking, you might miss. If you make a mistake while defending, you get hit.”

Little Bull considered it. ”That makes sense.”

”Exactly.” The disciple rolled up his sleeves. ”Watch carefully.”

Lin Mu focused his gaze on the man’s body and the disciple began circulating his vitality.

To an ordinary mortal, there would have been little to see initially. Lin Mu’s perception was far beyond that of a mortal, allowing him to observe the vitality gathering beneath the man’s skin.

”The first step is gathering your vitality,” the disciple explained. ”Don’t force everything at once. If you push too much vitality into one place before you have proper control, you’ll injure yourself.”

He raised his arm. ”Guide it toward the skin.”

The vitality moved. ”Spread it evenly.”

The energy flowed across his arm. ”Then compress it.”

A faint layer appeared over the disciple’s skin. The layer gradually became thicker and its texture changed. Within seconds, the man’s skin appeared to be covered by a strange gray layer resembling stone.

”This is Stone Skin Guard.” The disciple punched his own arm and a dull thud echoed through the clearing. ”With enough practice, your skin becomes as hard as stone while the technique is active.”

The second disciple picked up a large rock and without warning, he smashed it against the first disciple’s arm.

KACHA

The rock shattered!