Tension was a thing that was often difficult to sense for all but the most socially attuned people. However, the current tension in the Respite Caves was palpable even for the most socially inept people. The very air itself seemed to sting any who dared to take a lax breath.

Fear of the unknown, the possibility of death, the constant gnawing of hunger, and the sleepless anxiety pushed the tension to rise with each passing moment. Most of the kids were realizing how serious and helpless their current situation was only a few days into their stay with the Immortal Pursuit Demonic Sect.

High tensions combined with the natural aversion to risking one's life in an unknown and danger filled forest made it so that the scent of someone cooking bear meat became a point of interest for a lot of starving kids. For even a human's sense could become like a beast when starving so extremely. All of the starving kids made their way to that cave without any prior agreement or arrangement, scent of food was motivation enough.

Their approach did not go unnoticed either. Tian Mingyun had sharper senses than normal people since he was a Cultivator, so he greeted them at the entrance of the cave with a ferocious expression as if he were looking at his sworn enemies. He was not like his other friends currently eating a meal in the cave, he had stolen food from others, starved, and been stolen from in the past. He may have been young, but he was certainly experienced when it came to starving and fighting for food.

The starving kids in front of him did not need to speak to him. The understanding was established just by the way he was clearly guarding the cave entrance against them. They would not be welcomed, or given a scrap of food by him. Yet, one of the starving girls with her ribcage showing from under the robes that were too loose on her shriveled figure spoke with a trembling voice while looking at Tian Mingyun with teary eyes, there was no fat even in her cheeks so her cheekbones were very visible.

"Big brother... Could you please spare us a bit of food? We can not survive off of grain balls and the little bit of rice that they give to us... We got chased by beasts whenever we went into the forest to look for food. Please, spare us a bit of your food." She was clearly older than Tian Mingyun yet called him big brother, then she went on her knees to beg, throwing away any pride for a bit of food.

Tian Mingyun thought about how many days it had been since they shut themselves off from others and ate the bear bit by bit while doing nothing but study together. The others were all progressing well with Circulation, save for Huoli Yue. However, they would need even more days to finally become Cultivators. Tian Mingyun guessed that they must have been shut off from the outside for 8 days, this was certainly enough time for others to starve and become desperate. Yet, he had no room for pity.

"Go away if you know what is good for you. You will have even more trouble finding food if you get injured while fighting me." Tian Mingyun had no energy or time to spare fighting others either, the sooner he made his friends into Cultivators, the sooner he could get his hands on more animal fat and start using the second venom recipe.

Desperation was a fine motivator even for the cowardly and the meek. Fueled by their instincts, some of the boys in the group started running towards Tian Mingyun to group up on him. They were convinced they would die if they did not eat for a while longer, so they did their best to eat. Even if it meant that they would have to kill, they would do so without hesitation.

The pairing was very unfortunate for them. They were paired up against a Cultivator while being mere starving children. Even though they rushed at him with the intent to kill him, they were easily tossed away by Tian Mingyun. He did not even hit them, instead choosing to merely push them into one another.

The starving kids were afraid of that power, and the commotion made Tian Mingyun's friends come to the entrance of the cave to see what was going on as well. Tian Mingyun felt that this was a fine chance to teach something crucial to both his friends and these kids.

Tian Mingyun started kicking the abdomens and backs of each of the kids that were on the ground. He then rushed at the others kicked them down and started beating them as well. He beat down even those that did not attack him in the first place, not discriminating if they were boys or girls, young or old, short or tall. He was simply beating them as they cried and screamed in pain.

Yanku Zhimei was about to step forward and stop Tian Mingyun before Hou Yun held her arm to stop her, then used his other hand to gesture for her and the others to wait. Hou Yun had been in brawls before, he knew that this was not a deadly beating, but just an intimidating and half assed one being delivered by Tian Mingyun. After all, as a Skin Refinement Realm Cultivator fighting against children, he could crush their heads like bugs if he wanted to.

The beating stopped after a few minutes, as more than two dozen kids were on the floor crying while holding their bellies or backs. Tian Mingyun then looked around and climbed a pine tree, what he brought down was familiar to Yanku Zhimei's eyes, and remembering the taste of that disgusting insect was enough to make her expression sour.

Tian Mingyun looked really annoyed as he threw a few Pine Fleas to the kids currently lying down on the ground in pain.

"There are lots of these on the top if you climb pine trees. They are more common than pine cones if you know where to look for them. They taste like shit, you have to keep them alive up until right before you eat them if you don't want them to spoil, and you can not even make them taste better by cooking. But, you can get by and survive even if you only eat them." He was annoyed with himself.

Tian Mingyun knew that these kids were the competition of tomorrow for him if he ever met them in the forest if they ended up getting stronger. Some of them had also even tried killing him already. However, he could not bring himself to just kill another person so easily. This was like that forced brawl at the arena, he could choose a bloodless path, so he chose it.

Yanku Zhimei looked relieved while Huoli Yue and Jingzi were impressed with how he managed to handle the situation. The Huoli siblings still remembered the cruel and savage Huo Lan in the arena, they were certain that a senseless beast like her would have drawn blood here. However, Hou Yun alone looked annoyed.

The starving kids ate the Pine Fleas without a hint of disgust on their faces, if it would end their hunger, they were currently willing to eat dirt after all. The pain from the beating was still there, yet they were already looking around for pine trees to climb. They had been shown hope, so they were willing to expend the effort to attain it.

As the other starving kids thanked Tian Mingyun and rushed off, the first girl who had begged him for food was the only one who remained. She was once again on her knees with the husk of the Pine Flea that she had just eaten right in front of her. She was also beaten, so she was shivering from the pain in her abdomen as she spoke.

"I, Yin Hua, shall not forget this favor. I ask for the name of my savior who has granted me the food that I could not see tomorrow without." She was formal in her way of speaking, and clearly well educated.

"I am Tian Mingyun. I had to beat you lot equally so that there would not be any resentment between you lot, but only towards me. You have been beaten unjustly, I apologize." Tian Mingyun knew some manners from the books he read, so he even clasped his fist and bowed while apologizing to the kneeling girl.

Yin Hua was surprised. She had not expected such manners towards herself when she had only received violent mistreatment from everyone so far, even this Tian Mingyun was beating her a moment ago. However, she smiled with grace as she lifted up the husk of the Pine Flea like a bowl while still kneeling.

"My thanks to the host, Tian Mingyun, for a fine meal. May you prosper eternally." She stood up as if leaving a banquet, bowing once more towards Tian Mingyun before turning her back to him and leaving.

The fact that she came from a rich background was a secret to none. Even the 银 'Yin' in her name meant silver with the way it was said and written. Tian Mingyun was grateful that he met someone like her that could ease his heart. He no longer felt bad about sparing and helping them if at least one of them had such wholehearted thanks to offer to him.

Hou Yun only spoke once all the starving kids and Yin Hua were far enough away not to hear him.

"Tian Mingyun, what madness is it to spare our enemies when they come to our door starving and helpless? Why even help them when you know that they will be the very same ones aiming for our necks if we meet in the forest?" He was angry, but he was asking questions rather than yelling. The others did not interfere for that reason alone, letting Tian Mingyun answer Hou Yun and simply discuss the matter.

"I will kill when killing is the only path left or the best path to our survival. Today it was neither, simply one of the options. I am no beast, I do not kill other people for the fun of it. Regardless, there is value in beating them to show that I am far superior and then helping them. If I do it in this order, they will either be scared of me in the future or feel indebted to me. I am fine with either one of those options. After all, would you feel vengeful towards me if you were among that group just now, Hou Yun?" Tian Mingyun was young in age indeed, but he knew the pain of hunger and beatings. He had been in their shoes before, so he could act accordingly. The only one outside of his expectations was Yin Hua, but she turned out to be even better and more grateful than the others.

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Hou Yun sighed and his tension seemed to fade, he walked inside without retort and resumed his Circulation practice as soon as he sat down. Yanku Zhimei and the Huoli siblings seemed more at ease, patting Tian Mingyun on the back to celebrate his rational decisions in such dire straits.

The practice resumed moments after the incident as if the commotion had never taken place. The bear meat was about to run out, since there was not that much to begin with due to the bear having starved down to its bones before being hunted. Right as Tian Mingyun was pondering whether to extend the training session by bringing Pine Fleas for others to eat without risking going into the forest, good news came one after another.

Yanku Zhimei was practicing the poses of her Wire Frame Body Arts in the cave when she suddenly got the idea to try and focus on her Circulation while changing between different poses. That idea seemed like a stroke of genius as she figured out the flow within all of her major blood vessels as she lifted and lowered her limbs one by one in different poses. She could feel the blood flow slowing and becoming more difficult as she lifted any limb above the level of the heart, and it became easier as she placed the limbs below that level. Her understanding of Circulation was finally at a sufficient level once she performed a handstand and held it until her nose bled from the blood pressure rising due to the blood rushing to her head.

Yanku Zhimei had become a Skin Refinement Realm Cultivator at the age of 16, causing her immense joy. She danced and sang with elegance she had never before felt. She was more in control, more aware, and simply better. She felt that she was a much better dancer and performer now, she dearly wished that she could share this joy with her family. Her dancing and singing only lost their joy and became sad once she remembered Shupi Juren and how she still had heard no news of him.

The others were clenching their fists from envy and joy. Tian Mingyun was so happy and relieved that Yanku Zhimei had finally become a Cultivator that he could not help but hug and lift her up once her dance was over. He properly looked his age when he smiled and giggled like a child from happiness. However, his careful nature still showed as he soon warned Yanku Zhimei.

"Now, you must Cultivate for a couple of days at least to start removing impurities from your skin. You will not be doing any chores until then. We need your Cultivation to progress at least the tiniest bit so that you can properly benefit." His face was still smiling, so Yanku Zhimei hugged Tian Mingyun back and ruffled his hair before returning to meditate and Cultivate.

She was meditating in her own way. She was holding some of the difficult poses from the Wire Frame Body Arts while reciting the story from the Cultivation Technique Book to herself. She was still fascinated with the story, just reciting it made her meditation easier and allowed her to relax. She also hoped to be able to one day mix her Body Arts into her Cultivation Technique, though she was realistic enough to know such a day was decades away at best.

Hou Yun had been making steady yet slow progress, he had meditated in the traditional way advised by Tian Mingyun. This method of emptying one's mind of thoughts and focusing solely on mapping one's own Circulation while sitting still in a lotus pose certainly worked. However, Hou Yun was now realizing the cost of guaranteed results. It was slow. If he wanted to break through into the Skin Refinement Realm like Yanku Zhimei, he would have to use a personal method like she did.

Hou Yun finally made up his mind to abandon the safe and slow path for the sake of his own self improvement. He used water to soak his robes and tied them around a young yet sturdy tree outside the cave. The wet robe was tied to a height that matched Hou Yun's waist. The others did not understand the purpose of this, yet observed him quietly.

This was the basics of the basics for wrestling. Even a child was strong enough to push back an adult, but they had to train to access the right to use that power hidden within their bodies. Some would push against walls, others would try to lift poles in the ground and the truly determined would try to throw a tree by tying a rope around it. Of course, all of those acts were impossible for mere children who were not Cultivators, but that was the point. One would try harder and harder, with no clear goal to reach, and would eventually be able to use more of their strength.

Hou Yun held the robe with both hands and twisted it around the tree until the robes looked like cloth twisted into the mimicry of thick rope. He then turned his back to the tree while still holding a part of the cloth. While wearing only a loincloth in the open air, Hou Yun bent forward as much as he could while holding the robes over his shoulder with both hands.

This motion and pose was the most intense part of a shoulder throw, Hou Yun's body was so low that he was standing on the front half of his left foot with his heel raised, as well as his right leg up pushing intensely into the ground with its toes. Hou Yun's face was also nearly touching the ground with how intense his forward lean was. He held that pose, no perhaps it would be more accurate to say that he kept trying to throw the tree from this position, without flinching and while breathing deeply with his belly visibly heaving in its clenched state.

The others did not know about how wrestlers trained, but they could tell that this was intense after watching Hou Yun maintain it for a few minutes. His face had become red, and he was sweating constantly despite the cold wind billowing all around. He was nearly naked, yet one could tell that he was burning hot as if he had a fever. Huoli Yue was the first to speak in objection.

"We should stop him. At this rate, he will only get himself sick. This is nothing like the pushups and other exercises he has been doing every day so far." Her worry was sincere as she pulled her robes closer to her neck to protect herself from the cold wind.

"This is just too intense even for Body Arts training. At this rate, he will either get sick or be too tense and sore to even walk for days." Yanku Zhimei spoke from experience, training in her childhood to the point that she had painful cramps all over.

"We need to let him figure things out. Even I feel the need to do some severe things to become a Cultivator sooner. If he can figure something out by doing this, it is worth trying. I still remember how you were doing handstands until your nose bleed, Yanku Zhimei." Huoli Jingzi was speaking honestly as well, he would gladly swing his sword for days without sleeping if he had a sword. He could feel in his bones that something like that would aid him right now.

Tian Mingyun then clapped, shepherding the others back into the cave to study and practice as Hou Yun kept doing this insane exercise in the open air.

Cold winds. Hands hurting as though they were cut with knives. Joints screaming in pain and lungs burning as if someone had dropped cinders down his nose. Those were things that Hou Yun felt, but ignored. His real focus right now was the blood rushing in and out of his muscles and skin.

Hou Yun could feel how this intense attempt into the impossible was pushing his body. He was easily feeling his Circulation as the difficulty of his exercise increased with time. He had less vigor and stamina to continue as he never broke his posture and constantly kept trying to throw the tree for the length of two incense sticks of time.

Hou Yun was dull. He had never been the brightest when it came to learning things without experiencing them on his own. He was certain that he would need to work this hard to realize Circulation even if he had been born into a Noble Family. Tian Mingyun had not taught him poorly, even using his fingers all across his body to show the locations of major vessels all across the body. Yet, Hou Yun had not really understood much no matter how much he was told, but only made progress through meditation. Now, he felt close to both fainting and breaking through.

When someone got tired, there were certain things that occurred that the common folk had no explanation for. They did not know why the spleen pressed against the organs and caused pain. They did not know why the knees would tremble. But most curiously, they did not know why one could hear and feel their pulse in their nape if they were exhausted. This was how Hou Yun finally broke through.

He felt the beats of his heart in his nape and ears, he felt the tempo for the first time in his life. He had never been good at singing or dancing, even tripping on his own feet when he attempted to dance at a festival. Yet, now he could feel the tempo of his heart so clearly and in real time. He realized that this was what he was lacking and suddenly felt a rush of vitality surging through his exhausted body as he broke into the Skin Refinement Realm.

The tree that Hou Yun had been trying to throw non-stop and with all his might for the duration of 2 incense sticks of time was about 30 years old, it was young but sturdy and had deep roots. It was a healthy pine tree. Yet, the moment he became a Cultivator, those roots were violently liberated from the ground they so tightly embraced. The entire tree, which was thrice his height, was thrown over Hou Yun's shoulder and slammed onto the floor, its branches loudly breaking and it being left on the ground like a defeated foe.

Hou Yun's breathing was unsteady, his pupils wildly trembling and his heart still beating fast, but he had a smile on his face as his scarred body was trembling with excitement. He lacked the words to describe how good this felt, doing the impossible, being mightier than ever before, and feeling everything around him so intensely. He felt as though he was reborn.

"Haaaah... THIS HOU YUN SHALL WRESTLE THE MOUNTAINS AND SUBDUE THE RIVERS ONE DAY!" He declared proudly and loudly.