[You buried yourself in the practice of Kui Ox Fist for fifteen years, day and night without ceasing, even to the point of obsession. So, you paused your cultivation, deeply pondering a method of adaptation.]
[In the seventeenth year, a sudden inspiration struck you. Though Kui Ox Fist is a fist technique, its cultivation requires the movement of the whole body. The Kui Ox is one of the Great Wilderness disaster beasts, standing on one leg, moving like a startling thunderclap. Gradually, you comprehended this.]
[By the twenty-first year, you finally realized from the image of the Kui Ox standing on one foot, the essence of standing on the left foot with force emanating from the right fist, twisting the waist and rotating the hips, the fist crashing out like the Kui Ox's charge.]
[By the twenty-fifth year, you seemed to truly understand, further grasping the mystery of the Kui Ox stepping to store energy, the fist following the step.]
[In the subsequent eight years, you sought to further comprehend the essence of the Kui Ox, but your brain turned back into a boulder state.]
[After exhausting thirty-three years of life span, you successfully upgraded the inferior Kui Ox Fist to a lower-grade level, able to engage thirty percent of your muscles, bones, and flesh during cultivation.]
...
In the house under the night, Shen Can's body twitched, as if he were in a dream.
About half an hour later, he suddenly opened his eyes, revealing a trace of weariness.
"A grand dream of thirty-three years, quite realistic."
All the memories of practicing the fist technique were now in his head, as if he really had been painstakingly cultivating in a closed space.
"Lower grade Kui Ox Fist."
"Could it be that I'm a genius?"
After sitting up from the stone bed, such a thought suddenly popped into Shen Can's mind.
The Kui Ox Fist of the Blazing Flame Tribe had been passed down since the establishment of the tribe. It's not that no one had attempted to improve it over the years, but none had succeeded to his degree.
He took just over thirty years to complete a transformative improvement.
With the movement engaging thirty percent of the blood and bones, although he didn't know how much it engaged when it was of inferior grade, now it indeed seemed somewhat formidable.
If this isn't genius, then what is?
Thinking of this, he got off the stone bed and struck the opening stance of the Kui Ox Fist that he had comprehended in the 'dream.'
The Kui Ox Fist consists of three moves: Kui Ox Opening Mountain, Kui Shocking Four Corners, and Kui Ox Thunder.
He only slightly improved the first two moves, elevating the quality of this fist technique by one level.
At this moment, as Shen Can commenced, he felt an intense sensation of tension grow out of the muscles in his arms and legs, and even his hand bones, leg bones, and spine had significant motion.
This was an experience he had never encountered while practicing the Kui Ox Fist from memory.
The tribe's quenching method primarily emphasized incorporating energy into the body by eating beast meat and soaking in beast blood.
The more naturally one engages their muscles, bones, and flesh, the more energy can be absorbed into the body.
After a few movements, he felt a slight heat within himself, which grew increasingly intense.
In less than half an hour, Shen Can suddenly stumbled.
After completing several movements of the Kui Ox Fist, he suddenly felt a bit hungry.
"It's working."
Feeling the hunger didn't alarm Shen Can but rather delighted him.
Feeling hungry indicated depletion within his body, showing that the improved Kui Ox Fist's efficiency had indeed increased quite a bit.
Although increasing the refining efficiency does not mean the risk of breakthrough is reduced, the risk of breakthrough can definitely be lowered with the improved Kui Ox Fist.
Even when the refining efficiency of the Kui Ox Fist increases, there's no need to soak in beast blood; as long as one can perfectly absorb the essence of the beast meat consumed daily, it might not be impossible to reach the standard of the Stone-Breaking Realm.
As for how to determine if you've advanced to Tier One Stone-Breaking Realm, it depends on whether you can shatter the Black Elemental Stone, a common stone in the Great Wilderness.
The average adult wild beast has the strength to shatter Black Elemental Stone.
The martial path of the Human Race evolved by observing wild beasts, hence the first realm of martial cultivation is named Stone-Breaking.
This means possessing the Power of One Wilderness marks you as a martial artist of the Stone-Breaking Realm.
To Shen Can, such a classification felt rather crude, likely leading to different martial artists wielding varying degrees of Desolate Power.
But right now, that wasn't something for him to worry about. What he should be most concerned with is how to pilfer the sacrificial meat of the ancestors.
If not for this torrential rain, the tribe would go hunting every few days, always trying to bring back at least one live wild beast, allowing him to continue siphoning the wild beasts' life span.
Then, he could potentially extend the Kui Ox Fist to middle grade, or even top grade.
But now, this damn rain.
"With the deduction method at hand, I shouldn't concern myself with the matters of a day; the sacrifices will come."
After calming himself, Shen Can took a glance outside the cave entrance and walked out of the East Ear Cave.
"Master said that pilfering a bit of sacrifice doesn't count as stealing."
As he stepped out, Huo Xian also lifted the door curtain and walked out of the East Ear Cave.
Seeing Huo Xian up so early, Shen Can realized there would be no chance to pilfer, so he might as well take it openly.
Seeing Shen Can all ready to go, Huo Xian nodded, evidently satisfied.
Everything else aside, his attitude was very good.
After that, Shen Can followed Huo Xian to clean inside and around the Ancestral Temple, including wiping the Divine Tablets, offering tables, sprinkling water, and dusting, among others.
Finally, Huo Xian took down a piece of sacrificial meat from the offering table.
"We'll cook with this piece, and the rest will be distributed to the little ones in the tribe."
The meat offered after a sacrifice is called sacrificial meat, also known as blessed meat, symbolizing a blessing from the ancestors.
Every day after the hunting team returned, the children of the tribe would come to receive the blessing from the ancestors. Shen Can himself, when he was little, used to come to the Ancestral Temple hoping to receive the blessing of the ancestors, aspiring to become a true martial artist.
To put it bluntly, it was a spiritual aspiration.
"Boom, boom!"
Soon enough, there was a disordered clatter of footsteps outside the Ancestral Temple, with one by one kneeling at the entrance.
"You go distribute the meat to everyone."
Huo Xian had long grown accustomed to this; in the past, he always handled these matters.
Shen Can carried the sacrificial meat towards the children at the entrance of the cave.
"Brother Acan, you've really become the Ancestral Temple Keeper. Will you not go out hunting anymore?"
Seeing Shen Can emerge, the dozen or so little ones at the cave entrance of the Ancestral Temple looked up in unison, and Huo Yuan, kneeling on both knees, crawled over to Shen Can.
"Keep it quiet here at the Ancestral Temple."
Shen Can promptly hushed Huo Yuan. If the little one started blabbing, the other children would surely follow suit.
If they were to ask why he dissolves in water, it would be rather embarrassing.
"Come, each of you take a piece, the blessing of the ancestors."
Huo Yuan eagerly desired a piece, staring at Shen Can with wide eyes, yet refrained from seizing it, obediently waiting in line.
The last piece of sacrificial meat from the left shoulder was placed in Huo Yuan's hands by Shen Can.
"Brother Acan, won't you come home again?"
Shen Can patted the head of the little one near his residence.
"From now on, whenever you come for sacrificial meat, you'll see me."
"Go home now, finish the sacrificial meat granted by the ancestors, and you shall become a mighty martial artist in the future."
"Brother Can, don't cry secretly. When I become a mighty martial artist, I'll hunt the Mountain-Splitting Kui and let Brother Acan preside over the ancestor worship."
Huo Yuan scampered back home with the sacrificial meat in his arms.
As for the zealous words of the young child, Shen Can merely sneered.
Would he cry?
Right now, he only wished to be a good Temple Keeper, guarding the ancestors for the tribe.
Once the weather cleared up and the tribe resumed normal activities, his life span would return.
He refused to believe this rain could last for two and a half more years.
After placating the children, Shen Can smelled the aroma of meat; Huo Xian was already grilling it. Were it not for the presence of the children, he was so hungry he would've gnawed on the sacrificial meat raw.
Coming to the Divine Tablet, seeing the Blood Vase filled with beast blood still more than half full.
Seeing that Huo Xian had not yet approached, he bowed to the Divine Tablet and carefully reached for the three-legged tripod cauldron that was the Blood Vase.