Chinese Martial Arts: My Super Beast Clone

We've arrived at the Chishui River.

The Chishui River, located on the northern outskirts of Yangcheng, is wide and its waters flow ceaselessly. Along its banks stretches a vast forest that extends for dozens of miles.

Lin Hai found an open space near the water and placed the suitcase and sack he was carrying on the ground.

He unlocked the suitcase and opened the lid.

The dragon lizard was coiled up in the box, its eyes shining brightly in the darkness. It seemed to sense the fresh air and moisture from outside and was somewhat restless.

Lin Hai then untied the sack and poured out the two roosters whose feet were tied.

As soon as the rooster landed, it tried to flap its wings and run away, but its feet were tied, so it could only struggle in vain on the ground.

Almost simultaneously, the dragon-snake lizard moved.

A dark shadow flashed by.

One of the roosters, which was still struggling, suddenly stopped screaming.

The dragon lizard had already bitten its neck, its sharp teeth easily tearing through flesh and bone. It tilted its head back, its throat twitched, and the seven or eight-pound rooster was swallowed whole.

The whole process took less than ten seconds.

After swallowing its first prey, the dragon lizard seemed unsatisfied. It turned its head, opened its mouth, and swallowed the second rooster in one gulp.

Its abdomen was visibly swollen, but it did not seem to affect its movement in any way.

After finishing its meal, it did not leave immediately.

It turned around, came to Lin Hai's feet, and gently rubbed its head with a single horn against Lin Hai's trouser leg.

Lin Hai squatted down and stroked its cold, hard scales.

"Go," he whispered. "Here, survive, and become stronger."

The dragon-snake lizard seemed to understand.

It nuzzled Lin Hai's hand again, and the next moment, it leaped up and silently disappeared into the dark woods not far away.

In the blink of an eye, its figure completely disappeared into the dense bushes.

Lin Hai could sense that the spiritual connection had not been severed, but it had become somewhat blurred as the distance increased.

He could still sense that it was in that forest, moving quickly and getting familiar with the new environment.

Lin Hai stood by the river for a long time, until the night wind chilled his clothes, before he picked up the empty suitcase, turned around, and walked towards the warm lights of Yangcheng.

When I got home, my older sister and younger brother were already asleep.

He carefully stuffed the empty suitcase back under the bed, then took off his clothes and got into bed.

In the stillness of the night, Lin Hai lay in bed, his mind immersed in the forest on the outskirts of the city.

On the other end of the spiritual connection, the dragon-snake lizard, like a newborn child, is full of curiosity about this brand-new world, darting quickly through the forest and getting familiar with this new land.

Lin Hai could sense its excitement and its longing.

……

The next morning.

"Brother! Where did 'Stone' go? I haven't seen it last night or today!"

"Yesterday I was changing the water in the glass tank, and my hand slipped, so I dropped the tank," he said.

"It was a mess at the time. Stone seemed to be startled and climbed out of the window in a flash. I searched for a long time afterward but couldn't find him."

Lin An immediately became anxious.

"It climbed out? Can it come back?"

Lin Hai paused for a moment, then shook his head.

"Maybe... he won't be able to come back."

Lin An's lips twitched. Although the skink couldn't speak and wasn't as clingy as a cat or dog, he had grown attached to it after raising it for so long.

Lin Wan sighed and walked over to pat Lin An's head.

"Alright, stop crying. It's just a lizard. If it ran away, it ran away. Animals of nature should always return to nature."

She turned her head and glared at Lin Hai.

"And you, how old are you, still so careless! You're not allowed to keep these things anymore."

"Okay, sis," Lin Hai replied obediently, head bowed.

At the breakfast table, Lin An picked at the porridge in his bowl, not having much of an appetite. He would glance out the window every now and then, seemingly hoping that the little guy, who was already far away in the suburban forest, would crawl back on his own.

After finishing breakfast, Lin Hai changed into a short jacket for practicing martial arts and greeted Lin Wan.

"Sis, Xiao An, I'm going to the martial arts gym."

"Okay, be careful on the road."

……

Fuhu Martial Arts School.

As dawn broke, the courtyard was already bustling with activity.

The disciples' shouts of "Hey ha!" and the muffled thuds of fists and feet striking the wooden dummy rose and fell in waves.

Lin Hai walked into the courtyard, but instead of starting training immediately, he went straight to his senior brother Chen Wu, who was instructing several junior brothers in boxing.

When Chen Wu saw him, he stopped what he was doing and gave him a simple, honest smile.

"Junior Brother Lin, you're here quite early today."

"Senior Brother," Lin Hai nodded, getting straight to the point, "I want to buy a bottle of Tiger Power Pills."

Chen Wu smiled.

"Tiger Power Pills? Junior brother, you've only been a disciple for less than a month, your foundation isn't stable yet. The Tiger Power Pills the martial arts school gives you each month should be enough for you, right?"

"Tiger Power Pills are extremely potent; ordinary people who start practicing them may find their bodies unable to withstand too much."

Chen Wu kindly reminded him that Tiger Power Pills are a secret recipe from the martial arts school, made from tiger bones, tiger blood, and various medicinal herbs. They can greatly replenish the qi and blood lost by martial artists during training and increase their strength. However, precisely because of their potent effects, taking too much may damage one's foundation.

Lin Hai's expression remained calm.

"Senior Brother, I know. But I feel that my qi and blood are sufficient, and my body can withstand it. I want to complete the Foundation Establishment as soon as possible."

"Alright." Chen Wu nodded. "According to the rules of the sect, Tiger Power Pills are not sold to outsiders, only to disciples of our sect. A bottle contains three pills, costing three silver dollars. This price was set by Master, and there's no room for negotiation."

Without hesitation, Lin Hai took out three silver dollars from his pocket and handed them over.

"Thank you, Senior Brother."

Chen Wu took the money, weighed it in his hand, and turned to go into the inner room. Soon, he came out with a white porcelain bottle and handed it to Lin Hai.

"Junior Brother Lin, be careful. If you feel anything wrong with your body, stop immediately, understand?" Chen Wu added.

"I see."

Lin Hai took the porcelain bottle and walked to a secluded spot in the corner of the courtyard.

He uncorked the cork, poured out a dark red pill, and swallowed it.

A familiar warm current, like a gentle spring, rose from my stomach and then quickly transformed into a powerful heat that surged through my limbs and bones.

Lin Hai took a deep breath, spread his feet shoulder-width apart, lowered his body, and assumed a standard stance.

With arms crossed in front of the chest, fingers spread, back straight like a pine tree, knees bent, and center of gravity lowered.

Time slowly passed by in the monotonous practice of standing in the stance.

An hour later.

Lin Hai slowly finished his practice and exhaled a long breath.

He stretched his body, and apart from his legs being slightly sore, he felt no fatigue at all. On the contrary, he was still full of energy and vitality.

This is the benefit of having a strong physique.

At this moment, the noise from the other end of the courtyard caught Lin Hai's attention.

A group of martial arts school disciples were gathered in layers, pointing and commenting on the iron behemoth that was as tall as a person, occasionally letting out exclamations and cheers.

Lin Hai walked over curiously.

He squeezed into the crowd and finally saw the thing in its entirety.

It was a human-shaped stake cast from black iron, without limbs, only a thick torso and a round head. Inlaid on its head was a round dial resembling a Western clock face. The dial had markings and a long hand.

Ma Liu was standing next to the iron stake, explaining things to everyone with spittle flying everywhere.

"Fellow disciples, this is a brand new gadget that the sect leader had someone procure from a foreign firm in the concession. It's called... a punching power testing machine!"