Vajra Fist Breakthrough!

The world is one where martial arts flourish, with a long and storied history.

Cultivation techniques, martial realms, martial art proficiency, pills, weapons, and more all have a set of rigorous and meticulously designed rules.

To make it easier for martial artists to track their progress at any time, martial art mastery is divided into five stages based on proficiency: Beginner, Proficient, Minor Accomplishment, Major Accomplishment, and Perfection.

Perfection is equivalent to reaching the same level as the founder of that particular martial art.

However, it is extremely difficult to achieve, and very few martial artists ever manage it.

There are rumors, though, that cultivating a martial art to Perfection yields immense benefits.

As for what those benefits are, no one can say for sure.

Some say that achieving Perfection will cause one's cultivation to surge.

Others say that perfecting a martial art will improve one's innate talent for cultivation.

The rumors spread like wildfire, with everyone just repeating what they've heard.

The martial artists who have actually managed to cultivate a martial art to Perfection all remain silent, as if they were collectively ordered not to disclose anything.

Martial arts are divided into Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced tiers.

Vajra Fist is an Intermediate Martial Art.

The difficulty of cultivating any martial art to Perfection is the same, regardless of its tier.

It's not like people think, where achieving Perfection with a Beginner Martial Art is easier than with an Intermediate or Advanced one.

The difficulty of breaking through from Major Accomplishment to Perfection is the same for all three tiers.

What differs is the immense disparity in aspects like the martial art's power and cultivation speed.

Given the same talent and the same amount of martial cultivation resources, a martial artist cultivating an Intermediate Martial Art will train much faster than one cultivating a Beginner Martial Art – at least twice as fast.

Furthermore, the former can easily crush the latter, even fighting three opponents at once without breaking a sweat.

Cultivating a martial art to Perfection is still a long way off for Yang Heng.

Yang Heng's Vajra Fist has barely reached the Beginner stage, and he's still some distance from Proficient, let alone Perfection, which seems impossibly far away.

With his improved talent and cultivation breakthroughs, Yang Heng's practice of Vajra Fist has been smooth sailing, progressing at a rapid pace.

His punching speed has increased significantly compared to before, his forms are much more familiar, and each punch carries more power, exuding an extraordinary aura, fierce and domineering, kicking up boundless dust.

Yang Heng fought with increasing exhilaration, his movements fluid and natural, his hands adept. Unknowingly, he became engrossed, lost in the flow, unable to extricate himself.

His eyes were closed, but every punch thrown and every step taken was perfectly placed, truly flawless.

From a distance, dust swirled and smoke billowed in the training area. For a moment, four or five figures appeared. When he closed his eyes and then looked again, not a single figure could be seen.

In the center of the dust and smoke, the haze grew denser, rolling and churning like a ferocious beast wildly flailing its massive body, unleashing its power with astonishing force, leaving onlookers in awe.

CRACK!

Suddenly, a crisp sound rang out from within the smoke. The sound was clear and pleasant, deeply resonant, vibrating to the very soul, causing it to tremble.

This crisp sound was like a thunderclap from the heavens, jolting Yang Heng awake.

Yang Heng was momentarily bewildered, completely unaware of what had just happened.

His mind cleared, but his body continued to move.

His fist followed his body, striking out.

Crack, another crisp sound.

This time, Yang Heng heard it clearly.

The sound came from his fist.

This sound was the instantaneous burst of friction and collision between his hand bones. At this moment, all the strength in his body coalesced from zero into one, erupting at a single point with immense power, like heavenly thunder, shaking the heart.

This was the 'crack' from the legend of 'A Sound Worth a Thousand Gold'.

The ability to produce a cracking sound with one's fist was enough to prove that the practitioner's fist technique had reached a commendable level, achieving Minor Accomplishment.

Indeed, at this very moment, Yang Heng's Vajra Fist had broken through to the Proficient realm.

Earlier, Yang Heng had kept his eyes closed, unable to see anything, yet every punch he threw and every step he took was precise, exactly as recorded in the fist manual.

At that moment, Yang Heng had entered a state of enlightenment, a state martial artists dream of.

In a state of enlightenment, progress in any martial art is incredibly rapid, like riding a rocket.

This state is rare and unpredictable; for a martial artist to experience it even once in a lifetime is considered a great fortune.

Yang Heng had no idea why he had suddenly entered a state of enlightenment while practicing.

He clearly remembered that his practice of Vajra Fist had been exceptionally smooth, fluid, and exhilarating. Every move and every form was executed with ease. Unknowingly, his mind had completely merged with the fist technique. As for what happened afterward, he remembered nothing.

After a while, Yang Heng still couldn't figure it out, so he stopped thinking about it.

Yang Heng decided to test the power of Vajra Fist at the Proficient level and see how it differed from the Beginner stage.

No sooner said than done.

Yang Heng stood in the center of the training ground, all eyes focused on a large boulder about five meters in front of him.

This boulder was over a meter tall and about a foot wide. It was no small thing and would be a tough opponent.

But Yang Heng preferred to test himself against the strong; he didn't bother with the weak.

For example, he completely ignored the large trees nearby, his gaze fixed on the giant rock in front of him.

It was as if he had an unspeakable affection for the boulder.

Yang Heng took a deep breath, his eyes resolute, staring intently at the giant rock like a falcon.

"Hah!"

Yang Heng suddenly let out a roar. He stomped his right foot down, and the ground instantly caved in, forming a pit. Sand and stones flew everywhere. His body shot out like a cannonball, exploding with sound in mid-air, followed by rolling dust.

He opened his right hand, clenched his fingers, veins bulging, muscles coiling like intertwined steel cables, radiating immense power.

Bang!

His fist struck the center of the boulder, unleashing a world-shattering sound. The commotion was so great that it startled the birds in the surrounding trees, causing them to flee in panic and fly into the distance.

Crack!

Yang Heng looked towards the source of the sound and saw a crack suddenly appear in the center of the boulder.

Gradually, the cracking sounds continued, and the fissures spread from the center in all directions at incredible speed. In a short while, the entire surface of the boulder was covered in cracks, resembling a giant spiderweb.

Boom!

The entire boulder split open along the cracks and collapsed with a roar, kicking up a large cloud of dust. The area was shrouded in smoke for a time.

Like a nimble cat, Yang Heng leaped and dodged with incredible speed. He had already escaped the area before the boulder collapsed, moving to a safe spot to quietly admire his work.

Yang Heng was not surprised by this outcome.

With the Marrow Cleansing and Bone Scouring and breaking through two realms, Yang Heng's strength had greatly increased. He estimated he could lift six hundred jin with one hand, far exceeding the strength range of a Martial Artist in the Blood Brave Realm as recorded in the fist manuals.

Coupled with his Proficient Vajra Fist and the boost from his Bloodline Power, shattering the boulder with one punch was not surprising.

If he hadn't broken through, that would have been truly jaw-dropping.

Feeling the immense power contained within his body, even though he was in a chaotic world, Yang Heng gradually felt more confident and fearless, his sense of security greatly increased.

He continued to cultivate for a while longer until it was noon.

Yang Heng felt a pang of hunger, his stomach rumbling. The five jin of pork jerky he had brought with him was long gone.

After all, martial arts training consumed a tremendous amount of physical energy. What Martial Artist wasn't a big eater? Eating a whole cow a day was nothing.

After tidying up a bit, Yang Heng headed towards Qingyang Town, ready to treat himself.