The Levitation Technique was a movement art. Once trained to a profound level, it could be used to save one's life; perhaps one could even flee without a trace before a Blood Strengthening Realm martial artist.
Just like that man in black—his movement technique had been so superb that Yang Heng could do nothing to him and could only compete with him in endurance.
If Yang Heng trained this movement art to Major Accomplishment, then against a Blood Strengthening martial artist who had not cultivated a movement technique, preserving his life would not be much of a problem.
Even reaching Minor Accomplishment would greatly increase his chances of survival.
Over the past few days of going up the mountain to gather herbs, Yang Heng had used the Levitation Technique to travel at every moment. It let him cover more ground in search of medicinal herbs while also training his movement art, killing two birds with one stone.
After several days of training, the Levitation Technique had progressed remarkably and was already not far from the mastery realm.
At this moment, with a light leap, Yang Heng could reach a spot three zhang away.
After several rises and falls, his figure was already fifty meters away.
Light as a swallow, his body seemed to merge with the wind. Moving with the wind, he was not only fast, but expended little stamina.
At this very moment, Yang Heng stood in the middle of a clearing surrounded by trees. Great trees stood all around, while shrubs and weeds grew thickly, enclosing the clearing tightly.
From the outside, one could not see the scene within at all.
One had to enter the clearing to see it.
This was an excellent place for training.
Yang Heng had stumbled upon this treasure of a place while searching for medicinal herbs.
It was also the best among all the places suitable for cultivation that he had found.
Yang Heng had been overjoyed at the time. Grinning broadly, he had immediately set aside the task of searching for herbs, entered the clearing, and begun training.
Only when the sun had set and the sky gradually darkened had he reluctantly left.
Fortunately, he had now completed his secret task and could train to his heart's content.
In the center of the clearing, Yang Heng stood with his hands behind his back, his posture straight and upright. The wind made his sleeves flap fiercely, but he paid it no mind, his gaze fixed tightly on the falling leaves in the air.
The leaves drifted through the air without pattern, flying everywhere. Some of them floated toward Yang Heng.
Just as the leaves were about to brush against Yang Heng's hair, he moved!
Like a wisp of clear wind, he dodged every incoming leaf one by one. There were countless leaves, yet not a single one landed on him—not one even managed to touch his body.
Yang Heng was like an elf in the wind, flashing about the clearing.
In an instant, Yang Heng's figures appeared in all directions, yet it was difficult to tell which one was his true body.
Sunlight streamed through gaps in the leaves, scattered rays falling over Yang Heng's face. From afar, one side of his face was bright while the other was dark, changing endlessly. He looked like a vicious ghost from hell, savage and terrifying beyond measure.
Suddenly, Yang Heng stopped. He closed his eyes tightly and raised his head, as if enjoying the sun's embrace.
Slowly, the curve of Yang Heng's lips rose higher and higher. A smile piled across his face, blooming as brilliantly as a flower.
Yang Heng broke into a radiant smile. His body swayed slightly, and his figure vanished from where he stood.
When one looked again, Yang Heng was already ten meters away.
He had broken through!
The Levitation Technique had broken through to the mastery realm!
The entire breakthrough had been incredibly smooth, without the slightest obstruction.
Yang Heng smiled, and his body swayed once more. He appeared ready to come to a stop another ten meters away.
Yet this time, just as he was about to land, the tip of his right foot lightly tapped a falling leaf floating in midair as though stepping on solid ground. Borrowing its force, he continued leaping into the distance. He lightly tapped another leaf dancing through the air and soared again, finally stopping thirty meters away.
This was the mastery realm of the Levitation Technique.
It allowed one to borrow the force of objects in midair and leap again.
However, one could only borrow force twice each time and had to land before doing so again.
Yang Heng was overjoyed. With this, his ability to preserve his life had greatly increased.
After rejoicing for a while, Yang Heng began training the Vajra Fist.
The Levitation Technique had just broken through. Continuing to train it would not yield much progress.
Alternating between the two was the best path.
Ever since the Vajra Fist had broken through to the mastery realm, coupled with how exceptionally busy he had been lately, his Vajra Fist training had gradually fallen by the wayside, and its progress had been slow.
Yang Heng knew well that the Vajra Fist was his best means of facing enemies. It was exceedingly important, and its status was even above that of the Levitation Technique.
If one day he truly encountered a martial artist who had also cultivated a movement art, he would still have to rely on the Vajra Fist to fight them.
Having trained the Vajra Fist to the mastery realm, Yang Heng had gained a certain understanding of its cultivation.
The Vajra Fist was incomparably fierce and domineering, a fist art of the utmost hardness and purest yang.
When training the Vajra Fist, one had to empty one's mind of distractions and pour all the strength of one's body into the fist art. Only then would training flow like a fish in water and progress swiftly.
Yang Heng knew well that training the Vajra Fist consumed enormous stamina, far beyond what the Levitation Technique required.
Therefore, he placed a slice of Old Ginseng in his mouth beforehand to replenish the stamina he expended.
Once everything was prepared, Yang Heng removed his shirt, bared his upper body, and began practicing the Vajra Fist.
Yang Heng had long since memorized every move of the Vajra Fist. Even without the fist manual beside him, he practiced with effortless ease and unparalleled fluency.
Every punch he threw contained immense force. His fist wind was fierce, and wherever his fists reached, the fallen leaves before him burst apart one after another.
At times, he could even hear the air booming like thunder cracking in the heavens, deafening to the ears.
Move after move, stance after stance, each possessed boundless power. Every stone he encountered along the way was smashed to pieces by Yang Heng. Like a human-shaped bulldozer, he flattened everything before him until not a blade of grass remained.
Suddenly, as Yang Heng trained to the point of utter exhilaration, he took a swift step and instantly arrived before a large tree.
He threw a fierce punch.
The great tree before him was as soft as tofu, and Yang Heng's fist plunged straight into its trunk.
At the same time, a heaven-shaking boom rang out, like the sound of a mountain collapsing. The disturbance was immense, and the sound could be heard several li away.
The birds and beasts within several li fled in every direction, crying out in terror.
Fallen leaves drifted down in unison, like heavenly maidens scattering flowers—a spectacular sight.
Seeing that his fist was stuck inside the tree and could not move, Yang Heng immediately mobilized his qi and blood into his right arm.
In an instant, his arm swelled as though inflated. Every vein and blood vessel stood out distinctly, his muscles bulging like a thick iron pillar, overflowing with raw power.
Yang Heng lightly swung his right hand.
Crack!
The tree snapped from both sides of his fist and toppled backward like a jade pillar holding up the sky.
Boom!
Another tremendous crash rang out. The tree struck the ground, kicking up a violent gust. The fallen leaves on the ground flew into the air once more, while dirt splattered everywhere.
Yang Heng looked over and saw the tree lying straight on the ground. It had crushed a groove three inches deep into the earth, with cracks of all sizes spreading outward from around it in every direction like a spiderweb.
Yang Heng had never expected that the explosive release of qi and blood could produce such tremendous destructive power. He was truly stunned.
The commotion just now had been too great. It might attract other apprentices to investigate, so Yang Heng decided to change locations and continue training.
Leaving this place, Yang Heng arrived at a backup training ground and continued practicing the Vajra Fist.
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