Boom!
The massive boulder struck the ground, its dull crash spreading in all directions and startling flocks of birds from the forest.
Sun Sheng stood bare-chested. His fair, rosy skin was tougher than rhinoceros hide; the rough boulder scraped against him without leaving even the faintest white mark.
Sun Sheng took out his phone and pressed answer.
"Something?"
"Senior Disciple Brother, this Youth Cup concerns a Seedling Plan slot. Master wants to send you to the martial hall headquarters. I heard they just received a new batch of equipment from the Psionic Research Institute."
"No need." Sun Sheng held the boulder with one hand, utterly uninterested.
"Senior Disciple Brother, perhaps you should listen to Master. You're Jixing Martial Hall's most promising candidate for the championship. If—"
"To battle and emerge victorious, I naturally have my own way of cultivation. If I lose, it can only mean I am inferior to others. The path of martial arts cannot deceive oneself. Do not bring this up again."
Sun Sheng directly hung up. He had never been interested in the experimental surgeries or implant experiments developed by the Psionic Research Institute.
Those methods might be useful, but the path of martial arts could deceive others, never oneself.
Countless predecessors had taught every successor through personal experience: any laziness stolen during martial cultivation would ultimately have to be repaid twofold when one attempted Psionic Ascension.
To ruin one's future for a moment of gratification—
Sun Sheng had always disdained it.
He wedged both hands into the cracks of the boulder, just about to exert force.
"Hm?"
His ears twitched, and he turned to look in the direction he had come from.
The moment Li Changqing entered the forest, he spotted that savage, protruding boulder.
Only now did he realize that the boulder was far larger and heavier than he had imagined.
A bare-chested man gave him a slight nod.
"Hello."
Li Changqing nodded in return.
"Hello."
He pointed at the boulder beside the man.
"Are you also a Martial Artist cultivating here?"
"Yes. My name is Sun Sheng."
"My name is Li Changqing."
Sun Sheng was a man of few words. After introducing himself, he patted the boulder beside him.
"Want to join me?"
Li Changqing froze before he could answer.
Sun Sheng had already turned around on his own and raised his right arm toward the boulder.
"I observed you just now. Your vitality is condensed like an egg, so you should have already reached Embracing the Core and Returning Strength. At the Lower-Rank Martial Artist stage, you don't need any other techniques. Strengthening your vitality is enough."
Sun Sheng's words left Li Changqing stunned, and he vaguely felt as though he had returned to a university classroom.
As he spoke, Sun Sheng's five fingers formed a blade, vitality instantly covering his palm.
Bang!
Sun Sheng cleaved the hard boulder apart with a hand chop. The fracture was smooth and clear; his exquisitely precise control of force made his bare hand as powerful as a cutting machine.
Li Changqing's pupils contracted. A Lower-Rank Martial Artist's body did not possess the hardness of refined steel, and his finger bones were certainly not as hard as rock.
To split a boulder so effortlessly with a hand chop—
Just how powerful was this guy's vitality?
"Your physical strength isn't sufficient yet. Excessively heavy weight training is beneficial rather than harmful."
Sun Sheng solemnly patted the small portion of the boulder that had been cut away.
"About five hundred kilograms. It's just right for you to carry."
"Catch."
With a hook of his toe, the boulder flew through the air toward Li Changqing.
Li Changqing's gaze sharpened, and he hurriedly raised both hands.
The instant he made contact—
So heavy!
A boulder thrown with momentum was far harder to deal with than wrestling a brown bear.
Li Changqing's arms shook. Seeing his balance about to fail, he rooted his feet to the ground. His upright body swayed like flowing water, his waist and abdomen tightening as he employed Tai Chi Soft Strength and poured all the force into the earth.
He then raised the boulder overhead and copied Sun Sheng's movements, carrying it on his back.
"Tai Chi?" Sun Sheng seemed thoughtful.
"Your physique is better than I imagined."
"Come, follow my pace."
Watching Sun Sheng talk to himself before directly running into the depths of the mountains with the boulder on his back, Li Changqing's mouth twitched.
The other man seemed to have mistaken him for his student.
Shaking his head, Li Changqing started moving as well.
Sun Sheng was far stronger than him. Training with a powerful person would certainly be much more effective than practicing alone.
Since the other man loved playing teacher, why shouldn't he be happy to oblige?
Mountain forests were unlike city roads. The latter were carefully paved tracks, while in the former, let alone a track, there was often not even room to place one's foot.
Li Changqing had to inspect every foothold in advance to see whether it was uneven or rugged.
With a five-hundred-kilogram stone on his back, every step was an immense trial.
In a daze, Li Changqing felt as though he had returned to the night when he had first arrived in Rong City.
The five hundred kilograms weighing on his back once again let Li Changqing feel the joy of running.
Spirit Turtle Breathing Technique, Proficiency: 25%
The long-distance run under heavy weight forced Li Changqing to focus on his breathing in order to achieve faster gas exchange.
Under such pressure, the proficiency of the Spirit Turtle Breathing Technique steadily rose.
Yet as he ran, Li Changqing realized that he seemed to be falling farther and farther behind Sun Sheng.
"Faster!"
Sure enough, Sun Sheng turned his head as well.
Watching Li Changqing run while also distracting himself with the condition of the road beneath his feet, Sun Sheng frowned.
"Don't concern yourself with the road beneath your feet. So what if there are rocks? So what if it's uneven?
"You cultivate Tai Chi, don't you? Could it be that you still can't adjust your own center of gravity?"
Sun Sheng's words cleared Li Changqing's thoughts.
That's right, I know Tai Chi!
He raised his foot and brought it down.
This time, Li Changqing no longer deliberately adjusted where he stepped.
A protruding pebble hidden in the mud caught his heel.
His balance instantly collapsed. The five-hundred-kilogram boulder, carrying its momentum, was about to pour its enormous force into Li Changqing's fragile ankle.
Suddenly, the muscles in Li Changqing's calf tensed. Delicate force followed the movement to dissolve the weight upon him, and his body, which had seemed about to fall, regained its balance.
"It really works!" Li Changqing was overjoyed.
He had never imagined before that he could cultivate Tai Chi while running.
From then on, Li Changqing stopped watching the road.
He strode forward in great steps, racing through the mountain forest.
Tai Chi Soft Strength became increasingly practiced, while the gaps Li Changqing left for thought steadily shrank.
Tai Chi Soft Strength, Proficiency: 30%
After one thousand meters, he had gradually trained Tai Chi Soft Strength into his body. Every time his foot landed, he only needed to slightly listen to the strength to immediately determine the force and direction needed for balance.
Tai Chi Soft Strength, Proficiency: 32%
At this point, Sun Sheng could no longer pull away from him.
At two thousand meters, Li Changqing completely emptied his mind. Tai Chi Soft Strength had been wholly carved into his muscle memory. The moment his foot touched the ground, he no longer needed to think—his body naturally gave him the answer.
On the rugged mountain road, he walked as though on level ground.
Tai Chi Soft Strength, Proficiency: 35%
His speed finally increased, gradually closing the distance between them to within fifty meters.
But carrying five hundred kilograms was different from ordinary running.
Even though he had integrated the Spirit Turtle Breathing Technique into every breath, Li Changqing's vitality gradually ran dry.
The newly generated strength could not fill the gaps in his vitality.
After three thousand meters, the speed Li Changqing had just raised fell again. The vitality within him was no longer enough to support such reckless expenditure.
Before he could catch up to Sun Sheng, the distance between them widened once more—but not because the mountain road was rugged.
He had reached his limit.
Sun Sheng ran ahead, his keen five senses allowing him to judge Li Changqing's condition at any time.
"He should have reached his limit." Feeling Li Changqing slow down.
"A one-star Lower-Rank Martial Artist? He should not be far from two stars. Which martial hall's genius is this?"
Just as Sun Sheng was preparing to slow down and wait for Li Changqing—
Behind him—
Facing his own limit was something Li Changqing knew all too well.
Sprint!
He shouted in his heart. At that moment, he found again the feeling he had had during the assessment at Chengtian Martial Arts School.
Break through the limit.
Physique +2 Vitality Concentration: 6%
A familiar warm current rushed into his body, thoroughly wiping away the exhaustion throughout him.
His abundant vitality swelled once more.
It was another Marrow Cleansing. Impurities throughout his body were washed out and expelled by his vitality.
His body became crystalline and clear, inside and out.
"Next, it's time to pick up the pace!"
Employing Tai Chi Soft Strength, Li Changqing moved across the mountain path strewn with strange rocks as though walking on level ground.
His speed instantly returned to its peak. His steps were light, and he once again closed the distance Sun Sheng had opened between them.
Under Sun Sheng's astonished gaze, the two of them ran side by side through the forest with boulders on their backs.
"Breaking through the limit?" Sun Sheng's eyes lit up, but before he could ask—
Li Changqing grinned, his white teeth reflecting a dazzling gleam beneath the sunlight.
"I'll go on ahead!"
The moment the words fell, Li Changqing carried the boulder as though on level ground, his legs exerting force once more.
In an instant, he actually overtook Sun Sheng.
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