Scorching Heat

"Xiao Yu, this breakthrough really was... beyond even your master's expectations." After the shock had passed, Sun Chengshan did not know what to say for a moment.

In less than a year of martial training, he had reached the Body Tempering Fourth Layer Realm.

This world was too crazy. The joys and sorrows between people were entirely different.

Wang Yu did not think much of it and nodded. "I was a little surprised too. I originally thought it would take another ten days or half a month before I broke through."

Sun Chengshan silently turned his back, recalling the bitter cultivation he had endured year after year. His eyes moistened, full of sorrow.

That was what geniuses were like. They measured their cultivation time in days.

"Master, I'm almost out of Blood Pig Meat. When will the Night Sleep Gathering be held again?" Wang Yu asked.

Having tasted the benefits of this precious meat, returning to his former pace of fist training felt rather dull.

He had just received his share of the Purple Coal Ore profits, and he very much wanted to stock up again.

Sun Chengshan shook his head. "Usually, after they hold one in an area, they won't hold another for at least half a year.

"We're in such a remote place that it's perfectly normal not to see them for a year or two."

Wang Yu was greatly disappointed by that answer.

"Then, Master, could you spare an hour or two every day to spar with me?" Wang Yu immediately settled for the next best thing and requested a training partner.

"That won't be a problem. Now that you have the cultivation of the Body Tempering Fourth Layer Realm, you can barely exchange a few moves with me." Sun Chengshan agreed readily this time.

What he was really thinking was that, before Wang Yu fully rose to prominence, he could use fist training as an excuse to bully him a little.

At Wang Yu's rate of growth, this master of his would find it hard to offer him guidance in the future.

"Thank you, Master." Wang Yu had no idea what Sun Chengshan was truly thinking.

Even if he had known, he would not have cared much. In his eyes, was not Master Sun Chengshan himself a powerful source of experience?

"Still, your cultivation is already sufficient to graduate. Aren't you going out to make your way in the world?" Sun Chengshan asked as usual.

Wang Yu thought for a moment, then shook his head. "My strength is still too weak, and I still have room to improve. If I can stay safely at the martial hall and grow stronger, why should I run off and take risks?"

Hearing this, Sun Chengshan did not know what to say.

Ji Fei clearly had decent talent, but he was impulsive and refused advice. Before his martial arts were even properly developed, he had run off without a trace.

As for his youngest disciple Wang Yu, he was a martial arts prodigy, steady and well-behaved. His only flaw was that he was too well-behaved. He looked as though he wanted to train until he was invincible beneath the heavens before leaving the mountain.

The two were complete opposites. No wonder these two disciples had barely interacted at the martial hall.

They simply could not play together.

"Do as you wish." Sun Chengshan shook his head and left the inner room with his hands behind his back.

He needed to check on the other disciples' training and make a round of the mines as well.

Those were his daily duties.

Blue Star Calendar, December, Year 772.

The world of Fragment Star No. 5 had no clearly defined four seasons.

Its temperatures shifted unpredictably, and humanity had yet to discover any pattern to them.

They only knew that the climate here was influenced by the other celestial bodies beyond the planet, and that it was closely related to the quality and grade of the Star Vein deep within the earth.

In the final month of the year, a scorching heat instead swept in.

Wave after wave of heat rolled across the Silver Belt Sea from no one knew where, blanketing more than thirty islands of all sizes, including Island No. 732.

Over the course of a few days, the temperature soared, leaving the residents of Island Town groaning in misery.

Even some of the martial hall's newer disciples could not endure the heat. They slightly reduced the intensity of their daily fist training to prevent their bodies from giving out or themselves from accidentally becoming dehydrated.

Even with Wang Yu's sturdy physique, he felt rather uncomfortable in such high temperatures.

"It must be over forty degrees." Wang Yu stood bare-chested in the inner courtyard, feeling as though even a breath of air could scorch his lungs.

"Junior Brother, I think we should call off today's sparring," Song Hezheng quickly suggested, seeing his chance.

However, Wang Yu ruthlessly refused.

"How could we? Senior Brother, cultivating without training for a day is like rowing upstream: if you do not advance, you retreat."

Sweat had already begun to form on Song Hezheng's forehead.

If it were ordinary sparring between disciples, it would be manageable.

But when sparring with Wang Yu, he always had to stay focused and give it his all.

It was as though he were truly going through a life-and-death duel. After every session, he was usually exhausted in both body and mind, and occasionally covered in bruises from fists and kicks.

Once or twice was fine, but over time, even Song Hezheng could not hold up.

Not to mention him—even Sun Chengshan could not quite endure Wang Yu's relentless bombardment. That was why he occasionally hid out at the mines and tossed Song Hezheng over to Wang Yu for fist training.

Song Hezheng still wanted to struggle for survival, but Wang Yu had already assumed his stance.

"Senior Brother, watch out!"

With a shout of warning, Wang Yu drove off his rear leg. His front leg moved, and he darted toward Song Hezheng in a sudden burst.

His trouser leg sliced through a gust of hot wind as he lashed out with a kick.

Bang!

Song Hezheng hurriedly raised his arm to block. A force with an inward twist traveled through Wang Yu's leg and whipped against his arm.

A painful numbness immediately spread through him, making him feel that his junior brother seemed to have grown stronger again after only a few days.

Song Hezheng drew in a breath and clenched his right hand into a fist, launching a fierce counterattack.

With a tap of his toes, Wang Yu drifted lightly backward through the air, avoiding Song Hezheng's charged strike.

What he used was the Zu Family Wind Chasing Foot that he had trained alongside his other arts.

Since it was the first leg technique he had learned, its proficiency had not risen as quickly. Yet yesterday, it had already reached the technique's second layer.

It was now capable of displaying a certain degree of effectiveness in actual combat.

After all, although his leg technique had only reached the second layer, his physical strength was truly that of the Body Tempering Fourth Layer Realm.

As a result, the power of the leg techniques he displayed far surpassed that of other Martial Artists who had trained the Zu Family Wind Chasing Foot to the second layer alone. It was sheer cultivation-level suppression.

Song Hezheng had no intention of stopping there and chased after him.

He unleashed the fourth-layer Shadowless Fist, and in an instant, it transformed into a swath of dark fist shadows.

At the sight, Wang Yu's fighting spirit flared. He likewise activated the fourth-layer Shadowless Fist, countering each move as it came and using speed against speed.

For a time, layers of fist shadows filled the space between them. In the blink of an eye, they exchanged more than ten overt and hidden moves.

"Good, good, good! It seems Senior Brother's skills have improved these days as well. This Shadowless Fist of yours truly has deep foundations." Wang Yu grinned.

Even though this was merely daily fist training, both of them were going all out, making his blood boil with excitement.

Only this kind of fist training held meaning for him and could maximize the acceleration of his proficiency gains.

If they held back and failed to give their all, the rate at which proficiency increased would be greatly reduced. It might even be slower than him striking an iron training post by himself.

Wang Yu was fighting with incomparable excitement, but Song Hezheng was secretly groaning in misery.

He had indeed gained some insight and made progress with the Shadowless Fist lately, but against this junior brother before him, he found himself growing increasingly powerless.

There was no helping it. The several martial arts Wang Yu had trained alongside one another had all borne considerable results after this period of hard practice.

Now that they were being put to use, they greatly increased Wang Yu's combat strength.

Thud!

Wang Yu suddenly threw a straight punch. Its fierce force struck Song Hezheng's palm without warning, making him feel as though he had been struck by lightning. A tremendous force surged forth, sending him stumbling back two steps.

Wang Yu closed in. Song Hezheng endured the discomfort in his arm and gritted his teeth as he counterattacked, only for Wang Yu to intercept him with a soft, flowing palm technique that deflected more than half the force from his punch.

Wang Yu reached forward and seized Song Hezheng by the wrist, then followed the motion with a skillful burst of force.

Song Hezheng immediately lost his balance and nearly fell to the ground in a wretched heap.