"Finally, I broke through..."
"Would breaking through a Martial Technique realm also bring a new talent?" A flicker of anticipation appeared in Gu Yang's eyes.
He did not have to wait long before another line of small text appeared before his eyes.
Potential Development complete. Talent 'Power Surge' successfully manifested!
"Power Surge?" Gu Yang's gaze sharpened. Before he could close his eyes to inspect the effects of this new talent, he suddenly felt waves of power surging through his body.
This power did not greatly increase his strength. Rather, it was a kind of "reserve strength."
It was as though...
Following his instincts, Gu Yang suddenly threw a punch with all his strength.
As the punch flew out, before he even had time to recover his breath, a surge of power rose within him.
Then Gu Yang kicked out with all his strength.
"This..." Gu Yang's pupils widened, his face filled with astonishment.
Ordinarily, after throwing a full-strength punch, the power in his body would inevitably enter a brief state of "exhaustion." If his punch were dodged at that moment, he would certainly suffer his opponent's counterattack.
This was also why Qin Hu had always emphasized that when striking someone, one should use seventy percent of one's strength and hold back thirty percent.
That made one's punches especially flexible; if one failed to hit the opponent, one could still switch moves.
But now, that theory no longer applied to him.
Boom, boom, boom!
A punch, a kick, then another punch...
Gu Yang gave every strike his all, yet he did not have the slightest gap of "exhaustion."
Every time he punched or kicked, a surge of power would rise within him, supporting and reinforcing him from beneath.
It was as if his upper limit had been raised. His limit was no longer one hundred percent of his full strength, but one hundred twenty percent, one hundred thirty percent, or perhaps even higher—yet he could only unleash one hundred percent of that strength for now.
Thus, even when exploding with all his strength, he could still achieve the effect of "using seventy percent and holding back thirty percent"!
"Unbelievable. It truly is unbelievable!"
Gu Yang was visibly moved, a sharp gleam shining in his eyes.
Although this newly manifested talent had not increased his strength, it had raised his combat power by at least thirty percent!
With his current strength of nearly five hundred jin, if he erupted with full force, even disciples who had practiced Stance Training for one or two years might not be his match, much less those who had only entered this year.
With this talent, Gu Yang felt even more confident about the approaching Minor Competition.
Skill: Blood Nourishing Stance · Minor Accomplishment (76/200); Azure Dragon Dance · Minor Accomplishment (1/1000) Talents: Vitality Surge, Power Surge.
A moment later, Gu Yang calmed down and closed his eyes to look at the text before him.
As expected, Azure Dragon Dance had already broken through to Minor Accomplishment. However, for another breakthrough, it would require a full thousand points of proficiency.
Even if he sparred with Li Zhiwu every other day, it would still take twenty days to accumulate enough proficiency for another breakthrough.
As his thoughts turned, the effect of his new talent surfaced in his mind.
The result was much as he had expected. There was only one effect: power could take root and be restored without end.
Before the old strength faded, new strength was already born—unbroken, ceaseless, surging like an endless torrent.
Carried away by his excitement, Gu Yang began practicing Azure Dragon Dance again.
This time, he used his full strength in every punch and every kick.
"Whoosh, whoosh~"
The force of his punches shook the air, sweeping up the fallen leaves in the small courtyard and sending them drifting in all directions.
Azure Dragon Dance proficiency +1
After a long while, Gu Yang finally stopped, letting out a long breath.
Though power kept surging through his body, his stamina did not possess the same endlessly replenishing effect.
After practicing a full set of fist techniques, more than half of Gu Yang's abundant stamina had been consumed.
"Huu..."
"Haa..."
His long breathing rhythm drew vast quantities of fresh air into his lungs. Gu Yang assumed the stance frame of Azure Dragon Dance, closed his eyes, focused his mind, and quietly felt the stillness of dawn.
Who knew how much time had passed when Gu Yang suddenly felt a chill on his forehead.
He abruptly opened his eyes and looked up at the sky.
Glittering snowflakes slowly drifted down from the heavens, scattering across the ground and melting away.
"Winter has arrived..."
Gu Yang opened his palm and allowed a snowflake to fall upon it.
Yet before the snowflake could touch his skin, it turned into a droplet of water.
Though he had not yet reached the realm of Blood Qi Condensation, where cold and heat could not invade, ever since he began practicing martial arts, the Blood Qi within his body had flourished, greatly strengthening his resistance to the cold.
Only then did he realize, belatedly, that autumn had already passed.
More and more snowflakes fell, their scattered crystalline specks becoming great feathers of snow.
Gu Yang glanced at the sky, then turned and returned to the house.
If he went back to sleep now, he could still get another hour or two of rest.
Though the time was short, it would still allow him to recover most of his energy.
He gently pushed open the door. His family was still fast asleep.
Seeing this, Gu Yang went straight to his own bed and lay down.
In the morning, Gu Yang woke punctually according to his body clock.
When he pushed open the door, he saw that the entire world had turned white.
The courtyard, the rooftops, the sky—everywhere was covered in pure white snowflakes.
Late autumn had passed, and winter announced its arrival to the world with a heavy snowfall.
He took a deep breath of cold air, then slowly exhaled. Looking at the white stream of breath before him, a trace of determination appeared in Gu Yang's eyes as he strode out of the small courtyard.
Today was the day of the month-end Minor Competition. Apart from disciples still away on training expeditions, every disciple remaining in the Martial Academy had to participate.
Of course, there would not be situations where disciples who had trained for two or three years fought those who had just joined the Martial Academy. Generally, disciples who had entered in the same year fought one another.
The rules of the Minor Competition were simple: round after round of random matches, lasting five rounds in total. In the end, the hundred people with the most wins would each receive a bottle of Military Rations Pills.
In addition, the disciples who had entered this year had to determine the hundred disciples who suffered nothing but defeat in the Minor Competition.
After that, those disciples would each be given three chances to challenge others.
If they won, the two parties would exchange rankings.
If they lost, their rankings would remain unchanged.
Finally, after all challenges had ended, the Martial Academy would register and issue warnings to the bottom hundred disciples.
If they remained among the bottom hundred over the next two months, they would be directly expelled from the Martial Academy.
The entire Minor Competition was conducted under the watchful eyes of the Martial Academy instructors. If anyone cheated, both parties would be expelled together.
Simple and crude, yet incomparably cruel.
Of course, hardly any disciples would throw matches or cheat in a competition like this.
The sun slowly rose. On the Training Ground, the formations stood neat and orderly, everyone straight-backed and erect.
Even as the heavy snow continued falling onto their heads, no one moved in the slightest.
At the front of the formations, Qin Hu's gaze was sharp as lightning as it continually swept over the crowd. Only after a long while did he say, "Set out."
With that, he turned and took the lead toward the exit of the Training Ground.
Behind him, the disciples in the formations wore solemn expressions as they followed in great strides.
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