Boom!
Gu Yang's pupils suddenly contracted, and an incredulous look appeared on his face.
"This, this..."
At that instant, his Blood Qi churned once more, the tremendous sound loud enough for even him to hear.
His tendons stretched continuously, his muscles swelled and compressed madly, and his bones crackled without pause.
At this moment, his strength had risen once again—and at a rate that far exceeded his expectations!
Boom, boom—
The intense transformation continued within Gu Yang's body. The Military Rations Pill in his stomach rapidly shrank, turning into streams of warmth that his body absorbed. In mere moments, it was completely digested.
After that came the nutrients naturally stored within his body.
Gu Yang's expression changed. He immediately took the porcelain bottle containing Military Rations Pills from his robes, poured out another, and tossed it into his mouth.
Gulp.
He swallowed it in one gulp. The moment the Military Rations Pill entered his stomach, it began to dissolve, becoming waves of warmth absorbed throughout his body.
His body's transformation continued, but with the Military Rations Pill continuously supplying nutrients, this sudden transformation caused Gu Yang no trouble or distress.
Hoo...
After a long, long while, this transformation finally drew to an end.
Gu Yang exhaled a breath of foul air. The scorching stream of breath rolled before his eyes, and upon touching the cold air, instantly condensed into droplets of rain.
The droplets drifted down. Beneath the setting sun, a miniature rainbow miraculously appeared before him.
Red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple...
Yet no matter how beautiful and dazzling those seven colors were, they could not compare to the little words that flashed before his eyes once more.
Potential Development complete. Talent 'Mighty Ox Strength' successfully manifested!
"Mighty Ox Strength!"
Clenching his fist tightly and sensing the explosive power within his body, Gu Yang could not help muttering inwardly, This time, a talent that boosts strength has finally appeared...
Within the quiet Training Ground, Gu Yang stood where he was, his gaze deep as he silently sensed the changes in his body.
He did not immediately close his eyes to check the effects of this talent.
What one learned from books always seemed shallow; to truly understand a matter, one had to practice it oneself.
Since he could now feel the changes in his body, there was no need to immediately look at the "correct answer."
Sometimes, when facing a puzzle, covering the answer and making one's own guess brought immense satisfaction if one guessed right.
At this moment, Gu Yang was amusing himself with precisely this sort of game.
Assuming the stance of Azure Dragon Dance's Stance Training, Gu Yang stepped forward and threw a punch.
Boom!
The air exploded, and currents of wind surged.
The might erupted by this punch far exceeded Gu Yang's imagination.
He knew that his strength had increased tremendously, but he had only been sensing it through vague perception. He had no precise understanding of it.
At this moment, he had never expected his strength to soar to such a degree.
"This punch of mine contains at least seventeen or eighteen hundred catties of force. No, it may have already exceeded two thousand catties..."
"Moreover, even with such a powerful burst of strength, my body feels no discomfort whatsoever. That means my tendons and bones have been strengthened as well!"
As his movements continued, every punch and kick Gu Yang threw stirred the surrounding air currents.
Whoosh!
His punch shot out like a spear. Gu Yang's full-force straight punch actually tore through the surrounding air, producing a piercing shriek at its edge.
"The increase in strength is simply too great..."
After a quarter of an hour, having finished a set of punches, Gu Yang stopped moving. As he calmed his breathing, he pondered inwardly.
"Normally, after breaking through from Strength Training to Blood Condensation, a swing of one arm should carry a thousand catties of force. But after manifesting the talent 'Mighty Ox Strength,' my strength has doubled outright."
"So does this talent directly add a thousand catties of force, or does it double my base strength?"
With his own answer in mind, Gu Yang closed his eyes and focused, looking inward.
Starlight sparkled brilliantly.
In an instant, two lines of text quietly emerged.
Skills: Blood Nourishing Stance · Major Accomplishment (1/400); Azure Dragon Dance · Minor Accomplishment (95/1000) Talents: Vitality Surge, Power Surge, Mighty Ox Strength.
As thoughts churned in his heart, the "correct answer" immediately surfaced in his mind.
Talent Mighty Ox Strength: With the body of a man, harbor the strength of a mighty ox. Fists weigh like hammers, strength reaches a thousand catties. Most in the world call this: Overlord Lifting the Cauldron, Innate Giant Strength!
"Innate divine strength! As expected, it has increased my strength by a thousand catties!"
A sharp gleam flickered in Gu Yang's eyes, and his mind surged with excitement.
What was Innate Giant Strength? It was being able to beat Qi Cultivation and Strength Training martial artists to death with sheer force despite knowing no martial arts.
Placed within any faction, such a person would be an excellent Martial Path prospect. He could directly skip the first two realms of Blood Qi and attempt Blood Condensation at once.
This was the so-called Martial Path talent, one's natural endowment—the inborn difference between people!
Yet now, this limitation rooted in the very origin of life had been broken by Gu Yang.
At the age of fifteen, at the very moment his Martial Path broke through to the Blood Condensation realm, he had awakened the potential within his body and manifested the talent Mighty Ox Strength.
Unbelievable!
The newly manifested Mighty Ox Strength was far more miraculous than the previous two talents that assisted cultivation and combat.
This was equivalent to his inborn Martial Path talent changing—from an "ordinary man" into a Martial Path genius!
He raised both hands high, interlaced his eight fingers excluding his thumbs with his palms facing down, then exerted force through his body and stretched upward hard.
Crack, crack, crack—
A series of collisions between tendons, bones, and joints rang out.
His fist intent unfurled. Seized by sudden inspiration, Gu Yang immediately began practicing the punches and kicks of Azure Dragon Dance once again.
Boom, boom!
The wind from his fists howled, shaking all around.
Gu Yang practiced Azure Dragon Dance again and again in this empty Training Ground.
His stamina was rapidly draining, and the Military Rations Pill that had not yet been fully digested quietly shattered at this moment, turning into warmth absorbed by his body.
Hoo, hoo...
After seven or eight rounds, his stamina was running low. Gu Yang finally stopped, braced his hands against his knees, and began gasping for breath.
Drip—
A bead of sweat fell from Gu Yang's cheek, striking the Bluestone Floor of the Training Ground and shattering apart.
Gu Yang stared fixedly at that small pool of splashed water. His thoughts stalled, and his mind was completely blank.
It had been a long time since he had experienced this feeling of utter exhaustion.
Still, practicing Martial Techniques with such full commitment was not without its benefits. At this moment, he had already gained a preliminary grasp of his surging strength. He would no longer crush a cup just by lifting it to drink water.
At the same time, after practicing the forms of Azure Dragon Dance several times in one breath, this skill's proficiency had also increased by eight points.
Raising his eyes to look at the bright moon that had risen at some unknown time, Gu Yang straightened up, smoothed out his wrinkled martial robes, then left the Martial Academy and headed home.
Under Nightfall, Gu Yang's shadow stretched long and narrow.
The street lamps glowed dimly, and a lone man walked the road.