Chapter Twenty-Five: Head-Opening Enlightenment, Great Opportunity!

Vice Principal Office.

"Zhuang... father-in-law, want to go down and take a look?" Wang Yang spoke, a little nervous.

"Heh." Zhuang Xihang gave Wang Yang a somewhat speechless look:

"If only you treated Qianqian this well."

"Qianqian, I went to Yunmeng City last month to see her. She's doing great." Wang Yang said, a trace of happiness surfacing in his eyes.

"You..." Zhuang Xihang let out a wordless sigh, then said:

"You've gotten a bit smoother now, at least you know to invest in students. Where was that years ago?"

Wang Yang shook his head. His help to Chen Yan wasn't for investment, but now wasn't the time to explain.

"The Town Martial Class has a total of one hundred and forty-three slots. Twenty-three county high schools take sixty-nine, the three county high schools take seventy-four, and Second High gets twenty-five. This Zhang Tie is ranked twenty-sixth."

Zhuang Xihang shot Wang Yang a glare:

"Yesterday, his family came to the school to make a scene. In the end, I had no choice but to give him half a day to study in the Body Tempering Room. If that student you brought can't even beat Zhang Tie..."

Zhuang Xihang trailed off, but Wang Yang understood.

If Chen Yan couldn't beat Zhang Tie, he would completely lose his chance to audit.

Zhuang Xihang had already been generous, giving Chen Yan an opponent who wasn't too strong.

He should be able to win, Wang Yang thought, recalling the scene when Chen Yan had defeated Zhang Qingsi.

"Even if you want to invest, the other party has to be worthy of investment. The only reason I gave him a chance is because you said he beat a student who had Awakened Blood Qi."

"Then let's go down and take a look." Wang Yang pressed on.

"No need. We'll know soon enough. Right now, I have time, so let's talk about Qianqian." Zhuang Xihang pulled out a cigarette and continued:

"You really stepped in dog shit, having such a good daughter. I plan to have Qianqian sign the Gong Family contract. With her talent, she can get a chance to temper herself this year."

Wang Yang froze, then immediately said:

"No!"

Chen Yan's body slammed heavily against the doorframe, nearly hitting Zhang Tie, who had just walked up to the door.

"Holy shit!"

Just as he was about to speak, Wu Chuhua roared:

"Shut the door and shut your mouth!

Watch closely, learn well. Say one word and I'll knock you flying!"

Chen Yan propped himself up with one hand, his body springing two meters high, and threw a punch at Wu Chuhua. It collided with Wu Chuhua's fists, and Chen Yan was sent stumbling backward.

"Good... good!"

Zhang Tie stood dumbfounded. He walked into the classroom, closed the door, and sat on the floor without a word. He had barely scraped together this chance to enter the Body Tempering Room, and after thinking it over, he didn't want to waste it because of Wu Chuhua. But the moment he walked in, he saw a madman who could trade blows with Wu Chuhua.

Jackpot!

Zhang Tie felt a secret thrill. Watching a fight like this was a rare opportunity. This good-looking youth was clearly on the Body Tempering Path too.

"Chen Yan, you're no match for me."

Wu Chuhua glanced at Zhang Tie and stripped off his shirt. His body was thick with muscle, and on his chest were two stripes.

Chen Yan's gaze tightened. One of the two stripes on Wu Chuhua's chest was coiled like a dragon, just like his own, while the other was shaped like a tiger.

But the tiger-shaped stripe was very faint. If you didn't look carefully, you wouldn't notice it at all.

"See this? I've not only condensed a Strength Stripe, but also thirty percent of a Skin Stripe. You hit me hard, but honestly..."

Wu Chuhua grinned:

"It doesn't hurt."

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Wu Chuhua threw punches, lightning fast, his Fist Momentum like a Monkey Advance Eagle Strike—fierce yet agile. Punch after punch hammered into Chen Yan's arms.

"Chen Yan, your technique is trash. Your physique can't match mine. What can you do with just that one punch?!"

Wu Chuhua growled, his strikes wild as a madman, a smile curling at the corner of his mouth, seemingly unhinged.

The punches rained down, and Chen Yan retreated step by step, but a blazing battle intent flared in his eyes.

So this was the elite student from the county high school?

Zhang Tie was strong.

He couldn't beat him.

Good, he couldn't beat him!

If all his opponents were like Zhang Qingsi, he'd rather not fight at all.

His gaze shifted. On the walls around him, the carved figures seemed to move, catching his eye, dazzlingly bright.

Gold light!

A surging tide of golden radiance poured into the Saint Breaking Tree.

The wall of fist-art sculptures before Chen Yan was now a colossal treasure trove to him.

[Saint Breaking Realm: Level 2 (11/15)]

[Saint Breaking Fruit:

Strength: (3/100)

Blood: (97/100)

Skill: (96/100)]

Within the Saint Breaking Realm, the [Skill] Character Saint Breaking Fruit, which had already been over eighty percent complete, grew rapidly.

"Keep going!" Chen Yan roared, his voice thundering through the Body Tempering Room.

Wu Chuhua's movements paused. He shot a surprised glance at Chen Yan, then let out a strange laugh:

"Hahaha, good!"

"It's rare to find someone who likes getting hit—I love it!"

Wu Chuhua laughed loudly. On ordinary days, the people he met either couldn't be bothered to fight him or ran away at the sight of him.

To finally meet someone weaker than himself who was still willing to keep going—he treasured it.

But then he saw Chen Yan stop in place and look around. Wu Chuhua was taken aback:

"Chen Yan?"

Wu Chuhua raised a fist, the wind whistling around it.

"You'd better..."

His fist momentum was like a fierce tiger, and Zhang Tie, watching from the doorway, saw fear flicker in his eyes. The next moment, Wu Chuhua punched toward Chen Yan:

"...fight me properly!"

Chen Yan suddenly threw a punch, both fists colliding, sending out a violent Qi wave.

Wu Chuhua froze. This punch from Chen Yan had somehow grown stronger all of a sudden.

Chen Yan's body shot backward, sharp pain flaring from the soles of his feet. His expression shifted slightly as he activated the [Crimson Gang Body Tempering Canon], exhaling wisps of pale-red-tinged white mist from his mouth.

That hint of red was too faint—no one noticed it.

In that instant just now, he had swallowed the fully ripened [Skill] Character Saint Breaking Fruit.

Within his mind, a flood of memories surged like a breached dam—a torrent of martial arts knowledge. Among that torrent was the skill related to the [Crimson Gang Body Tempering Canon].

The final part concerned fist techniques.

Specifically, the fist-art techniques carved into the walls of this Body Tempering Room.

Not many, but enough to make Chen Yan stronger.

Chen Yan's gaze swept greedily over the humanoid sculptures on the surrounding walls. Inside the Saint Breaking Realm, golden light overflowed, and the Saint Breaking Fruit grew rapidly!

Then, with a loud shout, Chen Yan charged at Wu Chuhua.

"Come on, keep going!"

"You!" Wu Chuhua was startled. He could feel the shift in Chen Yan's aura, but then he grinned wildly and charged back at Chen Yan.

At the far end of the Body Tempering Room, a faint light began to flow across the Wordless Stone Tablet.

The two clashed again.

If you can't find the book title, try searching by the author—maybe it was just renamed!

Time passed slowly. Half an hour!

"Crazy!"

In the corner, Zhang Tie, who had been watching the whole time, was completely dumbfounded.

Wu Chuhua was strong—definitely stronger than this Chen Yan—but in Zhang Tie's eyes, this Chen Yan was even more insane than Wu Chuhua.

He simply ignored pain and exhaustion.

"Aren't you tired!?" Wu Chuhua blurted out in shock, taking a solid punch to the chest from Chen Yan. It didn't hurt, but the shock in his heart was immense.

This guy had been using his Breathing Technique from the very start. Normal people hit their limit after ten-odd minutes.

And this man had indeed reached his limit—but even at his limit, he was still forcing himself to keep going.

A fight to the death!

On the other side, Chen Yan's eyes were savage. He charged at Wu Chuhua, twisting his body with everything he had, whipping out a hook punch.

A flash of Red Light flickered between Chen Yan's fists. Wu Chuhua was about to kick, but when he saw this, he froze in place. Chen Yan's hook punch sent him flying, slamming him into the wall.

He was about to stand up when he saw Chen Yan's axe kick already flying toward him.

"Ah!!!" Wu Chuhua roared, his body springing aside like a leopard, and he bellowed back at Chen Yan.

"Bro, your awakening failed!"

He couldn't understand it. The other man's fist had just flashed with a red gleam of Qi and Blood, meaning he'd broken his limit and was about to awaken.

But the next moment, the red gleam vanished—that meant the awakening had failed.

Did this guy not care?

Yet.

Chen Yan's whip-like kick came crashing down. His whole body's sweat evaporated into white mist from the high temperature of his skin, veins bulging—clearly at his limit—but his eyes were only colder.

[Saint Breaking Realm: Level 2 (13/15)]

[Saint Breaking Fruit: Power: (54/100) Blood: (98/100) Skill: (0/100)]

Under the pouring of rolling Gold Light, another [Skill] Character Saint Breaking Fruit ripened, and Chen Yan plucked it.

"I said, keep going!" Chen Yan bellowed. Just moments ago, he had taken another [Skill] Character Saint Breaking Fruit.

Inside this Saint Breaking Fruit was nothing but Skill Energy related to the Wall Sculpture Fist Technique!

He was getting stronger. His physique couldn't match the other's, and his strength was slightly less, but he could fight with his life on the line, and he was still growing stronger.

There was no reason for him to lose!

This kick lashed into Wu Chuhua's waist, erupting with a clanging sound like iron chains slamming into the ground.

"Holy... shit!"

At the doorway, Zhang Tie's mouth hung wide open, cold sweat constantly beading on his forehead as he watched.

Everyone said Wu Chuhua was a martial maniac. Maniac, my ass.

This guy named Chen Yan—fuck, he fought like his life depended on it!

Wu Chuhua, locked in battle with Chen Yan, also had his expression shift, his eyes now full of wariness as he looked at Chen Yan.

No one wasn't afraid of someone like this.

Time passed slowly.

Another hour!

"I lost, I lost!" Wu Chuhua collapsed to the floor, his gaze vacant, roaring:

"I fucking lost!"

Ahead, Chen Yan, who had still been charging forward, relaxed his body and stood still.

A flash of red Qi and Blood gleamed between his fists.

Excruciating pain!

Countless muscle tears, his whole body battered, his heart pounding at an unprecedented limit.

Chen Yan didn't sit down. He couldn't sit down. If he sat now, the rhythmic contraction of his muscles would stop, and that would mean big trouble.

At the doorway, Zhang Tie walked in with two bottles of water, staring wide-mouthed at Chen Yan and the already prone Wu Chuhua.

Wu Chuhua had lost.

"Bro, you're really something!" Zhang Tie spoke with particular admiration. He genuinely respected Chen Yan—the guy was too relentless.

"I won." A faint smile crept onto Chen Yan's lips. He had won. He hadn't let Wang Yang down.

[Saint Breaking Realm: Level 2 (14/15)]

[Saint Breaking Fruit: Power: (88/100) Blood: (99/100) Skill: (76/100)]

The progress of the Saint Breaking Realm had reached 14/15.

Today's gains were considerable.

Though toward the end, the Saint Breaking Tree's absorption of Skill Energy from the sculptures had slowed, it was still enough.

Wu Chuhua was still lying on the ground, but Chen Yan was the first to prepare to leave.

"Chen Yan, I'll keep coming to fight you!" Wu Chuhua called out.

His eyes were full of daze. He could accept losing, but losing in the very field he excelled at was something he couldn't come to terms with for now.

The other man was fiercer than him. The other man could endure more than him.

Who the hell could maintain that limit for so long? Was he not afraid of dying?

He had lost. Completely lost.

"Fuck... hahaha, you're insane, Chen Yan." Wu Chuhua covered his eyes, laughing.

Chen Yan glanced back at Wu Chuhua. "You're pretty impressive too!"

Zhang Tie, truly impressive!

Chen Yan marveled inwardly. As expected of an elite student from Second High.

He hadn't really won the fight—he'd just stubbornly held on until the other side ran out of steam.

"Hah!" Chen Yan exhaled a white mist tinged with red, slowly closing the [Crimson Gang Body Tempering Canon].

"Bro, have a drink!" Zhang Tie handed over a bottle of water, a trace of awe in his eyes.

Awe.

Genuine awe.

As for Wu Chuhua, he both hated and feared him.

Below the top five of Second High, there wasn't a single person who wasn't afraid of Wu Chuhua. But this guy in front of him was crazier than Wu Chuhua!

His Combat Power was clearly inferior, yet with sheer reckless grit, he'd managed to beat Wu Chuhua—that was true skill.

That was even more terrifying than overpowering someone with brute force.

"Thanks." Chen Yan took it with a smile.

Suddenly!

At the very front of the Body Tempering Room, a flicker of red light flashed from the Wordless Stone Tablet and vanished into Chen Yan's body.

"Hm?" Chen Yan whipped his head around. A mass of profound knowledge suddenly appeared in his mind.

Truth knowledge about the [Crimson Gang Body Tempering Canon]!

This was... Head-Opening Enlightenment!

Within the Saint Breaking Realm, a vast golden lake of light also manifested!