Chen Mo returned to the inn and shut himself inside his room.
Every time he tried to break through, a muffled rumble sounded within him, echoing endlessly through the room.
"So gathering the force in all ten fingers creates claw force, sharp as an unsheathed blade."
That insight spurred his seventh attempt at breaking through.
A mighty surge of force crashed toward the blocked place within him. In an instant, the blockage weakened a little.
"Don't sink your waist too low, or it'll hinder your agility. Raise it an inch, and Flowing Cloud Attack will become thirty percent more powerful."
His eighth attempt at breaking through.
Another torrent of force rushed toward the blockage, and this time, it punched a tiny hole through it, no wider than a needle.
"The 'Dragon-Subduing' in Dragon-Subduing Stake Technique isn't just a name. Every move subtly contains a method for capturing dragons."
His ninth attempt at breaking through.
The tiny hole was widened several times over by the force. If Chen Mo had been able to look inside himself, he could have seen it with the naked eye.
"After turning over, follow with a grapple, and you can throw your opponent over your shoulder. It's like seizing a dragon by the tail and sending it plummeting from the clouds."
His twelfth attempt at breaking through.
A fierce surge of force plunged toward the blockage like a river falling from the ninth heaven.
In an instant, a clear, ringing cry sounded within him, like an eagle's piercing shriek.
At that moment, Chen Mo felt a clarity unlike anything he had ever known.
The aches and accumulated strain in his body were swept away completely!
He clenched his fists and was delighted to discover that the force in them was much stronger than before.
"So this is what Dark Jin feels like!"
If Ming Jin strengthened the muscles and bones, then Dark Jin brought clarity to the meridians.
The force shifted from the outside to the inside, characterized by striking through a mountain and driving force through paper.
Chen Mo remembered his earlier fight with Luo Hou. His opponent had been in the early stage of Dark Jin, and perhaps hadn't yet fully mastered this characteristic of the force. That was why he hadn't felt it clearly during their fight.
"Once I reach the middle or late stage of Dark Jin, or even its peak, I'll be able to wield this skill with ease. And there are no fewer than ten martial students at the middle stage or above."
"Fortunately, my understanding of Dark Jin is already far beyond that of an ordinary martial student in the early stage."
His gaze focused as he looked inward at his sea of consciousness:
[Thousand Hammer Refinement, Mountain and Water Cultivation] [Dragon-Capturing Jin: A martial art evolved from Dragon-Subduing Stake Technique, containing eighteen Dragon-Capturing forms] [Comprehension: 1/200 (Great Accomplishment)]
Chen Mo was startled to discover that "Dragon-Subduing Stake Technique" had become "Dragon-Capturing Jin."
Could martial arts evolve when he broke through with the comprehension granted by Mountain and Water Cultivation?
If martial arts could evolve continuously, replacing the old with the new, then once he reached Hua Jin and even higher realms, couldn't he evolve them to their very limits?!
He gradually calmed his excitement and slowly exhaled, careful not to disturb anyone.
The following morning.
The cicadas of early summer had begun to sing, like an endless roll of war drums.
Chen Mo arrived at the training ground first and ran through several rounds of stake practice.
Before long, Xie Jinnian arrived as well. When he saw Chen Mo, something seemed off, but he didn't dwell on it. He shook his head, then sat down to meditate and regulate his breathing.
By the time the sun was above the willow branches,
all the martial students had arrived.
The Technique Trial was the highlight of the Martial Examination each year, a round of testing that always drew attention and gave people plenty to talk about.
An examiner announced the rules:
"Today's Technique Trial will follow the same rules as in previous years. For each round, you'll first draw a match card. The cards are marked with either A or B, along with a number. The martial students with matching numbers will face each other."
"Whoever is knocked out of the arena loses; the other wins. You'll fight with fists and feet. In a fight, there are no eyes on fists and feet, and each of you is responsible for any injuries or deaths."
When the examiner finished, two clerks carried out a wooden box. The examiner checked it and broke the seal, after which the martial students came forward one by one to draw cards.
Chen Mo casually picked a wooden card from the box and removed its cloth sleeve. It read "B-15."
He didn't look around for whoever had drawn "A-15," but calmly returned to the edge of the arena.
The few popular martial students in the late stage of Dark Jin looked just as calm as he did. Many Ming Jin students, however, glanced around, hoping they would face an opponent of similar strength.
Just then, when several Hua Jin experts in the training ground turned their eyes toward Chen Mo, they all froze.
"Hmm?"
Zhao Huayuan kept his gaze on Chen Mo for several breaths, then looked astonished.
"That kid... broke through to Dark Jin? What incredible luck!"
On the other side, Yin Tianqing furrowed his brow. "Chen Mo... really did break through a second time?!"
Yin Shanshan heard him and looked up. With her Ming Jin strength, she couldn't sense Chen Mo's current realm, but if her father said so, it had to be true.
She immediately broke into a smile. "Does that mean Chen Mo has a chance of making the top ten?"
Yin Tianqing didn't answer directly, only sighed. "Judging by past experience, everyone in the top ten of the Martial Examination will be at least at the middle stage of Dark Jin."
Inside the training ground,
as the crowd stirred, Chang Hao, the young master of the Iron Palm Gang, strode into the center of the arena. His tall, powerful figure stood firm, drawing shrieks from several women.
He casually tossed the "A-1" wooden card aside, displaying his bold, martial bearing.
A short while later,
a Ming Jin martial student nervously shuffled into the arena. Beside Chang Hao, he looked short and scrawny.
The match began soon after.
Chang Hao showed no mercy. He opened with the Iron Palm Gang's signature Thunderbolt Palm.
As Thunderbolt Palm flowed, the wind howled, and the sound of thunder rumbled faintly.
Amid the audience's cries of surprise, Chang Hao knocked his opponent out of the arena in just three exchanges. The latter struggled to his feet, his face covered in bruises.
Xie Jinnian turned to him and said, "Brother Chen, the Technique Trial is this cruel. Good-natured fighters only knock their opponents out of the arena. But if you run into someone as hot-tempered as Chang Hao, it's common to come away injured."
Chen Mo nodded and kept watching the arena, paying attention to the contestants who came up next. The opponents he had in mind were the few martial students in the late stage of Dark Jin.
With the comprehension granted by Mountain and Water Cultivation, he could sense the strengths and weaknesses of their techniques even from a distance, then analyze and deduce ways to counter them.
After Chang Hao, several more Dark Jin martial students entered the arena. Aside from a few lucky Ming Jin students who drew Ming Jin opponents, everyone else who advanced was in Dark Jin.
Among them were Ye Zimou of the Hefeng Pawnshop and Liu Sha of Black Tiger Hall. The former practiced a soft, yielding style, while the latter's attacks were brutally powerful.
Later, Xie Jinnian, who had drawn "A-9," took the stage. His opponent was also in the early stage of Dark Jin. The two fought for over twenty exchanges, and in the end Xie Jinnian narrowly won with a single move.
Li Xuan, who had drawn "B-13," faced a martial student from the Qi Family in the middle stage of Dark Jin. In the seventh exchange, his opponent knocked him out of the arena, and he lost.
"Next, A-15 and B-15, please enter the arena."
At the clerk's call, a martial student from a small family, in the early stage of Dark Jin, leaped into the arena, while Chen Mo walked in at an unhurried pace.
At once, murmurs rose from the crowd around the arena.
"He's the Ming Jin martial student who lifted that seven-hundred-pound stone lock yesterday."
"But today he's facing Yang Tao of the Yang Family. Lifting a stone and fighting for real are completely different things. He's in for a rough time."
"Wait, why does he have the aura of Dark Jin..."
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