Dark Force!

Li Chuan drew a deep breath and assumed the Mountain-Holding Stance.

Soon, he felt a rush of heat surge through his entire body.

It burned like magma.

The heat rose from his Dantian and instantly spread through his limbs.

Before long, his whole body had become scorching hot, even somewhat painful.

Li Chuan gritted his teeth, cold sweat beading across his forehead.

The heat flowed like crashing waves, battering the meridians throughout his body again and again.

Tail-Gate Pass, Spine-Ridge Pass, and Jade-Pillow Pass!

As one vital pass after another opened, the piercing heat abruptly became gentle and comfortable.

The fierce Bright Force within him fused with his limbs and body at that moment, transforming into Dark Force!

At that very instant, Li Chuan felt as though his entire body had undergone a cleansing.

His hearing, vision, hand strength, and leg strength were all transforming.

The pitch-black world suddenly brightened.

The wind seemed to howl beside his ears, mingled with the rhythms of countless living things.

He felt the surging strength in his hands—strength more overwhelming than ever before.

Li Chuan knew clearly that he had broken through!

[Mountain-Holding Stance has broken through to Major Mastery]

[Skill: Mountain-Holding Stance (Major Mastery)]

[Proficiency: 1/4000]

Li Chuan slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

From this day onward, he was no longer an insignificant Outer Courtyard disciple.

He was now an Inner Courtyard disciple, one of the Martial Hall's core members!

Even across all of Anning County, a Dark Force martial artist could absolutely be considered a "strong expert"!

Tomorrow, I'll report to Master Liang that I've broken through to Dark Force, Li Chuan thought.

In the current state of affairs, blindly hiding his abilities was not necessarily a good thing.

Only by displaying enough value could he earn attention.

Li Chuan returned to the Common Dormitory.

"What's that smell?" He frowned.

Li Chuan sniffed carefully. It seemed to be coming from himself.

He abruptly tore open his collar, only to discover that his skin was covered in a thin layer of black grime!

"This is... impurities from inside my body?"

"The storybooks from my past life all said that after a breakthrough, thick black mud would gush from your body. Looks like that was somewhat exaggerated."

"Of course, it could also be that I haven't reached that level yet."

Li Chuan hurriedly changed and washed his clothes.

That smell was truly unbearable!

After changing into fresh clothes, Li Chuan felt much cleaner.

"Senior Brother Luo once said that aside from the obvious improvement in physical ability, Dark Force has two unique effects.

"First, it injures without damaging the skin—striking someone like hanging a painting. Force can pass through the surface and enter the body, giving it an armor-piercing effect!

"Second, it can condense force into a single point and unleash it. It's somewhat like the 'Inch Punch' from my past life."

Li Chuan intended to test their power one by one.

First, he brought over a piece of venison.

Then he directed his Dark Force and lightly slapped the meat.

"Buzz."

Li Chuan could feel the surface of the venison vibrating at high speed.

This was the force destroying its interior.

After the strike, the venison looked completely intact on the outside.

Li Chuan gently picked it up, only to find that the skin suddenly tore apart.

The meat inside had been completely beaten into mush!

Li Chuan was somewhat startled. He had not expected Dark Force's penetrating effect to be so powerful.

It was already like this when used on venison. How terrifying would it be if it struck a person?

"If I brought this skill back to my past life, wouldn't I be able to make genuine hand-beaten beef balls?"

Who could possibly beat him?

Li Chuan laughed at his own bizarre train of thought.

He was probably the only person who could think of using Dark Force to make beef balls.

If those Bright Force disciples who had struggled bitterly without being able to knock on the gate learned of it, they would surely curse him for "casting pearls before swine"!

Li Chuan shook his head, then fetched a wooden board.

He wanted to test Dark Force's second function: condensing force into a single point and unleashing it.

Li Chuan drew a deep breath and pressed a palm against the wooden board.

The sensation of striking the board was entirely different from before.

When he had used Bright Force in the past, his entire palm had exerted force.

But with Dark Force, all the force was concentrated at a single point.

With a bang.

A tiny hole appeared in the wooden board.

It had been punched straight through!

Yet the rest of the board appeared utterly unscathed!

Bright Force could never have accomplished this.

At most, it could have shattered the entire board.

This showed that his control over force had reached a new height as well.

"No wonder countless people crave Dark Force. The difference from Bright Force is simply too great!"

After finishing his tests, Li Chuan lay back down on his bed.

That night, he slept exceptionally peacefully.

The next day.

Li Chuan still arrived at the Martial Arts Arena early.

Since Yu Sinian had left, he had become the most senior Bright Force disciple.

Perhaps because of Yu Sinian's defeat, many people's opinions of him had gradually begun to change.

They believed he was merely the next Yu Sinian.

Still, no one said such things to his face.

Yet when resting, he inevitably heard some gossip.

Now that he had broken through to Dark Force, those words no longer stung in the slightest.

"Master and the others are back!" someone called out.

Li Chuan looked over and saw Liang Hangzhou returning with a group of Inner Courtyard disciples, as well as several highly regarded Bright Force disciples.

"I heard Qin Feng defeated a veteran Dark Force expert from Gan Yun Martial Hall in this sparring match!"

"He only broke through to Dark Force recently, didn't he? And he often goes out drinking with courtesans. How is he still improving so quickly?"

"Superior bone structure... how can it be judged by common sense!"

"Do you think Qin Feng can earn Martial Scholar honors?"

"If it's the top fifty, there'll definitely be no problem!"

"He'll be the first Martial Scholar from our Pine Wind Martial Hall!"

Li Chuan looked at Liang Hangzhou and saw that his wrinkled face was full of smiles.

Whenever he looked toward Qin Feng, anyone could see the appreciation and satisfaction in his eyes.

Luo Zheng was also among the group and greeted Li Chuan.

But Liang Hangzhou showed no intention of stopping and soon entered the Inner Courtyard.

Li Chuan halted mid-step as he was about to go forward.

Judging by Liang Hangzhou's manner, he had no interest in dealing with him.

Li Chuan was not in a hurry either. The Dark Force cultivation was already his; whether he reported it sooner or later made no difference.

Thus, he happily continued practicing Through-Arm Fist.

[Practiced Through-Arm Fist, proficiency +1]

[Practiced Through-Arm Fist, proficiency +1]

[Skill: Through-Arm Fist (Minor Mastery)]

[Proficiency: 1902/2000]

Watching the proficiency of his Through-Arm Fist steadily rise, Major Mastery was not far away.

Li Chuan felt even more content.

It was not until evening, after all the Inner Courtyard disciples had left, that he stepped forward.

A maid stood watch outside Liang Hangzhou's door. Li Chuan said politely:

"Please inform Master Liang that Li Chuan of the Outer Courtyard requests an audience."

The maid nodded, indicating that Li Chuan should wait.

She went inside alone.

"Hall Master, Li Chuan of the Outer Courtyard requests an audience."

Liang Hangzhou waved a hand.

"No, no. I'm busy."

The maid helplessly conveyed the message to Li Chuan.

Li Chuan froze for a moment.

"Sorry to disturb you."

After speaking, he returned to the Martial Arts Arena and continued practicing.

Inside the room, after refusing him, Liang Hangzhou felt that it was somewhat inappropriate.

He had some impression of Li Chuan: a diligent and hardworking youth with inferior bone structure.

It would not do to chill the boy's heart.

After mulling it over, he sighed again.

"Forget it."

Liang Hangzhou walked straight out of his room, only to find no sign of Li Chuan.

"Where is Li Chuan?" he asked.

The maid pointed toward the Martial Arts Arena.

Liang Hangzhou shook his head and smiled.

"He certainly is diligent."

He casually took a dried persimmon, eating as he slowly made his way over.

Under the moonlight, the figure of a youth moved with the agility of a nimble ape.

The various forms of Through-Arm Fist flowed effortlessly from his hands, striking the wooden post before him with repeated bangs.

"That sound seems a little off." Liang Hangzhou narrowed his eyes, chewing his dried persimmon.

When he looked closely, however, he discovered that every punch Li Chuan threw hid a needle within cotton.

Fierce force flowed from his fists in wave after wave, pouring into the wooden post.

Though the wooden post appeared perfectly intact, its interior was a complete wreck.

Liang Hangzhou's motion of bringing the dried persimmon to his mouth abruptly froze.

That manner of use was unmistakably Dark Force!