The Meaning of the Coming-of-Age Ceremony

Yang Chen had already met the standards for "Ba Kong Fist."

As for the ten spiritual stones required to learn "Ba Kong Fist," Yang Chen was unwilling to waste that money. Therefore, on the fourth day, he came to the Limitless Pavilion again, intending to personally demonstrate "Ba Kong Fist" before Fourth Master Yang.

The Limitless Pavilion had its rules: if one could successfully learn a martial skill within ten days, they wouldn't need to pay the spiritual stones. This rule was essentially a way to exploit the talent of the Yang Family disciples, encouraging them to cultivate martial skills faster and more diligently.

If you succeed within ten days, the Yang Family won't collect the spiritual stones. If you fail, you'll obediently hand them over.

Of course, very few people could cultivate a martial skill within ten days...

This also led Fourth Master Yang to open his eyes in confusion when he saw Yang Chen return to the Limitless Pavilion, asking, "Yang Chen, why are you back?"

It had only been four days.

Did Yang Chen feel that "Ba Kong Fist" wasn't suitable for him and had returned to choose another martial skill?

This caused his brow to furrow tightly, and he felt a subtle displeasure.

One must know that the biggest taboo when cultivating martial skills is being fickle, learning one thing today and another tomorrow. This is undoubtedly a great taboo for a martial artist.

However, Yang Chen's answer exceeded his expectations.

At this moment, Yang Chen said respectfully, "Fourth Master, your junior has successfully mastered 'Ba Kong Fist,' so naturally, I have come to the Limitless Pavilion to demonstrate it for you."

"What!" Fourth Master Yang was stunned for a moment. "Are you telling the truth?"

"I am," Yang Chen said with a slight smile.

Fourth Master Yang still found it hard to believe his ears. He took a step forward and said, "Yang Chen, do you know what it means to deceive an elder of the clan?"

Yang Chen clasped his hands and said, "Fourth Master worries too much. Even if you gave me ten times the courage, I would never dare to deceive you, Fourth Master."

Fourth Master Yang found this acceptable. He waved his hand, "No matter how good your words are, it's not as good as showing me. You say you've successfully mastered 'Ba Kong Fist,' so demonstrate it before me. You must know that to waive the spiritual stones, at the very least, you must have learned thirty percent of 'Ba Kong Fist'!"

"Your junior understands," Yang Chen replied without hesitation, not wanting to waste time.

As soon as he finished speaking, he planted his feet firmly on the ground. With a crack, dust flew up from the ground as Yang Chen's fists began to move slowly with his body.

Having mastered "Ba Yun Fist," it was naturally easy for Yang Chen to achieve the effects of "Ba Kong Fist" and meet Fourth Master Yang's requirements.

Compared to "Ba Yun Fist," "Ba Kong Fist" lacked too many subtleties.

Hard power, soft power.

Yang Chen's hands moved together, one hand exuding hardness, the other softness. The combination of hard and soft, like the interplay of yin and yang, was powerful and majestic.

Upon seeing this, Fourth Master Yang was completely stunned. He even rubbed his eyes in disbelief, his gaze filled with shock.

It was a shock born from the heart.

"How is this possible!" Fourth Master Yang's pupils contracted violently.

Consider this: Fourth Master Yang held a noble status in the Yang Family, being one of the Nine Elders. His strength had already reached the peak of the Body Refining Realm. He had seen his fair share of geniuses, but there were very few who could surprise him this much today.

Learning a martial skill to such a level of proficiency in just four days was already astonishing.

But Yang Chen's entire sequence of "Ba Kong Fist" far exceeded his expectations.

As the guardian of the Limitless Pavilion, he understood "Ba Kong Fist" very well. It could be said that even if one mastered "Ba Kong Fist" to perfection, the effect might not necessarily surpass Yang Chen's. Yang Chen seemed to have cultivated "Ba Kong Fist" to another level, reaching a new standard.

This made Fourth Master Yang consider a possibility: "Finding an alternative path when learning martial skills. This... could our Yang Family produce such a genius?"

Many geniuses, when learning martial skills, would incorporate their own ideas, extending a martial skill with a fixed path into something even more powerful.

Such geniuses were undoubtedly one in ten thousand, rare to see.

And their Yang Family had produced such a genius!

After about half an incense stick's worth of time, Yang Chen finished "Ba Kong Fist" gracefully.

Seeing Fourth Master Yang's face still immersed in shock, Yang Chen knew his objective had been achieved.

"Yang Chen, you... are you sure you haven't practiced 'Ba Kong Fist' before?" Fourth Master Yang gulped, almost unable to believe his own eyes.

Yang Chen calmly replied, "Fourth Master, Yang Chen has never practiced 'Ba Kong Fist' before."

Indeed, he hadn't practiced "Ba Kong Fist" before.

However, he understood "Ba Yun Fist" too deeply.

"Ba Kong Fist" was a simplified version of "Ba Yun Fist," and he practiced "Ba Yun Fist." Simply put, he was the ancestor of "Ba Kong Fist." The boxing he had just performed was "Ba Kong Fist" infused with "Ba Yun Fist." It was no wonder Fourth Master Yang was so shocked. The "Ba Yun Fist," which was considered a profound martial skill in the outside world, even a mere glimpse of it was enough to stun Fourth Master Yang.

Fourth Master Yang found it difficult to calm his excited emotions. He strode forward, grabbed Yang Chen's shoulders, and said incoherently, "Good... good! Yang Chen, you truly are a promising talent. I haven't misjudged you!"

He had guarded the Limitless Pavilion for so many years and seen many geniuses, but he had never encountered anyone like Yang Chen.

He was overjoyed.

When he first learned that Yang Chen was at the fourth level of the Body Refining Realm, he was only slightly surprised, but not particularly happy.

However, it was different now.

In his heart, he was truly happy.

"Yang Chen, you must cherish your talent," Fourth Master Yang, not being very eloquent, took a deep breath and patted Yang Chen's shoulder. "Work hard in this 'Coming-of-Age Ceremony.' There are some things I, the Fourth Master, wouldn't normally mention, but seeing your talent today, I'll tell you in advance."

Yang Chen became curious. "Please tell me, Fourth Master!"

"Many disciples of the Yang Family believe the Coming-of-Age Ceremony is an assessment, a gathering for internal clan competition. But that's not entirely true. The Coming-of-Age Ceremony, on one hand, is to discover geniuses within the clan, but more importantly, it is to awe outsiders!"

Fourth Master Yang stroked his beard, "The Great Wilderness Hundred Clans, why does each clan hold a Coming-of-Age Ceremony every year? It's to deter external clans, to let them know about the talented power within their own ranks. My Yang Family is the same; every Coming-of-Age Ceremony is an opportunity to showcase our family's prestige."

"If you geniuses perform poorly, it will be a disgrace to the Yang Family. But if you geniuses perform well, it will bring glory to the Yang Family!"

Yang Chen nodded thoughtfully, "This junior understands."

He hadn't considered it deeply at first, but now, with a little thought, he understood.

Why did many esteemed young ladies start choosing to marry into the Yang Family's young talents as the Coming-of-Age Ceremony approached?

Were they attracted to the Yang Family's geniuses?

Perhaps that was part of it, but would their elders be so foolish? They were using marriage as a guise to select someone who could speak for them within the Yang Family in the future. For example, if Yang Wu were to become the family head in the future, wouldn't a woman from a smaller clan marrying Yang Wu enjoy a life of luxury?

"You must shine brilliantly at this 'Coming-of-Age Ceremony,' at the very least, to deter those petty individuals from other clans," Fourth Master Yang said, stroking his beard with delight.

"Fourth Master, this junior will certainly do his utmost," Yang Chen grinned. He had no intention of holding back at this Coming-of-Age Ceremony.

"En, work hard," Fourth Master Yang said.

Yang Chen didn't linger any longer. "Then this junior will take his leave."

Watching the direction Yang Chen had departed, Fourth Master Yang remained silent. After a long while, he murmured, "This time, the Yang Family's 'Coming-of-Age Ceremony' seems like it will be more interesting than in previous years. I didn't expect Yang Chen to be someone who hides his strength so well, even deceiving my eyes. I wonder if my Yang Family can produce a genius who can contend with the major clans."

In the Great Wilderness, there were twelve major clans, and the Yang Family was merely a mid-tier clan.

The reason major clans were called major clans was naturally due to their outstanding qualities. At the very least, during the annual Coming-of-Age Ceremony, those major clans would heavily suppress other clans, forcing those who wished to replace them to abandon their plans.

Even though his Yang Family had a few promising talents, Fourth Master Yang still shook his head when he thought about the gap between them and the major clans.

He still didn't have much confidence in this matter.