Inch Punch

"That time, he went to the M31 Galaxy as usual. But that very time, the spaceship malfunctioned and was forced into an asteroid storm. Several thousand people were aboard, yet only a dozen or so escaped in lifeboats... and your mother wasn't among them!"

Uncle Qin did not say the rest, but Tang Yu already knew the answer.

"What happened after that?" After a moment of silence, Tang Yu continued pressing him.

"You probably know what happened afterward. From then on, Tang Wei became somewhat unhinged. A few years ago, he said he was going to a mysterious place, and then there was no more news of him, even now!"

"Then why did you say he was dead?" Tang Yu was somewhat angry. Tang Wei had disappeared for four or five years before and still returned. He had even discovered SS-grade energy crystals. This time, it had only been three years. Nothing necessarily had to have happened.

Hearing Tang Yu say this, Uncle Qin sighed.

"No one can keep being lucky forever!"

No one could keep being lucky forever! Tang Yu felt as if he had been struck by lightning upon hearing those words. He stood there blankly, unable to speak.

"No! I don't believe it!" Tang Yu absolutely could not accept Uncle Qin's view.

"Would I lie to you?" As he spoke, Uncle Qin pulled a crystal ball about the size of a fist from his chest. There seemed to be a faint black spot inside it, so faint that it would be impossible to see without looking closely.

"Ah—Twin Ghosts!" Tang Yu did not recognize the crystal ball in Uncle Qin's hand, but that did not mean Meng Xuanxuan did not. She immediately named the object.

"That's right, Twin Ghosts. This is one of them, while the other was implanted in Tang Wei." Uncle Qin spoke slowly.

"Xuanxuan, what does this thing do?" Tang Yu asked with a frown. Could this have something to do with his father's disappearance?

"Twin Ghosts are a special physical phenomenon. There is a sympathetic connection between the two, but the Twin Ghosts here have already lost their luster, which means..." Meng Xuanxuan suddenly covered her mouth, not daring to continue.

"Uncle Qin, you said my father was going to a mysterious place. Where exactly was that place?" Tang Yu asked the question that had been troubling him.

Uncle Qin was stunned upon hearing this. He sighed before slowly saying, "Actually, I don't know where he went either. But I know that the last place he appeared was Jupiter Base!"

Tang Yu nodded upon hearing this, though he felt somewhat lost inside.

"Let's stop talking about such heavy things and get to business!" Seeing that the atmosphere had grown gloomy, Meng Xuanxuan spoke up and broke the awkward silence.

"Uncle Qin, Tang Yu wants to find a teacher. I think you're the most suitable person!" Meng Xuanxuan said with a grin, holding Uncle Qin's arm and shaking it. Hearing her words, Tang Yu's expression turned serious as he looked at Uncle Qin with anticipation.

"I hope Uncle Qin will accept me as his disciple and guide my cultivation!" Tang Yu clasped his fists and bowed deeply to Uncle Qin, making his request sincerely.

Uncle Qin laughed heartily and rose from the sofa, walking over to Tang Yu. "Since Xuanxuan has asked, how could I refuse?"

Hearing Uncle Qin's answer, not only Tang Yu but even Meng Xuanxuan beamed with joy.

"The college entrance exam results won't be released until the twentieth. I'll guide you properly during this time!"

Tang Yu nodded solemnly. He also knew that an expert like Uncle Qin could not stay on Earth for long. Being willing to guide him for ten days was already an immense honor.

"Come on, let's go to the training room. I'll test your strength!" With that, Uncle Qin headed toward Meng Xuanxuan's training room.

"Come on! Attack me with your full strength!" Uncle Qin stood with his hands behind his back and spoke proudly. He did not assume the slightest defensive posture, but Tang Yu could see the intricacies behind it.

Uncle Qin stood with his feet slightly apart. Though he appeared full of openings from head to toe, the moment Tang Yu attacked, Uncle Qin would immediately react, using stillness to respond to every change.

With a swoosh, Tang Yu shot forward. He reached out, palm facing upward and fingers hooked like claws, grabbing directly for Uncle Qin's soft waist on the left.

"Too slow!" In Uncle Qin's eyes, Tang Yu's movements were as slow as a snail's. Without any visible motion, he simply reached back and seized Tang Yu's wrist.

As though he had expected Uncle Qin to respond this way, the instant his wrist was caught, Tang Yu leaned forward and drove his elbow toward Uncle Qin's chest. Yet Uncle Qin's feet still did not move. His other hand came from behind his back and guarded his chest, blocking Tang Yu's elbow strike. Then, with a light push, he sent Tang Yu stumbling back five or six meters. Uncle Qin had held back; otherwise, Tang Yu's arms would have been ruined.

"Your strength is decent, stronger than most people, but your speed can't keep up. It seems you've never undergone systematic training. There's no real method to your fighting—you do everything by instinct. While that gives you more room to adapt, once you encounter an opponent close to your strength, it'll be easy for the fight to become a drawn-out battle!"

After the exchange—or rather, Uncle Qin had only defended throughout—they separated at the first contact. Yet Uncle Qin had already seen Tang Yu's strengths and weaknesses.

"Please show me the right path, Teacher!" Tang Yu was not discouraged after Uncle Qin pinpointed his problem. He hurriedly asked for guidance with humility.

Seeing this, Uncle Qin could not help nodding. He liked Tang Yu's calm, unassuming temperament.

"Not being constrained by form in a fight is a good thing. But although you've entered the Martial Artist realm and awakened your Origin Force, your Origin Force is scattered rather than concentrated. You can't deliver a fatal blow to your opponent. I presume you've never cultivated an Origin Force secret technique!"

Tang Yu was even more convinced by this assessment. "That is indeed the case. My strength has already reached over two thousand kilograms, so I felt that cultivating an Origin Force secret technique probably would not improve it much. I hope Teacher can give me some advice!"

Tang Yu had noticed this as well. He had brute strength, yet he could not condense that power into a single point and deliver a fatal blow to an enemy.

Uncle Qin narrowed his eyes and pondered for a while before saying, "I'll teach you a palm technique. Cultivate and study it according to my instructions, and you'll gradually grasp the secret of concentrating your strength without letting it disperse!"

As he spoke, Uncle Qin sat down on the floor and motioned for Tang Yu and Meng Xuanxuan to sit as well.

"This palm technique is an ancient martial art from Huaxia, called the Shattering Heart Palm. It works by circulating Origin Force and gathering it at a single point in the palm. When unleashed, even a light touch can inflict internal injuries on the opponent!"

As he spoke, Uncle Qin shifted his thoughts and looked toward a cup sitting on a table ten meters away. The cup then flew over by itself.

Tang Yu knew this was an ability unique to experts of the Divine Transformation realm. Their mental power was so powerful that it could already affect matter. This was also why humanity called this realm Divine Transformation.

"Take it!"

Hearing this, Tang Yu did as instructed and caught the cup. Uncle Qin then extended his right hand, spread open his palm, and lightly pressed it against the cup.

"You're holding this cup. If I exert force, I'll push the cup toward you, right?"

Tang Yu nodded. That was indeed how it should work.

Crack!

The cup shattered the instant Tang Yu nodded, yet Tang Yu did not feel the slightest pushing force.

"This is actually one way of using Origin Force!" Uncle Qin withdrew his hand and explained to Tang Yu.

"The principle isn't difficult. You just condense your strength into one point and release it in an instant. You'll have to feel the specifics for yourself. Try it!"

After hearing Uncle Qin's explanation, Tang Yu suddenly recalled that in ancient Huaxia civilization, there was a martial art called inch force, an explosive power unleashed at close range.

"This seems somewhat similar to inch force?" Tang Yu asked Uncle Qin doubtfully.

"You know inch force? Then practicing this will be much easier. Inch force is used to attack opponents at close range. At the instant the movement is completed, you suddenly accelerate and contract your muscles, releasing a short, hard, crisp burst of power. But to do this, you must first be able to control your Origin Force freely, releasing and withdrawing it at will. In an instant, you must erupt all your Origin Force through that single point. Once your cultivation becomes profound enough, you can even exert force through the air!"

As he spoke, Uncle Qin stood up and extended his right hand. His sharp eyes gleamed like torches, and his five fingers cracked loudly. In an instant, pale blue light gathered in his palm. He raised his hand and lightly placed it on the tabletop. When he lifted his hand again, there was a clearly visible mark on the rosewood table.

Uncle Qin then verbally explained many of the key points and shared his own cultivation experience. Tang Yu had initially only half understood, but after listening to Uncle Qin's detailed explanation, he immediately felt as though the clouds had parted and the sun had appeared. Everything became clear.

Tang Yu took a deep breath, calmed his mind, and focused all his attention. He tried to mobilize the Origin Force within his cells and gather it into his palm.

Boom! With a muffled blast, wood chips flew everywhere as a practice board more than an inch thick exploded apart.

Seeing this, Tang Yu did not look pleased. Instead, he frowned.

"No. The instant the Origin Force erupted, it scattered!" Tang Yu shook his head as he carefully considered the essential points Uncle Qin had explained.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

He tried again and again until all the Origin Force in his body had been exhausted. Only then did Tang Yu stop training. Though he had managed to gather his Origin Force at one point and release it in a burst, his control was not yet proficient. He was still far from Uncle Qin's level.

If one looked closely at the boards Tang Yu had shattered, one would discover that the wood chips from each board had gradually become fewer and fewer. By the last board, though it had cracked as well, a faint, blurry palm print could be seen on it.

This was because Tang Yu had already initially grasped the key to condensing Origin Force without dispersing it. The reason he had not reached Uncle Qin's level was that his control over releasing Origin Force was not precise enough, which was why this happened.

Sitting down cross-legged, Tang Yu began pondering Origin Force. In the end, he traced the cause back to his own mental power.