Senior Brother, Please!

"You could put it that way, but it's very difficult to achieve in actual combat.

Unless your qi and blood had already stabilized at the very peak of perfected Dark Force, while your opponent just happened to have declining qi and blood.

But remember, there aren't that many what-ifs.

Every threshold in the advancement of martial arts is a transformation.

Upon reaching the Transformation Realm, protective astral qi would naturally circulate around the body, yet consume only a negligible amount of qi and blood.

Ordinary blades and swords would struggle even to break through that thin layer of astral qi. Your Dark Force would find it even harder to penetrate it!

Moreover, Transformation Realm martial artists would learn many new things. With your experience and knowledge, you would be cut down before you could even get close to them."

"Still, it's not impossible. Back then, your master..." Chen Feng coughed twice and did not continue.

Duan Xuan had no idea whether his master had been beaten senseless by a Transformation Realm expert back then, or beaten until he was scrambling all over the ground.

"For now, memorize the fifth and sixth moves and practice them diligently every day. Only upon reaching the Transformation Realm will you truly be able to unleash their power!

At the same time, these are also the ultimate offensive techniques of our Mountain-Breaking Stance: Brute-Force Technique-Breaking."

Chen Feng did not explain much or make any unnecessary movements. Perhaps afraid Duan Xuan would not understand, he directly used his Transformation Realm cultivation.

With a slight turn of his right hand, he instantly condensed a wave of fist force formed from hard qi. With a loud shout, the fist wave shot wildly outward.

It was as fast as it could possibly be. More importantly, its momentum met no obstruction and showed not the slightest sign of weakening as it sped straight toward an iron-sand rock more than ten meters away.

The next moment, Bang!

The rock seemed to have been struck by a heavy hammer and instantly shattered into pieces. Stone fragments flew through the air, raining down all around.

All the disciples stared, dumbstruck, utterly forgetting what they had been doing.

Even Duan Xuan was terrified by this sight.

Were these the later moves of the Broken Mountain Fist? Was this the power of the Transformation Realm?

Chen Feng laughed heartily. "Not every Transformation Realm martial artist, nor every martial arts technique they cultivate, can achieve what your master can—killing at range with such tremendous power.

All I can say is that you're a lucky boy to have chosen our Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall.

If you had chosen some nobody's place, then even if you luckily broke through to the Transformation Realm, you'd probably only be able to flee in defeat when you encountered a Transformation Realm martial artist from our Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall!"

Duan Xuan had only ever seen one Transformation Realm martial artist, Chen Feng, so he had no way to judge whether those words were true.

But Chen Feng's tone allowed no doubt. Waves surged through Duan Xuan's heart once more.

Looking at his panel, he smiled faintly. Just how strong was the Transformation Realm? No one needed to tell him. He would reach it himself!

Afterward, Chen Feng demonstrated two more moves for Duan Xuan, as well as the final six forms.

In any case, Duan Xuan found them far too fantastical. Without exception, everything Chen Feng used carried the might of the Transformation Realm.

Astral qi whirled through the training ground with a whooshing roar. Anyone unaware of the situation might have thought their master had let himself go and rediscovered his former glory.

Duan Xuan engraved every move and stance deeply into his mind. Nearly an hour later, Chen Feng departed, and Duan Xuan quietly began practicing the moves in a corner.

The junior and senior brothers passing by no longer dared show him the slightest disrespect. One after another, they offered friendly smiles and concern.

Several disciples from reasonably well-off families even took out dried meat and other nourishing items to share with Duan Xuan.

That would have been absolutely impossible in the past.

At that moment, a sentence suddenly surfaced in Duan Xuan's mind.

When you were weak, the people around you stepped on you, cursed you, humiliated you, and took everything you wanted.

But once you became strong, everyone around you was a good person!

As the sun set in the west, it plunged into the valley.

The disciples gradually headed to the dining hall for their meal. Duan Xuan practiced the earlier moves of the Broken Mountain Fist one last time, and they all flowed smoothly. But when he reached the fifth and sixth moves, no matter how he practiced, he could not grasp even a hint of their essence. It was as though those two moves simply could not be performed with Dark Force.

He tried using the method of erupting qi and blood through Bright Force, transforming it into force in an instant and releasing the fluctuations of the fifth and sixth moves.

Yet his qi and blood burned away at an extremely rapid pace, and his force was consumed in enormous amounts, but he could not even achieve a tenth of the effect Chen Feng had demonstrated.

"This Broken Mountain Fist is rather interesting. The fifth move, Armor-Breaking, and the sixth move, Heaven-Breaking, seem as though they belong to a completely different style from the first four moves.

The Broken Mountain Fist was originally about being fierce and overbearing, clashing head-on with one's enemies.

But these latter two moves forcibly turned the Broken Mountain Fist into a ranged attack, relying on hard force to sever an enemy's life. How was that any different from Xiang Yu carrying a grenade launcher?"

Still, the points for the Broken Mountain Fist and Broken Mountain Stake Method were increasing very quickly. Overall, Duan Xuan was quite satisfied. He reined in his strength and prepared to leave the martial arts hall.

Then Song Dayuan and Wu Hui approached him.

The honest and simple Song Dayuan clasped his hands in salute. "Junior Brother Duan, please wait. I..."

Halfway through his words, Song Dayuan seemed somewhat embarrassed. He merely took a packet of Blood-Qi Powder from his pocket. The oil-paper wrapping had already been soaked through with seepage and was badly wrinkled.

Duan Xuan could tell at a glance that this was a treasure Senior Brother Song had obtained only with great difficulty. He had kept it close to his chest, reluctant to drink it, able only to take it out and smell it again and again.

For Bright Force martial artists like them—honest by nature, poor in family circumstances, and not exceptionally strong—the only work postings available were grueling jobs, exhausting jobs, or dangerous jobs.

Furthermore, with no martial arts hall resources allocated to them, buying a packet of Blood-Qi Powder worth two taels of silver was simply an extravagant dream.

Usually, they would only be willing to use it after suffering serious injuries or when breaking through in strength.

"Senior Brother Song, what are you doing? We're fellow disciples; there's no need for this. If you have something to say, just say it."

Song Dayuan continued holding it out with both hands, his head bowed low, unwilling to raise it.

Wu Hui gently waved the wooden fan in his hand. "If you don't accept it, this stubborn mule won't speak.

When asking someone for help, you need to show the proper attitude. Senior Brother Song hasn't done anything wrong there. Hurry up and accept it!"

Duan Xuan had no choice but to accept the packet of Blood-Qi Powder. Only then did Song Dayuan straighten up, the embarrassment on his face leaving with the breath he exhaled. "In five days, it'll be my third attempt to break through to Dark Force. I want to experience Junior Brother Duan's skills.

I want to clearly see just how far I am from Dark Force. Don't worry—even if you injure me, I won't blame you.

There's only one chance left anyway. I never really... had much hope to begin with."

Duan Xuan immediately understood what Senior Brother Song meant.

To rise above the crowd in the martial arts world, one needed a good master.

And with a good master, one had to gain official recognition, join a sect, and become an honored guest of the major powers.

Otherwise, one would need to be fiercely unruly, possess extraordinary martial talent, and encounter a great stroke of fortune to become a legendary grassroots hero. Without that, there would be no day of success.

For every martial artist, the most immediate opportunity was to earn a ranking in the martial examinations. Even the lowest-ranked Martial Scholar would see his social standing rise like the tide.

At the very least, the funds he received would increase greatly, paving the way for his future martial cultivation.

Unfortunately, Song Dayuan and Wu Hui had yet to break through to Dark Force. Entering the martial examinations with such a realm and level would only mean making up the numbers and seeing the world.

Therefore, the two of them had to break through to Dark Force before the martial examinations arrived, then stabilize their cultivation in time to prevent it from becoming hollow and slipping back.

As for sparring with Duan Xuan, on one hand, it could help Song Dayuan and the others see clearly where they fell short and just how great the gap was.

More importantly, they might be able to use this kind of battle to temper their own blades and break through the second threshold in one stroke a few days later, achieving Dark Force.

Duan Xuan saw through everything, yet still said seriously, "Senior Brothers, please!"