Back at the rented apartment, Yang Sheng's father took a large kettle from the kitchen.
He filled two large cups to the brim with plain water, one for Yang Sheng and one for himself.
After a moment of silence, Yang Sheng spoke.
"Is the family really that short on money?"
Yang Sheng's father lifted his cup and gulped down the water.
He did not care even when it soaked his collar.
"The ten thousand yuan I gave Li Yan earlier was borrowed. I went to see him yesterday, but he had instructed the security guards. I could not even get through the school gates."
Yang Sheng suddenly thought of how the guard had opened the gate for Liu Chang that afternoon.
"Since I could not get into the school, I filed a complaint against Li Yan at the reception desk. The person there told me to first get an application form from the academic affairs office, fill it out, and then submit it to them."
"But the academic affairs office is inside the school. I cannot even get through the gate."
Yang Sheng's father took another big gulp of water.
"So I waited outside the school gate until evening, but Li Yan never came out."
"Business has been poor lately too, so I thought I should earn whatever I could."
After listening, Yang Sheng drained his cup in one breath.
"You do not need to worry about money. I found a job at the boxing gym recently. I can make some money too."
Hearing that, Yang Sheng's father sighed.
How much could a student make at a boxing gym in a day?
"You should still focus on your studies. The college entrance exam is less than a month away."
Yang Sheng stood up. "I was transferred to the High-Aspiration Class today. The teacher is very good and taught me many new techniques. I'll practice for a while longer before resting. You should get some sleep too, Dad."
Yang Sheng's father watched him enter the bedroom, his hands tightly gripping the cup.
Yang Sheng always said things like, "My teachers treat me well," and, "My classmates are very friendly."
He knew those were just things Yang Sheng said so he would not worry.
But ever since receiving the school's expulsion notice two days ago, he had felt increasingly powerless.
Even though he knew Yang Sheng was telling kind lies, lies would eventually be exposed.
"Forget it. The school's official expulsion decision has not come down yet. I'll take things one day at a time and try to find some connections."
Back in his room, Yang Sheng carefully recalled his training in the Heart-Piercing Elbow that evening.
His cultivation progress appeared in his mind.
[Bright Force (163/500)]
The Heart-Piercing Elbow he had used to resist the truck had directly earned him ten points of cultivation progress.
"It seems that the more perfectly I perform, and the higher the quality of the elbow strike, the more cultivation progress I can gain."
Fine, dense insights rose within him.
In his mind, he replayed that Heart-Piercing Elbow over and over, breaking it down and reassembling it.
He could recall every tiny movement of force he had made when throwing that elbow, even the degree to which his muscles had trembled.
Suddenly, Yang Sheng opened his eyes.
His feet shifted, and his whole body twisted as he threw an elbow into empty air without any target.
In that instant, Yang Sheng could feel the air throughout the entire room being stirred by that elbow.
Though his elbow had struck only air, it felt to him as if he had solidly hit something real.
It was compressed air!
Bang!
A dull thud rang out.
The leaking punching bag more than a meter away instantly split into four pieces.
He had perfectly replicated the elbow strike he had used against the truck.
[Bright Force (164/500)]
Heart-Piercing Elbow, Initial Penetrating Force!
Early the next morning, before the sky had fully brightened.
Yang Sheng opened his eyes, got out of bed, washed up, and dressed.
It was only four thirty. Yang Sheng had slept for just over three hours.
Yet he did not feel sleepy in the slightest.
His rapidly improving cultivation kept his mental state full of energy at all times.
He briefly reheated the medicinal meal he had brought back from Skysea Boxing Gym the night before and ate it for breakfast, finishing it all in a few bites.
Once he felt about half full, he headed straight out.
The mornings in May carried a slight chill.
But Yang Sheng wore only a lightweight, breathable summer training uniform as he punched while running forward.
Not only did he not feel cold, but if one looked closely, wisps of heat could even be seen rising from the top of his head.
When he entered the High-Aspiration Class training room, it was pitch-black inside. The students would not begin arriving for another hour.
Yang Sheng brought over several wooden boards from the storage room and began practicing again with meticulous focus.
He continued until pale light appeared at the horizon and the sun rose above the ground.
Only then did the footsteps of other students gradually begin to appear around the school.
Jiang Tian was someone who liked getting up early.
He enjoyed taking walks around the school in the morning. He had devoted decades to Bay City Martial Arts High School.
This place was filled with his glory.
When he arrived at the training room holding his usual wooden cup and drinking coffee, he was surprised to find that the room, which normally required him to turn on the lights, was already lit.
He stepped inside and found Yang Sheng drenched in sweat as he practiced the Heart-Piercing Elbow Jiang Tian had taught him yesterday.
Jiang Tian leaned against the doorframe, savoring his coffee as a pleased smile appeared on his face.
What a promising student.
Seeing the wooden boards scattered all over the floor, he knew Yang Sheng had been here for quite some time.
There were no shortcuts in martial arts, only constant training.
Jiang Tian loved that saying, and he had lived by it himself.
Seeing a student earnestly putting those words into practice filled him with pride.
"My eye, Jiang Tian's eye, has never been wrong."
Then his gaze shifted downward.
Suddenly, his eyes narrowed.
The wooden boards scattered on the ground each had only tiny dents on their surfaces.
But their backs were entirely covered in cracks.
Jiang Tian, respectfully known as Iron Tower, lost his composure at that moment.
The coffee cup in his hand shook, spilling some warm coffee.
To make sure his old eyes were not deceiving him.
Jiang Tian walked straight inside.
Noticing Jiang Tian enter, Yang Sheng hurriedly turned around and clasped his hands in greeting.
"Good morning, Teacher Jiang."
Jiang Tian ignored him and crouched down, picking up a wooden board to inspect it carefully.
After examining the first, he checked the second.
Only after looking through more than half the boards did he slowly rise.
He looked at Yang Sheng with a complicated expression.
"You have already reached Initial Penetrating Force?"
Yang Sheng scratched his head somewhat sheepishly.
"After you taught me yesterday, I kept training. I started with the form and worked out the core of its force generation. It was not until last night that I truly grasped the trick."
The hand Jiang Tian used to grip his cup trembled again.
What did he mean, not until last night had he grasped the trick?
He had actually been mentally prepared. He knew his student was extremely talented.
His talent for martial techniques was far beyond that of his peers.
But the Heart-Piercing Elbow was not a technique that could be mastered through talent alone.
It required constant refinement and mastery of its core force.
Even Lian Zhantian, his most talented student, had needed three days to reach Initial Penetrating Force under his hands-on instruction.
Yet this student of his had done it in one night, without anyone guiding him.
Through his own exploration, he had mastered Initial Penetrating Force!
Just then, Liu Chang also arrived at the training room.
"Junior Brother Yang, why did you come so early?"
Jiang Tian said, "You two met last night?"
Liu Chang said, "Junior Brother Yang ran into some trouble last night and called me. I still need to report it to you later. He practiced at the boxing gym and had already reached the threshold last night. It was truly surprising."
Yang Sheng said, "Actually, after seeing Senior Sister Liu last night, I had some new insights after getting home. I practiced a few more times, and only then barely reached Initial Penetrating Force."
In other words, Yang Sheng had needed only half a night to reach Initial Penetrating Force.
Bang!
The coffee cup, which had already spilled nearly all its contents, instantly exploded as Jiang Tian's face darkened.
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