Cultivation Improved Faster When He Took a Beating

As his strength rapidly increased, Yang Sheng had no reason to stop.

He immediately started matchmaking for the next match.

Only five seconds later, the system notified him that a match had been found.

"There are really quite a few people competing at this hour."

As Yang Sheng muttered to himself, the scene before him changed.

The original arena vanished, replaced by a bamboo forest with a large clearing at its center.

Yang Sheng appeared in the middle of the clearing.

Opposite him, a sturdy figure gradually came into focus.

"North Sea Divine Fist."

The moment Yang Sheng saw the other man's name, he knew his opponent was also a martial artist who used his fists.

And judging by the look of him, he was very confident in his fists.

But when Yang Sheng saw his opponent's rank, his expression grew serious.

Black Iron Fifth Stage.

He had only just advanced to Black Iron Eighth Stage. Although his previous match had been against the same person, the gap between their ranks had not been large—just one stage.

This time, however, he had been matched against an opponent three stages above him.

What a miraculous matchmaking system.

Three stages higher meant that his opponent was no novice. He understood the system's rules and possessed considerable strength.

But the same held true: no matter who his opponent was, Yang Sheng would give it his all.

On the other side, North Sea Divine Fist frowned slightly when he saw Yang Sheng.

"I'm at a crucial point for climbing the ranks. Why do I keep getting matched with lower-ranked opponents? Even if I beat people at this rank, I won't gain many victory points."

"Whatever. I'll protect my win rate. Even a mosquito has meat on it. I'll end this quickly."

Just as Yang Sheng had expected, North Sea Divine Fist had great confidence in his fists.

And he was well versed in the system's rules.

"You brat named Real Name, I hope you've got some fight in you. Give me a little intensity. None of the people I met before lasted until my tenth punch."

North Sea Divine Fist took his stance, his eyes fixed on Yang Sheng as he continued spouting trash talk.

It was one of his usual little tricks. Before a match, he would first try to intimidate his opponent. Even if he could not scare them, he could still disrupt their state of mind as much as possible.

When the mind was in chaos, so were the fists.

Yet Yang Sheng seemed not to hear him at all. He slowly shifted his feet and settled into a standard horse stance.

North Sea Divine Fist sneered.

"What level are you at, and you're still starting with a horse stance? That's how children learn boxing."

As soon as he finished speaking, the system countdown ended.

North Sea Divine Fist attacked first. He stomped hard off the ground, his entire body shooting toward Yang Sheng like a cannonball.

As he launched himself forward, his fist completed its charge.

"Ha! Take this punch!"

Seeing his opponent's ferocious approach, Yang Sheng remained completely calm.

He twisted his feet, angling his upper body slightly aside to leave enough room while his lower body stayed firmly rooted to the ground.

As he closed in, North Sea Divine Fist subtly adjusted his angle as well.

"Trying to dodge? It won't be that easy."

His fist shot straight at Yang Sheng's face.

Just before they made contact, Yang Sheng gave a sharp pull, instantly straightening his body.

One of his hands pressed against North Sea Divine Fist's fist.

Whirling Wind Hand?

North Sea Divine Fist recognized Yang Sheng's technique at a glance.

The second fist he had kept near his waist hooked out in response.

This was his Straight Punch combo.

It was immensely powerful, leaving his opponent nowhere to evade.

But Yang Sheng had prepared for it as well.

His other hand also pressed against the fist.

Using softness to overcome hardness.

With only a half-second's delay, more than half the force in North Sea Divine Fist's punch was redirected away.

Just as Yang Sheng was about to grab his arm and repeat the same move.

North Sea Divine Fist displayed superb technique and confident composure far beyond that of Great Wild Boar.

With an angry shout, his internal energy suddenly erupted.

His two fists trembled, forcibly shaking off Yang Sheng's Whirling Wind Hand.

At the same time, he pulled back his fists at incredible speed and struck again.

Yang Sheng tilted his head aside to dodge, but another fist was already coming.

North Sea Divine Fist's fists sprayed forth like a machine gun.

Yet Yang Sheng neutralized every one of them, either blocking or dodging.

Although North Sea Divine Fist appeared to hold the advantage.

In truth, each time Yang Sheng used Whirling Wind Hand.

His cultivation progress increased a little.

[Bright Force (201/500)]

[Bright Force (202/500)]

[Bright Force (203/500)]

[Bright Force (204/500)]

...

Compared to the other six major offensive techniques of Eight Extremes Fist, Whirling Wind Hand was the only boxing technique that required a second person to practice with.

Yang Sheng had actually considered exchanging blows with Great Wild Boar a few more times to improve his proficiency with Whirling Wind Hand.

But Great Wild Boar had simply been too weak, and he was too impatient. Every time, he exposed enormous openings.

Left with no choice, Yang Sheng had sent him home twice in a row.

But this North Sea Divine Fist he had matched against now possessed fierce, powerful punches, and his strength exceeded Yang Sheng's own.

He was the perfect opportunity to train Whirling Wind Hand.

After they exchanged dozens of punches in succession, North Sea Divine Fist finally realized something.

This brat only defended and never attacked!

And more importantly, ever since Yang Sheng had settled into his horse stance at the start of the match.

He had remained rooted in place like a nail throughout their exchange.

What an incredibly solid foundation.

North Sea Divine Fist retreated two steps and widened the distance between them.

"You're a martial artist who practices Eight Extremes Fist too, yet you only dodge and never throw a punch. What kind of Eight Extremes Fist is that?"

Yang Sheng settled firmly back into his horse stance.

"No one said martial artists can only throw punches and cannot defend."

North Sea Divine Fist rubbed his thumb across the tip of his nose.

"Hmph, brat. Then I'll show you what a real punch is!"

"The core technique of Eight Extremes Fist, its most powerful killing move—Straight Punch!"

The so-called Straight Punch was both the most basic and the most extreme offensive technique in Eight Extremes Fist.

The entire Eight Extremes Fist style had gradually been developed around the Straight Punch.

In other words, without Straight Punch, there would be no Eight Extremes Fist.

The purity of Straight Punch lay in the fact that it did not twist, turn, or curve. The fist traveled along the shortest route from beginning to end, with no unnecessary trajectory between two points.

Its ferocity came from mobilizing the strength of the entire body, concentrating it in the fist, and carrying a violent gust of fist wind.

Just as North Sea Divine Fist demonstrated at this moment.

He charged straight at him.

He threw a punch, carrying a savage gust of wind.

Leaving Yang Sheng nowhere to evade.

Yang Sheng's gaze sharpened.

His feet moved, and he finally pulled free the nail that had been fixed to the ground.

Seeing Yang Sheng move, a triumphant smile appeared on North Sea Divine Fist's face.

The force of his punch did not diminish, forcing Yang Sheng to turn sideways and avoid its edge.

But North Sea Divine Fist's true killing move was not in that punch.

It was in the leg he had deliberately concealed.

A hidden knee strike drove straight into Yang Sheng's stomach as he turned sideways.

Yang Sheng grunted. Even as he took the blow head-on, he grabbed North Sea Divine Fist's arm.

Then, with a throw, he flung the man away.

North Sea Divine Fist landed steadily. Looking at Yang Sheng clutching his stomach, he smugly shook his lower leg.

"A martial artist's main weapon may be his fists, but he must train his legs too. A martial artist who does not train his legs is not a proper martial artist."