The martial path depended on talent, but also on relentless cultivation.
Yang Sheng looked at his hands and slowly clenched them into fists.
"One Punch Equals a Hundred Punches!"
Even if his aptitude was ordinary, as long as he studied diligently and trained hard, one day of his training equaled a hundred days for an ordinary person.
At school, he had only been a sparring partner, so he did not spend much time practicing boxing each day.
If he devoted all his energy to boxing practice, then not only would one day equal a hundred days—perhaps it could equal two hundred days, or even a year!
With the Martial God Soul empowering him, he would one day achieve something great!
Hope that appeared in the depths of despair was all the more precious.
Like duckweed floating on water or a straw hanging from a cliff, Yang Sheng clung to it tightly. This was his only chance to change his fate and realize his dreams.
After quietly finishing his meal, Yang Sheng helped his father clear the dishes.
Only after his father left to drive the night shift did he return to his room.
To help him practice boxing at home,
Father Yang had deliberately made Yang Sheng's room more spacious.
His own room had space for only a narrow bed.
Yang Sheng's room, however, could hold not only a wide bed, but also a hanging sandbag.
Yang Sheng changed out of his clothes and put on his leather boxing gloves and cotton ankle and knee guards.
Then he assumed a stance, rapidly lifting his knees, bending his legs, twisting his hips, and diligently going through his stretches.
Stretching enhanced explosive muscle power and reaction speed. It protected the body while activating strength to the fullest, bringing him into peak condition.
When he finished, Yang Sheng stood before the sandbag.
His feet were slightly apart, his toes level with his shoulders, his knees half-bent in a standard horse stance.
He raised his right heel, twisted his waist, and drew back his fist.
All his strength traveled from his toes pushing against the ground, flowing through him before exploding outward.
His waist turned, and his fist swung out.
Bang!
The punch landed solidly on the sandbag.
The heavy sandbag swayed slightly.
A line of text appeared in Yang Sheng's mind.
[Bright Force (35/100)]
Three years ago, Yang Sheng had entered Bay City Martial Arts High School and become a Body Tempering Realm martial artist.
The Body Tempering Realm was divided into three major levels.
Bright Force, Dark Force, and the Subtlety Realm.
Those who reached Subtlety Realm and could sense the Astral Phase could enter the Astral Martial Artist realm.
Above Astral Martial Artists were Origin-Star Martial Artists, and beyond them lay the legendary realm of Divine Path Martial Artists.
For ordinary people, if they lacked the talent to sense the Astral Phase, then the Subtlety Realm of Body Tempering was the ceiling of mortal cultivation.
Even so, martial artists at the Grand Perfection of Subtlety were exceedingly rare. Every one of them was a main force in the battle against alien races.
They were core assets of the Starship Federation.
Advancing to the Grand Perfection of Subtlety was also Yang Sheng's dream.
But his current level was merely entry-level Bright Force. He had not yet reached the Lesser Completion of Bright Force.
Every class officer at Bay City Martial Arts High School needed to reach the Lesser Completion of Bright Force, and among the upperclassmen, there were even those at the Great Completion of Bright Force.
As for Li Yan, he had entered Body Tempering Dark Force two months ago. He was without question the rising star of Bay City Martial Arts High School.
That was also where his confidence in saying those things to Yang Sheng had come from.
At school, Yang Sheng practiced only basic boxing techniques. Without a teacher's guidance or Great Medicine to nourish him, his progress had been extremely slow.
It was inevitable that he would be left behind by the children of the Upper Registry.
But now, things were beginning to change.
After throwing that punch, Yang Sheng found insights rising in his mind one after another.
His timing for exerting force had been wrong, slightly too late. His hip twist had not linked smoothly, and the point where he threw his punch had been off by half an inch, weakening its power.
He had once found it difficult to notice such details.
After awakening his soul, every one of those details had been magnified and broken down for him.
It was as if a Martial God-level instructor were giving him the most correct guidance.
[Every bit of hard cultivation would be corrected by the Martial God Soul onto the most correct path!]
"At the root of it, the problem was in the initial movement!"
In an instant, Yang Sheng found the source of the problem.
"My footing is unstable. My feet should be staggered front and back, concentrating the force."
As he spoke, Yang Sheng exerted force beneath his feet, placing his left foot forward and his right foot back.
All ten toes exerted strength at once, gripping the ground tightly.
Then he concentrated his power at a single point and once more extended his leg, twisted his hips, and threw a punch.
Bang!
As Yang Sheng threw his punch, the hundred-pound sandbag actually began to sway slightly.
That had never happened before.
[Bright Force (36/100)]
"Force from the soles is fine, but my waist twist is stiff. The connection of power isn't smooth enough!"
Find the problem, solve the problem!
Following his insight, Yang Sheng quickly found a solution.
He assumed his stance again and threw a heavy punch with a more relaxed movement.
Bang!
This time, the sandbag swayed more noticeably.
[Bright Force (37/100)]
Compared to before, the power of this punch had increased again.
"Continue!"
Every punch he threw was equivalent to a hundred punches from before, or even more.
The old Yang Sheng had been like someone feeling his way through darkness, wasting vast amounts of time for nothing.
Now, the Martial God Soul was like a guiding lamp, leading Yang Sheng onto the correct path.
The feeling of gaining something from every punch fascinated him.
Fine, intricate insights filled Yang Sheng's mind, gradually bringing clarity to him.
They gave him enough motivation to keep moving forward, leaving him tireless.
"For a time, I thought practicing boxing was painful. Until I found the right method, I remained in pain and still persevered."
"Once, a class officer told me that boxing fascinated him, but I had never experienced that feeling."
"Now, I've experienced that joy too. As long as there is enough positive feedback, boxing is no longer painful. It is an exquisite pleasure!"
"So this is the true function of the Martial God Soul: One Punch Equals a Hundred Punches!"
"Put in one part of effort, reap a hundred parts of results."
"Martial cultivation will never regress! Every bit of hard cultivation will be corrected by the Martial God Soul onto the most correct path! It will accumulate without end! Break through limits! Never cease!"
Bang bang bang bang bang!
Yang Sheng entered a state of complete absorption and began throwing punches rapidly.
Countless fine insights emerged in the gaps between his punches.
Then he quickly digested and absorbed them.
Each punch was always more precise than the last.
The sandbag, which had once been difficult to budge, not only began to sway wildly,
but also swung in rhythm with Yang Sheng's movements.
The sandbag had become a toy completely under his control.
With a muffled bang,
this punch caused the sandbag not to sway at all.
Yang Sheng withdrew his fist. A fist mark half a finger deep had been deeply embedded in the sandbag.
His control over his strength had reached a new level.
Yang Sheng shook his head.
"Not fast enough. My fists still aren't fast enough!"
"My strength is still scattered. My body has not yet linked together into a complete system."
"Legs are legs, waist is waist, fists are fists."
He closed his eyes and sensed the insights constantly rising within his heart.
"Start from the feet!"
Yang Sheng stomped down fiercely. His foot caused a fine layer of dust to rise from the thick concrete floor.
This was the Earth-Shaking Stance of the horse stance.
Through boxing, Yang Sheng drove a comprehensive improvement in the foundations of his entire body.
Even his basic horse stance had improved dramatically.
"Horse stance! Waist and hips! Shoulders and back! Fist!"
As his words fell, a force running through his entire body burst forth from his fist.
Yang Sheng struck the previous fist mark with one punch.
When he withdrew his fist, the mark that had been half a finger deep was now a full finger deep!
[Bright Force (60/100)]
After throwing that punch, Yang Sheng took half a step back as his stomach rumbled.
An overwhelming hunger struck him.
Yang Sheng looked up at the clock. He had only practiced boxing for three hours.
He had not expected all the food in his stomach to have already been completely digested.
All martial arts experts needed resources piled upon resources.
Food made up the largest share of them.
Bay City Martial Arts High School actually had two cafeterias.
One was an ordinary cafeteria open to all students, while the other was a medicinal cuisine cafeteria specifically opened for Upper Registry children with such needs.
The medicinal cuisine cafeteria served food around the clock.
Students like Li Yan, who had just entered Dark Force, sometimes ate as many as six meals a day.
He rushed into the kitchen.
There were still two steamed buns in the pot, already completely cold.
The buns were larger than his fists, and they had turned hard after cooling.
But Yang Sheng did not care. He swallowed half a bun in one bite, chewed twice, and washed it down with water.
In just four bites, the two huge steamed buns were in his stomach.
Yet even the water-swollen buns could not fill Yang Sheng's hunger.
He was too hungry.
So he lit the stove and boiled water. Once it boiled, he tossed in a handful of noodles and some leafy greens. The noodles rolled in the pot a few times.
Finally, he added a little salt and took it off the heat.
Yang Sheng poured half a pot of salty noodle soup into a large bowl.
As soon as it cooled slightly, he impatiently began devouring it in huge mouthfuls.
In the end, he did not even leave behind the noodle broth.
Only after letting out a satisfied burp did Yang Sheng feel his hunger slowly receding.
He opened the window.
May was already the beginning of summer.
The days were somewhat hot, but the nights still carried a faint chill.
Previously, he would have put on an extra layer.
But now, Yang Sheng felt the blood throughout his body being stirred up and powerfully pumped by his heart to every part of him.
The stars in the sky flickered in and out of sight.
The moon had climbed above the treetops as well.
Under the bright moonlight, he noticed that the texture of his arm muscles had become somewhat different from before.
Yang Sheng's eyes lit up.
Tonight, he had thrown at least five hundred punches.
In the past, that would have produced barely any results.
But with the Martial God Soul's empowerment,
throwing five hundred punches was equivalent to throwing fifty thousand punches, perhaps even more!
Quantitative change produced qualitative change!
Combined with the Martial God's correct guidance,
his understanding of boxing had already reached a new level.
The most obvious outward sign was the change in his muscle texture.
Alongside his thick muscle lines, slender accompanying muscle striations had begun to rise.
It was precisely these tiny muscle fibers that gave him increasingly precise control over his own strength.
At first, when he threw a punch, the sandbag would sway.
Now, when he threw a punch, the sandbag no longer moved. Instead, it bore a deep fist print.
He had mastered his strength!
"Practice punches! Practice punches!"
At this moment, Yang Sheng felt endless strength surging through his entire body.
Even though night had already fallen, he did not feel the slightest bit tired.
"Another five hundred punches!"
Yang Sheng tightened his cowhide boxing gloves, his precise and powerful fists pelting the sandbag like raindrops.
The sandbag remained perfectly still, yet one deep fist print after another appeared on its surface.
Yang Sheng did not stop until dawn broke over the horizon.
By then, the sandbag was already covered in "wounds."
[Bright Force (90/100)]
"As long as I keep at it, it looks like I'll reach Lesser Completion of Bright Force today."
Yang Sheng let out a long breath.
This rate of progress had already reached an unimaginable level.
He had studied at Bay City Martial Arts High School for three years, yet he had never even touched the threshold of Lesser Completion of Bright Force.
In fact, he had still been a long way from Lesser Completion of Bright Force.
Even without the implementation of Class-Divided Cultivation, it would have taken him at least another year to reach Lesser Completion of Bright Force.
But now, after only one night, he had touched the threshold of Lesser Completion of Bright Force.
My future still has hope!
"I have to take the Martial Arts Entrance Exam a month from now!"
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