Facing Adversity Even When Hope Was Slim

"Why didn't Teacher Jiang tell me directly?" Yang Sheng asked.

"He was in a bad mood this afternoon and is in his office by himself."

Before Liu Chang could finish speaking, Yang Sheng had already walked out.

When he arrived at Jiang Tian's office, Jiang Tian was bent over his desk, reading a report.

Yang Sheng knocked on the door.

Without even raising his head, Jiang Tian said, "Come in."

Yang Sheng casually shut the door behind him.

Only then did Jiang Tian look up and realize that Yang Sheng had come.

"What are you here for?"

"If you came to ask why you were matched against Li Ya, I advise you not to ask, because I don't know either."

"Those fucking bastards actually dared to pull tricks right under the Board of Trustees' noses!"

As Jiang Tian spoke, his emotions suddenly turned volatile.

He slammed the report in his hand onto the desk.

"Li Ya never should have appeared on the candidate list. He's already nearly at Great Completion of Bright Force. Sending him to fight any student at Lesser Completion of Bright Force is practically sentencing that student to death in advance."

"If they didn't want someone to stay, they could've just said so. Why resort to such underhanded tactics?"

The more Jiang Tian spoke, the more agitated he became. Suddenly, he punched the desk, and the dull boom made people throughout the floor poke their heads out to look.

Yang Sheng stood by the door, watching Jiang Tian without moving.

Jiang Tian stood with his hands on his hips and glanced at Yang Sheng.

"Go on. What did you come here for?"

Only then did Yang Sheng speak.

"I came to tell you this."

"I'll face Li Ya. I'm confident I can defeat him."

Jiang Tian had been in an awful mood, but after hearing Yang Sheng's two resolute sentences, he suddenly calmed down.

"How well have you mastered your Whirling Wind Hand? Have you entered the beginner stage yet?"

Yang Sheng said, "I've made some progress."

Just then, Jiang Tian suddenly moved.

He twisted his foot, and an enormous iron fist shot toward Yang Sheng.

Yang Sheng's eyes abruptly widened.

As if by instinct, he stomped both feet against the ground.

Two small clouds of dust burst up.

At the instant Jiang Tian's fist was about to touch him—

Yang Sheng shifted slightly to the side, extending his left hand. He turned his fist into a palm, found a gap in Jiang Tian's attack, and slid along that massive iron fist until he reached the wrist behind it.

Then, with a fierce squeeze, Yang Sheng directly seized Jiang Tian's attacking fist.

If it had been an ordinary martial artist, having their fist caught like that by Yang Sheng would have caused them to lose all strength.

But Jiang Tian merely showed a trace of approval in his eyes and gave a low shout.

"Shock!"

The fist that had already stopped suddenly erupted with waves of force.

Yang Sheng's hand was shaken directly away.

The next second, Jiang Tian's other fist came roaring in, wrapped in a gust of fist wind.

Yang Sheng did not panic in the slightest.

He freed up his other hand and dissolved the force of the punch once more.

Then he used both hands to seize Jiang Tian's wrists at the same time.

He yanked backward.

Twisting his hips, he swung his elbow.

A Heart-Piercing Elbow filled with power drove mercilessly toward Jiang Tian's chest.

Jiang Tian's eyes lit up. Then the force around his entire body surged explosively.

It rapidly rose from Lesser Completion of Bright Force to a realm capable of erasing all disparities.

With strength too fast for Yang Sheng's naked eye to perceive, he instantly pulled back his fist and tightly caught Yang Sheng's fully charged elbow.

A boom rang out.

Yang Sheng's elbow slammed into Jiang Tian's palm.

Yet after the muffled impact, Jiang Tian's palm was completely unharmed.

He looked at Yang Sheng, and a trace of gratification rose in his eyes again.

"This isn't merely making some progress. Your Whirling Wind Hand has already reached the hall. I knew you were exceptionally talented, but this rate of improvement is truly unheard of."

Jiang Tian sighed with emotion.

"Fine. There are four days left. I'll teach you every technique in the Six Openings of Eight Extremes Fist. How much you can learn and master will depend entirely on your own ability."

"This test concerns your fate. Whether you can seize this opportunity depends entirely on yourself."

Yang Sheng's gaze sharpened.

He knew Jiang Tian was a straightforward man.

For him to say such things meant Jiang Tian had already exhausted every method at his disposal.

Faced with the school's open scheme, this was all he could do.

During the two hours of evening self-study—

Yang Sheng did not return to the classroom. Instead, he received one-on-one private instruction from Jiang Tian in his office.

The remaining three forms of the Six Openings—Sideways Body Grind, Cloud-Crushing Strike, and Knee-Lift Collision—were taught to Yang Sheng one by one through Jiang Tian's explanations and demonstrations.

In Jiang Tian's original plan, he had intended for Yang Sheng to consolidate his old techniques while learning new ones.

That way, he could not only build a solid foundation but also integrate everything thoroughly and gain a deeper understanding of the new techniques.

But time waited for no one.

The school test was imminent.

Yang Sheng no longer had the spare time to slowly master these techniques.

So he simply learned them all at once.

By the time the moon was bright and the stars sparse, with insects chirping outside the window in waves—

Jiang Tian had finally finished demonstrating the final form of Knee-Lift Collision.

During those more than two hours of focused study—

Countless insights and mental rehearsals of the moves had arisen in Yang Sheng's mind.

Empowered by the Martial God Soul, all of those insights transformed into Yang Sheng's own cultivation experience, silently blending into his bodily instincts.

Before he had even made a move, his cultivation had actually improved once more through Jiang Tian's instruction.

[Bright Force (264/500)]

[Bright Force (265/500)]

[Bright Force (266/500)]

[Bright Force (267/500)]

...

That was the value of a good teacher.

A truly good teacher would not simply recite theoretical knowledge from a book.

They would sincerely teach students their own thoughts and realizations from cultivation, as well as methods for solving real problems.

They would help students understand quickly and master things quickly.

Seeing Yang Sheng's thoughtful expression—

Jiang Tian sighed and turned around.

"At this stage, this is all I can teach you. How much you can learn depends entirely on your own fortune."

Hearing Jiang Tian's words, Yang Sheng cupped his hands and gave him a solemn bow.

"Thank you, Master."

With his back turned, Jiang Tian waved a hand.

"It's late. Go back. Reflect carefully on what you learned today, practice diligently, and integrate it thoroughly."

"If there's anything you don't understand, you can go directly to your senior sister Liu Chang. Her foundation in Eight Extremes Fist is also very solid."

"Tomorrow, I'll have her compile another detailed analysis of Li Ya's personal strength. You can practice accordingly."

Yang Sheng said nothing.

The words between master and disciple needed no voice.

He turned and walked out of the room, striding toward the school gates.

Jiang Tian stood by the window with his hands behind his back.

He watched Yang Sheng's retreating figure grow farther and farther away.

Only endless emotion remained in his heart.

"If only I'd discovered you earlier."

Although he had already done everything he could.

And had told Yang Sheng to give it his all and fight for a chance to pass the test.

A voice deep within him told him—

Four days were not enough to make up for the enormous gap between Lesser Completion of Bright Force and someone nearly at Great Completion of Bright Force.

Such a gap had not formed in just a day or two.

It was the accumulation of tiny differences over many years.

It was the piling up of resources behind them.

"Unless he can use these four days as four years, he has almost no chance of winning."

"But in this world, who could make one day equal a hundred? Who could make one punch equal a hundred punches?"

"What a pity. Such a talented child."