Bright Force Achieved!

Chopping sounds drifted from the kitchen.

Yang Sheng's father had returned from driving deliveries close to midnight last night, then gotten up early to prepare a meal for Yang Sheng.

Yang Sheng had practiced his boxing all night, rapidly burning through the food he had eaten earlier.

Now, he was gripped by intense hunger once more.

When he entered the living room, his father had already prepared several plates of vegetables.

Amid the vegetarian dishes sat a plate of twice-cooked pork.

His father came out, wiping his hands on his apron.

He said happily, "Last night, while I was hauling vegetables, I ran into someone from our village. He's a butcher, and when he heard you were preparing for the Martial Arts Entrance Exam, he insisted on giving us some meat to nourish you."

"Come on, try your dad's cooking. It's been a long time since I made meat dishes. I don't know if I made it too bland."

Yang Sheng said nothing. He picked up a steaming bun and wolfed it down with the dishes.

Knock, knock, knock...

The father and son were eating.

Then came a knock at the door.

Yang Sheng's father got up to answer it and found a mother and daughter standing outside.

He recognized them immediately.

"Sister Chen! Oh, what brings you here? What a rare guest. And this must be Guo Rui, right? When you were little, you only came up to your mother's knees. In the blink of an eye, you've grown so tall—you're a young lady now."

"Xiao Sheng, come over and greet Auntie Chen."

Yang Sheng swallowed the last mouthful of noodle soup.

"Coming."

He strode over, carrying the sharp, capable air of a martial artist, and stopped before the mother and daughter.

That night of cultivation had not only improved Yang Sheng's strength, but also subtly elevated his bearing.

The old Yang Sheng had worked as a sparring partner every day, leaving him with a dispirited air.

But last night's progress was like a year of efficient cultivation. He had changed from the inside out, standing tall and straight-backed, his eyes bright with spirit.

When Auntie Chen saw Yang Sheng's bearing, her eyes lit up.

"This is Yang Sheng, isn't it? An outstanding student of Bay City Martial Arts High School. He truly has an extraordinary presence."

Yang Sheng's father laughed. "He's only a high school student. Don't stand around outside—come in."

Auntie Chen nodded approvingly at Yang Sheng again.

Behind her stood eighteen-year-old Guo Rui. She wore a light pink hoodie, a knee-length skirt, and sneakers. Her large, lively eyes, round oval face, and high ponytail displayed the youthful vitality a girl her age should have.

She was also studying Yang Sheng.

"Young people have things to talk about. Go chat in the bedroom. Your Uncle Yang and I have been old friends for years, so we'll talk in the living room."

"The last time we met was ten years ago, wasn't it? Why did you come back to Bay City now?" Yang Sheng's father asked as he took off his apron.

"My business has expanded into Yu Prefecture, and the chamber of commerce decided to establish a foothold in Bay City. I don't have any friends here, so I thought of you, an old acquaintance."

Yang Sheng's father bent down and efficiently cleared away the bowls and chopsticks.

"I'm just a driver. There isn't much I can help you with."

Auntie Chen smiled. "It's not mainly about me. I called in some favors to transfer Guo Rui to Bay City Martial Arts High School. Isn't Xiao Sheng attending school there too?"

"I hope the two children can look out for each other."

In the bedroom, Yang Sheng straightened the bed and pulled out the chair hidden beneath the desk.

"It's a small place. Have a seat."

Guo Rui glanced at the pitch-black chair but did not sit. Instead, she seemed more interested in the punching bag covered in fist marks.

"To leave a punching bag like this, have you already reached Great Completion of Bright Force? I know some people, and many of them are at Great Completion of Bright Force."

She had previously attended school in Qingzhou. Although it had not been a martial arts school, some of the Upper Registry children she had met had at least reached Lesser Completion of Bright Force.

Auntie Chen's family and Yang Sheng's family both belonged to the Lower Registry, but there were distinctions even within the Lower Registry.

Yang Sheng's family was a Lower-Registry Commoner household, while Auntie Chen's family was a Lower-Registry Wealthy Household.

Because of this, Guo Rui had been able to come into contact with quite a few Upper Registry children.

So she naturally assumed that Yang Sheng had also reached Lesser Completion of Bright Force.

Yang Sheng shook his head. "No. I'm still far from it."

Even among Upper Registry children, only a small portion had reached Great Completion of Bright Force.

Guo Rui was clearly suffering from survivorship bias.

Hearing Yang Sheng's reply, Guo Rui frowned slightly.

Indeed, among the martial arts experts stationed in her family's businesses, quite a few had reached Great Completion of Bright Force, while some important locations even had Dark Force experts stationed there.

So she naturally thought that Great Completion of Bright Force was not difficult to achieve.

"Then have you reached Lesser Completion of Bright Force?" Guo Rui continued asking.

Yang Sheng shook his head again. "I still have some way to go."

He had supposedly studied at Bay City Martial Arts High School for three years, but he had actually never learned any martial arts cultivation method.

What he usually practiced were publicly available study materials and some simple basic boxing techniques.

On top of that, he had no famous teacher to guide him and no precious medicine to pave the way.

He also had to serve as Li Yan's human punching bag every day.

Three years of cultivation had not brought him as much progress as some Upper Registry children could make in half a year.

Of course, that had only been true before last night.

One night of cultivation had matched the results of Yang Sheng's entire previous three years of training.

He really was still some distance from Lesser Completion of Bright Force.

But he did not say that he only needed half a day to erase that distance.

"You haven't even reached Lesser Completion of Bright Force?"

Yang Sheng's words surprised her greatly.

Like a deflated balloon, Guo Rui relaxed and sat down on Yang Sheng's bed.

"Then since you attend a martial arts high school, you must know some impressive people, right? I heard Li Yan from your school is pretty amazing. Do you know him?"

Yang Sheng paused upon hearing that, then nodded. "I do."

Guo Rui immediately perked up.

"Really? I heard he's already reached Dark Force. Dark Force at eighteen—he's truly a talented young man. It seems there are only three Dark Force students in all of Bay City Martial Arts High School, and he's one of them. If possible, can you introduce me to him?"

Yang Sheng glanced at Guo Rui, then said, "I need to practice."

Guo Rui curled her lips and stood up.

"You're like a block of wood."

With that, she turned and walked out of Yang Sheng's bedroom.

After closing the door, Yang Sheng quickly adjusted his breathing.

He restored himself to the condition he had been in while boxing earlier.

He settled into a horse stance, lifted his foot, twisted his waist, raised his shoulder, and threw a punch!

Dull thuds rang out without end.

[Bright Force (91/100)]

Yang Sheng focused wholeheartedly. The brief interruption had not affected him.

"Maintain the rhythm. Maintain the breathing. The punches must be accurate, and even more importantly, steady."

With every breath, Yang Sheng's fists extended and retracted with ease.

[Bright Force (92/100)]

Fragments of insight flooded into his mind in a dense stream.

Yang Sheng's body had now reached its peak condition.

Every muscle in his body had been mobilized.

Yang Sheng stretched his waist, and his bones crackled throughout his body.

He took off his shirt, revealing a back slick with sweat.

"I once read that the human spine is the key to coordinating the whole body. Although the spine does not directly exert force in boxing, it supports all power."

He let out a low shout, spreading his arms like a ferocious tiger poised to pounce.

His fists tore through the air, hammering the punching bag like raindrops.

This time, he no longer restrained his strength, instead allowing it to erupt to the fullest extent.

The hundred-pound punching bag swayed back and forth like a withered leaf in the wind.

[Bright Force (93/100)]

Without realizing it, another three hours passed.

Yang Sheng felt hungry again.

He drew back his strength and quietly pushed open the door, preparing to find something to eat in the kitchen.

But he heard Auntie Chen still talking with his father in the living room.

"I never expected the rumors to be true. I didn't believe them before, but after hearing what Guo Rui said just now, it must be true." Auntie Chen's voice was full of regret.

Looking at Yang Sheng's father, she continued, "When I went to Bay City Martial Arts High School to handle Guo Rui's transfer procedures, I happened to meet Xiao Sheng's classmates.

"I asked about Xiao Sheng, and they said the school had already urged him to withdraw. The reason was that his cultivation could not keep up with the progress of the Class-Divided Cultivation program."

Yang Sheng's father remained silent.

"Guo Rui just went in and asked Xiao Sheng about his current cultivation, and he still hasn't reached Lesser Completion of Bright Force.

"I know a little about it. Among the students recruited by Bay City Martial Arts High School, only those who reach Lesser Completion of Bright Force have a chance of getting into a Martial Arts University through the Martial Arts Entrance Exam.

"If they haven't even reached Lesser Completion, then not even a martial arts vocational college will accept them."

Yang Sheng's father remained silent. After a long while, he finally said, "Two days ago, I went to Xiao Sheng's school. I had wanted to meet his homeroom teacher.

"Since the Martial Arts Entrance Exam is approaching, I hoped the teacher would take better care of him. But I never met the teacher himself. He had Xiao Sheng's class monitor meet me instead—that Li Yan."

"Li Yan told me that the school was preparing to implement Class-Divided Cultivation, and Xiao Sheng would be urged to withdraw.

"I gave him ten thousand yuan and asked him to make an exception. He asked about my registry, and I thought he could really help us."

Yang Sheng's father scratched his head.

"But this morning, I received a notice from the school asking this batch of Lower-Registry Commoner students to withdraw voluntarily."

His voice grew softer and softer, until it was nearly inaudible.

Yang Sheng picked up a bun in the kitchen and stared blankly into space.

He knew that his father drove deliveries outside. A single load earned twenty yuan; on a good day, he could make four or five trips, while on a bad day, only two or three.

He would need half a year, or even longer, to save those ten thousand yuan.

When Li Yan had said that a Lower-Registry Commoner like him should return home to farm, it seemed he had learned that information from his father.

"Old Yang, don't be too upset. Although Xiao Sheng's aptitude is lacking, I can see that he has the right bearing. If the school really requires him to withdraw,

"he can come work at my newly established company first. At least he'll have enough to eat and won't lock himself in his room all day."

Yang Sheng's father nodded. "That's all we can do. We'll take it one step at a time. Sister Chen, thank you so much."

"Don't mention it."

Yang Sheng silently finished the bun, then turned and quietly returned to his room.

"Just a little more."

He took a deep breath, emptied his mind, and entered a state of self-forgetfulness.

His mind was clear as he punched the bag again and again, leaving fist marks a finger deep.

By the end, he was like a madman, frantically punching one spot.

The fist mark grew deeper and deeper, while his boxing skill rose at a rapid pace.

[Bright Force (94/100)]

[Bright Force (95/100)]

[Bright Force (96/100)]

...

[Bright Force (99/100)]

Then, at a certain moment, an exquisite realization suddenly arose in Yang Sheng's heart.

His foot stomped down, kicking up a ring of dust. A vast force extended from his toes.

It surged into his spine, then rushed toward his fist, converging at one point.

At that moment, Yang Sheng's fist had already been drawn to its limit.

His entire body had also stored power to the utmost extreme.

Ha!

With an explosive shout.

His fist shot out fiercely—domineering and violent!

Before the fist arrived, the wind had already descended.

The savage fist wind wrapped around his punch and slammed into the punching bag.

Bang!

A single punch blasted a hole straight through the center of the bag.

Dust filled the entire room, while fine sand streamed down from the hole.

Bright Force had been achieved!