Chapter 131: Dark Awakening
Sensing the dangerous shift in the air, Tang Wen quickly tried to salvage the situation. "Her Majesty the Queen, how could I possibly compare myself to you? This final move, Mountain-Shattering Cannon, I just can’t seem to grasp the essence of it, no matter how much I ponder. I desperately need your guidance!"
"Oh?"
The Queen unclenched her fist and stroked her chin.
’This isn’t a bad idea,’ she thought. ’The boy has already grasped a hint of its true essence.’
’With just a little coaching from me, he should be able to cross this threshold.’
’And when that happens, won’t everyone in the camp, from top to bottom, know what an amazing teacher I am?’
She clasped her hands behind her back and said, adopting the air of a great teacher about to bestow wisdom.
"Hmph. Normally, this final technique is something you’re supposed to learn after becoming Extraordinary. But since you’re so sincere, I’ll make an exception and teach it to you early!"
"Yes, yes, of course! Thank you, Auntie! Thank you, Her Majesty the Queen!"
"Hmph. You little rascal, watch closely."
The Queen rolled up her red sleeves, revealing a fair, slender forearm.
A beautiful sight, to be sure, but her movements were utterly unrefined. The way she rolled up her sleeves made her look like an ordinary woman about to wash the dishes.
Her jade-like fist shot forward.
BOOM—
It was a single sound, yet it seemed to echo countless times!
The metal wall caved in as if struck by a siege ram, a massive crater forming in its surface.
RUMBLE!
"Look out!"
Dust filled the air as the ceiling of the private chamber collapsed.
Tang Wen was at the Queen’s side in a flash, his hand shooting up to hold back the collapsing ceiling.
"Her Majesty the Queen! Commander Tang Wen! Are you two all right?"
A muffled shout came from outside.
Tang Wen was just about to say they were fine.
But he was cut off by the Queen’s impatient shout, "Everyone above, get clear!"
A few seconds later, she threw a punch. The weight on Tang Wen’s hand vanished as the entire roof was blasted into the sky.
The Queen clasped her hands behind her back and said nonchalantly, "Come on. Let’s find another training ground."
Tang Wen stared up at the open sky. ’A perfectly good private training room,’ he thought, ’gone just like that?’
「In the Royal Palace’s bunker.」
The Queen took a swig from her wine gourd.
Every so often, she would offer Tang Wen a correction.
[Visualization Martial Arts, Mountain-Opening Cannon Fist, Expert (2903→2977/12000)]
The Queen finished explaining her understanding of Vibrating Force, Shocking Fist, and the Mountain-Shattering Cannon.
Tang Wen immediately put her teachings into practice. The progress he made in just one or two hours was worth several days of arduous training.
’Vibration... it’s heavy, substantial.’
’I shouldn’t just blindly pursue speed.’
Tang Wen slowed his movements, steadily executing a Cannon Fist. The invisible air rippled away from him in waves.
BANG!
The ordinary Wooden Man Target didn’t even wobble. It simply exploded into a cloud of splinters no bigger than mosquitos.
His Experience Points shot up.
[Visualization Martial Arts, Mountain-Opening Cannon Fist, Expert (2977→3001/12000)]
’A breakthrough!’
New techniques and skills flooded his mind.
’I’ve completely mastered the Mountain-Shattering Cannon!’
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Tang Wen delivered a steady performance, shattering three Wooden Man Targets with three consecutive punches.
Combining this with the force application techniques granted by the Experience Panel, he finally understood why the mighty Queen used Wooden Man Targets for her Martial Arts Training.
’It’s about handling the heavy as if it were light! That’s what this is!’
He repeated the phrase in his excitement.
Hearing this, the Queen, who was in the middle of a drink, blinked her bright, limpid eyes. ’Was that what I meant?’
’Isn’t it just because Wooden Man Targets are cheap?’
’No target can withstand more than a few of my hits anyway, so why not use the cheap ones?’
She nodded. "You’ve got some talent, kid!"
Tang Wen became even more excited when he looked at his Experience Panel again.
[Martial Arts Realm: Peak Martial Artist / Awakening Initiated (Progress 0.01%)]
[Visualization Martial Arts, Mountain-Opening Cannon Fist (Double Vibrating Force), Expert (2977→3001/12000)]
’I’m a Peak Martial Artist?’
’The transformation is starting?’
’I don’t feel anything at all, though.’
He turned to the Queen, full of gratitude. "This is all thanks to your guidance, my dear Auntie, Her Majesty the Queen! A single word of advice from you is worth more than ten years of study! Without your pointers, it would have taken me another three years! Three years! At least three years!"
A wave of shameless flattery.
The Queen’s smile was radiant, her beautiful eyes curving into crescents.
"Hehe, is that so? You’re not bad yourself, kid. You even managed to learn the Mountain-Shattering Cannon. Now, just focus on refining your Cannon Fist and try to break through to the Extraordinary realm!"
He watched as she tilted back her snow-white neck and took another long gulp.
Tang Wen chuckled to himself. ’The Queen’s personality is just like a cat’s. You have to pet her the right way.’
He pressed on, "What does it feel like to transform into an Extraordinary?"
The Queen held the wine gourd with a delicate, poised hand. "Well, generally speaking, those of us in Flame Camp who practice the Cannon Fist awaken a Flame Ability. The feeling of awakening... it’s a warmth that starts from your tailbone and slowly spreads. A feeling that comes from deep within..."
Tang Wen listened intently, checking his own body for the sensations she described.
’A feeling of heat?’
He confirmed several times that he felt nothing of the sort.
The Queen then said, "Alright, you stay here and consolidate your practice for a few more days. I’m heading up."
With that, she shook her wine gourd and staggered away.
’The wine’s all gone again.’
’Time to go steal some more.’
The Queen’s robes billowed as she sighed silently. ’That brewery Miss Bai mentioned... I wonder when it will actually be built.’
’When that happens, as the grand Queen of the camp, I should be able to drink ten bottles a day... hmm, or maybe eight... seven... five bottles. That should be fine, right?’
She finished stealing wine from the warehouse.
When she returned to a side hall in the Royal Palace, a group of people was waiting for her.
Seeing that Elder Xia was also there, the Queen subtly tucked her wine gourd behind her back.
The commotion she had caused by punching the basement open had been a little too loud.
Everyone in the Inner City and Outer City who had heard the noise couldn’t resist coming to see what had happened.
The two Generals and several Commanders were especially determined to confirm her safety with their own eyes.
Bai You Ruo and her two companions were also present, their concern for the Queen as palpable as anyone’s.
"Everyone, rest assured. I’m fine."
"Where’s Tang Wen?" / "Where’s Xiaowen?"
Bai You Ruo and Zhou Bing asked in unison.
The two women’s eyes met, and Zhou Bing’s brows knitted together.
’Looks like this Bai You Ruo really wants to challenge me,’ she thought.
’She’s shorter than me, her figure isn’t as good, and her legs aren’t as long...’
Zhou Bing calmly glanced at Bai You Ruo’s chest, then puffed out her own slightly, revealing a confident, triumphant smile.
It takes a woman to know a woman. Though not a single word was exchanged, Bai You Ruo’s expression darkened.
The atmosphere in the room turned tense.
The Queen announced, "That little rascal Tang Wen has mastered the final move of the Cannon Fist under my tutelage. He just needs to consolidate his skills for a few more days to get the hang of it, and then he’ll be ready to hit the road!"
"He mastered it?"
"He mastered the Mountain-Shattering Cannon?" General Zhao was suddenly left with a sour taste in his mouth.
Even he wasn’t proficient with that move yet.
"Mmm, the kid has a bit of Talent. I just gave him a few pointers, and he got it." The Queen didn’t want to elaborate, mostly because she was afraid General Zhao would ask for pointers too.
"What do you mean, ’hit the road’? He’s temporarily leaving the camp to carry out a mission!" Zhou Bing frowned, correcting the Queen’s choice of words while shooting a glance at Bai You Ruo.
The Queen covered her mouth and let out a wine-scented hiccup. "Ah, right, right, right!"
Bai You Ruo sneered internally. ’Temporarily leaving? Hmph! Keep telling yourself that!’
She asked, "And how many days will that be?"
"Probably four, five, six, seven, or eight days," the Queen gave a wildly unreliable answer.
"Alright. How about we say seven days, then?"
The Queen nodded, not caring either way.
Zhou Bing asked calmly, "Ganshan City is thousands of miles from the camp. Have you spoken to Tangtang about this?"
’Tangtang?’
’Tang Wen’s sister?’
Bai You Ruo was taken aback.
After leaving the Royal Palace, she and her two companions first went to the butcher and the grain merchant, spending hundreds of taels of silver to purchase several cartloads of supplies.
「The Tang Family Home.」
Tangtang understood the purpose of Bai You Ruo’s visit. She looked at the exquisite revolver on the table, then at the three carts of meat and two carts of rice in the courtyard.
The young woman sighed resignedly. "We can do without all this. Please, Miss Bai, you must ensure Xiaowen’s safety!"
Faced with a mission from the camp, Tangtang knew her family had no way of refusing.
And if they couldn’t refuse, they could only accept.
’Might as well get some benefits out of it,’ she thought, reaching for the revolver on the table. ’This should trade for a good amount of Maize, right?’
’Judging by how wealthy this Miss Bai seems, she should be able to provide for my little brother, right?’
’Will he be able to eat meat at every meal once he leaves?’
...
「A few days later, in the Royal Palace’s private chamber.」
Tang Wen finished practicing his Fist Technique. The floor was covered with wood shavings.
He sat on the steps, his expression grave, his eyes vacant, and his brows locked in a tight frown.
He looked as if he were facing an insurmountable problem.
[Martial Arts Realm: Peak Martial Artist (Undergoing Transformation)]
[Extraordinary Ability: Dark (Awakening Progress 0.03%)]
This was absurd!
"I’m a perfectly good Martial Artist who practices the Flame Refining Fist Technique, so how in the world did I awaken a Dark Ability?"
Absurd!
It was as absurd as the ugly duckling growing up to be a rooster.
Tang Wen couldn’t figure out why, but that wasn’t the important part.
After all, Dark and Flame abilities each had their own strengths.
The real trouble was that now, he had no follow-up Cultivation Technique!
The camp only had the Mountain-Opening Cannon Fist, and that couldn’t strengthen a Dark Ability!
This was a disaster!
A Fist Technique corresponding to a Dark Ability, such as the Night Divine Fist, would be much better at stimulating its growth and transformation.
It was crucial for the ability and the Cultivation Technique to be compatible.
This was a truth learned from the cumulative experience of countless Martial Artists over many years.
If the two didn’t match, it was like a well-endowed man going into battle with an undersized weapon. Not only would it be uncomfortable and limit his performance, but he could easily hurt himself in the process!
’Do I have to go to Black Mountain Camp to learn this Fist Technique?’
’How would I even learn it? I just killed their General.’
’Maybe I should kneel the moment I walk through their gates and kowtow eight hundred times to show my sincerity...’
Tang Wen was incredibly frustrated. Since he couldn’t calm his mind no matter what, he decided to leave the Royal Palace and head for home.