Chapter 281 - 279: Breaking Through to True Gang
In any case, the two gifts Ding Bing brought proved to be quite valuable.
One allowed Yang Shen to investigate the Rebel Species more quickly.
The other revealed the bloody trap of the marriage alliance!
’You thought it was a sugar-coated bullet? You have to see what kind of payload the shell is packing!’
Utterly terrifying.
For the past half-month, the Eight Disciples, Long Jiu, and Xu Bamboo had been taking turns staking out the Rebel Species, and they were growing rapidly in the process.
However, although the stronghold hadn’t moved, it had become more low-key. All day long, just a few street bums were inside drinking.
As for the other party’s counter-investigation, Yang Shen hadn’t sensed it before Ding Bing’s warning, but he could have guessed.
Sometimes, intelligence was like two drops of ink in a pool of water.
Both were spreading out, but before they truly mixed, they were both shrouded in fog.
The task from Wan Mengjie, which had been outsourced so many times, made the distance between the two drops of ink even greater, and the pool even larger.
The Rebel Species were old dogs, accustomed to rolling in the gutter. After half a month, they still hadn’t managed to find anything. It was likely that with all the layers of outsourcing and subcontracting, many of the middlemen had lost track themselves.
Yang Shen gave the addresses of the other two strongholds to Cao Wei, telling her to probe them and see if they were real. If she didn’t have enough people, she could consult her martial brothers.
If that still wasn’t enough, Long Jiu, Xu Bamboo, and even he himself could go provide support.
Cao Wei already had the air of a Nightwalker. Without troubling too many people, she took two junior martial brothers and made a trip. She quickly reported back that one piece of intelligence was correct and the other was false.
But even with just one, it would yield more clues than the previously dormant stronghold.
In mid-December, the weather in Jianghuai grew increasingly cold and gloomy.
Within Jiangti, a rumor gradually began to spread that Yang Shen was already preparing for "Breaking Through to True Gang."
As the number one figure of his generation at Jiangti, his name carried too much weight.
At first, it was competition, envy, and apprehension.
But now, it was pride, honor, and anticipation.
The principles of this world are all interconnected, repeating themselves over and over in life, just as Xu Bamboo had told Yang Shen in high school:
"When you’re one level higher than others, they’ll question why it has to be you."
"When you’re a hundred levels higher, they’ll only yearn to reach your heights and look up at your every step."
"Even if there’s occasional dissent, you won’t be able to distinguish it when looking down. It will all just sound like cheers and applause."
Everyone was guessing how long it would take Yang Shen to break through to the True Gang Realm.
Some said that True Gang was a major hurdle in Martial Arts Cultivation, and that countless geniuses had faltered at its threshold. They thought Yang Shen might be stuck for several years on "Source Perception" and "Source Control."
Others said that Flame Fist had a chance to challenge Jiangti’s 20-year-old record by successfully breaking through before the end of his freshman year. By that count, there were only six months left.
Only Yang Shen knew he didn’t have six months.
’I’m doing it this month.’
The wind was bone-chilling, and all of Jianghuai seemed to be covered in a layer of cold frost, draining the color from everything.
But Cangwu Garden remained as verdant as ever, like a green island in a gray world.
The Earth Soil Pottery Jar’s Earth Vein Recognition was spreading wider and wider. Coupled with the maintenance from the Yang Family’s Spirit Plant Inheritance, Cangwu Garden had become increasingly Xuanqi. Its ecosystem was self-contained, with shady, giant trees, flying birds, and small beasts.
And the Yang Family soon discovered that the small birds and squirrels weren’t afraid of people—or rather, they weren’t afraid of the Yang Family.
Often, little birds would line up, perching on the eaves of the walls and tilting their heads, brazenly observing the daily life of the Yang Family. Even waving to shoo them away wouldn’t scare them off. Instead, they would CHIRP a few times as if saying hello.
Lei Lv even reported a strange incident... His younger brother, Xiaolei Yi, often had nuts in his mouth that the family had never bought. When asked...
He said the squirrels gave them to him.
So Lei Lv spanked his little brother and told him not to eat such unclean things!
When Yang Shen learned of this, he felt that "Earth Vein Recognition" might not be entirely a good thing. ’If snakes, insects, rats, and ants all start getting close to the Yang Family, life will become unbearable.’ So, every night, he would release hundreds or thousands of "Sun Worms" to prey on pests and rats.
All these strange phenomena gradually gave the future Immortal Race a touch of an immortal aura.
One weekend, Yang Shen downed a few mouthfuls of "Heart-Inquiry Water" and began his Cultivation in the backyard Martial Arts Arena.
His tall, athletic figure moved across the open ground like an afterimage. With a wave of his right hand, a black long spear instantly materialized. As he thrust it forward, the tip of the spear seemed to refract light, creating a one-inch extension.
Then, he retracted his stance and flourished the spear before it vanished without a trace. In its place, a hand with well-defined knuckles reached out to catch a falling leaf in mid-air.
The falling leaf was caught between two fingers. With no apparent movement, cutting marks suddenly appeared on its surface, as if it were being pulled apart by fine, tough threads...
In just a few seconds, Yang Shen had executed three different Cultivation Techniques: the "Gang Condensation Spear Technique," the "Leaf-Reading Finger," and the "Thousand Silk Force." They blended into one another seamlessly, showing no awkwardness in transition.
These three Martial Arts were all simulations of and precursors to "True Gang."
For an ordinary Innate Martial Artist, because they couldn’t perform "Source Perception" and "Source Control," practicing Martial Arts often required endless refinement. They had to follow fixed routines repeatedly until it became muscle memory.
This way, even without perceiving the specific existence of the "Source," they could perform a standardized "Passive Release."
But for Yang Shen, he had been using "Active Release" from the very beginning, allowing him to master the basics of all Martial Arts with extreme speed.
In just two weeks, of the five Cultivation Techniques provided by Jiangti, he had already mastered four of them—all except for the "Meridian Following Technique," which was a complete, major Primary Cultivation Method—and had integrated his own understanding into them.
All the Cultivation Techniques were exquisitely matched, truly worthy of being the optimal combination from Jiangti’s vast repository.
For example, he could already use the "Gang Condensation Spear Technique" to release "Pseudo Gang" as an extension of his weapon. However, if he tried to use it directly with his hands, he would easily get injured.
This was where the subtle, low-output nature of "Thousand Silk Force" came in, acting as a lubricant to smooth the transition.
However, the more he practiced, the more certain Yang Shen became of one thing: True Gang was a "Magic-like Technique."
’But if one type of Magic requires seven, eight, or even more spells as prerequisite training, the design is a bit overly complex.’
He had already fully absorbed the benefits of the "Dragon Blood," and he hadn’t slacked on his daily Cultivation. His Qi and Blood Value had already surpassed the 3,000 mark, reaching 3,289.
But as long as he hadn’t mastered True Gang, he was still just a Late-stage Innate Martial Artist.
In the biting wind, every martial movement stole a large amount of body heat, but his powerful physique burned like a furnace. Even the thin layer of frost under Yang Shen’s feet melted and evaporated, forming a conspicuous circle.
Just like that, Yang Shen repeatedly integrated various Cultivation Techniques into his movements, the transitions between his stances becoming more and more Harmonious.
It complemented the circle at his feet perfectly.
On a large tree nearby, a squirrel clutched a sunflower seed it had found somewhere, cracking it as it watched Yang Shen’s Cultivation.
It didn’t understand, but it wanted to watch.
The seed was quickly cracked open, and the kernel was stuffed into its cheek pouch.
After a moment, it suddenly seemed to have an idea. It took the kernel back out of its mouth, still wet with a bit of saliva.
It tossed it through the air toward Yang Shen. ’Here, have a treat!’
Yang Shen sensed a tiny object falling at the edge of his vision. He subconsciously diverted a bit of his attention, and his powerful sight allowed him to see clearly that it was a saliva-covered sunflower seed kernel, heading right for his face.
Almost as a reflex, he waved his hand to bat it away.
With a faint hum, the sunflower seed kernel was sent flying.
But the back of Yang Shen’s hand felt no impact...
And no saliva.
Yang Shen frowned silently for a moment, having grasped a shred of inspiration.
He flicked a sesame-seed-sized black ball of Curse Engraving through the air, tapping the squirrel on the forehead and knocking it out instantly. Then he resumed his martial movements.
This time, however, his hands adopted a "Hollow Grip" on the long spear.
At first, it was wobbly, the spear’s shaft twisting and tilting.
But as Yang Shen became more and more immersed, the empty space within his palms seemed to fill with some kind of invisible substance.
The gap grew wider, yet the spear’s shaft became steadier.
After three moves, the spear was still shuddering violently.
After thirty moves, the gap between Yang Shen’s hands in their Hollow Grip was a full ten centimeters wide.
After one hundred and thirty moves, the long spear seemed to be magnetically levitated, manipulated by Yang Shen’s various movements.
Two hundred and thirty moves...
Without him noticing, a fine powder of snow began to fall in Jianghuai. The tiny crystals drifted down slowly, but when they were still several meters from Yang Shen, they were vaporized from a distance by his furnace-like body heat.
Yang Shen suddenly thrust forward violently. The long spear flew through the air and struck the center of a tree trunk several meters away, embedding itself deep into the wood.
But Yang Shen could feel an invisible connection that remained between him and the spear.
The next moment, he crooked his finger.
The long spear flew back through the air...
Without pausing, Yang Shen formed a circle with his arms in a hollow embrace. The spear decelerated instantly upon its return, stopping in the empty space and spinning faster... and faster.
It was as if an unseen force was restraining it.
According to the standards of the Martial Arts Side, being able to project a force from the body for more than ten centimeters...
Could be considered...
True Gang... achieved.
However, after breaking through this mysterious, thin veil, Yang Shen didn’t feel as if he had reached his limit...
𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦
On the contrary, it was as if an already powerful organ had finally found its proper use. He felt that he still had a vast sea of potential left to uncover.
Cultivators... it seemed they truly faced no obstacles when Breaking Realm into True Gang.
’It’s just a matter of... learning a "new Magic."
’And once this Magic is learned... it is extremely powerful!’
The next moment, Yang Shen dismissed the Curse-Engraved Long Spear and his entire body began to move.
His hands swung continuously in the posture of the "Sun Wheel Body Refining Technique," while his whole body spun.
The fallen leaves in the Martial Arts Arena and the fine snowflakes filling the sky were all stirred up, forming a hemisphere around Yang Shen.
It grew larger and larger, fuller and fuller.
Until finally, it enveloped the entire Martial Arts Arena...