From absorbing the essence of the sun and moon to achieving divine mastery in martial arts

For the past three days, Cang Lian has immersed himself entirely in the cultivation of the "Opening Heaven Force," almost reaching a state of complete absorption in the external world.

He forcibly locked that Blood Soul Needle in a corner of his memory, selectively forgetting it.

Because he knew all too well that the best way to disguise such a huge secret was to temporarily forget it himself.

Without Gu Guolong's watchful eye, Cang Lian could finally act freely.

He was shirtless, his body glowing faintly in the sunlight—the luster of a "precious body" repeatedly tempered by the essence of the sun.

With each breath, he seemed to achieve a strange resonance with heaven and earth. The power of the sun outside was like warm streams, which he continuously absorbed into his body, transforming into solar essence to repair the minor damage caused by high-intensity training and nourish every inch of his muscles and every bone.

This allows him to recover to his peak condition in a short time, no matter how exhausted he becomes from cultivation, and to always maintain abundant energy.

But more importantly, there was the destiny in his mind.

[Destiny]: Visible Progress

This extraordinary destiny, like a grandmaster who is always online, has lit an inextinguishable lamp for him on his path of martial arts cultivation.

It never gives any evaluation, only the most honest feedback—if you practice it correctly, it will play; if you practice it incorrectly, it will be completely silent.

At this moment, Cang Lian is practicing the first move of the "Three Forms of Heaven Opening" - "Rising Mountain from Flat Ground".

He slowly rose to his feet, stepped forward with his right foot, and landed firmly in a 3/7 stance, his soles gripping the ground like eagle claws.

He lowered his waist and sat on his horse, trying to concentrate all the strength in his body and transmit it from the soles of his feet to his fists.

However, the panel in his mind was blank and unresponsive.

Cang Lian frowned slightly.

He knew that meant he was wrong.

He could vaguely sense that although his power could be transmitted from the soles of his feet, it seemed to be lost along the way and was not "complete".

He tried again, this time slowing down his movements and immersing himself completely in his body to feel the flow of that power.

He imagined his spine no longer as twenty-four separate bones, but as a complete, resilient keel.

When he once again focused his mind on the ground, drawing power from the earth, the panel remained lifeless.

That's it!

After several attempts, Cang Lian suddenly understood.

He realized that the problem lay at its core.

His waist and abdomen were not tightened, causing the power to leak out when passing through his torso.

He took a deep breath, initiated reverse abdominal breathing, drew his lower abdomen in, and felt the energy core in his dantian sink slightly.

At the same time, his core muscles tensed up instantly, as if his body was wearing an invisible suit of armor.

He launched another attack.

This time, as the power surged from the soles of his feet and climbed up his legs, he clearly felt that all the power was firmly locked within the "channel" of his body, without the slightest leakage.

"Buzz!"

His entire skeleton emitted a clear, resonant sound, like a bell or tripod struck in an instant.

Right at this moment.

The panel in his mind finally lit up.

[Opening Heaven Force - Rising Mountain from Flat Ground (First Form): Proficiency +1!]

"Finally, another step forward!"

Cang Lian was overjoyed. Without the slightest hesitation, he unleashed a powerful punch with his right fist, following the perfect force.

"Thump!"

A dull, resounding thud, like a giant hammer pounding the ground, rang out. The sandbag in front of him did not swing wildly; instead, it caved inward, forming a terrifying fist-shaped indentation.

This is the terrifying aspect of "Advanced Visualization"!

It never tells you where you went wrong, but only gives you positive feedback the moment you find the right answer.

It firmly binds that vague, mysterious "feeling" with the real "increase in proficiency".

If you practice correctly, you will increase your proficiency.

Others, even if they happen to practice correctly by chance, may not even know that they have practiced correctly, let alone be able to replicate this "correct" state.

But Canglian can.

He could revise and repeat again and again until every punch he threw earned him that reassuring "+1" on the screen.

With the help of these two "divine artifacts", Cang Lian's progress was incredibly fast.

It was as if he wasn't cultivating himself, but rather conducting an incredibly precise scientific experiment, with each failure bringing him one step closer to success.

Three days, ten days, fifteen days...

In the blink of an eye, a month has quietly passed.

Over the course of the past month, the floor of the training room was soaked with dark marks from his sweat.

The progress bar on that panel was steadily climbing forward at a heart-pounding speed.

Finally, on an evening when the setting sun dyed the sky golden red, with a perfect "Mountain Moving and Sea Filling" move, his whole body crackled and popped, and the text on the panel suddenly changed.

【Opening Heaven Strength: 50/100 (Medium)】

Zhongcheng!

This means that his cultivation has officially entered the mid-stage of Ming Jin!

This progress is nothing short of miraculous!

During the cultivation period, the "luck lottery" event in the base was also in full swing, attracting countless scions of aristocratic families to watch each time.

Cang Lian also tried his luck a few times, just to join in the fun, and he actually won twice.

The enormous reward for merit tempted everyone, but Cang Lian only glanced at it before turning back to his cultivation room.

Because he knows better than anyone what he needs most right now.

It's not about merit points, not about those illusory military ranks, and certainly not about those prestigious and respectable titles.

It's about strength!

The only way for him to survive in this world is to hone his fists to be harder and master the "Opening Heaven Force" to be more refined!

Those tempting rewards were nothing but illusions to him.

Day after day, another month passed in the blink of an eye.

I've been at the Shenghai Kingdom Martial Hall base for two whole months.

That night, the moonlight was as clear as water.

Cang Lian was shirtless, his bronze skin gleaming with a metallic sheen under the moonlight, his muscles flowing and full of explosive power, like a cheetah poised to pounce.

He slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, which was as white as silk. His eyes suddenly narrowed, and the next moment, he moved!

There were no unnecessary movements; it was just a simple "rising from the ground" move.

But this punch was completely different from the previous ones.

The air seemed to be sucked out instantly, emitting a sharp screech!

The ground in front of him cracked with several spiderweb-like fine lines centered on the soles of his feet!

The heavy sandbag was already dented inward by the terrifying pressure of his fist a second before it touched it!

"boom!"

The moment the fist made contact with the sandbag, a loud bang, like the beating of a drum, was produced.

The sandbag, weighing several hundred pounds, was sent flying by a single punch, crashing into a distant wall with a dull thud.

[Kaitianjin: 99/100 (Dacheng)]

The panel popped up almost the instant he threw the punch, and the progress bar filled up instantly the moment the loud bang landed!

[Kaitianjin: 100/100 (Dacheng)]

"Perfect! Finally, I've reached the late stage of Ming Jin!"

An unprecedented sense of excitement and satisfaction instantly swept over Cang Lian's entire body!

He slowly withdrew his fist, looking at his knuckles that were trembling slightly from the intense concentration of power, and his eyes blazed with intense light.

For the past two months, he has been practicing from the first rays of dawn until the last rays of sunset.

He devoted all his energy and time to this tedious cultivation without reservation, and his diligence was extreme.

Now, he has finally transformed all his sweat and perseverance into the most hardcore reward!

He was no longer the boy who was bullied in the Cang Mansion, but a Ming Jin late-stage martial artist who truly possessed the ability to protect himself.

……

"Once night falls, it's time to absorb the moonlight."

Cang Lian looked up at the sky. In the deep night, there were many stars and a bright moon hanging high.

Without the nourishment of the sun's essence, he generally stops engaging in high-intensity strength training; a balance between work and rest is the key.

He preferred to stroll through the base at times like these, feeling the cool moonlight slowly entering his body through the Heaven and Earth Pearl, washing away the fatigue of the day.

He followed a rarely traveled path and unknowingly arrived at a secluded garden.

This place is lush with greenery and features rugged rockeries, making it a rare quiet spot within the base.

Just then, a strange sound entered his ears.

"Boom..."

The sound was deep and suppressed, like muffled thunder coming from afar on a summer afternoon.

Cang Lian stopped in her tracks, her brows furrowing slightly.

The moon is shining brightly tonight, and there isn't a cloud in the sky. Why is there thunder?

How strange!

His curiosity was completely piqued, and he followed the sound, quietly walking deeper into the garden.

As he drew closer, the thunder grew clearer, as if it were coming from behind a rockery not far ahead.

He held his breath and cautiously peeked out.

In the open space in front of the artificial hill, a woman sat cross-legged; it was Chu Zhaoxue!

She was still wearing that crisp military uniform, but now she had unbuttoned the top button of her collar, and her long hair was casually draped over her shoulders. She looked less sharp and more alluring than during the day.

Her eyes were closed, her face was calm, and the thunder was actually coming from inside her body!

With each breath she took, a muffled roar echoed, as if her internal organs were rehearsing a thunderous storm!

"What kind of technique is this? Thunder is actually being generated within her body!" Cang Lian's heart pounded wildly, filled with astonishment and shock.

Just as he was engrossed in watching, completely awestruck by this unprecedented sight,

"Who?!"

A chilling rebuke, like ice from the deepest hell, exploded in his ears!

Cang Lian felt an irresistible and terrifying force appear out of nowhere. An invisible hand formed from qi instantly grabbed his neck, lifted him into the air, and dragged him away.

"Bang!"

He was thrown heavily in front of Chu Zhaoxue, and was completely disoriented.

He struggled to lift his head, only to meet a pair of cold, emotionless eyes.

Chu Zhaoxue stood with one hand on her hip, looking down at him with an expression as if she were looking at an ant that she could crush at any moment.

"Don't you know this is a forbidden area for me to practice my skills?"