Surviving in the chaos of battle, I'm grinding for proficiency.

Li Chuan took a deep breath and stood up using the Baoshan Zhuang (a type of martial arts stance).

Soon, he felt a surge of heat throughout his body.

It felt like being burned by lava.

This heat originated in the dantian and instantly spread throughout the limbs.

Soon, his whole body became hot and even a little painful.

Li Chuan gritted his teeth, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

The heat flow, like waves, surged through the meridians throughout the body.

Tailb Pass, Spine Pass, and Jade Pillow Pass!

As each acupoint was opened, the stinging heat suddenly became warm and comfortable.

The powerful internal force merges with the body and limbs at this moment, transforming into internal force!

At that moment, Li Chuan felt as if his whole body had been baptized.

My hearing, eyesight, hand and foot strength are all undergoing transformation.

The pitch-black world suddenly became bright.

The wind seemed to whistle in my ears, carrying with it the rhythms of countless living things.

Feel the surging power in your hands, an unprecedented surge of power.

Li Chuan knew perfectly well that he had made a breakthrough!

[The Baoshan stance has reached its peak]

【Skill: Embracing Mountain Stance (Mastery)】

[Proficiency: 1/4000]

Li Chuan let out a deep breath.

From then on, he was no longer a dispensable outer disciple.

Instead, he was an inner disciple, one of the core members of the martial arts school!

Even in the entire Anning County, a martial artist with hidden strength is considered a "strongman"!

"Tomorrow, I will inform Master Liang that I have broken through to the Dark Force level," Li Chuan thought to himself.

In the current situation, it is not a good thing to simply hide one's shortcomings.

Only by demonstrating sufficient value can one gain recognition.

Li Chuan returned to the dormitory.

"What does it taste like?" He frowned.

Li Chuan sniffed carefully and it seemed to be coming from his own body.

He suddenly ripped open his shirt, only to find that his skin was covered with a thin layer of black grime!

"Is this... an impurity from the body?"

"In my past life, novels and stories all said that after a breakthrough, a thick layer of black mud would ooze out from one's body. It seems that was a bit of an exaggeration."

"Of course, it's also possible that I haven't reached that level yet."

Li Chuan quickly changed his clothes.

The taste was really not good!

After changing into his new clothes, Li Chuan felt much refreshed.

"I heard from Senior Brother Luo that besides the obvious improvement in physical fitness, internal strength has two unique effects."

First, it can injure without damaging the skin; striking someone is like hanging a painting, and the force can penetrate through the body, having the effect of piercing armor!

Second, it concentrates power into a single point and explodes, somewhat like the "inch punch" from my previous life.

Li Chuan planned to test their power one by one.

He first took a piece of venison.

Then, he shifted his inner strength and lightly patted the venison.

"Buzz".

Li Chuan could feel the surface of the venison trembling rapidly.

This is the manifestation of force damaging its interior.

After the meat was killed, it looked perfectly intact.

Li Chuan gently lifted it up, only to find that the skin was suddenly torn apart.

The meat inside had been completely minced!

Li Chuan was somewhat surprised, not expecting the penetrating power of the hidden force to be so strong.

If it's like this when it's hit on venison, how terrifying would it be if it were hit on a human?

"If I could go back to my past life with this skill, wouldn't I be able to make real 'handmade beef balls'?"

Who can beat themselves?

Li Chuan was amused by his own bizarre thought process.

He's probably the only one who could think of using hidden force to make beef balls.

If those Ming Jin disciples who have been diligently cultivating but have not yet succeeded in breaking through the barrier knew this, they would surely scold him for "wasting a precious resource"!

Li Chuan shook his head, then took a piece of wood.

He wanted to test the second function of hidden strength, which was to concentrate the force into a single point and unleash it.

Li Chuan took a deep breath and slammed his palm onto the wooden board.

The feeling of hitting the wooden board was completely different from before.

Previously, when using Ming Jin (a type of internal force), the entire palm exerted force.

Once the hidden force is applied, all the energy is concentrated at one point.

With a "bang".

A small hole appeared in the wooden board.

It was completely breached!

The rest of the body appears completely undamaged!

If it were someone with the Ming Jin skill, there would be absolutely no way they could have done this.

At most, the entire wooden board will be smashed.

This shows that his control over his strength has reached a new level.

"No wonder so many people crave hidden strength; the difference between it and manifest strength is just too great!"

After finishing the experiment, Li Chuan lay back down on the bed.

I slept exceptionally well that night.

……

The next day.

Li Chuan arrived at the training ground early as usual.

Since Yu Si Nian left, he has become the "oldest" Ming Jin disciple.

Perhaps because of Yu Sinian's failure, many people's views on him have gradually changed.

They believe he is just another Yu Sinian.

However, no one said these things to him to his face.

However, during his breaks, he inevitably heard some gossip.

Now that he has broken through the hidden strength barrier, he no longer finds these words offensive.

"Master and the others are back!" someone shouted.

Li Chuan turned his gaze and saw that Liang Xingzhou had returned with a group of inner court disciples and several highly regarded Ming Jin disciples.

"I heard that Qin Feng defeated a veteran Dark Force expert from Qianyun Martial Arts School in this sparring match!"

"He broke through to the Dark Force realm not long ago, and he often goes out drinking and carousing, so how come he's still growing so fast?"

"Superior physical constitution...how can it be judged by ordinary standards!"

"Do you think Qin Feng has the chance to pass the martial arts exam and become a scholar?"

"Getting into the top 50 will definitely be no problem!"

"That was our Songfeng Martial Arts School's first martial arts scholar!"

Li Chuan looked at Liang Xingzhou and saw that his wrinkled face was full of smiles.

The glances they cast at Qin Feng from time to time revealed their appreciation and satisfaction to everyone.

Luo Zheng was also in the group and greeted Li Chuan.

But Liang Xingzhou showed no sign of stopping and soon entered the inner courtyard.

Li Chuan stopped in his tracks as he was about to step forward.

Seeing Liang Xingzhou's expression, he had no interest in paying attention to him.

Li Chuan wasn't in a hurry. Anyway, he already had the internal strength cultivation level, so it didn't matter whether he said it sooner or later.

And so, he happily practiced Tongbei Quan.

[Practicing Tongbei Quan, proficiency +1]

[Practicing Tongbei Quan, proficiency +1]

[Skill: Tongbei Quan (Minor Mastery)]

[Proficiency: 1902/2000]

As his proficiency with Tongbei Quan gradually increases, he is not far from mastering it.

Li Chuan felt even more satisfied.

He didn't approach until evening, when all the inner disciples had left.

A maidservant was guarding Liang Xingzhou's door. Li Chuan greeted her politely.

"Please inform Master Liang that Li Chuan from the outer courtyard requests an audience."

The maid nodded, signaling Li Chuan to wait a moment.

She went inside alone:

"Master, Li Chuan from the outer courtyard requests an audience."

Liang Xingzhou waved his hand:

"No, no, I'm busy."

The maidservant reluctantly told Li Chuan the news.

Li Chuan was stunned for a moment:

"Sorry to bother you."

After he finished speaking, he returned to the training ground to continue practicing.

Inside the room, after refusing, Liang Xingzhou felt something was amiss.

He had some impression of Li Chuan, a diligent and hardworking man of inferior talent.

It wouldn't be good to disappoint him.

After thinking it over, he sighed again:

"never mind."

Liang Xingzhou walked straight out of the room, but did not see Li Chuan.

"Where is Li Chuan?" he asked.

The maid pointed in the direction of the martial arts arena.

Liang Xingzhou shook his head and chuckled:

"They are indeed very diligent."

He casually picked up a dried persimmon and slowly walked over while eating it.

Under the moonlight, a young man moved with the agility of a nimble ape.

He wielded all the moves of Tongbei Quan with ease, striking the wooden stake in front of him with resounding thuds.

"This sound... something's not right?" Liang Xingzhou squinted, chewing on a persimmon.

When he looked closely, he discovered that every punch Li Chuan threw was a hidden needle hidden in its gentleness.

The powerful force traveled through his fist, wave after wave, guiding it towards the wooden stake.

The wooden stake appeared to be intact, but inside it was a complete mess.

Liang Xingzhou paused as he was about to put the persimmon in his mouth.

This kind of use is clearly a form of internal force!