Morning light flooded the sky as though rain had cleared and clouds had parted. The pale, water-clear glow shone quietly through the window lattice, illuminating the bluestone floor with a bright sheen.
Puff!
Reining in his powerful palm force, Huang Tian slowly drew his stance to a close. After a night without sleep, his eyes were exceptionally clear and bright.
"Trained all night, yet my spirit and energy are actually quite good."
He smiled, stepped outside, and drew a bucket of water to wash up. Once finished, he headed to the eatery for breakfast and his medicinal soup. Even with the Blood Condensation Pills, the supplementary aid of the medicinal soup remained necessary.
After finishing his meal, he made his way to Drill Ground Tian One. A scattered dozen or so students had already arrived. Upon seeing him enter, they all smiled instinctively. Huang Tian nodded in return, then sat cross-legged on a prayer mat to await Head Instructor Liu's arrival.
About a quarter of an hour passed, and the martial students were fully assembled. Liu Kuo strode with steady steps to the front of the crowd and swept his gaze over them—twenty-four in total. Huang Rui was still lying in bed groaning in silence, naturally unable to attend.
Clearing his throat, Liu Kuo wasted no words, keeping it concise. "Does anyone wish to spar and test their hands?"
Every pair of eyes turned toward Luo Chan, clad in black martial robes, and the composed Huang Tian.
Luo Chan stepped forward with steady footing, gave Huang Tian a slight bow, and said amicably, "Brother Huang, please instruct me."
"Please."
Huang Tian stood opposite Luo Chan, several zhang apart. The two exchanged salutes, then spread into their stances.
Luo Chan's feet parted naturally to slightly wider than shoulder-width, his knees bending slightly as though seated upon a high stool, and his arms rose slowly as if embracing a giant sphere.
Huang Tian, however, barely moved. He merely planted himself on the spot like a javelin, his gaze razor-sharp.
Facing Huang Tian, who had not even assumed a stance and seemed completely full of openings, Luo Chan's breathing grew heavy.
Only when standing directly before Huang Tian could one feel the mountainous, formidable aura radiating from him. The surging momentum bore down on Luo Chan like towering peaks and vast oceans, leaving him nearly breathless.
"I can't let this continue!"
Seasoned and experienced, Luo Chan realized with a shock that he was entirely smothered by Huang Tian's presence. He had to break through it immediately, or he would fail to bring out even seventy percent of his full strength.
With a twist and a stomp of his right foot, his sleeves snapped through the air, and he launched forward like a cannonball. His twin palms resembled massive cauldrons, carrying a profound, ponderous force as they smashed heavily toward Huang Tian's chest!
Palms prop the weight of nine heavens, intent calms the four seas;
Breath gathers like rolling clouds, force erupts like startling thunder!
The force detonated in midair like a thunderclap, the fierce gale whipping Huang Tian's black hair into a frenzy. Huang Tian did not rush to take it head-on. Tapping the ground with his toes, he channeled the Crane Submergence footwork of the Ferocious Crane Fist. His body drifted backward lightly, effortlessly evading Luo Chan's primed strike.
Having missed his mark, Luo Chan shifted his palms and altered his technique. His left hand drove out with Heaven-Supporting Jade Pillar while his right struck with Heaven Tilts Northwest, violently sweeping through the fine dust in the air.
This time, Huang Tian did not retreat. Tracing a semicircle with both palms, he moved to intercept. The instant their palm momentum collided, Huang Tian's wrists rotated and drifted like flowing clouds, forcibly deflecting Luo Chan's palm force into empty air, causing his momentum to stall.
"That's my Cloud-Overturning Palm?!"
Among the watching martial students, Yang Mo gasped in an undertone, his eyes widening into perfect circles.
He had never expected that the Cloud-Overturning Palm, which he had not yet brought to perfection himself, could be executed by Huang Tian—and with such ease, redirecting and unraveling Luo Chan's tremendous force. That was something even Yang Mo was incapable of doing!
"How is that possible?! Has his Cloud-Overturning Palm reached perfection? But when did he learn the technique? Could it be that he picked it up just by watching me spar with others yesterday?"
Shock, despair, and dejection churned through Yang Mo's mind.
Years of painstaking effort could not compare to a single day from someone else. The disparity was simply too staggering!
On the field, Luo Chan's face flushed crimson as his force struck empty air, nearly choking on his own breath. Fortunately, his reactions were swift; twisting his body, he leaped high into the air and plunged down with a roar. Both palms kicked up a howling gale as they pressed down upon Huang Tian from above.
Huang Tian's sleeves fluttered as he curled his fingers into fists, drawing a crack from the air. His fists resembled two enormous iron hammers as they smashed upward into the descending Luo Chan with crushing weight!
Bang!
Fist and palm collided, sending shockwaves scattering in all directions. The explosive concussive boom of force whipped up a gale that made Luo Chan's face ripple. He felt a numb sting spread through his palms, and even without looking, he knew they had turned a vivid, angry red.
"I'm actually being suppressed in raw strength?!"
As the ponderous fist force knocked his body backward through the air, that thought flashed across Luo Chan's mind.
Another cry of shock rang out from the watching crowd: "That's my Mountain-Collapsing Fist?!"
Seeing these intimately familiar fist and palm techniques displayed one after another by Huang Tian drew continuous exclamations from the onlookers.
There was no helping it. They had not even mastered their own martial arts to perfection, yet Huang Tian had already mastered them beforehand—and was now using their techniques to beat down Luo Chan. How could their pride survive it?
Taking advantage of Luo Chan flying backward without any leverage, Huang Tian stepped forward at an angle, leaped decisively, and propped both palms upward along a diagonal slant. His palm force surged forth like toppling mountains and overturning seas!
"Heaven-Supporting Palm, Heaven Tilts Northwest?!"
Seeing the technique Huang Tian unleashed, Luo Chan stared as if he had seen a ghost, his arms crossing instinctively over his chest to block.
Boom!
Already airborne, Luo Chan was hurled backward like a fired bullet, crashing several zhang away with a heavy thud. He tumbled across the ground like a ragged sack, kicking up a swirl of dust until his black robes and hair were caked in grit and dirt.
Lying prone on the ground, he pressed his right hand against his chest and coughed several times in succession. A trace of fresh blood spilled from the corner of his lips, his eyes still brimming with disbelief.
Not only him, but all the surrounding martial students—including Liu Kuo—were thoroughly stunned. Before today, Huang Tian had never once laid eyes on the Heaven-Supporting Palm. That he could execute it now meant he had mastered it in the very instant he crossed hands with Luo Chan!
Total silence fell over the grounds; everyone held their breath.
In the center of the field, Huang Tian did not pursue his advantage. He bore no deep grudge against Luo Chan, and bringing a spar to this point was more than enough.
At that moment, Yang Mo, who had been standing to the side, dashed over to help Luo Chan up. Head Instructor Liu suddenly barked, "Don't touch him!"
Yang Mo froze, not understanding why he was stopped. Turning his head, he saw that Luo Chan seemed to have fallen into deep contemplation.
Time slipped quietly by. After roughly half the time it took an incense stick to burn, Luo Chan's eyes snapped bright. Muttering under his breath, he chanted a string of words to himself before finally lifting his head to look at Huang Tian standing opposite him. He slowly rose to his feet and bowed with immense gratitude. "Many thanks, Brother Huang."
"No need to thank me. That you grasped the opportunity for breakthrough comes from your own solid foundation. I merely gave you a small nudge."
Indeed, Huang Tian's strike of Heaven Tilts Northwest had battered Luo Chan into doubting his own life, yet by sheer chance, it had also allowed him to seize the opportunity for a breakthrough. As the saying went, without destruction there could be no creation. All he needed to do now was return and temper his blood-qi a bit further; in three to five days at best, or half a month at most, he would break through to the eighth rank of the martial path!
That was why he felt such deep gratitude toward Huang Tian.
"Once I make the breakthrough, I will certainly host a banquet to thank you. Please do not decline, Brother Huang."
Hearing this, Huang Tian wore a rather peculiar expression. Host a banquet for him after breaking through?
Perhaps Luo Chan would not even break through faster than he would...
Chapter 63