Tang Tian finally experienced the thrill of becoming wealthy overnight.
TheIron Mud Fingerhad been replaced with theEagle Claw Technique, alongside theEmpty Wooden Post,Eight Steps to Chase the Cicada,Fragmented Shadow Palm,Little Collapse Fist, andChain Techniques—six silver Soul General cards, all lined up before him, gleaming in silver and dazzling his eyes.
"This is what life is all about!"
After reveling in the moment, Tang Tian looked up at the sky and sighed in awe.
"Basic Tang, you’ve fallen!" Amori said with a look of disdain.
"Fallen?" Tang Tian turned his face, righteousness brimming in his tone, "Fly Cow, you underestimate the god-like youth! Do you think mere six silver cards can bring me down? Hmph!"
Amori broke into a wide grin: "Now that’s the spirit! Basic Tang, you must not betray your warrior's heart; only by becoming the strongest man can you truly deserve your ideals..."
Tang Tian raised his arms, gazing skyward with a solemn expression: "It takes at least six golden cards to bring down a god-like youth!"
Amori’s words were abruptly cut short.
Tang Tian began to rest his chin on his hand: "Which one should I learn?"
At that moment, Old Wei’s voice suddenly emerged from behind them: "Oh ho, ho! Has the young man struck it rich? That silver gleam is dazzling from afar!"
Old Wei jumped in front of them, circling around the six silver cards with curiosity: "Did you two just come back from a robbery?"
Amori vividly recounted the day’s battle to Old Wei.
Old Wei exclaimed, "You two teamed up and barely defeated Shen Yuan?"
He stroked his chin, muttering to himself, "I should've known better than to let my guard down. That guy took it seriously. Hmm, seems I’ll have to give you some special training."
Tang Tian and Amori exchanged glances, an ominous feeling creeping into their hearts.
Old Wei turned, grinning widely: "You two will miss these past two months!"
Tang Tian and Amori felt a chill run down their spines.
Shen Yuan and Yang Yong stood with their heads bowed before the principal, their faces pale.
The principal's expression was ominous: "Very good! Quite commendable! It seems my orders weren't enough; you still have the energy to skip classes and cause trouble."
In the corner, Assistant Xu quietly thought it was a disaster; it was rare for the principal to be this furious, and his heart was in his throat.
"This incident will result in strict punishment for all involved students," the principal stated emotionlessly. "From today until the Star Wind Martial Arts Conference, any student caught skipping classes will be expelled! Yang Yong and Shen Yuan, you are to be confined for two months!"
Assistant Xu was startled; the principal was genuinely angry this time. He looked at Shen Yuan and Yang Yong with sympathy. Shen Yuan remained relatively calm, while Yang Yong appeared ashen.
Suddenly, the principal turned his gaze to Assistant Xu: "Go tell the school discipline office that if they don’t improve, they can forget about their jobs."
Assistant Xu hurriedly replied, "Yes!"
"Everyone else, leave. Shen Yuan, stay behind," the principal said coldly.
Yang Yong and Assistant Xu quickly exited.
The principal fixed his gaze on Shen Yuan, snorting: "Did you win or lose?"
"I lost." Shen Yuan lowered his head. "Tang Tian disguised himself as a passerby to lead us. Yang Yong was ambushed first, and then he teamed up with Amori, resulting in my defeat as well."
Surprisingly, upon hearing that they had lost, the principal didn’t seem overly angry. He merely said, "Go on."
Shen Yuan wore a thoughtful expression: "Amori initially seemed... somewhat indecisive. But then he suddenly became very resolute, with tremendous impact. However, what stood out more was Tang Tian."
"Tang Tian?" The principal seemed surprised.
"Yes, Tang Tian primarily practices the Flashing Fist, yet he can unleash fist energy with it!" Shen Yuan explained.
"The Flashing Fist can unleash fist energy!" The principal's eyes widened, murmuring: "He actually gave that Soul General card to Tang Tian! Tang Tian has actually mastered it..."
"Mastered what?" Shen Yuan couldn’t help but ask curiously.
The principal’s expression hardened: "Continue."
Shen Yuan realized he had asked something he shouldn’t have and quickly continued: "Tang Tian is incredibly brave; his combat style is fierce, and he doesn’t fear injury. If the skill levels are close, I believe few can defeat him."
"Go focus on training." The principal looked at Shen Yuan seriously: "Your talent in the Sky Crystal isn’t the best, but your temperament is decent. You can remain calm and composed; I have great expectations for you. Don’t let me down."
"Yes!" Shen Yuan replied respectfully.
"Go!"
The principal waved his hand, and as Shen Yuan left, he muttered to himself,
"The Crane Energy Technique... he actually mastered it..."
Seeing the rumbling quarry before them, Tang Tian and Amori were both astonished.
"Old Wei, why did you bring us here? Are you secretly a child labor trafficker?" Tang Tian pointed at Old Wei with an expression that said, "I see through you."
Old Wei ignored him and walked straight toward a burly man, shouting from afar, "Hey, Old Stone!"
The burly man turned upon hearing the call, and upon seeing Old Wei, he broke into a wide smile and walked over.
When the man turned his body, Tang Tian and Amori both took a sharp breath. To be honest, Amori's physical prowess was already remarkable, but compared to the man before them, Amori looked like a child.
Every muscle on the man's body was well-defined, dark, and glistening, as if forged through countless trials. His arms were exaggeratedly thick; Tang Tian estimated they were thicker than his thighs.
The iron hammer the man held made both Tang Tian and Amori gulp.
"Old Wei, what brings you here today?" the burly man asked in a deep voice.
"Bringing these two kids over to train. Is that okay?" Old Wei asked nonchalantly.
"What's the problem? Here, it's just stones," the man laughed heartily, sizing up Tang Tian and Amori with a friendly smile, praising, "They’re good candidates."
Old Wei beamed with pride: "Haha, that’s right, my eye for talent is infallible!"
Others in the quarry caught wind of the commotion and gathered around.
Then, Tang Tian and Amori began to feel self-conscious.
These people were tall and robust, each with waists thicker than barrels, their bodies bulging with muscle, as if cast from bronze and iron. Each of them wielded a hammer that seemed enormous in their hands, yet light as a feather.
Tang Tian and Amori usually prided themselves on their physical prowess, but standing among these giants, they felt like mere seedlings.
"Old Wei, nice work! This time, it looks promising!"
"These two kids are impressive!"
"Mm-hm, with some training, they'll be great!"
...
Old Wei’s eyes were bright with joy, and he laughed so hard that his eyes disappeared. Meanwhile, Tang Tian and Amori felt a chill run down their spines as they were evaluated by this group of muscular men. The experience was truly terrifying.
Tang Tian and Amori forced smiles, looking bashfully shy.
Stone waved his hand: "Alright, alright, disperse, don’t scare the two kids."
A wave of kind laughter ensued as everyone turned to leave.
Old Wei turned to Stone: "This is Amori, my apprentice, and this is Tang Tian, well, he wants to follow the path of a close-combat expert."
"Oh, a close-combat expert." Stone’s eyes glimmered with interest as he sized up Tang Tian again, nodding in approval: "Ambitious!"
"I’m leaving them in your hands," Old Wei said irresponsibly.
"Got it." Stone nodded decisively.
Old Wei turned to Tang Tian and Amori, advising, "From today onward, Stone will be your special training instructor. Whatever he asks you to do, you must comply."
Tang Tian and Amori nodded in understanding, feeling the immense pressure from Stone.
"Well, I’m off." Old Wei waved his hand, departing with a flair.
"Follow me," Stone instructed Tang Tian and Amori.
The two hurriedly followed Stone into the quarry. It was an open-air site, filled with towering piles of rocks, primarily granite.
Arriving at a stone storage area, Stone fetched an iron knife.
The iron knife was blunt, thick, and weighed over fifty pounds, yet in Stone's hands, it felt weightless. He casually picked up a stone about the size of a door panel from the pile of stones.
Tang Tian and Amori turned pale upon seeing this; indeed, there was always someone stronger. Even a powerhouse like Amori seemed like a small grasshopper compared to Stone.
Stone placed the rock before them and said to Amori, "Your daily task is to split stone bricks, like this."
With a swift motion, Stone brought the knife down, effortlessly slicing a piece of stone the size of a bamboo basket. With a few swift cuts, a square stone brick appeared before them, its surfaces as smooth as a mirror and perfectly rectangular, as if measured with a ruler.
Tang Tian and Amori stood in stunned silence. This was granite, a material hard enough to shatter steel blades!
Stone tossed the heavy iron knife to Amori: "Here, you need to give me a hundred of these square bricks every day for the next ten days."
With that, he left the speechless Amori behind and took Tang Tian to another corner.
Tang Tian's face turned a shade pale.
"What are you currently practicing?" Stone asked Tang Tian.
Tang Tian carefully explained the Soul General cards he had, and after listening, Stone nodded: "Then you should practice the Little Collapse Fist. There are quite a few practicing it here."
"Is that so..." Tang Tian felt his expression stiffen, his heart racing with anxiety.
"Yes, the Little Collapse Fist is quite effective for breaking stone."
Stone led Tang Tian to a pile of stones, picking up another stone the size of a bamboo basket, and with a swift slap, it flattened as easily as tofu, turning into a stone pancake.
With a casual swipe, Stone revealed a pile of rubble before Tang Tian. The pieces were uniform in size, nearly all the same size as soybeans.
"Well, to start, I won't demand too much from you. Each piece of rubble shouldn't exceed the size of a chestnut. You need to produce five hundred pounds of rubble every day."
Tang Tian stared at the scattered stone debris, utterly dazed.
