My martial arts have no bottlenecks.

Chapter 26 Departure

【Mastery of Hunyuan Zhuang (999/1000)】

At this moment, Liang Cheng calmed down, his feet slightly apart, shoulder-width apart, toes slightly turned inward, like the roots of an old tree, deeply embedded in the earth, the ankle, knee and hip joints seemingly connected yet not connected, seemingly locked yet not locked, a perfect whole.

A warm current naturally surges from the coccyx within the spine, like a spring rising from the earth, passing through the spine, penetrating the occipital bone, and reaching the Baihui point. It then flows down, unleashing a surge of vital energy and blood throughout the body, and causing the muscles and bones to spontaneously adjust to perfect harmony.

Raise your arms and extend your fingers, your strength is perfectly integrated, and your softness and strength are in harmony. Your breath and internal energy resonate with each other, and your stance has reached a state of perfection.

[The Hunyuan Stance is now complete]

Liang Cheng opened his eyes, overjoyed.

Among the vast majority of those who possess the highest level of internal energy transformation, very few can achieve the perfection of stance training.

If it were anyone else, they would have already broken through to the Transformation Realm, but Liang Cheng is still a Dark Realm martial artist. However, with his solid foundation and perfect stance training, his true combat strength is already comparable to that of an ordinary master who has just entered the Transformation Realm.

If a mayfly wants to reach the sky, every step must be perfect.

Liang Cheng calmed down and continued practicing martial arts. Now that his stance training was perfected, he could squeeze out more time to cultivate the Wild Bull Strength and Stone Armor Skill, and his progress would surely accelerate again.

Time flies, and it's already late March. There are less than three days left before the spring hunt begins.

Liang Cheng's life is very regular. He practices boxing during the day and hard kung fu at night. He has already extracted 99% of the medicinal power of the silver-headed shark. The last trace of warmth that had settled in his muscles, bones, and blood was completely dissolved during his stone bone training last night.

[The Great Perfection of Hunyuan Stance]

【The Great Perfection of the Wild Bull's Strength (1803/2000)】

The Complete Works of Stone Armor Technique (Fragment) (1920/2000)

The Stone Armor Skill fragment is on the verge of perfection, just one step away from completion. His skin appears no different from that of an ordinary person, but when he exerts his strength, gray-white stone patterns appear under his skin. Ordinary swords and knives cannot harm him in the slightest. His bones are harder than refined iron, and his fist strength has increased by two points compared to a month ago.

Ordinary masters of internal energy are probably no match for him.

However, the price was that his money was spent like water, and now his wealth has shrunk by nearly half, leaving him with only a thousand taels of silver notes and a little bit of loose silver.

But the most important thing is the skill of the two-foot-long silver-headed shark, which at least saves him two months of hard training and can be called a powerful weapon.

"Wealth, companionship, law, and land..."

He muttered those four words to himself, rewrapped the banknote, and stuffed it into a hidden compartment in the wall.

The sky outside the window was just beginning to lighten.

He changed into the martial arts school's blue robe, pushed open the door, and saw that the disciples were already practicing in the courtyard. When they saw him come out, they all stopped what they were doing, clasped their hands in greeting, and said, "Senior Brother Liang."

Liang Cheng nodded in return, and without stopping, walked straight to the front yard. Wherever he went, the apprentices respectfully made way for him, their eyes filled with a mixture of awe and envy.

Upon arriving at the front yard, they saw Zhou Hu standing with his hands behind his back at the edge of the training ground. His face was still somewhat pale, and his breathing was much weaker, but his back was ramrod straight, like a spear that refused to bend.

"Junior Brother Liang." Zhou Hu turned around and saw him, a slight smile on his face. "Master wants you to go to the main hall."

"Yes," Liang Cheng replied, then hesitated slightly, "Regarding Senior Brother's injury..."

"It's alright." Zhou Hu waved his hand, his tone calm. "I failed to break through the barrier, but after resting, I'm mostly recovered and can make it in time for the spring hunt."

Liang Cheng nodded and said nothing more. Some things are better left unsaid; saying too much about them would only make them seem pretentious.

In the main hall, Yang Wei saw Liang Cheng enter and pointed to the chair below him.

"sit."

Liang Cheng sat down as instructed.

"We'll be setting off in three days for the spring hunt," Yang Wei said bluntly. "Linwu City will send a special envoy to observe the ceremony, and the Martial Academy will also send deacons to select promising talents. This is both an opportunity and a hurdle."

He looked at Liang Cheng with piercing eyes: "Your comprehension and temperament are both top-notch. Although your natural talent is average, if you can stand out in the Spring Hunt and be noticed by the Martial Academy, your future will be limitless."

Then he changed the subject, his voice becoming serious: "However, Wu Tianxiong of Zhennan Martial Arts School and I have a deep-seated grudge. Although the Spring Hunt strictly prohibits injury or death, accidents happen frequently in the deep mountains and forests, so you must be extremely careful."

"This disciple understands," Liang Cheng said.

"For the next three days, you, Zhou Hu, and Zhao Yuan will all be using the Seven Treasures Soup to aid your training, and you must reach your peak condition."

"Thank you, Master." He accepted the jade box with both hands.

"No need to thank me," Yang Wei waved his hand. "The stronger you are, the more stable the martial arts school will be. Take good care of yourselves for the next three days and get back to peak condition. Go now."

Liang Cheng bowed and left the main hall. He had only taken a few steps when he saw Zhao Yuan emerge from behind a pillar. His face was still pale, but his eyes no longer held the arrogance of the past.

The two nodded to each other and walked away.

……

In the afternoon, Liang Cheng asked for leave to go home. The spring hunting location was in Lieshan Valley, which was quite far away, and he would be away for quite a while.

The streets remained calm; the internal strife within the Sea Serpent Gang had not affected this area. Several women washing clothes by the well smiled broadly as he passed by.

Pushing open the door, Ning Sanniang was kneading dough in front of the stove. Seeing him return, her face immediately lit up with a smile: "Cheng'er, you're back? Are you hungry? Mother will make you a bowl of noodles."

"I'm not hungry, Mother." Liang Cheng sat down at the table, watching his mother's busy figure, and suddenly said, "In three days, I'm going on a long trip with the martial arts school."

Ning San Niang paused in kneading the dough, then continued kneading vigorously: "Where are we going? How long will we be gone?"

"The Lieshan Valley, under the jurisdiction of Linwu City, participates in the spring hunt, which lasts from half a month to a month." Liang Cheng tried to keep his tone light. "It's a good thing. If you perform well, you'll have the opportunity to enter the martial arts academy in the county city."

Ning San Niang turned around, wiped her hands with her apron, walked up to Liang Cheng, looked up at her son who was now a head taller than her, and reached out to straighten his collar.

"Mother doesn't understand anything about the martial arts academy's spring hunt. All I know is that my son has grown up and is capable now. When you're out in the world, be careful in everything you do, don't be reckless, and just come back safe and sound."

As she spoke, she turned around and took out a blue cloth bundle from the cabinet, pushing it in front of Liang Cheng: "Mother made you two new sets of underwear, and also sewed several pairs of insoles, and this—"

She pulled a small amulet from her bosom, tied with a red string and made of somewhat worn fabric: "This was obtained by your mother from the temple before your father went to sea. He didn't get to wear it, so wear it for your safety."

Liang Cheng took the amulet; its surface was warm to the touch, as if his mother had caressed it countless times. His throat tightened slightly, and he nodded emphatically, "Yes, I'll wear it."

The mother and son didn't say anything more. Ning San Niang went to cook noodles, and Liang Cheng packed up the bundle.

Before leaving, he wrapped fifty taels of silver in oiled paper and put it into the earthenware jar by his mother's bedside.

As I walked out of the alley, the setting sun was just right.

Sanya stood under the locust tree across the alley, twisting the hem of her clothes with both hands. When she saw him come out, she quickly lowered her head, but couldn't help but peek at him again.

Liang Cheng walked over: "Sanya, is something wrong?"

Sanya blushed, took out a small blue cloth bag from behind her back, and stuffed it into his hand: "Brother Liang Cheng, take this with you."

When Liang Cheng opened it, he saw a brand new pair of cloth shoes with fine and solid stitches and thick soles.

"My mother said that when you walk a lot when you go out, you should wear good shoes." Sanya's voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz. After saying that, she turned around and ran away like a frightened little rabbit.

Liang Cheng looked at the cloth shoes in his hand, then at the girl's retreating figure, and sighed softly.

……

Three days later, at the end of the Yin hour.

In front of Yangwei Martial Arts School, three carriages were ready to be parked. Yang Wei rode alone in one, Zhou Hu, Liang Cheng, and Zhao Yuan rode together in another, and the third carriage was loaded with luggage and supplies.

In addition to the three of them, the martial arts school also brought four miscellaneous disciples to handle chores along the way.

The Sea Serpent Gang members also arrived. The newly appointed acting gang leader, Smiling Tiger, was waiting at the street corner with more than a dozen men.

Seeing Yang Wei get out of the car, they hurriedly went up to him, cupped their hands and said with a smile, "Master Yang, today is the departure of a young hero from the martial arts school. We have come to see him off and ask for a drink to share in the joy."

She spoke eloquently, but her eyes kept glancing at Liang Cheng.

Yang Wei remained calm, took the wine bowl, and took a sip: "Thank you for your thoughtfulness."

The smiling tiger personally offered each of Liang Cheng and the other two a bowl, speaking respectfully and adopting an extremely humble posture. Liang Cheng accepted the wine and drank it all in one gulp.

The convoy set off and slowly drove out of Linhai Town. Liang Cheng sat in the car, pulled back the curtains, and looked back at the town's silhouette as it receded into the distance.

Let's go, to Lieshan Valley!