Seventeen hours passed in a blur.
Except for the brief thirty-minute break he took while eating, Tianlan's training had barely stopped at all.
Zhenyue's strikes kept landing on him over and over. At this point, Tianlan looked as if his mind had crashed entirely—he could only raise his hands on instinct to block, yet still failed to stop the blows from hammering into him.
Watching his state, Zhenyue frowned and said,
"Hmm. Looks like you've hit your limit after all? So much for the twenty-four-hour hell training."
Qingluo, standing nearby, couldn't help complaining,
"Of course he reached the limit! He just finished the baptism and trained nonstop till now. Recovery magic can heal wounds and restore stamina and mana, but mental fatigue isn't something I can fix!"
Zhenyue sighed.
"Well, nothing we can do, then. Tianlan, wash up, eat something, then sleep for eight hours. We'll continue after you rest."
Tianlan nodded, like a kite whose string was about to snap.
"O… okay…"
After eating, he went to take a shower and placed his gravity bracelets beside his clothes.
But as he bathed, Zhenyue quietly slipped in and swapped the bracelets for a heavier pair.
When Tianlan finished and picked up the bracelets, he buckled them on—
"Huh? Why does it feel so heavy…? I must really be exhausted… whatever… sleep…"
The Next Day
A new day of training began.
Zhenyue greeted him,
"Yo, slept well? Rest enough?"
Tianlan replied,
"I think I was really too tired… I fell asleep the moment I laid down yesterday."
Zhenyue grinned.
"Good. Then today, we'll change things up. Getting beaten all day yesterday must've felt pretty suffocating, right? Today you attack. Consider it a chance to vent. I'll just correct your forms."
The moment Tianlan heard the word vent, his eyes lit up.
Mana flowed through his arms and legs, glowing faintly like sparks catching fire. The moment the layer of mana formed around his limbs, he stepped forward—his speed exploding in an instant.
A rapid flurry of punches, a low sweep, a side kick, a spinning elbow—combo after combo!
But Zhenyue blocked every strike effortlessly with only his left hand.
Whenever Tianlan's posture or movement was off, Zhenyue tapped the spot with a wooden stick in his right hand.
"Still not enough," Zhenyue said suddenly.
He raised his left fist, covering it with a faint, almost transparent layer of mana.
"Now—tell me if you feel anything."
Tianlan stared at the fist.
"You're covering your hand with a small amount of mana?"
"Mm. Watch closely."
Zhenyue slowly threw a punch. Tianlan lifted his arm and blocked lightly—
But the instant they made contact, Tianlan was blasted away like he'd been hit by a cannon!
"W—WHAT?!"
Zhenyue walked toward him.
"Well? Feel anything?"
Staring at his numb hand, Tianlan said,
"It was so slow… and the mana wasn't strong… but the moment it touched me, the power exploded… don't tell me—"
"Don't tell you what?"
"You boosted your mana at the exact moment you made contact?!"
Zhenyue nodded, satisfied.
"Bingo. Raising mana right at impact maximizes damage and saves the most mana. Your turn."
Tianlan tried to imitate it, but he either released mana too early or too late.
"Too early."
"Too slow."
"Hey! You're filling your whole arm with mana first and then punching! That's not it!"
After hours of repetition, Tianlan finally grasped the correct timing.
Zhenyue patted him.
"Good. Now do the legs."
Leg training took even longer, but eventually, Tianlan could control his mana smoothly through them as well.
Only when he again reached his mental limit did Zhenyue finally say,
"That's it for today."
As Tianlan ate and showered—just like the day before—Zhenyue once again swapped his bracelets for an even heavier pair.
Day Three
Zhenyue looked energetic as ever.
"Alright, come at me with full force. Let me see what you can do now."
Compared to yesterday, Tianlan's mana control, burst timing, and transitions were all significantly more refined. His strikes carried more weight and moved more fluidly.
But his biggest weakness—insufficient mana capacity—remained.
After watching for a while, Zhenyue suddenly spoke,
"Not bad. You've definitely gotten stronger… but that move from the other day—why aren't you using it? No one banned you, right?"
Tianlan froze.
"You… knew?"
"Yaofeng and I are old friends. You think the two of us wouldn't notice something like that?"
Cold sweat ran down Tianlan's back.
(So many people noticed…?)
"Relax. You can use it. Yaofeng didn't stop you, right? Actually… want to make a bet?"
"A bet?"
"Mm. I'll only use my left hand to defend. If I take a step back or get injured, you win, and I'll give you something."
"…And if I lose?"
"You owe me a favor."
Tianlan hesitated.
"…Alright."
Zhenyue's eyes suddenly sharpened.
"Come at me with full force—aim to kill me if you must. Holding back would be the true insult. Don't worry, I'm strong. Even a hundred Kuangyan couldn't stop me."
The pressure Zhenyue released made Tianlan tremble uncontrollably.
Tianlan shut his eyes, recalling the structure of that technique. He raised his right hand, compressing every shred of mana into a razor-sharp blade.
His intent: —Kill.
He swung down!
Zhenyue covered his left hand with mana and received the strike.
BOOM!!
The collision of mana shook the air.
"AAAAAHHHHH!!"
The moment the attack ended, Tianlan's mana depleted entirely. He collapsed onto the ground.
Zhenyue looked down at him, about to speak—
when a sharp pain stabbed his left hand.
He lifted it.
A shallow cut ran across his skin, blood seeping out.
Zhenyue blinked, stunned for two seconds—
then burst into laughter.
"HAHAHAHA! I actually fell for it! You won!"
Qingluo was dumbfounded.
"This kid… are you sure he's not some secret monster your clan's been raising? A beginner cutting through your defense? That's real blood!"
Just then, a voice laughed from behind them.
Cangsong walked over.
"Eh? I leave for a moment and come back to see you injured? And tricked? You bet against him, didn't you?"
Zhenyue looked away, pretending not to hear, but Cangsong already heard the full story from Qingluo.
Cangsong doubled over laughing.
"The mighty Patriarch Zhenyue injured by a rookie hahaha! This is definitely tomorrow's headline!"
"It's not an injury! Just a scratch!" Zhenyue barked.
"Bleeding means injured. And don't tell me—were you trying to use this bet to recruit him into your clan?"
Zhenyue whistled and looked at the sky, pretending to be deaf.
After a while, Tianlan slowly regained consciousness.
Seeing him wake, Cangsong clapped his hands.
"Well well, looks like you've improved quite a lot. I only came to check in, but it seems you're ready to step into the next stage—"
(To be continued)