Chapter 13: Grand Final Tournament

“I’m going to test it.” After saying that, Yang Tong stood up and ran towards the Force Measuring Device in the yard.

Yang Tong followed Yang Tong to the Force Measuring Device and waited quietly.

Yang Tong adjusted his breath, then threw a standard bow stance thrust punch. This punch was still testing standard force generation.

“Boom—” The Force Measuring Device let out a heavy sound, and the data for Yang Tong’s punch was displayed.

“450 kilograms!” Yang Tong and Yang Tong stared at the data, dumbfounded. Yang Tong was only surprised by his son’s rapid progress, but then he remembered what he had seen when he returned in the afternoon and quickly calmed down.

Yang Tong himself was different. He had tested himself right after returning in the afternoon and hadn’t even reached 400 kilograms of force. Yet, just a few hours later, his strength had surged by dozens of kilograms. How was this possible?

Taiji Fist, it must be the effect of Taijiquan!

A strong wave of joy surged in Yang Tong’s heart. Who wouldn’t like a sudden surge in strength?

“Very good. I never thought your strength had already reached the fourth level of Probationary Martial Artist. However, this should be a special circumstance that caused your sudden increase. You must also pay attention to balanced development in other aspects…” Yang Tong gave Yang Tong a stern lecture.

“Time to eat.” Mother’s voice came over.

Only then did Yang Tong stop talking. He said to Yang Tong, “Go eat. Rest early after your meal. You have the Grand Final Tournament to attend tomorrow.”

Yang Tong ran off like he was escaping a disaster.

Yang Tong looked at his son’s retreating back and showed a gratified smile.

Yang Tong ate absentmindedly, also thinking in his heart. What was so mysterious about this Taijiquan that it could improve his strength so quickly? This was very unreasonable.

Yang Tong had practiced Taiji before, and the old man had practiced it his whole life before passing away. Logically, Taijiquan wasn’t a martial arts style meant for true fighting and contention; it was a Taoist art of nurturing life through non-action. It balanced Yin and Yang, evolving into the Taiji diagram and the eight trigrams. It couldn’t suddenly boost a person’s strength. Otherwise, in his previous life, Taijiquan was extremely widespread, wouldn’t that cause chaos?

There must be some hidden reason he had overlooked or couldn’t comprehend. Yang Tong was generally optimistic. If he couldn’t figure it out, he stopped thinking about it. After finishing his meal, he went to his room to rest.

The next day, Yang Tong got up very early and practiced Taijiquan in the backyard. He needed to adapt to the sudden increase in strength from yesterday as soon as possible. Fortunately, Yang Tong’s foundation was very solid, and combined with the wonder of Taijiquan, he was already able to control his strength freely.

What Yang Tong needed to practice now wasn’t strength, but speed. Balanced development was very important, and Yang Tong himself understood the importance of speed, but that could come slowly.

“When are you going to school?” Mother asked during breakfast.

“It officially starts at nine. It’s only seven now, still early. I’ll leave after eating,” Yang Tong replied.

“Perform well. Don’t worry too much about ranking, and try not to get hurt,” Father reminded with concern.

“Understood,” Yang Tong nodded in agreement.

Just as Yang Tong finished breakfast and was practicing Taijiquan in the front yard to help with digestion…

“Yang Tong, are you home?”

Hearing the voice, Yang Tong knew who had come. He walked out of the yard to open the door. “Feng Xiaobo, why are you here so early?”

“Of course to go to school with you,” Feng Xiaobo answered.

Yang Tong checked the time and said, “It’s only seven thirty. Still early.” As he spoke, he started practicing Taiji again as if no one else was there.

Feng Xiaobo watched and replied, “Going early is good for getting a good seat.” After watching Yang Tong’s fist technique for a while, he asked, “Is this that weird fist technique you use? Slow and sluggish, it’s so strange.” If he hadn’t witnessed the power of this fist technique himself, anyone would find it hard to believe that the slow fist technique Yang Tong was practicing now was the same one that dominated the arena.

“This fist technique is not for contention and fighting; it is an art of nurturing life,” Yang Tong replied calmly.

“Stop bragging. How old are you that you need life nurturing?” Feng Xiaobo interrupted dismissively.

Yang Tong shook his head and didn’t say more. After yesterday’s experience, Yang Tong had come to understand the miraculous wonders of Taijiquan. Perhaps after a few more years of practice, not only would his strength increase greatly, but he might even awaken through this art and truly step onto the path of a powerful warrior. If Father hadn’t been so busy these days dealing with the threat of the Beast Horde Siege, Yang Tong really would have wanted to pull his father into practicing Taijiquan too.

Feng Xiaobo watched from the side. He watched for a while, and soon felt like he had learned the set. It was really because the movements of Taijiquan were too simple. You could learn them after a few glances. They were just those few moves back and forth, and they were slow and sluggish, not requiring much force at all.

“Is it really that simple?” Feng Xiaobo couldn’t help but start learning it too.

Yang Tong shook his head and paid no attention to Feng Xiaobo.

Taijiquan was incredibly profound, easy to learn but difficult to master. Yang Tong wouldn’t stop Feng Xiaobo from learning it, but he also wouldn’t selflessly instruct him on the essentials.

In this world, unique martial arts were protected by law. Not arbitrarily teaching profound martial arts was also an unspoken rule. For example, “Wind Wolf Fist”: a father teaching his son was fine, but teaching it everywhere would be breaking the rules.

Feng Xiaobo practiced the set once and didn’t feel it was anything amazing, so he lost interest. He wasn’t stupid; he naturally understood there must be other key points, but he didn’t ask further.

“It’s almost time, right? Let’s go to school,” Feng Xiaobo said, simply starting to practice his own family’s fist technique. He practiced for about an hour before stopping and speaking.

“Alright, wait for me to change my clothes,” Yang Tong sighed helplessly. He went inside to change into a martial arts robe, then left home with Feng Xiaobo.

They walked and played along the way. By the time they reached the school, it was almost time.

On the school sports field stood four huge arenas. Except for the original large arena, the other three were newly built.

On the main stage sat teachers and directors from each grade. In the very center was the principal’s seat.

“Yang Tong, look, that’s Principal Long. I heard the principal is an Earth-Rank Martial Spirit Master, extremely powerful,” Feng Xiaobo exclaimed excitedly.

Yang Tong also felt quite envious. The level of an Earth-Rank Martial Spirit Master was still quite distant from him. But he was only twelve, very young. And with treasures like the mysterious Copper Coin and Taijiquan, he believed becoming an Earth-Rank Martial Spirit Master was definitely not just a dream.

“Today, the graduation Grand Final Tournament for the primary academy will be held. First, I want to congratulate all the students participating. You will enter the most elite class of the first year in the middle academy. I hope you can perform well, achieve the best results, and graduate successfully,” Principal Long announced loudly.

This academy trained students. The primary academy laid the foundation, treating everyone equally without distinguishing between talent. But starting from the middle academy, talent would be distinguished. The most elite teaching resources and materials would be concentrated to focus on cultivating the most elite students. That was why the graduation Grand Final Tournament was held every term. Its purpose was to differentiate between students and then merge them into elite classes.

In this high martial world, a city or a country was judged by the number of strong individuals. The more strong individuals, the stronger the country naturally was. The cultivation of strong individuals, of course, involved concentrating limited resources to focus on cultivating those with superior talent.