Chapter 12: Touch

Yang Tong looked in the direction Feng Xiaobo’s finger was pointing. He was immediately shocked and asked softly, “Are you sure you’re not pointing at the wrong person?” Because this guy was pointing at a—how to describe it—well, a mountain of flesh would be very fitting. The person was a head taller than Yang Tong, and Yang Tong estimated he weighed at least three hundred kilograms!

“Absolutely not, I swear it!” Feng Xiaobo raised his hand solemnly and said. Then he chuckled with glee, “Otherwise, the boys from Class Eight wouldn’t have become the shame of all male classmates. I believe that now, the boys from Class Eight definitely dare not admit they’re from Class Eight when walking on the street, hehehe…”

Yang Tong put himself in their shoes and thought about it. If it were him, he would probably die of shame too.

“So, how much do you know about tomorrow’s opponent?” Yang Tong asked.

“Qin Tianyue? Compared to that one, she’s a hundred times better, and she looks quite good too. But I heard her strength is definitely not weak. Be careful,” Feng Xiaobo answered, lowering his head.

Yang Tong rolled his eyes, feeling speechless. Wasn’t that obvious? Anyone who could make it into the Grand Final Tournament couldn’t be weak, right?

“I’m off, heading home to rest.” Yang Tong turned around, waved at Feng Xiaobo, and left.

When he returned home, it was still early, not yet time for dinner. He went to the yard and threw a punch at the Force Measuring Device with a bang.

The display on the Force Measuring Device showed a 1.8 times increase.

“How is this possible?” Yang Tong couldn’t believe it himself. He had just tested it three days ago, and it was only a 1.3 times increase. How did it grow to 1.8 times in just three days?

Yang Tong deleted the data from the Force Measuring Device and measured his standard power again.

He performed a lunge punch, hitting the Force Measuring Device.

The machine showed Yang Tong’s standard power as 392 kilograms! He was just a bit short of reaching the power level of a fourth-level Probationary Martial Artist. Then, Yang Tong tried a few more times. The data wasn’t wrong, just with some minor fluctuations.

What surprised Yang Tong the most was how his power had surged by dozens of kilograms in just a few short days.

Yang Tong carefully thought about his experiences over the past few days. Nothing seemed unusual. If there was anything unusual, it was that his nerve reactions had suddenly tripled, and to adapt to this, he had started practicing the Thirteen Postures of Taijiquan again.

“Could it be…?” Yang Tong seemed to have an insight.

Yang Tong stood in the center of the yard and slowly started practicing Taijiquan. He went through the Thirteen Postures of Taijiquan over and over. By the tenth time, he stopped at the move “Apparent Close Up.”

Yang Tong was crouching in a strange horse stance in the yard, his hands forming a circle with palms facing inward, as if holding a ball.

Yang Tong became completely absorbed in it. It felt indescribably wonderful, as if he had merged with heaven and earth.

Just then, his father Yang Tong returned from outside. “I’m back. Why is dinner being prepared so early today?”

“Brother Tong, you’re back,” Luo Xiaojuan’s voice came from the kitchen. “Our son is back, so I’m preparing dinner early for him.”

“Oh, where is he? I heard from a friend that our son performed very well this time and even made it into the graduation Grand Final Tournament.” Yang Tong was in a good mood.

“Of course, our son is naturally extraordinary. He’s practicing his fist techniques in the yard,” Luo Xiaojuan answered proudly. It was only natural to be happy when one’s son had promise.

“You go ahead with cooking. I’ll go check on him.” Yang Tong changed into casual clothes and walked toward the backyard. As soon as he stepped into the yard, he saw Yang Tong squatting alone in a strange horse stance, looking dazed.

Yang Tong was about to speak when suddenly he sensed a strange state about his son. He was standing there, yet it was as if he didn’t exist. When Yang Tong closed his eyes and used the perception of a Novice Ninth-Level martial artist, he couldn’t sense his son’s presence at all. Yang Tong quickly closed his mouth. After observing carefully, he felt both puzzled and excited. He thought, could it be that his son had already touched upon that level? Suppressing his excitement, Yang Tong quietly retreated from the yard.

He rushed into the kitchen with a look of excitement and happily said to Luo Xiaojuan, “I just went to see our son. Guess what I saw?”

“What did you see?” Luo Xiaojuan asked while washing vegetables.

“I saw our son in a state of deep meditation,” Yang Tong said excitedly.

“What’s so strange about deep meditation?” Luo Xiaojuan thought nothing of it. Even the most beginner martial artists could enter deep meditation.

“But it’s definitely not ordinary deep meditation. Ordinary deep meditation is a way for martial artists to quickly recover from physical and mental fatigue. It never gives that mysterious feeling of both existing and not existing. It seems our son has already touched upon that level,” Yang Tong said with immense excitement.

“What… really?” Luo Xiaojuan jumped up in surprise, her voice rising to its limit before instantly dropping back down.

“I don’t know if it’s true, because I haven’t sensed that level myself yet. But I can’t explain our son’s current state otherwise,” Yang Tong replied.

“Then, then, then…” Luo Xiaojuan was so excited she didn’t know what to say.

“Whether it is or not, it’s definitely a good thing. It’s a pity, though—our son is still young. If he were an advanced Probationary Martial Artist, he might be able to fully break through to that level and awaken his talent.” After suppressing his excitement, Yang Tong sighed deeply. With his experience, he naturally knew that with his son’s strength as a third-level Probationary Martial Artist, even if he touched upon that level, the hope of breaking through was very slim.

“No matter what, this is absolutely a good thing. Even if he doesn’t break through this time, it’s fine. As long as he can touch upon that level, it means he has the chance and the talent.” Luo Xiaojuan was also a seventh-level Probationary Martial Artist and naturally understood this. Not breaking through this time wasn’t scary; what was scary was not being able to touch that level at all.

Yang Tong thought for a moment and nodded. “You’re right. As long as he can touch that level, it’s a good start. Our son is still young; there will be plenty of opportunities in the future.”

Luo Xiaojuan said happily, “When our son truly awakens his talent, we can move to the city and not have to worry about the Beast Horde Siege anymore.”

Yang Tong remained standing there until night fell. When he woke from his deep meditation, he was also startled. He had returned home around four in the afternoon, and in the blink of an eye, it was already dark.

He stepped into the house and saw his parents sitting on the sofa, chatting.

“You’re awake. You haven’t eaten yet, right? I’ll go heat up the food for you.” His mother smiled lovingly and walked into the kitchen.

“Come, son, sit down.” Yang Tong waved him over.

“Uh, I didn’t expect it to be this late either.” Yang Tong sat down.

“That’s a minor thing. While you were in deep meditation, did you have any special feelings?” Yang Tong asked with some nervousness.

“Hmm… nothing too special. I just felt very comfortable all over, full of energy, and…” Yang Tong paused here and moved his body a bit.

“Huh?”

What was going on? It was as if there was an indescribable sense of power inside his body.