Chapter 158: Training
Chapter 158: Training
“F me!”
Tang Jinbiao cradled Wang Qinian as he sprinted out, his mind seething with silent curses.
He’d only intended to give it a try; he hadn’t expected the Frost Silver Spear to be so ferocious. Its mere chill had turned Wang Qinian into an ice lump. Whether the spear was truly that overpowering or Wang Qinian was just abnormally cold-sensitive remained unclear.
Fifteen minutes later.
Bang!
Tang Jinbiao reached the front yard of Zhang Tianyi’s residence. Without a moment’s hesitation, he kicked the courtyard gate open with a powerful stomp.
“Old Man Zhang! Get out here and save someone! Someone’s dying!”
He barged straight in, shouting at the top of his lungs.
Thump!
Tang Jinbiao marched directly toward one room and kicked the door open.
“Old Man Zhang! Someone’s dying, someone’s dying! Hurry up and save him!”
He burst inside, yelling loudly with an expression suggesting both his parents had just dropped dead.
“You, you, you…!”
Upon spotting Tang Jinbiao’s entrance, Zhang Tianyi sputtered in anger, his beard practically bristling. But he refrained from exploding, merely huffing before shifting his gaze to Wang Qinian cradled in Tang Jinbiao’s arms.
“Hmm? Him!”
But the moment Zhang Tianyi clearly saw the person in Tang Jinbiao’s arms, his pupils contracted intensely. Then, his aged, withered face immediately twisted into a sinister grin as he chuckled wickedly.
“Why are you spacing out, Old Man Zhang? And wipe that lecherous smirk off your face! Save him now, before it’s too late! Or I’ll spill all your ‘glorious’ deeds to everyone under heaven! Still dreaming of marrying my Auntie? Then hop to it! If anything happens to him, forget about cozying up to me!”
Though thrown off by Zhang Tianyi’s strange leer, Tang Jinbiao brushed it aside. Saving lives came first—he opted for blunt threats.
“Nonono, dear friend! Let’s discuss this rationally! Talk things through! Plan it out step by step!”
Hearing this, Zhang Tianyi’s expression shifted abruptly to a flattering smile as he scrambled to placate him.
“Hurry up and save him; this guy’s on his last legs! As for my Auntie… I might put in a good word for you if I get the chance!”
Tang Jinbiao had merely fired a shot in the dark, astonishingly landing it.
This wasn’t surprising. Without Tang Jinbiao’s particular status or connection, Zhang Tianyi—despite his accommodating nature—would never tolerate such insolence. What leader would maintain authority that way?
“Ahem, easy solution! Easy solution! See? I always knew we were kindred spirits. No wonder you felt so familiar—wrong, wrong! Meant to say downright agreeable! Rest easy, lad! Leave this kid with me. I’ll snatch his soul back even if the King of Hell comes calling! You step out for now!”
With Tang Jinbiao’s promise dangling before him, Zhang Tianyi beamed with sycophantic delight, practically gloating at his own good fortune.
“Fine. He’s your burden now. Fail to revive him? Prepare to wait to be single forever!”
A malicious smirk tugged at Tang Jinbiao’s lips as he handed Wang Qinian over, then turned and stalked out.
“What a sly old coot! Wrinkled hide dreaming of an old cow eating tender grass!”
Once outside, Tang Jinbiao mentally cursed the man with contempt.
Buzz~
Almost the instant Tang Jinbiao crossed the threshold, layers upon layers of powerful Restrictions surged up, entirely sealing the room.
“This?”
Merely sensing the oppressive aura of that restriction, Tang Jinbiao almost felt his soul fly apart, terror flashing in his eyes as he hurriedly backed away.
Bzzz!
Yet abruptly, a warm current instantly wrapped around Tang Jinbiao, lifting the oppressive weight, simultaneously propelling him slowly out of the courtyard.
“Young brother, his problem is rather severe. It might take a long time. You mustn’t come to disturb this old man during this period. Otherwise, should anything go wrong, even I might not be able to save this little friend of yours!”
After Tang Jinbiao was sent out of the courtyard, Zhang Tianyi’s voice resonated directly in his mind.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Just as Tang Jinbiao was still stunned, violent detonations erupted from within the courtyard.
“What?”
Though isolated by the restrictions, Tang Jinbiao still felt a spike of fear; the force of the formation inside seemed far too intense.
Whoosh!
But as he thought the commotion inside was excessive, a streak of light shot out from the courtyard. After a few flickers, it vanished into the distant horizon.
“This?”
Watching the retreating beam of light vanish toward the horizon, Tang Jinbiao was rendered speechless with shock.
“Young brother, this little friend’s condition is worse than I anticipated. The space here is too confined to work properly. I’ll take him to a more open place for treatment. I’ll find you once he’s saved!”
Zhang Tianyi’s figure had clearly already vanished into the sky, yet his words echoed in Tang Jinbiao’s mind only afterward.
“Is this the power of a Tribulation Transcendent?”
Everything happened impossibly fast, so fast Tang Jinbiao hadn’t even fully registered it before Zhang Tianyi had already taken Wang Qinian away.
It happened so swiftly it hadn’t even disturbed the surrounding folk before he was gone.
“Hah… Seems I truly must dedicate myself to Cultivation now. I can’t just drift along anymore!”
Gazing at the fading beam of light disappearing beyond the skyline, Tang Jinbiao secretly resolved himself.
“Right! Training starts tonight!”
Fixing his resolve, Tang Jinbiao turned and sprinted towards his residence.
After Tang Jinbiao departed, the commotion finally drew the attention of nearby Cultivators. Only then did they react, one by one rushing to investigate.
“What happened?”
“Seemed to come from Vice President Wang’s courtyard.”
“Hurry, let’s check!”
…
A quarter of an hour later, Tang Jinbiao returned to his own residence.
However, after only a brief moment, Tang Jinbiao emerged from his residence once more. He boarded a Beast Carriage and headed towards the academy’s central district.
Two hours later, Tang Jinbiao was again seated in a Beast Carriage, departing Divine Wind Academy’s city gates.
Just before daybreak, Tang Jinbiao left Divine Wind Academy.
When it was already dawn, Tang Jinbiao ran fifty li away and arrived at a valley.
…
The valley spanned a hundred zhang across.
At its very center was a ten-meter square Deep Pool.
The water of that Deep Pool was very clear.
Yet because it was so deep, at first glance, it looked green and deep.
At the edge of the valley, there was a one-zhang square cave.
The valley was thick with trees and inhabited by many birds and beasts.
With Tang Jinbiao’s arrival, many birds and beasts were startled.
“Hmm, this place isn’t bad. I think I’ll undergo hard training here for a while!”
Standing on top of a big tree, Tang Jinbiao observed the valley clearly.
Then he jumped down from the tree and walked toward that cave.
After arriving in front of the cave, Tang Jinbiao took a slight look.
He found no traces of beasts dwelling there.
That was probably because the cave was too shallow.
“Hmm, this place will do. When I came out, I also bought a set of formation flags, which should be just right for setting up a temporary dwelling.”
Tang Jinbiao lightly patted his Storage Pouch.
A set of small flags and something resembling a Compass Disk appeared in his hand.
Snap!
Tang Jinbiao gently placed the Compass Disk at the center of the cave.
Then he took a Spirit Stone from his Storage Pouch and slotted it into a groove on the Compass Disk.
Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!
As the Spirit Stone was slotted in, from the Compass Disk as the center, seven or eight rays of light shot out instantly in all directions.
But those lights posed no danger.
“Hmm, indeed, these things are very simple to use!”
A moment later, several places around the Compass Disk showed phantom images of small flags.
Tang Jinbiao got up and inserted those small flags into their corresponding positions.
…
Half an hour later, Tang Jinbiao had set up his temporary cavern home.
Not resting, he went outside.
…
Two hours later, Tang Jinbiao stood in front of the Deep Pool.
He threw punch after punch to send out bursts of Qi Energy, bombarding the Deep Pool.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Each explosion was thunderous, and the water of the Deep Pool was blasted over a zhang high.
“Hmm, now my control over Qi Energy has almost reached a realm where energy moves at will. I should be able to cultivate Martial Techniques!”
After throwing a few more punches, Tang Jinbiao felt it was about enough.
He took a small Jade Slip from his Storage Pouch, touched it to his forehead, and carefully read the contents within.
A quarter of an hour later, Tang Jinbiao put the Jade Slip away into his Storage Pouch.
“Hmm, it should be no problem. As said in the Jade Slip, martial techniques are just the application of Qi Energy and combat skills. Now that I have a Third Tier Cultivation Level, learning them shouldn’t be too difficult. As for cultivation methods, the Ape Art I cultivate is pretty good, and the Ape Fist is also quite powerful. Ah, it’s a pity that for such a long time, I haven’t trained diligently!”
After putting away the Jade Slip, Tang Jinbiao sat down cross-legged.
He calmed his mind and focused his spirit, and began trying to comprehend what he had just read.
…
In the blink of an eye, three days passed.
Crack!
With a loud creak, a tree as thick as a waist slowly fell down before Tang Jinbiao’s eyes.
However, at the fracture point of the tree, it was covered by a thin layer of Frigid Ice.
“Sigh, no good, still not good. That palm strike I just used completely relied on the powerful Qi Energy in my body to chop it apart; it’s not at all the essence of the Ape Fist!”
Tang Jinbiao was bare-chested, his two arms as thick as his waist held out straight.
Although he was able to chop down the tree with a palm strike, he seemed unsatisfied.
“Once more, I refuse to believe it! If the book states that achieving a certain realm of Qi Energy application allows control over the explosion’s timing, then I will master it!”
Feeling he might have pinpointed the core issue, Tang Jinbiao contemplated briefly before striking again at a tree not far away.
Crack!
That tree also snapped cleanly in response.
“Damn it, Qi Energy Emission remains uncontrollable once released!”
Yet again, mere brute force achieved this result. Agitation surfaced on Tang Jinbiao’s face.
…
In the blink of an eye, seven days passed.
“Cough, no, no! Still no! Pah! Who the hell said self-study guarantees success? I’ve practiced this long and remain useless. Could it be… I was just born useless? Pah! I refuse to believe it! ‘There are only lazy women, no ugly women.’ Wait, no – that doesn’t sound right… Wrong analogy! Forget it! Whatever! I simply refuse to accept this!”
Tang Jinbiao sat despondently by the Deep Pool, picked up a rock, and flung it into the water as he complained.
These past seven days, he had gained almost nothing. True, he could now control the Qi Energy inside his body with immense proficiency. Furthermore, due to the Frost Silver Spear, subtle changes had occurred within his Pseudo Qi Sea; the Qi Energy he generated now carried a faint trace of cold Yin energy.
Plop!
The stone plunged with a splash into the Deep Pool.
“Huh?”
As the rock entered the water, Tang Jinbiao felt a sudden spark of insight, a fleeting intuition caught.
Plop!
He grabbed another stone and hurled it towards the Deep Pool. Again, plop, a splash, and it slowly sank.
“Huh? Nothing odd there?”
Finding nothing unusual, Tang Jinbiao frowned.
Plop!
Unwilling to give up, he grabbed yet another stone and threw it in.
“Nothing!”
He threw another.
“Still nothing!”
He threw yet another.
…
“Huh?”
It was only after throwing nearly a hundred stones, the pile beside him exhausted revealing bare rock underneath, that Tang Jinbiao finally paused, realizing his dwindling supply of projectiles.
“Strange… What exactly was that feeling I vaguely grasped at the very beginning?”
Gazing at the water’s ceaseless ripples, Tang Jinbiao sank into deep contemplation…