Chapter 282 - 280: This Is the Initial Stage!?

On the fourth floor of the ancestral hall, Xu Bamboo moved like a phantom as she practiced her swordplay.

Ever since her draw against Jiang Xin, she had been training even more intensely, almost to the point of neglecting food and sleep.

This wasn’t because she wanted to surpass Jiang Xin.

Instead, she wanted to catch up to Yang Shen.

They had agreed to reach the Extreme Martial Arts Realm together. ’How can I not even keep up with Yang Shen’s pace?’

But suddenly, she heard the sound of a violent wind coming from the backyard.

At first, she paid it no mind, but the sound of the wind gradually grew closer... The wooden windows began to rattle and whine.

Xu Bamboo paused, intending to check if the window was properly latched.

However, when she tentatively pushed the window open to check the latch, she froze...

There, in the backyard Martial Arts Arena... was a colossal sphere, both crystalline and mottled... its diameter spanning dozens of meters...

It looked like a jade bowl turned upside down against a heavenly sky, or a silver platter held aloft in the firmament!

...

In the Inner Courtyard, Zhao Mengmeng was busy in the kitchen, preparing dinner for the Yang Family.

Strangely enough, she had somehow ended up becoming one of their main cooks...

After she began practicing the Sun Wheel Body Refining Technique, her previously stagnant progress in the Martial Arts Realm had finally advanced, and she stepped into Early-stage Marrow Refining.

’It’s a debt of gratitude so great I can never repay it. I can only work tirelessly for Yang Shen day and night to make up for it.’

That was why she was so dedicated to cooking every meal. She was no longer just helping Tao Ying; she could now be scheduled to take the lead herself.

But as she worked, she suddenly heard a PATTERING sound outside the kitchen. Turning to look, she saw fallen leaves and snowflakes striking the glass, spinning horizontally as they did.

’The forecast did mention snow,’ she thought, ’but snow in Jianghuai always melts on contact. How can it be coming down this hard?’

Bewildered, Zhao Mengmeng moved closer for a look...

What met her eyes was a world of frost and snow, a vast expanse of crystalline white.

...

That massive, almost absurdly large dome, like an overturned jade bowl, was still expanding.

Generally speaking, True Gang has no "eyes." A user naturally can’t control it properly in places they can’t see.

Coincidentally, however... the entire Yang Residence was as clear as the lines on his own palm to Yang Shen, because it was constantly enveloped by a massive Array.

This was why, as Yang Shen continuously tested the limits of his True Gang, its scope could grow larger and larger, reaching absurd proportions.

From the 10 meters around the Martial Arts Arena...

...to the 30 meters encompassing the ancestral hall...

...then to the 50 meters reaching the Inner Courtyard kitchen...

...until it finally approached 80 meters, nearing the Outer Courtyard...

Just as a few disciples from the Outer Courtyard, thinking the family was under attack, charged into the massive hemisphere with do-or-die resolve, the swirling dome of wind and snow that covered most of the Yang Residence suddenly fell calm.

Like a popped bubble, countless snowflakes and fallen leaves shot back up toward the sky, bursting like fireworks...

Everyone rushed to the Martial Arts Arena and saw Yang Shen standing there, his eyes closed as if savoring the experience, his brow slightly furrowed.

And the marks at his feet...

...formed a precise spiral that covered the entire Martial Arts Arena.

Xu Bamboo was the first to arrive, but she didn’t disturb Yang Shen. She shot the others a look that said, ’Don’t make a sound.’

Her eyes were filled with both shock and joy.

Several minutes passed before Yang Shen opened his eyes and looked over. Full of anticipation, Xu Bamboo finally asked the question on everyone’s mind:

"Did you... break through to True Gang?"

Yang Shen considered for a moment, then nodded. "According to the divisions of the Martial Arts Realm, a Qi and Blood Value over 3,000, and the ability to project True Gang from the body... Yes, I’ve broken through."

"That’s wonderful!"

"My heavens! Breaking through to True Gang at eighteen? Didn’t you just break a record or something?"

"Our honored master is already an Early-stage True Gang Cultivator? That’s incredible!"

However, upon hearing the three words "Early-stage True Gang"... a look of confusion appeared on Yang Shen’s face...

Xu Bamboo quickly caught on as well. "Breaking through to True Gang... causes such a huge disturbance? What was that dome of ice and snow all about?"

Everyone froze. That’s right... The phenomenon just now was practically a celestial anomaly!

They had never heard of anyone’s breakthrough happening like this.

Yang Shen didn’t answer the question. Instead, with just a thought, his entire body began to float into the air...

This was one of the most fundamental abilities of the True Gang Realm, but for an average practitioner, floating 20 centimeters off the ground was already considered impressive.

True Gang acted like an "invisible" arm, propping the person up. Therefore, the floating height was equivalent to the True Gang’s maximum range.

Yet Yang Shen floated higher... and higher...

So high that everyone had to crane their necks back, gradually feeling a strain on their spines...

If the massive sphere from before could be partially attributed to the Array, then this incredible height was a blatant display of his raw power.

Although Yang Shen wasn’t ascending quickly, it felt... as if there was no limit.

In the end, Yang Shen reached a height of nearly one hundred meters... leaving everyone speechless.

None of them were novices when it came to Martial Arts. This was clearly not normal!

’Have the rules of Martial Arts just been thrown out the window?’

A hundred meters was as high as a 30-story building. Looking up, Yang Shen was nothing more than a tiny dot.

And high up in the sky, Yang Shen—reaching such a height unassisted for the first time—was also a bit dazed.

He hadn’t even had a chance to admire the unique view from such an altitude.

Because according to the standards of the True Gang Realm...

...a hundred meters... was a range only achievable at the Great Perfection level of the Late-stage True Gang...

’I’m... at the Late-stage True Gang Realm?’

’What the hell happened to the early and mid-stages?’

——————

「December 22nd, in the last few days before the New Year.」

Yang Shen officially broke through to the True Gang Realm.

This was, of course, a day for the Yang Family to celebrate. Yuan Rui immediately called all his fellow disciples back to offer their congratulations; the residence was sure to be bustling with excitement.

While the others decorated the Inner Courtyard, Yang Shen went to the ancestral hall alone and lit three sticks of incense.

It was his way of sharing the good news with his Uncle... whether his soul now resided in the Netherworld or in the depths of the Vast Sea.

While reaching the Innate Realm already placed one in a tiny minority, the True Gang Realm was a clear sign of elite status within the Martial Arts Society.

Especially at the age of eighteen and a half, his talent was nothing short of monstrous.

The disciples had already looked it up. For the past 30 years, the record for reaching the True Gang Realm had been held by the famous "Hero Xu City," who did it at age 19. To be more precise, he was 19.8 years old, during his sophomore year of college.

Extending the time frame to 200 years, around the time of New Yanhua’s founding, an unverifiable candidate emerged: during the East Japan invasion, a young Daoist priest descended from the mountains to aid the nation in its time of crisis. He was said to be only 16 and already in the True Gang Realm when he was martyred.

But while the story was widespread, the priest was nameless, so it couldn’t be considered a credible source.

Going back even further... the stories became pure speculation. For instance, the founding emperor of a certain dynasty was claimed to be the reincarnation of a Martial Emperor. He supposedly began Martial Arts at three, reached the Innate Realm at six, the True Gang Realm at ten, and at seventeen, transformed into a human meteor to smash into an enemy camp, annihilating an army of 400,000.

Yes, quite the myth.

Yang Shen, ever the good student, might be able to handle 40 people, but 400,000... that was definitely impossible.

But no matter how heated the disciples’ debate over the True Gang records became, with them citing all manner of historical sources, only Yang Shen himself knew the full story.

’The age I reached it isn’t what’s important. What’s important is how long it took.’

’Nine months, if you count from when I started Cultivation.’

’Two and a half years, if you count from my early days of snail-paced, natural Body Forging.’

’My age now doesn’t matter. What matters is that I still have many, many more periods of two and a half years left.’

’It’s just... this whole True Gang Realm thing has me stumped.’

With his foundation in the Cultivation Side, the effects of any of Yang Shen’s "Magic" were enhanced. And treating True Gang as a "Magic-like Technique," this principle still held true.

’My maximum range is a hundred meters from a standing start, directly reaching and even surpassing the level of a Late-stage True Gang practitioner.’

’And yet my current Qi and Blood Value is only 3,289, far below the level of the Late-stage True Gang.’

’At this stage, although Qi and Blood Value is no longer the sole criterion for evaluating a realm, that’s precisely what’s giving me this feeling that everything’s a mess.’

’Heck... according to the Meridian Following Technique, the beginning of the Jade Viscera Realm is to use "Inner Gang" to strengthen the organs until they become like jade...’

’I even feel like I could start trying that now...’

’No... this might seem like lightning-fast progress, but my foundation is too unstable. The strength of the physical body is crucial for both the Martial Arts Side and the Cultivation Side. This is especially true for me, since my legacy from the Cultivation Side is incomplete. My raw power is still more reliant on the Martial Arts Side...’

’I should just see this as having an unparalleled starting point for my True Gang, not as a reason to abandon improving it. It represents greater potential for development, not an excuse to let it stagnate...’

’It’s like if someone discovers they’re incredibly talented with a sword... they should keep practicing with the sword, not switch to practicing with a spear.’

He couldn’t help but think of the Three-headed Dragon.

Aside from its terrifying physical body, the Three-headed Dragon’s True Gang was also unbelievably powerful.

It had snatched him from kilometers away and then used its True Gang to crush Luo Sheng to death...

It was a perfect example of a quantitative change leading to a qualitative one.

’I can do that too. Strengthening my physical body is part of my daily Cultivation anyway. I’ll just use any extra time to reinforce my True Gang.’

’Make the freak even more of a freak. Make the monster even more of a monster.’

Having clarified this, Yang Shen, while still finding it difficult to define his current state, was no longer confused.

Yang Shen bowed three times to the memorial tablet, then turned to leave.

He didn’t look back. With a mere thought...

...the large doors of the ancestral hall swung shut behind him.

Every inch the image of a master.