Chapter 18

In the principal's office, the principal poured a cup of tea and handed it to Old Wei, saying with a sigh, "You've finally found a suitable successor. For so many years, you wouldn't even see me. But I knew you wouldn't give up so easily."

Old Wei gulped down the full cup of tea in one go, smacked his lips, and then said, "Haha, you know me well. I've been observing Amoli for a few years. This kid's character and everything else are excellent, very much like me back in the day. Hahaha!"

The principal smiled, "So it seems he's a proud young man."

"Proud, yes, but not arrogant. His character is still simple and honest. The other guy, though, is quite arrogant. If he were suitable for specialized knife training, I wouldn't have let him go down the path of a melee expert," Old Wei said with a regretful expression.

"Oh," the principal was somewhat surprised, "To get such praise from you is not easy. I'm actually looking forward to him. Those who can become melee experts are not ordinary people."

"Haha, he's a very interesting kid," Old Wei said with a grin.

The principal laughed, "Speak up, you must have a reason to come see me. What can I do to help?"

"Heh, it's not much," Old Wei said without a hint of embarrassment, "Amoli has no problem learning the Earth Frenzy Blade, but he lacks a place for practical training. I want to borrow your Tianjing's trial star gate. Tang Tian, on the other hand, is already seventeen and has only just finished his basic martial arts training. If we wait any longer, it will be too late."

"Seventeen?" The principal's smile faded as he stared at Old Wei, "Just finished his basic martial arts training?"

"Yes!" Old Wei laughed, "But don't underestimate him..."

The principal raised his hand, interrupting Old Wei, "I'm not underestimating him, but I don't think a seventeen-year-old who has just finished his basic martial arts training is worth cultivating. Choose someone else."

Old Wei's smile also faded, and he frowned, "So you're not agreeing?"

"Amoli is fine, but I don't think Tang Tian is worth cultivating," the principal said firmly, "I remember, Tang Tian, the super repeater. You actually brought him here?"

Old Wei said coldly, "Do you doubt my judgment?"

"You're too soft-hearted, always moved by inexplicable emotions," the principal said calmly, "You always believe in miracles. People without talent are destined to be mediocre, and he doesn't even have the time. I'm happy you came to see me, but I can't accept someone with no future. You're wasting time and our friendship."

Old Wei sneered, "You're still the same as before, with no human touch."

"That's why Tianjing has become the top school in Xingfeng, while your Sachima Academy is third from the bottom," the principal said without backing down.

Old Wei, unwilling to argue, said coolly, "Then we'll see each other at the Xingfeng Martial Arts Conference."

With that, he turned and pushed the door open, walking out.

When Tang Tian and Amoli saw Old Wei's gloomy face, they both wisely kept quiet.

Back at Sachima Academy, the two of them whispered a lot in private.

Tang Tian quickly put the matter out of his mind. He practiced the Flash Punch every day. Although the efficiency wasn't as high as when he was training behind the light gate, he still managed to complete about 4,000 Flash Punches daily.

Tang Tian applied his habit of hard training to his daily routine. He trained until he was exhausted and then used the Crane Qi Technique to recover. The progress of the Crane Qi Technique was exceptionally rapid, and it greatly helped Tang Tian complete 4,000 Flash Punches a day.

Unconsciously, Tang Tian had completed 160,000 Flash Punches.

The third round of hard training.

Tang Tian buried himself in his punches, his fists flashing in the air, incredibly fast and unpredictable.

His fists seemed to be connected by an invisible thread, pulling the true energy from the third-level dantian pool. With each punch, a thread of true energy from the third-level dantian pool entered Tang Tian's meridians.

This thread of true energy was as fine as a cow's hair, and Tang Tian didn't notice it. As he continued to punch, these tiny threads of true energy gradually spread throughout his body.

Although they were very fine, their number was enormous. Since Tang Tian started practicing the Crane Qi Technique, he had thrown about 150,000 punches, each one a tiny thread of true energy. They gathered like a wave, slowly surging forward.

They passed through many obscure and fine meridians, which most people would never use in their lifetime, and these meridians were activated, coming to life.

The meridians in the human body are the twelve main meridians, which are the most used and the widest, making it easy for true energy to flow. In addition, there are the eight extraordinary meridians, which are independent and form their own systems, from which many martial arts techniques have developed. Besides the twelve main meridians and the eight extraordinary meridians, there are a large number of fine and web-like meridians, which most martial artists consider to be of no value.

They are too fine and fragile, and can only carry a negligible amount of true energy.

However, Tang Tian didn't know that his punches were causing changes in the true energy.

Tang Tian continued to punch, and he was not far from 200,000 Flash Punches. At 200,000 punches, he would be able to perform a perfect Flash Punch. In fact, he could now perform nine out of ten Flash Punches.

His Flash Punches were becoming more personal, fast and elusive.

Whew, whew, whew, sweat dripped continuously, but it didn't affect his focused gaze.

Perhaps because he was close to his goal, Tang Tian felt no fatigue, only unprecedented excitement. His punch speed kept increasing.

The wind from his punches also began to change, becoming more rapid.

The true energy in the third-level dantian pool, like a full pond, became increasingly agitated.

Tang Tian was completely absorbed, and the trajectory of each punch became clearer in his eyes. He could even see the fine air currents stirred up by his fist as it disappeared in the air.

One punch after another!

The air currents in the air were like ripples, then shattered by his fist.

The 200,000th punch!

Tang Tian's whole body trembled, and the surging true energy in the third-level dantian pool roared, as if something was breaking out of a cocoon.

A clear crane cry suddenly echoed in his heart.

Tang Tian's fist instantly disappeared in the air.

When his fist reappeared, a faint white fist aura enveloped it.

Tang Tian was stunned, staring at his fist. That punch... the fist aura...

He tried to punch again!

Sure enough, the faint white fist aura reappeared on his fist.

Fist aura! It was really a fist aura!

Only third-level martial arts techniques produce a fist aura, and it had appeared on his fist!

Joy filled Tang Tian's heart. Although the fist aura was faint, the power was fundamentally different. The Flash Punch is a second-level martial arts technique, emphasizing muscle power, and it cannot form a fist aura.

A true fist aura, however, can resist blades and swords, and destroy stone and metal.

"Haha! Fist aura! I've mastered the fist aura! I actually mastered the fist aura!"

The so-called aura is formed by the external release of true energy, a characteristic of third-level martial arts techniques. Amoli's [Earth Split Slash] can produce a blade aura, and Tang Tian could previously infuse true energy into his palm but couldn't form a fist aura.

This meant that Tang Tian's Flash Punch was now capable of competing with third-level martial arts techniques.

After a while, Tang Tian gradually calmed down from his joy. Why could the Flash Punch produce a fist aura?

The Flash Punch is a second-level martial arts technique, and it shouldn't be able to produce a fist aura.

Suddenly, he remembered the agitation in the third-level dantian pool and the crane cries. His heart skipped a beat. It was the true energy! He quickly sat down and checked the true energy in his body. The third-level dantian pool was full of true energy, but there was no obvious clue.

However, when Tang Tian tried to throw a Flash Punch, something interesting happened. A thread of true energy flowed from the third-level dantian pool, following the path of his cultivation technique, to his fist.

Interesting!

Tang Tian kept throwing Flash Punches, but his mind was focused on observing the changes in the true energy.

The true energy in his body was very active, with the dantian pool as the source and the meridians as the network, like a large web covering his entire body. When Tang Tian threw a punch, the true energy network in his body quickly changed, and many fine threads of true energy converged on his fist, forming the fist aura.

Tang Tian repeatedly threw Flash Punches, observing the changes in the true energy network, as he felt that the changes in the true energy network seemed familiar.

Wait, Tang Tian slapped his head, suddenly realizing.

Crane shape!

The true energy network in his body formed a crane shape, and his fist was the crane's beak.

When Tang Tian threw a punch, the true energy converged at the crane's beak, forming the fist aura. When he retracted his fist, the crane shape became loose and blurry.

Crane Qi Technique!

Indeed, it's powerful!

Tang Tian was amazed. No wonder the Crane School was so powerful back then, with such a powerful cultivation technique.

Tang Tian didn't know that he had accidentally mastered the Crane Qi Technique. The Crane School now practices a simplified version of the Crane Qi Technique. The Crane Qi Technique gradually became lost, partly due to its complex circulation routes. Without someone pointing out the crane shape, the difficulty of cultivation was extremely high. Later, it required continuous martial arts practice to activate the obscure and fine meridians in the body, which is known as the crane body.

This third-level silver [Crane Qi Technique] soul card was used by the Crane School to lay the foundation for young disciples. The crane body is the foundation of Crane School martial arts, and this is the true transmission of the Crane School.

Tang Tian had unknowingly mastered the crane body.

Now, with each punch, the true energy in his body would converge in layers, forming a torrent.

Sometimes, looking back from the result, many key points become very clear. The silver card's attachment lasted a month, and Tang Tian had a sudden realization, which triggered a chain reaction. A large amount of insight flooded his mind, becoming increasingly clear.

Tang Tian suddenly understood that these seemingly useless fine meridians, once activated in large numbers, would make the true energy burst with even more power.

What surprised him even more was that once the crane body was mastered, it wasn't limited to just fist techniques; it could be used for any martial arts technique.

Without hesitation, Tang Tian continued to train hard.

200,000 punches are nothing; 400,000 punches are waiting for him.

Strengthen the crane body!

Master the killing move!

Tang Tian was full of enthusiasm.

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PS: Happy 18th birthday to Jia Yu Wang! Young man, keep going!