Chapter 14: Extreme Piercing Finger

Early in the morning, Yang Bin woke up to the feeling of sunlight hitting his face. Hearing the sound of birds chirping, he felt at peace. Stretching, he flexed his muscles and was surprised.

Woah! I feel a lot stronger. Yang Bin thought, as he waved his arm around. Since he collapsed shortly after his breakthrough yesterday, he had yet to feel his own strength.

As Yang Bin indulged in his new strength, a huge grin appeared on his face.

Month after month, he had watched all his peers and clan members surpass him. Not wanting to be left behind, he cultivated twice as hard as the others, yet he only yielded half the result. Even Yang Lin, who was younger than him, reached the second rank before him. Finally, he had caught up, even surpassed some of them.

Taking a few deep breaths, he calmed himself. Then sitting cross legged, he began to start his daily routine. A few minutes later, Yang Bin went downstairs and greeted his parents.

"Good morning mom and dad!" Yang Bin exclaimed cheerfully.

"Good morning." Li Jing smiled back at him.

"Morning." Yang Gang nodded. Studying Yang Bin's ecstatic expression, Yang Gang asked another question. "You've reached the fifth rank?"

"Yes." Yang Bin nodded excitedly. "Thanks to the pill you gave me yesterday, I was able to break through. The pill was really strong though. Not only was it difficult to absorb, it was also painful."

Yang Gang chuckled. "Of course it was difficult and painful. An ordinary third rank body tempering cultivator shouldn't be able to absorb a peak rank 2 pill."

"Eh? What do you mean?" Yang Bin was slightly stunned at his words.

Yang Gang smiled a little. "Just because you have a powerful herb or pill doesn't mean you should carelessly absorb it. If your body is too weak and can't control the energy of the elixir, it is possible for the energy to run rampant and wreak havoc in your body. If you're lucky, it might just cause some light energies, but if not, you could end up crippled or dead."

Yang Bin's eyes went wide after hearing that.

Seeing his reaction, Yang Gang laughed. "Relax, even if you were an ordinary third rank, you'll at most only get bedridden for a few days. I chose this pill after considering your cultivation technique. From your accounts of your three meridians, I rather confident that you'll be able absorb it with little to no repercussions."

Yang Bin breathed a sigh of relief. "Scared me for a second."

"Hurry up and eat your breakfast. Today I'll show you another offensive technique." Yang Gang urged.

Shocked, Yang Bin nodded excitedly. It seems like father is really happy recently. He thought. Then hurriedly ate his breakfast.

Indeed, Yang Gang was really happy. No parents like to see their children weaker than others, and for two years, Yang Gang could only smile when other parents boasted about their child. Seeing Yang Bin furiously train everyday, Yang Gang knew that it was his talent to blame not character, and that's something he can't change.

Knowing that Yang Bin had finally caught up, and even surpassed, some of the other children, Yang Gang was elated. Of course, this feeling will disappear after a couple days.

A few hours later, Yang Bin and Yang Gang stood outside, the same place where Yang Bin learned iron palms.

"This next technique is called Extreme Piercing Finger. It's also an elementary technique, but it is much more difficult than Iron Palms. Watch closely" Yang Gang pointed his index finger at a tree next to him. Lunging forwards, he jabbed the tree. His finger shot forward, leaving nine afterimages in its wake. Even though the finger itself didn't pierce the tree, there was still a small hole, where the finger touched the trunk.

Yang Bin stared at the hole with wide eyes. It looked liked a small funnel about 3 centimeters deep. Very quickly he understood what it meant: this technique requires an external application of qi.

Seeing his surprised look turn into one of understanding, Yang Gang nodded. "This technique, like your movement technique, also requires you to use qi externally. But unlike your movement technique, you must maintain the qi that coats your finger."

"I noticed that there were nine afterimages, do they mean anything?" Yang Bin asked.

"It represents your strength and proficiency in the technique. The more proficient, the more afterimages, starting from none to nine. Once you reach the ninth afterimage, this technique will rival an Earth rank technique." Yang Gang replied. After explaining some more concepts, he gave him a command, "Go ahead and practice, remember don't push your limits or else you may break your finger."

Yang Bin nodded and tried to replicate what Yang Gang did.

Watching Yang Bin attempt over and over again, Yang Gang nodded in satisfaction. Turning around, he went back home to prepare for his work.

On the field, Yang Bin was struggling. Perspiration slowly formed on his forehead, as he concentrated on his index finger. A look of concentration was on his face.

It is simple to control the qi in my body, but controlling qi to move outside my body is too difficult. Yang Bin thought. He brought his qi to the tips of his finger and tried to draw it out. But the moment the qi was released out of the body, Yang Bin lost all control of it. The only thing he could do was recall it, or let it rapidly vanish.

Yang Bin clicked his tongue in annoyance. Looks like I'll need to constantly supply it with qi. He thought, as he tried again.

If it was anyone else in the body tempering realm, this technique would have been impossible to perform, but because of Yang Bin's spirit, it was made possible. But just because it was possible doesn't mean it would be easy.

****

"Heavy Yang Palm!" A shout rang out as a giant yellow palm descended from the sky. Heavily, it smashed the head of a 5 meter mountain rhino. The ground shook, as scales were blown away.

"RAAAH!" The rhino groaned, as its legs buckled. Its body was lacerated in wounds, and some parts were burnt. Despite such grave injuries, it still lived on.

"Such tenacity! As expected of a peak rank 4 mountain rhino. Yang Gang, we're counting on you!" The man on top of the rhino said, as he jumped back.

Right behind him, another man leaped up. He was Yang Gang.

"Divine Emperor's Spear: Pierce!" A sharp golden spear appeared in his hands, and with a shout, he threw it down, aiming for the rhino's eyes. As the spear shot down, it began to spin and absorb qi in its surroundings, growing brighter and brighter.

Watching the meteor-like spear flying towards it, the rhino hurriedly closed its eyes and activated its defenses. Unfortunately, the previous attack ruined its defense. Once the spear connected, the rhino released one last cry before collapsing.

Seeing the rhino die, the group of men surrounding it cheered. One of the men walked up to Yang Gang, the same one who called forth the giant yellow palm. "Well done. Thanks to you, we were able to take it down." He congratulated him.

"Yang Ning, don't push all the credit to me. If not for you guys breaking its defensive , I wouldn't have been able to pierce its eye." Yang Gang chuckled.

The man called Yang Ning grinned. "No need to be so humble. Without your final technique, it would be impossible for us to take it down." 

Yang Gang smiled slightly. Then, he furrowed his brows, as a thought flashed in his mind. "Why does it feel like the demon beasts we are hunting are getting stronger and stronger?" He thought out loud.

Startled, Yang Ning began to ponder on this as well. In the past, their usual catch would be a peak rank 3 or a initial rank 4 demon beast, but now they have been consistently hunting peak rank 4 demon beasts. In fact, they even spotted traces demon beast that was potential even stronger than that.

Unfortunately, this party were only at the late earthly qi and early heavenly qi stage, thus they didn't have the power to hunt any demon beasts over the fourth rank.

"Guys, we need some help taking apart this rhino!" A call cut through their thoughts.

"Coming!" Yang Ning yelled back. Turning to Yang Gang, he gave some words of reassurance. "Don't worry about it. It is probably because of our luck that we are able to find so many powerful demon beasts."

Yang Gang thought a bit further. For the past three months, these hunts have also been quicker, as they could easily find traces of rank 4 demon beasts. Under normal circumstances, this would just mean more money, but Yang Gang feels like something wasn't right.

"Forget it." Yang Gang dismissed his thoughts and rejoined with his group.