The sky above Azure Peak was still shrouded in pre-dawn gloom when Jiang Chen stepped onto the secluded cliffside training platform he had claimed for himself.
His breath steamed in the cold air. Below him, mist blanketed the lower slopes of the mountain. The sect was still asleep—save for the few true fanatics among the outer disciples. But Jiang Chen didn't come here for admiration or recognition.
He came to train.
He wore no shirt, his torso bare against the biting wind, revealing countless faint bruises and callouses that had built over the past month. His fists clenched and unclenched with slow precision, joints cracking softly. He stood before a thick wooden training post, worn and cracked from relentless use.
Today was different.
Today, he would cross the threshold of Small Achievement in [Stone Severing Fist].
...
[Proficiency Panel]
Technique: Stone Severing Fist
Current Level: Proficient → (99.9%)
Next Tier: Small Achievement
— Estimated requirement: 3,000 strikes.
— Note: True comprehension requires refined control of Qi flow and limb force.
...
He inhaled deeply, grounding himself.
"Let's begin," he murmured.
And then he struck.
One fist after another, smooth and relentless, like the slow rise of a tide against stone. Each blow thudded against the post with practiced rhythm—not brute strength, but precise intent. Muscles coiled, relaxed, coiled again. His body danced between strikes like flowing water guided by invisible will.
Time blurred.
His knuckles cracked and swelled. Pain lanced up his arms. But he didn't stop.
...
Somewhere near strike 700, his body began to falter. His breath came ragged. His legs shook. And doubt began to rise—like it always did.
'Was he wasting his time? Still in the servant's registry. No sect backing. No cultivation technique. Was this blind effort truly enough…?'
Jiang Chen paused, fist hovering mid-air.
Then he remembered something: his younger self, back on Earth, punching a cracked wall in an underground gym long after his coach had left. Alone, sore, forgotten.
That boy had dreamed of becoming a champion. He didn't stop back then.
He wouldn't stop now.
He struck again.
...
Strike 1,128.
The pain disappeared.
His body moved not through force but memory—muscle memory so deeply ingrained that it bypassed conscious thought.
Strike 1,942.
The flow changed.
His footwork adjusted. His spine aligned. His shoulder snapped at just the right angle. The feedback from the wooden post no longer felt jarring—it felt like resonance.
Strike 2,517.
Something clicked.
Qi, faint and dormant like a sleeping dragon, stirred in his dantian. A thread so fine it was barely perceptible traveled from his core to his knuckles. His punches no longer hit with just flesh—but with will.
Strike 3,000.
A pulse rang through the cliffside. Not loud, but clear. Like a tuning fork struck in the void of dawn.
Jiang Chen's eyes opened slowly.
He was breathing evenly. The pain had faded. His knuckles bled, but he didn't feel broken—he felt light.
...
[Proficiency Panel Updated]
Technique: Stone Severing Fist
New Tier: Small Achievement
Effect: Force output increased by 80%. Control of inner flow unlocked.
Additional: Hidden trait unlocked — Fist Echo Resonance
"Those who walk the path of fists must first converse with stone. You now speak with the echoes."
...
He stood there for a while, letting the morning light touch his skin.
In the distance, the sun peeked over the horizon, casting long shadows across Azure Peak. Sect bells began to ring softly. Disciples stirred from sleep, rushing to morning lectures and duties.
Jiang Chen turned his gaze downward, toward the outer sect courtyard.
His fists tightened.
"I'm not in a rush to reach the heavens," he said softly. "But I will get there. One strike at a time."
And then he walked away from the cliffside.
Behind him, the training post split down the center—silently and without resistance—as though it had been cleaved by something more than just flesh and bone.