Moonlight streamed through the window lattice, spilling onto the desk and illuminating eight heavy, one-tael silver ingots.

"Not bad at all. Enough to buy a good eight or nine catties of vicious beast meat."

Yang Jing smiled and put the small silver ingots away.

After tidying up, he stretched his limbs. The vicious beast meat in his stomach continued to radiate a steady stream of warm energy, coursing through his veins to every corner of his body and filling him with a sense of inexhaustible power.

"Perfect. I’ll use this energy to practice my Dark Energy," Yang Jing muttered to himself, walking out into the empty space in the courtyard.

He sank his waist and rooted his stance, slowly assuming the opening posture of the Mountain-Shattering Fist.

The moment he thrust his fist forward, he felt the Dark Energy within him was more active than usual, as if responding to the warm current in his stomach, surging and flowing through his meridians.

"Hah!"

With a low cry, he executed the "Stone Splitter" technique. As his fist cut through the air, it actually produced a faint whistling sound.

This punch didn’t rely on raw, brute force. Instead, he condensed the Dark Energy onto the surface of his fist, releasing it in a sudden burst the moment it met the air, as if an invisible pebble had just exploded in front of him.

As he progressed through the forms, the energy in his stomach was rapidly mobilized, transforming into fine streams of warmth that constantly nourished his circulating Dark Energy.

The Inner Strength, which normally required deliberate guidance to circulate, now flowed as smoothly as a boat with the current. Each punch he threw was more polished than the last.

Under the moonlight, his figure darted and weaved across the courtyard. The forms of the Mountain-Shattering Fist flowed without end—at times like a heavy hammer striking stone, at others like a deep, surging undercurrent.

Sweat soon soaked his clothes, yet he felt no fatigue. On the contrary, he felt an exhilarating sense of release. The energy from over two catties of vicious beast meat was being efficiently converted, merging into his muscles, bones, and Inner Strength.

After an unknown amount of time, as he concluded the final form, "Mountain’s Return," Yang Jing let out a long, turbid breath. The plume of air was visibly tinged with a faint white vapor.

He looked down at his fists. He could clearly feel that his Dark Energy was more condensed than it had been at dusk, and it now circulated more fluidly at his command.

With a mere thought from Yang Jing, the panel appeared before his eyes—

[Great Success of Mountain Shattering Fist (11/1000)]

[Minor Achievement of Shocking Wave Leg (7/500)]

After he broke through to the Dark Energy realm, the numbers for Mountain-Shattering Fist had changed, its cap increasing from five hundred to one thousand.

’I still have a long way to go before I can break through to the Huajin realm.’

Yang Jing thought to himself.

Still, his spirits were high.

Many Martial Artists, after mustering all their strength to break through to the Dark Energy realm, would lose their drive and let their efforts slacken.

The reason was simple: they felt that breaking through to the Dark Energy realm was already incredibly difficult. The thought of breaking through to the Huajin realm was a distant, almost hopeless, prospect.

In such a state, they naturally lost their former passion for training and instead used their strength and status as Dark Energy masters to pursue profit and gain.

Yang Jing then practiced the Shocking Wave Leg for another hour before taking a cold shower and heading back to his room to sleep.

...

「The next day.」

The sky had just begun to lighten, and the old locust tree in the courtyard was still shrouded in morning mist, but Yang Jing was already awake.

He hadn’t touched the old ginseng. ’I’ll go to the Liu Family Medical Hall first,’ he planned, ’to pick out some complementary herbs. Using the ginseng on its own would be a terrible waste; it must be properly combined with other ingredients to maximize its effect.’

In the kitchen pot, last night’s leftover bear meat was stewed until it was fall-apart tender, its aroma wafting out from under the door.

Yang Jing filled a large basin to the brim and wolfed it all down. Only after consuming nearly two catties of vicious beast meat did he finally begin to feel full.

After breaking through to the Dark Energy realm, his appetite had increased once again. A single meal now consisted of nearly two catties of vicious beast meat, and sometimes even more. ’It’s a good thing I’m a little more well-off now...’

Once everything was in order, Yang Jing locked his courtyard gate and started toward the Sun’s Martial Arts Hall in Chengping Square.

He had just rounded two corners when he saw several men in short tunics with sabers tucked into their sashes, huddled at the base of a wall. They looked like gang members.

The men had been laughing and joking, but their laughter died the moment they spotted Yang Jing. Their faces instantly tensed, their eyes darted away, and they all instinctively shrank back behind the wall.

Two of them, who had been squatting on the ground smoking from dry pipes, shot to their feet as he drew near. Without a word, they turned and bolted into a deep alley, moving as fast as mice spotting a cat.

Yang Jing rubbed his nose, not sure whether to laugh or cry.

’It seems the news of my breakthrough to the Dark Energy realm has really gotten around.’

’But do they really need to be this scared? It’s not like I’m a man-eating tiger.’

Recalling the reaction of the men in the alley last night and seeing the scene before him now, Yang Jing began to understand. This was the influence a Dark Energy master wielded—enough to make low-level gang members shrink in fear. Furthermore, his breakthrough signified his new status within the Martial Arts Hall. He had the hall’s backing, and behind the hall stood a Huajin Martial Artist.

He shook his head, putting it out of his mind.

’Being feared is better than being looked down on, anyway.’

’At least I’ll have to deal with a lot less unnecessary trouble on the streets from now on.’

The sun gradually burned away the morning mist, casting its rays on the flagstone path. Yang Jing’s shadow stretched out long behind him, his steps firm and steady as he headed toward the Martial Arts Hall.

’Besides training today, I need to find time to visit the Liu Family Medical Hall and sort out the medicinal herbs.’

’The path of the Martial Dao isn’t just about practicing techniques; you also have to learn to use the resources available to you.’

A short while later, Yang Jing arrived at the Martial Arts Hall.

He stripped off his shirt, tossed it onto a wooden stool by the wall, and immediately began his practice.

Time passed slowly. Yang Jing was gradually perfecting the flow of Dark Energy for his Mountain-Shattering Fist when he heard someone call his name from behind. He turned to see Liu Maolin approaching, holding a small, blue cloth-covered booklet.

"Senior Brother," Yang Jing greeted him.

"Here. Intel on the Proving Grounds Trial." Liu Maolin handed him the booklet. "It has the details from the past five years, plus an analysis of the strength of those who passed. You should study it carefully."

"Alright. Thank you, Senior Brother." Yang Jing nodded, took the booklet, and walked over to a stone bench by the wall. He sat down and began to leaf through it in the morning light.

Having just finished his practice, it was a good opportunity to rest and collect his thoughts.

As his fingertips brushed against the paper, he silently assessed his own strength.

Although he had only just entered the Dark Energy realm, his foundation was far more solid than that of a typical Martial Artist who had just made a breakthrough.

’This might have something to do with the panel. Without any bottlenecks, every step of my progress has been remarkably steady.’

When he sparred with Liu Maolin after his breakthrough, he had blocked an attack delivered with ninety percent of Liu Maolin’s power using only his nascent Dark Energy. Back then, his Shocking Wave Leg hadn’t even reached the Bright Energy stage, and he hadn’t intentionally used his Body Technique or speed.

’If I had gone all out then, using the speed of the Shocking Wave Leg, I’m confident I could have fought Liu Maolin to a draw, maybe even gained the upper hand.’

’But now, with my Shocking Wave Leg at the Bright Energy stage, my Body Technique and speed have increased dramatically, and my power is more condensed. If we were to fight again, I’m confident I would win.’

Without even realizing it, he, a newly advanced Dark Energy practitioner, had already surpassed the veteran Dark Energy disciples of the Martial Arts Hall.

His second martial art, Shocking Wave Leg, was largely to thank for this. Combining fists and legs had elevated his practical combat abilities significantly.

But as he read the booklet’s records, Yang Jing’s brow furrowed slightly.

It stated clearly that the Proving Grounds Trial was a test of practical combat ability.

In previous years, most who passed were Peak of Dark Energy Martial Artists, and typically those with exceptional combat experience.

In some years, even multiple practitioners at the Peak of Dark Energy had been eliminated, which showed just how rigorous the trial was.

"In the entire Martial Arts Hall, only Eldest Senior Brother Xu Hong has reached the Peak of Dark Energy," Yang Jing murmured to himself.

He had seen Xu Hong’s strength firsthand. He was steady and experienced. Even after breaking through to the Dark Energy realm, he had poured all his energy into training, reaching the Peak of Dark Energy long ago. But the bottleneck before the Huajin realm was like a celestial chasm, holding him firmly in place.

Yet, as far as Yang Jing knew, Eldest Senior Brother Xu Hong had participated in the Proving Grounds Trial for the last few years and had failed every single time.

For this year’s trial, Xu Hong had apparently even learned a new leg technique. However, it had yet to reach the Bright Energy stage, so its contribution to his power was limited. It was hard to say if he would be able to pass this year.

Yang Jing continued reading the booklet, but what truly startled him was the trial’s pass rate.

Nearly two hundred people applied each year, but at most six would pass. Some years, it was as few as three.

This meant the vast majority of participants, including Dark Energy Martial Artists, would be utterly defeated.

"This is too damn hard," Yang Jing muttered, closing the booklet. He was secretly astounded, his fingertips tapping lightly on the cover.

’My current strength is nowhere near enough to pass.’

’In the next twenty-odd days, I have to improve as much as I can. At the very least, I need to advance my Dark Energy level and further refine the coordination between my punches and kicks. Only then will I have a fighting chance.’ 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

He looked up toward the center of the front courtyard, where several disciples were training diligently under the bright sun.

Yang Jing stood up and tucked the booklet into his shirt. The pressure was immense, but it also ignited the resilience deep within him.

’The harder it is, the more I have to try.’

Placing the booklet in his old cloth bag, he rose and walked back to the center of the training grounds to continue his practice. With the ordeal of the Proving Grounds Trial looming, he had no time to waste.