The righteous path punishes Heaven

Chapter 32 Body Refining

And so, Zhang Yunling became Duan Weihuang's disciple, practicing the One-Finger Divine Skill outside his house every day. Although Zhang Yunling was talented, this powerful killing move, which could be used for both offense and defense, could not be mastered in just ten days or half a month.

The One-Finger Divine Skill is divided into nine realms. Each advancement in a realm makes the finger technique more precise and powerful. However, the One-Finger Divine Skill manual that Zhang Yunling obtained only recorded the cultivation methods for the first four realms, while the remaining six realms were not recorded.

However, those things are still too far away for Zhang Yunling at the moment. After several months of practice, his One Finger Divine Skill has only reached the second level, and his cultivation level has only reached the middle stage of Foundation Establishment.

That winter, snow fell heavily outside the house. Zhang Yunling was already eighteen years old. Whenever he thought of his adoptive father Zhang He from his previous life, he would feel a sharp pain in his chest and sigh inwardly.

It seems that every defeat is due to the loss of my cultivation, yet the enemies I face are countless times stronger than me. How should I devise a strategy...?

Zhang Yunling broke free from her meditation, stood up, and walked towards Duan Weihuang inside the room. She opened her mouth and asked, "Master, I would like to ask you a question."

Duan Weihuang was sitting at the end of the kang (a heated brick bed), holding a pipe and taking big puffs of tobacco. As he exhaled smoke, he looked at Zhang Yunling, grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth, and slowly said, "What is it?"

"This disciple once had his dantian shattered, crippling his cultivation. He only survived thanks to the intervention of a powerful being. This disciple wishes to ask Master, how can I make my dantian less vulnerable and less susceptible to being slaughtered?"

Zhang Yunling knelt on one knee, adopting a sincere look of seeking instruction. Duan Weihuang put down his pipe, slid down from the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), and stood in front of Zhang Yunling, saying, "I will seal my own cultivation. Strike me in the abdomen with your One-Finger Divine Skill and see how your cultivation has progressed today."

What? He'd seal off his cultivation to get beaten? Faced with this strange request, Zhang Yunling didn't think much of it. This old man must be confident he could withstand one of his attacks, otherwise he wouldn't have spoken with such confidence.

After gathering his strength, Zhang Yunling emitted golden light from his right index finger, and the power contained within was directly pointed at Duan Weihuang's abdomen, instantly tearing his clothes apart and revealing the dark flesh beneath.

Strangely, the finger only shattered the fabric. The moment it touched the other person's skin, the cultivation power contained in the finger vanished instantly, dissolved into nothingness.

"This..." Zhang Yunling looked at Duan Weihuang in astonishment, "Master, what kind of supernatural power do you possess? How can you be invulnerable to swords and spears?"

Duan Weihuang stroked his beard and laughed heartily. He suddenly tightened his abdominal muscles, and a powerful elastic force rebounded, sending Zhang Yunling's fingers flying. His hand bones were also dislocated and fractured, and intense pain followed.

Zhang Yunling gritted his teeth and groaned in disbelief. He hurriedly slapped his storage bag with his left hand, took out a bottle of healing pills and swallowed them. Only then did the injury to his right hand stop, and the broken bones began to slowly recover.

That's just how this old guy is. Having studied under him for a year, Zhang Yunling knew his character well. Ignoring the pain constantly emanating from his palm, he hurriedly asked, "Please enlighten me, Master!"

Seeing that the young man was still as humble and eager to learn as ever, Duan Weihuang's smile deepened. He suddenly exerted force with his right arm. Although he was old, the muscles on his arm were still bulging with veins, full of power.

Seeing Zhang Yunling's thin, scholarly appearance, Duan Weihuang became even more confident and said in a deep voice, "Cultivators can not only improve their spiritual power, allowing them to master more spells and possess greater spiritual power, but there is another method of cultivation, which is to cultivate the body."

After saying that, Duan Weihuang's right arm suddenly released an astonishing pressure and slammed it down on the floor. In an instant, a strong impact was felt, which directly sent Zhang Yunling flying and crashing into the wall. The force of this punch even created a crater several feet deep in the ground!

The entire house began to sway precariously. Duan Weihuang slapped his forehead and exclaimed, "Oh no, we've gone too far! We need to fix this load-bearing wall right now!" He quickly grabbed several huge rocks from the pit, turned his right hand into a hand blade, and chopped the rocks into stone pillars. He then placed these pillars under the eaves to support the roof, which was about to collapse under the impact.

Zhang Yunling, who was sitting on the ground leaning against the wall, was completely dumbfounded. This was simply a humanoid beast, terrifying beyond belief.

Duan Weihuang leaped out of the pit and landed steadily next to Zhang Yunling. He patted the dust off his body and said, "This is the effect of body tempering. If you want to reach this level, you must make your physical strength equal to your cultivation level. That way, even if you encounter an opponent who is a whole realm higher than you, you will not be easily damaged in your internal organs."

"Is it really that powerful? How should this disciple cultivate his physique?" Zhang Yunling's eyes shone as he looked expectantly at Duan Weihuang. The old man smiled meaningfully and led him to the courtyard outside the house.

Outside the courtyard, the snow had already piled up to ankle height. Duan Weihuang stood with his hands behind his back and slowly said, "The so-called cultivation of the body is to constantly stimulate the body to improve its overall strength and limits, which is completely different from cultivating spiritual power. Now that you want to refine your body, the first step is to stimulate it!"

Before Zhang Yunling could react, Duan Weihuang had already pushed out a palm, striking him squarely in the chest. Although he had suppressed his cultivation to the late Foundation Establishment stage, the palm still put immense pressure on Zhang Yunling, causing him to stagger back several steps, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

"Today, you will withstand fifty of my palm strikes in this snow, and you are not allowed to use your cultivation to defend yourself, but only your physical body to withstand them!" After saying that, Duan Weihuang struck again. Zhang Yunling reacted at this time and prepared to meet the blow. As expected, he was knocked back several steps and fell to the ground.

"Alright! Again!" Zhang Yunling's resentment at having his cultivation stolen and used to help the other party surged into his mind. The fear of having his dantian shattered by the Qiankun Dao Sect Master's punch also spurred his will to become stronger. With Duan Weihuang's merciless palm striking him again and again, his thin but tenacious body was constantly being forged.

Another six months passed, and through daily arduous training, Zhang Yunling's cultivation reached the late stage of Foundation Establishment, and his body also reached a level comparable to that of a Golden Core cultivator.

Now, when facing late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators of the same level, he already possesses greater strength than them, and his ultimate move, True Yang Finger, will become an important milestone on his path to becoming stronger.