"Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!"

Five strikes of Thousand Mountains Fist flowed out like running water, smooth and unbroken, crashing toward the Fire Ape King one after another.

The Fire Ape King was born with immense strength. In its previous exchange with Tang Yan, it had already judged that Tang Yan's strength was still a shade beneath its own, so it met him head-on without the slightest fear.

Yet the Fire Ape King had still underestimated the power a martial skill could unleash.

It could never have imagined that with Tang Yan's Thousand Mountains Fist, every strike would be far stronger than the last.

With the first punch, the Fire Ape King's momentum still suppressed Tang Yan.

With the second punch, Tang Yan's body merely swayed, his strength only a hair's breadth weaker than the Fire Ape King's.

With the third punch, the Fire Ape King's body shuddered. The strength Tang Yan erupted with had actually surpassed it by a fraction.

With the fourth punch, beneath Tang Yan's terrifying, rising force, the Fire Ape King was forced back a step.

With the fifth punch, Tang Yan's fist broke through the Fire Ape King's defense with irresistible force, and the Fire Ape King's massive body staggered three great steps backward.

If Tang Yan had not comprehended the Combat Heart, then whether in strength or speed of attack, he would not have been the Fire Ape King's match. At most, he could have fought it to a draw.

But ifs were only ifs.

Though the Fire Ape King's speed and strength were formidable, Tang Yan could throw a thousand moves in succession as naturally as a single strike. With combat skill approaching Perfection, once Tang Yan seized even the slightest chance to counterattack, what followed would be a storm of retaliation.

A trace of madness flashed through Tang Yan's eyes.

Without hesitation, the sixth form of Thousand Mountains Fist erupted.

The surrounding air warped slightly. A fierce wind followed Tang Yan's fist as it smashed toward the Fire Ape King's body.

"Bang!"

A tremendous force struck. The Fire Ape King's enormous body was sent flying by Tang Yan's punch and crashed heavily to the ground.

The weak are prey to the strong, and the fittest survive. This had always been nature's law.

On the path of the strong, there was no room for soft-heartedness. Since his strike had landed, Tang Yan did not hesitate.

He drew the longsword from his back. The blade traced a refined arc through the air, and with one stroke, slit the Fire Ape King's throat.

Seeing the Fire Ape King slain, the surrounding Fire Apes' eyes filled with deep terror.

In their hearts, the Fire Ape King was nearly a godlike existence. Such a powerful king had actually lost to the human before them. Just how terrifying was this person?

"Awoo!"

With their pillar gone, the Fire Apes fled in panic like dogs that had lost their home.

Tang Yan did not pursue them. Instead, he took out a dagger and split open the Fire Ape King's skull. A scarlet Beast Core fell into his hand.

He directly placed the Beast Core into the Heaven and Earth Creation Cauldron. In an instant, it was refined by the cauldron, and Tang Yan's spirit lifted.

Fire Apes were fire-attributed by nature and were of no small help to the Heaven and Earth Creation Cauldron. Once the Beast Core was completely absorbed, Tang Yan felt refreshed from head to toe.

Counting the days, this training journey would reach two full months in another ten days.

In less than two months, he had gone from Yellow Rank eighth grade to Black Rank first grade. If news of such speed spread, it would likely frighten more than a few people.

There were still ten days left, and Tang Yan was unwilling to waste them.

He took out the map Chang Ying had left him and chose his next Third-Rank Spirit Beast-the Spotted Rock Tiger.

In the battles over the next few days, Tang Yan deliberately suppressed his own strength as much as possible.

For example, Spirit Beasts that normally required Yellow Rank ninth grade to contend with, he challenged with the strength of Yellow Rank eighth grade, or even Yellow Rank seventh grade, using them to temper his ability to endure pressure.

As expected, after comprehending the Combat Heart, Tang Yan's fighting ability became much more effortless.

After spending six days killing three Third-Rank Spirit Beasts, Tang Yan no longer continued searching for them, because he saw an even more magnificent waterfall.

This waterfall was about forty meters tall and sixteen meters wide. The vast curtain of water thundered down with majestic force, carrying a crushing weight.

Tang Yan decided to use the last few days here to properly consolidate his strength.

Although this waterfall was only twice as high as the previous one, the pressure one had to endure beneath it was several times greater.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

Faced with such an excellent place to cultivate, Tang Yan, this cultivation madman, rushed in eagerly and began practicing Thousand Mountains Fist.

Beneath a pressure nearly thirty times heavier than the outside world, Tang Yan endured the constant feeling that his body might be crushed flat. He forced himself to hold on and gradually began to adapt.

"Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang..."

After five days of madly practicing Thousand Mountains Fist beneath the waterfall, Tang Yan finally progressed from the first three punches to the fifth.

Counting the time, he should return to Yun City tomorrow.

As his training neared its end, an extremely bold thought suddenly arose in his heart-practice Flame Burst Palm beneath the waterfall.

This martial skill required Black Rank strength just to barely control it.

Yet Tang Yan, only at Black Rank first grade, wanted to practice Flame Burst Palm beneath the waterfall.

It would be extremely difficult, but a boundless fervor flashed through Tang Yan's eyes. If he could cultivate it successfully, the Flame Burst Palm he unleashed would surely multiply in power.

Flame Burst Palm compressed the True Qi within the body, then detonated it in an instant. By borrowing the force of the bursting airflow, it could inflict tremendous harm on an enemy.

"Pfft!"

The first attempt failed.

"Pfft!"

The second attempt failed.

Each time he gathered his force, the waterfall scattered it. But Tang Yan was not willing to give up just like that.

Time passed, breath by breath.

When even the final day was nearly over, an extremely powerful fluctuation suddenly came from beneath the waterfall.

A murderous, violent momentum rose abruptly, soaring straight upward into the falling torrent.

"Explode!"

After that furious roar came an earth-shaking boom.

In that instant, the waterfall more than forty meters tall was blasted completely apart.

Tang Yan was secretly startled. The power of this palm was actually so great.

He lifted his head and watched the waterfall come crashing down again, and for a moment, his heart drifted.

His two months of cultivation had, on this day, produced a result he could be fairly satisfied with.

After walking out of the waterfall, Tang Yan raised his head and let out a long howl.

The sound stretched far into the sky, startling countless fierce birds and savage beasts.

Ignoring the darkening sky, Tang Yan stepped with Phantom Step and sped back along the road he had come.

By the time Tang Yan returned to Yun City, dawn had not yet broken.

His figure rose and fell through the night, and before long, he arrived at the Tang Family compound.

Like a spirit cat, he returned to his own room without making a sound from beginning to end.

Looking at the spotless room, Tang Yan knew Xiaocui was still cleaning it every day.

He wondered what Grandfather's reaction would be when he learned Tang Yan was already at Black Rank.

Thinking of his grandfather, Tang Yan's heart stirred.

Relying on the experience from his previous life, Tang Yan could tell that Old Master Tang had a hidden ailment in his Meridians.

In his heart, he had already accepted Tang Ling as his grandfather. Thus, in ordinary times, Tang Yan had secretly observed Tang Ling's symptoms, and he had truly discovered the cause of the illness.

The Spiritual Qi Tang Ling cultivated each day was only enough to maintain and repair his Meridians. It could not allow his strength to advance at all.

For the old man's condition, Tang Yan had long since prepared the medicinal herbs. He had planned to begin refining pills to repair the old man's Meridians once his own strength stepped into Black Rank.

Now that everything was ready, Tang Yan walked into the pill room.

He had already entered Black Rank.

It was also time to refine new pills suited to his own cultivation.