After eating, Yang Jing regulated his breathing for a moment, then strode into the courtyard.

The night was deep. Moonlight filtered through the sparse clouds, casting a silver glow over the courtyard.

He took a deep breath, cleared his mind of distracting thoughts, and slowly assumed the starting stance of the Thundering Wave Kick.

Usually, when he trained at night, he would mostly focus on the Mountain-Shattering Fist. Tonight, however, his mind was set entirely on the Thundering Wave Kick.

His Thundering Wave Kick was just one step away from the Peak of Mingjin. Tonight, he would break through to Dark Strength!

The bottleneck that others feared like a tiger simply didn’t exist for Yang Jing!

The door to the main hall creaked open. Yang An, having finished cleaning the kitchen, came out while wiping the water from his hands.

Every day, he would stand to the side and watch Yang Jing train. He was especially attentive when Yang Jing practiced the Thundering Wave Kick.

Although he hadn’t fully mastered the moves himself, he could grasp some of the finer points from watching Yang Jing’s practice, which was greatly beneficial to his own cultivation.

Seeing Yang Jing start with the Thundering Wave Kick right away, a look of delight appeared on Yang An’s face. He lightened his steps, moved to a corner of the courtyard about thirty feet from Yang Jing, and began to awkwardly mimic the stances, slowly following Yang Jing’s movements.

In the center of the courtyard, Yang Jing was completely immersed in the world of his leg techniques.

His body was relaxed as his legs kicked out in alternation. At times, they were like the first stirrings of a wave—gentle, yet concealing hidden power. At others, they were like thundering waves crashing against the shore—swift and fierce, accompanied by a whistling wind.

Under the moonlight, his figure flickered continuously. His footsteps made soft tapping sounds on the bluestone pavers, the rhythm quickening and slowing, yet always in perfect sync with the flow of his Inner Strength.

With every lift of his leg, he strived for more perfect form than the last.

With every step, he sought to embody the true meaning of the words "Thundering Wave."

He could clearly feel the Inner Strength in the meridians of his legs surging at an unprecedented speed, like a river about to burst its banks, constantly battering and rising.

Sweat trickled down his cheeks and dripped onto the ground, spreading into a small, dark patch.

But Yang Jing paid it no mind. His breathing grew longer and steadier, his gaze more focused.

He integrated the insights gained from his spar with Xu Hong earlier that day, making the coordination between his leg techniques and Inner Strength even more seamless. Each movement flowed like water, without a hint of stagnation.

Sometimes he would suddenly accelerate, his form becoming a blur as he darted across the courtyard, his leg movements weaving a dense net that seemed capable of blocking attacks from all directions.

Other times, he would abruptly change direction, appearing to kick to the left only for his foot to land on the right, moving with unpredictable agility.

Time passed, second by second.

「Two hours later.」

The Inner Strength circulated repeatedly through his meridians. Nourished by the energy of the Spirit Fish, it steadily approached the Peak of Mingjin.

Yang Jing’s heart skipped a beat. He abruptly gathered all his qi and blood, pushing his Inner Strength to its absolute limit, and whipped his right leg out like a lash.

CRACK!

A crisp crack echoed, as if a real thundering wave had just smashed against a reef. A blast of air radiated out from him, causing the weeds in the corner of the courtyard to sway gently.

Standing behind, Yang An’s eyes went wide.

He could only see Yang Jing’s figure flashing under the moonlight, moving so fast that his actions were nearly a blur.

Such agility and power were almost inhuman.

Yang An’s mouth fell open unconsciously. Forgetting the stance he was holding, he just stared blankly, a single thought in his mind: ’Brother Jing’s leg technique is getting more and more incredible...’

Yang Jing remained completely immersed in his practice of the Thundering Wave Kick. Inner Strength surged through the meridians in his legs, and each kick carried a deeper understanding of the Thundering Wave Realm.

While others had to struggle to break through martial arts realms, enduring the agony of bottlenecks, he was uniquely blessed.

He was different. The existence of the panel meant he had no bottlenecks when cultivating his martial arts.

He only needed to train a martial art to the limit of its current realm, and the breakthrough would happen automatically, as a matter of course. This was his greatest advantage, the reason he could advance so rapidly in such a short time.

An hour passed quietly, and the moonlight in the courtyard grew even brighter.

In a certain instant, Yang Jing felt the flow of Inner Strength in his leg meridians suddenly accelerate, as if it had reached some kind of ultimate limit.

He understood in his heart. This was the sign that his Thundering Wave Kick had reached the Peak of Mingjin. The next step was the Dark Strength level.

Although Yang An, standing behind, couldn’t discern the specific details, he had a strange feeling that the Yang Jing tonight was different from usual.

The leg technique still used the same familiar moves, but to his eyes, it seemed to carry an indescribable new power. It was as if every kick contained a more condensed force, causing even the surrounding air to tremble faintly.

He scratched his head, chalking it up to him just paying closer attention.

Yang Jing didn’t pause, continuing to focus on his practice.

Time flowed on slowly.

His Inner Strength flowed naturally through his meridians, and his moves became increasingly fluid. The shackles of the Peak of Mingjin were as fragile as paper before him.

Without the slightest hesitation, without any obstruction, as naturally as breathing, the aura of his Thundering Wave Kick suddenly changed. A more condensed and penetrating Dark Strength erupted from the meridians in his legs.

Following the Mountain-Shattering Fist, his second martial art, the Thundering Wave Kick, had also successfully broken through to the Dark Strength level!

The moment he broke through, Yang Jing clearly felt a world-shaking transformation occur within his body.

A brand-new Dark Strength surged through the meridians in his legs. Like a stream flowing into the ocean, it swiftly merged with the Dark Strength he had cultivated from the Mountain-Shattering Fist.

The two currents of Dark Strength complemented each other. Not only did they not conflict, but they actually generated an even greater power.

The total amount of Dark Strength in his body instantly skyrocketed, increasing by more than half.

In terms of quality, the fused Dark Strength was more condensed and domineering than before. As it circulated, it faintly emitted a low roar like that of a dragon.