Fist after fist boomed into the stone sculpture, sending chips of rock flying in every direction. With each strike Yang Kai delivered, the bizarre sculpture shuddered violently.
It had remained completely inert this whole time, unlike the other sculptures that would launch attacks on sight.
But Yang Kai had keenly noticed something — every time he struck it, the sculpture absorbed a portion of the True Yang Energy embedded in his attacks.
As time trickled by, a faint red glow began to shimmer across the sculpture's surface, and from within it emanated an aura of yang-attributed Yuan Qi identical to his own.
Crack, crack, crack…
The sculpture's massive hand seemed to twitch ever so slightly. Yang Kai's heart lurched — sudden understanding flooding his mind.
It really was absorbing the Yuan Qi carried in his strikes, using it as fuel to animate itself. The problem was that the amount absorbed was far too little to support anything beyond the smallest movements.
Once he figured that out, Yang Kai didn't stop. If anything, his attacks grew even fiercer.
*Let's see who moves first — you, or the moment I shatter you!* Stubbornness burning in his chest, Yang Kai threw punches with abandon.
His fists were a bloody, mangled mess. This sculpture's hardness far surpassed that of the others.
Crack, crack, crack… As the sculpture absorbed more and more Yuan Qi, the range of its movements grew wider and wider. A colossal palm rose high overhead, looming down at Yang Kai, poised to slam down at any moment.
But the area on the sculpture's chest where Yang Kai had been hammering away was in equally sorry shape — cracks spiderwebbing across every inch.
Whoosh! The palm descended with staggering speed. Fortunately, Yang Kai had been prepared, and he threw himself aside just in time.
The ground shuddered lightly, a hand-shaped imprint cratering the earth where he had stood. Dust billowed upward, whipping his clothes and hair into a frenzy.
Boom, boom, boom!
In that same instant, twin bursts of flame erupted around Yang Kai's fists, as though he held two blazing torches. Both the speed and the force of his strikes surged dramatically.
Crash!
With one devastating punch, a gaping hole was finally blasted through the sculpture's chest, fragments of stone scattering across the ground.
Yang Kai's eyes locked onto a small, crystalline figurine nestled inside.
He snatched it out and tucked it into his robe. Then, launching himself upward, he cleared the deep pit just before the sculpture's second strike came crashing down.
He turned to survey his surroundings. In the distance, the dozens of sculptures that had been lured away were already making their way back.
Yang Kai's expression darkened. He didn't dare waste a single second. Pushing his speed to its absolute limit, he hurried away.
After circling wide on the outside, Yang Kai finally returned to where the other four were waiting.
The moment he appeared, Du Yishuang beamed at him. "We've got another Small Stone Figurine! Now there's exactly one for each of us."
"Ha, looks like my luck's been decent." Yang Kai chuckled softly, casting a sidelong glance at Lan Chudie. She was watching him with a gentle smile, but upon seeing his fists covered in blood, she quickly stepped forward and actually took hold of his hands, frowning. "How did you get hurt this badly?"
Her expression looked genuinely concerned — there was even a hint of an elder sister's worry for her junior brother in the furrow of her brow.
Yang Kai withdrew his hands with practiced subtlety and said evenly, "A few of the sculptures were closing in too fast. I had no choice but to trade a few blows with them."
A flicker of surprise crossed Lan Chudie's lovely face before she smiled warmly. "As long as you're safe."
"Let's divide the figurines first, so everyone can start Cultivation and boost their combat strength," Zuo An suggested from the side.
"Sure." Lan Chudie nodded and produced all five Small Stone Figurines they had gathered over the past few days, laying them out before the group.
The number of red lines inside these five figurines was roughly comparable. At most, a few lines separated them. Generally speaking, a technique that required channeling through more meridians was considered higher grade, but that wasn't an absolute rule.
Some special techniques were of high grade yet only needed a handful of meridians.
So none of them knew which figurine held the better technique and which held the worse. At a time like this, it all came down to luck.
After days of grueling effort, though the rewards fell far short of expectations, their eyes still burned with anticipation. Hidden inside these figurines were earth grade martial techniques.
"Who goes first?" Nie Yong was practically vibrating with eagerness. He wanted to pick first but feared choosing a dud, leaving him indecisive.
"I'd like to suggest Brother Yang goes first," Lan Chudie said with a smile directed at Yang Kai. "After all, he's been the one tiring himself out luring those sculptures day after day, and he just got injured on top of that. He deserves first pick!"
Everyone was getting one anyway, so she could afford to be generous. And picking first didn't necessarily mean getting the best one.
The words cost her nothing yet were a fine way to win people over.
Yang Kai saw right through her thoughts, but he didn't bother declining. He simply nodded. "If Senior Sister puts it that way, it would be rude of me to refuse."
With that, he casually reached out and grabbed a Small Stone Figurine.