[Name: Tang Wen]
[Age: 15]
[Body: 5.5]
[Essence: 6.08]
[Skills: Farming, Master (719/1000)]
[Flying Locust Stone, Mastery (2939/3000)]
[Wind-breaking Blade, Mastery (2717/3000)]
[Flying Knife Skill, Mastery (1531/3000)]
[Eight Vajra Techniques, Mastery (5175/6000)]
[Earth Fire Stance (Meditation), Mastery (513/3000)]
[Archery, Master (1/1000)]
[Tracking Technique, Beginner (411/500)]
[Hunting Traps, Beginner (303/500)]
[Riding Skill, Master (37/1000)]
In the morning, Tang Wen headed to the Guard Battalion.
He was planning his next phase of training goals.
The Eight Vajra Techniques and Earth Fire Stance (Meditation) were still his highest priorities.
Next was his Flying Locust Stone skill, which was on the verge of a breakthrough.
He wanted to know what level came after "Mastery," and how powerful a higher-level Flying Locust Stone skill would be.
As for his fastest-improving skill, the Wind-breaking Blade, and his other skills, he would just continue to train them normally.
His reward for placing first among the new recruits had finally been distributed yesterday.
Twenty silver ingots, amounting to one hundred taels of silver.
A Hundred-refinements Tiger Head Steel Blade, 1.1 meters long and weighing 22 jin.
In his hand, it felt even heavier than a 1.5-meter-long Horse-cutting Blade.
When the blade was issued, even Zhou Bing had looked on with envy, saying that if he sold it, it would surely fetch five hundred taels of silver.
And then there was the third reward, the one Tang Wen anticipated the most—the Mountain-Opening Cannon Fist Visualization Image, with three opportunities to comprehend it.
The Mountain-Opening Cannon Fist Visualization Image was hidden deep within a quiet underground chamber in the Inner City.
Tang Wen could comprehend it for free three times. Three times meant three days, and for each session, he had to make an appointment with the quartermaster and wait in line.
Hearing these strict conditions, he immediately asked, "What if I use up all three chances and still can't learn it? Are there more opportunities to study it?"
The Guard Captain who delivered the reward informed him, "After your three chances are used, you must have made a breakthrough. Only after demonstrating this breakthrough to the camp's Commander will you be qualified to continue learning. The price for further study is 100 taels of silver per day."
Hearing a price that would make his sister faint, Tang Wen secretly resolved that he must be fully prepared before going to learn it.
But how should he prepare?
He would have to ask his own captain and Commander Zhao for advice.
Arriving at the camp, he first went to find Zhou Bing.
"I knew you were going to ask." Zhou Bing smiled faintly, a thaw on her icy exterior, and Tang Wen stared for a moment in a daze.
"Come with me. Don't just stand there gawking." Zhou Bing shot him a sideways glance, her steps light and quick.
Inside the training hall.
Zhou Bing asked, "To learn a Fist Technique, you must first understand it. Do you know why the camp offers this particular technique as a reward?"
Tang Wen recalled the information he had gathered and said, "Because it's powerful, and all the Commanders know it?"
Zhou Bing shook her head. "It is powerful, yes, but not all Commanders know it. Rather, only those who know it can become a Commander. You mustn't get the cause and effect backward. The reason this Fist Technique is offered as a reward is also because it's very difficult to master."
Seeing the confused look on Tang Wen's face, she explained, "A Fist Technique that's hard to master can't be hidden away. We must let more people encounter and learn it. That's the only way to pass the technique down through the generations. It's not just you; all the promising new talents in the Guard Battalion will, to some extent, have a chance to learn this technique. This way, the camp can cultivate more experts."
Tang Wen inwardly marveled at the wisdom of this tradition, nodding after a moment.
"I understand. Sister Bing, have you practiced it too?"
Over the past while, Zhou Bing had eaten at the Tang Family's home a few times and had even stayed over twice.
When no one else was around, Tang Wen no longer called her Captain.
Zhou Bing didn't speak. She walked to a Wooden Man Target, sank into a horse stance, dropped her shoulders, and threw a punch at the target.
BOOM!
The Wooden Man Target exploded into splinters, as if it had been hit by a large-caliber handgun.
Gazing at the stunned Tang Wen, whose head was tilted back in shock, Zhou Bing said coolly, "That is the Mountain-Opening Cannon Fist."
"Coach, I want to learn!"
"What?"
"Uh, Sister Bing, I want to learn!"
"To learn the Cannon Fist, you need the Visualization Image. I was just showing you the effect of the Cannon Fist's Explosive Force."
Tang Wen said eagerly, "Sister Bing, I haven't seen the Visualization Image, and I've never learned a Fist Technique before. What's the most difficult part of the Mountain-Opening Cannon Fist? I want to prepare in advance."
A reminiscent look appeared on Zhou Bing's face. "The Cannon Fist... the word 'cannon,' it's said to be a type of weapon used for bombardment. The hardest part of the Cannon Fist to learn, understand, and imagine is what a 'cannon' is, and what 'to bombard' and 'to explode' even mean!"
'They don't know what a cannon is?'
'They don't know what it means to bombard or explode?'
Tang Wen was slightly stunned. His mind instantly filled with a series of artillery pieces he had seen in videos: autocannons, rocket launchers, close-in weapon systems, howitzers, Italian Cannons, and more.
As for bombardment, he had seen documentaries on atomic bomb explosions.
"See? You don't know either, do you?"
Without answering directly, Tang Wen rubbed his nose and asked tentatively, "If I knew what cannons and bombardment were, would I be able to learn the Cannon Fist?"
"It's not that simple. At most, it might help you understand a small part of the Visualization Image, so you don't waste your chances."
Zhou Bing added, "If you have any more questions, ask them now. I'm going away for intensive training for the next month or two, so I won't have time to teach you."
"Intensive training?"
"Mhm. Our camp and the Black Mountain Camp fight every two years to decide the ownership of a coal mine on the border of our territories. The martial competition is set for two months from now. All the Hunting Captains might have to compete, so we're going to train together."
Tang Wen was taken aback. "Black Mountain Camp... I heard their leader is very powerful?"
It was only after becoming a Guard that he learned of the existence of Black Mountain Camp, several hundred li away.
As the saying goes, how can one allow another to snore beside one's own bed?
In this apocalyptic world, resources were scarce, putting the two camps in direct competition.
Their Hunting Team not only hunted Mutated Beasts but also had to be ready to face competition from the rival camp at any moment.
It hadn't escalated to all-out war, but ambushing each other's teams and killing a few people were common occurrences.
Tang Wen had heard that Black Mountain Camp was a slaver camp, where the strong did as they pleased and lorded over others.
Ordinary people were treated like cattle and horses.
The lord of Black Mountain Camp called himself the Black Mountain Demon. His Cultivation Technique was said to be sinister, and he was especially skilled in night combat.
"He is indeed crafty, but his strength can't compare to Her Majesty the Queen." Zhou Bing's calm tone carried a faint trace of pride.
Tang Wen believed this. If Flame Camp didn't possess sufficient Deterrence, the other side would have probably stormed their gates to burn, kill, and plunder long ago!
The next day, Zhou Bing and a dozen or so other Hunting Captains were summoned by Commander Zhao to begin their intensive training.
Tang Wen made a point to ask around about this martial competition.
The reality was far crueler than what Zhou Bing had described.
First, the competition was a deathmatch.
Furthermore, because Flame Camp had been the victor last time, the rules for this competition would be set by the other side.
Although it didn't seem to have anything to do with him, Tang Wen couldn't help but feel a surge of worry.
'In these chaotic times, why is it so hard to live a peaceful life?'
Strength!
In the end, strength was the only thing he could rely on!
Having only enjoyed a few days of "lying flat," Tang Wen recorded all the details Zhou Bing had shared about the "Mountain-Opening Cannon Fist" in a notebook.
He could understand Explosive Force: it was the concentration of power into a single point, released in an instant.
It was Inch Force, it was explosive power, it was Penetration Power!
In the evening, Tang Wen went to the Guard Battalion's quartermaster and bought a piece of Weighted Clothing.
The Weighted Clothing looked a bit like a life jacket, filled with sand. After putting it on, his entire body looked a size bigger and bloated, making it difficult to even walk.
It was something only captains and Commanders wore when training their strength and body Control Power.
Wearing the Weighted Clothing, Tang Wen went to a general store and bought a ream of Kraft Paper and a ream of Yellow Paper.
When he got home, he lowered the clothesline to chest height, then used string to hang the sheets of Yellow Paper and Kraft Paper from it in the courtyard.
Under his sister's strange gaze, he positioned his fist ten centimeters away from a sheet of Yellow Paper and, with a swift motion, punched out.
His fist hit the paper, and the Yellow Paper tore.
Tang Wen then did the same with the Kraft Paper.
SMACK!
The Kraft Paper swayed.
Again.
SMACK!
It swayed more violently this time.
But it was still a long way from being torn apart by the penetrating Power.
He punched for a long time but couldn't grasp the knack of it.
Tang Wen thought for a moment, then decided to practice on the Yellow Paper first. He then found some sandbags to add more weight, tied them to his arms, and continued punching the Yellow Paper.
Before sleeping, he lay in bed thinking, 'Explosive Force is Inch Force, it's explosive power... but then, what is Bombardment Force?'