Volume 4: Hidden Battles – Chapter 192: The Secret of the Dragon Core

Unfortunately, no matter how Chu Tianyu applied force and technique to his punches, it had no effect on that slippery and sticky toad. Either its peculiar absorption mechanisms neutralized the attacks, or Chu Tianyu’s fists slipped off its body effortlessly, failing to harm the strange toad in the slightest.

Yet the toad was equally helpless against Chu Tianyu’s attacks. Not only did Chu Tianyu’s skillful movements and dodging techniques make it difficult for the toad to strike back, but the strong lunar energy surrounding him also left it at a loss. At most, it could push Chu Tianyu away or force him to dodge aside.

The man and the monster remained locked in a stalemate for some time, neither able to gain the upper hand. Meanwhile, the lake water around them kept splashing outward due to their clashes, creating large ripples.

Faced with this situation, Chu Tianyu wasn’t as enraged as the toad, which kept growling in anger. By now, he had fully immersed himself in the intricacies of each punching technique.

“Where else can I find such an excellent training partner? This is far better than a human bear!” It was this thought that led Chu Tianyu to decide temporarily to skip using the combat energy he had just mastered and focus solely on practicing with actual punches. For him now, the focus had shifted from attacking to enduring blows.

Chu Tianyu had already practiced most of the offensive techniques and forces to a high level. This time, his goal was to improve his control over his body, especially under the impact of attacks.

With such a great “teacher” right in front of him, Chu Tianyu could both endure blows and strike back from time to time, learning from the toad’s methods of controlling its skin and muscles. The process of inhaling and exhaling required precise control—yielding when the enemy struck and attacking when they retracted their force. Finding the right balance was key to achieving remarkable results.

With the help of the lunar energy, Chu Tianyu could manage this, but he wasn’t as skilled or natural at it as the toad. He also learned from the toad better ways to absorb the energy from attacks and rebound it using his own defenses. This made Chu Tianyu feel as though everything in the world could be his teacher.

It’s hard to imagine what this toad is thinking—knowing its target of furious attacks and enemy is actually stealing skills from it. Moreover, this toad has quite good endurance; after fighting for so long, it shows no signs of fatigue. It just keeps attacking more frantically and growling in anger. But this is good news as it allows Chu Tianyu to learn more calmly.

Chu Tianyu applied what he had learned right away, and after a few rounds, he basically mastered the technique of using the toad’s skin to reflect force. In fact, he relied on the sensation of the toad’s muscle movements when hitting it with his fists to find the right way to apply it himself.

When Chu Tianyu used the technique he learned from the toad to control his body, he instantly dissipated, absorbed, and reflected the force back, making the toad suffer the consequences of its own actions.

Seeing that no moves worked against Chu Tianyu, the toad became desperate, jumping up and down, with white mist constantly spraying from its mouth—seemingly trying to vent its frustration, clearly showing it had run out of tricks.

By now, Chu Tianyu had learned little more, so he shifted his focus to finding a way to break through its defense. He moved swiftly, with a fierce punch wind enveloping the toad’s entire body. His powerful fists kept hitting various parts of the toad in hopes of finding its weak point.

But the results weren’t significant. At most, hitting areas like its eyes caused it pain, after which the toad learned to dodge, preventing Chu Tianyu’s fists from hitting its vital parts freely.

Chu Tianyu changed his approach from ordinary attacks to targeting the toad’s jaw and the abdomen that was exposed each time it lunged. He concentrated all his strength in one point of his fist and then unleashed it in an instant. He had heard from his second master, Xianyun, before that everything has an opposite force—there’s the saying “softness overcomes hardness,” but when hardness reaches its extreme, it can still “break, sever, and shatter softness!”

At this moment, Chu Tianyu used this extreme hardness method, unleashing all his strength. A powerful combat aura surged from his body, gathering in his fists before he struck repeatedly. Eventually, the accumulated energy became so great that even Chu Tianyu found it hard to control.

It turned out that the lunar energy within his body had risen to a level he could hardly control anymore. Though Chu Tianyu was horrified, he knew it must have been during his unconsciousness that the energy from that amber stone was absorbed by his own body and merged with the lunar energy. That’s why he hadn’t noticed it at first. Moreover, the situation had been critical, leaving him no time to investigate further. It was only now, as he exerted all his strength, that he finally detected this anomaly and the subtle changes in the energy.

This discovery filled Chu Tianyu with ecstasy. Even looking at that ugly toad, he found it increasingly endearing—almost as if it were a gift from heaven, given to him just for practice.

So Chu Tianyu eased back slightly on his strength and began to gradually control the impact force generated by this power, using his technique “Break the Army” to test it on the toad time and again.

The toad was no longer indifferent as before, nor did it show any more anger. Instead, it kept retreating in pain, wailing incessantly.

Chu Tianyu’s fists were finally causing it harm—not only because of the increased impact energy but also because he had learned the toad’s way of dispersing force through its body movements and mastered the key to attacking. He focused the core power of his punches at one point, sending out a gust of wind first to force the toad to react by dodging, then, at the perfect moment, as it rebounded, he delivered a solid punch…

This was true head-on combat, direct and intense. As a result, the toad kept retreating, suffering greatly. It was unfortunate to have run into Chu Tianyu. With its usual strength, it was incredibly powerful in attack and impenetrable in defense. For ordinary creatures, not to mention fighting it up close, even just the thick mist it exhaled from its internal energy was enough to tear flesh and destroy tendons.

The toad had long lost its former dominance. Under Chu Tianyu’s relentless pressure, it began to prepare to flee. But Chu Tianyu had anticipated its moves. Just as the toad tried to take advantage of a blow from Chu Tianyu to fall back into the lake, Chu Tianyu’s figure blurred, instantly moving to block its retreat. At the same time, he shouted, “Break!” and his fists charged forward…

The poor toad could neither fight nor escape, forced to become a target for Chu Tianyu’s punches, tossed from one side to another. Chu Tianyu, on the other hand, was in high spirits, as his rapidly enhanced physical strength became increasingly under his control.

Moreover, the newly merged energy seemed to possess an endless quality, giving Chu Tianyu the feeling of never experiencing fatigue or exhaustion. Although Chu Tianyu couldn’t yet determine exactly how much energy he now possessed, nor even how he had managed to absorb this energy from that amber stone, he was clear about one thing: he had once again reached that state of inexhaustible true energy, similar to when the Dragon Core had not yet sealed itself. It was a different approach, one that acted from the outside in. If his true energy could be described as “incredibly powerful” before, then the same words could now be used to describe his physique!

During the subsequent battle, Chu Tianyu no longer paid attention to that poor toad. Seizing an opportunity, he delivered a devastating blow on its already severely injured body, unleashing all his strength. The destructive force instantly penetrated the toad’s entire body. Its intensity and speed were so great that, instead of being sent flying, the toad remained frozen in place. Then came sounds of bones breaking and skin tearing. Its abdomen, struck by Chu Tianyu, heaved several times before exploding loudly. Blood and internal organs didn’t even have time to splash out before being instantly vaporized by the intense energy surrounding it, producing clouds of smoke and a foul stench.

Chu Tianyu himself was shocked by such immense power. He had thought that a single full-power punch would surely send the toad flying, but instead, when the energy reached its limit, it manifested as instant penetration followed by destructive force from within outward, rather than the conventional method of relying on massive collisions to deliver an attack.

It took some time before Chu Tianyu recovered from his shock. Looking at the two giant toad legs left on the ground, he realized that all of this had truly happened, not just a dream…

…After dealing with the toads, Chu Tianyu could finally sit down and catch his breath, thinking carefully about what had happened and the changes in his energy levels.

But before he could ponder further, his ears twitched as if he heard something, causing him to spring up immediately. Turning around to face the direction of the waterfall, he showed a look of surprise and wariness.

To Chu Tianyu’s astonishment, there were still creatures appearing in this area. Moreover, he heard successive sounds of something breaking through the air, clearly indicating that the newcomer was no ordinary being. “Could it be male and female toads, with one more…?” Before Chu Tianyu could finish pondering, a figure already appeared at the edge of the dense forest… “A disciple of Yunmen!!!” Seeing the movement skills of the arriving figure, Chu Tianyu couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise. It was already surprising enough for Chu Tianyu to encounter someone from the “Chen” faction in this remote mountain forest. To meet a fellow disciple by such coincidence was beyond his imagination. The person approached at great speed and soon reached the lake. Yet, seemingly on guard, he stopped and began to watch Chu Tianyu warily. Chu Tianyu finally managed to see the newcomer’s face. His age was hard to determine; he seemed to be middle-aged, dressed in simple hemp clothes, with a slender build. Though his complexion showed signs of fatigue, his elegant and otherworldly appearance remained undimmed. Since the Yunmen disciples practiced asceticism in the mountains, focusing on understanding the ways of heaven and gathering the essence of all things in nature, it was difficult to discern their true age. Moreover, the higher their cultivation became, the harder it was to tell what they looked like. Thus, Chu Tianyu couldn’t be sure whether this Yunmen disciple was one of his two uncles, a junior disciple, or his long-lost senior brother, Liu Xiangshi. Just as Chu Tianyu stepped forward to introduce himself, the newcomer suddenly stepped back and asked lightly, “Is it a human?” This question left Chu Tianyu at a loss—how could he not be human when he was standing right there? In fact, it was understandable that the sudden arrival asked such a question. Chu Tianyu hadn’t even looked in a mirror to see what he looked like—his hair was messy, his beard unshaven, his upper body bare with a glowing, pulsating black dragon pattern on his chest. His lower body was covered only in soiled shorts, and his legs were covered in dirt from his fight with the toads. At that moment, after absorbing the energy from the Vitality Stone, a soft pale yellow glow emanated from his body. Combined with the Taoist energy muscles that had developed across his body and his already tanned skin, it created a strong visual impact and a dreamlike sense of unreality, making him stand out and difficult to fathom.

Yet Chu Tianyu still heard the footsteps. He made several gestures unique to the Cloud Gate sect and said, “Excuse me, is the person here a disciple of Cloud Gate?”
This time, it was the newcomer who was greatly shocked. He was first stunned, his face showing extreme surprise. He never expected to see such familiar gestures here, and…
After his shock wore off, he immediately stepped lightly forward. His figure shot up in an instant, as if carried by a breeze, flashing through the air before landing in front of Chu Tianyu. As he bowed deeply, a clear and magnetic voice rang out, “Liu Xiangshi, a disciple of Cloud Gate, pays his respects to the sect leader!”
It was indeed his senior brother Liu Xiangshi. Chu Tianyu was overjoyed—after such great effort, he had found him effortlessly! He had sent many disciples from the Xuanji Sect to investigate everywhere, whether it was the disciples of the martial arts hall or those from Qianfeng, whether through searches in the forests or investigations in the cities—yet there had been no news at all. He never expected to meet him here and at this time; it was truly a twist of fate.
While thinking this, Chu Tianyu quickly returned the bow and helped his senior brother up, introducing himself, “Senior brother, your junior brother Chu Tianyu also pays his respects to you!” Chu Tianyu then bowed to Liu Xiangshi as well.
“Oh, you’re really junior brother Chu! How coincidental! I heard from our master before…” Senior brother Liu Xiangshi spoke excitedly.
…
At that moment, their reunion was filled with touching emotions and heartfelt talks. Chu Tianyu and Liu Xiangshi briefly shared their respective situations.
It turned out that after Liu Xiangshi obtained an amber nurtured by the essence of heaven and earth, its aura attracted many practitioners in this field, as well as those with sinister intentions. He had no choice but to separate from his brothers, Genius and Treasure. It was better for him to lead the enemies away alone than to put both brothers in danger at the same time.
But Genius and Treasure, who were deeply loyal to him as their master, refused to leave him no matter what. Left with no other option, he had to fabricate a lie, telling them he would lead the enemies away first and then meet up with them somewhere else…
In truth, those pursuing them were not someone he could easily shake off. At best, he could only avoid being chased for now—how could he possibly meet up with his brothers!
“I never thought those two fools would have good luck and end up meeting the sect leader and junior brother. It’s their fate,” Liu Xiangshi said with emotion.

“Elder brother, how did you end up here? And who exactly has such ulterior motives to steal the amber? They really dare to target us from the Yunmen sect…” At these words, Chu Tianyu’s expression turned cold, his eyes revealing a fierce and murderous intent that made Liu Xiangshi shudder on the spot. Filled with doubt, he quickly changed the subject and said, “Younger brother, at that time, I…”
As he spoke, Liu Xiangshi recounted how, after separating from the genius brothers, he had hidden everywhere along the way to protect the amber from falling into the hands of evil forces. Unfortunately, the amber contained an immense and pure essence of the universe, so no matter how hard Liu Xiangshi tried to suppress it, he couldn’t completely hide its aura, giving those pursuers clues and making it impossible to shake them off.
Later, as if by some mysterious force, Liu Xiangshi arrived in this magical forest. He found a hidden spot at the edge of the forest and concealed the amber there, using the unique mist in the forest to mask its aura.
Since he couldn’t stay in the forest for long—unable to resist the mist without using secret techniques—he chose a place outside the forest to stay temporarily and find a way to deal with this amber born from the universe.
But he never found an effective solution. Since he couldn’t absorb it or cover its aura with any substance other than the forest mist, he was at a loss. Unexpectedly, one day Liu Xiangshi suddenly found that the heavy weapons in the forest seemed to have disappeared, and the amber’s aura surged into the sky. Frightened, he quickly took out the amber, planning to find another hiding place, but he was also curious about the changes in the forest. Especially when the mist vanished, it was replaced by an overwhelming sense of vitality, seemingly of the same nature as the amber in his hands. Could it be another essence of the universe even more powerful than the amber?
Thus, filled with questions and curiosity, Liu Xiangshi ventured along this aura and eventually encountered Chu Tianyu by chance.
After hearing his elder brother’s account, Chu Tianyu finally understood. No wonder even with the powerful strength of the Xuanji Sect, they couldn’t trace him—his elder brother had been living in hiding all this time.
Chu Tianyu also recounted his own story: how he encountered dangers, how he lost all his cultivation, how he received help from the Moon Energy, and up to the current struggle with the toad.

As Chu Tianyu spoke, his senior brother Liu Xiangshi listened with a serious expression, deep in thought. Especially when Chu Tianyu talked about the disappearance of his internal vital energy, his experiences practicing in the forest, and how he seemingly absorbed some kind of energy at the end, it made Liu Xiangshi frown deeply.

“Senior brother, you have rich experience. Our master said that you understand these strange teachings best. I was wondering if you could explain these incredible things that have happened to me.” After hearing Chu Tianyu’s description and question, Liu Xiangshi didn’t answer right away. Instead, he rushed over to the pile of amber-colored fragments. Seeing that most of them had been scattered during Chu Tianyu’s fight with the toad, leaving only a few remnants, he was deeply saddened. He carefully took out an emerald bottle and placed the remaining fragments inside, murmuring to himself as if filled with regret.

After doing that, Liu Xiangshi picked up one of the toad legs each in his hands and brought them to Chu Tianyu, saying, “These are all treasures!”

No need for him to say more. Seeing his actions, Chu Tianyu already had a general idea.

“Junior brother, come on. Let’s find some firewood. We’ll roast this toad right here. We can discuss your questions while eating…” Liu Xiangshi continued.

In no time, with their combined efforts, the two huge toad legs were placed over the fire.

“Junior brother, I know you have many questions. We’ll discuss them one by one. Although some of my conclusions are based on what you’ve told me and may not be the exact answers, I believe they will give you some insight. Well, enough talk. Let’s start with the disappearance of your vital energy and your body’s absorption of lunar energy,” Liu Xiangshi said first.

Chu Tianyu nodded, signaling for his senior brother to continue.

“Actually, these events in this forest shouldn’t be viewed in isolation. From the current situation, I infer that when you ran out of strength, the Ink Dragon inside your body also consumed a huge amount of energy. You said the Ink Dragon pattern on your chest once dimmed and even cracked—that’s a sign that the Ink Dragon’s energy has dispersed! Fortunately, the Ink Dragon’s energy spontaneously absorbed lunar energy to recover. But the fact that the pattern no longer disappeared after recovery means only one thing: that the Ink Dragon’s energy no longer has its own consciousness and is completely under your control!” Liu Xiangshi explained.

“Really, really?” Chu Tianyu asked excitedly. This Ink Dragon had always been a source of worry for him. Although it granted him immense power, it would occasionally cause trouble and go berserk at critical moments, leading to endless problems.
“Mm, quite good! But to explain the reason, we have to talk about your original True Dragon Core. Speaking of which, senior brother, I must first congratulate you!” Liu Xiangshi said with a smile, his expression mysterious.
“Congratulate me on what?” Chu Tianyu asked in confusion.
“The Dragon Core is about to be unlocked!” Liu Xiangshi simply said those six words.