Chapter 483: Master, Just a Little More

A special constitution? This was the first time Yang Ling had heard of such a thing. Curious, he asked, “Master, what is a special constitution?”

“There’s no single category of special constitutions. Some people are born with a keen sense of smell, while others can hear things happening miles away.”

“Some are born impervious to cold, while others don’t fear fire. If they cultivate the right Internal Technique, their progress will be twice as fast with half the effort.”

“Of course, some are born with extraordinary strength, while others are born with exceptional talent. These are all special constitutions.”

Yun Tianqing looked Yang Ling up and down.

“You recovered from one-tenth of my strength in just twenty breaths. That means your special constitution is related to Flesh-and-Blood Regeneration. Among the many kinds of special constitutions, yours is an excellent one.”

Yang Ling was secretly astonished. How had he never met an expert with a constitution like his?

“Master, are there many Martial Artists with this kind of special constitution?”

“Not many. They’re extremely rare. Even if one or two happen to appear, you might not notice unless you fight them.”

“Sometimes, even the person themselves has no idea their constitution is special.”

Yun Tianqing smiled. “Like you, for instance. You didn’t realize your constitution was special, did you?”

Yang Ling nodded awkwardly. “I suppose not…”

“I’ve certainly struck gold this time. Since that’s the case, I’ll have to properly test your limits.”

Yun Tianqing’s expression turned solemn. “Don’t be afraid of pain, and don’t be afraid of dying. Pain now is so you won’t suffer pain later. Dying now is so you won’t die later.”

Yang Ling took a deep breath and cupped his fists.

“Master, I’ve also been practicing a secret art focused on defense. Could I try it? Would you still use only one-tenth of your strength?”

“A secret art focused on defense?”

Yun Tianqing grew interested.

“Very well. I’ll use only one-tenth of my strength. Circulate your energy.”

Yang Ling immediately retreated several steps and activated the Vajra Bright King Body.

A radiance coated his entire body, making him look like a golden Buddha illuminated by sunlight in a temple.

“A Buddhist technique?”

Yun Tianqing’s expression shifted. Then she slowly raised her palm.

“Are you ready? I’m going to strike.”

“I’m ready this time!”

Yang Ling not only activated the Vajra Bright King Body, but secretly activated Ironclad Fortress as well.

His defense was now at its absolute peak.

Three Internal Techniques circulated at once.

His Spirit perception, a staggering 360 points, spread outward.

Yang Ling tried to catch Yun Tianqing’s movements.

All he saw was a flash before his eyes. With a deafening boom, he was sent flying again.

His whole body spun through the air. Instinctively, Yang Ling steadied himself, then landed in a somewhat awkward stumble. He staggered backward for more than a hundred steps, all the way to Lin Zhen.

Lin Zhen hurried forward and grabbed Yang Ling by the arm.

“Senior Brother Yang, are you all right?”

The Mountain Chiefs of Flying Dragon Mountain and the others exchanged startled, uncertain glances as they looked at Yang Ling.

They had certainly heard that deafening boom just now.

The Palace Master must have struck again.

But why did this Yang Ling look… completely unharmed?

Yang Ling immediately checked his injuries. He was hurt, but not badly, and nowhere near as battered as before.

The minor surface wounds healed in the blink of an eye.

He opened his Status Panel. His HP had dropped by 1,000 points.

As for his Vital Qi…

“Empty? My 20,000 points of Vital Qi are gone? No wonder the Vajra Bright King Body shut itself off…”

Yang Ling’s expression turned strange.

He had more or less figured out the limits of his defense.

Without Ironclad Fortress and the Vajra Bright King Body, Yun Tianqing’s one-tenth-strength strike had left him seriously injured.

He had recovered in about twenty breaths.

His HP had fallen by 5,000 points, and he had lost 20,000 points of Vital Qi.

Now his injuries were negligible, and his HP had dropped by only 1,000 points.

But maintaining the Vajra Bright King Body had also consumed an enormous amount of Vital Qi, draining it completely…

A strange look appeared in Yang Ling’s eyes. He headed toward the Sect Master’s Hall again.

“What just happened?”

The Mountain Chief of Stone Cavern Mountain mused.

“I couldn’t make sense of it.”

The Mountain Chief of Flying Dragon Mountain shook his head.

The Mountain Chiefs of Pudu Mountain and Qingyun Mountain exchanged a glance. Neither of them had understood what had just happened, either.

Judging by the noise, Yang Ling shouldn’t have been able to walk. At the very least, he should have needed to lie on the ground for a while longer.

After all, Flesh-and-Blood Regeneration wasn’t invincible. If someone suffered repeated injuries in quick succession, their recovery would slow considerably.

……

In the Sect Master’s Hall, Yun Tianqing looked at Yang Ling, completely unharmed, and a flicker of surprise crossed her eyes. She slowly raised her hand.

“Master, wait!”

Yang Ling hurriedly raised both hands.

“My Vital Qi is completely drained!”

Yun Tianqing’s expression shifted.

“It took three of my strikes to barely drain your Vital Qi…”

She took out a porcelain bottle, tipped a blood-red pill from it, and tossed it to Yang Ling.

“This is a Top-Grade Blood-Nourishing Pill, refined from the essence blood of many mystical beasts and more than a dozen kinds of rare exotic herbs and flowers. One pill is enough to restore your Vital Qi.”

Yang Ling checked the pill’s Status Panel and immediately swallowed it.

In the blink of an eye, his Vital Qi surged back up to 20,000 points.

Seeing Yun Tianqing raise her hand again, Yang Ling quickly lifted both hands once more.

“Master, my Vital Qi still isn’t full.”

“Not full?”

Yun Tianqing thought for a moment, then gave Yang Ling another Top-Grade Blood-Nourishing Pill.

After Yang Ling swallowed it, his Vital Qi recovered to 40,000 points.

Yun Tianqing frowned. “That should be about enough, shouldn’t it? I’m going to strike.”

Yang Ling’s face turned slightly red. “Master, just a little more…”

“Impossible! You’re still not full after two Top-Grade Blood-Nourishing Pills?”

A trace of suspicion appeared in Yun Tianqing’s eyes.

“Master, I really am not full yet…” Yang Ling said softly.

Yun Tianqing thought it over, then took out another Top-Grade Blood-Nourishing Pill. Her heart ached a little as she glanced at how many pills remained in the bottle. Without changing expression, she tossed the pill to Yang Ling.

Yang Ling swallowed it on the spot, proving that he really wasn’t full yet.

The pill went down, and his Vital Qi shot up in great leaps, instantly recovering to its full 50,000 points!

“My Vital Qi is full again.”

Yang Ling felt completely secure.

“Full?”

Yun Tianqing asked without expression.

Yang Ling nodded. “Full.”

“You weren’t seriously injured by my one-tenth-strength strike. That proves your Buddhist defensive secret art is indeed impressive.”

Yun Tianqing continued, “If a lower Fourth-Rank Grandmaster had struck you, they would have needed at least half their strength to produce the same result.”

“With eight-tenths of their strength, you’d probably be seriously injured and unable to recover.”

“At full strength, you’d be dead.”

Yang Ling was overjoyed. Half strength!

Eight-tenths meant serious injury!

Full strength meant certain death!

The result had already exceeded his expectations. He was very satisfied!

At the very least, he had a chance of surviving an encounter with a lower Fourth-Rank Grandmaster.

More importantly, the Vajra Bright King Body already had the HP Lock effect. That was like having another life!

“I need a set of gear! Stronger gear! With a set bonus, maybe I could even withstand a lower Fourth-Rank Grandmaster’s full-force attack!”

“Now I’ll use two-tenths of my strength and see how far you can go.”

“Keep using that Buddhist defensive secret art.”

Yun Tianqing’s eyes grew more serious.

She had never used more than one-tenth of her strength to kill even top Upper Fifth-Rank experts.

Now she was going to strike her own disciple with two-tenths of her strength, and even she felt somewhat apprehensive.

Without another word, Yang Ling immediately activated the Vajra Bright King Body and Ironclad Fortress.

All three Internal Techniques circulated in unison, and his attributes soared wildly!

Yun Tianqing struck.

It was a gentle palm strike, yet it unleashed a powerful sonic boom.

Boom!

Yang Ling flew out of the Sect Master’s Hall, sailed over the heads of the Mountain Chief of Flying Dragon Mountain and the others, and crashed heavily to the ground, falling asleep.