One Punch Shatters the Stone
"Hahaha, did you hear that? Get the hell out of here already!"
Jo Bihong swaggered, counting on Gi Beonjin's backing to puff himself up. He strode toward the Profound Qi Stone and gestured with exaggerated deference.
"Senior Brother Gi, if you'd do the honors. Show a wretch like that what the true future of the Cheonun Sect really looks like!"
"Hmph!"
Gi Beonjin shot Yeop Pung a frigid glare, the corner of his mouth curling toward the heavens. With a look that said Watch closely, he took his place before the stone.
"Outer disciple Gi Beonjin, commencing the second examination!"
He clenched his right fist and wrapped his left hand around the wrist, rolling it until the joints popped. Then he dropped into a horse stance, gathered his qi, and drove the punch home. Every motion flowed as naturally as water.
Flame flashed before the spectators' eyes. In the next instant, they found Gi Beonjin's fist already buried deep in the Profound Qi Stone.
A muffled blast rolled out. Invisible heat washed across the field, whipping hair into the wind.
Strong!
The truth was, no one much liked Gi Beonjin's arrogant, high-handed manner. But no one could deny that a prodigy of First-Grade Fire Profound Qi had the skill to back up his boasts. That punch carried a force that looked ready to melt metal and liquefy iron. White smoke rose from the stone around the impact, radiating a pressure that sent a chill through the crowd.
The instant the result was called, the field erupted in admiration all over again.
"Young Master Gi, that was incredible!"
"Whoa! Young Master Gi, you'll sail through this inner examination! Over five chon—that's a full chon deeper than last year's first place!"
One of the hangers-on piled on the flattery, and the people around him chimed in with matching awe.
"Hmph. That trash should count himself lucky if he doesn't piss himself after seeing Senior Brother Gi's skill. Hahaha!"
Jo Bihong shot a triumphant look at Yeop Pung, who stood nearby with an unreadable face, then strode toward the Profound Qi Stone himself.
A heavy thud rang out as Jo Bihong drove his fist in.
Next came Jang Un. Even with an injured arm, he did not forget to sneer at Yeop Pung.
"Kid, the Profound Qi Stone isn't something you score well on with brute strength alone. Even with a busted arm, I can still easily beat the likes of your Second-Grade ordinary Profound Qi! Just watch!"
He shouted with a burst of fighting spirit and threw a vigorous punch.
"Jang Un, amazing! Hahaha—way stronger than that guy!"
Gi Beonjin's clique burst out laughing and stared hard at Yeop Pung, who still wore that detached expression. Once all three of them had finished, they quieted down, smirks still hanging on their faces.
"Trash Yeop Pung. Your turn now!"
"Let's see what kind of score that Second-Grade ordinary Profound Qi of yours can actually put up."
"Careful you don't snap your wrist. Hahaha!"
They piled on without mercy, determined to grind him underfoot. Gi Beonjin in particular stood with his arms folded, waiting in lofty patience for Yeop Pung to drop to his knees before that outstanding score.
With every gaze on the field locked on him, Yeop Pung finally walked up to the Profound Qi Stone. He paid not the slightest attention to the mockery buzzing around him like a swarm of flies.
He had absolute faith in his golden Profound Qi. With this one fist he meant to smash not only the stone in front of him, but eight years of silence and humiliation—and then stride toward a future of dazzling glory.
Yeop Pung drew a deep breath.
From the depths of his dantian, an ocean of vast golden Profound Qi surged forth and detonated. The fearsome power hidden within transformed his fist into a weapon beyond description.
He threw the punch. A golden flash streaked past like lightning.
A tremendous crash split the air.
Yeop Pung's fist struck the Profound Qi Stone the way an iron mallet smashes through tofu, driving in without the slightest resistance. His savage force seemed to set off a small explosion inside the monolith itself. The massive stone shuddered under that single blow.
Fragments sheared away from the cracks and spun outward like tiny arrows, screaming toward Jang Un and his companions with terrifying force.
"Aaaagh!"
What a single punch had done was astonishment and horror in equal measure. As the thick cloud of stone dust billowed and scattered, the crowd stared in disbelief.
Yeop Pung's arm was buried in the Profound Qi Stone all the way to the elbow. The depth could not be measured in chon; it had clearly plunged well past a full chi—over thirty centimeters.
No one could find a word. Even the inner disciples assigned to record the results stood there slack-jawed. In all their memory, no one had ever driven a fist in so deep the arm itself vanished from sight. Even Yi Hwawu, hailed as Cheonun Sect's legendary genius, had never gone this far.
Gi Beonjin's clique least of all. They stood frozen, not even noticing that their mouths had fallen open. To them, Yeop Pung's punch felt like a slap across the face. The blow had been so overwhelming they could not collect their wits.
How is this possible?
How can someone with mere Second-Grade ordinary Profound Qi throw a punch this terrifying?
Everyone was too stunned to know what to do with themselves. That was when Yeop Pung slowly turned toward the inner disciple standing beside him.
"Senior Brother, forgive me, but…"
"Hm? What is it?"
The inner disciple still had not recovered. He looked completely dazed.
"I believe you'll need to prepare a new Profound Qi Stone."
"Ah? What do you mean?"
"Because…"
Yeop Pung slowly drew his fist back out.
"Good heavens, look at that! The Profound Qi Stone is cracked!"
At someone's cry, the crowd finally saw it: fractures had spread across the entire monolith like a spider's web.
Yeop Pung took a slow step back. A deep rumble followed—and the Profound Qi Stone, like an old man whose years had run out, lost the last of its strength and collapsed to the ground. Shattered rubble lay scattered where it had stood.
Silence. A silence like death spread across the field.
When Yeop Pung's punch had recorded a depth of more than a chi, people had still been able to swallow it, more or less. But only after watching the Profound Qi Stone smash to pieces before their eyes did they understand that they had witnessed a miracle.
They stared at Yeop Pung as if they were looking at a monster. The mockery and contempt in their eyes had vanished without a trace; only shock and excitement remained.
"That's impossible…. How did that guy even do that?"
"They said it was ordinary Profound Qi… Don't tell me even ordinary Profound Qi can produce power that terrifying?"
Off to one side, a few inner disciples crowded around Yeop Pung and began examining his arms from every angle. The rest bolted off to report to the elder in charge of the examination.
The look in the inner disciples' eyes had reversed completely. Anyone who could pulverize a Profound Qi Stone with a single punch was no ordinary person. If Yeop Pung entered the inner sect, there was no telling how far he might grow.
On the field, only Gi Beonjin's group still stood there wearing looks of utter confusion. Jang Un and Jo Bihong clenched their teeth as they stared at the wreckage.
They knew better than anyone how hard that stone was. An ordinary disciple could throw a punch with everything he had and still only sink a few chon. Yet Yeop Pung had reduced it to powder with a single fist.
Thank heaven I wasn't the one who took that punch.
"S-Senior Brother Gi… that Yeop Pung, he…"
Jo Bihong had no idea what to say and glanced at Gi Beonjin for a cue. Gi Beonjin's face had already gone pale.
"That's impossible! Even a powerhouse at the Three-Vein Realm couldn't shatter the Profound Qi Stone with a single punch!"
Gi Beonjin fought to keep his composure.
"He must have pulled some kind of trick!"
At that same moment, Elder Han Un of the Cheonun Sect was sprinting toward the Profound Qi Stone at full speed.
"Who was it! Who shattered the Profound Qi Stone!"
Elder Han Un swept the surroundings with eyes bright with excitement. By virtue of his office, he knew better than anyone how starved the Cheonun Sect was for talent. If a true genius had appeared, it would be a blessing for the entire sect.
But he was only halfway there when a voice suddenly rang through his mind.
"What did you say?"
Han Un's eyes went wide as he looked toward a distant mountain peak. Someone stood there as if they already knew everything that had happened on this field. Strangely, no one else seemed to notice that person's presence at all.
"Understood. I shall bear it in mind."
Having heard the figure out, Han Un bowed respectfully in that direction. Then he walked once more toward the crowd still seething with excitement.
A moment later, his face a mask of composure, he addressed everyone present.
This elder has confirmed the following: the Profound Qi Stone in question had been left neglected for many years, and its interior was already severely damaged. It was for this reason that it was completely destroyed by Yeop Pung's punch. There is no cause for alarm.
So that was it. Just luck after all!
Among the crowd, Gi Beonjin's group were the first to let out a sigh of relief. Had it been otherwise, they would never again have dared to face Yeop Pung's terrifying fist.
Even so, Yeop Pung's Profound Qi power is outstanding among the younger generation, and may be evaluated as Beyond First Grade. Bring a new Profound Qi Stone at once and continue the examination.
Having finished speaking, Elder Han Un turned a deep, searching gaze on Yeop Pung, who stood nearby still perfectly composed. His lips parted as if he meant to say something, but in the end he held it back and rose from his place.
In his heart, however, a great turmoil was stirring.
To think even that person of Nagun Peak was startled… a legendary existence who never shows themselves to the world…
Even Han Un could not make sense of it. Yeop Pung's present cultivation was clearly that of a novice in the 1-Vein Profound Realm. How, then, had he shattered that thick Profound Qi Stone with a single punch?
Yeop Pung bit his lip, thoroughly satisfied with the result. In truth, he had never expected to shatter the Profound Qi Stone with one punch. He had thought that surpassing Yi Hwawu and the rest from eight years ago would be the limit.
What had just happened, however, had exceeded even his own expectations. All of it was surely connected to the golden Profound Qi—though Yeop Pung still could not understand how.
Even so, that single punch had restored a measure of his confidence. The way people looked at him had changed completely. No one was questioning him or mocking him anymore.
No matter how ordinary his Profound Qi attribute might be, not a soul would dare laugh at a future genius who had received a Beyond First Grade. It meant that his combat power was, without question, the highest among every disciple who had just stepped into the Profound Realm. Who would dare stand against that dizzying, terrifying fist?
With thousands of pairs of eyes still fixed on him, Yeop Pung walked on toward the third examination grounds as calmly as ever. This time, not a single person at his side had anything useless left to say.