Upon reviewing the information provided by the Loran's ring about the Yin and Yang Punching Art, Kyoma realised that it seemed complex to him before he had mastered the breathing technique. However, now that he had achieved mastery over the breathing technique, the information felt clearer. To an inexperienced person, it may seem like this punching technique requires almost all muscles in the body to work in harmony. But for someone who had mastered the Yin and Yang breathing technique, this punching art was simply a matter of converting the accumulated energy from the breathing technique into the form of a punch.
Kyoma likened his body to a furnace, with his muscles being the charcoal. Through the Yin and Yang breathing technique, air was brought in like a fan to combust the charcoal, creating a buildup of pressure and heat within his body. The Yin and Yang Punching Art served as a controlled release valve, allowing Kyoma to direct the explosive burst of energy in a focused manner through a punch. While the concept sounded straightforward, the execution was delicate and precise. One wrong move could redirect the pressure to a vital area, potentially resulting in Kyoma's death. Therefore, Kyoma must follow the exact steps to release the energy safely.
From consistently performing the Yin and Yang breathing technique ever since he first received the Loran's ring, Kyoma's body was pulsating with energy that yearned to burst out. Without hesitation, he mimicked the sequence of movements taught to him by the Loran's ring, activating specific muscles. From an onlooker's perspective, it appeared as though Kyoma was about to throw a punch into the void. Yet, Kyoma knew that he was drawing back his muscles, akin to an archer tugging on a bowstring, to maximise the punch's explosive power. Instead of merely engaging the usual muscles involved in punching, Kyoma had to concentrate on the opposing flexor muscles to pull back his muscles. The further he pulled, the more his body's energy resisted by pushing back with an equal and opposite force.
To put it simply, Kyoma's body was akin to a pressure cooker, with energy inside his body trying to escape in the form of a punch. But instead of releasing it immediately, he wound up his punch like an archer pulling the strings of a bow, compressing the already pressurised energy even further. By treating his body like a bow and pulling the string, Kyoma focused all the accumulated energy into a single, explosive punch.
BOOM!! Kyoma's punch reverberated through the air with a deafening boom, creating a temporary opening in the waterfall that was the size of a large door. Rina, who had been in a deep meditative state, was abruptly startled by the sheer force of the impact. Opening her eyes, she saw a muscular figure with short black hair and black eyes standing before her. Despite the waterfall being a formidable obstacle, measuring 2 meters in thickness and 10 meters in width, Kyoma's punch had left a massive hole in it. Through the opening, they caught a glimpse of a rapidly flowing river surrounded by dense foliage and dangerous monsters. Fortunately, the waterfall healed itself quickly, concealing their location once again and avoiding detection by any nearby predators.
"What was that??" inquired Rina, as Kyoma collapsed to the ground in exhaustion following the execution of the Yin and Yang Punching Art.
Kyoma responded, "It's a technique that was taught to me by a mentor of mine." He didn't want to disclose the contents of the Loran's ring, so he had to create a fictitious teacher. Additionally, it wasn't entirely untrue since the Loran's ring was Kyoma's teacher in a way, albeit in a non-human form.
"A secret punching art? I've never seen a low-level human capable of executing such a destructive punching art," Rina spoke bluntly, not holding back her words. "Your teacher must be a highly esteemed figure to have created such a profound technique."
Kyoma chuckled, "Yeah, my teacher is amazing. Anyways, are you feeling hungry?" he changed the topic quickly. He didn't want to discuss the punching art any further as he was worried that his secrets might be exposed. Although he trusted Rina to some extent, he knew that people could change under certain circumstances, and he wasn't powerful enough to protect himself if things went south. He couldn't afford to reveal the treasures he possessed, so he had to be cautious.
"I'm not hungry, it's fine," Rina replied, trying to keep a straight face. However, her stomach suddenly growled, betraying her true feelings. She looked embarrassed and blushed as she realised her stomach had given her away.
Kyoma was able to prepare a satisfying meal despite the limited space under the waterfall. He combined the fruits and vegetables he had gathered during their journey with preserved meat and pre-made sauce that he had brought with him, resulting in a flavorful dish.
"Delicious!" Rina exclaimed, satisfied with the meal Kyoma had prepared despite being restricted by the small space under the waterfall. To Kyoma, it may have been a half-baked meal, but it was still better than anything Rina had tasted since arriving in Greenridge Town. Kyoma's knowledge and experience as a chef on Earth proved to be a valuable asset on their journey. After their meal, Kyoma and Rina resumed their individual training.
Due to the destructive nature of Kyoma's Yin and Yang Punching Arts, he couldn't practice them freely with Rina around. Thus, he had to wait for aquatic monsters to drop from the waterfall to serve as shock absorbers before executing the punches. While waiting, he focused on practising the Yin and Yang breathing technique, which improved his physique and senses. As a result, he could hear and see better, and could sense when monsters would drop down with perfect precision. This allowed him to patiently wait for the right moment to practice his punching arts, while avoiding any unnecessary destruction.
...
While Kyoma was in a meditative position, practising the Yin and Yang breathing technique, he suddenly sprang up into a battle stance, his ears perking up. Focusing his energy from his core into his fist, Kyoma was ready to strike as a massive fish, as large as a cow, fell from above. With lightning speed, Kyoma delivered a devastating punch towards the fish, which was plummeting down with the water. But upon impact with the fish's scales, Kyoma felt like he had just punched a tungsten ball as the fish remained unfazed, continuing to free-fall until it reached the bottom of the waterfall, where it was dragged away downstream as if nothing had happened.
Kyoma grimaced in pain as he felt a sharp ache spreading throughout his body, particularly in his fist which bore the brunt of the impact. It was akin to punching a solid wall, only to be left with a broken hand and throbbing pain. However, Kyoma was lucky that the Yin and Yang Punching Art required him to use all of his muscles in tandem to execute a straight punch. This meant that the force of the impact was distributed across his entire body, rather than just concentrated in his fist, lessening the damage done.
Kyoma panted heavily while gingerly caressing his injured fist. The physical toll of the punching art was no joke. Rather than wallowing in frustration, he analysed his failed attempt, comparing it to the textbook example from the Loran's ring. The Yin and Yang punch was supposed to be focused and precise, directing explosive energy from the user's body into a smaller area. Kyoma's punch was certainly explosive, but lacked the guided control needed to focus all the energy into a small area. The result was a large hole in the waterfall, the opposite of what the perfected Yin and Yang Punching Art should produce. A perfected punch should be so precise that it could pierce the waterfall like a fine needle.
Knowing what went wrong with his punching art, Kyoma patiently waited for the next aquatic creature to fall while he focused on recovering his energy and healing his body through the continuous practice of the Yin and Yang breathing technique.
The next aquatic creature to fall was an eel, measuring at 5 meters long with a head as large as a tiger. Kyoma seized the opportunity and launched a controlled Yin and Yang punching art directly at the center of the falling eel. Due to the eel's slippery skin, Kyoma's fist didn't fully connect, and most of the force was redirected. Nonetheless, this punch was more precise in terms of energy output compared to the previous punch. The previous punch had exerted a force in a 3-meter radius, while Kyoma's current punch exerted a more concentrated force in a 2.5-meter radius, resulting in a stronger punch that pushed the eel forward a bit. However, due to the eel's naturally slippery skin, it remained in free fall until it hit the bottom of the waterfall and got carried away downstream without a trace. Kyoma continued to wait patiently for the next opportunity to perfect his technique.
Kyoma's confidence began to rise despite his continued failure in mastering the Yin and Yang Punching Art. He realised that he had found the correct path to take and with time, he would improve his control over his punches. Kyoma was determined to master this technique so that he could survive in the dangerous Southern Forest. He spent several hours repeating the same process, gradually improving the precision of his punches from 3m to 2.5m, 2.3m, 2.1m, 1.8m, 1.1m, 0.5m, until he reached a bottleneck at 0.1m. He was running out of time as it was the final day of the one-week time period for the Yin and Yang Punching Art quest. Despite his frustration, Kyoma remained focused on perfecting his technique.
Kyoma's eyes filled with determination as he faced yet another falling aquatic creature, this time a giant goldfish. He launched a punch with such devastating force and precision that it felt like focusing a heavy wrecking ball's swing into a 10cm radius. The result was an armour-piercing punch that went straight through the goldfish's hard scales, killing it instantly. Kyoma collected the valuable loot and stored it in his ring, but despite his success, he couldn't shake off the feeling of dissatisfaction. He had managed to kill four different falling aquatic creatures with his punch, but all of them were weak fish species, including the latest goldfish. There was no improvement in his recent punches, and time was running out as the one-week period for the Yin and Yang Punching Art quest was coming to an end.
Kyoma's frustration with his lack of progress and the dwindling time left for his quest left him unable to stay still in the peaceful environment under the waterfall. He decided to venture outside to train with stronger monsters, knowing that real-life combat was the best way to improve. The Yin and Yang Punching Art demanded extreme physical limits that could only be achieved by exposing oneself to life-and-death situations. After all, heroes are not born but created through struggle and hardship. With determination, Kyoma left Rina to train on her own and leapt out of the waterfall.