Huang Rong from The Return of the Condor Heroes: Guo'er, calm down.

The wind in the woods was a bit cool, and blowing on my backside where I'd just been spanked, it eased the pain a little.

Yang Guo stood in front of the forbidden stone tablet that he had broken with his own hands, holding a pebble in his hand and tossing it up and down.

He stared at the stone plug he had smashed back onto the broken surface of the stele, then looked at the powerful inscription next to it: "Forbidden Land of Quanzhen, Unauthorized Entry Will Be Punished."

These eight characters, with strokes deeply embedded in the stone and edges as smooth as a mirror, were written by Wang Chongyang with his finger.

"The old Taoist's fingers are probably even harder than pig iron."

Yang Guo muttered something and casually tossed the pebble aside. He took a deep breath, focused his energy in his dantian, and activated the newly mastered eighth-grade One Yang Finger technique within his body.

After last night's cultivation, and with the aid of the Jade Bed, he felt his finger strength was no longer what it used to be. Since Wang Chongyang could write on this Qinggang stone, and now that he had received his true teachings and consumed a spiritual pill, even if he couldn't write with that same imposing style, surely he could at least carve a name, right?

"Should we just write... 'Yang Guo was here'?"

Yang Guo's lips curled into a wicked smile.

He squatted slightly in a horse stance, and slowly extended his right index finger.

Internal energy surged through his meridians, instantly causing his fingertips to become engorged with blood, turning a faint reddish hue and faintly exuding a scorching heat.

"Go!"

Yang Guo let out a low shout, his finger like a spear, and suddenly stabbed into the blank space of the stone tablet.

"puff."

A soft sound.

The fingertip sank into the hard oak stone without any resistance, just like poking into a piece of dried dough.

"Hey, it worked!"

Yang Guo was overjoyed. This state of "touching stone as if it were rotten soil" was indeed extraordinary.

However, just as he was about to move his finger to draw a horizontal stroke, something unexpected happened.

The moment the fingertips exerted force to move the stone sideways, the previously soft stone seemed to instantly harden again. The fingers struggled to push through the stone, producing a painful "crunching" sound.

The resistance was so great that it almost broke his finger bones.

"rise!"

Yang Guo gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead, and continued to channel his inner energy.

"Snap!"

A crisp sound.

It wasn't that the finger was broken, but rather that the stone couldn't withstand the brutal squeezing force and shattered.

The flying pebbles stung Yang Guo's face.

He quickly stopped and took a closer look.

There are no words on the stone tablet. There is only an ugly, deep pit, surrounded by radiating cracks, as if a dog had gnawed on it.

"Pooh!"

Yang Guo looked at the rotten pit and stomped his feet in anger.

He rubbed his slightly sore knuckles, and his smugness vanished instantly.

This is the gap.

Wang Chongyang's calligraphy was characterized by effortless mastery, with concentrated and unwavering finger strength that both broke and protected the stone, demonstrating exquisite control of his power.

As for himself now, although he can break stone, it's by brute force. Once he tries to write, his finger strength can't maintain that delicate balance; either the stone shatters or his fingers break.

"My internal strength is still insufficient."

Yang Guo sighed, leaned against the stone tablet, and stared blankly at his fingers.

Although he had accumulated ten years of internal energy and practiced the Yi Jin Duan Gu Pian (a set of exercises for strengthening tendons and bones), his foundation was solid, but his overall skill level was still far inferior to that of an old monster like Wang Chongyang, who had practiced the Xiantian Gong (another set of exercises for strengthening tendons and bones) for his entire life.

To truly unleash the power of the One-Finger Divine Skill and make it dance like a dragon and phoenix on this stone tablet, it would probably take three to five years of hard practice alone.

Three to five years?

Yang Guo shook his head.

He couldn't wait.

In this colorful world, amidst the turmoil of the martial arts world, and with the beautiful Sister Long and Sister Rong by their side, where would he find so much time to live like a wild man in these deep mountains and forests?

"We need to take a shortcut."

Yang Guo squinted, his mind drifting to his cheap master, Yin Zhiping.

That lecherous old man who's been lusting after Sister Long.

A few days ago, Yin Zhiping made a serious promise to get him to help him make connections again. In Chongyang Palace, besides the Nine-Turn Life-Reversing Pill he had already consumed, there were still two left!

One pill is worth ten years of arduous practice.

If we could get our hands on the remaining two...

Yang Guo's breathing became rapid instantly.

Twenty years of experience!

Add to that his current foundation, and that's a full thirty years of refined internal energy!

With this thirty years of internal energy, let alone writing on stone, I could even mold this stone tablet into a clay figure. At that time, my One-Finger Divine Skill will break through to the fourth rank and head straight for the third.

Then wouldn't I be able to steal whatever I want?

Who dares to say no?

"But……"

Yang Guo frowned, feeling somewhat troubled.

Although Yin Zhiping was blinded by lust, he wasn't stupid. He wouldn't act without a sure thing; if he didn't see Xiaolongnu, he would absolutely not spit out the remaining two pills.

"Are we really going to send Sister Long to see that lecherous scoundrel?"

Yang Guo felt a wave of unease.

The situation has changed.

He used to think Yin Zhiping was a sucker and didn't take Xiaolongnu seriously, so he was happy to watch the show.

But things are different now.

Having just kissed Xiaolongnu yesterday morning, and then catching a glimpse of her beauty last night, plus the "massage" this morning, Yang Guo had already labeled Xiaolongnu as "Yang's private property" in his mind.

That was Yang Guo's woman!

Even if it's not like that now, it's only a matter of time.

To let his woman be seen by other men? Even just a glance made Yang Guo feel as disgusted as if he had swallowed a fly.

It's like having a precious piece of jade that you've been hoarding, and you're about to show it off to your neighbor, Old Wang. What if Old Wang's lecherous eyes see it as dirty?

"No, no, that's too embarrassing."

Yang Guo shook his head and spun around in place.

"I, Yang Guo, aspire to be a great hero. How could I engage in such pimping? If word gets out, how will I ever face the martial arts world again?"

"But...that's twenty years of accumulated skill!"

Another voice rang in my mind, filled with irresistible allure.

"Think about it, just one glance isn't enough to lose a piece of meat."

"Sister Long is a celestial being; Yin Zhiping has seen her before, hasn't he?"

"Besides, if Sister Long comes down the mountain with me, do you think I can let the whole world stop looking at her?"

"No, no, they're different!"

"Of course, Sister Long can be seen by others, but when others are looking at her, you have to put your arm around her waist!"

"This is like openly announcing to everyone, 'This is my wife, isn't she beautiful! You can all just stare and be envious!'"

"Sending Xiaolongnu to accompany Yin Zhiping is clearly tantamount to selling herself! How can a man of integrity do such a shameless thing?"

Yang Guo brainstormed for a while and quickly rejected the plan to have Xiaolongnü meet Yin Zhiping alone.

Then he had a sudden thought: since that's the case, he had no choice but to set up a honey trap.