Chen Yue was silent for a moment. He raised his head, his calm gaze meeting Li Lie’s oppressive stare, but his face showed not the slightest hint of fear.
"Since Mr. Li is unavailable today, why don’t you give me the Secret Manual for the Mountain Flipping Technique first? I can take it with me to study and ponder over. When you do have time, you can then resolve my confusion and give me guidance."
’Since you’re just going to make excuses not to teach me, I might as well read it myself.’
Li Lie clearly hadn’t expected Chen Yue to be so direct and insolent. The fierce aura about him morphed into an offended rage.
He lunged forward a step, and the hilt of the blade in his hand let out a soft CREAK, as if the heavy edge would come slashing down the very next second.
Yet, Chen Yue just stood there silently, his posture as steady as a pine, his gaze not wavering for even an instant.
’A mere Skin Refining Realm cultivator, facing the full might of a Refining Flesh Realm expert, and he can remain so calm?’
Li Lie’s anger intensified, but in the end, his killing intent never manifested into action.
The stalemate lasted for several breaths. "Hahaha! So becoming an Alchemy Master really does make you different!" Li Lie suddenly roared with laughter, a harsh sound filled with mockery and rage.
He spun around, strode over to a wooden shelf by the wall, and pulled a thin, thread-bound booklet from a drawer. Without even a glance, he flung it backhandedly toward Chen Yue.
The booklet whistled through the air, flying straight for Chen Yue’s face with considerable force.
Chen Yue didn’t flinch. His right hand shot out, fingers like a claw, and he snatched the booklet securely from the air. On its cover were three somewhat archaic words: Mountain Flipping Technique.
"See yourself out!" Li Lie said, his back still to Chen Yue.
Chen Yue glanced at the Secret Manual in his hand, then at Li Lie’s back, before turning and leaving the room with steady steps.
The moment the door closed, a loud BANG echoed from within the room. It sounded like Li Lie had slammed his fist on a table.
Chen Yue stood outside, listening to the noise from within. His expression was blank as he tucked the Mountain Flipping Technique’s Secret Manual into his robes.
Inside the room, Li Lie’s expression was grim.
"Teaching himself the Mountain Flipping Technique? Heh..."
...
After returning to his quarters, Chen Yue bolted the door and eagerly took out the Mountain Flipping Technique manual.
The previous owner of his body had been literate; otherwise, he never would have been able to identify medicinal herbs.
The Secret Manual wasn’t thick, and its pages were yellowed with age. In addition to text, it contained simple diagrams of the human body, marking the circulation routes for Qi Blood and the key points for exerting force.
Chen Yue calmed his mind and began to read through it carefully, page by page.
With his insight from having mastered Iron Mountain Fist to the Perfection Realm and his own Martial Dao experience at the Skin Refining Realm, he could tell that the Mountain Flipping Technique was indeed a cut above the Iron Mountain Fist.
It focused on concentrating and explosively releasing Qi Blood within specific meridians, emphasizing the combination of momentum and power. The moves looked simple, but they actually required precise force-exertion techniques and breath control.
Thanks to his foundation in Iron Mountain Fist, he could understand about eighty to ninety percent of the techniques for channeling power.
However, there were indeed some crucial details that were quite obscure. For instance, the description of a certain node for Qi Blood conversion was vague. The diagrams were also ambiguous about the specific rhythm needed to coordinate a particular move with one’s breathing.
Furthermore, the Secret Manual only vaguely mentioned that after reaching a certain level, one "must supplement with items that strengthen bones and cultivate the origin," without specifying which external medicines or medicinal baths to use.
These details were often the core of what a master would impart personally, and they were the greatest obstacle for anyone trying to learn on their own.
Chen Yue closed the Secret Manual, his knuckles tapping lightly on the cover.
’If I could fully integrate my insights from the Perfection Realm of Iron Mountain Fist into the framework of this Mountain Flipping Technique... if I used the foundation of Iron Mountain Fist as kindling... wouldn’t my cultivation speed for the Mountain Flipping Technique be drastically reduced? Could it even... produce some kind of qualitative transformation?’
A bold idea suddenly surfaced in Chen Yue’s mind.
’Trying to figure out the fusion on my own would take an unknown amount of time, and I could easily make mistakes. But... I have the panel! I have that miraculous daily settlement!’
’During the day, what if I actively try to work on this fusion? What if I consciously take my insights into the force exertion, breathing, and Qi Blood circulation of Iron Mountain Fist and compare, deconstruct, and reorganize them against the diagrams and chants of the Mountain Flipping Technique... Then, when the settlement happens, will the panel also process and optimize my efforts to fuse them?’
At this thought, Chen Yue’s heart couldn’t help but beat faster. This might be the key to forging a path that was uniquely his own.
He suppressed the urge to test his theory immediately. First, he went to the Alchemy Room and finished refining the apothecary’s daily quota of Blood Circulation Pills.
Pill Formation was successful, yielding four pills. He turned in three and quietly kept one for himself.
Afterward, Chen Yue observed Lin Quan refine a batch of Body Tempering Pills, just as he always did, committing every new detail he noticed to memory.
In all his spare time—whether waiting for the Pill Furnace to heat up, during lulls in processing medicinal ingredients, or even while just walking in the courtyard—Chen Yue no longer simply practiced the Iron Mountain Fist.
He began to experiment.
He let his Qi Blood circulate naturally along the pathways of the Iron Mountain Fist, but he focused his mind on a specific Qi Blood channel depicted in the Mountain Flipping Technique’s diagrams. He tried to divert a sliver of Qi Blood into it, mimicking the feeling of the Mountain Flipping Technique’s power generation.
The Qi Blood in his body would become subtly disordered, sending waves of soreness and pressure through him.
Chen Yue tried again and again. When he failed, he would adjust his approach, combining the chants from the Secret Manual with his own insights to make corrections, little by little.
The process was arduous. Chen Yue had no experience with anything like this, so his attempts were often close but not quite right. Still, he didn’t give up, committing every subtle sensation to memory.
「Night fell, and all was silent.」
Chen Yue lay on his bed, his body weary from the day’s experiments, but his mind was unusually sharp. As the hour slipped toward midnight, the familiar ripples appeared on schedule in the space before his eyes.
[Daily Settlement]
[Diligent training. Cultivation +9]
[Attempted fusion of Iron Mountain Fist and Mountain Flipping Technique. Fusion successful. New Cultivation Technique obtained: Mountain Shattering Technique.]
[Studied Alchemy. Body Tempering Pill EXP +30. Solid Essence Pill EXP +30.]
[Skill: Mountain Shattering Technique (Minor Success 110/600)]
[Skill: Body Tempering Pill (Entry Level 270/300)]
[Skill: Solid Essence Pill (Minor Success 60/600)]
[Realm: Skin Refining Realm (155/300)]
’It worked!’
Chen Yue nearly shot up from his bed, his eyes shining with a dazzling light.
Not only had the panel processed his attempt, but it had truly worked a miracle, successfully fusing the essences of the two Cultivation Techniques to create a brand-new one: the Mountain Shattering Technique!
This meant that in the future, whenever he obtained a new Cultivation Technique, he could try to fuse and optimize it with his existing ones. His progress in older techniques wouldn’t be wasted. Instead, it would become the very foundation upon which new, superior techniques could be built.
He had essentially discovered a unique shortcut on the Martial Dao, one with limitless potential!
At the same time, his Cultivation in the Skin Refining Realm had reached 155 points, already past the halfway mark. At his current rate of growth—from taking a Blood Circulation Pill and training daily—he could break through to the Refining Flesh Realm in less than twenty days.
Before he could fully process his joy, a massive torrent of insight surged into his mind.
It was everything about the Mountain Shattering Technique at the Minor Success Realm: the cultivation method, the Qi Blood circulation pathways, the power-generation techniques, the breathing rhythm, and even its practical applications in combat.
This insight wasn’t merely theoretical knowledge. As if forged through a thousand trials, it rapidly transformed into muscle memory and physical instinct.
Chen Yue could feel the Qi Blood throughout his entire body beginning to circulate spontaneously along the new pathways, nourishing his sinews, bones, and skin.
The subtle blockages and soreness within his body, caused by his forceful attempts at fusion during the day, were swiftly soothed and smoothed out by this new flood of insight. In their place came a feeling of unobstructed flow and a faint, growing sense of power.
Chen Yue closed his eyes, focusing his entire being on absorbing and processing the insight.