The Eight Wildernesses and Six Harmonies Technique
Upon returning to the mountaintop, the master and three senior brothers were already waiting for their meal.
The moment Li Shaodian laid eyes on Chen An’nian, he was stunned.
Xu Shouqiao, Shen Chunqiu, and Xia Longque were equally taken aback.
“Thousand Forces Realm?”
They sensed the formidable energy emanating from Chen An’nian, yet they couldn’t accurately determine that he had already reached the pinnacle of the Thousand Forces Realm.
If it weren’t for Chen An’nian deliberately revealing it, no one would have known about the harmonious resonance of his tendons and bones.
Chen An’nian nodded, “I just broke through.”
“Excellent!”
Li Shaodian rarely displayed a smile and then turned to Xia Longque, who had already started eating, saying, “Spend the afternoon practicing with An’nian.”
“Understood!” Xia Longque replied, then continued voraciously devouring his food.
Soon, Chen An’nian understood the master’s deliberate reminder.
Xia Longque became even more ruthless.
Despite suppressing his strength to match Chen An’nian’s Thousand Forces Realm, he still dominated him completely.
“I also use the fierce fist, but your moves are too rigid,” Xia Longque exclaimed with frustration.
“Who says the Fierce Tiger Heart cannot be used alongside the Monkey Stealing Peaches? Is your other hand holding chopsticks?”
Chen An’nian retreated in a sorry state.
Xia Longque was despicable, employing only real moves without any feints.
Combining the fierce and mighty Fierce Tiger Heart with the despicable Monkey Stealing Peaches was utterly incongruous.
“Remember, techniques are lifeless, but people are alive!”
“What is the ultimate goal of any martial art? It is to kill!”
“Kung fu is the art of killing!”
"Fist techniques lead to countless bones with one’s success!”
“The strongest martial art lies in swiftly eliminating the enemy!”
Xia Longque effortlessly toppled Chen An’nian to the ground.
As Chen An’nian got up, Xu Shouqiao stood nearby, teaching him how to counter Xia Longque’s fierce techniques.
The next time, Chen An’nian forcefully squeezed himself between Xia Longque’s hands.
Colliding with a mountain!
Normally, even when facing a stone, such a collision would move it.
However, Xia Longque didn’t give him the chance.
He bent his arms, grasped Chen An’nian’s shoulders, effortlessly neutralized his force, and then swung Chen An’nian around, slamming him to the ground.
“This Colliding with a Mountain move is derived from the actions of a bear, but when you rely on it, your power disperses. I can easily neutralize your force and even counterattack.”
“Your speed is too slow!”
Xia Longque didn’t miss any opportunity, repeatedly tormenting Chen An’nian.
Xu Shouqiao, on the other hand, dismantled Xia Longque’s moves and continuously advised Chen An’nian on how to respond to his attacks.
“Little Junior Brother’s comprehension of fist techniques is beyond words. He grasps them immediately. However, his time spent practicing fists is too short, lacking real combat experience.”
During dinner, Xu Shouqiao reported to the master.
Li Shaodian responded, “Combat cannot be taught; one can only gradually develop their own combat experience through fighting different opponents.”
In the following days, Chen An’nian didn’t rush to the Martial Arts Pavilion.
Currently, he had no spirit stones in his hands, and the divine power within the Golden Book's fragment was only a little over two hundred drops, which was insufficient to fully comprehend and perfect the Power Transformation and Gang Power.
Moreover, although he appeared to have reached the pinnacle of the Thousand Forces Realm, as the three senior brothers mentioned, his practical combat skills were weak.
Even when facing opponents weaker than himself, he could still be defeated.
Therefore, he decided to wait a few days and refine his fist techniques.
Being skilled in fist techniques and following the path of fists didn’t mean he knew how to fight.
In the morning, Chen An’nian pondered the variations of his fist techniques, while in the afternoon, he continued to spar with Xia Longque, listening to Xu Shouqiao’s instructions on combat techniques.
Chen An’nian once again unleashed his initial fervor for practicing boxing.
When he first acquired the fist technique, he wished he could practice it all day long.
Now, even in his dreams at night, Chen An’nian was contemplating how to defeat Xia Longque.
Days passed, and after seven days, Chen An’nian finally managed to withstand Xia Longque’s attacks for ten moves.
Even the master was surprised.
Although Xia Longque put in a bit more effort, he still easily subdued Chen An’nian.
However, those simple combinations and variations of moves no longer posed a threat to him.
“Not bad, barely passable. But we can’t neglect practical combat; it’s time to raise the requirements,” Li Shaodian said as he fetched a cotton jacket from the room.
"From now on, wear this jacket when sparring with your three senior brothers.”
Chen An’nian took the jacket and his hand immediately sank.
It was so heavy!
“Keep it up!”
Shen Chunqiu patted Chen An’nian’s shoulder.
“This jacket has accompanied us for a long time. Now, it brings back memories.”
Xu Shouqiao gazed at the weighted cotton jacket in Chen An’nian’s hands, overwhelmed with emotions.
Xia Longque clenched his fist, the bones cracking.
The humanoid sandbag had finally arrived.
The next day, Chen An’nian unusually took a day off.
Carrying two hundred pieces of low-grade spirit stones, the remaining one thousand two hundred pieces of spirit stones transformed into divine power.
From Luo Youcai, he learned that outer sect disciples could only read one manual at a time in the Martial Arts Pavilion.
The remaining options were either to complete missions to gain access or to spend spirit stones, with one low-grade spirit stone required per manual.
Chen An’nian had no time for missions, but in terms of spirit stones, he was still quite abundant.
Arriving at the Martial Arts Pavilion, he presented his Humble Peak token.
“Outer disciples are only allowed to enter the first level of the Martial Arts Pavilion!”
Reminded the elder in charge of transmitting techniques.
Chen An’nian bowed to the elder and plunged into the vast techniques of the first level.
The Martial Arts Pavilion was a five-story building, that exuded an ancient and elegant charm.
Among the grand and majestic structures of the Outer Sect, it appeared inconspicuous.
However, it was a crucial place within the Green Mountain Sect, the foundation of the sect.
Officially guarded by thirty protectors and one elder in charge of transmitting techniques, there were also other hidden experts safeguarding the area.
The first level consisted entirely of techniques for the Qi and Blood Realm.
Chen An’nian took out a manual titled Diamond Fist and, after reading the introduction, immediately utilized his one and only free opportunity.
He was prepared to pay a hefty price today.
Whether he used the free opportunity or not didn’t matter.
Unfortunately, the Diamond Fist had only been slightly improved through the deduction of the Golden Book's fragment, but even this slight improvement cost him five drops of divine power.
Shaking his head, Chen An’nian set aside the Diamond Fist and continued to look at the next manual.
At that moment, a voice reminded him, “You have already used your browsing opportunity. From now on, you can only read the introductions of the techniques. If you wish to read the complete manuals, you need to pay with spirit stones.”
Chen An’nian was well-prepared and took out one hundred pieces of low-grade spirit stones.
“Let me read one hundred manuals first.”
People around instinctively touched their ears.
Even the elder in charge of transmitting techniques widened his eyes.
It was normal to browse through other techniques, but for someone like Chen An’nian to quickly finish reading one manual and then declare that he wanted to read one hundred more, it was a weighty matter.
One hundred pieces of low-grade spirit stones were quite substantial.
For many, this amount would be enough to cultivate the Thousand Forces Complete or even break through to the Power Transformation Realm.
However, in Chen An’nian’s hands, it was merely money spent on reading books.
The problem was, could he truly comprehend all the techniques at his current reading speed?
Although Chen An’nian’s actions were flawless, the elder in charge of transmitting techniques still wore a displeased expression.
In his eyes, Chen An’nian’s behavior was a complete disrespect towards the techniques.
“Can you understand all the techniques by reading them like this?”
The elder inquired, using a more tactful phrasing.
Of course, Chen An’nian couldn’t understand them all.
However, the deductions on the Golden Book's fragment could.
As long as he read the techniques once, they would be imprinted in the Golden Book's fragment, and he could use divine power to deduce and improve them.
Suppressing his anger, the elder asked, “Since you can’t understand them, why waste so much?”
Chen An’nian finally raised his head upon realizing it was the elder in charge of transmitting techniques.
He quickly saluted, “Elder, I am not reading these techniques to master all of them.”
“Then why are you doing it?”
“I am selecting the techniques that resonate with me, aiming to integrate them with my current techniques.”
Facing the elder in charge of transmitting techniques, Chen An’nian displayed great politeness.
In terms of status, the elder in charge of transmitting techniques and his master were of the same generation.
The elder’s expression softened slightly, but he still had doubts.
According to Chen An’nian’s explanation, he clearly intended to learn from various sources, keeping the essence while discarding the dross, and melding multiple techniques together.
However, there were very few individuals at this level within the Outer Sect.
Could this seemingly ordinary outer disciple truly be one of them?
“Tell me, what insights have you gained?” The elder asked.
Chen An’nian casually picked up a nearby manual, “Take this ‘Savage Bull Fist’ as an example. The ‘Dual Horns Shattering the Heavens’ move within it bears some resemblance to my ‘Mountain Topple’.”
As he spoke, Chen An’nian demonstrated these two moves, "Furthermore, I’ve discovered that ‘Mountain Topple’ is a defensive technique, while ‘Dual Horns Shattering the Heavens’ can be transformed into an offensive move.”
“If I can merge them together, wouldn’t it be a transformation from defense to offense, achieving both attack and defense?”
The elder was greatly astonished.
This young fellow had actually spoken with such clarity.
He wasn’t just making things up.
The anger in his heart instantly dissipated.
“Very well, continue reading.”
The elder appreciated disciples who possessed a unique understanding of techniques.
A scene of double standards unfolded before them.
Chen An’nian raised an eyebrow and continued his endeavor of reading books.
Although he read the one hundred manuals quickly, he still had to browse through them page by page.
By the time he finished reading them all, he was thoroughly dizzy.
Closing his eyes, various fist technique moves surged forth as if countless little figures were practicing a variety of techniques.
The divine power on the Golden Book's fragment visibly diminished, but the deduced techniques were also rapidly improving.
It was already noon.
Chen An’nian didn’t return but continued to read a few more manuals before finally stopping.
He realized that the potential of the techniques on the Golden Book's fragment had reached its limit.
In other words, the potential of these manuals, or rather, this level of manuals, had been fully explored.
He needed techniques of a higher level.
“They have been improved to about eighty percent, but it cost a whopping five hundred drops of divine power. However, ... it was worth it!”
Chen An’nian slowly stood up, emitting a crisp sound from his body.
“Have you finished reading?”
The elder approached and asked, “Did you gain anything?”
Chen An’nian grinned and happily replied, “I have gained quite a lot!”
“Well, this elder is really curious to see what you have comprehended from these hundred or so fist technique manuals,” the elder said with great interest.
Having tested Chen An’nian before, the elder knew that this young fellow was not a reckless troublemaker.
However, the extent to which one could learn from a hundred fist technique manuals was another matter altogether.
Chen An’nian closed his eyes and after a while, calmly threw a straight punch.
The outer disciples who had been observing Chen An’nian’s “show” couldn’t help but sneer.
“Is that it? And he dares to call himself a genius?”
“He even wants to comsume different paths in cultivation? That’s laughable.”
...
Although there weren’t many outer disciples in the Martial Arts Pavilion, the dozens present today had all witnessed Chen An’nian’s pretentiousness.
Did he really think he had a photographic memory?
Now the elder was examining his knowledge, and all he saw was a simple straight punch.
Who was he trying to fool!?
However, this punch appeared entirely different in the elder’s eyes.
While Chen An’nian’s straight punch seemed simple, the elder could sense the flow of his qi and blood, indicating that there were nearly five variations to follow this punch.
Even the speed of the qi and blood circulation was changing, clearly indicating the possibility of even more variations.
This young fellow was not ordinary!
The elder admired Chen An’nian and glanced at his token.
“Humble Peak!? You are a disciple of the Humble Peak?”
“I am indeed a disciple of the Humble Peak,” Chen An’nian replied, retracting his straight punch.
The surrounding outer disciples were all astonished. Humble Peak!?
This guy is...
Chen An’nian!
“It seems that my dear brother Shaodian has another talented disciple,” the elder chuckled.
“Go back now and thoroughly comprehend these fist techniques. You can go even further in the martial path.”
Unexpectedly, Chen An’nian took out a golden token from his pocket.
“Elder, I would like to go to the second level as well.”
The elder was stunned for a moment.
This new disciple of the Humble Peak was indeed a bit different.
He didn’t want to stop Chen An’nian from going up, but he was afraid that Chen An’nian would bite off more than he could chew.
The young lad had a high level of comprehension, but he might become arrogant and lose his grounding.
Yet, Chen An’nian had even brought out the second-level token.
The elder couldn’t say anything more and could only advise, “Remember not to push yourself too hard.”
“Thank you, Elder.”
Amidst the astonished gazes of the outer disciples, Chen An’nian ascended the stairs leading to the second level...
“After observing numerous fist techniques, my own techniques naturally gained many variations,” Chen An’nian discovered unintentionally, a method to rapidly improve his combat experience.
With the help of the Golden Book fragment, he could quickly assimilate various fist techniques.
Xia Longque had derived numerous variations and combinations through his rich combat experience.
And Chen An’nian, on the other hand, could enrich his repertoire of techniques from the vast array of fist techniques.
Different paths, same destination!
Compared to the first level, the second level of the Martial Arts Pavilion appeared more spacious, with fewer fist techniques.
As Chen An’nian opened the book Ancient Fist Scriptures, the Golden Book fragment, which had been difficult to deduce further, showed signs of activity once again.
“As expected!”
Chen An’nian felt delighted.
He paid no attention to the sudden threefold increase in energy consumption.
If he could deduce an invincible technique at the Three Qi and Blood Realm, it would be worth consuming even more energy!
After finishing one book, Chen An’nian continued to flip through the next one, undisturbed by anyone.
Time slipped away gradually, and in the entire second level of the Martial Arts Pavilion, only the sound of Chen An’nian flipping through the books could be heard.
At this point, Chen An’nian’s reading speed noticeably slowed down.
He had to carefully read each page twice.
The consumption of energy continued to rise.
From threefold to fourfold, and even up to fivefold.
Eventually, with each advancement in fist technique, dozens or even hundreds of droplets of energy were consumed.
Such consumption was unimaginable.
The preciousness of a single droplet of energy goes without saying, yet Chen An’nian was consuming them like flowing water.
If he hadn’t thought of a way to make money by selling Healing Pills, he would probably have bankrupted the entire Humble Peak just to sustain this level of consumption.
And this was only at the Three Qi and Blood Realm.
Who would spend so many resources at this stage?
After flipping through twenty fist technique manuals consecutively on the second level, Chen An’nian sat down on the ground.
On the Golden Book fragment, countless figures were demonstrating various techniques.
Energy evaporated like water droplets, continuously dissipating.
Chen An’nian’s face was covered in fine sweat.
Just by looking at these demonstrated techniques, it felt as if his head would explode.
It was too terrifying!
If it weren’t for the Golden Book fragment, he would never be able to remember so many techniques in his lifetime.
A massive amount of energy was vanishing.
Two hundred droplets, three hundred droplets, four hundred droplets...
The progress of perfecting his fist technique once again slowed down, but there was still a slight deficiency.
Just a little bit more.
The complete technique for the Three Qi and Blood Realm was about to be deduced.
Gritting his teeth, Chen An’nian directly evaporated two hundred droplets of energy.
Boom!
In his mind, it felt as if countless thunderbolts were exploding.
The Golden Book fragment suddenly magnified in his mind.
Then, five ancient and solemn characters appeared—Eight Wildernesses and Six Harmonies Technique!