The stone carving, emitting a faint, cyan-green luminescence, was embedded in the muddy, snow-covered earth. The Kāi Shān Shén Fǔ (Mountain-Splitting Divine Axe) in Teng Qingshan’s hands also faintly shimmered with a halo, as strands of cyan-green light, almost imperceptible to the naked eye, spread out from the axe, merging into the stone carving.
Teng Qingshan stood there, eyes closed, utterly still.
“The Ninth Form of the Mountain-Splitting Axe.”
The voice of Emperor Yu, a sound that made heaven and earth tremble, echoed by his ear. A towering figure leaped violently to the height of the clouds, holding the Kāi Shān Shén Fǔ with both hands, and brought it down with crushing force. “Rumble~~~” Under this furious cleave, the towering mountain that pierced the clouds split open with a massive rent.
Endless rubble cascaded down in a tremendous roar.
A single mountain was cleaved in two by one swing of the axe.
Immediately, the scene vanished, replaced by a sequence of visions detailing the execution of this Ninth Form—the starting stance, the leap, the process of the angry strike… dozens of scenes followed one after another, immersing Teng Qingshan completely in the artistic conception specially created by Emperor Yu.
A long while passed—
Teng Qingshan opened his eyes.
“Emperor Yu is truly formidable.”
“He actually broke down just this Ninth Form into dozens of simplified movements.” Teng Qingshan was filled with astonishment. The Kāi Shān Sān Shí Liù Shì (Thirty-Six Forms of Mountain Splitting) was Emperor Yu’s ultimate offensive technique, making comprehension exceedingly difficult. If he had only witnessed Emperor Yu performing the ninth move, comprehension would have been impossible.
That is why Emperor Yu divided the Ninth Form, explaining it through various detailed movements, keeping them as simple as possible.
“Emperor Yu’s methods are impressive, but his claim that even an ordinary Innate expert could reach the Void Realm within decades was sheer nonsense.”
“For an ordinary Innate expert, even possessing the Kāi Shān Shén Fǔ and having all thirty-six carvings, merely seeing Emperor Yu’s detailed exposition of each move and stance is insufficient. The Heavenly Dao cannot be described in mere words. Although Emperor Yu made the expression seem simple through various stances, this simplicity is relative. It remains incredibly difficult; the average Innate expert would still struggle to grasp it.”
Teng Qingshan realized this only after immersing himself and experiencing the sensation once.
The combination of the Mountain-Splitting Divine Axe and the stone carvings reduced the cultivation difficulty by ninety percent! However, it was still not something an ordinary Innate expert could master.
Teng Qingshan was different!
His own realm was already very high; even without the carvings, it would have only taken a few extra years. With these carvings, and Emperor Yu’s meticulous division of one move into dozens, Teng Qingshan’s comprehension came extremely swiftly.
“This Ninth Form embodies the Dao of Metal and the Dao of Earth… Spending some time, perhaps I can finally create the fifth move of my Five Elements Spear Technique!” Teng Qingshan’s spear technique currently only had four forms: one, ‘Primal Chaos One Breath’; two, ‘Shadow Following Form’; three, ‘Venomous Dragon Drill’; and four, ‘Crimson Tiger’s Roar’.
Only the spear technique derived from the Cleaving Fist remained uncreated!
The Cleaving Fist belongs to the Metal element, the first of the Five Elements. Its form resembles an axe; it represents the rising and falling of a single breath. When a Cleaving Fist is thrown, it is like an axe splitting downwards, possessing immense power. This move, the Cleaving Fist, is the hardest among the Xingyi Five Elements Fists. Metal is inherently sharp and unstoppable; comprehending it is the most difficult.
In Teng Qingshan’s previous life, among the martial arts masters who studied the Xingyi Five Elements Fist, most focused on the Crashing Fist.
This Crashing Fist resembles an arrow, the punch thrown like drawing and releasing a bowstring, firing continuously left and right.
The Drilling Fist is the fastest! The Cannon Fist is the most destructive! The Horizontal Fist is the foundation of the Five Elements! The Cleaving Fist is the chief of the Five Elements, the most ferocious! Of the Five Elements Fists, the Crashing Fist is undoubtedly the most balanced, excelling in attack, defense, and speed; therefore, the most masters dedicated their study to this single move.
“The Cleaving Fist shares similarities with this axe technique.” While studying the axe method, Teng Qingshan also began contemplating the fifth move of the Xingyi Five Elements Spear Technique.
**
Since obtaining the stone carving of the Ninth Form, Teng Qingshan dedicated almost every day to studying the axe technique.
Little did he know…
Within a few days, most families across the entire Duanmu Continent knew about him storming the Dong family and capturing Dong Zizhi. After all, the incident was too shocking—openly invading a major family and directly seizing its Patriarch, who had already reached the Innate Realm—that level of strength was terrifying.
Teng Qingshan had not acted furtively at the time; his appearance was certainly observed, making it easy to confirm that Teng Qingshan was responsible.
…
The Duanmu Continent was a stage for the hegemony of a hundred clans, filled with countless retainers and wandering knights.
A clash of words led to drawing blades, staining the earth with blood! On the Duanmu Continent, people held absolute reverence for the strong. Actions as tyrannical as Teng Qingshan’s were seen by the populace as the true behavior of a powerful expert—one who dared to act without concealment, possessing absolute confidence in his own strength!
To disregard armies numbering in the thousands—this was the mark of a true powerhouse!
Admiration, respect!
Of course, this applied to ordinary retainers and knights. To some of the super-clans, however, Teng Qingshan was a golden opportunity, the foundation upon which a family’s prosperity could be built! If such a supreme expert could be persuaded to join their clan, that family was certain to grow stronger.
…
At noon on the fifth day after Teng Qingshan obtained the stone carvings.
By the shore of Crescent Lake, many War Hounds and Camel Beasts were gathered. A middle-aged man dressed in luxurious robes was speaking humbly with Li Jun, accompanied by a young man.
“Patriarch Murong, Big Brother Teng will be here shortly. When he arrives, you can speak with him directly. I can’t make that decision,” Li Jun shook his head.
Just then—
A figure clad in a cyan leather coat approached from a distance.
The luxurious and noble middle-aged man, along with the youth, walked over, cupping his hands with a smile: “I am Murong Zheng, greetings, Mr. Teng.”
“Patriarch Murong,” Teng Qingshan glanced at him with a smile. “I have seen you before.”
“Indeed, we met at Flowing Cloud Manor,” the Murong Patriarch replied, smiling. He then pointed to the young man beside him, “This is my youngest son, Murong Liufeng. Feng’er, pay your respects to Mr. Teng.” The young man appeared somewhat reserved, but his gaze fixed on Teng Qingshan held a hint of fervent admiration as he bowed respectfully: “Murong Liufeng pays respects to Mr. Teng.”
Teng Qingshan looked him over and asked with a smile, “Patriarch Murong, which son is this Murong Liufeng?”
“He ranks third,” the Patriarch replied immediately.
“Oh.” Teng Qingshan nodded.
Patriarch Murong exclaimed in surprise and delight, “Mr. Teng, how did you know I have more than one son? Does the esteemed Mr. know my other sons?” In the Patriarch’s view, this was a point of pride, and having a previous connection would make forging an alliance easier.
“When I first arrived in South Mountain City,” Teng Qingshan said as he walked, “I witnessed a cavalry procession racing through the streets, nearly trampling pedestrians to death. I intervened to stop them… According to the passersby, the leader of that troop was your Murong family’s Second Young Master.”
Upon hearing this, the Murong Patriarch showed an expression of embarrassment.
He had expected praise, only to have this matter brought up instead.
“That rebellious son of mine, how audacious,” the Patriarch revealed a flash of anger. “When I return, I shall certainly discipline him properly.”
Teng Qingshan smiled and walked toward the house.
“Big Brother Teng, lunch is ready,” Li Jun called out.
“Mmm.”
Teng Qingshan turned to the Murong Patriarch. “May I ask why Patriarch Murong has visited me?”
The Patriarch smiled broadly. “Liufeng has been fond of spear arts since childhood! He has achieved some success now, but… finding a truly great master of the spear is extremely difficult; spear masters are far too few. Hearing that Mr. Teng excels in spear techniques, I shamelessly brought Feng’er here, begging Mr. Teng to possibly accept this child as a disciple.”
“Please, Master, accept me as your disciple.” Murong Liufeng blushed slightly and bowed deeply.
“My disciples must meet three requirements. The first is that their strength must be at least at the Innate Void Pill realm.” Teng Qingshan glanced at them with a faint smile. “Patriarch Murong, you should leave for now.”
Saying this, Teng Qingshan turned and walked toward the house.
“Mr. Teng, Mr. Teng!” The Murong Patriarch called out repeatedly, but Teng Qingshan paid him no heed.
“The first requirement is already the Innate Void Pill realm?” The Patriarch felt a deep surge of frustration, inwardly grumbling, “This Mr. Teng truly puts on airs! How many Martial Saints are there on the entire Duanmu Continent? I’d like to see if you ever take on disciples!”
The Murong Patriarch was furious internally, yet dared not voice it.
“Mr. Teng, we shall take our leave then.” The Patriarch grabbed the red-faced third son, Murong, hauled him away, and swiftly departed with the contingent of guards accompanying him.
Inside the house, Li Jun watched the group depart from a distance.
“Big Brother Teng, your three requirements seem quite harsh,” Li Jun said with a laugh.
“Little Jun, I suspect that members of these major clans might still come seeking tutelage. When they do, just tell them the first requirement: at least reaching the Innate Void Pill realm,” Teng Qingshan instructed.
Li Jun responded, “What if an actual Innate expert comes?”
“If one truly comes?”
Teng Qingshan smiled faintly. “Aren’t there still the second and third requirements? Besides, if we really click, accepting an Innate expert as a disciple wouldn’t be a bad thing.”
Xiao Ping and Old Wang, standing nearby, both chuckled. Teng Shou simply blinked a couple of times, seemingly not having understood the conversation.
Teng Qingshan’s predictions proved correct; the Murong family was not the only one attempting to win him over through the pretense of discipleship. The Wang family and the Li family successively employed this tactic. Even some distant families, scattered across the region, extended invitations to serve as consultants or to teach.
Unfortunately—
All were deterred by Teng Qingshan’s requirements. Want to be my disciple? The first hurdle is reaching the Innate realm first! Not to mention that Teng Qingshan had a second and third condition.
Do you want to know the second and third conditions? Wait until you reach the Innate realm, then I will tell you.
After the major clans hit this wall, every family learned how difficult this ‘Mr. Teng’ was to deal with. Simultaneously, the conditions Teng Qingshan set for taking disciples spread, causing many to gasp in awe; a super expert truly is a super expert, even his requirements for taking disciples are this high! When a person’s status reaches an apex, even if their behavior is somewhat overbearing, they will still inspire worship and admiration.
…
On the morning of the twenty-eighth day since Teng Qingshan obtained the stone carvings.
Deep within the underground cave dwelling of Divine Axe Mountain.
After meditating quietly through the night, Teng Qingshan rose and began practicing his fists! Every morning, Li Jun and the others would wake to the whistling sounds of Teng Qingshan’s punches, knowing that his practice session coincided precisely with the first light of dawn.
“Ah!”
Li Jun stretched languidly and pulled open the door curtain to step out. Xiao Ping followed close behind.
“Huh?” Li Jun and Xiao Ping both stared wide-eyed.
“Uncle he…” Xiao Ping was dumbfounded.
Teng Qingshan, currently practicing the Tǔ Xíng Zhī Quán (Earth Element Fist), appeared as if clad in a suit of earthy-yellow battle armor that completely encased his body, even his head. Only his eyes were faintly visible through a transparent light shield. This appearance made Teng Qingshan resemble a god descending from the heavens!
Previously, earthy-yellow light flickered around Teng Qingshan’s body, but now, it had solidified into a sealed suit of armor.
“Big Brother Teng, has he reached the late stage of Gang Jin?” Li Jun asked with a look of pleasant surprise.