The influence of the Tiger Form Fist manual's supplementary release paled, clearly, in comparison to Teng Qingshan establishing his sect on May 16th.

At that moment, across the major commanderies of Yangzhou, in wine houses and pleasure quarters, everywhere buzzed with talk of Teng Qingshan founding his own school. And even before the thirteen Qingshan Halls publicly announced the matter, invitations for Teng Qingshan’s sect establishment had already been dispatched to five of the current seven major sects of the Nine Provinces—

Heavenly God Palace, Snow Eagle Sect, Ying Clan, Mani Temple, and Gui Yuan Sect!

Although Gui Yuan Sect maintained a close relationship with Teng Qingshan, extending the invitation was a matter of propriety that could not be ignored. As for the other two sects of the Nine Provinces—Yu Huang Gate and Sun-Shooting Divine Mountain—the deaths of Shen Gongtu and Yu Tonghai had already sown deep enmity between Teng Qingshan and those two great powers. Even if invitations were sent, they would not attend.

Naturally, there was no need to undertake the superfluous gesture.

Mani Temple, situated at the junction of Rongzhou and Liangzhou, sprawled across an immense area.

This temple could truly be called the largest monastery in the entire Nine Provinces, housing over a million residents, including tonsured monks and lay disciples. The sound of morning chants and sutra readings from such a vast temple could reportedly travel for a hundred li. Every day, streams of people arrived to pay their respects.

Within Mani Temple, on Buddha Mountain.

Buddha Mountain was the very place where the Patriarch Sakyamuni meditated for nine years before achieving enlightenment and perfecting the Golden Body Buddha. Currently, only master monks of the Buddhist Sect who had reached the Void Realm were qualified to enter Buddha Mountain.

And at this moment, an old monk with white eyebrows flew into a cavern halfway up Buddha Mountain.

“Grand Master!” the white-browed old monk clasped his hands respectfully.

Inside the cavern, a monk clad in yellow robes sat cross-legged, facing the mountain wall.

“What is it?” The voice that emerged was subtly encircled by the resonance of Zen.

“Grand Master.” The white-browed old monk bowed respectfully. “Teng Qingshan, who shocked the world last year—the Teng Qingshan who reached the Void Realm at just twenty-one—has sent an invitation. It states… he plans to hold his sect establishment ceremony on May sixteenth. We wonder if Grand Master intends to attend?”

“I shall not go.”

The calm voice returned, “You may decide this matter amongst yourselves.”

“Yes, Grand Master.” The white-browed old monk bowed with palms joined and retreated, leaving only the slender figure seated, facing the wall in meditation.

…

All the sects that received Teng Qingshan’s invitation bore no significant enmity toward him, and naturally, they offered their courtesy, bringing their retinues. Though the Heavenly God Palace had essentially severed ties with Teng Qingshan… at the very least, the two sides had never truly fallen out. Even Pei San’s machinations were executed only in secret.

Knowing Teng Qingshan’s connection to the Undying Phoenix, Pei San would avoid a genuine conflict with him unless absolutely necessary.

The evening of May fifteenth, on Great Yan Mountain.

Work on the Great Yan Mountain had begun in earnest the previous year, and by now, a sect capable of accommodating nearly one hundred thousand people had long been constructed. Since the sect founding ceremony was tomorrow, the area was currently bustling with activity, blazing with lights everywhere, as people rushed to make final arrangements and checks for the great day.

Teng Qingshan supported Li Jun as they strolled through the sect grounds; Li Jun was likely only eight or nine days away from giving birth to the child in her womb.

“Master!”

Not far ahead, three figures bowed respectfully—it was Teng Shou, Yang Dong, and Xue Xin. Since a sect was being established… Yang Dong had naturally brought the eight thousand members of the ‘Fierce Beast Gang’ along. Due to the ‘Spirit of the North Sea,’ this gang alone boasted a full thousand first-rate martial artists.

This contingent now formed the sect’s guard army.

“Are all the preparations nearly complete?” Teng Qingshan asked with a smile.

Yang Dong replied immediately, “Master, everything is prepared perfectly.”

“Good.” Teng Qingshan nodded; leaving such mundane affairs to his second disciple, Yang Dong, ensured no errors.

Yang Dong, Teng Shou, and Xue Xin exchanged glances, offered their knowing bows, and then withdrew.

“Qingshan, why did you name this sect ‘Xing Yi Men’ (Form-Intent Gate)?” Li Jun looked around, unable to conceal her curiosity. “Like the sect left by Yu Huang, it’s called Yu Huang Gate. And the sect of the Heavenly Emperor of Qinling is directly the Ying Clan. Back then, the sect left by the Northern King ‘Hong Tian’ was Hong Tian City. Qingshan, why isn’t your sect called Qingshan Sect? Or Qingshan Gate? But rather Xing Yi Men?”

Teng Qingshan tilted his head back to gaze at the full moon hanging in the sky.

Xing Yi Men?

His style of boxing was inherited from his master in his previous life, Teng Bóleí, and the Form-Intent Fist itself was perfected over generations by countless heroes in his past life. It was only upon arriving in the Nine Provinces—a land where the spiritual energy was immeasurably richer than in his previous life—that he could achieve a further breakthrough beyond the Grandmaster realm!

“I already possess much; there is no need to covet more,” Teng Qingshan said slowly. “Xing Yi Men… My school of internal martial arts is inherently the Form-Intent Fist. Xing Yi Men is a more fitting name for this sect.”

“More fitting? Hmm, I don’t understand internal martial arts either.” Li Jun didn't press further.

Little did she know the surging emotion within Teng Qingshan’s heart.

“Xing Yi Men!”

“I want this internal martial art of mine to flow through the Nine Provinces, enduring for thousands of autumns and ten thousand generations!”

“Tomorrow, tomorrow is the day Xing Yi Men is established.” Teng Qingshan felt he was one step closer to his goal. “However, my internal martial arts tradition has too few styles. It is a pity that at my current level, creating numerous boxing styles suitable for Post-Heaven or Innate experts is extremely difficult. If I reach the Void Transformation realm, it will become much easier.”

“If I can reach the realm of the Supreme Expert! Perhaps creating sets of boxing styles will become as effortless as picking flowers.”

“The strength of a sect relies entirely on its foundation. Yu Huang Gate and Mani Temple are powerful because they possess an abundance of secret manuals. Even those with poor talent will have a suitable manual if the collection is large enough. Only then can a sect become truly mighty,” Teng Qingshan understood clearly.

For the lineage of internal martial arts to truly stand alongside Buddhism and Daoism—

Then—

He, Teng Qingshan, would also have to reach the heights of Yu Huang and Patriarch Sakyamuni.

“If one hears the Way in the morning, one can die content in the evening.”

“Five hundred years of time; I will not allow even a single day of slackening, striving to reach the realm of the Supreme Expert!” Teng Qingshan looked at the bright moon, his conviction unshakeable in his heart.

**

The black night yielded to day.

Great Yan Mountain, Xing Yi Men. A festive atmosphere permeated everything. Numerous maids and guard soldiers were visible everywhere across the mountain. The two thousand-plus men, women, and children from the Teng Family Village, alongside the tens of thousands who arrived from Gui Yuan Sect that day, filled every corner of Xing Yi Men on Great Yan Mountain.

“There are really a lot of people today.”

Teng Qingshan stood before the main hall of Xing Yi Men, observing the crowd gathered in the square below. Beside him stood his three chief disciples: Teng Shou, Xue Xin, and Yang Dong.

“Hm?” Teng Qingshan’s brows furrowed; he clearly sensed a powerful Void Realm aura rapidly approaching. “The Snow Eagle Sect people are here.” This instilled a sliver of goodwill in Teng Qingshan towards the Snow Eagle Sect; a sect’s founding day was the most significant event. Other sects arriving early demonstrated respect for the newly established order.

A moment later—

“Snow Eagle Sect arrives!”

A sudden announcement boomed from far down the mountain.

“The Snow Eagle Sect is here,” Yang Dong exclaimed in pleasant surprise.

“They are quite fast,” Xue Xin couldn't help but comment. “They have the Snow Eagles, after all; speed is their advantage.” Among the five invited major sects, apart from Gui Yuan Sect, the Snow Eagle Sect was the first to arrive.

Teng Qingshan looked below.

Soon, dozens of figures from the Snow Eagle Sect, led by an old man in a black robe with a hooked nose, entered through the main entrance on the square below.

“Let’s go down and greet them.” With a command from Teng Qingshan, he led his three chief disciples forward.

“Haha, I should now call you Brother Qingshan,” the hook-nosed old man in black chuckled.

“Brother Wu, don’t tease me,” Teng Qingshan responded with a smile. “It was necessary at the time.”

The black-robed elder nodded with a smile, then surveyed his surroundings: “Brother Qingshan, your Xing Yi Men is truly impressive… I also examined the Tiger Form Fist manual you sold earlier. Although I still don’t fully grasp what this internal martial art is about, it is evident that your internal martial arts differ markedly from those of the Daoist and Buddhist schools.”

“Brother Wu, my internal martial art can be summarized simply: you practice internal strength by sitting still, whereas internal martial arts train internal strength through the motions of boxing,” Teng Qingshan remarked casually.

The black-robed elder smiled, then grew slightly serious, lowering his voice: “Brother Qingshan, why did you disseminate the Tiger Form Fist manual to everyone?”

Teng Qingshan’s heart stirred.

The black-robed elder did not wait for an answer: “You sold this manual for the mere price of one hundred taels of silver. This clearly shows your intent to spread your Tiger Form Fist throughout the Nine Provinces. By doing this, aren’t you trying to poach disciples from all corners of the Nine Provinces? Never mind whether my Snow Eagle Sect agrees; I fear the Heavenly God Palace, Mani Temple, and others will not stand for it.”

Everyone could see through Teng Qingshan’s tactic.

It was unmistakably a move to steal disciples!

But this move was one only Teng Qingshan dared to attempt!

This was because, in the Nine Provinces, whether Daoism, Buddhism, or Teng Qingshan’s internal martial arts lineage, the initial stage involved cultivating internal strength! Once internal strength was achieved, one could seamlessly switch to cultivating the secret manuals of other sects! To scatter secret manuals across the world like this would, first, destabilize the realm, and second, merely serve as a stepping stone for other sects. No one else would do it.

But Teng Qingshan was different!

Indeed, practitioners of internal martial arts, after gaining internal strength, could cultivate Daoist or Buddhist manuals. However—

Under Teng Qingshan’s subtle orchestration, the ‘Internal Martial Arts’ lineage had already been hyped to near-mythical status!

Coupled with Teng Qingshan himself—a twenty-one-year-old Void Realm expert acting as the living advertisement! And the propaganda claiming that only one in a hundred people could practice internal martial arts, but once achieved, their potential would surpass Daoism or Buddhism… Under such promotion, if anyone cultivated internal strength, they would naturally gravitate towards Teng Qingshan’s Xing Yi Men!

This spectacle displeased the other major sects of the Nine Provinces. Wasn't this infringing upon their territories?

“Brother Wu, regarding these matters, I will discuss them in detail with everyone after today’s ceremony,” Teng Qingshan smiled. “Ah, the people from the Heavenly God Palace have arrived.”

“The Heavenly God Palace is indeed fast,” the black-robed elder also sensed their presence.

…

Pei San, clad in loose white robes, walked along the wide mountain path with his daughter, Pei Xuelian.

“Father, look,” Pei Xuelian exclaimed in surprise, looking ahead toward the massive stone stele erected before the main gate of Xing Yi Men.

Pei San looked closely and saw several vertical lines of script carved in bold, flowing characters on the stele—

“Value Form, Light Intent. Value Form, Value Intent. Perceive the Form, Grasp the Intent; Lighten the Form and Burden the Intent. These are the three successive realms. If one grasps the Intent, one obtains the essence of Xing Yi Internal Martial Arts; the Great Dao is within reach. —Teng Qingshan!”

These lines of text startled Pei San, for every character seemed like a fierce beast—sometimes like a ferocious tiger, sometimes like an agile ape, and at other times like a savage dragon… The imposing aura rushing toward him made Pei San secretly marvel: “This internal martial art is truly extraordinary.”

Pei San then raised his head—

He saw in the distance, above the main entrance, a plaque hung high bearing three large characters from right to left—Xing Yi Men!