The He Family Compound was the oldest estate in He Family Village; it was from this single compound that He Wude spent decades gradually establishing He Family Village in Taicang County, ultimately securing the position of one of the county's three great aristocratic families.

Thus, the He Family Compound held a unique and significant place in the hearts of all the people of He Family Village.

Now, having entered the compound, He Wude dismissed his attending servants and said in a deep voice, "Yiming, recount your encounter with Hu Bin. Be detailed."

He Yiming hesitated for a moment, then recounted the chance meeting and subsequent battle with Hu Bin. Throughout his narration, he insisted that he had only displayed the sixth level of the Rolling Stone Fist, carefully omitting any mention of the seventh level of internal energy, or even the sixth level of the Cotton Palm. Of course, he made no secret of the strange cultivation technique Hu Bin employed, and he forthrightly presented the manual for the Thirty-Six Styles of Mountain Splitting that he had confiscated.

He Wude took the manual, examining it for a long time. He Quanxin and He Yiming stood by respectfully, daring not to interrupt the elder master's contemplation.

After a considerable pause, He Wude closed the book, his eyes slightly shut, murmuring a few phrases under his breath. Finally, he let out a long sigh. "It is just as I suspected. Heh heh, when I first heard that scoundrel Hu Bin had injured the second young master of the Xu family, I already guessed he must have studied a Primordial Combat Technique manual, and this is one of those Primordial Manuals."

He Yiming blinked in surprise and asked, "Grandfather, what is a Primordial Manual?"

He Wude let out a wry laugh. "Yiming, don't concern yourself with that for now. When your internal energy cultivation reaches the tenth level, I will naturally tell you."

He Yiming responded with a troubled expression; reaching the tenth level of internal energy seemed a monumental task. He glanced at the manual, opening his mouth as if to speak, but ultimately remained silent.

However, his subtle movements did not escape the Elder Master's notice. He Wude laughed heartily. "Yiming, since you were the one who obtained this manual, you naturally qualify to practice it."

He Yiming immediately broke into a wide smile. He knew firsthand the power of this technique. The fact that Hu Bin, with only the fifth level of internal energy, could use this technique to defeat his own sixth-level internal energy augmented by his peak sixth-level combat skill—an experience that completely overturned his previous understanding—made him realize the immense value of this combat technique.

The smile slowly faded from He Wude's face, and he spoke with earnest sincerity. "Yiming, I have examined this manual. It records a Metal element technique called the Thirty-Six Deficient Styles of Mountain Splitting. Within our He Family Village, only you are suited to cultivate it."

He Yiming looked back at the manual in surprise. A thought flashed through his mind, and he asked, "Grandfather, is this technique missing three styles?"

"That is correct. For some unknown reason, the final three styles are gone," He Wude sighed regretfully. Then he added, "But do not underestimate this technique. In terms of sheer destructive power, this manual is unequivocally the finest in our He Family Village's collection. If it were not a Metal element technique, I would certainly have every suitable person switch to practicing it."

He Yiming was overjoyed and quickly nodded, his eyes shining with a mixture of surprise and delight.

He Wude's tone abruptly became stern. "Yiming, although you may cultivate this technique, you must remember that with your current strength, you are only permitted to learn the first four styles."

He Yiming's heart tightened, and he nodded seriously. "Grandfather, your grandson has taken note."

He Wude returned the manual to Yiming. "You've had a long day; go and rest now. Keep this manual with you. Once you have transcribed it, hand it over to Quanxin."

"Yes." He Yiming respectfully took the manual.

He Wude added, "Furthermore, you must not publicize the fact that you acquired this book. Besides your elder uncle and myself, do not tell anyone else."

He Yiming hesitated for a moment. "Then what about Father and Third Uncle?"

"They will naturally be informed. Hmm, I will also inform Tian'er. Apart from them, no one else needs to know for the time being."

He Yiming then respectfully agreed, and upon He Wude's gesture, he took his leave.

Once He Yiming had departed the compound, He Wude let out a hearty laugh. "Quanxin, Yiming's luck this time was quite good. Not only did he gain experience, but he also acquired a Primordial Combat Technique manual. The saying, 'Fortune favors the bold,' proves true."

He Quanxin gave a wry smile. "Father, 'favoring the bold' seemed excessively dangerous this time. If Yiming had been unable to best Hu Bin, I fear..."

He Wude's expression tightened. The thought of that possibility sent a shiver down his spine. After a moment of thought, he stated, "This time was indeed too perilous. Fortunately, that scoundrel Hu Bin's internal energy was only at the fifth level. Though he cultivated a Primordial Combat Technique, after injuring the two Xu family disciples consecutively, his vital energy must have been severely depleted. Thus, when facing Yiming, he was fighting on fumes. Otherwise, Yiming might not have been able to dispatch him so easily this time."

He Quanxin nodded slightly. "Indeed, Yiming was very fortunate this time."

Father and son exchanged a look, both deeply moved. Yet, they were unaware that He Yiming had faced not a spent force like Hu Bin, but one who had managed to escape and rest, largely recovering his strength. If they knew that, their current musings would surely take a vastly different turn.

Upon returning to his room, He Yiming immediately opened the manual in his hands.

Although the Elder Master had warned him to be cautious when practicing this manual, He Yiming knew his own situation: his internal energy was not merely at the sixth level, but had already entered the seventh realm. Therefore, he felt there should be no issue in directly practicing the first six styles.

Silently flipping through the manual's contents, He Yiming only managed to organize his thoughts after a long while.

This manual, titled Thirty-Six Styles of Mountain Splitting, indeed lacked the final three forms, which caused him great regret. After all, every cultivator knew that the last few styles of a technique generally contained the greatest power. A manual missing its final moves saw its value drastically reduced.

However, since the Elder Master had claimed this manual was the most potent among all those in the He Family Village, He Yiming certainly would not let it pass him by.

Yet, after some study, he discovered something peculiar.

Within this thirty-six-style manual, it was explicitly noted that it could only be practiced once a cultivator's Metal element internal energy reached the fifth level, and from the fifth to the tenth level, each level of internal energy only permitted the learning of two styles.

In other words, even if He Yiming cultivated his Primordial Energy to the peak of the tenth level, he would only be able to learn the first twelve styles of Mountain Splitting.

Seeing this notation, He Yiming's brow furrowed deeply. He recalled his grandfather's words—that this manual was one of the Primordial Manuals.

Could there be levels higher than the tenth level of internal energy?

At this thought, his heart stirred with longing. However, moments later, He Yiming immediately restrained his thoughts. His current cultivation was only the seventh level of internal energy; let alone above the tenth level, he was still a considerable distance from it. Thinking about such things now was clearly reaching too high.

The effect of years of being taught by his elders to be grounded and practical asserted itself. He Yiming retrieved paper and brush and slowly began transcribing the book.

The content of this book was substantial; at least it was much thicker than the Rolling Stone Fist or the Cotton Palm manuals.

He Yiming spent an entire day completing the transcription.

Once finished, he immediately began practicing without hesitation. He instantly discovered that the difficulty of mastering this combat technique was significantly higher than that of the Rolling Stone Fist.

The first two styles, suitable for the fifth level, alone gave He Yiming a considerable headache. The routes for circulating internal energy were much more intricate, and the greatest requirement for practicing this technique was seamless execution—if there was any interruption mid-sequence, all prior effort would be wasted.

Thus, in the initial attempts, even He Yiming could not succeed in one go, requiring several tries before meeting the technique's demands. Strangely, however, once he succeeded once, He Yiming’s body seemed to lock in the sensation. Executing it the second time required no more effort, as if he had already gone through a million trials, allowing him to wield it with ease.

He Yiming sighed inwardly; this manual truly could not compare to the Rolling Stone Fist. After spending several hours, he had only managed to master the first style.

However, he was unaware that Hu Bin, the manual's original owner, had spent a full ten years diligently practicing the first style after obtaining it at the fifth level of Metal element internal energy, until he mastered it completely. To cultivate this single style, he had even delayed his progress in advancing his internal energy, thus failing to break through to the sixth level.

If Hu Bin had returned from the dead and witnessed this scene, he would surely have died of rage on the spot, dying a second time.

Three days later, He Yiming delivered the book to the Library Pavilion. However, later on, he noticed that this manual was not shelved in the Metal element section of the Pavilion. He vaguely guessed a possible reason: perhaps because the manual was too important, it was being specially preserved elsewhere.

But by this time, following his life-and-death struggle with Hu Bin, a subtle shift had occurred within He Yiming. Though he noticed the absence, he pretended ignorance and never mentioned the matter to anyone else.

He Yiming’s slaying of Hu Bin caused a considerable stir among his cousins. Especially after everyone learned that Hu Bin had consecutively injured two sixth-level masters from the Xu family, the regard for He Yiming grew even higher.

This was true not just among his brothers in the third generation, but also the three men of the second generation. He Yiming's status within the family abruptly rose, reaching a point where he could subtly rival his elder brother, He Yitian.

P.S.: A new year, a new outlook. Wishing all my friends good health and a Happy New Year... As long as you are healthy and happy, that is what matters ^_^