The endless, boundless dark blue expanse. A colossal projection shimmering with a white light concealed the world’s most profound secrets.

The Master turned back to face that unrolled projection. A rare hint of contemplation settled upon his face.

Qin Fen’s eyes were filled with doubt. What matter could cause a Grandmaster of martial theory to hesitate so profoundly?

“Sigh.”

The Master’s gaze fixed upon Qin Fen’s face for a long moment. The furrowed brows slowly relaxed. “Had you not touched the threshold of oscillation yourself, had you not grasped the most basic level of vibration entirely through my instruction, I would never have shown you this final scroll. But, precisely because…”

The Master clicked his tongue twice, shaking his head slowly. “Precisely because you stumbled upon this yourself, it exceeded my calculation. In light of this, I must re-evaluate whether showing you this scroll is appropriate.”

What was it? So mysterious? Qin Fen lightly scratched his neck, feeling as if dozens of monkeys were clawing at his insides.

The more mysterious something was, the more concealed, the more it ignited human curiosity. For someone deeply devoted to the Martial Way, the allure was enough to banish sleep.

The Master slowly raised his arm. The huge white screen in the sky began to scroll, flickering with indistinct images that made the actual picture impossible to discern.

Qin Fen’s heart instantly tensed. The projection causing the Master such anxiety was finally about to open.

The Master’s arm moved, pointing down. The massive white screen in the sky gradually stabilized.

A person stood within the screen. Unlike the figure before, whose meridians were visible, this was a purely human form; no internal pathways could be perceived.

This seemingly ordinary man gently placed his palm on a massive, circular boulder, easily five meters high.

Qin Fen watched the scene curiously. What was this man about to do?

Crack!

The five-meter-tall boulder beneath the man’s palm shattered.

The extent of the massive rock’s disintegration far surpassed imagination. This was not the result of a powerful expert slamming a fist into the rock’s surface, causing it to split into several large chunks.

Shattered. ‘Shattered’ and ‘split’ were two different concepts.

Shattered meant the rock broke down into small, individual fragments, rather than cleaving into only a few pieces.

Qin Fen stared blankly at the screen in the sky. Shattered? What had that man done in that instant? The rock seemed to disintegrate on its own, not as if explosives had been hidden inside to cause a blast.

Shattered. Qin Fen propped his chin on one hand. The man in the footage genuinely seemed to exert no force whatsoever—no downward thrust of the arm, no sudden expulsion of Zhenqi.

The Master stood silently beside him, his face impassive, giving no indication of his thoughts.

“Vibration?” Qin Fen raised the outer corner of his left eyebrow, asking the Master, “The vibration of Zhenqi—completed during its external emission?”

A faint trace of a smile crossed the Master’s face. His lowered arm moved again. The man who had appeared entirely normal in the projection now revealed clearly visible meridians beneath his skin; his internal Zhenqi flowed slowly, showing no sign of vibration.

The Zhenqi flowing across his palm against the huge boulder suddenly vibrated intensely.

Qin Fen’s eyebrows shot up, his mouth falling open in astonishment. So, Zhenqi was being expelled rapidly. It was just that, due to the Zhenqi possessing a unique vibrational frequency, the rapid expulsion was masked, deceiving the eyes.

In the projection, the man repeatedly shattered the rock. Qin Fen’s pupils locked onto the man’s palm—that was the critical nexus point that turned the massive stone into rubble in an instant. This was a concept in martial arts he had never encountered.

“Kid,” the Master’s voice finally sounded, “I hadn’t intended to show you this, which is why I concealed the circulation pattern of the meridians and Zhenqi. I didn't expect that even without seeing the meridians, you could deduce it was due to vibration. This proves you truly deserve to see it, to understand it.”

Qin Fen stared fixedly at the vibrating Zhenqi in the palm, nodding his jaw slightly several times. This combat method was truly beyond imagination. Not any vibration could shatter stone; the frequency, at this moment, became critically important. Truly understanding this specific vibrational frequency would not be a simple task.

“Zhenqi oscillation is divided into Inner Oscillation and Outer Oscillation,” the Master said slowly, moving to stand beside Qin Fen. “Cultivating Zhenqi and strengthening a martial artist’s body requires Inner Oscillation. Combat requires Outer Oscillation. This is also why the King of Subtlety, Zeng Yicheng, defeated you using control, demanding you further strengthen your Zhenqi control back then.”

Qin Fen slowly nodded with force. If it weren't for Zeng Yicheng's Zhenqi control, he might never have truly grasped the threshold of oscillation today.

Qin Fen looked again at the Zhenqi oscillation in the hand of the man on the screen. If he rashly fought a martial artist of the same level who utilized oscillation, he could easily suffer a loss without realizing it.

For half an hour, Qin Fen closed his eyes, clenching his fists tightly. He had completely recorded this vibrational frequency. Whether he could deploy it now still required practice.

“Master,” Qin Fen opened his eyes, “May I ask? Why did I feel that Outer Oscillation was powerful, yet not perceive it as an invincible force? I feel that the Dragon-Elephant Prajna technique is fierce enough that even without oscillation, it can contend with it. Using oscillation wouldn't increase its power by much. What is your ultimate purpose in showing me this?”

The Master’s lips parted slightly, the affection in his eyes deepening further. “Kid, your talent is not the best I have ever seen, but your intuition is among the best. You possess the ability to think critically, a rare quality. Many young people with extraordinary martial talent, upon seeing a powerful, impressive martial art, do not analyze it; instead, they immediately try to master it completely.”

Qin Fen scratched his head lightly. Employing the thick skin technique learned from Squad Leader Hao, under the Master’s wave of praise, he finally buckled, unable to maintain his composure.

“Exactly. I showed you Outer Oscillation not entirely for you to learn it. There are other reasons.” The Master waved his arm. The projection in the sky vanished, replaced by a scene Qin Fen was intimately familiar with:

Eighteen Divine Dragons Gather the Wind and Clouds.

In the projection, Qin Fen stood like a battle god descended to the world. As soon as Eighteen Divine Dragons Gather the Wind and Clouds was unleashed, the surrounding air began to shift slightly. The movement of his arms stirred a muffled thunderous rumble in the sky. A giant tree was snapped cleanly in half with a single punch.

Qin Fen stared at the Master blankly. This level of Eighteen Divine Dragons Gather the Wind and Clouds had almost never been demonstrated before anyone else. It was a state achieved only after gaining deep insight into the Martial Way following his journey through Qinghai—the sound of muffled thunder that resonated. Even without using the full Eighteen Divine Dragons Gather the Wind and Clouds, similar sounds could occur, though the resonance was significantly fainter.

“This is your Eighteen Divine Dragons Gather the Wind and Clouds after reaching the Sonic Boom Realm,” the Master smiled faintly. “However, you have only used this trump card once—when you were attacked last time.”

Qin Fen slowly nodded, his eyebrows rising. “Master, what is the Sonic Boom Realm? When I was attacked last time, the assassin also mentioned the Sonic Boom Realm. Isn't martial arts only divided by star levels?”

“Heh heh,” the Master chuckled, shaking his head repeatedly. “To reach the Sonic Boom Realm yet not know what it is—that truly is rare. While the Martial Way is divided by star levels, that is not the entirety of it. A Realm is a form of realization, a new understanding of power required to unleash it. Some people, perhaps even at Six or Seven Stars, may have reached a certain understanding of power, attaining this realm. Others might reach Twelve Stars and still not comprehend what power truly is.”

Qin Fen concentrated, pondering quietly. The Master continued, “Those who understand power can truly utilize its essence. Those who merely obsess over star levels can never reach the true pinnacle of the Martial Way. They can become temporary strong figures, but never lifelong Grandmasters.”

Qin Fen nodded slowly. His journey through Qinghai had given him a different sort of insight into the Martial Way. Power truly felt fundamentally different than before. After the Master’s explanation, the vague, unclear sense he used to rely on instinct and body awareness to feel power now began to clarify.

“Do you know why I showed you your Eighteen Divine Dragons Gather the Wind and Clouds?” The Master acted like a primary school teacher guiding a student toward the answer.

“This,” Qin Fen looked up at his own image on the screen, concentrating, “Is it because my Eighteen Divine Dragons Gather the Wind and Clouds has a fatal flaw?”

The Master smiled and countered, “Do you think it does?”

“No.” Qin Fen shook his head firmly. “This is a fist technique I painstakingly created myself.”

“Yes. While not perfect, it indeed has no fatal defect,” the Master looked up at the screen. “To create such a fist technique is remarkable. It possesses immense destructive power and overwhelming momentum.”

“Then why?” Qin Fen sighed. “Master, I truly cannot see it.”

“Because of this.” The Master gestured for the umpteenth time that day. The screen in the sky shifted again. When Qin Fen unleashed Eighteen Divine Dragons Gather the Wind and Clouds, the movement of his meridians and Zhenqi appeared on the screen.

Qin Fen focused intently on the pathway of his Zhenqi: separating, condensing, erupting—a running pattern that could be described as flawless. Was the Master trying to praise him?

The screen in the sky grew larger; the circulation of Qin Fen’s meridians and Zhenqi became clearer and clearer. As the meridian and Zhenqi paths sharpened, the color on Qin Fen’s face grew somber and grim.

This was…? Both outer corners of Qin Fen’s eyes twitched violently. This was Eighteen Divine Dragons Gather the Wind and Clouds? How had he never noticed this before?

In the screen, at the exact moment the power of the Eighteen Divine Dragons Gather the Wind and Clouds erupted, his meridians actually sustained damage. This was something completely invisible unless the image was magnified multiple times.

Qin Fen stared dumbly as the footage in the screen replayed the moment again and again. His painstakingly created, peerless punch carried such a side effect. If he continued to use it relentlessly, especially in succession during a single fight, the meridians in his arm might very well…