Below the Ugly Dormitory. The roaring shouts of the young martial artists from the Outer Sacred Martial Hall surged with the persistence of maggots in fat, and the faces of the martial artists from the Inner Sacred Martial Hall grew increasingly pale. They were all regretting having been incited by Jin Jishi earlier, leading them to follow him to the base-level martial artist building of the Outer Sacred Martial Hall.

They had expected that following a thirteen-star powerhouse like Jin Jishi, this fight would be an easy win, snatched with little effort. Yet, the result was not only that the thirteen-star Jin Jishi was killed on the spot, but even his senior martial sister, Cai Renying, a distinguished fourteen-star martial artist and a master-level expert, was also brutally beaten to death by the surging Qin Fen.

The shouts of the young martial artists rose and fell incessantly. Several ambulances appeared on the battlefield, which resembled ruins.

The medical personnel jumping out of the vehicles frowned repeatedly upon seeing the conditions of the two deceased martial artists. While the Sacred Martial Hall was not without deaths in combat before, having two fatalities in a single instance outside of a formal arena setting was relatively rare.

Sima Hai was carried onto a magnetic stretcher. He used its feature for propping up the injured to barely support his body as he looked towards Qin Fen. His gaze had completely lost the air of nonchalant elegance he possessed before.

News of this devastating defeat would soon spread to the ears of every martial artist in the Sacred Martial Hall, and the rumors of the near-massacre would force Sima Hai to consider whether to enter seclusion for a while to save face, or simply leave the Time Sacred Martial Hall altogether.

"Qin Fen," Sima Hai stared fixedly at Qin Fen. He dared not look at Xue Tian; the combat methods displayed by this young man evoked not only a sense of humiliation but also an inexplicable dread within him. His eyes could only focus on Qin Fen as he spoke hatefully, "Don't be too pleased with yourself! You won today, but believe me, your troubles will come knocking soon enough. By killing two direct disciples of Pei Chengjun of the New Beginning Fist style today, you have sealed a fate of unending enmity! Just wait. Wait for death!"

Wait for death? Qin Fen straightened his spine using his slightly recovered strength, a lack of deep worry etched between his brows. This incident was fundamentally unavoidable. Four direct disciples of the New Beginning Fist style had now been defeated by his own hand, which was a severe blow to the reputation of an emerging school.

Unending enmity? Qin Fen chuckled dismissively. Having killed two more direct disciples of the New Beginning Fist style today meant the feud with them was now thoroughly cemented.

It was just that... Qin Fen's smile carried a trace of bitterness; this feud was indeed entirely unavoidable.

As soon as Jin Jishi made his move, it wasn't a spar; his goal was clearly to kill. Qin Fen couldn't simply stand still and let himself be beaten to death, could he?

Killing one creates an unresolvable feud; killing two makes no difference! Moreover, the second person to attack, Cai Renying, was even more vicious in her execution than Jin Jishi.

Qin Fen moved his aching, groaning bones, slowly shook his head, and stated with unprecedented resolve:

"I don't regret it. Since they intended for me to die, even if I had shown mercy, it would only have been nurturing a future threat. Furthermore, in the fight against Cai Renying, I simply couldn't afford to hold back. If I had eased up even slightly, I would be the one lying dead on the ground. At that point, the martial artists of the New Beginning Fist style would only feel excitement and pride for having killed me; they would never spare me a shred of sympathy."

The martial artists of the Inner Sacred Martial Hall left, vanishing completely in the blink of an eye, leaving only the young warriors of the Outer Sacred Martial Hall on the grounds.

The people stared at the ruined battlefield, their hearts filled with continuous praise.

This was not the first contingent sent to uphold their 'glorious tradition'! The warriors of the Ugly Dormitory still hadn't been taught a lesson. Even though the Inner Sacred Martial Hall had dispatched a fourteen-star martial artist, they gained no advantage; instead, they lost the lives of a thirteen-star and a fourteen-star martial artist.

Such a result was arguably the greatest in the history since the founding of the Sacred Martial Hall.

The excitement gradually subsided, but the people realized the main protagonist of this battle was gone.

Qin Fen, Xue Tian, and Caesar, along with the others, had already turned and returned to the building while everyone else was still lost in contemplation.

Today's battle had brought Qin Fen an unexpectedly huge victory, coupled with massive fatigue, minor internal injuries, bone trauma, and unforgettable combat experience.

This battle had come at the perfect time. Qin Fen had broken through to the eleven-star level and should have immediately chosen to enter seclusion, combining everything he saw in the Hall of Ultimate Techniques for prolonged immersion and summarization.

The fierce battle that stimulated his potential allowed Qin Fen to absorb a great deal of experience, directly applying many experiments he should have researched on his own into actual combat.

Taking the standard medicine provided by the Sacred Martial Hall, Qin Fen sat cross-legged on the bed, flipping through the martial arts notes left by Gao Yuan.

Fighting a fourteen-star martial artist gave Qin Fen a deeper understanding of those at that level. These martial artists were relatively poor in their mastery of Bone Marrow Cleansing, Physique Tempering, and True Qi Oscillation, but that didn't mean their martial foundation was entirely worthless.

On the contrary, because these martial artists had remained at the fourteen-star level for a long time, they had systematically summarized martial arts below the fourteen-star level. Analyzing them through the eyes of a fourteen-star martial artist offered a vastly different perspective from that of a ten or eleven-star practitioner.

Gao Yuan's martial path leaned towards extreme ferocity. Although it didn't entirely mirror Qin Fen's own path, there were still many things that made his eyes light up.

"No wonder even Xue Tian looks through them," Qin Fen nodded slightly. If he had seen Gao Yuan's records earlier, perhaps his chances of winning against Cai Renying today would have been slightly higher?

Thinking back to the fight with Cai Renying, Qin Fen once again inwardly cursed his luck. If Cai Renying hadn't hesitated then, but had forcefully pressed for the advantage, denying him the space to fully unfurl his limbs and preventing him from reaching that state of self-forgetfulness, the final outcome could have been entirely different.

"It's a good thing I won," Qin Fen nodded, turning the notes over again, muttering to himself and constantly summarizing his lessons: "Today’s battle yielded significant gains, especially regarding momentum. It taught me never to give the opponent a chance to explode with power, and never to willingly give up the upper hand and wait for the opponent to exhaust themselves."

Qin Fen spent five full hours reading a single volume of Gao Yuan's martial arts notes. This was completely different from the five hours spent flipping through materials in the Hall of Ultimate Techniques.

In the Hall of Ultimate Techniques, Qin Fen's task was to memorize the maximum amount of material possible in a limited time, then recall and digest it later.

For these five hours, Qin Fen quietly absorbed Gao Yuan's nearly forty years of martial experience. From time to time, he would pull out some insights and compare them against today's battle for reference.

Forty years of accumulated wisdom... Five hours were not enough to fully absorb it.

Qin Fen didn't believe he possessed Xue Tian's ability to absorb everything at a glance. He ordered takeout using his badge, and after eating, continued his study.

He studied for another five hours. These ten hours allowed Qin Fen to barely absorb Gao Yuan's notes superficially. Truly mastering and integrating them would take far longer than a mere ten hours.

Putting down Gao Yuan's notes, Qin Fen picked up Bai Sheng's notes next. Both sets of notes included very detailed annotations; otherwise, absorbing them superficially in ten hours would not have been so easy.

After finishing Bai Sheng's notes, Qin Fen rubbed his tired eyes, set the alarm clock by his bed, and soon fell into a deep sleep.

Waking up, Qin Fen did not continue reading the notes, nor did he perform any martial practice. He simply sat cross-legged on the bed, his eyes half-open, motionless.

The trip to the Hall of Ultimate Techniques several days ago had filled his mind with numerous essences, insights, and techniques related to the Dragon Fist. Now, these were constantly swirling in Qin Fen's mind, his brain resembling a storage room where countless scattered books had been overturned.

Organization—a simple categorization must first be made. Even just completing this initial organization would yield considerable benefit.

Organize, summarize, learn, absorb, integrate. Then, forget! Forget it all!

Following the battle with Cai Renying and that explosive surge of power, Qin Fen had made new progress on his martial path. Previous integrations were merely rudimentary; they paled in comparison to that powerful final strike.

That strike was not one he had contemplated or integrated before.

It was an almost purely instinctive blow. Qin Fen could never fully recall the feeling of unleashing that punch, only vaguely remembering that it seemed to be an instinctive fusion of every martial art he had ever encountered, erupting with super power.

It was a punch full of contradiction. Different martial arts were forcibly clamped together; they were inherently struggling against each other. Because of this struggle, each sought to suppress the other, thus unleashing even greater power.

It was this force of mutual exclusion and struggle that tore apart Cai Renying's supposedly impregnable defense.

To attain and then forget! Qin Fen vaguely sensed this was another realm in his martial journey. Only by beginning to forget the combat techniques he had learned could he truly progress.

As for the comprehension that comes from encompassing all martial arts together, that might be a higher level reached after the stage of forgetting. As for that level, Qin Fen was not deliberately pursuing it. Without a solid foundation, pursuing such an esoteric realm would be as futile as grasping at the moon in the water.

To attain and then forget! Qin Fen's chest rose and fell deeply. He took a slow breath and slowly opened his eyes:

"Perhaps this is similar to the Buddhist concept of first seeing a mountain as a mountain, then transforming to seeing it as not a mountain?"

Organizing was a tedious task, especially since the Dragon Fist records in the Hall of Ultimate Techniques were simply too numerous. Many of the insights were merely preliminary concepts, barely even half-finished products.

Qin Fen spent an entire day just to make a simple organization of everything he had seen and recorded. He felt mentally exhausted before even finishing the categorization.

Tired, then sleep! Qin Fen did not force himself to complete the organization and summarization in one day; after all, he had recorded far too much material from that visit. Simply achieving basic organization was already an unexpected stroke of luck.

"Perhaps a genius like Xue Tian could easily finish the organization and summarization?" Qin Fen lay back on the bed, closing his eyes, mumbling to himself before drifting off to sleep. "Speaking of which, in this kind of situation, I truly envy Xue Tian a little."

"Ah!" Xue Tian emerged from the room after taking a shower, rubbing his nose. "I wonder which beauty is missing me again. Ah, thinking of beauties makes my heart ache. Look at these guys, clinging to me every day; I don't even have time to chase girls anymore."

In Xue Tian's living room, Caesar and the other three lay sprawled on the floor and the sofa, lost in exhausted sleep. Having been subjected to Xue Tian's training schedule recently, they had learned what hell felt like. They didn't even have the strength to return to their own rooms, collapsing directly in Xue Tian's quarters to sleep.

Another night passed. Qin Fen woke up again and began the next stage of his cultivation: summarization.

He started grouping these Dragon Fist techniques into different major categories based on similar schools of thought and principles.

This remained mental labor.

Unlike the initial organization, when categorizing, one had to know the general essence or the overarching martial direction of the Dragon Fist techniques being grouped.

This required analysis, very careful analysis, demanding far more effort than the initial sorting.

Classifying the relatively complete Dragon Fist insights was somewhat easier. Qin Fen found the greatest difficulty in categorizing those half-finished drafts.

Superficially, the value of a half-finished technique seems less than a complete one, but precisely because they are unfinished, one can extrapolate from their direction and thought processes. No one could guarantee that an earth-shattering finished product wouldn't emerge from these beginnings. Conversely, the categorization of these half-finished drafts was harder precisely because of their unfinished nature.

Categorizing items that currently seem useless and whose future utility is uncertain proved much more difficult than Qin Fen had imagined. Often, in considering the origin and destination of a single half-finished concept, he would unknowingly get lost in the process of reasoning and expansion. In the blink of an eye, an hour would pass.

"This requires great perseverance and mental fortitude," Qin Fen shook his head lightly, worried that the organized thoughts might fly out of his mind, muttering softly, "I must control this. I must learn to control myself; don't get too engrossed."

It is harder to ask a young man obsessed with martial arts not to expand upon half-finished concepts brimming with infinite potential than it is to ask a cat to refuse fish.

Another hour slipped by. Qin Fen could only sigh helplessly, "Well, I failed again this time. Next time, I must control myself. I must maintain control."

Forty-five minutes later, Qin Fen shook his head with a bitter smile, "Where has my self-control gone?"

Just through summarization, Qin Fen only managed to categorize all the completed techniques before his mental energy was utterly depleted. The work of categorizing the half-finished drafts had only just begun.

He crashed into bed, slept, and upon waking, immediately resumed the summarization practice.

Time flew by unknowingly. Several days passed in a blur. Qin Fen checked the electronic calendar and realized that tomorrow was the day when Asura's supposed protégé, Lian Yanglie, was scheduled to emerge from seclusion.

"Time flies so fast?" Qin Fen sat cross-legged on the bed, his expression tinged with frustration.

Categorizing the unfinished drafts was far beyond his expectations. He had thought mastering the contents of the Hall of Ultimate Techniques would be quick, but the difficulty factor was much higher than anticipated.

"It seems I underestimated the Sacred Martial Hall," Qin Fen self-reflected, scratching his head. "A martial arts sanctuary—truly worthy of its name. The things I saw inside in twelve hours, I'm still only scratching the surface of after over a hundred hours outside. It seems this 'attain and forget' realm is still very distant for me. If I faced a life-or-death battle with a fourteen-star martial artist again, my chances of winning wouldn't even be one percent."

"Accurate judgment, honest facing—you are slightly better than I imagined."

A low voice slowly drifted from the doorway. Qin Fen's eyebrows shot up, and he cautiously eyed the door area. Even though he was immersed in self-reflection, he hadn't sensed this person approaching him before he spoke... No! Qin Fen's thick eyebrows slowly drew together; even after this person spoke, he still couldn't sense his presence!

What kind of background did this person have? The legendary Pei Chengjun? Had he rushed from Hanzhou to the Sacred Martial Hall upon hearing of his disciple's death? Qin Fen rapidly cycled through several possibilities in his mind. No! If it were Pei Chengjun, he should have stormed in aggressively, just as Bai Hu had done once before! Moreover, even Pei Chengjun shouldn't be able to enter this room.

Rooms in the Sacred Martial Hall were controlled by their occupants. Qin Fen had added new commands to his door settings over the past few days to block all knocking sounds while he was in seclusion organizing and summarizing the Dragon Fist codices.

This person didn't knock, nor did he have the authorization for free entry granted by the room's master. How could his voice penetrate the room?

A leg slowly stepped out from the corridor by the door... Firm, powerful! Exuding an aura of confident authority! Qin Fen's pupils contracted sharply. Just from observing this single leg, he could tell this individual was no ordinary person; he was definitely far stronger than Cai Renying!

Able to enter the room freely? Qin Fen jumped off the bed, assuming a defensive posture. Did such powerful individuals exist within the Sacred Martial Hall?

With another step forward, the speaker entered the living room, revealing his true appearance.

Qin Fen quickly sized up the man, who carried no killing intent whatsoever, yet his eyes radiated the imposing dominance of a supreme expert.

At a height of one meter eighty-five, his slender body did not much differ from that of an ordinary excellent martial artist, except his skin was distinctly purplish!

Sunlight hitting his purplish face subtly revealed the tender sheen of infant skin. His golden hair was smooth and radiant, full of elasticity.

His pair of arrogant eyes were also purple! Like two crystal orbs, a firm and bright light shimmered within them.

"Young man, you are Qin Fen, correct? First, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Azia. My current position is the Chief of the Law Enforcement Department within the Internal Affairs Hall. You may also call me Di Shitian."

After speaking, Azia walked autonomously to the sofa and sat down right in the exact center, his chest held high and back straight.

Yes! The absolute center! Qin Fen instantly judged Azia's position to be precisely in the middle of the long sofa, as if measured accurately with a pair of calipers.

Internal Affairs Hall? Chief of the Law Enforcement Department? Di Shitian Azia? Qin Fen's eyes were filled with confusion. Why would someone from the Sacred Martial Hall's higher echelon come here?

A few days ago, I ran errands delivering New Year's goods to my in-laws' house, buying things and transporting them by car.

The first feeling upon returning home was: Ah!!!! So tired, I just want to lie down and sleep... But I really don't dare to do that. Today's update is even shorter than usual.

Tomorrow then. No more rambling; let the actions speak.