The Qilin, an Earth Divine Beast Martial Artist, naturally possessed more territory than just its main peak on Teng Mountain. While not as extravagant as the White Tiger in claiming an entire city as its own and transforming it into a political and economic center, the Qilin Sect still maintained its own substantial industries.

The massive Qilin Gate required no management from Song Wendong; countless individuals were willing to pledge their service to him. This was the inherent charm of a Divine Beast Martial Artist—regardless of whether he was tyrannical or not, a Divine Beast Martial Artist remained an incomparably attractive banner.

Clear mountains and green waters, the song of birds and the fragrance of flowers, a few steaming wild pools of water resembled the legendary paradise on Earth. Song Wendong sat naked in this wild pool, located within this realm of immortality.

His complexion was ruddy, like that of an infant, his eyes slightly closed as he sank into deep meditation. Two streams of dark-green aura jetted from his nostrils, were immediately inhaled through his ears, then expelled again through the pores of his entire body, finally converging into a dense plume of dark-green vapor that was then inhaled through his mouth, and subsequently expelled from his nostrils—an incessant, repeating cycle.

In the battle on Qilin Thief Mountain, Song Wendong had unexpectedly gained an immense harvest. The Master’s solitary Jibin Fist Intent, his invincible fist momentum, and the methods of channeling energy demonstrated in the various martial arts techniques acted like limitless fertilizer.

The Super Martial Arts Grandmaster, already a pinnacle figure in the current world of martial arts, suddenly glimpsed a massive dawn ahead. The breakthrough achieved while suppressing his strength to the fifteen-star level, upon completely unleashing his power, Song Wendong joyfully discovered that his star-level strength was also subtly on the verge of breaking through.

This was not what made Song Wendong happiest. What truly delighted him was the progress in the martial way itself.

As long as the martial way advanced, his star-level strength was guaranteed to follow—this was the deepest realization gained since becoming a Divine Beast Martial Artist. Looking across at Qin Fen floating in the adjacent pool, limbs relaxed, submerged in the hot spring and still unconscious, Song Wendong was once again filled with confusion.

Why had this young man mentioned fifteen minutes back then? Why exactly fifteen minutes?

In Qin Fen’s hot spring, besides himself, the water was filled with all sorts of strange medicinal herbs—herbs that Song Wendong had expended considerable effort to collect. This martial breakthrough was directly and significantly related to Qin Fen.

If he couldn't even bear to discard some herbs into the water, it would make the Divine Beast Martial Artist seem utterly petty. Moreover, Song Wendong had questions he needed to ask Qin Fen.

In the dark spiritual space, Qin Fen floated cross-legged, his gaze fixed on his nose, his nose on his heart, lost in deep contemplation. The Master’s final punch contained far too much!

Only after the Master delivered that last, fading punch did Qin Fen realize that the Master’s fifteen minutes were not merely about satisfying the urge to spar with the Qilin Divine Beast; he harbored another intention—to impart knowledge! Imparting knowledge did not mean merely transferring Zhenqi.

Possessing formidable Zhenqi alone, without corresponding martial arts cultivation to match, was like giving a three-year-old child a check for several billion US dollars—he would have no idea how to manage it, and naturally, couldn't unleash its true power. What the Master intended to pass on was not Gang Qi, but the Martial Way itself!

In this world, the best explanation is not achieved by setting up a blackboard and drawing diagrams. Direct combat, direct experience, is the best method.

Although the fifteen minutes of fierce battle were not fought by Qin Fen himself, it could still be considered a form of direct engagement; at least the physical sensation of combat remained with the body long after the fight ended. Being in a semi-observer state offered benefits unattainable even through personal combat: understanding the application of force during Song Wendong’s moves, and grasping the martial philosophy of a Super Martial Arts Grandmaster.

These insights required the Master’s deduction; otherwise, even fighting a hundred battles might not suffice to fathom the martial philosophy of the Martial Arts Qilin Divine Beast. Qin Fen floated quietly.

The Master simulating the invincible, solitary aura of Zong Jue Lü, the Heaven-Breaking Level expert from the Ni Tian Martial Way, profoundly influenced and shook him. Invincibility is solitary.

Then is a god looking down on the mortal world from on high, devoid of emotion, not lonely? Solitary.

Qin Fen felt it deeply. The emotion of peerless, solitary loneliness that emanated when the Master struck that one punch, the feeling of being unstoppable between heaven and earth—within that loneliness were contained countless martial understandings of the Martial Way.

Teaching by example. The Master’s fifteen-minute duel was not merely to satisfy the feeling of fighting after many years; otherwise, he wouldn't have fought for a full fifteen minutes.

Perhaps ten minutes, or even eight, would have sufficed to end the fight. This battle was also staged for Qin Fen.

Since the Divine Fist Dao dared to absorb all martial arts under heaven, how could it afford not to witness the techniques of Zong Jue Lü, the Heaven-Breaking Level expert of the Ni Tian Martial Way? In the mutual confrontation within the spiritual space, what could be more direct and clear than engaging in a sparring match with a Divine Beast level martial artist?

It was not just the brilliance displayed when the Master used Zong Jue Lü’s techniques; even when the Master integrated the Eighteen Divine Dragons gathering wind and cloud with the martial arts of Fire Mountain, it gave Qin Fen countless inspirations. The clash between two supremely rare masters provided Qin Fen with an immense amount of enlightenment.

Hiss— The boiling water in the hot spring rolled, followed by a few bursts of scattering sword energy. Steward Hou, slightly bowing, approached the Qilin, cupped his hands, and announced, "Master, congratulations." Song Wendong opened his eyes once more.

The brilliance of heaven and earth seemed to be instantly absorbed into his pupils. His magnificent physique rose from the water, revealing form so robust and perfect it looked like a masterpiece that a master sculptor had labored over for a lifetime to chisel.

"Congratulations?" Song Wendong met his gaze with a gentle smile and lightly clenched his fist. The hot water beneath his waist boiled and churned ceaselessly.

He tilted his head back, gazing up at the sky, which had transformed into scattered points of starlight, and said softly, "I never thought... I truly never thought." Steward Hou handed over a set of dark-green martial robes.

"Master, I wasn't wrong, was I? This boy is quite interesting, very interesting..." Song Wendong looked at Qin Fen, still floating comfortably unconscious in the hot spring, a hint of puzzlement flickering in his eyes.

"It is truly hard to imagine that his instinctive fighting while unconscious is vastly superior to even the Black Tortoise of Mercury. But..." Song Wendong’s expression darkened, his eyes filled with displeasure as he stared at Qin Fen.

"The stronger he is when unconscious, the more useless he is when awake! What use is potential?

The world is teeming with martial artists possessing great potential, but only a select few can truly unlock theirs." Song Wendong gently opened his palm, observing his five thick fingers, his voice tinged with melancholy, "Those who can unlock their potential are countable on one's fingers." Steward Hou nodded slightly. As one of the earliest followers of Song Wendong, he understood Qilin better than Song Zhenting, the son of the Earth God of War.

Having stood tall over Earth for many years, Song Wendong had seen countless young martial artists rise rapidly like comets, only to vanish just as swiftly into the long river of the martial way. Many reached the realm of Martial Arts Grandmaster and stopped progressing.

Becoming an outstanding Martial Arts Grandmaster before the age of twenty, setting aside the mysterious Azure Dragon, almost created an unprecedented precedent in martial arts history. Faced with someone reaching the ranks of Martial Arts Grandmaster at that age, Song Wendong felt inadequate.

However, the title of the youngest Martial Arts Grandmaster in history had not appeared just once. Once, someone broke through to the Martial Arts Grandmaster realm before the age of thirty.

The various experts in the martial world were in an uproar; this was already a super record for reaching the Master realm! Nearly all martial arts masters believed that with such fierce momentum and boundless potential, this person would become a future Super Expert.

Yet, his martial way stagnated and never advanced further. As time passed, someone else broke into the Martial Arts Grandmaster ranks at the age of thirty, refreshing the age record for reaching the Master realm again.

Countless martial arts masters pinned their hopes on this person once more, only to find that the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. Song Wendong, towering high over Qilin for years, had witnessed too many of these comet-like rising figures.

"Potential does not equal the future." Steward Hou would never forget these words from Song Wendong. The rise of geniuses in the martial world was strikingly similar to what humanity once called the accelerated university classes for child prodigies.

Normal enrollment in university generally requires an age of eighteen, yet some exceptionally gifted learners could enroll at fourteen, or even thirteen—some as young as ten—into the world’s most renowned universities with outstanding scores, causing a sensation. Some elite universities even established specialized "Child Prodigy University Classes" to cultivate these exceptionally outstanding, low-aged students from various regions.

But how many of these so-called prodigies became Newtons? How many became Einsteins?

None! Although these individuals displayed powerful initial velocity, they ultimately could not match famous scientists like Einstein or Newton.

None of those super-scientists renowned across humanity emerged from these prodigy classes; many famous scientists were even labeled as slow-witted in their youth. "Science is like this, and so is the martial way.

Only the ignorant and foolish believe that early success guarantees a brilliant future." When Steward Hou recalled these words from Qilin, he could only taste bitterness as he looked at Qin Fen again. According to the theories of Qilin and other powerful martial artists, potential amounted to nothing; what truly determined the future was the ability to activate that potential.

A person with infinite potential, if unable to stimulate the latent power within, would be inferior to a martial artist with less potential but the ability to fully activate it. "True genius should not be judged by one's potential, but by how much of that potential one can unlock." Steward Hou slightly puffed out his chest, looking at Saturn in the sky.

Qin Fen’s rate of ascent these past few days was far faster than those martial artists who once seemed to rise like comets. Yet, he still hadn't taken the true step onto the platform for challenging Divine Beast Martial Artists, while others on Saturn were already fighting.

"A martial artist is judged not by their origin, nor by the platform behind them. Do not complain about fairness or unfairness; ultimately, it is the martial artist's strength that matters." Qilin’s words, cold to the point of being heartless, were admittedly grating to Steward Hou, but reality was indeed so.

Song Wendong slowly lowered his uplifted head, looking at Qin Fen with a complex expression. The potential Qin Fen erupted with while unconscious could not be described as merely astonishing; to call it heaven-defying would not be an overstatement.

It was truly tempting. But since he possessed such potential, yet couldn't even maintain True Gang entering the body while conscious, it suggested that his ability to activate potential was severely lacking.

Entering the Martial Arts Grandmaster ranks before the age of twenty, achieving what no one before him had—in the eyes of ordinary people, this might suffice! But Song Wendong shook his head repeatedly, sighing inwardly.

Possessing such potential yet only exhibiting this current level of performance was not enough! Far from enough!

His ten fingers clenched into fists, Song Wendong felt the surge of power within him. Slightly expanding his chest and straightening his waist, he knew that after a little more secluded cultivation, his martial way would surely advance further!

"Master," Steward Hou stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Song Wendong and asked quietly, "This boy, Qin Fen, seems to have passed the assessment, hasn't he?" Song Wendong remained silent, but Steward Hou noticed the slight smile on the corner of his lips as he hesitated. Very few things could make the Qilin hesitate; the fact that Qin Fen achieved this was truly rare.

"...If Jiajia has taken a liking to someone without martial potential, so be it. As her grandfather, I wouldn't insist on obstructing her marriage.

But she has set her sights on someone possessing supreme martial potential." Song Wendong opened his eyes, letting out a sigh. "Since he walks the martial way, then I must take charge!

I don't care if I’m called domineering. As the Qilin...

hmph." Steward Hou understood the implication behind Qilin’s two cold snorts. As the Qilin!

The peak powerhouse among martial artists—he naturally possessed the right to be tyrannical! Arbitrariness was the inherent privilege of a Divine Beast Martial Artist!

Unconvinced? If you have the ability, become a Divine Beast Martial Artist yourself!

Before you become one, the other party can crush you as easily as crushing an ant; you won't even have the strength to resist. "Yes.

After witnessing his battle while unconscious, his performance while awake was merely barely passing." The Qilin glanced at the unconscious Qin Fen, then turned and vanished into the night. Only a faint voice remained in Steward Hou's ear: "When he wakes up, bring him to see me." Under the starry night sky, Steward Hou slowly stripped off his clothes, revealing skin wrinkled with age.

Senility was especially apparent in his slack muscles, making him look like an old man nearing the end of his days. He slowly stepped into the hot spring, closing his eyes to enjoy the relaxation it offered.

Only those who knew him intimately understood the terrifying power contained beneath this seemingly aged body. Stars wheeled and the sun rose and set; time passed swiftly.

The water in the hot spring, tinted by the immersion of the spiritual medicine, had now returned to its normal warm hue. In just one night, the body of the slumbering Qin Fen had unconsciously absorbed all the nutrients from the herbs.

Stretching his arms wide in a yawn, Qin Fen awoke from his sleep. Every muscle in his body ached with an indescribable soreness—a feeling he hadn't experienced in ages.

His body had only been under the Master’s control for fifteen minutes, yet Qin Fen had to marvel at the Master’s ability; fifteen minutes had left him aching from head to toe. Qin Fen did not immediately leave the hot spring.

He relaxed his limbs, continuing to lie there, absorbing the legacy left behind by the Master’s control over his body during the fight. This was an immensely vast inheritance.

Qin Fen’s body seemed like a computer with a memory function, retaining profound memories of the intensity of the Zhenqi flow and the execution of various martial arts during the fierce battle. That fight had been conducted by the Master, yet after Qin Fen regained control, he found it as if he himself had completed the furious exchange with Yan Lin.

Magical, truly magical! This direct sensory understanding of bodily control was utterly different from the insights gained in that special spiritual space.

This feeling was far more authentic; a sudden realization of the Martial Way spontaneously arose within his body’s instincts. After four hours of silent contemplation, Qin Fen felt his stomach begin to protest.

He hadn't eaten for many hours, and coupled with the super exertion of fighting Song Wendong, his stomach was completely empty. Opening his eyes, the first thing Qin Fen saw was an old face, smiling, with eyes full of benevolent warmth—the face of Steward Hou.

"Come up now that you’re awake," Steward Hou stood at the edge of the pool, smiling slightly, unable to hide the surprise in his eyes at Qin Fen’s awakening. In the span of a single sleep, Qin Fen’s essence, energy, and spirit had undergone a profound transformation.

In less than twenty-four hours, Qin Fen seemed to have experienced cultivation equivalent to one or even two years in secluded retreat. The myth of overnight martial progress was, for the first time, being realized through Qin Fen.

He was still the same fifteen-star strength Qin Fen, but the aura emanating from him was vastly different from before. Steward Hou was certain of one thing: if the current Qin Fen were to face Pei Chengjun from the day of the Hallasan battle, he could boastfully tell both Pei Chengjun and Ji Zhen Haotian, "You two, come at me together." ...Certain victory!

Steward Hou nodded, sensing the faint energy signature around Qin Fen that only masters could feel. The current Qin Fen, even fighting Ji Zhen Haotian and Pei Chengjun simultaneously, would not only be guaranteed victory but would also finish the fight without being completely drained, unlike the last time.

A Martial Arts Grandmaster and a martial artist who hasn't reached that realm are fundamentally worlds apart. Before reaching the Grandmaster realm, talented martial artists could almost always fight several opponents of the same level simultaneously.

However, this scenario rarely repeated once one entered the Martial Arts Grandmaster ranks. Martial Arts Grandmasters have undergone profound physical and mental refinement and possess deep insight into the martial way.

The victor in a one-on-one fight often suffers heavy injuries; a two-on-one battle almost always results in defeat. To be able to fight two-on-one after reaching the Grandmaster ranks signifies a whole new level of attainment.

True Gang entering the body! Waking up, Qin Fen felt that the True Gang entering the body he failed to achieve previously, he had completely mastered today, even showing signs of Qi transforming into Yuan.

A helpless, wry smile touched his heart. This feeling was somewhat like gaining something without effort.

Others might be ecstatic, but for him, it always brought a sense of unease. Qin Fen stepped out of the hot spring, accepted the clothes from Steward Hou, and quickly bowed in thanks, dressing himself in the neat martial robes.

"Boy, today you have reached a height that predecessors never attained when they entered the fifteen-star level," Steward Hou nodded slightly. "Such solid foundations, even I have rarely witnessed in my life." Qin Fen managed an awkward laugh.

Following the battle between the Master and Yan Lin, this had been the greatest gain since he entered the martial world. With his current strength, if he returned to that day on Hallasan, even facing Ji Zhen Haotian, Pei Chengjun, and the Shing Hap-Ki-Do Master Hachiyama Kazuo—three Martial Arts Grandmasters—he would have a one hundred percent confidence of winning.