Even the dead of night could not thwart Qin Fen’s extraordinary eyesight; he could clearly make out the name embroidered on the military identification tag pinned to the woman’s chest.

Sensing Qin Fen’s gaze fixed directly on her chest, the immense gratitude Lin Jia’er felt for him saving her life immediately diminished by more than half. Another pervert!

“What are you looking at?”

The cold inquiry was met with an equally icy glare from Lin Jia’er.

Qin Fen quickly averted his eyes and grinned sheepishly.

“You cannot speak of what happened tonight. If you ever encounter me again, you must pretend not to know me. Can you agree to that?”

Lin Jia’er’s condition surprised Qin Fen again. He had expected demands far more stringent; this was surprisingly simple.

Without a second thought, Qin Fen nodded his agreement immediately.

“Also, you are forbidden from coming here at night again.”

Qin Fen pursed his lips, finding her demanding. This place wasn't her private property; what right did she have to bar him? Then again, practicing in the sea offered little acceleration, and there was the looming danger of meridians reversing. He nodded curtly.

“Anything else?” Qin Fen asked flatly.

Lin Jia’er paused. Her previous demands were already excessive for a life-saver. It was only because of the awkwardness of their prior physical contact that she felt compelled to play the villain this once. Moreover, one need not show much mercy to a pervert.

“No,” Lin Jia’er finally shook her head.

Qin Fen was surprised the matter was resolved so easily. With a polite farewell, he turned and sprinted rapidly, vanishing into the shadows of the night.

Watching Qin Fen depart, Lin Jia’er felt an ineffable vexation. If her father’s faction in the military hadn't fallen out of favor, why would she have been assigned to this desolate post?

The brief annoyance was suddenly interrupted by a crucial thought. Her Zhenqi had been in violent flux, and anyone unfamiliar with the [Jade Maiden Heart Sutra] would have been unable to guide it back without destroying her internal energy.

The surge of Qi just now had been intensely explosive, clearly not aligned with the methodology of the [Jade Maiden Heart Sutra]. How did he know its path? Confusion clouded Lin Jia’er’s eyes.

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Back at the barracks, Qin Fen hastily took a shower and collapsed into bed, his mind ceaselessly wrestling with the problem: Why did the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill suddenly become so arduous at the final stage of entering the Dantian? And how did the Light Being know the [Jade Maiden Heart Sutra]?

Unconsciously, overcome by fatigue, Qin Fen drifted into a deep sleep.

“Where is this…?”

Qin Fen realized he had entered that marvelous dreamscape once more, his body adrift in the endless expanse of the cosmos.

“Kid! You’re here!”

A greeting echoed behind him. As Qin Fen turned, the sound of air being ripped apart by a punch immediately assailed him.

In the dream, Qin Fen felt no compunction about revealing his practice of Hung Kuen. In a flash of lightning, he slightly bent both legs, pivoted his body counter-clockwise using his right foot as an axis, and then swept his left leg backward and up in a hook, driving his knee back for a surprise counter-kick aimed at the attacker’s jaw.

Hung Kuen: Scorpion’s Tail!

Forcing the opponent back with the kick, Qin Fen completed his turn. Standing not far opposite him was none other than the Light Being.

Strangely, Qin Fen’s brows drew slightly together. The Light Being, usually robotic, now carried a subtle human inflection in his voice.

“Kid, I know what you’re wondering about.” The Light Being’s body rippled slowly, and in the span of a blink, he transformed into a handsome, dignified man, clad in simple coarse cloth martial arts attire. An overwhelming aura of a supreme master pressed down upon Qin Fen.

“A fist without life, like a fist without personality, is incomplete,” the man’s eyes shone like comets. Though Qin Fen’s physical presence was not far inferior, he felt as though he were facing a mountain that pierced the heavens.

“I don’t know who obtained the original blueprint for this ultimate doctrine, nor what their personality was like,” the man watched Qin Fen with a kindly smile playing on his lips. “I only hope that those who practice this ultimate art can imprint their own character upon their martial endeavors.”

Imprinting character upon martial arts? Qin Fen felt a sudden, glorious realization dawn. How exactly to accomplish this imprint—that was a long road ahead, but it didn’t matter! Having a goal was what counted.

For so long, Qin Fen had pondered what it truly meant to be a genuine master. At this moment, the man who had transformed from the Light Being showed him a path.

“Young man, there are eight of us here. In the future, we will appear in rotation to guide you,” the man looked directly into Qin Fen’s eyes. “Because my personality is the closest to yours, I am the first to appear, to allow you to adapt. Next time, someone whose personality is your exact opposite will appear.”

Qin Fen listened, slightly stunned. This man’s presence alone would mark him as a top-tier master in the outside world. To think there were eight individuals of equivalent strength here!

“Young man, are you ready?” the man asked with a smile.

In the Federation, obtaining advanced martial arts without substantial wealth was difficult; securing guidance from a true master was even harder.

Sometimes, a brief piece of advice from a master was more beneficial than two years of solitary practice.

Qin Fen was eighteen this year—the prime age for the first major leap in martial development. Finding guidance from a master at this stage held immense benefits for his growth.

Federation martial arts did not favor starting young with high-level techniques to gain an immediate edge. True Wudao before adulthood was largely about solidifying fundamentals. Breaking through too rapidly before eighteen was often detrimental to one’s long-term potential.

This was why many young prodigies remained obscure before turning eighteen, only to experience explosive growth afterward, rapidly making a name for themselves.

“Young man, you practice Hung Kuen and Arhat Fist, correct?” The man nodded with great satisfaction. “Very good, very good. All high-level martial arts must begin with the fundamentals. Understanding how to build a solid base, and seeking the extraordinary within the ordinary—that is the best path to ascension.”

Qin Fen offered a wry smile. When he first started practicing those two forms of fist work, he hadn't been thinking about fundamentals at all. It was simply because he lacked the funds for higher techniques, and moreover, practicing those forms for a long time offered significant health benefits, making them suitable for heavy labor.