"You can't leave until you manage to brew ten bottles," Adams stated without looking up. "Judging by your demeanor, you clearly have more people you need to consult. You can clear off now."

"Oh." Qian Jin scratched the back of his head and headed straight for Uncle Enlake's Spirit Energy room.

"Boy!" Oulala waved him down. "Come here, try this new potion I mixed. It’s incredibly nourishing..."

"Nourishing?"

Qian Jin drank the potion down, half-believing, half-skeptical. Immediately, he felt his body swelling, a massive surge of power threatening to burst from within. His Spirit Energy began to spin wildly, completely ignoring the air, and in a blink, it surpassed Qian Jin's previous limit.

Bang!

In the final instant before leaving the Endless World, Qian Jin watched in shock as his body completely exploded, the overwhelming force blasting outwards. Simultaneously, he caught a murmur from Oulala.

"It seems this method of configuring the God-Creation Potion is wrong. I'll need to conduct new research..."

Pfft! Qian Jin suddenly bolted upright, spitting out a mouthful of blood. He saw that a mist of blood was also erupting from his pores; the entire man was practically drenched in it. His Spirit Meridians and Spirit Apertures felt as though they had just been shelled by countless spells—hardly a single spot remained intact.

"This..."

Qian Jin sat stunned. The moment he ingested the potion, his body felt like it was about to take flight. All his Spirit Energy, Meridians, Apertures, and even his Spirit Heart felt an indescribable excitement. But this excitement lasted only a fleeting moment before devolving into sheer frenzy.

"If I significantly reduce the dosage..." Qian Jin gently stroked his nose. If one could survive the explosion, perhaps one's combat power could be immensely strengthened for a short period while in battle?

Qian Jin gave a wry smile and shook his head, grabbing the hat that led back to the Endless World and pulling it over his face. He silently cautioned himself that potions like that were for later; messing up the dosage meant certain death.

Returning to the Endless World, the first thing Qian Jin saw was a potion bottle at his feet. It was the kind only stocked in Teacher Adams's potion shop, yet here it was now.

Potions obviously didn't sprout legs and wander over here by themselves. Their presence could only mean Teacher Adams had delivered them in advance.

"Oulala, take it easy! If you actually kill my apprentice, I'll fight you to the death!"

"Adams, you know nothing! I'm helping him too! He’s my apprentice as well..."

The roaring shouts of two teachers emanating from Oulala’s mysterious potion room reached Qian Jin’s ears, revealing the two distinct ways they showed affection for their disciple.

Qian Jin silently bowed towards the structure.

Enlake’s knife-like eyes peered through a crack in the door. Satisfied with Qian Jin’s gesture, he nodded slightly. Nowadays, gratitude wasn't always spoken aloud.

"Uncle..."

"What? Ready for another fight?" Enlake grinned, rotating his shoulders. "I’m looking forward to it."

"No..." Qian Jin scratched the back of his neck. "I wanted to ask your opinion on something..."

Without waiting for Enlake to object that this broke the rules, Qian Jin squatted down and began sketching the complex and bizarre sequence of Spirit Energy ordering within his First Spirit Heart onto the wooden floor with his finger.

Enlake’s mouth, which had just opened, slowly closed as his eyes took in the sequence. Then, slowly, unconsciously, it opened again, revealing a mixture of contemplation, curiosity, and sudden delight on his face.

The strange Spirit Order within the First Spirit Heart continued to shift and change. It seemed utterly random, yet somehow, it hinted at a hidden, peculiar pattern.

"These Spirit Orders... they are alive," Enlake murmured, resting his chin in his hand and nodding repeatedly. "They must still be changing and intertwining, correct?"

Qian Jin felt no surprise. What kind of person was Uncle Enlake? He could deduce the entire Kun Martial Technique just by glimpsing a fraction of the Kun technique manual, and from there, deduce the Qian Martial Technique, and finally, the technique resulting from combining Qian and Kun.

In terms of understanding Spirit Energy, no one in the history of either the Demon Race or the Zhence Imperial Dynasty had ever reached such a level.

"Interesting. Truly interesting." A rare hint of admiration flashed in Enlake’s blade-like pupils. "The person who created this Martial Technique Seal is a genius among geniuses!"

"Creation?" Qian Jin was momentarily confused. How had he obtained this martial technique? He had no idea; he hadn't learned it through conscious study. Where was the creation in that?

"You must possess your own unique way of cultivating Spirit Energy, yes?" Enlake’s fingertip, sharp as a blade, began to trace the movement patterns of Spirit Energy on the floor.

Enlake, usually lightning-fast in execution, was exceedingly careful and deliberate in this drawing, occasionally pausing in deep thought before continuing.

Qian Jin's eyes widened with a shock greater than mere surprise. Wasn't this the movement style of the Gale and Cloud Spirit Energy? How did Uncle know? Did he deduce it from that jumbled mess of technique seals?

The Spirit Energy secret methods for the one hundred and eight Spirit Apertures were all incredibly convoluted. After drawing for a while, Enlake stopped before finishing and looked up. "I grasp the general structure of this Spirit Energy, and I understand the thinking of the person who created it."

"The one who taught you this Spirit Energy cultivation barely taught you any specific Martial Techniques, did they?"

Qian Jin nodded subconsciously. Although he knew Uncle Enlake’s comprehension of Spirit Energy was so profound it could make every Spirit Energy researcher in the Zhence Imperial Dynasty commit suicide out of shame, this question was still staggering—as if Enlake had truly witnessed those events.

"It wasn't that he didn't want to teach you; it's that he had nothing to teach you," Enlake looked up and stated. "If he taught you set Martial Techniques, it might accelerate your progress in the short term, but it would quickly calcify you, leading you down the same path as his eventual development."

Qian Jin listened, utterly bewildered.

"Simply put, from the moment you began studying this specific Spirit Energy, you stepped onto a very specialized road," Enlake said calmly. "This cluster of Spirit Orders only formed recently, didn't it?"

Qian Jin nodded again. He had never seen this specific cluster of orders before.

"The Spirit Energy you cultivate is also alive."

Also? Alive? Qian Jin paused. 'Also' implied this wasn't the only one. What did 'alive' mean?

"Your Spirit Energy carries its own inherent sequence. However, every person who cultivates this Energy ends up with a different Martial Technique," Enlake explained mildly. "Usually, cultivating Spirit Energy is one thing; refining it into a Martial Technique is another."

Qian Jin agreed. This was the established principle in the Zhence Imperial Dynasty, the Demon Race, and the Barbarian Tribes alike.

"Your Spirit Energy possesses a self-learning function, which is why I call it alive." Enlake laughed, full of admiration. "It gradually absorbs and combines based on the battles you experience and the techniques you learn. It forges a unique, special Martial Technique that has never existed before—one that even the successor who cultivates this Spirit Energy cannot easily replicate."

"What?" Qian Jin stared blankly at Enlake. This answer was profoundly shocking.

"Precisely! It has already begun its initial formation," Enlake snapped his fingers. "This Spirit Energy has a constant threshold. As long as the quality of the techniques you learn exceeds a certain limit, and you possess a Spirit Heart, it will automatically begin generating Martial Techniques. While the sheer quantity of techniques you've learned isn't immense, in terms of quality... hehe..."

Qian Jin paused, then began to laugh as well. The Martial Technique for the Iron Arm Mantis bloodline, the Earth-Shattering Slash technique, the Submerged Thunder technique, and the Kun Martial Technique—which one of these wasn't a Saint-level technique? Add the eighteen hammers of the Ascending Peak, a special technique that seemed to surpass the Saint level, and the quality was certainly enough to shock even the ten great bloodline families.

"What will it generate?" Qian Jin asked Enlake, burning with curiosity.

"Generate what?" Enlake rested his chin on his hand, showing a similar expression of curiosity. "I'm also eager to know what Martial Technique it will produce. It is currently in its growth phase and requires more techniques to water it. Whether they are Saint-level or not, the more techniques, the better for its growth. I imagine the one who first taught you this cultivation told you to diligently practice various techniques?"

Qian Jin nodded repeatedly. He now finally understood his master's reasoning for forcing him to leave the Valley of Four Seasons early.

"One thing is certain: this Spirit Energy automatically distinguishes the strengths and weaknesses within techniques, taking only the advantages to perform an instinctive combination. What kind of monstrosity it ultimately becomes, I cannot say," Enlake sighed, yet his face immediately lit up with excitement. "But I desperately want to know what form and abilities it will ultimately manifest as."

Automatically discerning strengths and weaknesses? A bizarre and absurd feeling washed over Qian Jin. Had his master's talk back in the Valley of Four Seasons about challenging bloodline warriors not been entirely boastful?

"Truly a genius design!" Enlake exclaimed repeatedly. "It is the most foolish, foolish design I have ever encountered!"

"Genius, yet foolish? Why?" Qian Jin looked at Enlake, utterly confused.

"Genius! Because of the effect this Spirit Energy produces," Enlake smiled. "The reason I call it foolish is because the cultivation of this Spirit Energy cannot be described as arduous; it must be described as cruel. If one cannot endure that cruel suffering, even after learning the techniques, one cannot reach the true apex."

"To put it plainly!" Enlake snapped his fingers again. "This Spirit Energy can also be called the Old Ox Spirit Energy. Those who cultivate it must be exceedingly hardworking, determined, and willing to risk everything! If they falter even slightly when faced with toil and effort, they can never reach the peak, nor unleash its true power! But..."

Enlake shrugged. "Those who cultivate Spirit Energy are living people, thinking beings. People might retreat when faced with effort. Many claim they don't fear hardship. Once is easy, but ten times? A hundred times? Especially when they see their own painstaking efforts are overshadowed by those with superior congenital conditions—a surge brought by a single bloodline awakening. Will they not become disheartened? Humans fear suffering; no one enjoys it."