"Yes, Sect Master."

Teng Qingshan bowed slightly, then quietly slipped out of the study. The moment he cleared the threshold, the door automatically sealed shut.

"Hmm? Closing the door remotely?" Teng Qingshan glanced back at the door in surprise. "I can't manage that feat. Innate experts are truly extraordinary." Although Teng Qingshan possessed astonishing brute strength, this raw power was useless for manipulating things at a distance.

Teng Qingshan immediately dismissed the thought, his heart now brimming with elation.

"I can finally go home!" Teng Qingshan felt a surge of excitement. In his previous life, he had no parents, and now, after so many years in the Teng Family Village, he cherished that warm home deeply. Having been away for just over two months, the thought of returning made him quite emotional.

Home, after all, was the warmest place in one's heart.

...

Pushing open the courtyard gate, Teng Qingshan looked toward his cousin 'Teng Qinghu's' room; light spilled from the window. "Cousin isn't asleep yet? So diligent." Thinking this, Teng Qingshan walked over and knocked lightly. "Cousin, it's me!"

"Qingshan, come in," Teng Qinghu called out.

Opening the door, Teng Qingshan found his cousin pacing the room, sweat beading on his brow as he practiced obscure, subtle footwork. Teng Qingshan smiled in praise. "Cousin, this set of movements is the foundation of the Heaven’s Edge Stride movement technique. You must practice until your mind and steps move as one, flowing like water. Only then can this lightness skill be considered achieved."

The Heaven’s Edge Stride lightness skill was divided into three layers, with the second and third layers only accessible to Innate Experts.

Teng Qingshan himself could only manage the first layer currently.

After the annual sacrifice ceremony, so that his cousin would have some means of self-preservation in the future, Teng Qingshan had taught him the foundational footwork of the Heaven’s Edge Stride's first layer. After all, his cousin’s internal energy was merely average, and his physical strength was just passable. Such strength was still a considerable distance from that of a first-rate martial artist.

Possessing this superior movement skill provided him with a vital means of survival.

However, no matter how potent a secret manual was, it ultimately depended on the individual. Take Teng Qingshan: in his past life, he was already a Grandmaster, possessing profound comprehension of footwork. His sheer physical strength alone granted him terrifying speed, and when combined with the augmentations of the Heaven’s Edge Stride, his lightness skill became astonishing. Teng Qinghu’s execution, however, lagged far behind.

"Qingshan, I've practiced these steps for over a month, and they still feel awkward," Teng Qinghu finally stopped to catch his breath.

"Awkward? That’s because your realm is too low!" Teng Qingshan laughed. "Wait until the day you no longer feel awkward practicing them—when you actually enjoy walking these steps, able to do so unconsciously for an entire day, feeling not tired but mentally refreshed. Only then will you have mastered the foundation of this first layer."

Teng Qinghu’s eyes widened. "Walk an entire day without getting tired? And feel better? Is that even real?"

"Of course, it's real." Teng Qingshan recalled that the first time he practiced these Heaven’s Edge Stride steps in his previous life, he quickly entered a state where he felt no fatigue whatsoever.

"Cousin, I have some wonderful news to share," Teng Qingshan’s face broke into a smile as he thought of returning home.

"What good news?" Teng Qinghu’s eyes lit up.

"In a few days, this battalion of ours is deploying to Huafeng City to guard the gold mine! Huafeng City is very close to my Yicheng, and on the way to Huafeng City, we will pass right through Yicheng. We can stop by home then," Teng Qingshan smiled. "Even when guarding the mine, we can visit occasionally."

"Home? Back to Teng Family Village?" Teng Qinghu rejoiced. "Haha, that's wonderful."

Whether it was Teng Qingshan or Teng Qinghu, they had spent virtually their entire lives in the Teng Family Village, developing a deep attachment to it.

"Alright, Cousin, practice for another hour and a half before resting again," Teng Qingshan said. He then turned and left Teng Qinghu’s room.

"An hour and a half? No problem!" Teng Qinghu had trained relentlessly in his childhood to build his strength; his willpower was formidable. He could certainly persevere now.

Teng Qingshan returned to his own room and lit the oil lamp.

"Hiss—"

The lamp flared to life. Teng Qingshan sat beside it and drew the manual titled Blazing Fire Spear Technique from his robes. The four bold characters on the cover, ‘’ (Blazing Fire Spear Technique), immediately lifted his spirits. He flipped the book open; under the dim light of the lamp, his eyesight allowed him to clearly make out the script.

Teng Qingshan became instantly engrossed.

He turned page after page.

There were inscriptions, diagrams of spear movements, and illustrations of meridians and the circulation of internal energy within the human body.

"So it’s similar to the Heaven’s Edge Stride—it relies on internal energy stimulating acupoints to generate sudden, explosive power!" By comparing it to the Heaven’s Edge Stride manual, Teng Qingshan grasped the underlying principles of this spear technique and lightness skill.

The human acupoints were truly miraculous!

Practices like acupuncture and massage worked by stimulating the internal flow of Qi and blood through these points.

This manual, however, used internal energy to stimulate these points from within. One had to realize that there were countless acupoints in the body, like stars in the sky, including many hidden ones. Stimulating them was extremely dangerous because different people had different physical constitutions, meaning their acupoints had varying capacities for tolerance.

If the stimulation exceeded the limit, it could damage the points—at best, resulting in a significant loss of cultivation; at worst, rendering one crippled or even dead.

The subtlety of the stimulation’s intensity, the correct sequence, and which points to stimulate to achieve which effect—all of this was incredibly complex.

Over countless years, countless geniuses had suffered Qi deviation, had their power destroyed, or died in the attempt to create such secret manuals.

"Compared to the Heaven’s Edge Stride, the stimulation of acupoints in the Blazing Fire Spear Technique is clearly much simpler, and the intensity is far milder," Teng Qingshan smiled. "Even if it’s simpler, I couldn't create it myself." Teng Qingshan treasured this manual greatly; it was, after all, his first dedicated spear technique manual.

Creating a spear art that incorporated internal energy was no simple feat.

"The power of each move seems acceptable. Ninety-nine moves—I should try them out." Teng Qingshan immediately left his room and entered the courtyard.

Wielding a Reincarnation Spear, Teng Qingshan began practicing the techniques described in the Blazing Fire Spear Technique meticulously, move by exact move.

"Whoosh!"

"Hiss!"

As the long spear moved, air-splitting reports occasionally sounded. When executed with internal energy, these seemingly simple spear techniques erupted with considerable force. For instance, a counter-thrust move, enhanced by coordinated internal energy flow, instantly amplified its concealment and explosive power, multiplying its destructive force.

He diligently learned all ninety-nine moves. After one full pass, Teng Qingshan had largely memorized them.

Then, he performed all eighty-one moves consecutively without pause.

Teng Qingshan did not stop; he immediately executed the sequence a second time. This second continuous run was markedly smoother and more practiced. He performed a third time, and by this stage, the Blazing Fire Spear Technique had taken on an air of effortless mastery, achieved as naturally as lifting a hand.

He stood still, resting the spear.

"This single practice session consumed three-tenths of my internal energy," Teng Qingshan noted, yet a smile played on his lips. "But integrating internal energy and movements yields considerable power! Some of this can certainly be adapted into my Five Elements Spear Technique!"

Teng Qingshan’s Five Elements Spear Technique, derived from the Five Elements Fist, currently only consisted of three moves.

Among them, the 'Shadow Follower Spear Technique' was swift as illusion, ceaseless, and most suitable for group combat.

The 'Primordial Unity' Spear Technique offered astonishing defense.

The Poison Dragon Drill was Teng Qingshan's most terrifying move—it had even pierced the scales of the Flood Dragon he fought.

However, Teng Qingshan’s existing spear arts had nothing to do with acupoint stimulation.

"If I incorporate the internal energy acceleration method from the Blazing Fire Spear Technique into the Shadow Follower Spear Technique, I can make its speed even greater!" Teng Qingshan was ecstatic. "This Blazing Fire Spear Technique has ninety-nine moves; most of the intentions behind them are similar and can be merged into several distinct moves."

In terms of comprehension, Teng Qingshan had already reached an extremely high level.

After practicing it a few times, he realized the Blazing Fire Spear Technique's intricate moves were perfectly suited for mutual reference and fusion to create new techniques.

He pondered this until late into the night.

As midnight approached, Teng Qingshan retired to rest, but at the first hint of dawn the next morning, he was back studying the Blazing Fire Spear Technique. It looked easy, but applying it was difficult! Teng Qingshan could easily discern that the eighty-one moves of the Blazing Fire Spear Technique could be categorized into five or six distinct intentions.

But fusing them proved challenging.

...

Morning training on the drill ground.

Teng Qingshan stood alone at the edge of the training area, holding his Reincarnation Spear. He would occasionally thrust a few dozen times in rapid succession, then shake his head and return to his deep contemplation.

"What is Brother Qingshan doing?"

"I don't know. I called out to him just now, and he didn't react. He's obsessed with researching spear techniques."

Indeed.

When Teng Qingshan immersed himself in a task, he was completely consumed. Every day, aside from eating and sleeping, all his time was dedicated to spear techniques. He dissected and meticulously studied every one of those seemingly simple eighty-one moves, constantly seeking insight into their underlying intent.

"The ninety-nine moves of the Blazing Fire Spear Technique can primarily be divided into five types of intent. If successful, they should be able to combine into five moves!" In the evening, Teng Qingshan stood in his courtyard, a smile appearing on his face. "These five intentions are all fire-attribute! If one day I can merge these five moves into one, my Cannon Fist should successfully evolve into a spear technique!"

During his deep contemplation, Teng Qingshan discovered that the more he studied the Blazing Fire Spear Technique, the more his comprehension of the fire-attribute 'Cannon Fist' improved.

It was a mutually beneficial process!

Because his Cannon Fist was already highly developed, Teng Qingshan could study the Blazing Fire Spear Technique so profoundly.

...

Three days passed in a flash.

Nightfall.

Swish! Swish! Swish...

In the dark courtyard, dense streaks of cold light suddenly appeared. Under the moonlight, these dense flashes covered an area three feet wide, forming the shape of a blossoming flame flower.

He lowered his spear and stood still.

A trace of satisfaction crossed Teng Qingshan's face. "The five great intentions of the Blazing Fire Spear Technique—I have finally created the first move! This most illusory and bewitching move... yes, I shall call this one 'Silver Flower Fire Tree'!" After three days of effort, coupled with his mastery of the fire-attribute Cannon Fist, Teng Qingshan had finally forged his first move—Silver Flower Fire Tree!

"Qingshan," Teng Qinghu emerged from his room.

"Cousin," Teng Qingshan said with a smile. "Still awake?"

"I just finished practicing my footwork. By the way, we depart for Huafeng City tomorrow, so we can stop by home! I’m so excited I can barely sleep," Teng Qinghu exclaimed eagerly.

"Depart tomorrow? Who said that? Why didn't I know?" Teng Qingshan asked, confused.

"It was announced during the morning training today! The commander announced it publicly; everyone heard it. Didn't you hear?" Teng Qinghu looked puzzled.

"Announced this morning?" Teng Qingshan laughed.

He had spent the entire day immersed in spear technique theory. Even while eating, his mind was consumed by spear movements; he paid no attention to anything else people might have said. Unless someone directly interrupted him, Teng Qingshan ignored everything. Naturally, he had missed the news.

"So, we leave tomorrow."