Qin Fen shrugged and settled onto the nearby sand, watching the surging tide in quiet contemplation. "Regarding your injury this time, besides what you believe was overstraining your cultivation, I also bear some responsibility. So, I won't press the issue with you. Now that your Dantian is open, helping you reclaim the remaining two-thirds of chaotic True Qi isn't impossible. However, doing so would ultimately yield less growth than if you manage to retract it yourself."

Lin Jiaxuan knew Qin Fen wasn't exaggerating. After a moment of silence, she asked somewhat sheepishly, "Um, the cultivation technique you gave me, is there more after that?"

"I should have, right?" Qin Fen murmured, a slight uncertainty in his tone. "First, gather your True Qi. Let me think deeply about how the subsequent layers of the technique should be designed for the best outcome."

The True Qi Lin Jiaxuan had just started to gather nearly surged out of alignment upon hearing Qin Fen's words. She couldn't believe it and asked, "You said you need to think deeply? You mean you don't have it right now?"

"Indeed," Qin Fen admitted without concealment. "What you practiced were all things I devised on the spot. It should be fine."

Lin Jiaxuan stared at Qin Fen, stunned. She truly suspected she had suffered a Qi deviation, causing her hearing to betray her. Even a master-level expert would need extensive deliberation and contemplation to create even the simplest technique for strengthening the body. As for high-level internal arts like the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra (Yù Nǚ Xīn Jīng), one would need extreme caution and meticulous care, perhaps even sparring with peers of equal rank, to stand a chance of creation.

To create an advanced technique casually while enjoying the sea breeze, watching waves, and taking a nap—Lin Jiaxuan had never witnessed such a feat, nor even heard of it.

Perhaps the Sphere Martial God, Song Wendong, who held the title of Divine Beast, could achieve this! But it was absolutely impossible for a youth fresh out of high school who had just joined the military.

Qin Fen fell silent. The last time he composed the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra was long ago. Now, he needed to first recall the context of that creation before attempting to continue the sequence.

Another wave rushed in, pushing up Lin Jiaxuan's T-shirt significantly, revealing her smooth, flat lower abdomen. It looked as if the next surge would push the shirt over her chest, exposing her to the much younger Qin Fen beside her.

Fearing that scenario, Lin Jiaxuan quickly entered a state of stillness, beginning to gather the scattered True Qi within her body at the fastest possible pace.

An hour passed. Lin Jiaxuan barely managed to collect the majority of the True Qi in her system. Her limbs, which had been immobilized, gradually began to feel a sensation of numbness.

Another high tide arrived, the seawater swiftly driving her T-shirt upward, instantly revealing half of her snowy, tender skin. Just then, Qin Fen emerged from his deep contemplation. Seeing Qin Fen rotate his neck, the previously numb and paralyzed limbs of Lin Jiaxuan suddenly gained movement under the intense shock. She hurriedly reached down to pull her shirt, executed a swift lunge, and leaped into the sea, submerging her entire body except for her head above the waterline.

At this moment, Lin Jiaxuan’s face was flushed crimson. She couldn't tell if her hands were faster or Qin Fen’s eyes were quicker, or if her almost fully revealed bosom had been completely seen through by him.

Her eyes weren't exactly pure; rather, they were too detached. She dreaded hearing Qin Fen calmly utter, "I saw it. It’s quite nice."

If she actually heard such a remark, Lin Jiaxuan couldn't guarantee whether she would go mad on the spot or desperately try to eliminate him for the sake of silencing the witness.

Thinking of silencing him, Lin Jiaxuan felt a fresh wave of helplessness. This new recruit's combat power was abnormally high. She truly couldn't defeat him. What was the point of eliminating him? It would only lead to further humiliation.

Qin Fen’s lips twitched a couple of times. Escaping into the water like this was actually good; it saved him the awkwardness of facing a completely drenched woman.

"Have you figured it out?"

Lin Jiaxuan still lacked Qin Fen's patience. She was the first to break the silence with her question.

Qin Fen shook his head. "Not completely. Thinking through and researching the rest is genuinely complicated..."

Lin Jiaxuan unexpectedly smiled. This recruit, who constantly shocked her, finally exhibited a moment of normal human sensibility...

"So, I've only figured out two layers of the core method..."

Qin Fen slowly explained. Lin Jiaxuan’s smile completely froze.

Two layers of core method? He created two layers in one hour? Lin Jiaxuan didn't know what to say. She hadn't met the Sphere Martial God, Song Wendong, but she doubted that even he could create an entire internal cultivation manual in just one hour.

"Are you sure... the two layers of the core method are fine?"

Lin Jiaxuan couldn't help but probe tentatively. This information was too difficult for her to accept.

"It should be alright," Qin Fen replied with confidence. "However, there's a slight problem when breaking through to the second layer. I thought about it for a long time but couldn't find a good solution, so I had to settle for this temporary fix."

A sliver of unease crept into Lin Jiaxuan’s heart. She tested the waters: "What problem?"

"Simply put, before the second layer breakthrough, you can feel the impending breakthrough, but this transition requires a very long time and must be done in one continuous flow. If you stop midway, you have to start over," Qin Fen said, supporting himself with his hands on the sand while flexing his shoulders. "Theoretically, you cannot achieve this, or rather, anyone cultivating this technique cannot achieve that unbroken flow."

"What?" Lin Jiaxuan stared blankly at Qin Fen. "Then why not just say you only figured out one layer?"

"It really is two layers," Qin Fen emphasized once more. "When the time comes, you’ll need to find a martial artist at your level, or one star higher, but no more than two stars higher. Furthermore, this person must cultivate an extremely firm and potent Yang-attribute internal art, one with deep and enduring internal energy. They must face you palm-to-palm to assist you through the process."

"Why extremely firm and potent Yang-attribute?" Lin Jiaxuan asked again. "My Jade Maiden Heart Sutra is neutral in nature..."

"After my modifications, it leans Yin," Qin Fen shrugged helplessly. "If you force it now, your blood vessels will freeze. Only the most absolute Yang and hard essence can counter it. Oh, yes! You should find someone trustworthy because, during the confrontation, the intensely Yang True Qi will cause your vital energy and blood to surge violently. There must be no hindrance whatsoever."

Lin Jiaxuan was completely stunned upon hearing this. Looking at Qin Fen with deep dejection, she recalled that when her father was still under investigation, she could have leveraged his rank as a General to find that rare, extremely firm Yang-attribute internal energy cultivator among women.

Now? Lin Jiaxuan could only offer a bitter smile. After her father was investigated, even former suitors who used to swarm around her like flies now kept their distance. They used their influence to transfer her to this new recruit training camp. Let alone asking others for help—she shuddered to think what their response would be.

Qin Fen stood up and lightly stretched his limbs. His time watching the sea and listening to the wind wasn't just spent contemplating the practice of the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra; he was simultaneously figuring out how to perfectly integrate Vajra Chaotic Dance (Jīngāng Luàn Wǔ)—the only explosive offensive move in the Vajra Fist—with Raging Torrent (Kuáng Bào Nù Cháo) to forge a genuine, personal finishing move.

Qin Fen moved across the sand heedless of anyone else, his entire demeanor shifting abruptly from calm to wild. The successive surges of the tide had brought him considerable inspiration. Unleashing his full power at this moment, even the golden sand beneath his feet floated up, swirling around his body. The golden particles mimicked great ocean waves, undulating as Qin Fen’s body moved up and down continuously.

Lin Jiaxuan was so engrossed she forgot everything else. As the only daughter of a General, she had witnessed quite a few martial arts forms; there were certainly those superior to this clumsy-looking palm technique.

However, in terms of sheer aura, very few could match this technique.

This palm style of Qin Fen’s carried a hidden, majestic grandeur within its chaos. Merely standing by and observing, one could sense an ocean-like vastness to its momentum, as if its true power vastly exceeded what was currently displayed. If the practitioner's strength reached the Five-Star level, it would be an entirely different spectacle.

After several sets of palm forms, Qin Fen’s True Qi was nearly depleted. This kind of ultimate finishing move placed an immense physical burden on the body with every use. Even someone as powerful as Qin Fen felt fatigue, and a large amount of sweat poured from him.

Qin Fen adjusted his posture slightly, then joyfully threw his head back and let out a long, satisfying cry. This rough palm technique, if used against a Five-Star martial artist, wouldn't just guarantee victory; in a fight to the death, he even had a chance to directly take the opponent's life.

Qin Fen clenched his fists tightly, feeling the throbbing power within him, and quietly told himself, "On the Battle Net, if anyone is spectating, I should try not to use the ultimate killing move. If videos of those sessions are recorded and spread, it won't be good for me."

Lin Jiaxuan watched Qin Fen walk away slowly until he disappeared into the deepening night. Only then did she return to the shore. The seawater at night was icy cold, and her recently injured body felt the chill acutely. Right and left, Lin Jiaxuan quickly pulled out her uniform from the metal box, then swiftly stripped off the saturated T-shirt clinging to her skin...

Sand...

Qin Fen, who had vanished into the darkness, reappeared less than thirty meters from Lin Jiaxuan once more. The instant he saw Lin Jiaxuan bare her upper body, his focus wavered, and the sand beneath his feet crunched audibly.

Quiet... Quiet...

Lin Jiaxuan froze for a full second before snapping back to reality, raising her arms to cover her chest and shouting fiercely, "**Thief!"

Qin Fen also froze on the spot. He had actually intended to ask about how she knew his mobile number.

Instead, he unexpectedly witnessed such an indecent scene.

"Are you still looking?" Lin Jiaxuan's eyebrows shot up. She quickly crouched down, snatching her clothes to shield herself, yet still felt as if the fabric was insufficient to block his gaze.

Qin Fen sighed. Today evidently wasn't the right day to ask about the phone number issue. Infusing his legs with the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill (Lóng Xiàng Bān Ruò Gōng), he flashed back into the night.

Lin Jiaxuan carefully changed her clothes, gazing toward the direction Qin Fen had vanished with an intensely complex expression. This man who had both saved her and desecrated her—should she hate him, or thank him? He wouldn't possibly spread news of tonight's events, would he?

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