Ye Qinghe looked at Ning Qi and froze.
At some unknown moment, Ning Qi had already closed his eyes. His hands hung naturally at his sides, his posture loose and relaxed, yet carrying a strange rhythm. The afterglow of the setting sun slanted down upon him, outlining the small figure in a faint golden light, making him appear almost sacred.
"Could Ning Qi have entered… an epiphany?"
Ye Qinghe was first shocked, then filled with joy.
She had once heard her Master, Dragon Mountain Daoist, mention this state. Epiphany—an extremely rare condition. Once entered, it was as if the heavens themselves lent assistance. All doubts, bottlenecks, and confusions would unravel on their own.
Many cultivators would never experience it in their entire lives.
"To enter epiphany at only four years old…"
Ye Qinghe felt both admiration and a hint of envy.
The same scenery lay before them, yet only Ning Qi could comprehend it. That alone explained everything.
In the eyes of outsiders, she was already a rare genius. But compared to Ning Qi, the gap was obvious.
Still, recalling how Ning Qi had completed bone refinement in just a single year, she quickly felt relieved. How could one compare themselves with such a monster?
She immediately steadied her mind and began guarding him seriously.
On the stone platform—
Two people and one ape.
Ning Qi and the white ape had both closed their eyes, while Ye Qinghe remained alert, her perception spread out to prevent any beast from approaching.
At this moment.
Countless thoughts surged through Ning Qi's mind.
Everything he had pondered during the past year exploded together.
The stance techniques he had studied in the Scripture Pavilion, the mountains and rivers he had observed, the wind, clouds, thunder, and rain—all intertwined.
This epiphany was not sudden.
The scenery before him was only a trigger. His accumulation had already reached the limit. With Ye Qinghe's presence, his thoughts finally aligned.
Even without today, success would have come sooner or later.
Now, it simply arrived early.
"Body Tempering stance techniques are essentially about using qi to temper the body. Bixi Stance condenses Bixi qi, Zhenwu Pile condenses True Dragon qi. Bixi is fierce and heavy, True Dragons are noble and vast—among the strongest manifestations of heaven and earth."
"The qi condensed by such forms is naturally powerful, hence their remarkable effects."
"But the human body itself contains endless secrets."
"Even True Dragon qi is not perfect everywhere. Strong in some aspects, lacking in others."
"The optimal path… is to adapt to circumstances."
"Use different manifestations to temper different parts of the body."
"In this way, every tempering reaches its peak."
"Therefore—"
"Use the Ten Thousand Manifestations of the world… to temper the human body."
The fragmented insights finally connected, like beads threaded together.
Ning Qi moved.
Under Ye Qinghe's stunned gaze, his eyes remained closed, yet his body began to shift.
His fists and kicks were not fast.
But they were heavy.
Steady.
Each movement carried a quiet authority.
"Xiao Jiu… is practicing a stance technique?"
Ye Qinghe was shocked.
She could tell this was a Body Tempering stance—but it was unfamiliar.
"But he's supposed to be practicing the Bixi Stance…"
She was certain of it.
Ning Qi's talent was frightening. It wouldn't be strange if he had already perfected Bixi Stance. After all, when he learned the Chilong Stance, the speed had already surpassed common sense.
Yet this—
This was not Bixi.
There was no divine Bixi intent, no recognizable movements. No visible manifestation, yet something indescribable lingered.
Ye Qinghe narrowed her eyes and observed carefully.
Gradually—
Her pupils widened.
In her vision, Ning Qi's figure faded.
She saw rivers flowing, mountains standing tall. Clouds drifted, winds whispered. Tigers roared, dragons coiled. Wolves charged, eagles cried.
Mountains. Water. Beasts. Sky.
Everything appeared—then vanished.
Ye Qinghe rubbed her eyes hard.
The scene was gone.
Ning Qi was still there, practicing calmly, movements plain and unadorned.
But she knew.
This stance technique was anything but ordinary.
Perhaps it could rival the Bixi Stance.
As for surpassing it—
She didn't dare think further.
The True Martial Nine Stances were created through generations of accumulation. For a four-year-old to create something comparable was already terrifying enough.
"This Xiao Jiu… he really is defying the heavens."
At some point.
The white ape woke up.
After digesting the red fruit, its entire body glowed faintly. Its fur became purer white, its vitality surging. Even its eyebrows and limbs were covered in soft white hair, giving it a strangely divine appearance.
If not for the crafty glint in its eyes, one might mistake it for an enlightened old ape.
It was about to roll around excitedly—
Ye Qinghe quickly gestured for silence.
The white ape froze.
Then it noticed Ning Qi.
Remembering how Ning Qi had once smashed the Iron Arm Ape, it immediately behaved, watching quietly.
As it observed—
Its eyes widened.
In its vision, Ning Qi transformed into a golden ape wearing a Daoist robe. Every punch seemed to question the heavens themselves, striking directly at the white ape's soul.
Instinctively, it tried to imitate.
But it failed.
The movements were simple, yet when it copied them, its body felt awkward, even painful.
Ye Qinghe softly warned it,
"Little monkey, this stance is meant for humans. Forcing it will only hurt you."
The white ape stopped, disappointment written clearly on its face.
Still, it couldn't help but look at Ning Qi again.
Its eyes were filled with reverence.
This… was different from anything it had seen before.
Ye Qinghe silently marveled.
At both the white ape's intelligence—and the miraculous nature of Ning Qi's stance, which even tempted a beast to learn it.
Finally.
Ning Qi slowly came to a stop.
He opened his eyes.
He was only a fist away from the edge of the stone platform, yet there was no fear in his expression. Even with closed eyes earlier, he could "see the divine" and sense everything around him.
After reviewing one hundred and thirty-two stance techniques, observing the Ten Thousand Manifestations of heaven and earth, integrating them with Zhenwu Pile—
He had finally succeeded.
A faint smile appeared on Ning Qi's face.
Ten Thousand Manifestations Source Pillar.
This was the result of his enlightenment.
"Source"—because this was only the beginning.
He had merely grasped the surface. In the future, when his cultivation grew deeper and his perspective broadened, he might one day point directly to the origin itself.
Without doubt.
This was a supreme-grade stance technique.
Far surpassing even so-called peerless techniques.
From this moment on—
Body Tempering would no longer be a winding road.
Ning Qi laughed softly.
The path ahead… was wide open.