The saying that hardship ultimately yields reward found vivid embodiment in Wu Yan. As a handyman disciple, he had been bound to endless gate-keeping shifts alongside his peers, able to cultivate only in his scant free time, never with full devotion of mind and body.
All that changed now. He could never have imagined that merely guiding Gao Han within the sect and waiting patiently for him would earn him such an extraordinary boon.
Upon emerging from the Outer Sect Hall, Gao Han turned to Wu Yan and asked, "Would you serve as my personal handyman disciple? Rest assured, I shall not burden you with trivial errands. You may devote your entire being to cultivation—this shall be my reward for your guidance."
While waiting outside, Wu Yan had recognized the three ripples etched upon Gao Han's black token, the mark of a senior outer-sect disciple. Yet he had never dared hope that his simple kindness would be repaid so handsomely.
Gao Han harbored no ulterior motive. Without Wu Yan's aid, he would have struggled to find the Outer Sect Hall, and granting this favor cost him nothing. Wu Yan stammered with unbridled excitement, "I… I accept! With all my heart!"
Lingyun Peak rose as the tallest summit in the Misty Sect's outer domain, dotted with secluded courtyards where each outer-sect disciple claimed a private chamber. Upon choosing one, a disciple would inscribe his name upon it to mark it as his own.
By the time Gao Han arrived, most chambers were already occupied. The annual assessment had only just passed, promoting a new cohort of outer-sect disciples from the handyman ranks, and veteran disciples already held many of the best quarters. Few rooms remained.
With little choice to be made, Gao Han entered the outermost vacant chamber and said to Wu Yan, "You may return now, junior brother. You need not tend to me daily. If you have need of me, you need only come here."
Wu Yan bowed deeply, his manner reverent. "I can never repay your kindness, senior brother. If ever my service is required, command me, and I shall spare no effort." With that, he turned and descended Lingyun Peak.
Left alone, Gao Han cast a brief glance about his new quarters. The word that came to mind was unadorned. The room spanned little more than ten square meters, holding only a narrow bed against the wall, a table and two stools in the center—no other furnishings fit within the cramped space.
Yet such austerity was fitting for a warrior. True cultivators sought not comfort, but the unattainable pinnacle of martial arts.
After a cursory inspection, Gao Han set out once more, bound for the Scripture Pavilion. He intended to select a new cultivation art, for his Soul-Breaking Art was far too lowly. Martial arts were ranked from lowest to highest as Mortal, Profound, Earth, and Heaven. The higher the rank, the greater their power—though one who failed to grasp a technique's true essence would fare better with a lesser art. The Soul-Breaking Art was but a low-tier Mortal technique.
Descending Lingyun Peak, Gao Han asked for directions until he reached the mountain of the Scripture Pavilion: Twilight Sun Peak.
Standing before the pavilion, he beheld a five-story pagoda, towering atop Twilight Sun Peak like a colossal unsheathed sword. The octagonal tower stretched more than a hundred zhang in diameter.
After a brief glance, Gao Han stepped through the main gate. No sooner had he entered than an aged voice called out to him from behind, "Young man, present your token."
Gao Han turned slowly to find an elderly man with no discernible cultivation standing before him. His hair was silver-white, his eyebrows long and flowing, reaching a full two inches in length.
Daring not to show the slightest disrespect, Gao Han hastily handed over his token. "Senior, this is my sect token. Please examine it." He knew full well that one guarding the Scripture Pavilion could not be ordinary; the elder must have cultivated to the realm of returning to simplicity, a master among masters.
The elder cast a casual glance at the token and handed it back. "As an outer-sect disciple, you may only access the first floor. The upper levels remain closed to you for now. Proceed."
Gao Han accepted the token and bowed respectfully. "Thank you, senior."
"Hmm, be gone," the elder waved a hand impatiently. Once Gao Han had vanished into the pavilion, he nodded quietly to himself. "Hmm, that impetuous boy Li Changtian has done well this time. This young man possesses a good temperament. Though he bears a mutated physique, he is not arrogant or conceited. To reach the Ninth Layer of Qi Condensation at fifteen, his talent is remarkable. For all his achievements, he lacks the vanity of youth, and his will is unyielding. Should he grow to his full potential, he shall bring greater glory to the Misty Sect."
Had Gao Han heard these words, he would have been utterly astonished. Li Changtian, the sect's alchemy elder, was spoken of as a mere boy, meaning this elder's seniority far surpassed even the alchemy elder's. Yet Li Changtian stood as a martial brother to the sect leader himself—how exalted must this old man's status be?
Gao Han heard none of this, however. He stood stunned at the sheer number of bookshelves lining the first floor of the Scripture Pavilion. At first he assumed they all held martial arts, but closer inspection proved him mistaken.
The pavilion housed far more than cultivation techniques. Along the two sides stood shelves filled with biographies of legendary figures, treatises on strange artifacts, historical annals, and texts on military strategy. Only two central shelves held Mortal-rank arts, arranged neatly by category and series.
Having trained relentlessly since childhood and been shunned as a useless cripple by his clan, Gao Han had never had anyone to converse with about the wider world. His only loving companion had been his young sister, too innocent to share such knowledge. He knew nothing of history or the great figures who had once walked the Tianwu Continent.
And so he turned first to the side shelves, picking up a volume of Biographies of Eminent Figures and reading quietly. Within its pages, he learned that among the most powerful warriors of the Tianwu Continent, a rare few had risen to greatness with Water Physiques—all mutated, yet none quite like his own. Each had undergone a fortuitous transformation that elevated their ordinary Water Physique into a far more formidable variant.
After some time, Gao Han had gained a basic understanding of ancient history, yet the past three hundred years remained unrecorded. He still knew nothing of the powerhouses of the present day. Setting the biography aside, he made his way to the shelves of cultivation techniques.
He intended to select one core cultivation art and one palm technique. Though he also longed for a movement art, he knew that grasping too much at once would lead to mastery of nothing. He resolved to hone his current arts and swordplay to their utmost limit before pursuing lightness skill.
The shelves brimmed with a dazzling array of techniques, neatly ordered. Gao Han browsed the first shelf of core arts one by one: Azure Wood Art, Long River Sunset Art, Blazing Sun Art, Wild Bull Mountain-Shattering Art… He skimmed past countless manuals, weighing their descriptions carefully before finally settling on the Long River Sunset Art.
A high-tier Mortal-rank technique, it existed only as an incomplete volume, yet ranked among the most powerful works available. According to its introduction, it was a foundational art that gradually accumulated inner qi within the body, building an endless reservoir like a mighty river.
Though labeled a foundational technique, Gao Han suspected it held deeper meaning. He could not believe such an art would be created merely to hoard inner qi.
Next he approached the shelf of palm techniques, studying each carefully: Bursting Sand Palm, Mountain-Rending Palm, Stone-Shattering Hand, Heart-Crushing Palm, Cold Mountain Palm… Each was a formidable high-tier art. After long deliberation, he chose Cold Mountain Palm. None of the other high-tier palms bore the character for "cold," making this the only choice aligned with his mutated physique.
Having selected his two manuals, Gao Han headed for the exit. The gatekeeper elder appeared once more. "Register the techniques you have chosen."
Gao Han handed over the two scrolls respectfully. Upon seeing them, the elder's eyebrows furrowed, his long white brows twitching slightly.
"These are among the higher-ranked techniques here. For all your talent, attempting to master two arts at once may be overreaching. Remember, one cannot gobble a feast in a single bite—progress must be gradual." The elder spoke with earnest gravity.
Gao Han understood this well all too well. Hasty, unfocused practice could never unlock a technique's full potential. Yet he trusted in himself. Since his physique had transformed, his resolve had grown firmer than ever before. He still had not discovered the limits of his innate talent.
"Rest assured, senior. Having chosen these arts, I shall see my training through to the end." His voice brimmed with quiet confidence. The elder shook his head inwardly. He would learn from failure soon enough; the boy was no fool. All men gained wisdom through hardship.
"Very well. Return both manuals in two months' time. Do not pass them to outsiders. Register your choice over there." The elder offered no further counsel.
After completing his registration, Gao Han left Twilight Sun Peak. He did not return to Lingyun Peak. To him, the chamber was little more than temporary lodging, and even the entire Misty Sect had not yet become a true home in his heart.
Carrying his two new techniques, Gao Han wandered the mist-shrouded mountains of the sect until he found a secluded spot, untouched by other disciples. Most importantly, a wide, flowing river ran beside it.
He fashioned a simple shelter from branches on the riverbank and immediately began practicing the Long River Sunset Art. The inner qi he had cultivated through the Soul-Breaking Art swiftly transformed into the gentle, surging qi of his new technique. The Long River Sunset Art contained fifteen levels; each stage brought a tremendous surge in power. Though the manual was incomplete, Gao Han sensed his Ice Physique would compensate for its flaws.
Sitting cross-legged within his shelter, he gradually converted his remaining Soul-Breaking qi. After three hours of focused effort, his Ninth Layer Qi Condensation qi had fully transformed, yet only reached the fifth level of the Long River Sunset Art. Still, he felt he had not hit his limit—the art could be pushed further still.
By the next morning, after a full night of meditation, he had advanced only to the sixth level, a feat made possible solely by his physique's ability to absorb frigid qi from the air. Breaking through to the seventh level would require vastly more spiritual energy—at his current pace, it would take as long as his entire ascent from the first to sixth levels combined. This was why so few practitioners chose the Long River Sunset Art, despite its status as a top-tier Mortal art.
Yet the total volume of inner qi within him had already swelled by nearly half. This difference was not to be underestimated. Where once his qi could sustain him in battle for two consecutive hours, it now lasted three. In a evenly matched fight, what chance would a foe have once their qi was exhausted, while he still retained half of his own?
Rising from his meditation, Gao Han stretched his limbs and suddenly leaped into the river. Though winter still held its grip, the current was not overly violent. He steadied himself at once and began practicing the forms of Cold Mountain Palm beneath the water's surface.
The palm art contained nine forms, six of which could be wielded at the Qi Condensation realm. Cold Mountain Palm possessed devastating power, capable of shattering boulders with ease. Each strike grew stronger than the last. A genius was still a genius—within the span of an incense stick's burn, Gao Han had mastered all six forms to perfection.
He unleashed the palm strikes again and again, his powerful inner qi churning the water into towering waves. He practiced tirelessly from the first to the sixth form. The fierce, frigid qi gradually coated the surrounding water in a thin layer of ice. The river was already bitterly cold in winter; combined with his chilling Long River Sunset qi, ice was inevitable.
Mid-practice, Gao Han froze as he observed the scene before him. Though the surface had frozen over, the current still surged violently beneath. The river was not stagnant water, but ever-flowing. In that moment, enlightenment struck. The Long River Sunset Art was not meant merely to hoard inner qi—it was meant to set it flowing ceaselessly throughout one's body, as water permeated all things. Qi should circulate through every part of his being.
Standing motionless in the river, Gao Han let the current sweep past him, mirroring the flow of qi within his meridians. He guided his Long River Sunset qi to spread throughout his body, setting it into constant, unbroken motion, until only his dantian remained unfilled.
The dantian was the most vital part of a warrior's body, the seat of qi storage and regeneration. Lose it, and one could neither hold nor restore inner qi ever again.
As his qi dispersed and flowed freely, his body craved spiritual energy to replenish its deficit. He drew in the heavenly aura endlessly until his dantian overflowed. The qi within his dantian touched the ice pearl suspended there, and was swiftly transmuted into an even colder, sharper frigid energy—far more potent than before. His Long River Sunset qi had evolved into what might now be called Frigid River Sunset qi.
He continued absorbing spiritual energy, pushing his Long River Sunset Art to the very brink of breakthrough. With a resounding boom, he finally advanced to the seventh level. His eyes snapped open, and he unleashed his full Frigid River Sunset qi in a thunderous palm strike forward.
A roaring torrent of inner qi burst forth from his palm, carried by the ceaseless current of energy within him. The blast traveled ten zhang through the air, freezing the river water in its path into a massive ice lance a full zhang long. The lance hurtled toward him along the current.
In that instant, Gao Han instinctively unleashed the seventh form of Cold Mountain Palm—World-Shaking Might. The ice lance shattered into glistening fragments that drifted away on the wind.
His inner qi still flowed like a river within his meridians. "This is the true essence of the Long River Sunset Art. The original creator's insights must have been lost to time. The claim that this is merely a foundational art was surely written by later practitioners who never grasped its true meaning. No wonder no one chooses to cultivate it, and none who do ever succeed—they have all fallen into a grave misunderstanding." Gao Han mused silently to himself.
Having advanced the Long River Sunset Art to the seventh level and unlocked the seventh form of Cold Mountain Palm, Gao Han was already vastly more powerful. Yet he resolved to push further, forging a hidden trump card to preserve his life. A warrior without a secret technique was forever a lesser fighter.
He turned his insight back to the Cold Mountain Palm. He had only been able to wield the seventh form because his breakthrough to the seventh level had granted him a colossal reserve of qi. He now realized he had misinterpreted the art's core. Cold Mountain Palm did not freeze mountains with chill—it struck with such overwhelming force that even mountains trembled in fear. It was a art of sheer, unbridled power, not one tailored for elemental prodigies. He had projected his own preferences upon it.
With the true meaning of the palm art clear, his path forward was straightforward. He need only raise his cultivation and deepen his mastery of his core technique. Gao Han counted himself fortunate to have chosen the Long River Sunset Art, with its immense qi capacity; otherwise, he would still be stuck at the fifth or sixth form of Cold Mountain Palm.
He now resolved to break through to the eighth level of the Long River Sunset Art, then return to the Scripture Pavilion to exchange his current manuals and select a movement art. He had already memorized both techniques word for word.