What a pity.
Although the Hunyuan Technique was powerful, it didn't contain the methods for Qi and blood limit breaking or Qi and blood refinement. That's because this technique didn't fall from the sky—it was a martial path developed by Yan Chuang through study and accumulation, derived entirely from what he had already learned and understood.
Since Yan Chuang didn't know the techniques for breaking through the limits of Qi and blood or refining them, naturally, the Hunyuan Technique lacked them too.
"Martial cultivation has many paths but leads to the same end."
"Maybe…"
"When I master the Hunyuan Technique to a profound level, and my internal energy becomes thick enough to nourish the body and stimulate the growth of Qi and blood, perhaps I'll break through the limit naturally."
That possibility wasn't zero.
However, compared to actively breaking the limit or refining Qi and blood using known methods, blindly grinding it out through hard training was clearly passive and uncertain—you never knew when you'd succeed.
"Progress in martial arts can't be left to chance!"
"You must strive!"
"Progress comes from striving, not falling from the heavens!"
Yan Chuang understood.
He had Teaching Benefits Both Teacher and Student, so maybe he didn't need to find new techniques himself. As long as he instructed more natives of the World of Mountains and Seas, he might glean these methods from them.
And all of this—
Would start with that young man who practiced Eagle Claw Chain Fist!
That night.
Yan Chen tossed and turned, unable to sleep. When his parents had finally fallen asleep, he quietly got up and slipped out of the village. Under the moonlight, he made his way to the base of White Rock Mountain.
But when he looked up at the mountain—
It wasn't a slope; it was a cliff.
The cliff reached the clouds, sheer and jagged, impossible to climb. Walking around it would take at least a full day.
Yan Chen was stunned:
"How am I supposed to get up there?"
He recalled the scene from dusk—how that expert had lightly lifted himself off the ground and leapt into the treetops before rushing to the cliff base. From afar, Yan Chen saw him climb the vertical face with ease, as agile as a monkey and as light as a bird.
He hadn't thought much of it at the time.
But now, standing here, he realized the cliff was several dozen zhang tall—some parts nearly vertical like a wall. The expert had relied on the smallest protrusions to launch himself upward.
This was a true master.
"But me? How do I get up?"
Yan Chen stared up at the summit. Mist drifted at the top, with strong winds howling—it made his head spin and his heart tremble.
He wanted to retreat.
But then he thought—
"That master told me to come up here… he must be testing me!"
"If I want to learn real skills, how can I back down now?"
Gritting his teeth—
Climb!
He reached the cliff base and began climbing, grasping vines and crawling upward.
The cold wind bit his skin.
After a while, the vines vanished—he was left facing a smooth rock face with nowhere to grip.
Looking around, he saw no path forward.
Looking down gave him a fright—
He had already climbed seven or eight zhang high. Going up had felt easy, but now looking down, he couldn't even see where to step. The vines were no longer enough for a safe descent.
He was trapped.
Stuck midway on a freezing cliff, on the verge of tears.
But he clenched his jaw, a spark of will igniting:
"If I can't go down—then I won't!"
He widened his eyes, carefully scanning the cliff face for anything he could use to climb.
And then—
A stroke of luck!
Though the surface was barren, he spotted tiny protrusions and indentations—just enough to grip.
"Heaven never seals off all paths!"
Overjoyed, he continued climbing.
Focused and cautious.
He climbed, inch by inch.
Until the cold wind grew fiercer—then suddenly, the sky opened before him.
"The summit!"
He scrambled over the edge with hands and feet.
As soon as he reached the top—
There he was—
The expert from before, sitting cross-legged on a boulder beneath the moonlight, his breath like mist, godlike in his stillness.
"Since you've made it up the mountain, I'll teach you a few moves."
"The 'Eagle Claw Fist' is named for the claw, but it's really all about the lower body. Without a stable stance, your techniques are weakened."
"So I won't teach you the claw forms. I'll teach you a foundational stance: 'Zhan Zhuang Flip'."
As Yan Chen listened, the master chanted incomprehensible words. Then—familiar again—he grabbed a branch and used it to correct Yan Chen's posture, striking his limbs and trunk to guide him.
"The key to 'Zhan Zhuang Flip' is: fast, firm, crisp, bouncy; long momentum, short bursts; twisting, flipping, rising, falling; attack and defense in cycles; bursts and impacts."
"The upper body emphasizes sunken fists, the lower—Qilin steps."
This form combined stance work and flipping movement—stillness and motion. Yan Chuang had synthesized it from various Eagle Claw Fist techniques. As a foundational exercise, it suited Eagle Claw practitioners better than horse stances or Twelve Bridge Hands.
Yan Chuang taught.
Yan Chen practiced.
Strike and demonstration continued for half an hour, and Yan Chen had grasped the basics. Now, it was up to persistence.
By now, though, he was utterly exhausted.
He'd trained all day, stayed up all night, climbed a cliff, and trained another half-hour. His eyes drooped. His stamina was gone.
Yan Chuang didn't force him—he pointed for him to lie down.
Seeing him shivering from cold, Yan Chuang laughed:
"Your body's weak. I'll teach you breathing, walking, sitting, and sleeping methods to build your foundation."
From that night onward—
Yan Chen officially became Yan Chuang's student.
Yan Chuang taught him the Zhan Zhuang Flip, then introduced exercises from the Five Animal Frolics and Hunyuan Technique—methods for health, regulation, and breath control.
Thus—
Three nights passed.
But Yan Chuang's efforts to learn the local language through Yan Chen were progressing slowly.
Even his Teaching Benefits Both Teacher and Student wasn't moving quickly.
Yan Chen's bloodline had yet to awaken. His talent was low. There was little to study or observe from him.
Focusing on him alone would be a waste.
Thankfully—
Yan Chuang only taught at night.
During the day, he either trained solo or went treasure hunting with Cheng Fengxiao.
And just like that—
Three days passed.
On the fourth night of staying at White Rock Mountain, just as Yan Chuang was coaching Yan Chen again, he suddenly heard—
"Thud! Thud! Thud!"
Footsteps, many, approaching fast, encircling the mountaintop.
"Huh?"
Yan Chuang gripped his red-tasseled spear.
Yan Chen looked around in alarm.
He saw dozens of people in leather armor and boots, armed with blades or spears.
Yan Chen recognized them instantly:
"It's the Eagle Division!"
The White Rock Tribe had four divisions—and the Eagle Division was the strongest!
They recruited the most talented youths from all four divisions—the "Young Eagles." Among them, only a few became the elite "Mighty Eagles," their numbers strictly capped at 100.
The ones encircling the summit now—
Were forty Mighty Eagles!
"One, two, three, four…"
"Forty?!"
"Why so many?"
He was stunned—and confused.
Only then did he realize: these forty weren't after anyone else—
They were here for Yan Chuang, the man who'd been training him!
"You filthy Wushan Tribe scum!"
"Back here again trying to deceive our people!"
"You deserve death!"
The Eagle Division leader pointed at Yan Chuang, shouting furiously.
Yan Chuang didn't understand a word.
But Yan Chen did:
"Wushan Tribe? He's from the Wushan Tribe?!"
Of course he'd heard of them.
Far to the west, there was Mount Wushan—home to many small tribes. Over the past few years, ten of them had merged into a powerful alliance, now called the Ten Wushan Tribes.
After taking Mount Wushan, they began infiltrating distant tribes like White Rock—sending masters to teach youths and spread their ideology.
Many tribes had already fractured because of it.
The White Rock divisions were on high alert.
If a youth's skills advanced unusually quickly, they'd send the Eagle Division to investigate.
Just like Yan Chen.
His sudden improvement and suspicious behavior led to investigation—and in only four days, they had found Yan Chuang.
Tonight—
Forty Mighty Eagles had been dispatched.
Their mission: Take Yan Chuang down.
"What's going on?"
Yan Chuang didn't understand their language—
But he could feel their hostility.
They weren't here for peace.
No common tongue?
Then it's time to fight!
"Come!"
"Face my spear!"
He made the first move, charging forward with the Red Tassel Spear, thrusting it like lightning into the group.
Spear?
This was the Eagle Claw Plum Blossom Spear!
"Grab, strike, capture, grapple, flip, crash, squeeze, lean!"
"High lift, low press, flip-crash-roll-smash, leap-embrace, hook-hang, push-sweep, withdraw, chain kicks!"
"This is Plum Blossom Spear!"
"Also Eagle Claw Spear!"
"The essence of Eagle Claw Fist—do you see it now?!"
He wielded the spear like an extension of his fists, demonstrating the true core of Eagle Claw.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The forty Mighty Eagles were roughly equivalent to 4th–5th year students at Guangling Martial Academy—maybe 2nd or 3rd tier. Only their leader was barely elite level.
But even forty of them—
Weren't enough!
Yan Chuang didn't even use his Cheng-style Six Harmonies Spear—
With just Eagle Claw Spear techniques, he overwhelmed them all.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
In Yan Chen's eyes, these elite warriors—normally as untouchable as gods—were no more than children before Yan Chuang's spear.
One after another, they fell.
Some turned to flee.
Most stayed to fight.
Thirty remained.
Yan Chuang didn't kill or even injure.
"Down!"
"Drop it!"
"Let go!"
He just disarmed them and knocked them off the mountain.
Soon—
All their weapons were gone.
"That's better!"
"Barehanded makes it fun!"
He tossed aside the spear and charged in barehanded—
"Lock, seize, subdue, defend!"
"Dislocate joints, strike pressure points, control via clothing!"
"Close-range dominance, fierce aggression!"
"Now this is Eagle Claw Fist!"
"Wrong! Wrong!"
"You need to get closer—close enough to dominate!"
"Hands, eyes, body, technique, footwork!"
"Hands fast, eyes sharp, body agile, steps light! Draw them in, strike the center, enter and retreat with purpose!"
"Pay attention!"
"Even Eagle Claw has Eight Principles—"
"Yin/Yang, inside/outside, up/down, long/short, soft/hard, fast/slow, true/false, real/feint!"
"Come!"
"Let's fight!"
Yan Chuang weaved like a dragon, slithered like a snake—using Eagle Claw against Eagle Claw.
Thirty against one.
A test of mastery.
Yan Chuang had never focused on Eagle Claw, but he had sampled countless styles—his understanding placed him at the peak of this art.
He wasn't just fighting.
He was teaching.
While fighting, he corrected their form.
Using a mix of imperial Chinese and broken phrases he'd picked up from Yan Chen, his guidance was a jumbled mess—
But thanks to Teaching Benefits Both Teacher and Student…