Time passed quietly.
Inside Mingwu Pavilion, Dragon Mountain Daoist slowly opened his eyes and let out a soft sigh.
"The Heavenly Human Realm really is as difficult as ascending the heavens…"
He shook his head slightly.
For more than ten years, he had remained at the peak of the Core Formation Realm, yet that final step still eluded him. His divine will had not fully resonated with heaven and earth—just that tiny gap, yet impossible to cross.
A bitter smile appeared on his face.
More than a month ago, after teaching Ning Qi, he had felt a strange pressure. The shock brought by that child's comprehension had stirred his Dao Heart, making him believe an opportunity had arrived. That was why he rushed into seclusion.
But the result was failure.
The foundation was still lacking. No shortcut could replace time.
Fortunately, Dragon Mountain Daoist was not discouraged.
Heavenly Human Realm cultivators could live up to eight hundred years. Compared to that, his current age—just over eighty—was extremely young. Many Heavenly Human experts only succeeded after two hundred years, and some even broke through near the end of their lifespan.
If anything, he had merely been too impatient.
"The Great Yan Dynasty has grown more chaotic recently… it seems it affected my state of mind as well."
He exhaled slowly and adjusted his thoughts.
Although the breakthrough failed, the seclusion was not without gain. At the very least, it allowed him to stabilize his Dao Heart.
Then, another thought surfaced.
"Over a month has passed. I wonder how Little Nine is doing…"
A trace of guilt appeared in his eyes.
Ning Qi had just stepped onto the Martial Dao, yet he, as a Master, had immediately gone into seclusion. By any standard, that was somewhat irresponsible.
But when he recalled that day of instruction, Dragon Mountain Daoist could not help but smile helplessly.
That child was… too frightening.
"Little Nine is unpolished jade. His aptitude surpasses mine by far. If nurtured properly, becoming a Martial Saint is not impossible."
With that thought, Dragon Mountain Daoist stood up.
His figure flickered, the ground seeming to shrink beneath his feet. In a few steps, he left Mingwu Pavilion and headed straight toward Ning Qi's courtyard.
Zhenwu Mountain was vast, but only its core area housed the sect's true foundations. Dragon Mountain Daoist and the nine True Disciples lived at the center, while Inner and Outer Sect disciples resided further outward.
At his speed, reaching Ning Qi's residence took only moments.
Hands clasped behind his back, Daoist robes fluttering, Dragon Mountain Daoist wore a calm smile. His bearing was tranquil, like a crane among clouds.
He had already sensed Ning Qi's life aura from afar.
But suddenly—
A faint dragon roar echoed from ahead.
It carried a subtle yet undeniable majesty.
"This is…?"
Dragon Mountain Daoist's pupils contracted sharply.
His figure appeared soundlessly outside Ning Qi's courtyard.
What he saw froze him in place.
White mist rolled endlessly within the courtyard. From time to time, deep dragon roars emerged, as if a young True Dragon were moving within the fog.
With Dragon Mountain Daoist's eyesight, it was easy to see through the illusion.
That was not a dragon.
It was his disciple.
Ning Qi stood at the center of the courtyard, practicing a stake art. His skin shone like jade, while the flesh beneath faintly glowed red, bulging rhythmically with terrifying vitality.
Compared to a month ago, his body had grown taller and sturdier.
But the most shocking change was his life force.
It was overwhelmingly powerful.
"Skin Tempering… Jade Skin Realm?!"
Dragon Mountain Daoist's breathing quickened.
Even with his cultivation, his heart could not remain calm. This speed was simply absurd. He almost doubted his own memory—had he really only secluded himself for a month?
Yet this was not what shocked him the most.
"This stake art… is not Bixi."
His eyes narrowed.
From Ning Qi's movements, he could clearly see the shadows of the True Martial Nine Stances. Almost every stance was present—yet none of them were complete.
They had been fused.
Refined.
Elevated.
Just by watching, Dragon Mountain Daoist felt a thrilling pressure. The efficiency of body tempering far exceeded that of the True Martial Nine Stances.
As he continued observing—
A thunderbolt struck his mind.
His entire body trembled.
"This is… the Zhenwu Pile?!"
His breath became rapid, emotions surging uncontrollably. The aura he had perfectly concealed instantly fluctuated.
Almost at the same time, Ning Qi sensed the disturbance.
He halted his cultivation and shouted sharply,
"Who's there?!"
His gaze swept outward—and then froze.
"Master?"
Joy instantly appeared in Ning Qi's eyes.
"You've come out of seclusion? Why didn't you make any sound?"
Dragon Mountain Daoist felt slightly awkward. He had originally planned to secretly observe his disciple's progress before guiding him—but what he saw had completely exceeded expectation.
He no longer cared about anything else.
In a flash, he appeared before Ning Qi.
Suppressing the storm in his heart, he asked rapidly,
"Little Nine, tell Master—who taught you the Zhenwu Pile? Is that person still on Zhenwu Mountain? Did they leave anything else behind?"
The questions came one after another.
Ning Qi froze.
After a brief hesitation, he said carefully,
"Master… what Zhenwu Pile are you referring to?"
"The stake art you were just cultivating!"
Ning Qi suddenly understood.
At that moment, many of his previous guesses connected together. It seemed there really was a stronger stake art above the True Martial Nine Stances.
But judging by his Master's reaction, that inheritance did not belong to the current True Martial Sect.
He answered honestly,
"Master, this is not the Zhenwu Pile. It's the True Dragon Pile that I created myself."
Silence.
Dragon Mountain Daoist's beard twitched—then froze completely.
He stared at Ning Qi as if turned to stone.
"You said… you created it yourself?"
This was even more outrageous than discovering a hidden sect inheritance.
Yet Dragon Mountain Daoist knew his disciple well. Ning Qi might be young, but he never spoke nonsense.
Ning Qi had already planned to explain everything. It was simply that his Master had arrived first.
"After Master entered seclusion, I learned the remaining stances from my Senior Brothers and Sisters. Once I mastered all nine, I felt there was a deeper connection between them. During an epiphany, I followed that connection and deduced a new stake art…"
As he spoke, Ning Qi explained his thought process clearly.
Then, he handed over a prepared manual detailing the True Dragon Pile.
Dragon Mountain Daoist finally forced himself to calm down.
He flipped through the manual slowly, listening to Ning Qi's explanation. His eyes were filled with complex emotions that could not be hidden.
He knew very well that the True Martial Nine Stances shared a common root.
But knowing was one thing.
Deducing a higher-level stake art from them was something else entirely.
That was no different from creating a peerless technique from nothing.
It was something that bordered on fantasy.
And yet—
It had been done.
By a child.