Self-Created Skill!

Mountain-Opening Fist

Eagle Claw Technique

Shen Lin took a deep breath, looking at the two martial arts manuals placed before him. He then patted his cheeks to wake himself up.

Since he had chosen to break into the county yamen's prison, he absolutely could not use the Blood Battle Saber Technique.

In fact, he couldn't even use the Gale Sword Technique.

After all, these were martial arts manuals given to him by Old Master Yuan, the martial arts instructor at the county yamen. Others might not recognize them, but if he happened to encounter Old Master Yuan, he would definitely recognize them at a glance.

Therefore, he had to use an unfamiliar martial art for this mission.

With that thought, he picked up the Mountain-Opening Fist and began to flip through it.

This was a martial art Shen Lin had obtained from the Meridian Opening Realm martial artist guarding the Wu Family's treasury. Although its name was imposing, it was actually not much more advanced than the Blood Battle Saber Technique.

This was understandable, though. If that Meridian Opening Realm martial artist had come from a powerful lineage, why would he be working as a mere guard for a wealthy family in the countryside?

If he had a choice, Shen Lin would have preferred to deduce the Eagle Claw Technique first. After all, it was a Demon Suppression Division martial art, far superior to any he had learned before.

But right now, Shen Lin needed to quickly master a martial art that he hadn't revealed to anyone before.

The Eagle Claw Technique was excellent, but the more powerful a martial art, the more obscure it was. It was unlikely he could fully grasp it in less than half an hour.

Besides, even if he had the time, Shen Lin wouldn't dare to use it.

This was a martial art given to him by the County Magistrate.

He had barely received the martial art before someone used it to rob the county yamen's prison that very night...

Although no one would believe he could cultivate the Eagle Claw Technique to Perfection in just one night, it would still arouse some suspicion.

What if they followed the clues and discovered his system...

Shen Lin shook his head and began to seriously study the Mountain-Opening Fist.

A moment later, the system's prompt sounded.

[Congratulations on learning the martial art "Mountain-Opening Fist". Do you wish to expend lifespan for deduction?]

"Yes!"

Without any hesitation, Shen Lin chose to proceed with the deduction.

[Year 1: Because your body is robust and your vital energy is abundant, you mastered the mysteries of the Mountain-Opening Fist in just three months. Mountain-Opening Fist: Novice!]

[Year 3: You unleashed a punch with the power of thunder and astonishing might. Mountain-Opening Fist: Minor Accomplishment!]

[Year 9: Perhaps due to the foundation laid by other cultivation techniques, your comprehension of the Mountain-Opening Fist was extremely rapid. In just nine years, you cultivated it to Great Accomplishment.]

[Year 20: After years of persistent punching, you have finally grasped all the mysteries of the Mountain-Opening Fist. At this moment, even the originator of this fist technique does not understand it as well as you do. Mountain-Opening Fist: Perfection!]

[Year 23: You sensed the meridians connected to the Mountain-Opening Fist, only to discover that you had already opened both of them. With nothing else to do, you began to further deduce the Mountain-Opening Fist.]

[Year 24: Seasons passed, and you repeatedly practiced your punches, but your understanding of the Mountain-Opening Fist showed no progress. You began to doubt if you had reached the limit of this technique. You changed your approach, no longer confined by the wisdom of your predecessors, and started to think about improving the Mountain-Opening Fist yourself.]

[Year 48: You wished to "open a mountain" with a single punch, as the name of the technique suggested. Thus, you began to meditate at the foot of a mountain, studying its form. After years of enlightenment, you finally understood that at your current stage, limited by your own strength, you could not possibly create a technique that could open a mountain with a single punch.

However, just as you were about to give up, you suddenly had an epiphany.

If the mountain will not come to me, I will go to the mountain!

With this realization, the world opened up.

You no longer viewed the mountains as enemies, but instead integrated your understanding of mountain forms from these years into your fist technique.

With a single punch, it was as if a mountain was toppling, suppressing your opponent with its sheer force.

You successfully created a martial art: "Mountain-Toppling Fist"!

]

[Year 50: You wished to continue improving the Mountain-Toppling Fist, but limited by your vision and strength, you ultimately gained nothing.]

[Deduction complete. Congratulations on creating the new martial art "Mountain-Toppling Fist."]

[As you successfully created a new martial art, you have obtained the talent - Fist Technique Mastery (Beginner)]

[Talent - Fist Technique Mastery: Your comprehension of fist techniques is extraordinary. It can shorten the cultivation time when deducing fist-type martial arts and offers a chance for enlightenment!]

Shen Lin slowly opened his eyes, his face filled with surprise.

He hadn't held much hope for the Mountain-Opening Fist, so he had only invested fifty years of demon monster lifespan for its deduction.

After all, when he first transmigrated, it had only taken him a little over twenty years to deduce the Blood Battle Saber Technique to Perfection.

Investing fifty years was just a precaution.

But he never expected the system to give him such a pleasant surprise.

With the system's help, he had successfully deduced a new martial art.

"Mountain-Toppling Fist"

Shen Lin could feel that with this self-created fist technique, a single punch could mobilize all the vital energy within his body.

This fist technique was connected to ten meridians!

This was the martial art Shen Lin had seen so far that involved the most meridians.

The more meridians a martial art was connected to, the stronger its power.

Shen Lin estimated that once this fist technique was unleashed, few within the Meridian Opening Realm would be able to resist it.

At the very least, no one in Qiulin County would be able to resist it.

He let out a long sigh and pondered for a moment. To be safe, Shen Lin got up and threw the manual for the Mountain-Opening Fist into the bronze basin, burning it completely.

After doing all this, he clapped his hands and was just about to move when he suddenly heard a faint commotion echoing in the night.

He walked out of the room and leaped onto the roof, listening intently.

"Fire! Help!!!"

"The fire is too big! Hurry to the County Yamen for help!!!"

Sounds of panic, one after another, reached his ears.

Shen Lin sighed helplessly.

Didn't they say they would make their move in an hour?

Were Zi Jing's subordinates so unreliable?

Just as Shen Lin was complaining, Zi Jing and her subordinates stood on the upper floor of the Wonderful Sound Pavilion, staring blankly at the burning building.

"Aren't... aren't all our people here?"

She turned around in confusion and looked at her subordinates.

They were all here, and she had just started giving orders. How did it catch fire so quickly???

The raging flames illuminated the street brightly.

Li Bailin held his steel saber, pointing at the man holding a torch in front of him and shouting, "Bold scoundrel, setting fire in Qiulin County! Do you know what a grave crime this is? Surrender quickly!"

The man holding the torch looked bewildered.

He had just come out to watch the commotion, and now he was being treated as an arsonist?

What terrible luck!

Liu Hong felt that he definitely hadn't checked the almanac before leaving home today. Otherwise, why would everything be going wrong?

He had finally found a sucker to guard the treasure vault, only to be ambushed by a master of unknown origin and knocked out without realizing it.

Fortunately, that person had shown mercy and only knocked him out, taking his money and the cultivation technique given by his cheap master, without killing him.

Liu Hong, who had woken up, was too ashamed to face his employer and fled under the cover of night.

After finally arriving in Qiulin County, he remembered he was penniless and had nowhere to stay, so he ended up sleeping under a flyover.

Just as he was about to fall asleep, he was woken up by the commotion and came out to watch the excitement, only to be mistaken for an arsonist.

He sighed and prepared to leave immediately.

Although he wasn't the arsonist, it was still troublesome to deal with the authorities.

Fortunately, no one recognized him. Otherwise, this Qiulin County...

Just then, a yamen runner behind Li Bailin suddenly shouted excitedly, "Boss! I know this guy! He's a wanted criminal in the Meridian Opening Realm from the provincial capital! Liu Hong, the Mountain-Opening Fist!"