Self-Created Martial Art!

"Mountain-Opening Fist"

"Eagle Claw Technique"

Looking at the two martial arts manuals before him, Shen Lin took a deep breath and slapped his cheeks to clear his head.

Since he had chosen to force his way into the County Yamen prison, he naturally could not use Blood Battle Saber Technique.

He could not even use Gale Sword Technique.

After all, this was a technique given to him by Old Master Yuan, the County Yamen's martial arts instructor. Others might not recognize it, but if he happened to face Old Master Yuan, the man would definitely identify him at a glance.

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

At this thought, he picked up Mountain-Opening Fist and began flipping through it.

This was a martial art Shen Lin had obtained from the Meridian Opening Realm martial artist guarding the Wu Family's treasury. Its name sounded imposing, but in reality, it was not much more profound than Blood Battle Saber Technique.

That was understandable, though. If that Meridian Opening Realm martial artist had come from an impressive lineage, why would he have gone to serve as a guard for a wealthy family in the countryside?

If he had a choice, Shen Lin would definitely have chosen to deduce Eagle Claw Technique first. After all, it was a martial art of the Demon Suppression Division, vastly more powerful than the martial arts he had learned before.

But what Shen Lin needed now was to master, as quickly as possible, a martial art he had never revealed in front of anyone else.

Eagle Claw Technique was excellent, but the more powerful a martial art was, the more obscure it became. With less than half an hour, it would probably be difficult to fully comprehend it.

Besides, even if there were enough time, Shen Lin would not dare use it.

This was the martial art the county magistrate had given him.

The very night after giving him a martial art, someone used that same art to rob the County Yamen prison...

Although no one should believe that he could cultivate Eagle Claw Technique to perfection in just one night, it would still arouse a trace of suspicion.

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

Shen Lin shook his head and began seriously studying Mountain-Opening Fist.

A moment later, the system's notification sounded.

Congratulations, you have learned the martial art "Mountain-Opening Fist." Would you like to spend lifespan to deduce it?

"Yes!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Shen Lin chose to begin the deduction.

In the first year, because your body was strong and your Blood Qi Power was abundant, you grasped the basics of Mountain-Opening Fist's mysteries in merely three months. Mountain-Opening Fist, Initiation!

In the third year, you threw a punch with the force of rolling thunder and astonishing might. Mountain-Opening Fist, Minor Accomplishment!

In the ninth year, perhaps because you had laid a foundation with other techniques, your comprehension of Mountain-Opening Fist progressed extremely quickly. In merely nine years, you cultivated it to Great Accomplishment.

In the twentieth year, after years of tirelessly throwing punches, you finally grasped all the secrets of Mountain-Opening Fist. At this point, even the person who created the technique would not understand it as well as you. Mountain-Opening Fist, Perfection!

In the twenty-third year, you comprehended the meridians connected to Mountain-Opening Fist, only to discover that you had already opened both of them. With nothing else to do, you continued deducing Mountain-Opening Fist.

In the twenty-fourth year, spring passed and autumn arrived. You threw punch after punch, yet your understanding of Mountain-Opening Fist did not advance in the slightest. You began to suspect that you had already cultivated this fist technique to its limit. Changing your approach, you no longer confined yourself to the wisdom of those who came before and began contemplating how to improve Mountain-Opening Fist yourself.

In the forty-eighth year, wanting to split a mountain with one punch, just as the name Mountain-Opening Fist described, you began sitting beneath a mountain, studying its terrain. After years of comprehending the Dao, you finally understood that, at your current stage, limited by your own strength, you simply could not create a technique capable of splitting a mountain with one punch.

But just as you were preparing to give up, you suddenly attained enlightenment.

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

Once a thought connected, heaven and earth opened wide.

You no longer regarded the great mountain as an enemy. Instead, you incorporated all the insights you had gained about mountain terrain over the years into your fist technique.

When a punch was thrown, it was as though a great mountain were collapsing, crushing others beneath its momentum.

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

In the fiftieth year, you wanted to continue improving Mountain-Toppling Fist, but limited by your vision and strength, you ultimately gained nothing.

The deduction ended. Congratulations, you created the martial art "Mountain-Toppling Fist."

Because you successfully created a new martial art, you obtained the talent—Fist Technique Mastery (Beginner).

Talent—Fist Technique Mastery: Your comprehension of fist techniques is extraordinary. When deducing fist-type martial arts, you can shorten the cultivation time and may even attain sudden enlightenment!

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

He had not held out much hope for Mountain-Opening Fist. That was why he had only invested fifty years of Demon Lifespan in its deduction.

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

Investing fifty years had merely been for the sake of caution.

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

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

"Mountain-Toppling Fist."

Shen Lin could feel that when he swung a punch with this self-created fist technique, he could mobilize all the Blood Qi Power in his body.

This fist technique was connected to ten meridians!

It was the martial art connected to the greatest number of meridians that Shen Lin had seen so far.

And the more meridians a martial art was connected to, the greater its power.

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

At the very least, no one in Qiulin County should be able to withstand it.

After letting out a long breath, Shen Lin pondered for a while. To be safe, he still got up, tossed the Mountain-Opening Fist manual into a bronze basin, and burned it to ashes.

After finishing all this, he clapped his hands and was just about to leave when he suddenly heard a faint abnormal sound begin echoing beneath the night sky.

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

"Fire! Somebody come!!!"

"The flames are too fierce! Hurry and go to the County Yamen for help!!!"

Panic-stricken voices reached his ears in fits and starts.

Shen Lin sighed helplessly.

Wasn't it agreed that they would make their move after an hour?

Were Zijing's subordinates really this unreliable?

While Shen Lin was complaining, Zijing and her people stood on the upper floor of Wonderful Sound Pavilion, staring blankly at the burning site.

"Wasn't everyone on our side here...?"

She turned around in confusion and looked at her subordinates.

They were all here, and she had only just begun assigning the mission. How had a fire started already???

The surging flames illuminated the street brilliantly.

Li Bailin held a steel saber and pointed at the man holding a torch ahead of him, shouting, "Bold criminal! How dare you set fire within Qiulin County! Do you know what a grave crime this is? Hurry up and surrender!"

The man held up his torch, his face blank with confusion.

How had he, merely coming out to watch the commotion, been mistaken for the arsonist?

What terrible luck!

Liu Hong felt that he definitely had not checked the almanac before leaving home. Otherwise, why would everything keep going wrong?

After finally finding a sucker willing to hire him to guard a treasury, he had been ambushed by an expert of unknown origin and knocked unconscious before he knew what had happened.

Fortunately, that person had held back, merely knocking him out, taking the money on him and the technique given by that cheap master of his, without killing him.

After waking up, Liu Hong was too ashamed to face his employer, so he had fled into the night.

Only after finally reaching Qiulin County did he remember that he was penniless and had nowhere to stay. Thus, he could only lie beneath the skybridge.

He had just been about to fall asleep when the commotion woke him. He had come out to watch the excitement, only to be mistaken for an arsonist.

He sighed and prepared to leave immediately.

Although he was not the arsonist, it was still best not to have too much dealings with the authorities.

Fortunately, none of them had recognized him. Otherwise, this Qiulin County...

At that moment, a constable behind Li Bailin suddenly shouted excitedly, "Chief! I know this fellow! He's a wanted criminal from the prefecture, a Meridian Opening Realm martial artist! Liu Hong of the Mountain-Opening Fist!!!"