Xuan Su's Shock: Is Liu Yuan a Form Creation Realm Expert?

Upon hearing Xuan Su's words, Liu Yuan could not help but regard her more highly.

He had to admit that for Xuan Su to hold steady as the manager of the Myriad Gold Merchant Association and navigate Flame City, such a chaotic place filled with all sorts of people, with such ease, she truly possessed her own unique methods and courage.

Liu Yuan understood this perfectly well.

The reason Xia Wanjin and Xuan Su were willing to spend so much to win him over ultimately stemmed from their speculation about Ice Old Ghost's death.

But the problem was that battle had taken place in the wilderness. Other than Liu Yuan himself, no third party had been present.

In other words, it was all merely their conjecture. They had no solid evidence.

Ordinary people facing such uncertainty would most likely choose to wait and see, or probe further.

Yet these two had skipped the probing entirely, choosing to trust their instincts. They were even willing to offer him numerous benefits and place a huge gamble on an unproven "guess."

Such courage to place a bet amid the fog was indeed beyond ordinary people.

"Since Sister has put it this way, refusing any further would only make me seem pretentious."

The thought flashed through Liu Yuan's mind, but he revealed a hearty smile and cupped his hands toward Xuan Su.

"Just as Sister said, the inn is indeed too noisy. I'll shamelessly accept this Secluded Bamboo Garden."

He did have a need for a place to stay, and the other party happened to want to use this method to win him over and deepen their ties.

Since it was a mutually beneficial arrangement, Liu Yuan naturally did not mind accepting more benefits.

After all, only when both sides contributed could the rope binding their interests be tied tighter, making their relationship even "deeper."

Seeing Liu Yuan agree so readily, the smile in Xuan Su's Peach Blossom Eyes immediately deepened, making even her already exquisite makeup seem more vivid.

She was not afraid of him being greedy; she was afraid of him having no desires at all.

If he was willing to accept things, that meant this relationship had been established.

"Hehe, that's more like it. Why be so polite with your sister?"

Xuan Su covered her mouth and chuckled, then promptly began making arrangements with decisive efficiency.

Half an Hour later, Secluded Bamboo Garden, south of the city.

This was an exceptionally elegant residence, surrounded by lush purple bamboo. When the breeze passed through, the bamboo leaves rustled like nature's melody. It was indeed more than a hundred times quieter than the noisy inn.

Xuan Su not only personally showed Liu Yuan around the residence, but also displayed the meticulousness expected of the manager of the Myriad Gold Merchant Association.

She had not only arranged for the place to be cleaned until it was spotless, but had even prepared maids and servants for him.

These maids were all delicate and pretty, and had received strict training. Whether pouring tea, doing laundry, or cooking meals, each was highly capable. Clearly, Xuan Su had selected them carefully.

The two of them continued chatting over tea in the main hall.

Only after a pot of fine Cloud Mist Spirit Tea had been finished, and Xuan Su saw that Liu Yuan seemed ready to rest, did she tactfully rise to take her leave. She repeatedly assured him that she would help him keep an eye out for information about medicinal herbs as soon as possible.

After seeing Xuan Su off, the noisy world finally fell completely silent.

Standing in the center of the courtyard, Liu Yuan took in the faint bamboo fragrance and abundant spiritual energy of heaven and earth around him, then nodded in satisfaction.

"This place is indeed not bad. It's suitable for cultivation."

He dismissed the maids who wanted to come forward and attend to him, then returned alone to the Quiet Room and sat down cross-legged.

"Now that my Meridians are open, the cultivation of the Demonic Body is stalled by the lack of medicinal herbs, while the Sky Flame Ancient Formation is limited by my realm and difficult to improve further..."

Liu Yuan stroked his chin as his consciousness sank into the system space.

Aside from the Sky Flame Ancient Formation and the Demonic Body, he had also received a Martial Arts technique called the Great Demon Shattering Fist from the system.

It was an extremely tyrannical close-combat Martial Arts technique, ranked at the sixth grade!

However, he had previously been busy opening his Meridians and studying formations, leaving him no time to cultivate this fist technique.

"Now that I have nothing else to do, I can use this time while waiting for the medicinal herbs to master this Martial Arts technique."

Having made up his mind, Liu Yuan no longer hesitated.

With a thought, an obscure yet massive torrent of information instantly flooded into his mind.

The Great Demon Shattering Fist focused on breaking techniques with force and piercing surfaces through a single point!

Once cultivated to Great Accomplishment, a single punch would be like an ancient great demon descending upon the world. Its fist force contained terrifying vibrational power, enough to shatter an enemy's defenses in an instant!

Paired with Liu Yuan's formidable Physical Body, tempered by Origin Power, this fist technique was like adding wings to a tiger!

Over the following days, a figure cultivating tirelessly appeared within Secluded Bamboo Garden.

In the early morning, before the bamboo grove had awakened, the dull roar of fists slicing through the air already echoed through the courtyard.

Late at night, beneath moonlight like water, that figure still swung his fists tirelessly, drenched in sweat.

Liu Yuan's cultivation talent had always been extremely high, and with the system's assistance, his comprehension of this Martial Arts technique advanced at an astonishing speed.

From initial awkwardness, to later proficiency, to gradually grasping its essence...

In merely half a month, this profound Martial Arts technique, which ordinary people might need years just to begin learning, had already been developed by Liu Yuan to an extremely high level.

Half a month later.

In the morning, sunlight filtered through the dense bamboo leaves, scattering mottled patches of light and shadow.

The Backyard of Secluded Bamboo Garden was deathly silent.

Liu Yuan wore a loose training outfit as he stood quietly in the center of the grounds, his eyes slightly closed and his breathing Long and Steady.

There were no excessively violent Origin Power fluctuations around him. He appeared plain and unremarkable, as though he had merged with heaven and earth.

Yet upon closer observation, one would discover that within thirty feet around him, the tiny stones on the ground were trembling faintly, as if bearing some invisible pressure.

Suddenly.

Liu Yuan's eyes snapped open. At that moment, his pupils seemed to become two bottomless black holes as a chillingly ferocious aura erupted without restraint!

"Great Demon Shattering Fist!"

He gave a low shout in his heart.

Liu Yuan fiercely stomped his right foot against the ground. The hard Bluestone slabs instantly cracked, while his body used the recoil force to shoot forward like a fully drawn powerful bow!

His right fist clenched tightly. Without any flashy movements, he simply threw a straightforward punch!

Boom!

As the punch flew out, the air ahead seemed to be instantly evacuated, releasing an incomparably dull sonic boom.

A visible black fist imprint, carrying destructive vibrational force, whistled through the air and slammed heavily into a massive sword-testing stone standing thirty feet tall in the corner of the courtyard.

There was no earth-shattering explosion.

Instead, the sound made by the punch striking the boulder was strangely muffled, like a heavy hammer striking rotten leather.

Pfft.

After a soft sound, Liu Yuan slowly withdrew his fist, clasped his hands behind his back, and gently exhaled a breath of Turbid Qi.

The next moment.

Crack... crack...

A series of fine cracking sounds rang out.

The incredibly hard sword-testing stone, capable of withstanding the full-force strike of an Origin Core Realm Expert without breaking, began to collapse from within.

Countless cracks rapidly spread like a spiderweb. Finally, with a crash, it turned into a pile of fine stone powder that scattered across the ground!

That single punch had directly shaken the massive boulder into powder!

This was the essence of the Great Demon Shattering Fist—destruction from the inside out!

"Phew... It's finally complete."

Liu Yuan looked at the stone powder scattered across the ground, a satisfied curve lifting at the corner of his mouth.

If the power of this punch now landed on a person, even a Form Creation Realm Minor Accomplishment expert would likely have their internal organs instantly shattered and die on the spot.

However.

Just as Liu Yuan finished cultivating and was preparing to return inside to wash up and change clothes.

Clap... clap... clap...

A burst of crisp applause suddenly came from the courtyard gate.

Liu Yuan's expression shifted slightly. In truth, several breaths earlier, his terrifying Spiritual Power perception as a Five-Seal Talisman Master had already detected the visitor.

He turned around and saw Xuan Su in a red dress standing beneath the moon gate. Her beautiful eyes were fixed firmly on the pile of stone powder, her face filled with unconcealed shock.

"Little Brother Liu Yuan, it's only been half a month since we last met, yet your strength... seems to have improved quite a bit again."

Although Xuan Su's voice remained seductive, it now carried an obvious tremor.

When she had arrived, she had happened to witness the instant Liu Yuan threw that punch.

Though she had been far away, the terrifying pressure erupted by that punch, as well as its suffocating sense of oppression, had made her soul tremble.

And what Horrified her most was the aura Liu Yuan had just unleashed...

Vast, deep, and condensed to the extreme!

She was no stranger to that feeling.

As the manager of the Myriad Gold Merchant Association, she had once been fortunate enough to witness Flame City's strongest expert—the City Lord, Shi Cheng—make a move.

At the time, Shi Cheng had felt as immovable as a mountain to her.

But now...

She discovered in horror that the intensity of the aura Liu Yuan had emitted in that instant was actually far stronger than that of Stone City Lord whom she had seen before!

How was that possible?!

Stone City Lord was a genuine Form Creation Realm expert!

If Liu Yuan's aura was even stronger than Stone City Lord's, then didn't that mean...

A scalp-numbing thought flashed through Xuan Su's mind like lightning.

Her beautiful eyes instantly widened to their limits as she stared fixedly at Liu Yuan, her Red Lips trembling while enormous waves surged through her heart.

"C-Could it be..."

"Little Brother Liu Yuan isn't at the Origin Core Realm Great Perfection, as we previously guessed..."

"But a Form Creation Realm Expert... even stronger than Stone City Lord?!"