The Mute Martial Monk's arrival was like a magnet, drawing Xu Qian's attention and holding it fast. This "furnace of qi and blood" was far too tempting to him. For several days in a row, he was especially "diligent" when delivering meals, his gaze—mostly his Qi Gazing Technique—nearly scanning the Martial Monk from head to toe.
Yet the Martial Monk remained like a stone Buddha in deep meditation, indifferent to everything around him. Apart from the uncontrolled, occasional fluctuations of his searing qi and blood, there was nothing else out of the ordinary.
This monk's concentration is way too deep. Is he really going to sit here until the end of time? Xu Qian scratched his head. Simply observing the flow of qi and blood with the Qi Gazing Technique let him roughly judge the strength of the man's body and the extent of his injuries, but it wasn't enough to "steal" the details of his cultivation method.
A breakthrough came one unremarkable afternoon.
As usual, Xu Qian went to deliver water to Cell C-6. When he bent down to pass the ladle through the slot, his gaze happened to sweep across the ground beside the Martial Monk's meditation spot.
It was hard stone, worn smooth and cold from years of being trampled.
But right beside the Martial Monk, in a corner near the wall, Xu Qian's sharp eyes caught several tiny, unnatural indentations in the stone!
If his eyesight hadn't improved greatly after breaking through to the Houtian Mid Stage, and if he hadn't been watching so carefully, he would never have noticed them!
His heart stirred. After delivering the water, he didn't leave right away. Instead, he pretended to tie his shoe and crouched down, studying the area from the corner of his eye.
The indentations seemed to form the faint outline of a palm print! It was shallow, with indistinct edges, as if someone had simply pressed down hard without thinking.
But with his Qi Gazing Technique, Xu Qian "saw" an extremely faint yet unusually concentrated, fierce, pale golden aura lingering over the stone where the palm print remained! It shared the same source as the Martial Monk's searing qi and blood, but was far more concentrated, carrying the sense of something that could crush anything in its path and suppress evil spirits!
Is this... a trace left behind when his qi and blood, or perhaps his true qi, leaked out unconsciously? Xu Qian's heart pounded. "This palm print... It must be the remnant of the intent left by an incredibly fierce palm technique!"
Though it was only a tiny, incomplete trace, leaked out by accident, the "intent" it held shone clear as a firefly in the dark!
Here's my chance!
Xu Qian forced down his excitement and kept his composure. He tied his shoe—which hadn't even come undone—stood up, and left as calmly as if he hadn't noticed a thing.
But in his mind, he was already rapidly devising a "rubbing plan."
That night, it was Xu Qian's turn to stand watch during the latter half of the night. He had prepared something in advance: a small lump of soft, waterlogged mud. He had secretly scraped it from a damp corner while clearing out some clutter earlier that day.
After midnight, Block E fell utterly silent. Once he confirmed that the Martial Monk was still sitting motionless like a stone statue, his breathing long and steady, Xu Qian slipped like a ghost to the outside of Cell C-6.
Holding his breath, he brought the Turtle Breath Art to its peak and carefully reached the lump of wet mud through the bars, pressing it precisely over the vague indentation of the palm print!
He moved gently and slowly, afraid of rousing the "beast" inside.
The mud molded itself neatly to the outline of the palm print, taking a rubbing of the lingering "intent."
Throughout the process, Xu Qian was so nervous that his palms sweated. He felt like a master thief sneaking into a museum to steal an artifact.
Fortunately, the Martial Monk seemed immersed in the deepest meditation, completely unaware of the world outside.
Once the rubbing was complete, Xu Qian quickly retrieved the lump of mud bearing his "treasure," tucked it into his clothes, and vanished into the darkness as silently as he had come.
Only after returning to a relatively safe corner did Xu Qian let out a long breath and hurriedly take out the lump of mud.
By the dim firelight, he could see the clear indentation of a palm print in the mud. It was still blurry, but much clearer than the one on the stone!
He gently brushed his fingers over the indentation while fully activating the Longevity Dao Fruit!
Bzz!
The Dao Fruit's clear light flowed, and a distinct pulling force arose!
A faint stream of information, imbued with fierce, domineering, unbreakable intent, surged through his fingertips and into his mind!
[Obtained a trace of insight into the intent of a 'Buddhist Fierce Palm Technique.'] [Inferring... Palm technique is too incomplete to reconstruct the full moves.] [Analyzing the core intent... Obtained a fragment of 'Vajra Intent' (extremely minute).] [May attempt to merge the 'Vajra Intent' fragment into existing attack methods to slightly increase power and durability.]
Although he hadn't obtained the complete palm technique, Xu Qian was overjoyed to have gained this fragment of "Vajra Intent"!
He could feel that though the fragment was faint, its quality was extraordinary! If he merged it into his Sword Intent Seed or his ordinary attacks, it would bring about a qualitative change! His attacks would become even more unstoppable, and his defenses—if he ever learned any defensive moves—would become as impregnable as a fortress!
What a haul! What an incredible haul! Xu Qian looked at the ordinary lump of mud in his hand as if it were a priceless treasure.
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