Fire Cloud Palm

Looking at the nine red dots on the beast skin parchment in his hand, Long Chen fell into thought. The nine dots were distributed without any pattern.

There were no hints, but Long Chen examined it closely this time and found a faint, almost imperceptible line connecting the nine dots.

"These should be nine acupoints."

Long Chen pondered for a long time before reaching this conclusion. He cross-referenced this with the countless meridian diagrams in his mind, and only then did he definitively confirm it. Anyone else would have been exhausted trying to figure it out.

"Li Yao, Rong Hui Ming... Chong Qu Chi, Ru Lao Gong?"

Long Chen softly recited the names of the nine acupoints corresponding to the dots. Following the route, Long Chen was taken aback: "This isn't a fist or palm technique, but a battle skill for activating weapons!"

"What brilliant means!"

Long Chen studied it and discovered that circulating true qi along these nine directions once was like surging waves in a great river, undergoing ninefold enhancement. Once unleashed, it would undoubtedly be terrifying.

"Haha, I've struck gold!" Although he didn't know the rank of this battle skill, it was definitely not low. Long Chen was overjoyed.

With a thought, he calmed his mind and circulated the qi in his dantian, pouring it into the Li Yao acupoint. However, when he tried to guide his spiritual power to the second acupoint, he found his spiritual power insufficient.

"Hmm?"

Long Chen was stunned for a moment before immediately understanding. This cultivation method likely had very high requirements for spiritual power. Insufficient spiritual power meant he couldn't activate it.

He abandoned the spiritual power in his dantian and directly used the spiritual power from the Wind Mansion Star. As expected, the spiritual power within the Wind Mansion Star was far more abundant than that in his dantian.

However, by the time he reached the fourth acupoint, he still began to stagnate. No matter how hard Long Chen tried, he couldn't push through to the sixth acupoint.

"I refuse to believe it!"

Long Chen gritted his teeth, drew a trace of spiritual power from the Wind Mansion Star, and injected it into the qi vortex in his dantian. The qi vortex in his dantian immediately surged, and a wild power erupted.

He controlled that energy and rapidly pushed forward.

"Sixth!"

"Seventh!"

"Eighth!"

"Not good..."

Long Chen was suddenly alarmed and hurriedly withdrew his spiritual power, circulating his divine sense to observe his meridians.

He was horrified to discover that cracks had already appeared on his meridians from being unable to withstand the terrifying energy. If Long Chen had been a moment slower in withdrawing his spiritual power, his meridians could have shattered.

If his meridians had shattered, it would have taken a very long time to repair them. Long Chen broke out in a cold sweat.

"No, this is not suitable for me to cultivate for now." Long Chen had no choice but to give up cultivating the Sky Opening technique.

He swallowed a Meridian Nourishing Pill to repair his slightly damaged meridians, then slowly stood up and walked out.

Pushing open the door, a gust of fresh air greeted him. Taking a deep breath, Long Chen felt much of his recent fatigue dissipate.

The sun had just risen in the east. Long Chen inquired with Bao'er and learned that everything in the manor was normal. A' Man was well-fed and had no issues.

This put Long Chen's mind at ease. After a moment of thought, he changed into a new set of clothes, preparing to go to the Alchemist Guild to seek Master Yun Qi's help.

However, Long Chen felt a bit apprehensive. Generally, alchemists focused solely on Pill Fire and did not cultivate battle skills, all to concentrate their energy and hopefully go further on the path of alchemy.

Alchemists were often very proud and looked down upon martial cultivators who fought and killed. This was why Master Yun Qi had offered Long Chen guidance that day.

But Long Chen had his own ideas. He had been bullied for too long, and without strong martial power, he felt insecure.

What status or position meant nothing to Long Chen; in the face of absolute strength, they were as fragile as a piece of paper.

However, Long Chen didn't know if Master Yun Qi would simply kick him out when they met.

"Long Chen!"

As Long Chen was feeling anxious, he had already walked several streets. Suddenly, a familiar voice called out. Looking up, he saw a carriage stopped in the distance.

A young woman in the carriage lifted the curtain, her pretty face filled with joy as she looked at Long Chen. It was clearly Palace Mistress Chu Yao, whom he had met once before.

"Chu Yao!"

Long Chen was slightly surprised to see Chu Yao, but for some reason, his anxiety lessened upon seeing her.

Chu Yao suddenly looked around. Seeing that there was no one around early in the morning, she beckoned to Long Chen: "Hurry up and get in!"

Long Chen hadn't expected Chu Yao to invite him into her carriage. Seeing the joy on Chu Yao's face, Long Chen's heart skipped a beat, and he directly boarded her carriage.

The carriage interior was spacious, with a fragrant bed and a tea table covered with a blanket.

"What a coincidence, meeting you here! Come with me to Falling Sunset Mountain, okay?"

Seeing Long Chen, Chu Yao's beautiful eyes were filled with joy, a stark contrast to her usual willful demeanor.

"A beautiful woman invites me, if I dared to refuse, I'd be afraid of being struck by lightning!" Long Chen chuckled.

Chu Yao's pretty face blushed. Restricted by various rules in the palace, she greatly enjoyed Long Chen's unrestrained way of speaking.

The carriage slowly left the city, heading towards Falling Sunset Mountain outside the city.

"Chu Yao, why are we going to Falling Sunset Mountain?" Long Chen asked.

"I... I just want to go play!" For some reason, Chu Yao's pretty face flushed, leaving Long Chen somewhat bewildered.

"Long Chen, I'm not delaying anything important for you, am I?" Chu Yao asked tentatively.

"No? I was just out for a stroll. It just so happens I could catch a ride with you and come out to play," Long Chen chuckled.

"Right, is your brother doing okay? I'm really sorry about what happened last time." Long Chen still felt a bit embarrassed about the matter concerning the Seventh Prince.

"It's fine. It's good to scare him a little; it might keep him in line for a while," Chu Yao laughed.

The two chatted as they traveled, and before long, they arrived at the foot of Falling Sunset Mountain. Chu Yao got out of the car directly, telling the guard to drive back by himself.

"Walk up with me. I really like the scenery here," Chu Yao said, pointing to the small path ahead. "When I was little, I used to climb this mountain often, but after my father went into seclusion, I rarely had the chance to come."

As she spoke, a hint of melancholy appeared on Chu Yao's pretty face, making one feel a pang of sympathy. Long Chen couldn't help but sigh. It seemed that no matter where one was born, there were always things that didn't go as planned.

"Long Chen, what's wrong? Are you preoccupied?" Chu Yao asked, noticing Long Chen's low spirits.

Seeing Chu Yao's concerned gaze, Long Chen felt a warmth spread through his heart. He didn't know why, but even though he had only met Chu Yao once before, under complex circumstances where they were initially on opposing sides.

Yet, she gave him a feeling of trustworthiness, a feeling he couldn't quite explain.

When Chu Yao asked, Long Chen's heart stirred. "I have indeed run into some trouble. I want to learn some higher-level combat techniques now."

"You want to learn combat techniques? Then you should ask me! I don't charge any tuition fees," Chu Yao's eyes lit up, and she couldn't help but laugh.

"I've mastered thirteen combat techniques. Everyone says I'm an absolute genius!"

"Mastered thirteen combat techniques?" Then use routines to fight others? Long Chen felt a bit confused.

"Hey, what's with that look? Are you doubting what I just said?" A hint of anger appeared on Chu Yao's pretty face.

"You're wrong. I don't doubt your words in the slightest; in fact, I don't believe them at all," Long Chen laughed heartily.

"You scoundrel, take this!" Chu Yao let out a delicate cry and slapped a palm towards Long Chen.

Slap!

Chu Yao's palm struck Long Chen's chest. Although she hadn't circulated her spiritual energy, the force was still considerable. It landed on Long Chen with a loud thud.

"You... why didn't you dodge?" Chu Yao hadn't expected Long Chen to stand his ground.

"If I dodged, you wouldn't have been able to hit me, and that would be no fun," Long Chen chuckled, though he placed a jade-like hand on his chest. Even through his clothes, he could feel a strange sensation.

"Long Chen..."

Looking at Long Chen's cheerful smile, Chu Yao felt a warmth she couldn't explain. She slowly leaned her pretty face against his chest.

Long Chen suddenly stiffened. What is this situation? He didn't dare to move, remaining as still as a wooden post.

"Pfft"

Chu Yao's pretty face suddenly flushed. Seeing Long Chen's nervous expression, she couldn't help but cover her mouth and giggle, "You bad guy. When you fought me that day, you were like a ferocious tiger baring its claws. How did you become a little kitten now?"

Long Chen felt a wave of awkwardness and quickly changed the subject. "Chu Yao, I don't consider you an outsider. I really need to learn some higher-level combat techniques now."

Chu Yao's pretty face turned red, and she shot Long Chen a glance. Not treating me as an outsider means treating me as an "insider," she thought, clearly misunderstanding his meaning.

However, seeing Long Chen's serious expression, Chu Yao also became serious. "I'm not joking. I've truly mastered many combat techniques. Watch if you don't believe me."

Chu Yao extended her jade-like hand, and a scorching aura rose. A faint reddish glow appeared on her palm.

"Bang"

She struck a tree as thick as a water bucket. The tree trembled, and leaves rained down. When her jade hand moved away, a shallow handprint was visible on the tree.

"See? This is a high-level Human-tier combat technique, Fire Cloud Palm. What do you think? Scared?"

Seeing Long Chen's dumbfounded expression, a hint of pride appeared on Chu Yao's pretty face.

Long Chen was indeed taken aback. This power can be considered a combat technique? Even without using any combat techniques, Long Chen could snap a tree in half with a single palm strike.

"Hmm, it looks very good," Long Chen commented sincerely. Chu Yao's movements were very fluid and graceful, a pleasure to watch.

Chu Yao didn't detect the hidden meaning in Long Chen's words at all. She thought he was stunned by her display and patiently began explaining the key points of the technique to him.

However, after hearing Chu Yao's explanation of the Fire Cloud Palm's application, Long Chen was slightly surprised. This was clearly a powerful palm technique.

"Let me try."

"So fast?" Chu Yao was somewhat incredulous.

Long Chen smiled faintly. "Combat techniques are merely methods of circulating spiritual energy. By layering it through the Meridians within the body, one can unleash even greater power."

Long Chen was intimately familiar with the Meridians within his body. After hearing Chu Yao's explanation once, he had already grasped it completely.

He circulated the spiritual energy in his Dantian, and a surge of dense, fiery energy erupted. Long Chen let out a shout and struck out with his palm.

"Boom"

A giant tree in front of Long Chen, requiring several people to encircle, snapped in two. Its massive crown crashed down.

"Bang"

The tree hit the ground, kicking up dust and stones with astonishing force. Chu Yao, standing nearby, was stunned. Is this really the Fire Cloud Palm I know?

Looking at the charred break in the giant tree, the unique mark of the Fire Cloud Palm, Long Chen nodded inwardly. As expected of a high-level Human-tier combat technique, its power is formidable.

However, seeing Chu Yao beside him with her pretty face full of shock, Long Chen's heart stirred. He reached out and took Chu Yao's jade-like hand.

"Chu Yao, let me examine your body."