Mastering Mysterious Steps

"The amount of medicinal liquid is not small, and the farmers at Dongshan Manor don't have that many... There is a group of people inside the manor we don't know about."

"Could it be that those who left stay at the manor for a period of time before heading down the mountain?"

"But if that's the case, why do they drink these medicinal liquids? What is the true efficacy of these liquids when not paired with the meat of fierce beasts?"

"Perhaps, behind Xuanming Manor, it really is that sect..."

Returning from the Medicine Pavilion to his dormitory, An Jing was filled with doubts.

An Jing was a person with innate wisdom; he had studied diligently since childhood and had seen much over the years. With the channels of the An family, he was definitely considered a well-informed person in the Huaixu Realm.

Coupled with his experiences at Xuanming Manor over the past few months, An Jing could actually analyze that the background behind Xuanming Manor was likely not very clean.

But as for exactly how unclean it was, An Jing had not thought about it in detail before.

Purely based on his feelings, he was willing to trust Xuanming Manor, and for that, he was willing to overlook certain details.

However, now that the details had been shoved right in front of his eyes, he had no way to ignore them. Since that heart of doubt had been raised, it was difficult to dispel.

Regardless, he had to conduct a second investigation to find the true secrets hidden behind Xuanming Manor.

However, An Jing did not intend to go out for a night investigation immediately; his strength was not yet sufficient, and it would be difficult to avoid the patrolling instructors.

Moreover, there was only one open, straight road from the main manor to Dongshan Manor. To get there without being discovered, he needed a dark, cloudy night.

An Jing staying awake in the middle of the night was not to conduct an immediate night probe, but to proactively "involution," learning the "Mysterious Steps" from the Imperial Heaven Piercing-God One-Origin Qi-Nurturing Method as quickly as possible.

Mysterious Steps, or "Unwavering," was a type of "movement technique" quite rare in Da Chen.

Killing techniques and nurturing techniques were not rare in Da Chen, but mental cultivation methods and movement techniques, even the simplest ones, were enough to serve as the core heritage of a martial family.

Just as An Jing considered the other two parts of the Imperial Heaven Qi-Nurturing Method to be "assassination techniques," Mysterious Steps indeed upheld the core philosophy of "as ethereal as heaven's will, leaving no trace."

It was not particularly fast, but it could suppress sound and breath, making it extremely stealthy. It focused on approaching silently and, when necessary, erupting suddenly—like a thunderclap descending with heaven's will—before vanishing instantly to make an escape.

Moreover, this was the benefit of a complete set of martial arts.

Mysterious Steps was not fast on a daily basis, but at critical moments, one could use "Piercing-God Unwavering" to erupt with Armor-Piercing True Energy to accelerate. Although the duration was not long, it was certainly enough for critical moments.

Conversely, the "Houtu Body-Nurturing Method" should be a martial arts secret manual primarily focused on body-tempering techniques and frontal combat, or perhaps focused on nourishing meridians to better develop physical potential.

At night, An Jing used the moonlight and his improved eyesight from martial arts training to carefully study the secret manual. During the day, he practiced on the surface to cover his progress.

Having already become number one and being able to obtain all the benefits, hiding a few things would do no harm. An Jing was mainly curious about where those medicines were going.

After all, in recent days, he had always felt a vague sense of unease.

Those beast bones with black patterns suspected to be from demons, those medicinal liquids of unknown purpose, and the overly mysterious background of Xuanming Manor all left him feeling at a loss.

An Jing had this kind of personality: if something could not be mastered by him, he would strive to master it.

He would never remain indifferent or deceive himself into thinking "nothing is wrong."

Soon, more than ten days passed.

An Jing's "Mysterious Steps" had reached a small success. When executed, the force under his feet would pulse like stepping on clouds and mist; even if he stepped on branches in the forest, they would not make a sound, as all vibrations were absorbed.

It could also be paired with other cultivation methods. By holding an "Abyss-Facing" heart and using Mysterious Steps to stand, one could accelerate the efficiency of Qi-nurturing.

Relying on this effect, An Jing felt that the "Innate Qi" within his body was becoming increasingly thick, and he would soon be able to break through to the internal breath stage.

But it was not the right time. If he were to break through to internal breath, the momentum would certainly be astonishing and draw significant attention, making it impossible to explore Xuanming Manor afterward.

During this period, the personnel remaining at Xuanming Manor also stabilized, totaling one hundred and eight people.

Compared to the initial two hundred and forty-plus people, these one hundred and eight had been reduced by more than half, but those who remained were indeed the elites with better talent and better mentalities.

This was the final confirmed number; no one would be eliminated again.

Upon learning this, the one hundred and eight young men and women, while looking happy, did not let out joyful cheers, but instead felt a sense of relief, as if a weight had been lifted.

They had not been eliminated after all.

Nearly half a year of cultivation and training had made their personalities more "composed," more "mature," or perhaps... more "ruthless"?

Even Gu Yeqi and Cang Linzu were no exception; their personalities were becoming increasingly composed, though for friends they truly acknowledged, their feelings would become even deeper.

An Jing also watched all of this.

Practicing the Imperial Heaven Qi-Nurturing Method, he felt that his own state of mind was changing, becoming as distant as the sky, and he had a strange, bird's-eye-view sense of detachment toward everything happening before him.

Although An Jing knew what emotions he should have, he felt a calmness as if he were controlling a game character, his heart unmoved.

At first, An Jing didn't feel anything strange, but one day, when he took a bowl of water from Gu Yeqi, he suddenly said very politely, "Thank you, Yeqi." After seeing the strange expressions on the faces of Gu Yeqi and Cang Linzu, he suddenly realized.

First of all, what was there to thank each other for?

Even if he really wanted to thank him, it shouldn't be so formal—colloquialisms like "Thanks" or "Ah, thanks a lot!" would be more appropriate! The more formal the etiquette, the more distant it seemed in their relationship!

These cultivation methods... and the diet and training, were causing his temperament to change!

[Fearless and Selfless, Unwavering and Unconfused]

This was perhaps the transformation the Imperial Heaven Method inflicted upon a person.

"Indeed, Abyss-Facing Fearlessness causes one to internalize their emotions, Piercing-God Unwavering makes one's mind calm and allows for the sudden eruption of extreme emotions... and Mysterious Steps Unwavering makes one's mind even more distant the more one practices, looking down like the sky."

An Jing became vigilant: "If I practice the complete Imperial Heaven Qi-Nurturing Method, the effect will certainly be even more... In the end, what will it turn me into?"

It is hard to say if this is a good thing.

Resisting the influence of the cultivation technique is not difficult, but Xuanming Manor is also changing.

After finalizing the headcount, Xuanming Manor divided the one hundred and eight children into twelve groups, named after the twelve earthly branches, and An Jing is the leader of the first group.

The group led by An Jing is named Xingji, consisting of nine people including himself, five boys and four girls, most of whom are teenagers from around Mingshan City in the Northern Frontier.

Gu Yeqi and Cang Linzu are also among them; they are the two remaining members of the original small circle that formed around An Jing, and now they are his right and left hands.

In addition to requiring the members of each group to be in sync and meditate to reach tranquility together, Xuanming Manor also requires each group to practice a peculiar battle formation.

An Jing had seen something similar to this battle formation in the militia drills back in his hometown, but the targets they were practicing against were likely not humans, but some kind of existence far larger in stature than a human.

Every roll, spear thrust, and attack aimed at the undercarriage is highly targeted.

Is Xuanming Manor trying to train the children to... hunt fierce beasts?