"The simplification cost went from one tael to two taels... As expected, the higher the level of the technique, the greater the cost to simplify it."
This was within Chen Yue's expectations. The panel seemed to follow some principle of equivalent exchange.
Just as Chen Yue was about to simplify Mountain Crushing Fist, an almost fanciful idea suddenly flashed through his mind.
The last time he fused techniques, Chen Yue had first trained Iron Mountain Fist and Wave-Turning Breathing Technique to their peaks before fusing them into Mountain-Climbing Art.
So... if the newly acquired Mountain Crushing Fist was still untrained, could he skip training it on its own and use Mountain-Climbing Art to fuse with it directly, absorbing the essence of Mountain Crushing Fist?
Could he then build on Mountain-Climbing Art and directly derive an even more powerful new technique?
The idea was tempting. If it worked, it would save him a great deal of time training a new technique on its own. He could go straight to training the fused technique.
As if responding to Chen Yue's thoughts, the instant the idea arose, the panel gave a faint tremor. The entries [Mountain-Climbing Art (Limit-Breaking)] and [Mountain Crushing Fist (Uninitiated)] began to shimmer.
"It really works!"
Chen Yue was delighted. The panel's functions were far more powerful than he had imagined!
Without hesitation, Chen Yue issued a command in his mind to the two glowing clusters: "Fuse!"
"Hum!"
The insights and understanding of Mountain-Climbing Art, like a vast river, surged into the newly formed image representing Mountain Crushing Fist.
The principles of the fist and the changes in force contained within Mountain Crushing Fist were swept up in that mighty torrent, washed clean, and reorganized!
Under the panel's guidance, the dross was cast aside and the essence retained. A flood of new insights poured into Chen Yue's mind, where he rapidly understood and absorbed them, making them his own.
After a few breaths, the storm in his mind gradually subsided.
The names Mountain-Climbing Art and Mountain Crushing Fist had vanished from the panel. In their place appeared a brand-new line:
[Mountain-Crushing Art (Perfection 11026/20000)]
Chen Yue looked at the name of the new technique, his eyes lighting up. It worked!
Perhaps because the fusion had used Limit-Breaking Mountain-Climbing Art as its foundation, the newly formed Mountain-Crushing Art inherited its accumulated proficiency outright, starting at Perfection 11026/20000!
Chen Yue quickly absorbed the new circulation patterns brought by Mountain-Crushing Art. In terms of its current power, it was roughly on par with Mountain-Climbing Art before it broke its limits.
But Mountain-Crushing Art's potential ceiling had undoubtedly been raised.
As long as Chen Yue trained its proficiency from Perfection to Limit-Breaking, its power would surely surpass that of the old Mountain-Climbing Art.
Just as Chen Yue's thoughts stirred, the panel flashed again, and a familiar prompt appeared:
"Technique detected. Would you like to spend two taels of silver to simplify Mountain-Crushing Art?"
Perhaps because this fusion was unusual, Mountain Crushing Fist itself had never been simplified. It had fused directly in its uninitiated state with the already simplified Mountain-Climbing Art. As a result, the newly created Mountain-Crushing Art had not inherited the simplified state and needed to be simplified again.
Chen Yue silently worked out the panel's rules. In the previous fusion, both Iron Mountain Fist and Wave-Turning Breathing Technique had been simplified beforehand.
While Chen Yue was absorbed in the mysteries of the panel and his new technique, Zhou Jingfeng noticed that he had kept his brows knit, seemingly lost in contemplation. He assumed Chen Yue was struggling with the complexity of Mountain Crushing Fist and having trouble digesting it.
With a smile, Zhou Jingfeng spoke gently. "Chen Yue, the martial path must be followed step by step. If anything is unclear, just ask, and Yu Kan can demonstrate the key points again. It's only natural to find a fist technique that combines inner breath difficult when encountering it for the first time."
Although Zhou Jingfeng had high hopes for Chen Yue's talent, he also knew how difficult Mountain Crushing Fist was.
After all, this was a martial art that could take someone straight to the Bone Forging Realm. It was no ordinary basic technique. The fact that Chen Yue had mastered Iron Mountain Fist quickly didn't mean he could grasp Mountain Crushing Fist in an instant.
Hearing this, Chen Yue pulled his attention away from the panel and cupped his fists toward Zhou Jingfeng. "Master, while watching Senior Brother Yu demonstrate the technique just now, this disciple gained a little insight."
"Oh?"
Zhou Jingfeng was slightly taken aback. He had watched it once and heard the formulas once, and already gained some insight?
After a brief pause, Zhou Jingfeng nodded. "If you've gained some insight, then demonstrate it. Martial cultivation lies in practice. Go ahead and give it a try. Even if there are mistakes, you'll be able to spot them in time."
In the distance, Ma Jun heard Chen Yue's words, and the corner of his mouth twitched almost imperceptibly. He felt Chen Yue was getting ahead of himself. Now that he had formally taken a master, there was no need to rush to show off. The sensible thing was to build a solid foundation, step by step.
Father Chen and Mother Chen stood to one side. Though they couldn't understand the profound theories and formulas, they could sense the change in the atmosphere.
They knew nothing about the levels of martial arts, but they understood human nature and the ways of survival all too well.
In Pearl Village, among the lower classes, the worst mistake was not knowing the limits of one's abilities. Their son had only just gained such a fine master. This was precisely the time to be humble and cautious. How could he be so rash?
The two of them were anxious. Their lips moved, but when they saw Zhou Jingfeng had already agreed, they swallowed the words they were about to say.
They didn't dare speak out of turn in a setting like this, afraid that one wrong word might make things worse. All they could do was watch Chen Yue with worried faces.
Chen Yue answered his parents' worried looks with a reassuring glance, then walked steadily to the center of the clearing and stopped where Yu Kan had stood earlier.
He didn't immediately assume Mountain Crushing Fist's opening stance. Instead, he closed his eyes slightly, as if adjusting his state of mind. The next moment, when Chen Yue opened his eyes again, his entire bearing had changed dramatically!
Before, Chen Yue's aura had been calm and restrained. Now, a mountain-heavy presence surged from his upright frame! Then Chen Yue moved.
His movements weren't fast, but they carried a strange rhythm. His opening stance still showed the steady foundation of Iron Mountain Fist, yet now it held Mountain Crushing Fist's restrained, spring-like force and the promise of an imminent burst.
His fist shot out. Its path was no longer a simple straight thrust; it held a faint tremor. The sound of it cutting through the air was low and weighty, like rolling stones grinding across the earth.
Each move showed traces of Mountain Crushing Fist, yet differed from the version Yu Kan had demonstrated moments earlier.
Chen Yue's fist technique seemed to have shed some of Mountain Crushing Fist's contrived subtleties, added in pursuit of variation. Instead, it perfectly blended Iron Mountain Fist's plain solidity with Mountain Crushing Fist's explosive power, forming a purer expression of "force."
Where his fists passed, the air let out a muffled wail.
Standing at the edge of the clearing, Yu Kan's eyes widened slightly. The expression on his face shifted rapidly from surprise to utter disbelief.
He could see it clearly. What Chen Yue was demonstrating was unquestionably the core power and essence of Mountain Crushing Fist. Even the subtle details of coordinating it with inner breath were exactly right.
But... it wasn't only the Mountain Crushing Fist he had trained. Chen Yue's technique carried an added weight of intent, as if it could topple mountains, along with a seamless harmony that seemed entirely natural.
Could someone who had only just encountered Mountain Crushing Fist really perform it like this?
In terms of artistic conception, Chen Yue's was even... a cut above Yu Kan's, despite the years he had spent honing his skills!
Before you continue