Yan Wuji tapped his fingers lightly twice on the armrest of the stone chair, producing a dull thud.
" Iron Fist Sect "
When he uttered the name, his tone was as indifferent as if he were referring to a minor force that could be crushed with a flick of his wrist.
However, the Iron Fist Sect was not a small force; rather, it was a major power that could stand shoulder to shoulder with the Iron River Gang before the Grandmaster Banquet.
Qi Zhen was slightly taken aback, then nodded.
" The Iron Fist Sect is adjacent to my Iron River Gang, making them the most suitable target."
Yan Wuji nodded slightly, saying nothing more.
Qi Zhen bowed respectfully, then turned and left the secret chamber.
The heavy stone door slowly closed behind him, sealing the candlelight and the aged figure together in the secret chamber.
More than a day later, the majestic gate of the Azure Profound Sect appeared on the horizon in the twilight.
The White Tiger slowed its pace and ascended the bluestone steps.
The disciples on duty at the mountain gate saw the enormous creature from afar and quickly stepped aside to make way, bowing respectfully.
The White Tiger passed through the mountain gate and walked along the mountain path towards the mountainside.
Upon reaching the fork in the road leading to the True Transmission Courtyard, the White Tiger stopped.
Fang Han and the other two jumped off the tiger's back and bowed to Chen Tianyuan.
"Sect Master, this disciple takes his leave."
Chen Tianyuan nodded slightly, without saying anything more.
The White Tiger continued its ascent to the mountain peak and soon disappeared into the twilight.
Fang Han and the other two walked along the bluestone path toward the True Transmission Courtyard.
As dusk deepened, the ancient trees on both sides of the mountain path rustled in the evening breeze, and occasionally a few fallen leaves swirled down, tracing faint paths.
Yun Muyao stopped at the crossroads, nodded slightly to the two of them, and turned to walk towards her residence.
Luo Yuntian and Fang Han walked side by side for a while before stopping at the fork in the road.
Goodbye, Senior Brother Fang.
He cupped his hands in greeting.
"Goodbye."
Fang Han returned the greeting with clasped hands.
The two walked towards their respective residences.
The gate to No. 35 Annex was ajar.
Fang Han pushed open the door and entered; the bamboo grove in the courtyard rustled in the night breeze.
Qui Lan heard the door open and came to greet her from under the eaves.
"Senior brother, you're back. Have you had dinner yet?"
"It's been used."
Fang Han nodded slightly, crossed the courtyard, and walked straight towards the Quiet Room.
Pushing open the door to the Quiet Room, wisps of smoke curled from the Sandalwood Incense burner, filling the room with a delicate fragrance.
He did not light a lamp, but simply walked to the prayer mat and sat down cross-legged.
" The Iron River Gang..."
Fang Han uttered these three words in a low voice, his brows furrowing slightly.
Yan Wuji.
That was the Supreme Elder of the Iron River Gang, a Grandmaster-level expert.
The incident happened too suddenly, and the reasons seemed reasonable, but he always felt that there was something very wrong with it.
I had a vague sense of crisis.
But it was just intuition, an inexplicable, instinctive feeling of danger, without any evidence.
Even if he really has a problem, there's nothing I can do about it now.
Fang Han shook his head.
Grandmaster.
That is a completely different level from the First Grade; it is a qualitative change that occurs after all three stages of essence, energy, and spirit have been fully mastered.
Even though his combat strength is now enough to rank among the top-tier First Grade martial artists, and even with the Windshock Sword in hand, he is still like an ant when facing a grandmaster.
"Overthinking is pointless."
Fang Han suppressed his frustration, took out a Danyao bottle from his robes, poured out a pill, and put it into his mouth.
It wasn't the Heaven Origin Pill. Those Heaven Origin Pill obtained from Ancient Ruins were exhausted shortly after breaking through to the Second Grade.
This is the Earth Spirit Pill, a special resource reward for this month.
Although its medicinal power is not as overwhelming as that of the Heaven Origin Pill, it is still far superior to ordinary Danyao.
The Danyao entered the stomach and transformed into a warm, gentle medicinal effect that spread outwards.
Fang Han closed his eyes, and the < Azure Profound Art > slowly began to circulate. Azure-gold Internal Qi flowed through his meridians, absorbing and refining the medicinal power.
More than an hour later, he slowly finished his practice and opened his eyes.
My emotions have calmed down.
He took out a booklet with a dark brown animal hide cover from his pocket— Shadowveil.
He has practiced this master-level Breath Concealment Secret Technique every day since he obtained it, without interruption.
Opening the booklet, my gaze fell upon the few lines of neat small characters on the title page.
"A grandmaster-level Breath Concealment Secret Technique, when Perfection Realm, can hide one's aura completely, making it difficult even for Great Grandmaster to detect..."
Fang Han closed the booklet and put it into his pocket.
With my eyes closed, the incantation of Shadowveil flowed slowly through my mind.
Those ancient and profound incantations, the key points of Internal Qi circulation, and the method of integrating the Shadow Intent Domain and the art of concealing breath, all appeared in his mind.
The Internal Qi the body began to circulate according to the Shadowveil cultivation path.
Unlike the Return to Ruin Essence Concealment Art, which focuses on "gathering," the Shadowveil technique is more subtle. It requires practitioners to comprehend the Shadow Intent Domain and use the essence of Shadow Intent Domain to gather all Internal Qi, blood, and vitality.
He activated his magic technique, and his aura began to change.
The vibrant life force and Internal Qi fluctuations that originally belonged to Second Grade early-stage martial artist were slowly enveloped by an invisible dark veil, beginning to subside and fall silent.
Moonlight streamed through the window lattice, casting his shadow on the blue brick floor.
The shadow was very faint, so faint that its outline was almost indistinguishable.
Fang Han opened his eyes and looked down at his hands.
His aura had now been reduced to an extremely faint level.
If the Perfection Realm < Return to Ruin Essence Concealment Art > could make his aura as faint as withered wood and stubborn stone, then the Shadowveil at this moment made his aura as faint as a shadow.
"If the < Return to Ruin Essence Concealment Art > is about concealment, then < Shadowveil > is about merging into a silent, unnoticed shadow."
Fang Han muttered to himself.
The concealment effect of Shadowveil has now surpassed that of < Return to Ruin Essence Concealment Art > at its Perfection Realm.
And this is only the result of starting to cultivate Shadowveil, not even reaching the Beginner stage.
Once Beginner stage and grasp the Shadow Intent Domain, your ability to conceal your aura will inevitably increase dramatically.
"At most a few more days."
Fang Han took a deep breath, suppressing the anticipation in his heart.
With his improved Secret Art Talent after the Secret Art Fruit, plus the Secret Technique Talent Amplification of up to 128 times, he had a vague premonition that he was not far from Beginner stage the Shadowveil technique.
A few days later, in the evening.
The setting sun bathed the bamboo grove of No. 35 Annex in a warm golden hue.
Fang Han sat cross-legged in the Quiet Room, closing his eyes and concentrating.
In the past few days, he has devoted most of his time to cultivating Shadowveil.
Every morning he cultivates his Internal Qi, practices Sword Technique in the morning, hones his Horizontal Training in the afternoon, and without fail studies this master-level Breath Concealment Secret Technique in the evening.
The incantations of Shadowveil flowed through his mind. He had thoroughly mastered those ancient and profound incantations, the key points of Internal Qi circulation, and the method of integrating the Shadow Intent Domain with the art of concealing breath.
He closed his eyes, and his internal Internal Qi circulated slowly, following the path of the Shadowveil technique.
As his Internal Qi circulated, he felt an indescribable sense of stagnation.
He had a premonition that if he could overcome this stagnation, Shadowveil would be able to step through the Beginner stage.
I don't know how much time passed--
"Buzz..."
A soft hum, perceptible only to himself, resonated from the depths of his body.
The sound was so faint that it was almost imperceptible, yet it seemed to open an invisible door.
In the next instant, an unprecedented realization surged into his mind, and he comprehended a completely new Artistic Conception.
It wasn't the light and agile feeling of the Wind Concept, but rather a darker, more restrained, and more ineffable connotation.
The Shadow Intent Domain.
Completely different from the Wind Sword Intent, this intent has no sharpness, no domineering power to tear everything apart, only a profound and ultimate silence.
It was as if the night of late autumn had fallen, and everything was shrouded in darkness.
Light was swallowed up, sound was drowned out, and presence was erased.
Fang Han's aura completely vanished at that moment.
It's not about restraint or suppression, but about true and complete disappearance.
He was sitting in the Quiet Room, yet he seemed to have merged with the shadow behind him.
If one did not see it with their own eyes, relying solely on perception, no one would realize that there was a living martial artist with Second Grade cultivation level here.
" Shadowveil, Beginner stage."
Fang Han slowly opened his eyes, and a dark light flashed briefly in the depths of his eyes before disappearing.
The stiffness disappeared, and he looked down at his hands.
The blood and qi under the skin are still surging, and the Internal Qi is still circulating in the meridians, but that "sense of presence" has completely disappeared.
It was as if it had truly become a lifeless shadow.
He stood up and pushed open the door to the Quiet Room.
In the courtyard, Qui Lan was tidying something up under the eaves with two Maid.
Hearing the door open, she looked up and was slightly taken aback.
She saw Fang Han, but sensed nothing in him.
The feeling was extremely strange, like seeing someone in a dream—you can clearly see them, but you can't feel their presence.
"Senior brother?"
She couldn't help but call out, her voice tinged with uncertainty.
Fang Han nodded slightly and walked into the courtyard.
The moonlight spilled down, casting his shadow on the bluestone ground. The shadow was so faint that its outline was almost indistinguishable.
"Its ability to conceal its aura far surpasses that of the fully Perfection Realm < Return to Ruin Essence Concealment Art the O
Fang Han stood with his hands behind his back in the courtyard, carefully experiencing the changes brought about by the Beginner stage Shadowveil realm.
With his current ability to conceal his presence, even First Grade martial artist skilled in tracking would likely find it difficult to detect him.
As for grandmasters--
That's on another level.
The Spiritual Perception of a grandmaster is far beyond that of First Grade martial artist; the mere Beginner stage Shadowveil is probably not enough to compare.
"Unless you Proficiency Realm Shadowveil."
Fang Han muttered to himself.
Only when one has mastered the Shadowveil Proficiency Realm can one truly achieve a level of skill that even a Grandmaster cannot detect.
He turned and walked towards the Quiet Room.
The moonlight cast his faint shadow on the blue brick floor, barely visible.
The bamboo grove in the courtyard rustled in the evening breeze, and a few bamboo leaves swirled and drifted down, tracing a light trail behind him before being swallowed by the night.
The dim oil lamp cast flickering shadows on the stone wall, shrouding the entire underground cell in a yellowish hue.
The air was damp and chilly, mixed with rust, mold, and some indescribable smell of decay.
The four walls were built of rough bluestone, with fine water droplets seeping from the gaps, slowly sliding down the stone walls and splashing into the puddles on the ground.
Four Elder of the Iron Fist Sect were bound by heavy metal chains and fixed in a "T" shape to a specially made iron frame.
The other end of the chain was deeply embedded in the stone wall, each link about the thickness of a thumb, its surface gleaming with a cold, dark light.
Their robes were torn in many places, revealing shocking wounds underneath—some already scabbed over, others still bleeding, staining their prison uniforms a dark red.
On those faces, fear and anger were intertwined; their lips were chapped and peeling from lack of water; and their eyes were sunken.