Hidden Edge in Writing

[Golden Horse-Head Technique:16/2000 (Third Layer)]

A fierce force exploded from the surging Blood Qi atop his head like earthfire bursting through rock.

Su Yuan twisted his body, sharply turning his forehead toward a bluish stone the size of a watermelon.

The stone first gave a crisp crack, its surface blooming with spiderweb-like fractures.

Then came a muffled bang, and the entire stone exploded, fragments flying everywhere.

"Golden Vajra Horse-Head Strength—indestructible as vajra, unbreakable and unconquerable." Su Yuan murmured as he walked to the water vat.

At that moment, his eyes were wide open, and a gleam of molten gold seemed to flow within his pupils.

Only when he slowly reined in his force did the golden light in his eyes gradually fade.

Su Yuan touched his slightly warm forehead.

For now, this Vajra Strength could only be gathered in his head and unleashed from there.

The Blood Qi in the rest of his body was still insufficient to generate the same force.

Next, he needed to use this "horse head" as a lead, tempering his entire body at high intensity, stimulating his Blood Qi into activity, and gradually spreading the force through the flesh and skin of his body.

This was cultivation at the Savage Strength stage. At that point, force could be freely projected to wound enemies, its power multiplied severalfold.

The medicinal power had yet to disperse, so Su Yuan continued training while flipping through Heavenly Horse Flying Star Fist.

"Heavenly Horse Soaring Through the Sky, its momentum like a landslide.

Flying stars fall to earth, their force like a mountain collapse.

Those who cultivate this fist must first establish the momentum of a flying star, then gather the force to shatter mountains.

Force rises from the spine; the fist falls from the heavens.

Ask not of retreat. Seek only that instant!"

"What a fine fist technique!" This fist pursued the instantaneous eruption of a falling flying star, gathering force at one point with unparalleled dominance. It was an excellent match for the [Split in Two] Trait and Su Yuan's usual pursuit of killing in a single blow.

He assumed the Flying Star Stance.

His feet stood one before the other, the ball of his front foot gripping the ground tightly while his rear heel lifted slightly. His body leaned forward like a fully drawn bow.

His lead fist was raised high over his head, knuckles facing the sky as though gripping reins to control a horse, while his rear fist rested at his waist, palm facing upward.

His gaze went straight ahead over the knuckles of his leading fist. He resembled a charging warhorse with its forehoof raised, ready to stomp down the next moment.

The Flying Star Stance was also a moving stance.

Su Yuan pressed his entire weight onto his front foot. After standing still for a quarter of an hour, his front foot suddenly stepped out and his leading fist smashed down with a thunderous crash.

He did not exhale. His iron fist carried the weight of his entire body as it drove down, truly like a meteor crashing into the earth.

He immediately drew back his fist and returned to the stance, switched feet, stepped again, and smashed down once more.

He alternated left and right in an endless cycle.

[Heavenly Horse Flying Star Fist:1/500 (First Layer)]

[Heavenly Horse Flying Star Fist:13/500 (First Layer)]

"This fist is deeply compatible with the Golden Horse-Head Technique. It cultivates even faster than the Flying Horse Leg; I can finish the first layer in ten days."

Su Yuan thought that these techniques of the Horse Division clearly came from the same source.

The Rong Family's true technique, Soaring Horse Wind-Chasing Leg, was a leg technique. If he could someday gather them all, they would surely prove greatly useful.

"Clouds have no fixed shape, palms have no fixed forms. Momentum flows like clouds, force runs like water; stretching and curling, gathering and scattering, unbroken and unending."

[Cloud-Striding Palm:1/500 (First Layer)]

"I've learned increasingly mixed techniques, yet my time is limited. I need to make choices." This was the first time Su Yuan had been troubled by having too many techniques.

Naturally, it would be best to master them all, but how to allocate his energy required careful weighing.

He decided to focus first on Heavenly Horse Flying Star Fist. After all, he could not expose the Golden Horse-Head Technique.

Then he would use spare time to grind Origin-Returning Finger to complete mastery and obtain its Trait.

[Origin-Returning Finger:458/2000 (Mastery)]

After finishing his training, Su Yuan took out Duan Hongyan's blood letter.

After pondering for a moment, he decided to remain in contact with the Cloud-Striding Martial Hall.

With his strength alone, he could not save Gao Mian, much less shake the Shan Family.

Though the Chai Family was at odds with the Shan Family, both were claws and fangs of Great Liang. They would never completely fall out with the Shan Family for the sake of a single Jing person.

The most direct path was still to enter Vein Splitting himself and break the deadlock through strength.

As far as he knew, Vein Splitting Martial Masters were already Ji City's foremost combatants.

Unfolding the blood letter, Su Yuan sighed softly. "Hongyan, fate truly toys with people."

Hongyan could not return south, and Su Yuan likewise could not head north for now.

He carefully identified the handwriting. He had to raise his strength as quickly as possible.

He could not neglect the Literacy Trait either.

Duan Hongyan's handwriting was exceptionally fine. Even while dying and writing in blood, each stroke remained strong-boned and vigorous, its edge concealed within. He had clearly put in bitter effort.

"Father, Mother:

"To see these words is as though you see me... Before your son headed north, you always laughed at me for being timid, saying our family had produced a fledgling too scared to leave its nest, one who might faint at the sight of blood. Now, blood stains my hands, fire burns in my heart, and as I lie in the cold earth of this foreign land, I somehow feel... perhaps I can be counted as a hero too. Do you think your son resembles one...

"Sadly, in the end, I cannot return to repay the two of you. Your son has been unfilial. I once swore that I would see those bandits driven from this land with my own eyes, that I would welcome my junior sister home in glorious splendor in a red bridal sedan. Yet in the end, I accomplished none of it. I, Hongyan... ultimately never became the kind of great hero from storybooks who could turn heaven and earth around... But I truly gave it everything I had...

"—May your final son rest in peace. Do not grieve. Final words of your unfilial son, Hongyan."

Su Yuan read it word by word. It was not merely a letter home; at its end, it densely recorded much intelligence about Void Cloud Horse Ranch.

Even on the brink of death, Duan Hongyan had still done everything he could to serve his country.

The emotion between the lines burned like blazing flame, yet remained calm and without regret. Even Su Yuan, steadfast as he was, felt moved by it.

"Hongyan, you are a hero. I respect you, and I thank you." Su Yuan muttered softly, solemnly putting away the blood letter.

[Literacy:2000/2000 (Mastery)]

[Obtained Trait: Hidden Edge in Writing]

[Hidden Edge in Writing: Blood left behind congeals emotion; the bones of the brush conceal an edge]

[Proficient in discerning all kinds of handwriting and phrasing, able to sense the intense emotions and chilling aura contained in written words. This edge and bearing can be incorporated into fist-and-foot martial arts, making every move sharp and fierce]

Su Yuan spread his arms and threw a punch, feeling that every move naturally carried a piercing sharpness, more powerful than before.

"A true man should let his edge shine forth. How could he brood forever beneath another's heel!"

His strength had soared today. Coupled with Gao Mian's imprisonment and the impact of Duan Hongyan's final wish, heroic passion surged in Su Yuan's chest, and he longed to immediately flatten the Shan Family and overturn Ji City.

Yet the helpless weakness he had felt when facing the City Lord and Chai Hong's investigation instantly pulled him back to reality.

A true man also needed to understand how to conceal his edge and sleep on brushwood, taste gall.

"Wait until I reach Vein Splitting! Give me a year—no, half a year!"

Su Yuan picked up the brocade box containing the blood letter and was about to leave when he suddenly froze.

The Xiasheng Martial Hall he had previously contacted had already become ruins amid the chaos.

Where was he supposed to find them now?

After considering it for a moment, he turned and headed toward the Inner City.

Deep within Shan Estate, in the training room.

Gao Mian was confined here. The doors and windows were shut tight, guards stood layer upon layer outside, and only a maid accompanied her inside.

Shan Xiongqing's cold voice came from beyond the door. "Madam, do you truly think the Shan Family dares not touch you? You were the one who first failed in virtue. We could let it pass when we turned a blind eye before, but you disgraced the Shan Family's traditions at the Wolf God Festival. You should reflect on your mistakes here in peace. Even the Gao Family would have nothing to say."

Gao Mian sneered. "You always know how to pin crimes on others. How many wildflowers have you tangled with outside? I ought to ask you instead: I merely acknowledged a younger brother. He got drunk, and I only looked after him for a while. What wrong was there in that? If you have the nerve, kill me. What skill is there in trapping me here!"

Shan Xiongqing could not be bothered to argue with her. He had never been able to outargue this woman, so he merely said in a sinister voice, "Madam, your husband knows you are obsessed with martial arts. The equipment in this room has all been replaced with new ones. Train well here. Perhaps you may truly break through to Vein Splitting. By then, naturally, this place will not be able to hold you."

Gao Mian understood perfectly well.

Everyone knew that her martial cultivation had stagnated. Her usual training only maintained her realm. Shan Xiongqing was deliberately rubbing salt into her deepest wound again and again.

"Fortunately, Yuan'er helped me. My bottleneck has loosened, and my innate foundation has improved to average. Breaking through to Vein Splitting may not be hopeless!" Gao Mian had never given up, just as she had never given up martial arts.

If she persisted, a turning point would come on its own.

She had relied on Yuan'er before. From now on, she would have to rely on herself.

Just then, Shan Xiongqing's voice drifted in again, carrying cruel amusement. "Madam, I have already spread word that you are imprisoned. I wonder whether that dear younger brother of yours has the courage to come save you. If he dares come, heh heh..."

Gao Mian's gaze turned icy, though she forced herself to remain calm. "He will not come."

"Indeed. That brat is the sort who bends with the wind; it would be normal if he did not come. But you two siblings are so deeply affectionate. Your husband will certainly invite him here to keep you company. Whether he arrives warm or cold, though, is hard to say." Shan Xiongqing's words were thick with mockery.

"Shan Xiongqing! How dare you!" Gao Mian sprang to her feet and slammed a fist into the heavy door, but it did not move in the slightest.

"What would I not dare? Madam, just wait nicely! Hahaha..." Shan Xiongqing laughed with unrestrained triumph, though beneath it hid a thread of bitterness and surging fury.

With good fortune arriving one after another lately, Gao Mian had grown somewhat carried away. She had not considered things carefully enough.

She leaned against the cold door panel, regret rising in her heart. "Yuan'er, your sister has harmed you. Don't come..."