Fusion, Creation, New Cultivation Methods and Dou Skills

"Consider yourself lucky."

The other party snorted coldly and moved aside with several older students.

Qin Yu said nothing more. Clutching the scrolls, he headed straight downstairs.

But he had barely gone any distance when hushed discussion sounded behind him:

"Bai Cheng, what's that kid's background? He even managed to get the Vice Dean's token?"

Qin Yu paused, suppressing the urge to turn around.

So it was Bai Cheng. An old acquaintance, though one he was meeting for the first time.

"You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?"

"Then... are we just letting this go?"

"Let it go?"

Bai Cheng sneered. The cultivation method and Dou skill he had set his sights on had been snatched away by a new student. If he simply let it slide, how was he supposed to keep his standing in the academy afterward?

"He's only a Four-Star Dou Practitioner. A token is a token; strength is strength."

"Even the Vice Dean can't protect him everywhere, can he?"

Without slowing, Qin Yu took every word of their conversation into his ears.

At registration, the administrator glanced at the two scrolls in Qin Yu's hands, then at the token. He said nothing, merely made a note in the ledger.

Qin Yu put away the two scrolls, then went to the library and borrowed several books he thought might prove useful before quickly returning to his dormitory.

Back in his dormitory, Qin Yu spread out the cultivation method scroll of Mountain Qilin Suppresses the Mountains along with the books he had borrowed. As he read, he began deducing possibilities in his mind.

One of the essences of Mountain Qilin Suppresses the Mountains was comprehending the power of mountains and resonating with it.

The core of the Earth Origin Formula he cultivated was drawing Earth Power into the body, allowing Dou Qi to resonate at the same frequency as the earth.

If he wanted to fuse the two...

Qin Yu's thoughts raced as he became completely immersed in improving and merging the cultivation methods.

"Qilins are earth-element beasts. They resemble deer, their tails are like ox tails, and their cries are like thunder..."

"The Earth Power provided by the Earth Origin Formula is the 'source,' while the Qilin form of Mountain Qilin Suppresses the Mountains is the 'form'..."

"With source but no form, power has nowhere to be unleashed. With form but no source, the form is merely empty..."

"Only when source and form become one can it be considered complete."

The more he deduced, the more smoothly it went. His train of thought became increasingly clear. After an unknown amount of time, Qin Yu finally stopped thinking and let out a long breath.

After circulating his Dou Qi through one full cycle according to the newly fused and improved cultivation route, a satisfied smile curled Qin Yu's lips.

"I'll call you the Mysterious Earth Qilin Formula."

Qin Yu could not determine the grade of the cultivation method for now, but having fused the essences of both the Earth Origin Formula and Mountain Qilin Suppresses the Mountains, it surely would not be low.

"If I could create a movement-type Dou skill as well, that would be even better."

Suddenly, Qin Yu thought of another issue.

Earth-Attribute Battle Qi possessed an innate disadvantage in speed. Whether in attacking or moving, it was far inferior to practitioners of wind and lightning attributes.

If he could create a movement-type Dou skill suited to himself...

He closed his eyes. Combining his new cultivation method and Dou skill with the detailed descriptions of Qilins from those books, he began to ponder.

"Mountain Qilin Leap..."

Out of nowhere, the name surfaced in Qin Yu's mind.

Using Earth Power to connect himself with the land, imitating the leaping momentum of a Qilin.

Though he had never seen how a real Qilin leaped, Qilins were generally deer-like, weren't they? It should be more or less the same...

Right?

However, this movement-type Dou skill had to do more than allow agile movement across the ground. It also needed to unleash explosive bursts of speed, enabling him to close in on enemies in the air.

He immediately began sketching a new Dou skill diagram on a scroll. Second by second, time passed. Outside the window, the sky shifted from bright to dim, then from dim to pitch-black.

After another unknown length of time, Qin Yu finally set down his pen and looked with satisfaction at the new Dou skill scroll before him, filled with diagrams and writing.

"Mountain Qilin Leap is complete."

Just then, a powerful wave of exhaustion suddenly flooded Qin Yu's mind, which had finally stopped thinking.

Turning his head, he saw that it was still daytime outside the window.

"I... spent an entire day researching?"

Qin Yu rubbed his throbbing temples. He had originally planned to visit several mountains within the academy grounds today, but it seemed he should rest first.

He slept like the dead. Only after night had fallen did Qin Yu slowly wake up.

The instant he opened his eyes, the feeling of fullness in his mind left him far more energized.

After washing up, Qin Yu headed toward the mountain range on the outskirts of the academy.

Canaan Academy's Outer Academy was not as well-hidden as the Inner Academy, but several mountains still stood nearby.

Qin Yu's purpose this time was to find a suitable cultivation site.

After all, he had yet to formally practice his newly improved cultivation method and Dou skill.

He chose the most towering-looking peak and soon arrived at its foot.

Bright moonlight spilled over the rocks and trees on the mountain. The surroundings were so quiet that only the rustling of leaves in the wind remained.

Qin Yu's bare feet stepped onto the cool soil. Slowly closing his eyes, he emptied his mind and carefully sensed the mountain beneath his feet.

Earth Power flowed into his body through the soles of his feet, but he did not circulate any cultivation method at the moment. He was merely comprehending it.

What was a mountain?

It was a fold in the earth accumulated over countless ages, an imprint left by movements of the crust, the most steady and weighty existence between heaven and earth.

It did not speak, move, fight, or contend, yet it bore all things.

Qin Yu's breathing gradually became long and even, while his heartbeat slowed, quietly synchronizing with a certain rhythm deep within the mountain.

After an unknown amount of time, he suddenly felt an exceedingly faint tremor beneath his feet.

It was the mountain's own living rhythm.

Like a human pulse, except slowed to the extreme and faint to the extreme.

If Qin Yu's mind had not been completely immersed in it at that moment, he would never have noticed that fluctuation.

"So that's how it is..."

Qin Yu murmured, a faint smile appearing on his lips. He then entered the mountain, preparing to test the movement-type Dou skill he had created.

The use of Mountain Qilin Leap naturally required Earth Power.

Qin Yu took a deep breath. The Dou Qi within his body circulated along the route of Mountain Qilin Leap, and a dense, powerful force surged from his dantian toward his feet.

"Boom!"

The rock beneath his feet exploded violently. Qin Yu shot out like an arrow released from a bow, leaping more than ten meters in the blink of an eye.

"Fast!"

Qin Yu was startled. Even he was shocked by the speed of that instantaneous burst.

He swiftly adjusted his posture and repeatedly exerted force with his feet, darting and leaping through the mountains.

At first, since it was his first time attempting to use the Dou skill, Qin Yu still took two tumbles.

But those two mistakes alone helped Qin Yu find the feeling.

After pondering for a moment, Qin Yu adjusted his state and tried again.

While cultivating, Qin Yu suddenly frowned.

Drawing upon the power of the surrounding mountains, he sensed several auras approaching. They were coming from the direction he had taken here.

They were not students merely passing by. Those auras were moving with a clear purpose—they were coming straight for him.

Before long, a burst of hurried footsteps came from ahead. Immediately afterward, several figures sprang out from the edge of the forest.

The leader was none other than Bai Cheng, whom he had encountered at the Scripture Repository during the day.