An unwelcome visitor

"I wouldn't advise you to divide your attention by cultivating internal arts. Your aptitude is one reason, but another is that Embrace Origin Force has tremendous potential. It's one of the few external martial arts in Jianghu that can develop internal energy from the outside in.

Internal energy cultivated from the outside in is the most compatible with our own bodies, and it can fuse innate qi with acquired qi, giving it even greater potential.

It's far better than internal energy cultivated directly through an internal cultivation method, and more powerful too."

His expression grew solemn as Lao Denuo offered this earnest warning.

He thought highly of Tian Hao, and had even guessed that he was forging meteoric iron. Over the past two years, Tian Hao had also made quite a few refined-steel swords for the Mount Hua Sect. That was probably the main reason Yue Buqun valued him.

Such talent was hard to come by. Once the Five Mountains merged in the future, bringing him into the Mount Song Sect would surely earn him an important position, and Lao Denuo could use that to secure an even more comfortable life for himself there.

That being the case, the greater Tian Hao's future achievements, the better.

"So there's more to it than that."

Tian Hao was surprised. Although he knew that mastering Embrace Origin Force would allow him to condense internal energy from the outside in, he did not understand the underlying principles.

Perhaps the repercussions of the Sword-Qi Conflict had been too severe. The Mount Hua Sect possessed only a single manual for Embrace Origin Force, with no cultivation insights left by their predecessors to consult.

Even Old Yue could not offer much guidance in this area.

Of course, it was also possible that his own cultivation was still too low, and Old Yue had simply not taught him such advanced knowledge yet.

"This isn't much of a secret in Jianghu. It's just that there aren't many external martial arts capable of developing internal energy from the outside in, and reaching that level is far too arduous. Shaolin Temple leads the field in this regard.

But even with Shaolin Temple's deep foundations, very few people take this path."

Lao Denuo sighed over the matter. Back when he was in the Mount Song Sect, he had read records about Shaolin Temple, which was how he had learned this secret.

After all, the Mount Song Sect neighbored Shaolin Temple and knew more about it than most people.

Yet even with Shaolin Temple's deep foundations, few people followed this outside-in path. After all, aptitude was what every sect in Jianghu valued most when taking disciples.

And if someone already possessed superior aptitude, why wouldn't they practice internal arts, which produced results much faster?

Training in external arts was grueling. The further one progressed, the harder cultivation became, and the greater the pain one endured. Results were slow, too, and the expenses were far higher than those of internal cultivation.

Under normal circumstances, condensing internal energy from the outside in required at least thirty or forty years of bitter training.

By then, the body's innate qi would already be almost exhausted. Even if that internal energy could fuse with innate qi, it would be of little use.

But this was Tian Hao's only way forward. Lao Denuo had examined his physical aptitude, and he truly had little prospect in internal arts. Even condensing internal energy would be difficult.

Rather than divide his attention with internal cultivation, he would be better off focusing entirely on Embrace Origin Force.

"Looks like I'll have to put internal cultivation aside for now."

Deep in thought, Tian Hao became interested in this outside-in path.

Orthodox internal cultivation could initially draw only on acquired qi. The innate qi brought from the womb could only be sealed within the dantian to prevent its loss; it could not be used effectively.

But internal energy cultivated from the outside in could fuse directly with innate qi, giving it a much higher starting point than orthodox internal cultivation.

As for the drawbacks of this path, they meant little to him. According to his theory, each of the thirty-six gems on the Heaven-Defying Mirror could correspond to a cheat-granting girl. With the innate attributes of thirty-six such girls stacked together, there was no imagining how terrifying his aptitude would become.

Although the Heaven-Defying Mirror was a picky little brat, he already had his next target.

A few days earlier, while carrying Yue Lingshan over, he had seized the opportunity to touch his master's wife Ning Zhongze's palm. Sure enough, she could trigger the Heaven-Defying Mirror too.

As long as he found an opportunity to download her innate attributes, they should continue to stack. With such formidable aptitude, mastering Embrace Origin Force should not be difficult.

"Let's stop here for today. I'll come practice with you again tomorrow, junior brother."

Lao Denuo did not linger. He rose and left.

As the Mount Hua Sect's second senior disciple, he had plenty of responsibilities whenever the eldest senior disciple was away.

After seeing Lao Denuo out, Tian Hao returned to the cave. Without lighting a fire to heat the piece of meteoric iron he had been forging for days, he picked up his thirty-six-jin iron hammer and hammered away.

Clang, clang, clang...

He delivered forty blows in succession before stopping, slightly out of breath. His heart brimmed with excitement, however. His theory had been right.

Although the Embracing the Origin Inner Force could increase the power of his hammer blows, it placed a considerable burden on his arms. Coupled with the recoil from each strike, he had previously been able to manage only thirty-six consecutive blows at most.

But after beginning to practice the Eagle Claw Stele-Smashing Hand, he had applied its method of using four ounces to move a thousand pounds-borrowing force to counter force-to his hammer. The strain on his arms had eased, and the recoil had weakened considerably. Only after forty consecutive blows had his arms failed him, forcing him to stop.

And he had only just started practicing it. Once he reached the introductory level of the Eagle Claw Stele-Smashing Hand, the results would surely be even better.

If he mastered it, he might even be able to eliminate the harmful effects of the recoil entirely.

Then he could keep hammering without interruption, and this technique could also be used in actual combat.

Although the Eagle Claw Stele-Smashing Hand was a comprehensive martial art that included punches and kicks, those were merely aids for seizing an enemy. Once the enemy was caught, the practitioner would slam them down with tremendous force. At mastery, it could even smash a stone stele to pieces-that was where the Eagle Claw Stele-Smashing Hand got its name.

And since the Eagle Claw Stele-Smashing Hand could seize an enemy and slam them down, it could naturally be used to swing and smash with a heavy weapon. An ordinary person weighed over a hundred jin, whereas his hammer weighed only thirty-six. It would naturally be much easier to control.

Just imagine hacking away with a weapon weighing dozens or even a hundred jin in the future. What a beautiful sight!

The more Tian Hao thought about it, the more excited he became. After resting for a while, he was just about to light the furnace and begin his daily forging routine when an angry shout came from outside the cave.

"Tian Hao, get out here!"

"Lu Dayou?"

Puzzled, he walked out of the cave to look. Sure enough, it was Lu Dayou.

There were only so many people in the Mount Hua Sect, and he was reasonably familiar with everyone's voice. He had recognized Lu Dayou's while still inside the cave.

He just did not understand what the fellow had come for.

And he clearly hadn't come with good intentions. Tian Hao had never offended him!

"What did you do to our little junior sister that night? Why hasn't she come out to practice her sword these past few days?"

Lu Dayou glared furiously at Tian Hao, thoroughly displeased with him.

Although several junior sisters had said that their little junior sister had caught a chill and was recovering in her room, he did not believe them. That had to be an excuse.

That night, he had personally seen this fellow carrying their little junior sister over his shoulder, and had even found a drop of blood along the way.

The bastard must have hurt her!

He had even gone to visit her just now. Although he had not seen her, he could tell from her words that her mood was very wrong. She had clearly suffered a considerable shock.

Before leaving to escort Master Cao, their eldest senior brother had asked him to take good care of their little junior sister. Now that she had been bullied and injured, how could he not be furious?

"What the hell does it have to do with you?"

Certain that Lu Dayou had come looking for trouble, Tian Hao could not be bothered with him. He turned and returned to the cave.

Although Lu Dayou had been fairly popular in the original novel, that was mainly a matter of perspective. From Tian Hao's current position, he naturally found him irritating.

Besides, Old Yue had ordered everyone to stay out of this cave. Lu Dayou had no right to enter without permission.

"Don't think I don't know you're a runaway slave. I saw that brand on your face back then. You think cutting it off with a knife could fool everyone?

With that vicious look you had back then, you must have killed plenty of people.

We investigated you. Three years ago, all seven hundred and eighty-seven members of Old Hero Guan of the Green Dragon Saber's household were poisoned to death. Their heads were cut off and made into a Jingguan, and their estate was burned down. That was your doing, wasn't it?

You're nothing but a homeless cur that bit its master. Our eldest senior brother saw long ago that you had a rebel's bone in the back of your skull..."

Seeing Tian Hao ignore him, Lu Dayou immediately launched into a torrent of vicious abuse.

He had to find out from that fellow's own mouth what he had done to their little junior sister that day. Perhaps he could even use this opportunity to expose the fellow's true colors.

Walking deeper into the cave, Tian Hao paused briefly, then continued forward without expression. He picked up a thirty-six-jin Steel Staff and walked back outside.

"You've got a filthy mouth. Today, I'll reluctantly do you the favor of playing dentist."

Resting the Steel Staff on his shoulder, Tian Hao was displeased. Extremely displeased.

His past experiences had indeed been wretched. Only after more than a decade as a slave had he found a chance to escape and join the Mount Hua Sect.

That past was a forbidden wound in his heart!