Fang Han stepped out of the True Inheritance Courtyard and walked along a bluestone path toward the Library Pavilion.

The morning’s white mist had not yet dispersed. Disciples along the way stopped to bow when they saw him, their gazes filled with reverence.

He gave a slight nod in return. His steps were steady, and before long, he arrived before the majestic, ancient-looking building with its flying eaves and bracketed cornices.

Without pausing, he passed straight through the first floor and spiraled up the wooden staircase, heading directly to the fourth floor.

At the entrance to the fourth floor, a familiar figure was leaning behind a sandalwood desk. It was none other than Elder Mo, who had always looked out for him.

Elder Mo was holding an ancient scroll, engrossed in reading it. Hearing footsteps, he slowly raised his eyes.

Seeing it was Fang Han, an imperceptible trace of warmth flashed through his world-weary eyes. The corners of his mouth lifted into a faint smile.

"Elder Mo."

Fang Han took a few steps forward and bowed, his tone respectful.

"Ah, it’s Fang Han."

Elder Mo set down the scroll, his voice aged yet resonant.

"It’s been a while. Your aura seems more consolidated, and your Cultivation has improved again. Are you here today looking for a particular Cultivation Technique?"

His gaze swept over Fang Han, filled with an elder’s concern.

"Elder, I came today because the Sect granted me the privilege of borrowing the Xuanwu True Skill for free."

Fang Han straightened up and spoke in a steady voice.

Hearing this, Elder Mo’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. He said thoughtfully:

"The Xuanwu True Skill is a Grandmaster Level Body Hardening Technique. Its power is unparalleled, but its Cultivation difficulty is also extremely high. Fang Han, have you... ever cultivated any other Body Hardening Techniques before?"

His tone was probing, but more than that, it was filled with worry.

"I have never cultivated any Body Hardening Technique before."

Fang Han shook his head, answering truthfully.

"To have never encountered another Body Hardening Technique and choose a Grandmaster Level one for your first time... the Cultivation difficulty will be immense. Are you aware of this?"

Elder Mo’s expression turned grave. He spoke slowly, his words earnest, clearly showing his genuine concern for Fang Han.

"Elder, I am aware of the drawbacks, but I would like to try it first."

"If it truly proves beyond my abilities and I can’t even reach the Entry Level, I will switch to a Low Grade Body Hardening Technique and proceed step by step."

Fang Han stood quietly and listened. Only after Elder Mo finished speaking did he reply in a deep voice, his gaze firm and unwavering.

Elder Mo stared at Fang Han for a moment. Seeing that his mind was made up, he sighed inwardly.

’It isn’t a bad thing for a young man to suffer a setback now and then. Only after hitting a wall will he develop a greater reverence for the path of Cultivation.’

He said no more, only stating lightly:

"In that case, wait here a moment."

With that, he turned and walked toward the staircase leading to the upper floors.

Above the fourth floor were the fifth and sixth floors, which housed the Sect’s most essential legacies.

Elder Mo walked with steady steps to the sixth floor, stopping before a massive, heavy, mechanical door forged from Profound Iron mixed with Hundred-refined Steel.

He took out an ancient Token, pressed it into a recess on the door, and released a sliver of Inner Strength.

The door emitted a low grinding sound and slowly opened a crack.

Elder Mo slipped inside. A moment later, he emerged holding a newly transcribed manual with a dark brown beast-hide cover.

The door swung shut behind him.

"This is the handwritten copy of the Xuanwu True Skill."

Returning to the fourth floor, Elder Mo handed the manual to Fang Han and said sternly,

"Sect rules state that Grandmaster Level Techniques are of great importance. They may only be read in designated areas within the pavilion. They cannot be taken out, and private transcription is strictly forbidden to prevent them from being leaked. You must remember this."

"I understand."

Fang Han accepted the manual with both hands, then found an empty pearwood chair by a window and sat down.

He took a deep breath to calm his mind and slowly opened the Xuanwu True Skill to the first page.

His eyes were met with densely packed, fly-headed script, supplemented by several incredibly complex diagrams of the human body’s Qi Circulation.

They were annotated with numerous profound and obscure names of acupoints and methods of circulating qi and blood.

He studied it word by word, sentence by sentence. At first, he could follow the train of thought and understand the true meaning of "condense qi and blood like mercury, circulate it through the body like a hibernating turtle."

However, as the content grew deeper, involving numerous unique techniques for channeling Power, he began to struggle.

The words seemed to transform into distorted symbols, and the lines on the diagrams intersected and coiled, making his head spin.

He fought back the dizziness, slowed his pace, and repeatedly pondered the meaning between the lines.

At times, he would close his eyes in deep thought, trying to construct the trajectory of qi and blood circulation in his mind.

At other times, he would refer to the diagrams, making hand gestures to simulate the flow of Power.

Unfortunately, having never encountered a Body Hardening Method and possessing no foundation in Body Hardening Techniques, he found it difficult to grasp the subtle mysteries of a Grandmaster Level Technique.

It felt like being a middle schooler from his past life who hadn’t even finished his coursework, trying to cram a university textbook full of jargon and complex derivations.

Every single page required immense mental effort, and his progress was slow.

Time slipped by quietly as the light and shadows shifted within the Library Pavilion.

Fine beads of sweat dotted Fang Han’s forehead, not from exhaustion, but from intense mental concentration.

When he encountered a difficult passage, he would pause for a long time, his brow furrowed, mulling it over repeatedly.

Only after he had barely committed the general outline to memory would he turn the page.

After several long hours, he finally managed to read the not-so-thick manual from beginning to end.

’This is on another level of difficult!’

Closing the manual, Fang Han leaned back in his chair and let out a long, turbid breath.

He felt his mind was a chaotic mess. The numerous Techniques and diagrams he had just forced himself to memorize were now a tangled jumble, impossible to sort out.

At this point, he was certain that with his own Talent for Body Hardening Martial Arts Training, forget about cultivating the Xuanwu True Skill—even understanding it was almost impossible.

The barrier to entry for this Grandmaster Level Technique was, as expected, incredibly high.

’Looks like I have no choice but to use my cheat!’

However, Fang Han’s eyes showed little sign of frustration.

He hadn’t held much hope for his natural Body Hardening Talent in the first place. His real hope lay in the appearance of the "Body Hardening Talent Amplification" option on his system panel.

"System Panel."

As the thought formed in Fang Han’s mind, a translucent screen of light, visible only to him, quietly appeared before his eyes.

[Host: Fang Han]

[Root Bone Talent Amplification: 128x (Level 8 Amplification requires 1,000,000 gold)]

[Swordsmanship Talent Amplification: 128x (Level 8 Amplification requires 1,000,000 gold)]

[Stepping Talent Amplification: 128x (Level 8 Amplification requires 1,000,000 gold)]

[Secret Technique Talent Amplification: 64x (Level 7 Amplification requires 10,000,000 silver)]

[Body Hardening Talent Amplification: 0x (Level 1 Amplification requires 10 silver)]

[Wealth: 19,190,000 silver]

"It really appeared."

Fang Han’s gaze quickly swept over the system panel, and he immediately spotted the new "Body Hardening Talent Amplification" option.

Just as he had expected, after he read and memorized the Xuanwu True Skill, the "Body Hardening Talent Amplification" option had indeed appeared on the system panel.

With his wealth currently abundant—over nineteen million silver—it was more than enough to support a major round of upgrades. He decisively began to improve his Body Hardening Talent.

"Activate Level 1 Amplification for Body Hardening Talent."

As the command registered in his mind, the Body Hardening Talent Amplification changed.

[Body Hardening Talent Amplification: 0x → 2x (Level 2 Amplification requires 100 silver)]

The amplification took effect instantly. Fang Han felt the sense of sluggishness in his mind regarding the Xuanwu True Skill’s obscure phrases seem to fade just a little.

It wasn’t obvious, but it was like the first crack in a layer of ice, letting a sliver of light shine through.

He didn’t pause for a moment and continued to upgrade.

"Activate Level 2 Amplification."

[Body Hardening Talent Amplification: 2x → 4x (Level 3 Amplification requires 1,000 silver)]

"Activate Level 3 Amplification."

[Body Hardening Talent Amplification: 4x → 8x (Level 4 Amplification requires 10,000 silver)]

The upgrades continued. With each new level of amplification, the required wealth increased tenfold, and the amplification multiplier doubled.

"Activate Level 4 Amplification."

[Body Hardening Talent Amplification: 8x → 16x (Level 5 Amplification requires 100,000 silver)]

"Activate Level 5 Amplification."

[Body Hardening Talent Amplification: 16x → 32x (Level 6 Amplification requires 1,000,000 silver)]

"Activate Level 6 Amplification."

[Body Hardening Talent Amplification: 32x → 64x (Level 7 Amplification requires 10,000,000 silver)]

At this point, his Body Hardening Talent Amplification reached 64-fold.

As the amplification multiplier reached 64x, the once hopelessly tangled Qi Circulation diagrams of the Xuanwu True Skill in Fang Han’s mind now had a discernible structure. The many key points were no longer as indecipherable as a heavenly script.

But this was not the end.

"Activate Level 7 Amplification."

[Body Hardening Talent Amplification: 64x → 128x (Level 8 Amplification requires 1,000,000 gold)]

The Body Hardening Talent Amplification reached 128-fold.

With the blessing of the 128-fold Body Hardening Talent Amplification, an unprecedented sense of clarity washed over him.

All the things he had struggled to understand before were now instantly clear.

It was as if he now possessed an innate intuition for Body Hardening Techniques.

However, the upgrades had to stop here.

He only had 8,070,000 silver left, but the next upgrade required 1,000,000 gold—the equivalent of 100,000,000 silver. His current wealth was insufficient to continue.

Fortunately, with his current Body Hardening Talent, it should be more than enough to cultivate this Grandmaster Level Body Hardening Technique.

"Now, to read it from the top."

Fang Han opened the manual again, his gaze sweeping over it word by word, sentence by sentence.

A wondrous change occurred.

The previously profound, obscure, and talisman-like meridian pathways and methods for circulating qi and blood, though still feeling vast, profound, and exceptionally mysterious when he looked at them now, were no longer a complete mystery.

The deep meaning between the lines and the flow of the lines in the diagrams seemed to have been sorted by an invisible hand, becoming clear and well-organized.

He could now understand the principles of channeling power, perceive the core Realm of "condensing qi and blood like mercury, hibernating the breath like a turtle," and even faintly deduce the potential effects and dangers of certain circulation paths.

This was a qualitative leap.

From being completely unable to understand to being able to perform a preliminary interpretation and grasp the essence.

Unlike before, when he struggled to immerse himself, he now sank into it with ease.

Forgetting the passage of time, his fingers would occasionally trace paths in the air above his knee, simulating the trajectory of qi and blood circulation.

Outside the window, the sun gradually sank in the west. The orange-red afterglow spilled into the pavilion, plating the old bookshelves in a layer of warm gold.

The Library Pavilion grew even quieter, with only the soft rustle of turning pages and the faint, distant tolling of the Sect’s bell.

Fang Han finally returned to his senses from his deep state of comprehension and gently closed the manual. He now generally understood the content, though the details still required repeated study and memorization.

He stood up, straightened his robes, and walked toward Elder Mo, holding the Xuanwu True Skill.

Hearing the footsteps, Elder Mo looked up. Seeing it was Fang Han, his gaze naturally fell upon the beast-hide manual in the young man’s hands.

"Finished reading?"

Elder Mo set down his scroll, his tone casual, like an elder addressing a junior. The corners of his mouth curved into a non-smile.

"So? Is the Xuanwu True Skill even more profound than you expected?"

His words were tinged with good-natured teasing. He clearly assumed that Fang Han had read it, recognized the difficulty, and given up, which would make him better appreciate the elder’s earlier warning.