It was precisely because he had succeeded before that he knew how laughable these words were!

This hammer is a True Monarch’s Supreme Treasure—it adapts to the true strength of the challenger. No matter who you are or how powerful, the actual difficulty is the same!

Less than ten breaths?

Back when he succeeded, it took him nearly half an hour, swinging with all his might before barely finishing!

"It’s true!"

"Really, less than ten breaths!"

"Mr. Qin, you really didn’t see it for yourself..."

A chaotic clamor of voices burst out all at once.

Qin Yuan’s expression froze.

Really?

One person might lie, but for so many to witness it with their own eyes?

These are all the elite talents of the capital; could they all be mistaken?

Gulp!

Qin Yuan couldn’t help but swallow hard.

This is impossible!

What kind of monster could achieve such a terrifying feat?

But hearing the discussions around him, and seeing Xu Yang just now putting the hammer back with a calm and undisturbed look, the balance of doubt in his heart tipped ever further!

"You, really less than ten breaths?"

Qin Yuan stared dead at Xu Yang and asked.

"Not too sure."

Xu Yang glanced at Qin Yuan and shook his head slightly. He truly hadn’t counted, but it should have been less than ten breaths!

After speaking, he walked toward another stone wall not far from Qin Yuan!

Since he was here, he might as well give it a try!

The secret technique left by a True Monarch-level artifact refiner—perhaps it would be useful.

"Wait, you want to comprehend this Secret Technique?" Qin Yuan raised an eyebrow.

"Exactly."

"Is there a problem?" Xu Yang looked at Qin Yuan in puzzlement.

Qin Yuan took a deep breath and said, "Of course, no problem! Anyone can try to comprehend the secret technique on this stone wall. However, even if you could complete the ten thousand swings in under ten breaths, no one has succeeded in comprehending this Secret Technique."

"It’s as hard as reaching the heavens!"

"You tried already, didn’t you? Am I not allowed to give it a go?" Xu Yang said calmly.

The muscles on Qin Yuan’s face twitched.

That does make sense!

Is it not allowed to let others try?

Damn it!

He came to his senses, realizing he’d lost composure being so shocked by the earlier event.

This person is absolutely not simple!

Qin Yuan shot Xu Yang a deep look before slowly stepping back.

Xu Yang came beneath the stone wall, sat cross-legged, and closed his eyes.

"Mr. Qin, we all saw it with our own eyes, under ten breaths! That hammer’s shadow, he made it completely impenetrable!" someone quietly whispered as they leaned in.

A flash of shock flickered in Qin Yuan’s eyes: "Who is he?"

"No idea. Wei Wu bumped into him at the door—a newcomer from beyond the capital, seems this is his first time here!"

"An outsider?"

"This guy is by no means simple!"

"He’s pretty terrifying, but though he could easily swing the hammer ten thousand times, this Secret Technique is not so easily comprehended!"

"Over the years, there’s been no shortage of unbelievable monsters trying to comprehend this, but they’ve all left empty-handed!"

"By the way, she hasn’t come yet!"

"Mr. Qin, I suspect she won’t be coming."

At these words, Qin Yuan’s face suddenly grew especially dark, fury faintly surging in his eyes!

Beneath the stone wall.

Xu Yang shut his eyes and meditated, abandoning all external distractions, as though entering an illusory secret realm.

The densely packed, mysterious spiritual patterns on the stone wall gradually revealed themselves to his perception in an exceedingly unique manner.

It was as if formless hammers shattered his head, drilling straight in!

This process brought a violent mental shock!

What’s more, the spiritual patterns seemed endless, their ongoing shocks growing ever more shocking.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!

Unbeknownst to outsiders, Xu Yang’s Sea of Consciousness had turned into a storm-tossed sea!

Countless hammer shadows whirled about viciously, crisscrossing chaotically, utterly without order!

"As expected—it’s a Hammer Skill!"

"Intended for Artifact Refining, yet it seems to contain fearsome offensive power as well!"

Xu Yang’s heart trembled slightly!

He could feel that this still was far from the secret technique’s true limit, yet the impact was already making his heart quiver a little.

Remarkable indeed!

"To comprehend it, the prerequisite is to endure the spiritual shocks—only then can one grasp its mysteries!"

Even harder than he expected!

But that only piqued Xu Yang’s interest further.

Buzz!

Nine chains materialized out of nowhere in his Sea of Consciousness, emanating an ancient power of suppression!

The chaotic hammer shadows suddenly froze solid!

The mental shocks were instantly diminished!

But right after, the hammer shadows intensified—the shock grew explosively!

"Hmph!"

Xu Yang snorted coldly, unmoved as a mountain!

Assaulted as he was, his consciousness remained unshakable as a rock!

In the next moment, he unleashed the full extent of his Spiritual Power, enveloping the countless hammer shadows!

Chaos, disarray—even he found no clue to grasp at first glance!

It was certain: there must be hidden truths within!

Yet with his strength he still struggled to find them—it was astonishing!

Xu Yang raised his concentration to the utmost, resisting the shocks while probing in detail!

Yet chaos, and only chaos!

"Chaos? Could that be the key—’chaos’?"

"Yet something seems not quite right!"

"Damn, I underestimated this top-tier artifact refiner!"

The other party meant to use this to select a Closed-door Disciple—a matter of great gravity!

Still, Xu Yang hadn’t anticipated such difficulty!

He took a deep breath, forcibly calming himself down.

Afterward, Xu Yang sank into silence; amidst the impacts, he gradually became utterly calm within.

He seemed almost as if asleep in this state.

At a certain moment—

Bang!

The hammer shadows’ shock seemed to peak, surging like a tidal wave.

The spiritual patterns on the wall itself seemed to come alive, and in that formless instant, a torrent poured straight into Xu Yang’s Sea of Consciousness!

Rumble!

Xu Yang’s whole body shuddered; his tranquil mind wavered slightly, but still he did not awaken!

And just then—

A wave indescribable in words suddenly surged into his heart!

"Ripples!"

Xu Yang’s consciousness snapped clear in an instant as he glared at the seething hammer shadows in his Sea of Consciousness.

At this moment, the shock had nearly reached the utmost limit of what he could bear!

"The chaos is one aspect, but the true key isn’t in these hammer-shaped spiritual patterns per se, but in a unique frequency that emerges when the hammer patterns run wild!"

In that instant, Xu Yang achieved enlightenment.

No wonder there was no clue to find before!

He’d been searching in the wrong place from the start!

Buzz!

Suppressing his excitement, his Spiritual Power split into thousands within his Sea of Consciousness, merging with the myriad hammer shadows!

"Hiss!"

The countless divided streams of consciousness were simultaneously battered by the hammer shadows—the ache was so intense he couldn’t help but suck in a cold breath, his facial muscles twisting violently!

Too painful!

Anyone else, even thinking to reach this stage, would be severely injured and forced out of the meditation with just this one blow!

Xu Yang clenched his teeth and held on desperately, focused on capturing all those bizarre ripples that arose each time the hammer shadows rampaged.

As time went on, faint ripples, almost too subtle to detect, began gathering under Xu Yang’s awareness, forming a tide surging into his heart!

"It’s been half an hour."

"That guy hasn’t made any move at all!"

The crowd stared at Xu Yang beneath the stone wall, astonished.

Qin Yuan gazed intently: "He’s already taken longer than I did earlier. At this point the impacts must be even stronger, yet he can still bear it..."

He couldn’t help but clench his fists, his eyes sharpening—could he really be stronger than me?

Heh, I don’t believe it!

Boom!

A deafening thunderclap erupted beneath the stone wall, shaking everyone’s eardrums to the core!

A torrent of chaotic, violent force surged like a mountain collapse, an ocean tide, an invisible tempest straight to the heavens!

The twisting, countless hammer-patterned spiritual marks on the stone wall suddenly converged to a single point, transforming into a streak of dark-gold light that shot into Xu Yang’s brow like lightning!

The stone wall immediately fell calm—even the spiritual patterns themselves vanished without a trace.

Xu Yang’s body trembled as he slowly opened his eyes.

"Chaotic Void Celestial Hammer—so it truly is a Hammer Skill!"