The awkward silence that had settled between them finally broke.

Heat waves from the Melting Furnace area stirred up sparks of fire, weaving a crimson web around the master and disciple.

Yet despite the scorching temperature, neither of them felt the oppressive heat.

Zhan Yan snatched up a blunt Profound Steel Forging Hammer.

"The Thousand-Pound Mountain-Shaking Hammer Technique is divided into three levels of training."

He spoke as he exhaled, and as his heel ground into the floor, it cracked the three-foot-thick layer of rock in a spiderweb pattern.

"The First Level is the ’Profound Steel Hundred-Forged Body.’ It’s a form of Horizontal Training for your tendons, bones, skin, and membranes, seeking to make you impervious to blades and spears. When your Blood Qi is abundant, it places even greater importance on the power to reverberate and dissipate shock. The Second Level is the Red Flood Dragon Mountain Coiling Strength. It treats the spine as a Flood Dragon, generating explosive force from each of the twenty-four vertebrae. The radius and ulna create a spiraling, torsional force, turning a direct strike into a grinding kill. The fascial chains transmit the vibrations, allowing you to land an indirect blow that can penetrate three layers of steel armor.

The Third Level is the Thousand-Pound Mountain-Shaking Hammer Technique itself. Your strength will be immense enough to shake mountains with a swing of your hammer. When the hammer strikes, the web of your thumb opens and closes like an Earth Vein breathing. The rebound force is channeled through your Yongquan Acupoint and dissipates three inches into the ground!"

Before the words had even left his lips, the forging hammer became a dark streak of light, smashing down onto the anvil.

There were no fancy moves in this strike, yet the moment the hammer face met the steel billet, a ring-shaped shockwave exploded outward.

Xu Yunfan’s pupils contracted. He clearly saw the bony tip of his master’s elbow shift half an inch beneath the skin, channeling the impact toward the shoulder blade and then dissipating it layer by layer through the great tendons along the spine.

The steel billet was instantly flattened like paper, yet the Forging Platform didn’t so much as shudder.

"Your muscles aren’t iron plates. They have to learn to flow like water."

Zhan Yan flipped his wrist over, revealing the bulging veins on his forearm, which writhed like earthworms. "When the Hammer Force enters your body, let your muscles ripple like successive waves."

"Remember, Horizontal Training isn’t just about taking hits head-on; it’s more about ’channeling’! Only then can you minimize the enemy’s destructive power. You have to understand, even a body cast from Refined Steel would shatter under high-frequency attacks. But if you have Dissipation, you can endure longer, and your resistance will far exceed its original limits."

With that, Zhan Yan began to explain in detail how to channel the force.

"Dissipation... if you can one day comprehend it to its absolute peak, you could have ten thousand forces assail your body and still remain completely unfazed. Give it a try."

Xu Yunfan closed his eyes, Concentrating his Spirit. His spine suddenly arched like a full moon.

Mimicking the force trajectory he had just witnessed, he smashed the hammer down onto a spare Forging Platform.

The wind from his swing sent sparks flying backward, but at the moment of impact, he instinctively let up, losing a third of his force. The rebound shot from the web of his thumb into his elbow, making him grimace.

’By following the guidance of a powerful expert, you have gained an insight into the Dissipation of the Thousand-Pound Mountain-Shaking Hammer Technique. Your Skill Level for the Thousand-Pound Mountain-Shaking Hammer Technique has increased.’

"Stupid!" Zhan Yan flicked his funny bone. "Who told you to hold back your strength? Be like a mountain flood breaking through a dam—charge forward without hesitation!"

Xu Yunfan jerked his arm back from the electrifying touch, unable to stop a shiver. The Horizontal Training True Skill he had cultivated was apparently riddled with flaws in front of Zhan Yan.

’I need to hurry up and cultivate to the Flesh Refining Realm to cover my weak spots.’

On his second swing, Xu Yunfan simply abandoned all control.

The hammerhead fell with a piercing shriek, and the rebound force bolted through his meridians like a wild horse.

He let out a muffled grunt. His arm muscles suddenly began to vibrate at a strangely high frequency. The instant the hammerhead touched the anvil, the hairs on the back of Xu Yunfan’s hand suddenly flattened.

A visible ripple of vibrations spread from his wrist bones toward his shoulder, and diamond-shaped, leather-like ripples appeared on the surface of his triceps.

Zhan Yan’s pupils contracted violently. He saw the bony tip of his disciple’s elbow slide half an inch beneath the skin, channeling seventy percent of the rebound force into his trapezius muscles.

KRAK!

The spare Forging Platform let out a grating groan.

The surface of the three-hundred-pound, square cast-iron anvil dented three inches deep. Bizarrely, no sparks flew from the edges; all of the impact force had been locked within the anvil’s surface grain.

The sleeves on both of Xu Yunfan’s arms exploded into fragments. On his exposed skin, bulging veins slithered like living snakes, outlining a coiling dragon pattern in a spiral beneath his skin.

Silence fell over the Weapon Casting Platform. After a long moment, Xu Yunfan couldn’t hold back any longer and turned to ask Zhan Yan.

"Master, did I do it right?"

As he spoke, he couldn’t help but glance at another notification about his increased Skill Level for the Thousand-Pound Mountain-Shaking Hammer Technique that had popped up in his vision.

’Three more swings at most, and I’ll definitely reach the introductory level for the Thousand-Pound Mountain-Shaking Hammer Technique!’

"Yes!"

Zhan Yan’s expression was difficult to read, flickering in the light of the Earth Fire. He remained silent for a long while.

Seeing that Zhan Yan’s face had suddenly seemed to age, Xu Yunfan couldn’t help but step forward and ask, "What’s wrong, Master?"

Zhan Yan sighed and said, "I was once a genius, too. I even possessed True Blood!"

It wasn’t until he met Xu Yunfan that he understood what it truly meant that there was always someone better.

Anyone would get depressed after cultivating alongside Xu Yunfan for a while.

Xu Yunfan was stunned. "Master, you have True Blood, too?!"

"Let’s not talk about that."

With a nonchalant wave of his hand, Zhan Yan took the opportunity to demonstrate the Second Realm. "The Red Flood Dragon Mountain Coiling Strength focuses on the unity of your waist and stance. Treat your spine as a Flood Dragon and the great tendons throughout your body as a bowstring. You generate force from each of the twenty-four vertebrae, building it up layer by layer, until your body can shake a mountain."

He turned to the side, twisted his waist, and swung the forging hammer upward from under his arm.

The hammer’s trajectory was as cunning as a striking viper, and the sheer force of its passage overturned an iron water bucket thirty feet away.

Xu Yunfan saw it clearly: his master’s hip bone and shoulder blade simultaneously produced a resonant hum, like a tightening bowstring. His lats flared out like wings, turning his body into what looked for all the world like a massive, fully-drawn war bow.

"Watch closely!"

Zhan Yan suddenly threw the forging hammer into the air.

The instant the hammer began to fall, he pivoted on the ball of his foot, his heel chopping down like a Battle Axe, striking the very end of the hammer’s handle.

BOOM!

The forging hammer shot into the rock layer like a meteor, leaving only its handle sticking out, vibrating at a high frequency.

Amidst the flying rubble, a crack spread for a hundred feet along the lines of the Earth Vein, causing steam vents to erupt wherever it passed.

In no time at all, shouts and curses from the Celestial Craft Department rained down from above.

"Ahem. Let’s get out of here. We’ll leave the city and find a more suitable place to practice."

"..."

「Outside Celestial Craft City, in a hollow on an unnamed mountain ridge.」

"Remember, only when your force can penetrate three inches into an Earth Vein does it count as reaching the introductory level."

Zhan Yan pulled out the forging hammer; its head was already twisted like a pretzel. "You’ve now achieved the initial stage of the Outer Three Harmonies. Try to push your Blood Qi up your great spine, and it will become a Red Flood Dragon..."

Xu Yunfan took a deep breath of the scorching air, and his spine suddenly writhed like a python.

He mimicked his master’s spinning kick, but the moment he exerted force, he felt his hamstring cramp. This was because his Blood Qi was not yet able to permeate all the way to the ends of his limbs.

’I’ll need to reach the Flesh Refining Realm to do this.’

The instant the sole of his boot struck the hammer handle, a rebound force like a steel needle stabbed into the back of his knee, forcing him down to one knee in pain.

"What’s the rush!" Zhan Yan kicked him on the backside. "Sink your hips! Keep the back of your knees relaxed! Imagine your Yongquan Acupoint is a spring!"

On his seventh attempt, Xu Yunfan finally grasped the profound sensation.

The instant his heel touched the hammer, he deliberately relaxed the bend of his knee, allowing the rebound force to travel up his Achilles tendon into his waist and hips.

The small of his back suddenly flared with heat. Wisps of Pure Yang Qi that had accumulated deep within his flesh and blood burst forth like a flood from an open sluice gate, driving the forging hammer a full two inches into the rock!

"Master, was that it?"

"...More or less. Considering you’re not in the Flesh Refining Realm and your Blood Qi can’t fully permeate your limbs, that counts as a pass."

"The Third Level is the ’Thousand-Pound Mountain-Shaking Hammer.’ You need to be in the Flesh Refining Realm to use it."