The Nine Cauldrons

During evening, smoke could be seen spiraling upward from the chimney.

Smoke spiraled up from the chimney in the evening.

“The food is here.” Little Ping carried two dishes of food, one in each of her hands. She walked to the table, lightly and nimbly. Behind her, Li Jun also arrived with a plate of food while Old Wang and Teng Shou brought the rice bowls over. Soon, all the dishes of food and bowls were placed on the table and the group sat down around it.

“Yes. The food looks delicious.” Teng Qingshan praised with a smile.

When Li Jun heard this, she grinned from ear to ear.

“Uncle.” Little Ping, who was at the side, intentionally humphed and said, “During the twenty days when Uncle was absent, we only had two dishes of food and one bowl of soup for every meal. Now that Uncle has returned, the food served has become six dishes and a bowl of soup. Sister Jun, you are so unfair. Uncle, Sister Jun is only good to you; she doesn’t care about us.”

Hearing this, Li Jun’s face turned red. She immediately glared at Little Ping and said, “You silly girl.”

“Did I say something wrong?” Little Ping giggled.

“Nothing wrong.” Teng Shou growled in his deep voice.

“Look! Even Ah Shou said I’m right!” Little Ping’s grin became even brighter, causing Li Jun’s face to turn a burning red. Li Jun flicked an involuntary glance at Teng Qingshan, and Teng Qingshan also glanced back at her.

“Haha, let’s eat.” Teng Qingshan said with a chuckle.

Teng Qingshan looked at the few people around him: Li Jun, who had accompanied him for a very long time; the active and smart Little Ping; the vicious and beastly teenager Teng Shou; and finally Old Wang, who was always smiling. After being with them for such a long time, Teng Qingshan was accustomed to their presence. It made him feel like he was home.

“Teng Shou, how has your fist art progressed in the time I’ve been gone?” Teng Qingshan asked.

“Erm. It’s been fine.” Teng Shou replied with a nod.

Teng Qingshan was surprised at the response. When he initially started teaching this first disciple of his, he had been too strict and scolded incessantly. As a result, Teng Shou never believed that he was doing well. Now that he dared to state that “its been fine”, it most likely meant that he attained a significant breakthrough.

“Big Brother Teng!” Li Jun hastily interrupted in excitement, “Did you know that while you were gone, Ah Shou practiced his fist art diligently? He even managed to generate the Earth Elemental Supreme Force!”

“You managed to generate Supreme Force?” Teng Qingshan was astounded.

Teng Shou had already reached the realm of the synchronization of bones. However, the 《Earth Element Fist》and《Water Element Fist》 and the other fist arts all contained the Dao of the Heavens and Earth. By practicing the five fist arts, one could then perceive the Realm of Concept and cause the inner strength and Spirit to go through a magical transformation into the Supreme Force!

One officially reached the beginning of the Supreme Force when they generated Supreme Force. A cultivator at the initial phase of The Supreme Force would be on par with the Hollow Dan Innate Expert. With the addition of Teng Shou’s physical strength, his total strength would definitely surpass any ordinary Hollow Dan Innate Expert.

“Yes.” Teng Shou nodded, “It happened the day before yesterday

“Great! Good job! Haha...” Teng Qingshan couldn’t help but laugh heartily. It was possible to generate the Supreme Force through the practice of the《Earth Element Fist》and the other fist arts! Although Teng Qingshan was confident that his theory was correct, those....were just his assumptions. Since he only created the five fist arts after comprehending parts of the Dao, he could only guess at what the results would be if others practiced them. Now, he knew for certain!

If one reaches the Grandmaster Realm and practiced one of the Five Element Fists, it was indeed possible to generate Supreme Force!

“The different cultivation methods are the Twelve Forms of Xing Yi, Five Element Fists, and the Three Postures.... This set of cultivation methods can aid people in reaching the Grandmaster Realm! However, the 《Earth Element Fist》and 《Metal Element Fist》and the other elemental fists that were created after I had comprehended the Dao of the Heavens and Earth are able to help the Grandmasters generate Supreme Force!”

“This way, my branch of Internal Martial Arts would be on par with the cultivation methods of the Daoist and Buddhist Sects. It is entirely possible for my branch of martial arts to flourish!”

Confidence filled Teng Qingshan’s heart.

“That is great. Ah Shou, keep practicing diligently.” Teng Qingshan instructed solemnly. He then asked, “You only generated the Earth Elemental Supreme Force? Just this type?”

“Just this type.” Teng Shou replied looking at Teng Qingshan nervously.

Teng Shou knew that his teacher possessed several types of Supreme Force.

“Alright. From today onwards, you will only practice the 《Earth Element Fist》and the Three Postures.” Teng Qingshan instructed seriously, “The 《Earth Element Fist》seems simple, but it is extensive and profound. If you can generate the Supreme Force, it means that you have comprehended a tiny bit of it. Complete knowledge is better than incomplete knowledge. You need to master the《Earth Element Fist》and that fist art will allow you to go wherever you want.”

“Yes, Teacher.” Teng Shou answered with respect.

Previously, Teng Shou also sensed the extensiveness and profoundness of the《Earth Element Fist》. The more he practiced, the more ignorant he felt. Simultaneously, he felt an even greater admiration for his teacher, the one that was able to create these fist arts!

......

The sky darkened completely after dinner.

Teng Qingshan and the others headed to the underground cave below the Godly Axe Mountain.

“Little Jun, how have you been these days?” Teng Qingshan and Li Jun walked side by side down the staircase of the passageway. Li Jun smiled happily and answered with a nod, “I’ve been well. I spent every day leisurely, and I even strolled around Nanshan City a few times. The West Street and Huayang District? of Nanshan City are fascinating.”

Teng Qingshan flicked a glance at Li Jun and remained silent.

Teng Qingshan knew Li Jun very well!

In the past, when Li Jun lost her family, she was a frail and innocent little girl. She then followed her teacher and joined the super powerful sect that hid in the dark, the Heavenly God Palace. Under the teachings of the Heavenly God Palace, Li Jun gradually changed. Later on, she went to the God of Heaven Mountain and became the superior Goddess!

On the surface, she appeared lofty and indifferent, but she felt frail inside.

While she was with Teng Qingshan, she would also act as though she was very unyielding.

Even though the last twenty days were spent waiting by the lake, she told Teng Qingshan that she spent the time happily, leisurely, and without any worries!

“Li Jun, you crossed the sea with me, yet you won’t tell me the the things that weigh heavily on your mind.” Teng Qingshan thought to himself and sighed.

Teng Qingshan knew exactly how much torture it was to suppress all the troubles and suffering within one’s heart. That was how Teng Qingshan lived when he was going through the hitman training in his previous life. His life only became better when his relationship with Little Cat deepened, and when both he and Little Cat depended on each other.

......

In the underground cave, Iron Leaf Fruits that glowed like the legendary luminous pearls were scattered everywhere, illuminating the entire cave in a faint, dreamy green light.

Li Jun and the others entered their bedrooms, while Teng Qingshan himself took out the Splitting Mountain Axe. He placed the Splitting Mountain Axe to the side and unlock the lock latch.

“Clang!”

Teng Qingshan opened the iron chest and took out the six stone inscriptions, one after the other. He arranged them horizontally, leaning them against the mountain wall. There was an image carved along with the word ‘Dao’, which had a strange aura, on each of the stone inscriptions. As Teng Qingshan looked at them, he could feel an overpowering force inundating him.

“These six pieces of stone inscriptions are the sixth move, the twelfth move, the seventeen move, the eighteenth move, the nineteenth move, and the twentieth move.” As he examined the stone inscriptions, Teng Qingshan immediately knew the order they went in. “The six inscriptions are for the 6th, 12th, 17th, 18th,19th and 20th moves. The stone inscription I obtained when I caught Dong Zhezi was for the 9th move.”

When Teng Qingshan saw the content of these stone inscriptions, his heart was filled with jubilation.

Because...

The《Thirty-six Splitting Mountain Forms》was Emperor Yu’s most powerful technique! Therefore, the cultivation of the《Thirty-six Splitting Mountain Forms》became increasingly difficult as one reached the end. The moves at the end were simply too profound, and probably couldn’t even be comprehended by Novice Emptiness Experts. The thing that worried Teng Qingshan the most is that he might get pieces of stone inscriptions that are at the end of the order. Getting stone inscriptions at the end of the order was something that greatly worried Teng Qingshan.

For instance, if the stone inscriptions depicted the 32nd, 33rd and other more profound moves then they would be useless to him.

“As expected of the great Rising Sun Trading Company that has existed for over three thousand years, four of the six inscriptions are successive!”

This made Teng Qingshan even more happy.

The concepts behind successive moves, such as the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th, were correlated. Therefore, comprehending them would be easier.

“Let’s start!”

Teng Qingshan picked up the Splitting Mountain Axe and immediately—the magical power possessed by the Splitting Mountain Axe connected with the images carved by Emperor Yu on the stone inscriptions. Some faint beams of light radiated, and the Splitting Mountain Axe and the six stone inscriptions have came alive.

“Rumble~~~”

At this moment, Teng Qingshan has entered into Emperor Yu’s world!

He could see the magical moves performed by Emperor Yu! Teng Qingshan watched as Emperor Yu broke the six forms down into more than a hundred moves. The shifting strikes and movements of the silhouette of Emperor Yu repeatedly flashed before Teng Qingshan’s eyes, and he immersed himself completely in cultivation.

The Blue Luan curled on the ground at the side.

The Six Legged Bladelike Chi’s large triangular head was lying on the entrance of the passageway nearby. It opened its eyes and glanced at Teng Qingshan, who was cultivating, then it closed its eyes and continued sleeping.

......

Teng Qingshan continued cultivating day and night for countless days. He even told Li Jun not to disturb him for things like lunch and dinner!

When one reached Teng Qingshan’s level, eating every meal wasn’t necessary. He would be fine for several months on a single meal. However, Teng Qingshan did not push it to such extremes. Even though he forgot to sleep and eat in the intensity of his cultivation, he would still come out for food every seven or eight days.

Three months soon passed by.

The radiance of the sun felt warm on this particular afternoon. The ice on Crescent Moon Lake had melted and the water sparkled under the brilliance of the sunlight.

“The sixth move was more simple than the ninth move, and it was comparatively easier to comprehend. The 12th move, however, is obviously going to be much more difficult.” Teng Qingshan thought to himself as he walked through the forest. It was the first time he walked out of the cave this month. The 12th move was indeed very complex, but some relaxation was necessary regardless of the difficulty.

“Eh?” Teng Qingshan suddenly saw a figure in the forest.

“Old Wang?” Teng Qingshan walked over.

......

Old Wang sat on a tree branch, a long sword hanging from his waist, holding a pipe. He took a long draw on the pipe and exhaled with a puff. His eyes appeared misty.

“The sword art that Boss taught me is indeed the top-notch sword art in the world. After cultivating under the lead of the Boss, my sword art has improved tenfold, but...”

“It really is too hard for me to reach the Innate Realm!”

Confusion filled Old Wang’s mind as he asked himself, “How many Martial Saints are there on this continent? Perhaps I can finally leave after becoming a Martial Saint?”

“If that’s the case, I won’t be able to make it even when I die.”

Old Wang’s face shuddered slightly.

“Old Wang, what are you doing?” A voice sounded below.

Old Wang looked down and hastily jumped down from the tree branch. He responded respectfully, “Boss.” His heart overflowed with gratitude towards Teng Qingshan.

“Old Wang, I always felt like something is on your mind. If you don’t mind, tell me the worries that are harbored deep within your heart.” Teng Qingshan said.

Old Wang froze, a complicated expression on his face.