Chapter 51: The Mountain-Shifting Palm

"Mountain-Crushing Palm."

“By compressing both spiritual power and internal force into the palm, then striking the enemy to unleash a sudden and violent explosion, it inflicts devastating and potentially lethal damage!”

Liu Ming spoke with eloquence and confidence.

Then, he raised his right hand and brought it down fiercely on the black iron cauldron beside him. With a resonant clang, the clear sound rang through the air.

Liu Ji fixed his gaze and his pupils instantly contracted—for on that unyielding cauldron, there now appeared a palm-shaped indentation.

A full inch deep!

“This is even more powerful than my Celestial True Energy...” he murmured in astonishment. When he had previously used Celestial True Energy to cover his palm and strike the cauldron, not only had he failed to create such an indentation like Liu Ming, he hadn’t even left a fingerprint! At most, there were just a few scratches.

It had been five days since the martial contest at River Lanterns.

Unsurprisingly, news that Liu Ji had slammed a table on Sun Ziang, breaking his head and sending blood flying, followed by a fierce and evenly matched battle against Sun Hao, spread like a whirlwind through the entire Southern King City.

Once again, Liu Ji stood at the very eye of the storm!

“Was I not right? The young lord of the Liu family was clearly hiding his strength all along!”

“This is unbelievable! He could actually fight Sun Hao, who’s just returned from the Imperial Academy, to a standstill? Surely that can’t be true?”

“Ha! Why not? I heard Liu Ji has already mastered the Liu family’s ancestral martial art, the Sacred Celestial True Energy!”

“Unbelievable!”

“Although the Liu family’s Sacred Celestial True Energy is one of the most powerful techniques in the world, it’s also extremely difficult to cultivate—almost suicidal, really. For Liu Ji to master it, he must be a true genius!”

“Like father, like son!”

...

In recent days, such speculation and discussion in Southern King City had only grown more fervent. Many prominent families came to call, but all were refused at the door.

Moreover, as for why Liu Ji had feigned the role of a useless wastrel all these years, only to suddenly reveal such overwhelming strength, people were left guessing. Rumors of every sort spread throughout the city.

Yet those with sharper insight grew grave. If Liu Ji had previously played the fool to mislead certain eyes, and now, with his sudden display of power—even exposing the Sacred Celestial True Energy—what did Liu Ji, or rather, what did the Duke’s household intend?

Was this an open declaration of confrontation?

Such a thought left some troubled, for if the Duke’s household truly clashed openly with certain others, it would be no small matter!

Let it not be forgotten—

Southern King City, under the Duke’s protection, sits at the exit of Dragon Ravine Pass on Mount Zhongnan, the most direct route between the Southern Barbarians and the Empire of Nüxi. This road is a strategic chokepoint, vital to the empire’s security.

Should the Duke’s household defect to the Southern Barbarians, and with the fierce Tiger Cavalry at their command, the Duke’s forces would be like a sword thrust deep into the empire, and war would spread to a tenth of the empire’s lands!

Yet the main concern was not even that—if conflict erupted, their own interests would inevitably suffer as well.

Of course, such speculation remained confined to the great families; no one dared speak openly without certainty.

As for the rumors outside, Liu Ji merely laughed them off. His top priority now was to open all the meridians in his body!

Hearing Liu Ji’s words, Liu Ming shook his head. “No, Celestial True Energy is one of the strongest forms of spiritual energy today. The fact that you can’t leave a palm print on the cauldron with it doesn’t mean Celestial True Energy is lacking.”

So basically, you’re calling me incompetent? Liu Ji thought, speechless.

Liu Ming continued, “The essence of the Mountain-Crushing Palm lies in subtlety. The key is concealment—compressing your spiritual energy and hiding it in your palm, so that when you strike, the enemy is caught off guard and the technique’s full power is unleashed. If your opponent is aware you’re using the Mountain-Crushing Palm, its effect is lost.”

He extended his right hand. “The hardest part of mastering the Mountain-Crushing Palm is concealing the compressed spiritual energy in your palm without detection.”

So, it’s basically a sneaky move? Liu Ji mused.

Liu Ming smiled. “Let me teach you a trick: in combat, cover your hand with a layer of spiritual energy to mask the true power within. This will mislead your opponent into thinking you’re just using ordinary spiritual energy in your attack.”

Noticing Liu Ji’s increasingly peculiar expression, he coughed and added, “This way, you can catch your enemy unprepared and strike them down.”

“So, it’s just trickery upon trickery?” Liu Ji said.

Liu Ming nodded. “Exactly.”

“Understood.”

Liu Ji nodded in agreement. He saw nothing wrong with this. In battle, it’s life or death; any technique that can kill the enemy is a good technique.

Liu Ming then said, “You should already know the method for training the Mountain-Crushing Palm. There’s nothing more to teach—just practice diligently.”

With that, he turned and walked toward the Formless Array. He needed to work on perfecting his movement techniques.

Liu Ji moved to the black iron cauldron, closed his eyes, and mentally rehearsed the method for cultivating the Mountain-Crushing Palm. Then he opened his eyes.

He exhaled deeply and activated the Sacred Celestial True Energy, drawing in the ambient spiritual energy and circulating it through his body, converting it into Celestial True Energy and guiding it into his right palm, compressing it there.

When the compressed energy reached the limit of his control, he struck the cauldron with all his might.

The clang that followed was accompanied by a cry of pain. Looking at his right palm, he saw it was swollen and red, with several bloody scratches.

“The black iron cauldron has a recoil property—the harder you strike, the greater the force that rebounds against you.”

“Why didn’t you warn me earlier?”

“I thought you knew.”

“Then how come you weren’t hurt when you struck it?”

“Because I’m better than you.”

“...”

Liu Ji couldn’t be bothered to argue with Liu Ming. Though he had now cultivated the Sacred Celestial True Energy, he had to admit he was no match for Liu Ming.

From a distance, Liu Ming called out, “That strike of yours just now wasn’t the Mountain-Crushing Palm at all. Remember, the key is concealment—never let your enemy sense anything unusual about your palm!”

“Go practice your movement techniques,” Liu Ji retorted irritably.

He gazed down at his right palm, his thick brows furrowing. “Concealment... but how? The aura of Celestial True Energy is wild and fierce—anyone but a fool would sense it at once.”

Liu Ming’s words weren’t wrong. His own strike was clearly suffused with the violent energy of Celestial True Energy, utterly unlike Liu Ming’s seemingly ordinary but devastating palm. He couldn’t quite grasp the difference.

He carefully recalled the cultivation method for the Mountain-Crushing Palm and the tricks Liu Ming had shared. To master the technique, he would have to understand every nuance—otherwise, he’d just end up thrashing about blindly.

...

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