96: Chapter 96 Heading to the Xingyi School Branch: A Probing Exploration in an Ancient Courtyard

Xingyi Imprints on the Bluestone Path

As the morning sun just crested the foothills of Mount Song, a convoy of eight ancient martial arts school vehicles moved along the winding mountain road.

Inside the Xuanshui Pavilion Maybach carrying Chen Wu, Su Chen was using Mystic Water Energy to polish a bronze water-patterned pendant.

Pale blue Qi Energy swirled across the surface of the ornament, reflecting the pine and cypress trees receding outside the window—on the trunk of every pine tree was carved a pale brown "Crushing Fist" trajectory; that was the road sign for the Xingyi Sect branch, which only descendants who had mastered the Five Elements Energy could recognize.

"Ahead lies the 'Xingyi Twelve Discs'," Li Cangsong's voice came through the holographic projection.

The old man's fingertips slid across the virtual sand table, "Each mountain road disc corresponds to a Move of the Xingyi Fist. The third disc, the 'Tiger Form Disc', and the seventh, the 'Dragon Form Disc', hide Qi Energy traps; they are the first trial of the branch."

The tablet suddenly popped up a 3D model of the mountain road.

Beneath the bluestone of the third disc, a black glimmer of "Spirit-Devouring Energy" was visible, clearly a trace left by the remnants of the Grey Shadow.

"I have already had my Disciples clear it out in advance, but to be safe, Mr. Su's Mystic Water Energy will be responsible for scouting the path, and Chen Wu, your Yijin Energy must be ready for emergencies at any time."

Lin Mo's tactical tablet suddenly displayed a System prompt: "Detected Xingyi Sect branch Qi Energy field, triggered 'School Trial' side quest—pass the Twelve Discs trial to unlock the complete 'Five Elements Energy' chart. Quest reward: 500,000 Legacy points + the 'Earth Form Array' decryption key for the underground palace."

The boy's fingertips flew across the virtual keyboard, sweat beads from his forehead dripping onto the touchpad, "The live stream is still ongoing! There are currently 18 billion viewers online, and the audience is all guessing whether you can perfectly pass the Twelve Discs. Fans of Mr. Yin from the Bagua Palm have even started a betting pool, wagering on which disc you will make a mistake on!"

Grandpa Wang's dry pipe tapped a dull sound against the car window.

The old man flipped through the "Xingyi Mountain Road Records" left by his grandfather; the yellowed pages contained trial records from 1954: "Back then, your Great-grandfather walked the Twelve Discs and deliberately revealed a flaw in the seventh, the 'Dragon Form Disc'," the pipe bowl pointed at an illustration in the book, "It wasn't that he couldn't fight, but he was giving the Xingyi Sect Face—today you must also be careful; you must win, but you cannot let Elder Li lose Face."

Three copper coins suddenly flew out of the camphor wood chest, landing at Chen Wu's feet to form the character "Xing".

Pale brown Qi Energy spread along the copper coins, marking the safe route for the twelve discs on the virtual sand table.

In the Flower Girl's basket, the Xingyi petals of the inheritance grass suddenly turned pale brown.

Dewdrops rolled on the leaf surface, reflecting a real-time image of the third mountain road disc—the "Spirit-Devouring Energy" beneath the bluestone had been cleared, but a tiny thread of Qi Energy remained, like a hidden fuse that would trigger the moment it touched the Xingyi Energy.

The young girl mixed the juices of the Tiger Bone Grass and the Mystic Ice Grass.

When the pale brown "Spirit-Seeking Dew" dripped onto the leaves, the thread suddenly appeared within the dewdrop: "Elder Zhou said this is a 'Trap Detector'," she lightly tapped the dewdrop with her fingertip, "It can make hidden Qi Energy have nowhere to hide, just like installing night-vision goggles for your eyes."

When the convoy arrived at the third disc, the "Tiger Form Disc", Su Chen's Mystic Water Energy suddenly transformed into a stream of pale blue light.

The pale blue Qi Energy spread along the bluestone, and upon contacting the residual "Spirit-Devouring Energy" thread, it instantly froze it into an ice block—the slow-motion footage of the global live stream showed the thread inside the ice block slowly shattering, and pale brown Xingyi Energy surged from beneath the stone slab, forming a rotating taiji diagram with the Mystic Water Energy.

"There's an ambush!" Zhang Hao suddenly stood up from the passenger seat.

His Iron Arm Power condensed in his palms, and he stared vigilantly at the woods on both sides of the mountain road, "I hear the rustling of the leaves is not right; it's not the wind!"

Qi Energy Clash in the Tiger Form Disc

Five black "Spirit-Devouring Darts" suddenly flew out of the woods.

The darts glinted with an eerie green light as they struck toward Chen Wu's car window—just as Su Chen's Mystic Water Energy was about to freeze them, Chen Wu's Yijin Energy suddenly transformed into a dark golden barrier.

He neither resisted them head-on nor dodged; instead, he used a spiral energy to guide the dart bodies to the side, letting them embed deeply into the trunk of a pine tree nearby.

"It's the Grey Shadow's 'Seven Absolutes Darts'!" Li Cangsong's voice carried anger.

In the holographic projection, five figures wearing night-walking clothes were rushing out of the woods, holding "Spirit-Devouring Blades".

The black Qi Energy on the blades was identical to the toxins of the previously encountered "Qijue Sect", "They are remnants of the Qijue Sect, specifically here to sabotage the trial!"

Chen Wu's "Yijin Energy" suddenly erupted.

The dark golden Qi Energy flew out along the car window, transforming into five spiral-shaped Qi Energy threads in mid-air, precisely entangling the hilts of the "Spirit-Devouring Blades"—the live stream camera captured a shocking scene: the five blades suddenly went out of control, carried by the Qi Energy threads to draw a perfect circle in the air, and finally landed gently in the hands of Li Cangsong's Disciples, the black Qi Energy on the blades already purified by the Yijin Energy.

"This is 'Dissipating Energy Disarmament'!" Lin Mo's exclamation carried a tremor.

The Qi Energy analysis chart on the tablet showed that the compatibility between Chen Wu's Yijin Energy and the Xingyi Energy had increased to 82%, "System prompt: Unlocked 'Xingyi Yijin Energy' Fusion Move, trial progress +20%!"

Grandpa Wang's dry pipe tapped a dull sound against the car window.

The old man flipped to the "Tiger Form Chapter" of the "Xingyi Mountain Road Records"; the yellowed pages contained the key to defeating enemies with the "Tiger Form Fist": "When encountering darts, dissipate them; when encountering blades, entangle them," the pipe bowl pointed at the person in night-walking clothes rushing to the front, "His 'Spirit-Devouring Blade' uses a 'Backhand Blade'; the flaw is at his right waist. You can break it by using the Xingyi Fist's 'Crushing Fist'!"

The bronze copper coins in the camphor wood chest suddenly resonated with Chen Wu's Yijin Energy.

Pale brown Qi Energy spread along the copper coins, marking the location of the night-walking person's flaw on the virtual screen.

In the Flower Girl's basket, the leaves of the inheritance grass suddenly unfolded like tiger claws.

Dewdrops rolled on the leaf surface, reflecting the Qi Energy fluctuation at the night-walking person's waist—a miniature "Spirit-Devouring Bomb" was hidden there, which would automatically detonate the moment the blade was taken away.

The young girl sprinkled the "Spirit-Seeking Dew" into the air.

The pale brown light merged with Chen Wu's Yijin Energy, condensing into a miniature "Tiger Form" in his palm: "Elder Zhou said this is a 'Flaw Marking Light'," she lightly tapped the dewdrop with her fingertip, "It can let you accurately find the bomb's location, just like installing a tracker on the prey!"

When Chen Wu's "Xingyi Yijin Energy" struck toward the night-walking person's right waist, the dark golden Qi Energy suddenly transformed into a "Crushing Fist" trajectory.

The pale brown Xingyi Energy and the dark golden Yijin Energy erupted at the point of contact; without harming the opponent's Meridians, it precisely held down the switch of the "Spirit-Devouring Bomb"—the barrage of the global live stream instantly exploded, and the golden "Beautiful" sent by 18 billion viewers simultaneously formed a wall of light in the virtual space.

"You... how did you know the bomb's location?" The night-walking person's voice carried disbelief.

His body suddenly stiffened, and black "Spirit-Devouring Energy" overflowed from the corners of his mouth, "Grey Shadow said... this Move was foolproof..."

Su Chen's Mystic Water Energy suddenly transformed into a pale blue chain.

The pale blue Qi Energy entangled the remaining four night-walking people, freezing all of their "Spirit-Devouring Energy": "Don't struggle," Su Chen's voice carried coldness, "Mystic Water Energy can make your toxins temporarily dormant, but if you want to completely break the curse, you can only cooperate with us and identify the Grey Shadow's hiding place."

The tablet showed that Li Cangsong's Disciples had already subdued the night-walking people.

They all had the same "Spirit-Devouring Bomb" hidden at their waists, only the detonation methods were different.

Five Elements Maze on the Dragon Form Disc

When the convoy arrived at the seventh disk, the "Dragon Disk," the bluestone slabs suddenly glowed with a light brown radiance.

Twelve slabs rose simultaneously, forming a rotating "Five Elements Formation" in mid-air—Lin Mo's tablet showed that each slab corresponded to one of the Five Elements Energy of Xingyi Fist.

The "Qi Energy" of "Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth" circulated between the slabs; stepping on the wrong one would trigger a chain attack of "Five Elements Energy."

"This is the branch's second trial!" Li Cangsong's voice was filled with excitement.

In the holographic projection, his grandson, Li Yan, was standing atop the disk, holding a "Xingyi Spear."

"Yan'er will act as the examiner. Only by passing his 'Spear Trial' can you continue forward."

Li Yan's "Xingyi Spear" suddenly struck toward Chen Wu.

The light brown spear energy was like a long dragon emerging from the sea. The Qi Energy at the spear tip transformed into a rotating vortex in mid-air, carrying both the sharpness of "Gold Energy" and the scorching heat of "Fire Energy"—the slow-motion footage of the global live stream showed that the trajectory of the spear tip corresponded to the "Fire Element" slab of the "Five Elements Formation."

If Chen Wu retreated, he would step into the trap of the "Water Element" slab.

"This is 'Luring the Prey into the Trap'!" Lin Mo's exclamation trembled.

The Qi Energy analysis chart on the tablet showed that Li Yan's spear energy was perfectly synchronized with the Qi Energy field of the "Five Elements Formation."

"System prompt: The compatibility between the Xingyi Spear energy and the 'Five Elements Formation' is 95%. You must use 'Five Elements Yijin Energy' to simultaneously break the spear Move and the Formation!"

Chen Wu's "peace lock" suddenly resonated with the "Five Elements Formation."

The dark golden Yijin Energy spread from the soles of his feet. He did not retreat; instead, he stepped toward the "Fire Element" slab—the light brown Xingyi Energy and the dark golden Yijin Energy erupted at the point of contact, simultaneously neutralizing the "Fire Energy" of the spear tip and using spiral energy to entangle the spear shaft, preventing Li Yan's "Xingyi Spear" from retracting.

"This is... the 'Entangling Spear Move'?" Li Yan's pupils suddenly dilated.

He abruptly changed his Move, and the "Gold Energy" on the spear shaft erupted, attempting to sever the entanglement of the Yijin Energy.

"My ancestor said this Move is only known to the Inner Sect Disciples of the Xingyi Sect!"

Grandpa Wang tapped his dry tobacco pipe against the car window with a dull thud.

The old man flipped open the "Dragon Chapter" of the *Xingyi Mountain Road Records*. The yellowed pages recorded the origin of the "Entangling Spear Move": "Your Great-grandfather taught this to Old Master Li in 1954."

The pipe bowl pointed at Li Yan's spear shaft. "His 'Gold Energy' lacks three parts of 'Soft Energy.' You can neutralize it by using the 'Poison-Dissolving Move' of the Yijin Energy!"

The bronze coins in the camphor wood chest suddenly resonated with the slabs of the "Five Elements Formation." Light brown Qi Energy spread along the coins, marking the breaking sequence of "Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth" on the virtual screen.

In the Flower Girl's basket, the leaves of the inheritance grass suddenly unfurled like spear tips.

Dewdrops rolled on the leaf surfaces, reflecting the Qi Energy fluctuations of Li Yan's spear shaft—his "Wood Energy" showed a discontinuity at the seventh rotation node, which was an old injury from long-term spear practice.

The little girl mixed the "Spirit-Probing Dew" with the juice of the golden-thread lotus. When the light brown "Energy-Guiding Dew" dripped onto the leaves, Chen Wu's Yijin Energy suddenly traveled along the spear shaft.

"Elder Zhou said this is an 'Energy-Guiding Agent'," she lightly tapped the dewdrop with her fingertip, "It allows your energy to follow the opponent's trajectory, just like putting lubricant on the spear shaft!"

When Chen Wu's "Five Elements Yijin Energy" was injected along the spear shaft, the light brown Xingyi Energy suddenly erupted.

The twelve slabs of the "Five Elements Formation" lit up simultaneously. Light golden, light green, light blue, light red, and light brown Qi Energy formed a rotating Five Elements diagram in mid-air—the global live stream screen suddenly froze: Chen Wu's hand rested gently on Li Yan's spear shaft, the dark golden Yijin Energy and the light brown Xingyi Energy intertwined, neither injuring Li Yan's old wound nor preventing his "Xingyi Spear" from obediently falling to the ground.

"I lost!" Li Yan suddenly retracted his spear and bowed deeply to Chen Wu.

"In Mr. Chen's energy, there is a true meaning of Xingyi that I have not learned!"

The System prompt sounded again: "Dragon Disk trial passed. Trial progress 100%. Unlocked the complete map of the Xingyi Sect's 'Five Elements Energy.' Obtained the decryption key for the 'Earth Form Array' of the underground palace. Legacy points +500,000."

In the live stream barrage on the tablet, the light brown "Xingyi Might" from Xingyi Sect fans and the golden "Tomb Guardian Must Win" from Chen Wu's fans intertwined. The number of online viewers exceeded 20 billion, setting a new record for faction trial live streams.

The Banquet of Legacy in the Ancient Courtyard.

When the convoy finally arrived at the Xingyi Sect branch, the ancient vermilion gates slowly opened.

On the bluestone slab in the center of the courtyard, a huge character "Xing" was carved. On the eighteen stone pillars surrounding it, the eighteen Moves of Xingyi Fist were carved respectively. Light brown Qi Energy spread along the stone pillars, forming a rotating Qi Energy field in mid-air—Lin Mo's tablet showed that this Qi Energy field was completely homologous to the "Earth Form Array" of the underground palace, making it the best venue for actual combat practice.

"Please, come in," Li Cangsong's voice was warm. He led everyone into the main hall, where the table was already filled with ancient dishes.

"This is the 'Five Elements Banquet' of the Xingyi Sect. The ingredients correspond to the Five Elements of Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth; they can replenish Qi Energy and nourish the Meridians."

The tablet suddenly popped up an analysis of the dishes' Qi Energy. The Gold Element "Stir-fried Silver Sprouts" contained 3% metallic Qi Energy, and the Wood Element "Cold Tossed Wood Ear Mushrooms" contained 5% wood-attribute Qi Energy, which was just right for enhancing the purity of the Yijin Energy.

Grandpa Wang tapped his dry tobacco pipe against the dining table with a brisk, dull thud.

The old man flipped open the *Xingyi Food Records* left by his grandfather. The yellowed pages recorded the origin of the "Five Elements Banquet": "Your Great-grandfather came to the branch in 1950, and Old Master Li cooked this himself."

The pipe bowl pointed at the "Earth Element Stew" on the table. "This dish needs to be slow-cooked for three hours using Xingyi Energy. It can enhance the Qi Energy reserves in your Dantian, which will be beneficial for your exploration of the underground palace."

The bronze coins in the camphor wood chest suddenly resonated with the dishes. Light brown Qi Energy spread along the coins, drawing the trajectory of a Xingyi Fist Move on every bowl and plate.

In the Flower Girl's basket, the leaves of the inheritance grass all suddenly turned toward the dining table.

Dewdrops rolled on the leaf surfaces, reflecting the real-time changes in the Qi Energy of the dishes—when Chen Wu ate the first bite of "Stir-fried Silver Sprouts," the purity of his dark golden Yijin Energy suddenly increased by 2%, and the rotation speed of the Qi Energy vortex in his Dantian accelerated.

The little girl sprinkled the "Spirit-Probing Dew" into the air. The light brown radiance merged with the Qi Energy of the dishes, condensing into a miniature "Five Elements Diagram" in Chen Wu's palm.

"Elder Zhou said this is 'Qi Energy Amplification Light'," she lightly tapped the dewdrop with her fingertip, "It allows you to better absorb the Qi Energy of the dishes, just like installing an absorber for your body!"

The Section Chief of the Special Incident Response Department suddenly walked over, holding a holographic report.

The tablet showed that the "Earth Form Array" of the underground palace had been initially activated via the key. The Qi Energy fields of the eight major factions resonated with the Qi Energy field of the underground palace; as soon as everyone arrived, they could directly enter the core area.

"The last remnants of the Grey Shadow have been cleared," the Section Chief's voice was filled with excitement, "We have already set up a Qi Energy shielding net around the branch. We can set off for the underground palace first thing tomorrow morning!"

When night fell, eight-colored rays of light suddenly erupted in the courtyard of the Xingyi Sect branch.

Chen Wu's Yijin Energy, Su Chen's Mystic Water Energy, Li Cangsong's Xingyi Energy, and the Qi Energy of other factions formed a huge "Ancient Martial Alliance" totem in mid-air. The final frame of the global live stream froze at the moment everyone raised their glasses—light golden, light blue, light brown, and other colored liquors collided in the air, turning into points of light that filled the sky, illuminating the road to the underground palace.

When the System's final prompt popped up, Chen Wu suddenly understood that this trial at the Xingyi Sect branch was never a simple test, but a "Legacy Recognition" of the ancient martial arts factions—allowing him to master the true meaning of Xingyi through competition and to condense the power of the alliance through cooperation.

As the moonlight washed over the ancient courtyard, the "Xing" character on the bluestone slab and the traces of the eight-colored Qi Energy slowly merged, forming a brand-new "Zhan" character, as if foretelling: the final battle of the underground palace exploration was about to begin.

In the live stream barrage, a line of neat text finally scrolled across: "Xingyi Legacy remains, the Alliance fights the Underground Palace."

This message was lit up by 20 billion viewers simultaneously, like a river of light spanning mountains and seas, flowing forever above the branch, illuminating the new journey of the underground palace exploration.