?Triangular-eyed stood respectfully before the grand gates of Haotian Palace. Gazing up at the towering, majestic gate, he murmured under his breath: "Damn Chinese youngster! I don't know what luck he's holding onto, but somehow he's managed to win the favor of Emperor Haotian. Still, no matter what—you're a transcendental cultivator, and you've dared to step out of my sight. I'll show you how I'll handle you!" It's a serious matter when a transcendental cultivator leaves the assessment zone without permission; according to regulations, they can be expelled on the spot. However, since the young man is said to be the legendary heir of Haotian Palace, Triangular-eyed didn't want to act alone. He came specially to inquire about the situation. The disciple on duty slowly approached, sniffing at him as he said: "Qin Feng is currently deeply immersed in cultivation and doesn't have time to see you." "Ah!" Triangular-eyed blinked, stunned—how could this young man be so arrogant? Does he even regard me as anything? If it were anyone else, Triangular-Eye would have been furious already. As the saying goes, "A county magistrate is no match for the current supervisor." No matter how high your status, if I say you're not good enough, you'll still have to go back where you came from. "I wish to see the Emperor of Heaven..." "What is your status? Do you have the qualification to see my master?" The man snorted, his nostrils nearly pointing toward the sky. "My master has clearly stated that my junior disciple will be personally mentoring him and must remain undisturbed. If, after three months, he loses to Juling Shen on the battlefield, will you be responsible?" Triangular-Eye remained undaunted and pleaded, "But there's a regulation in the Heavenly Court: those who ascend must undergo an evaluation, otherwise they cannot..." "Fine, whatever you say. Does the Heavenly Court's regulation matter to us in the Hou Tian Palace? My junior disciple is a direct disciple of my master—can he possibly be judged unworthy by your Heavenly Court's standards?" "Of course, of course. A direct disciple of the Emperor of Heaven must surely be a truly outstanding talent in every way," Triangular "So what about all those pointless tests? Go back and tell your superior—we at Hou Tian Palace simply don't take them seriously. Stop bothering us with all these trivial matters. Just go!" "Yes, yes…" The tri-eyed attendant shuffled away, flying quite a distance before finally spitting out a stream of disdain: "I'm telling you, what's so special about Hou Tian Palace? How can they act so arrogant, as if they don't even respect the Heavenly Palace? I'll definitely write a formal report to the Jade Emperor and file a complaint against you." But then he thought again—after all, they were the heirs of the Great Hou Tian Emperor, and even the Jade Emperor himself couldn't really influence them. What good would a complaint do? It would just be a waste of ink, ending up with no response at all. The only advantage he had over others was receiving a personal lecture from the Heavenly Emperor Hao Tian, while the other disciples learned from their senior brothers. As for whether the correct cultivation methods were affected, that would have to be asked of the individuals themselves. Now, looking at the two golden elixirs before him, the joy he had previously felt had completely vanished. These golden elixirs had been gifted by his master, said to be produced in the furnace of the Supreme Old King, with a limited annual output. However, after careful examination, he found they were not much better than those he had obtained from Chen Jie. The key issue was that he had sacrificed three packages of Yunwu tea—his reserves now nearly depleted—just for these two elixirs. Who could have imagined that the Heavenly Emperor Hao Tian, renowned since tens of thousands of years ago, would set such a trap for his own disciple? Perhaps it wasn't intentional; maybe he simply didn't see much potential in Qin Feng's cultivation elixirs. "Well, next time, I must be more careful." He reminded himself, then picked up the golden elixir and swallowed it. It's said that Sun Wukong once ate this like a candy, yet still couldn't defeat Buddha Fo. So perhaps something legendary isn't all that great after all. As the elixir entered his belly, it transformed into fine streams of spiritual energy, flowing naturally into his meridians and eventually returning to his dantian. The so-called secret technique was simply a method of cultivating qi—just as he had practiced during his early cultivation days—emphasizing steady progress and discouraging shortcuts. In other words, if he followed this supposed secret manual strictly, he wouldn't expect to see any noticeable results within thirty to fifty years. Hey, I've already made it clear—within three months, I'm scheduled to face the Giant Spirit God in a match on the arena. How come you haven't given it the attention it deserves? With no choice, he had to pull out his last two packages of Cloud Mist Tea and three large jars of Drunk Immortal Wine, and hurried off to find Emperor Haotian. When he placed the gift before his master, it was clear that the Emperor Hou Tian's eyes sparkled with excitement—though he was doing his best to conceal it, maintaining the air of someone who didn't expect gifts on this holiday. "What are you doing, disciple?" he asked in a calm tone, though the slight tremor in his beard betrayed his genuine enthusiasm. The gift has been accepted, and now it's time to put forth my conditions. He smiled and said, "Master, I'm your final disciple and the one chosen by the Haotian Hammer, yet even now I can only master three hammer techniques." "Why so?" the Emperor asked. Well, obviously—your hammer techniques are still quite stiff. I've gathered several leading scholars from China's classical literary circles and together we've only fully grasped three passages. When we originally inscribed the characters on the hammer, couldn't we have made them simpler and more accessible? Or perhaps, if we'd added annotations beside the text, wouldn't that have been a simple enough thing to do? Why didn't we? Of course, these thoughts can't be stated outright. Instead, he had to gracefully compliment, saying, "Master, your techniques are profoundly profound and beyond my reach. I can only admire them from afar. To truly understand and internalize them is no easy task, so I would be deeply grateful if you could kindly share your insights." "Having received the gift and been lavishly praised, Emperor Haotian felt delighted and said, 'There's nothing difficult about it. I'll teach you, and if you don't understand any part, just ask me.' Qin Shao chuckled and replied, 'Not to be modest, I don't understand a single sentence.' 'Ah!' the Emperor blinked in surprise, 'Then how did you manage to master the first three techniques? Did you just guess?' He frowned, 'You guess? I'll see you guess!' 'Heh, just kidding,' the Emperor said with a dry laugh. 'Actually, you don't need to worry too much—even if you guess, it won't matter much, because no matter what, the Haotian Hammer will never cause you to experience the condition of 'fire entering the lungs and then the lungs being overwhelmed.' Wow, I should've known earlier. My cloud tea, my drunken immortal wine. Why did I feel such a sense of anxiety—like a meat bun being chased by a dog, all the way to the market?"