As the notification appeared, Xiang Yu found himself engulfed in a state of pure enlightenment. His comprehension expanded and transformed—not painfully, but as if divine insights were flowing effortlessly into his mind. The problems that had previously stumped him regarding the Fire Tempering Scripture now resolved themselves naturally, without requiring active thought. He surrendered to this current of knowledge, allowing the insights to cascade through his consciousness until the process finally completed.
He exhaled deeply to center himself. Though not overwhelming thanks to his high Mind level, the experience remained profoundly shocking. The sheer volume of insights and previously unconsidered perspectives was staggering. This revelation matched the moment his Enlightenment had first entered the High grade—truly like witnessing an entirely new world unveiling itself.
As the flood of insights subsided, Xiang Yu turned his attention to his other stats. First, he noted with surprise the hundred-point increase in his Body Refining. Contemplating this improvement, he concluded it likely resulted from when the competing bloodlines had ravaged his internal organs. His body, much like metal in blacksmithing, had apparently grown stronger through the cycle of damage and restoration—tearing and healing rather than heating and cooling.
An evil grin spread across his face. This discovery provided even more justification for his plan to deliberately stimulate conflict between the bloodlines. He suspected this same process had contributed to the five-point improvement in his Transcendent Dao Physique, though discovering the ice and wind elements had certainly played a role as well.
The other stats hadn't increased significantly, with the notable exception of Fire Palm, which had gained an extra ten points. He attributed this to the phoenix bloodline subconsciously enhancing his fire element affinity. His Appraiser profession had advanced to seventh grade, and after brief testing, he confirmed he could now extract more useful information—such as identifying specific talisman types, though certain limitations remained to be explored later.
Although his Talisman Maker profession had already reached eighth grade before the reset, the system's doubling effect had finally granted him the insights he'd missed by breaking through independently. He acquired several new formulas for ninth and eighth grade talismans, which he mentally cataloged for future reference.
His spirit cultivation progressed impressively. At this rate, he predicted a breakthrough to the sixth layer after the next reset. His pace was finally accelerating, though compared to his master's remarkable progress, he still had considerable ground to cover.
Regarding the bloodlines, this first doubling had produced subtle changes—perhaps just a slight growth in the essence drops. This matched his expectations. Today, he would thoroughly test both bloodlines. Since they seemed so eager to battle, he was determined to discover their true capabilities.
Most impressive of all was his Abyssal Void Flame, which had finally crossed the halfway mark toward fifth grade. He wondered what changes this advancement might bring, though recalling its previous breakthrough, he tempered his expectations.
The flame clearly possessed extraordinary power, evidenced by how it had made mythical bloodlines cower in fear, yet Xiang Yu still didn't fully understand how to utilize it properly.
He'd questioned his martial aunt about the flame, receiving only the simplistic answer that "it was used to fight." Was he supposed to simply hurl it at opponents? Considering its ability to reach a thousand degrees almost instantly, it would certainly function as a devastating weapon. Yet he couldn't imagine immortals engaging in something as crude as throwing fireballs at each other.
Regardless, he would unravel its secrets eventually. A new idea suddenly struck him—with his newly elevated Enlightenment level, perhaps he could gain insights by directly analyzing the flame itself. He decided to attempt this later, after using his newly gained insights to complete the all-element Tempering Scripture.
...
With the profound insights gained from his Enlightenment breakthrough, Xiang Yu made swift progress in templating the scripture. Within minutes, he had successfully produced individual Tempering Scriptures for each of the eight elements. Just as he prepared to merge them into the final technique, a bold idea struck him.
He retrieved the [Midnight Yang Restoration Scripture] from his spatial ring, turning the scroll over thoughtfully in his hands. Perhaps he could extract the yin and yang elements and incorporate them into his templated scripture, creating something far more powerful than he'd initially envisioned.
With this ambitious goal in mind, Xiang Yu unfurled the scroll and began studying its contents meticulously. He wasn't attempting to learn the technique itself—with his Superior Enlightenment, he could have mastered it even yesterday, as techniques only required ten percent experience to learn if they were one grade above his Enlightenment level. Instead, he sought to deconstruct its fundamental principles, to reverse-engineer the yang element from its core components.
If successful, he could then theoretically derive the yin element by applying opposite principles, as yin and yang were perfect contraries of one another. Though the concept seemed straightforward, the execution proved exceedingly difficult. Without his multiple Enlightenment enhancements—from his phoenix bloodline, and his Transcendent Dao Physique—such an attempt would have been utterly futile.
Xiang Yu noted that it was time for his usual mind cultivation, but he dismissed the concern. Missing a single day wouldn't significantly impact his progress, especially with his Mind advancement merely two resets away. The potential benefits of successfully integrating yin and yang elements far outweighed the cost of skipping one meditation session.
He persisted in his analysis, methodically examining every character, every energy pathway, every subtle nuance of the scripture. His concentration remained unwavering as minutes stretched into hours.
Nearly three hours into this intensive examination, his eyes growing weary from the strain, Xiang Yu continued pushing his mental faculties to their absolute limits. The scripture's complexities seemed to multiply with each layer of understanding he achieved.
Then suddenly, like a veil lifting from his perception, everything aligned perfectly. The scripture's true essence revealed itself to him in a moment of crystal clarity:
[Midnight Sun Yang Method]
...
After working on it for almost three hours, Xiang Yu finally managed to extract a pure yang scripture without all the unnecessary elements. Although it still sounded somewhat inappropriate, this version was the purest form he could achieve. He exhaled deeply to calm himself, determined not to rest now that he had reached his goal. It was time to derive the yin technique while the momentum remained.
As he delved into the yin aspect, Xiang Yu noticed something unexpected—the process wasn't nearly as difficult as he had anticipated. This was because, despite the [Midnight Yang Restoration Technique] being primarily yang-focused, it still incorporated yin energy for restoration purposes. Even the name contained "midnight," which naturally inclined toward yin energy. The version he had extracted, the [Midnight Sun Yang Method], still retained this subtle yin aspect.
With this insight guiding him, Xiang Yu concentrated on isolating just the yin energy portion. After merely a few minutes of focused effort, he succeeded:
[Crescent Yin Method]
He could sense it immediately—this was a pure yin scripture, distinct from the yang method he had extracted earlier. Surprisingly, this duality presented an advantage. To fuse techniques using his system function, they needed to be compatible. Merging pure yin and pure yang would be nearly impossible given their extreme opposition, but since the yang method contained a small yin component, it created a connection point where they could interface, making fusion feasible.
However, Xiang Yu encountered an unexpected revelation. When he discovered these yin and yang methods, he realized his fundamental understanding had been flawed. These weren't elements as he had initially thought—they were more like foundational energies that comprised the elements themselves. Water, for example, contained rich yin energy balanced by slight yang. Disrupting this balance by introducing more yin would transform it into ice. The yin-yang equilibrium formed the very basis of elemental composition. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖
After attempting to merge these energies with other elements, he found it impossible—such a combination would completely destabilize the elemental balance. Nevertheless, his efforts weren't wasted. He decided to preserve these techniques, recognizing their potential future utility. Since the yin and yang methods showed compatibility with each other, he proceeded to merge them.
The moment he activated the fusion, Xiang Yu found himself transported to an environment of extreme heat. His entire body seemed to burn and evaporate. In the next instant, he plunged into bitter cold, his form crystallizing and fracturing from the intense solidification. He oscillated violently between these polar states, experiencing the absolute extremes of both conditions.
After what felt like an eternity, everything suddenly stilled. Xiang Yu found himself standing atop a massive tai chi symbol. To his right extended a burning world of scorching heat; to his left spread a frozen landscape of bitter cold. His body occupied the precise midpoint, simultaneously experiencing both extremes. He felt these opposing forces existing within him, but unlike the competing bloodlines that fought for dominance, these extremes perfectly balanced each other—harmony emerging from opposition.
In the next moment, his eyes opened to a new system notification:
[Divine Ability: Yin-Yang Harmony]
...
Xiang Yu stared at his system interface in disbelief. A completely new section had appeared: Divine Ability. He had never encountered such a classification before, but the name alone suggested it might typically be accessible only to those with divine-level enlightenment or higher—a level well beyond his current capabilities. How had he managed to unlock something so profound?
Upon reflection, it made sense. Yin and yang represented the ultimate opposing forces; their successful merger would naturally produce something extraordinary. Still, the reality of what he'd accomplished stunned him.
Examining the interface more closely, he noticed the absence of any numerical stats beside this new ability. It wasn't that the divine ability couldn't improve—rather, his enlightenment level was insufficient to accumulate experience points for it. He suspected he couldn't gain even a single point of experience until his enlightenment reached the divine stage.
Despite this limitation, the situation wasn't entirely discouraging. Even with just this initial understanding, Xiang Yu sensed a doorway to an entirely new realm of possibilities opening before him. He raised his hand, activating the fire palm technique. His palm began to glow with a gentle orange light.
In the next moment, Xiang Yu deliberately enhanced the yang energy, pushing it to its extreme limit. His arm flared dramatically, blazing brighter than iron in a forge. Concerned about damaging the spirit spring, he quickly stepped out of the water onto the cavern floor.
Approaching a massive boulder, he pressed his incandescent palm against the stone surface. To his amazement, his arm passed through the rock as though it were merely soft plastic, leaving a perfectly smooth hole in its wake. The raw destructive power of extreme yang energy exceeded anything he had previously wielded.
Then, he shifted the balance toward the opposite extreme, channeling pure yin energy instead. Instantly, the temperature in the entire cavern plummeted. Delicate snowflakes materialized from the air, drifting downward in a gentle shower. The boulder he had been touching instantly became encased in a thick block of ice, frost patterns spreading across its surface like intricate lace.
Just as he was admiring this astonishing display of power, a wave of overwhelming dizziness struck him. His vision blurred, his knees buckled, and he collapsed against the ice-encased boulder.
...
When consciousness returned, Xiang Yu found himself still slumped against the frozen rock. The ice had barely melted, suggesting he had been unconscious for only minutes. Yet when he checked the system reset countdown, he discovered it was already dawn. Nearly two hours had passed, yet the ice remained almost perfectly preserved.
He had merely used the fire palm—a technique naturally abundant in yang energy. What might happen if he channeled extreme yin through his ice palm technique? The potential seemed limitless.
Reality quickly tempered his enthusiasm, however. The divine ability exacted a tremendous cost—just seconds of use had rendered him unconscious for hours. How could such a technique be practically applied in combat if it left him completely vulnerable afterward?
Still, Xiang Yu refused to dismiss the ability as useless. He summoned his Abyssal Void Flame, watching as the dark energy materialized above his palm. During the yin-yang fusion process, he had gained unexpected insights into this flame's composition. He now suspected it contained a dark element, or at least components of one.
A bold hypothesis formed in his mind: if he could extract this dark element, then use his new Yin-Yang Harmony divine ability to reverse it, couldn't he potentially generate both light and dark elements? This would complete his elemental collection, granting him mastery over every fundamental energy.
His eyes narrowed with determination as he gazed into the swirling darkness of the flame.
"Well," he whispered to himself, "there's only one way to find out..."
...