Chapter 9: Elephant Armor Technique

Thinking back to this point, a knowing smile crept across Han Li’s face.

Over the past half-year, he and Zhang Tie had grown close due to their compatible personalities and similar backgrounds, naturally becoming inseparable friends who shared everything.

Han Li slowly unfolded his crossed legs, rubbing them with his hands. The prolonged meditation had left his legs numb, with poor blood circulation.

After massaging them a few times until sensation fully returned, Han Li stood up from the mat, habitually brushing off the dust from his body, and pushed open the stone chamber door to step outside.

Glancing back at the stone chamber where he trained, Han Li gave a slight self-mocking smile.

The chamber was carved entirely from solid granite, and its door was made from a single large slab of bluestone. For an ordinary person to break in, they’d need a massive axe and hours of hacking—otherwise, it was impossible.

Such a secluded training chamber was a privilege reserved for sect masters, elders, hall masters, or core disciples of the Seven Supreme Hall, not ordinary disciples. These chambers were built specifically for those practicing advanced internal techniques, preventing external disturbances that could lead to qi deviation. Han Li didn’t know how Doctor Mo had managed to convince the elders to construct such a chamber, typically reserved for higher-ranking members, within the God Hand Valley’s cliff walls.

Once the chamber was completed, Doctor Mo designated it for Han Li’s exclusive use, a decision that left Han Li both flattered and astonished. Doctor Mo had been exceptionally kind to him. From the day Han Li became his disciple, Doctor Mo had him take various medicines daily and soak his body in concoctions made from unknown herbs. Though Han Li didn’t know the names or purposes of these medicines, he could tell from Doctor Mo’s reluctant expression—rarely seen on his usually stoic face—whenever he used them that they were incredibly valuable.

These external aids were clearly effective. Han Li’s cultivation speed increased significantly, and not long ago, he successfully broke through to the first layer of the nameless technique.

However, during the breakthrough, several of his meridians nearly ruptured, causing minor internal injuries. Fortunately, Doctor Mo’s medical expertise was exceptional, and the damage wasn’t severe. Coupled with his willingness to use valuable medicines, Han Li recovered without lasting effects.

During Han Li’s recovery, Doctor Mo was even more anxious than Han Li himself, unable to rest easy throughout the treatment. Only when Han Li’s condition visibly improved did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Doctor Mo’s behavior went far beyond the typical bond between master and disciple, stirring a vague sense of unease in Han Li. If not for the fact that, aside from his third uncle, no one from his family had ever left their remote mountain village, Han Li might have suspected Doctor Mo was some distant relative.

After leaving the stone chamber, Han Li stretched lazily and slowly walked toward his residence. As a formal disciple, he and Zhang Tie had moved out of their original shared room and each now had their own private hut.

Passing by Zhang Tie’s hut, Han Li glanced inside. As expected, Zhang Tie wasn’t there—likely off training under the waterfall at Crimson Water Peak.

After becoming Doctor Mo’s formal disciple, Han Li was instructed to focus solely on the nameless technique, with no indication of learning other martial arts. Perhaps to console him, Doctor Mo taught him medicine without reservation, guiding him hands-on. He answered all of Han Li’s medical questions thoroughly, ensuring his satisfaction, and allowed him to freely study all the medical books in his room.

As for Zhang Tie, Doctor Mo kept his promise, teaching him a practical martial art.

Zhang Tie’s technique was peculiar. According to Doctor Mo, it was a rare martial art called the “Elephant Armor Technique,” virtually unseen in the martial world. Many had never even heard of it, let alone practiced it.

Unlike common martial arts, which grew progressively harder to master with each level, requiring exponentially more effort, the Elephant Armor Technique had nine layers. The first three were relatively easy, comparable to ordinary martial arts. However, starting at the fourth layer, it became extraordinarily difficult, requiring practitioners to endure unimaginable pain and torment. Many who attempted it couldn’t withstand the agony, halting their progress and stagnating. The fifth and sixth layers were even worse, with pain several times greater.

Yet, if one broke through to the seventh layer, the path forward became smooth, though practitioners still had to endure excruciating pain for a few days each month.

This deterred most from pursuing the technique, contributing to its near extinction.

Despite its challenges, the technique’s power at higher levels was astounding. It was said that those who reached the ninth layer were as if clad in treasured armor—impervious to blades, spears, water, and fire. Neither palm strikes nor sword thrusts could easily harm them.

Even more enviable, practitioners gained immense strength, eventually wielding the power of a giant elephant. At higher levels, they could overpower ferocious wolves or tear apart tigers and leopards with their bare hands.

This technique inspired both fear and admiration, but aside from its creator—a prodigy born without the sense of pain—no one had ever mastered it to the ninth layer. That creator, it was said, developed this extreme technique and pushed it to its limits due to their unique condition.

Though Doctor Mo fully explained the technique’s pros and cons to Zhang Tie, Zhang Tie, unaware of the true extent of its drawbacks, was unfazed. Drawn to its formidable power, he eagerly agreed to practice it. The technique seemed well-suited to him, and within just two months, he reached the peak of the first layer.

Recently, at Doctor Mo’s suggestion, Zhang Tie trained daily under the dozens-of-meters-high waterfall at Crimson Water Peak, enduring the immense force of the cascading water to break through to the second layer.

According to Zhang Tie, this method was highly effective, and he was just a hair’s breadth from breaking through the bottleneck with a bit more effort.