Lying in the pool, feeling the icy water continuously washing over his body, Du Fei felt an extreme sense of relief and comfort.

Having advanced to the seventh level of body-forging meant that all the meridians in his body were now unblocked. The word "waste" would have no relation to him in this lifetime!

As long as he continued to cultivate, breaking through to the ninth level of body-forging and advancing to the rank of Martial Artist would just be a matter of time!

With the remaining Body-forging Fist elixir in his possession, Du Fei believed that his time to breakthrough to the ninth level and become a Martial Artist would be much shorter than others.

"Next, it's about consolidating and practicing martial techniques... The Clan Contest is only half a month away. It seems I need to hurry..."

Murmuring to himself for a moment, Du Fei's right hand once again grasped the jade pendant on his chest.

Within the jade pendant lay the Ice Heart Technique of the Du Family. Typically, cultivation methods come with several martial techniques to maximize their power.

Of course, depending on the grade of the cultivation method, the number of accompanying martial techniques can vary.

Du Fei was aware that the Du Family's Ice Heart Technique was only of the eighth grade, and its three accompanying martial techniques were also of the same grade.

However, at this moment, he couldn't access the information within the jade pendant, so he couldn't practice those three martial techniques.

Apart from that, it seemed he didn't have any other martial techniques.

After some thought, Du Fei asked, "System, do you have any martial techniques suitable for me to practice now?"

"Beep. Question received, system searching, beep. System search completed, no data containing the word 'martial techniques' found!"

A cold electronic voice slowly sounded in Du Fei's mind.

"Not found? How is that possible? Where did Soft Fist come from before?" Du Fei was taken aback, almost shouting out loud.

"Beep. Question received, answer clear, the only Body-forging Fist technique contained in the system database is just one."

"What about cultivation methods? What about the pills?" Thinking of a possibility, Du Fei quickly inquired.

"System searching, search completed, no data containing the word 'cultivation method' found, system re-searching, search completed, the system database contains one entry about pills, do you wish to read..."

The corner of Du Fei's eye twitched for a moment before he sighed and said, "Read!"

"Beep...Loading data..."

With the cold electronic voice sounding, a scene of pill refinement that Du Fei was extremely familiar with instantly appeared in his mind.

"Damn! Is this system really this unreliable? Tell me! Is it true that apart from Soft Fist and Marrow-cleaning Pill, there's nothing else in your database?"

"Of course...not..."

"What else is there?"

"Insufficient permission to read!"

"Perm...permissions? How do I increase my permissions?"

"Unclear question, unable to answer......."

…

After a moment, Du Fei let out a somewhat speechless wry smile. From the looks of it, relying on this unreliable system seemed to be a bad idea.

Although he hadn't initially understood what this unreliable system was for, thinking about it now, it seemed that relying on it to obtain endless martial techniques, endless cultivation methods, and endless pill formulas was utterly impossible.

"What a scam!"

Du Fei sighed, but he wasn't too disappointed. After all, even if the system could only provide two pieces of information, with those two, he had already taken the most challenging step on the path of martial cultivation!

What to do in the future? He could only rely on himself!

"It seems the only solution is to go to the Du Family's Martial Cultivation Pavilion and find an easy-to-practice martial technique. In any case, the Clan Contest is in half a month. If I don't even have a martial technique by then, it'll be quite problematic."

Taking a deep breath, Du Fei quickly changed his clothes, carefully stored the crystal bottle containing the elixir, and then hurriedly headed towards the Du Family compound.

After leaping through the mountains and forests for several miles, Du Fei quickly arrived at the backyard of the Du Family. He casually asked a servant for directions and wandered around the Du Family compound. In no time, a building that was both quaint and majestic appeared before him.

The building was located at the center of the Du Family's large courtyard, and around it, the Du Family's guards stood watch carefully. Passersby who walked through the area all felt a certain sense of caution.

On the plaque above the main entrance of the building, the words "Martial Cultivation Pavilion" were written with vigor and flair, which was quite awe-inspiring.

Du Fei gave a slight nod to the guards around him and, after showing the waist token that represented his status as an inner member of the Du Family, he slowly stepped onto the stairs and walked straight into the building.

As soon as he entered, he immediately felt a cold chill, causing his vision to darken slightly. After a moment, he gradually adjusted to the light inside.

The building had three floors. The first two floors contained common martial techniques, while the third floor held the Du Family's highest-grade martial techniques and cultivation methods.

Although Du Fei was unclear about the specific martial techniques and cultivation methods the Du Family had, he was certain of one thing, the techniques on the first and second floors were probably all ninth-grade techniques.

The first floor of the building was a vast hall, incredibly spacious. A few shelves were sparsely placed around the room. On one side of the hall was a desk, behind which sat an old man with white eyebrows and hair, dozing off. Hearing someone enter, his gaze briefly swept over Du Fei's waist token. With a languid voice, he mumbled, "Inner family token. You can read the ninth-grade martial techniques on the first floor or the eighth-grade ones on the second... As for the third floor, you're not allowed. Techniques can be read inside, but you can't take them out. Violators will be executed!"

What should have been a stern warning was delivered with a lifeless tone by the old man.

Du Fei didn't mind much. He respectfully saluted the old man before slowly walking to the bookshelves. He casually picked up a scroll of martial techniques and began to read.

"Stone Breaking Fist, a ninth-grade martial technique. One needs to cultivate to the seventh level of body refining to practice it. Once mastered, the fist can break stones, and a punch can shatter bones. Its power is extraordinary..."

After the general introduction, there followed detailed cultivation methods, and this Stone Breaking Fist technique even included a small routine. Du Fei estimated that executing this routine would greatly enhance the power of the fist technique.

However, after a thorough look, Du Fei wasn't very interested in the Stone Breaking Fist. In his opinion, practicing the Stone Breaking Fist seemed less reliable than directly using the Soft Fist!

After placing the scroll down, Du Fei casually walked to another shelf, took another scroll, and started browsing it.

As time passed, half an hour went by, and Du Fei had already read through most of the martial techniques on the first floor of the Martial Cultivation Pavilion.

However, these martial techniques, which seemed quite good at first glance, didn't intrigue Du Fei much. The various applications of force described in these techniques seemed to be already covered in the Soft Fist.

Once again marveling at the unparalleled uniqueness of the Soft Fist, Du Fei took a slight breath and after a moment, slowly headed towards the second floor of the Martial Cultivation Pavilion.

The second floor of the Martial Cultivation Pavilion was noticeably narrower than the first, but even so, the sight of the shelves full of scrolls left Du Fei momentarily stunned.

After randomly picking a scroll and reading for a moment, a hint of satisfaction flashed in Du Fei's eyes.

The martial technique in his hand was still a ninth-grade one, but the methods of exerting force explained within involved the true breath, which was far superior to the techniques on the first floor.

After reading for a while, Du Fei couldn't help but lament inwardly. It seemed that even among the same ninth-grade martial techniques, there was a significant difference!

However, now that he was on the second floor, Du Fei wasn't very interested in the ninth-grade techniques anymore. He wandered around for a bit, aiming to find the so-called eighth-grade techniques. But for the time being, he couldn't find any.

"Eighth-grade techniques are all placed here. You won't find them over there..."

Just as Du Fei was getting a bit frustrated with his search, a faint and gentle voice sounded from behind him.

Du Fei slightly frowned and immediately turned around.

He saw a young girl in purple casually sitting in a corner of the second floor.

The young girl was around thirteen or fourteen years old, but she had a delicate face, fair skin, and an elegant demeanor. Casually seated on the ground, the fair legs inadvertently revealed from the hem of her purple dress were quite alluring.

However, what surprised Du Fei wasn't this, but the fact that there were at least dozens of martial technique scrolls scattered around her. The girl casually flipped through them, seemingly indifferent.

Yet, it was precisely this demeanor of the girl that gave Du Fei an unconscious feeling of danger.

This girl... She was not ordinary...

After mentally cautioning himself, Du Fei slowly approached her. Upon closer examination, he realized that the girl's features were exquisite like a painting. Although she looked entirely different from Little Ai, she was undoubtedly a breathtaking beauty.

If one were to describe Little Ai as a refined lily, then the girl in front of him was a relaxed and elegant orchid.

After nodding with a smile, Du Fei, following the girl's gesture, picked up one of the scrolls from the ground and took a look.

"Eighth-grade martial technique, Qiankun Hand!"

Upon seeing this scroll, Du Fei's eyes twitched involuntarily. After all, eighth-grade martial techniques were exceedingly rare. He estimated that there weren't many in the entire Du Family.

However, if Du Fei's assumptions were correct, all of these eighth-rank martial techniques should now be concentrated in front of him by the young girl for casual viewing, shouldn't they?

Who exactly was this girl?