Chapter 6: Elder, Please Do It Once More
Elder Tu Yongsheng stood with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing at the excitement on the faces of those before him.
“Most of you have now stepped into the first stage of Qi Refinement. In theory, you are now capable of practicing martial techniques.”
“Next, I will teach you an ordinary martial technique.”
“The Gale Palm!”
At his words, all the disciples stared at Tu Yongsheng without blinking, afraid to miss even the slightest detail.
“The Gale Palm is a palm technique derived from the water element. To perform this technique, you must memorize the corresponding meridian routes. The source energy rises from the dantian, flows through the designated meridians, undergoes elemental transformation, and finally bursts forth from the palm.”
“Now, I will describe the meridian routes—listen carefully!”
Tu Yongsheng swept his gaze across the crowd. Seeing that all eyes were fixed intently on him, he nodded with satisfaction and relayed the meridian paths.
Not until everyone had memorized the routes did he step aside and instruct Qingxi and the others to begin practicing the technique.
“Remember, with your current cultivation at the first level of Qi Refinement, a single use of the Gale Palm will drain your energy entirely. You must be careful not to waste your source energy.”
“The best approach is to separate a single thread of source energy and use it to practice the flow through the meridians until you are adept.”
Tu Yongsheng reminded them again.
“Yes, sir!”
The disciples nodded.
Before the Hall of Registered Disciples, Qingxi stood with feet shoulder-width apart, left hand clenched at his side, right hand open in a palm. He drew a thread of source energy from his dantian, guiding it along the meridian path as instructed by Tu Yongsheng.
Thanks to the guidance of his little assistant, he could sense the precise route within his arm, and the energy flowed without the slightest obstruction.
As a cool sensation traveled down his arm, a crisp “pop” sounded, and the grass ahead of him swayed as if a gentle breeze had swept across it.
“Hm? He succeeded this quickly? This boy’s perception is remarkable!”
Tu Yongsheng, noticing Qingxi’s actions, was surprised.
But soon he shook his head and sighed, “It’s a pity. No matter how keen his perception, with a defective spiritual root, his achievements will be limited in this life. Otherwise, with the advantage of all twelve main meridians open and such a good mind, even an ordinary-grade spiritual root could be nurtured to rival a superior one.”
With that thought, he turned to praise Qingxi, “Well done, you’ve managed to learn the Gale Palm. But don’t be too proud just yet. Right now, your mastery is only at the initial stage.”
Qingxi withdrew his hand and respectfully asked, “Elder Tu, do martial techniques also have ranks or stages?”
Hearing this, the others paused their practice and looked on curiously.
“That’s a good question. I was planning to explain this in due time, but since you’ve asked, I’ll tell you frankly.”
“Martial techniques are divided into two categories.”
“The first are ordinary martial techniques. According to one’s proficiency, they are grouped into four stages: Initial Mastery, Minor Mastery, Major Mastery, and Perfection.”
“At the initial stage, one has merely learned the technique and can wield the power of the source energy as it is, but cannot enhance its strength.”
“If you reach Minor Mastery, the power of your energy increases by thirty percent. At Major Mastery, it increases by fifty percent. And if you can achieve Perfection, your source energy’s power will be doubled!”
As Tu Yongsheng explained, most of the disciples felt lost in the complexity, while only Qingxi seemed deep in thought.
He then asked, “Elder Tu, do ordinary martial techniques only double the power of source energy at most? Is that the limit of how much techniques can enhance one’s energy?”
Tu Yongsheng smiled. “That’s a very incisive question! What I’ve described is only for ordinary martial techniques. Now, let me explain the second type.”
“These are called Ultimate Arts, or secret techniques as they are commonly known—they are essentially the same.”
“Ultimate Arts are different from ordinary techniques, and the power they can bestow varies greatly. Some can triple the power of your energy, some tenfold, and there are tales of those that boost it by hundreds or even thousands of times—truly fearsome!”
Qingxi was startled. “An Ultimate Art that multiplies power by hundreds or thousands—wouldn’t that make defeating stronger enemies easy?”
Tu Yongsheng nodded. “Indeed, it would. But such arts are of the highest order and come with many restrictions. Ordinary people could never master them.”
“In the world of cultivation, Ultimate Arts are divided into seven ranks: Black Iron, Bronze, Master, Grandmaster, Supreme, Forbidden, and Apocalypse.”
“Our Lingyuan Sect, though a first-star power, possesses only a damaged Bronze-rank Ultimate Art at best. At its peak, it can increase source energy fivefold!”
Tu Yongsheng narrowed his eyes at Qingxi and said, “You might not grasp what fivefold means, but let me make it clear: if we were to fight as equals, you using a perfected ordinary technique, and I using a peak Bronze-rank Ultimate Art, I could kill you with a single strike.”
A collective gasp rose from the disciples.
To slay an equal in an instant? The power of Ultimate Arts was truly formidable!
All eyes lit up with yearning.
Tu Yongsheng gave a snort and waved his hand. “Don’t even think about it. Ultimate Arts are the sect’s most closely guarded secrets, reserved only for true disciples and other key figures.”
He looked at Qingxi with meaningful intent. “I’ve heard you’re close to Lin Feng. He’s been taken as the sect leader’s disciple. Once he reaches the Innate Realm, he’ll be a true disciple, qualified to learn an Ultimate Art.”
Tu Yongsheng’s tone shifted. “Enough of that—get back to practicing the Gale Palm. In half an hour, I’ll be leaving. If you have any questions before then, ask me.”
With that, he sat boldly on the stone steps before the hall.
“Understood!”
Qingxi replied and walked over to a wooden stake to practice.
His gaze fell on the lower half of a stake that Tu Yongsheng had shattered from afar.
A pleasant chime sounded in his mind. “Detected a rich concentration of water-element source energy. Conversion possible.”
The little assistant’s voice sent a thrill through Qingxi.
He quickly placed his hand on the fallen stake and silently activated the system’s “Conversion” function.
“Chime! Gained a thread of water-element essence.”
“Chime! Gained a thread of water-element essence.”
...
Before long, Qingxi had gathered over a dozen threads of water essence. Combined with what he’d collected the night before, he now had more than a hundred threads in his system’s storage.
“Chime! Water-element essence has reached the required threshold.”
The heavenly voice sounded in his mind, filling Qingxi with excitement.
“Wonderful! Once I gather a hundred threads each of gold, wood, fire, and earth essence, my spiritual root can be upgraded to the ordinary grade!”
“It seems the residual power in martial techniques contains much that can be converted. In that case…” Qingxi’s eyes grew bright as he glanced at Tu Yongsheng.
He hurried over and respectfully asked, “Elder Tu, you said the Gale Palm is derived from the water element. Are there other martial techniques aligned with the five elements?”
“Why do you ask?” Tu Yongsheng raised an eyebrow.
But thinking Qingxi had a sharp mind and was a pleasant youth, he replied, “The birth of a spiritual root first requires a balance of the five elements, so the techniques we practice also include all five. Beyond that, there are also special types—wind, thunder, light, electricity, and so on.”
“So many?” Qingxi feigned excitement. “Elder Tu, could you demonstrate some for us?”
“A demonstration?”
Tu Yongsheng hesitated a moment, then thought to himself, “I was just looking for a chance to show off my strength. Since he asked, why not display my skills and let them see what I can do?”
“Very well!”
He strode to the cluster of wooden stakes and announced in a loud voice, “Step back, all of you! Today, I’ll broaden your horizons!”
“Gale Palm!”
“Blazing Fire Palm!”
“Giant Rock Palm!”
“Diamond Fist!”
“Azure Dragon Claw!”
...
Tu Yongsheng unleashed more than a dozen perfected martial techniques in succession. Before the Hall of Registered Disciples, sand and stones swirled, golden light flashed, wind and fire rampaged.
Everyone was dazzled by the spectacle.