Chakra Replaces Magic Power, Shadow Thirty-Six Forms

Hodrian was still in shock.

But he quickly recovered. He looked at Chiba with a fervor that gave the latter goosebumps and said, "Once? You learned all of it?"

"I learned all the moves, anyway. I still don't know how to strengthen them with magic like you said." Chiba shrugged.

Hodrian's eyes lit up. The essence of Taijutsu lay in using physical strength as the foundation, with each move serving as the key to releasing that strength and dealing damage. This kid had understood how to apply his strength in every move after seeing them just once. He was a born Taijutsu genius!

But the old fellow still looked perfectly calm. He continued, "It seems you have an exceptional talent for Taijutsu. Sit down, and I'll teach you how to strengthen your body with magic power."

Chiba obediently sat down cross-legged. "Does every mage know this method of strengthening the body with magic power?"

"Not at all." Hodrian shook his head. "Basically, every S-Class Mage has a unique method of strengthening the body. Truly powerful mages aren't just extraordinarily strong in magic power; their physical abilities are absolutely first-rate as well. Mages at the level of the Ten Wizard Saints all have their own personal body-tempering methods."

"About how strong is an S-Class Mage?" Chiba asked the question on his mind.

The anime had barely explained S-Class Mages. It had only said they were badass and the pride of every mage guild. Chiba didn't know exactly how badass they were. All he remembered was that the four S-Class Mages in Phantom Lord were a bunch of weaklings. The Iron Dragon was Phantom Lord's strongest mage, but he ultimately lost because of the protagonist Natsu's strength, not his plot armor. And Natsu didn't even have the title of S-Class Mage.

Chiba had once wondered whether every mage guild had a limit on the number of S-Class Mages it could have. Otherwise, with Natsu and Gray's strength, they should definitely have been able to become S-Class Mages!

Hodrian answered, "S-Class is merely a credential for powerful mages. Every mage guild defines S-Class Mages differently, so some S-Class Mages are stronger than others."

"Then... how big is the gap between the strongest and weakest S-Class Mages?"

"Heaven and earth," Hodrian said.

"There are currently ten known S-Class mage guilds in the Kingdom of Fiore, and only S-Class mage guilds are qualified to grant mages the title of S-Class. But compared to us, the S-Class Mages of the lowest-ranked S-Class guilds are like children compared to adults. In short, the waters of S-Class run deepest. Even we Ten Wizard Saints are merely S-Class Mages."

Chiba understood now.

Every mage guild defined S-Class differently.

Some might have a high threshold for S-Class, while others had a low one.

But even the weakest S-Class Mages were strong—at least, they were beyond the current Chiba's ability to defeat.

S-Class was the threshold of the strong.

"All right, enough questions. A mage's real strength isn't determined by their rank. It's not as though an A-Class Mage has never turned the tables and killed an S-Class Mage. Close your eyes and focus!" Hodrian said.

Chiba obediently closed his eyes.

"Next, I'll inject my magic power into each of the meridians in your body in turn. You don't need to worry about how much I inject. Just use your magic power to mark the proportions of magic power in each part of your body," Hodrian said.

"..."

It was a strange body-tempering method.

Hodrian placed both hands on Chiba's back, and magic power slowly flowed into his body.

Time passed slowly, and before they knew it, evening had arrived.

Only after Hodrian had injected magic power into Chiba's body in the proper proportions did he slowly rise to his feet.

Shadow Flame Splits the Heavens had a total of 108 forms. The first 36 were the Shadow Thirty-Six Forms, the middle 36 were the Thirty-Six Flame Forms, and the final 36 were the Thirty-Six Heaven Forms.

But whether it was the Shadow Thirty-Six Forms, the Thirty-Six Flame Forms, or the Thirty-Six Heaven Forms, all of them were based on his original body-tempering method. Only by mastering it could one begin formally cultivating Shadow Flame Splits the Heavens. And his body-tempering method was undoubtedly the strongest apart from Dragon Slayer Magic.

In the current magic world, the lost magic known as Dragon Slayer Magic was undoubtedly the best at tempering the body. It could transform a human's constitution into that of a dragon, and there was no doubt about how powerful that was.

Below Dragon Slayer Magic were the spells used by many top-class strength-based mages. For example, Ichiya, an S-Class Mage of Blue Pegasus, had Power Perfume, a spell from his Perfume Magic that greatly increased his strength. Another example was Fairy Tail's master, Makarov, who was also one of the Ten Wizard Saints. His Giant Magic was likewise a powerful spell for strengthening the body. The body-tempering methods contained in their magic were all first-rate.

But they still fell short of Hodrian's body-tempering method.

Hodrian wasn't particularly strong among the Ten Wizard Saints; he was even among the weakest. But he was renowned throughout the world not for his strength, but for his theoretical knowledge and his ability to teach magic. Someone had once said that if Hodrian joined any mage guild, it would become the number one mage guild in the Kingdom of Fiore within twenty years.

Such was Hodrian's ability.

Although that was somewhat exaggerated, the students Hodrian taught were mostly elites in their respective mage guilds. Some of his disciples even possessed strength comparable to that of the Ten Wizard Saints.

Hodrian looked at his "prospective student," who sat cross-legged on the ground, and a smile appeared on his face.

"Uh..."

Chiba slowly opened his eyes.

"How did it go? How many places did you remember?" Hodrian asked impatiently when he saw him open his eyes.

Chiba raised his hand and examined it closely. "Not many. Just one hand. I remembered all the marks on my left hand."

Hodrian breathed a sigh of relief. In just one afternoon, Chiba had memorized the marks on his entire left hand. Although his talent fell short of that fellow Hodrian had once taught, he was still among the very best of his students.

Overall, it was excellent.

Chiba, however, looked at his hand with a strange expression.

Suddenly, he clenched his left hand into a fist and punched at Hodrian without wrapping it in Chakra.

Hodrian smiled and took Chiba's punch.

"Boom!"

A blast of force erupted, and a look of astonishment appeared on Hodrian's face.

Because he could sense energy flowing rapidly through Chiba's fist.

It was at least fifty percent faster than the energy should have flowed on his first attempt!

That meant Chiba's body would be tempered fifty percent faster, and the tempering would be fifty percent more effective!

"How... how did you do that?!" Hodrian said, his face full of shock.

Chiba answered, "There wasn't enough magic power to use, so I replaced it with Chakra."