Obtaining a Cultivation Technique

Obtaining a Cultivation Technique

"Young Manor Lord, there is no need to be discouraged. You were born with a sword bone. In the future, you are destined to enter the Grandmaster realm and become a Sword Dao Grandmaster. You may even surpass the Manor Lord and become the second Supreme Sword Dao Grandmaster after Heavenly Sword Manor's founding ancestor."

An elder of Heavenly Sword Manor stepped forward to console him.

Yi Shaofeng had been born with a sword bone. Though he was the youngest son of Heavenly Sword Manor's Manor Lord, he had been designated as the future Manor Lord from the moment he was born. At fourteen, he was already on the verge of becoming a First-class Martial Artist.

In terms of strength, even ordinary First-class Martial Artists were no match for Yi Shaofeng.

Heavenly Sword Manor had stood for more than three hundred years, yet aside from its founding ancestor, only Yi Shaofeng possessed the same constitution as that ancestor—a sword bone bestowed from birth.

In these troubled times, even Martial Dao Grandmasters found it difficult to shelter an entire force.

But if a Supreme Martial Dao Grandmaster stood guard, seizing the position of ruler of the realm might still be difficult, yet they could at least become an overlord within a single province.

"Elder, rest assured. I am not so fragile. This defeat is merely a small setback to me; it cannot deal me any real blow." Yi Shaofeng quickly recovered and said, "This defeat has also made me understand that while sword techniques are important, one's own cultivation is what matters most. From now on, I will devote myself to cultivating the Heavenly Heart Sword Canon."

"It is good that the Young Manor Lord understands."

The elder of Heavenly Sword Manor nodded, relief showing in his eyes.

Elsewhere.

After defeating Yi Shaofeng, Zhou Shan immediately left the eastern district and returned to the Commander's Residence.

Commander Fang Yuan received the news at once.

"This is the Martial Arts Manual you wanted."

When Zhou Shan arrived at the study, Fang Yuan did not go back on his word. He took out the Martial Arts Manual he had prepared.

"Golden Bell Shield!"

Zhou Shan accepted the manual. Three large characters were written upon it.

"The Vajra Sect was originally just an ordinary martial sect, but more than three hundred years ago, the Vajra Sect saved a severely wounded martial artist. To repay the life-saving debt, that martial artist left behind two martial arts—the Golden Bell Shield and the Indestructible Vajra Skill." Fang Yuan said, "Of these two Cultivation Techniques, the Golden Bell Shield can be cultivated all the way to the Martial Dao Grandmaster realm. The Indestructible Vajra Skill is an advanced Cultivation Technique derived from the Golden Bell Shield and can be cultivated to the Supreme Martial Dao Grandmaster realm. Yet in more than three hundred years, only one person has mastered it.

After the Vajra Sect was destroyed, the Guiyuan Sect obtained the cultivation method for the Golden Bell Shield. However, the Indestructible Vajra Skill was taken away by remnants of the Vajra Sect. Whether you can obtain the Indestructible Vajra Skill in the future will depend on your own fate."

"Thank you, Commander!"

Zhou Shan expressed his thanks.

"I have always kept my word. Since you completed the task I gave you, I naturally will not break my promise. However, this Golden Bell Shield is only being given to you in advance. You must make up the merit points required to exchange for it yourself."

Fang Yuan said.

"I understand."

Zhou Shan nodded.

"From now on, remain in the commandery city's military camp. There is no need for you to return to Hengshan County." Fang Yuan said, "You have just obtained the Golden Bell Shield martial art, so I will give you two months to cultivate it. After two months, someone will issue you a mission."

"Alright!"

Zhou Shan answered, then withdrew from the study at Fang Yuan's gesture.

After obtaining the Martial Arts Manual, Zhou Shan also left the Commander's Residence and arrived at the commandery city's military camp.

Given Zhou Shan's status as a Centurion, someone naturally arranged quarters for him.

Once his residence had been arranged, Zhou Shan took out the Golden Bell Shield manual and began reading it.

There was a teacher in Zhou Shan's village, so he had learned to read from a young age.

Besides the cultivation method, this manual also contained much experience in martial cultivation and several annotations.

Among them were detailed divisions of the various martial realms.

The first realm of martial cultivation was the Accumulation Realm.

Accumulation meant accumulating Internal Force.

In the martial world, whether one was an unranked martial artist, a ranked martial artist, a third-class martial artist, a second-class martial artist, a First-class Martial Artist, or even a Superclass Martial Artist, all belonged to the realm of "accumulation."

However, the gap in cultivation within the Accumulation Realm was simply too vast. Both unranked martial artists with one year of Internal Force and Superclass Martial Artists with over seventy years of cultivation belonged to the Accumulation Realm, which was why it had so many subdivisions.

Above the Accumulation Realm came Qi Connects Hundred Apertures, Qi Flows Through Eight Meridians, and Marrow Cleansing Blood Changing.

Qi Connects Hundred Apertures meant opening the one hundred and eight apertures within the body, allowing one to store more Internal Force.

When Internal Force erupted, it could wound people from afar.

Some with especially profound Internal Force could throw a punch through the air from a hundred paces away and snap a tree in two.

However, reaching such a realm required more than a hundred years of cultivation.

Such experts were already considered peak martial artists in the martial world. Within forces such as the Guiyuan Sect and Heavenly Sword Manor, martial artists who reached the Qi Connects Hundred Apertures level all held the position of elder.

Qi Flows Through Eight Meridians meant opening the body's twelve regular meridians and eight extraordinary meridians.

Especially the Ren and Du Meridians—once those two meridians were opened, one could absorb the primordial energy of heaven and earth.

Upon reaching this realm, one became a Martial Dao Grandmaster, also known as the Innate Realm.

A Martial Dao Grandmaster stood at the very peak within an entire commandery.

The final realm, Marrow Cleansing Blood Changing, was the realm of a Supreme Martial Dao Grandmaster.

Accumulation, Aperture Opening, Innate, Blood Changing... these were the four realms of martial cultivation.

The Golden Bell Shield martial art recorded methods for Qi Connects Hundred Apertures and Qi Flows Through Eight Meridians, which was why it could be cultivated all the way to the Martial Dao Grandmaster realm.

Before long, Zhou Shan had carefully read through the Golden Bell Shield Martial Arts Manual.

Like Eagle Claw Iron Shirt, the Golden Bell Shield used Internal Force to temper and strengthen the body. Yet even when Eagle Claw Iron Shirt was cultivated to completion, granting Bronze Skin Iron Bones, there were still certain areas that could not be trained.

For example, the groin, armpits, navel, and other weak points.

In the Golden Bell Shield manual, these places were called Weak Points.

However, once the Golden Bell Shield was cultivated to a certain realm, it could protect the body's acupoints and these Weak Points from being pierced by sharp weapons. When cultivated to the utmost limit, it could make these Weak Points vanish completely, achieving an indestructible vajra body.

At once, Zhou Shan began cultivating according to the mental method recorded within.

He had cultivated Eagle Claw Iron Shirt to completion twelve days ago. His cultivation had already reached its limit, and twelve years of Internal Force were stored within his body. Now, as he circulated the Golden Bell Shield Cultivation Technique, those twelve years of Internal Force immediately transformed into Golden Bell Shield cultivation.

Name: Zhou Shan

Talent: Nine Breaths Assimilation

Cultivation Technique: Golden Bell Shield (twelve years of cultivation), Eagle Claw Iron Shirt (sixty years of cultivation/completion)
Traits: Bronze Skin Iron Bones, Pierce Stone Through Metal

After all twelve years of Internal Force had been converted, Zhou Shan opened the panel to inspect it.

The Golden Bell Shield had already appeared on the panel.

With every breath, the primordial energy of heaven and earth from the depths of the void poured continuously into Zhou Shan's body, directly transforming into pure Internal Force through the art of Nine Breaths Assimilation.

Martial Dao Grandmasters who had opened the Ren and Du Meridians could absorb the primordial energy of heaven and earth to cultivate, but the energy they absorbed still needed to be slowly refined. Zhou Shan, however, possessed the Nine Breaths Assimilation talent; the moment he absorbed the primordial energy of heaven and earth, he could transform it into Internal Force.

With the Nine Breaths Assimilation talent, even without opening the Ren and Du Meridians, Zhou Shan was equivalent to an enhanced Martial Dao Grandmaster. Once he opened the Ren and Du Meridians himself and became a Martial Dao Grandmaster, the Nine Breaths Assimilation talent would certainly be enhanced as well.

The art of Nine Breaths Assimilation was one of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits Arts, a divine ability cultivated even by immortals and gods.

Closing the panel, Zhou Shan continued cultivating the Golden Bell Shield.