Severing Meridians and Continuing Qi Method (Please Read On)

On the Martial Arts Arena, Su Cheng easily defused Qian Renxue's sword moves, cutting them off in advance each time she began to strike.

"If this is all you have, then you're going to lose."

Even while attacking, Su Cheng still had the leisure to speak.

He had already begun to gain the upper hand.

Qian Renxue pressed her lips together, unable to understand.

Clearly, the force behind his sword had not weakened, and the Soul Power it carried was entirely at the Soul Elder level. Yet why were his sword moves so fast?

Spectators like Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo were powerful enough to understand what was happening, but they still could not feel it as clearly as those involved.

At this moment, Qian Renxue was fighting with extreme frustration.

She raised her sword for a diagonal slash, but halfway through, the lower edge of her blade was struck by a thrust from the side, instantly interrupting the move.

Before she could change her stance, Su Cheng swept his sword across again, forcing her to raise her blade vertically to block.

What was worse, Su Cheng would clearly seem to be preparing a slash, only to effortlessly turn it into a Sword Brace at the peak of his sword momentum, forcing her to alter her move as well.

After dozens of exchanges, Qian Renxue found that each of her attacks could only achieve twenty to thirty percent of their intended effect despite using her full strength.

Moreover, as time passed, Su Cheng's attacks continued to accelerate, and the transitions between his sword forms became increasingly smooth.

Qian Renxue understood that if this continued, even if they simply competed in Soul Power consumption, she would inevitably lose.

Her First Soul Ring lit up, and golden light began gathering between her hands.

"Can't hold back anymore?" Su Cheng chuckled, but did not raise his sword to defend.

Now that Qian Renxue had absorbed a ten-thousand-year Fourth Soul Ring, along with the enhancement from her Fourth Soul Skill, he could probably still win using his old methods, but there was no absolute certainty. It would also take considerable effort and involve an element of risk.

Su Cheng chose to counterattack directly.

His Second Soul Ring and Third Soul Ring lit up in succession.

"Second Soul Skill: Sharpness!"

"Third Soul Skill: Heavy Sword Without Edge!"

The instant the Third Soul Ring flashed, his attack had already descended.

It was so fast that it completely exceeded Qian Renxue's reaction limit. Her First Soul Skill had not even fully activated yet.

No, it was not just Qian Renxue.

None of the elders watching the battle understood how that sword strike had landed.

"That's not right. Why can he cast his Soul Skill instantly?"

Inside the Worship Hall, Golden Crocodile Douluo voiced the doubts shared by everyone present, then turned to Qian Daoliu.

"Big Brother, do you know why?"

"Uh..." Qian Daoliu was equally baffled. "I'm not sure either. Perhaps his Third Soul Skill is rather special?"

"No matter how special it is, Soul Power still has to circulate before a Soul Skill can be used. Even Big Brother needs time to use a Soul Skill."

"Exactly. It can't be that this kind of offensive Soul Skill doesn't require his own Soul Power to sustain it, can it?"

The other priests began discussing it all at once.

Qian Daoliu: "..."

On the Martial Arts Arena, the sword martial soul in Su Cheng's hand had expanded to nearly twice its original size, as though carrying the force of a thousand jun, and came crashing down upon Qian Renxue's head.

Qian Renxue, meanwhile, had her Soul Power circulating. Her First Soul Skill was still gathering strength, and she had even less time to release the Third Soul Skill, Angel's Protection.

Left with no choice, she hastily raised the giant golden sword in her hand, using her incomplete First Soul Skill to block.

Screech—clang—

The blade of light shattered. The enormous sword in Su Cheng's hand stopped a hair's breadth above Qian Renxue's forehead. A fierce gust swept past, sending her golden hair flying.

His precise control of strength proved that Su Cheng had not even used his full power.

"...Teacher, I lost again."

Qian Renxue lowered her head. She looked somewhat dejected, though not especially despondent.

She had not failed to consider that this might happen.

Though she was very confident in herself, her teacher had always been someone capable of creating miracles.

After calming down slightly, she immediately asked the question that had puzzled her most throughout the battle.

"Why can you attack so quickly?"

Then she realized this was not the right occasion and hurriedly added, "Never mind. I don't really want to know."

"There's no harm in explaining it to you."

Su Cheng smiled. Ignoring the similarly puzzled and inquisitive gazes around him, he said frankly, "This is a new type of Soul Skill I recently developed, called the Severing Meridians and Continuing Qi Method."

As he spoke, his Third Soul Ring lit up again. The sword martial soul, which had already returned to normal, instantly expanded into a massive blade. "Rather than a Soul Skill, it is more like a special technique that assists in releasing Soul Skills."

"Severing Meridians... and Continuing Qi Method." Watching Su Cheng instantly cast his Soul Skill again, Qian Renxue murmured the name.

It was not only her. The distant Titled Douluos watching also silently pondered the deeper meaning behind the name.

"The circulation of different Soul Skills differs in their methods of exerting force, the characteristics of their Soul Rings, and their final release techniques. Yet they share one thing in common: Soul Power must travel through most of the body's Meridians before their ultimate power can be displayed."

The others secretly nodded at his words, but their expressions became even more perplexed.

These were all common facts. What did they have to do with instantly casting Soul Skills?

Qian Renxue, however, seemed to have gained some insight.

"Teacher, the 'severing meridians' you mentioned refers to..."

"Exactly." Su Cheng glanced at her and nodded slightly.

"In fact, when using a Soul Skill, Soul Power does not need to flow through the entire body at all. As long as it circulates through specific Meridians, its power can be unleashed.

"When Soul Masters attack, whether striking normally or using Soul Skills, the circulation of Soul Power is instinctive. As long as you suppress that instinct, you can release your Soul Skill one step ahead of your opponent.

"The most crucial point is that you must know exactly which Meridians your Soul Power needs to travel through when using a Soul Skill."

That was why he did not care about the others hearing the principle behind it.

That first requirement alone—the pattern of Soul Power circulation for every Soul Skill—was not something ordinary people could figure out, unless they possessed his level of Medical Dao and ability to study the human body.

There were other key points as well, such as how to block unnecessary Soul Power circulation, and the techniques behind the Combo he had used earlier.

But those were clearly not things the eavesdroppers nearby could hear for free.

Of course, in the end, this was merely a technique.

If someone truly understood the flow of energy through the body's Meridians as thoroughly as he did, and had sufficiently mastered their own moves and Soul Skills, then once they understood the principle, replicating these methods would not actually be difficult.

Su Cheng himself was an example. With only a single idea, he had smoothly employed this technique in today's battle and used it to defeat an opponent stronger than himself in every respect.

After hearing his explanation, Qian Renxue fell silent in thought for a long while.

Yet she discovered in despair that even knowing the exact principles of the Severing Meridians and Continuing Qi Method, she still could not use it at all.

"Teacher, please teach me."

"Of course." Su Cheng could not help laughing. "I developed this technique for you in the first place. With martial soul aptitude like mine, no matter how flashy my fighting style becomes, I won't have any use for it in the future."