On the third floor, Chen Feng swept his gaze around. There were only a few dozen Martial Arts manuals in total.
At the moment, only a woman in a white dress stood before a bookshelf on the other side, flipping through one of the manuals.
The woman possessed a calm, elegant air, giving off the tranquil feeling of peaceful years.
Chen Feng merely glanced at her before beginning to examine the manuals before him.
"Advanced Sword Art: Gale Sword Art. (Requires 300 merit points.)"
After cultivating it to great mastery, one could draw Gale Sword Intent into the body and cultivate as high as the Sixth Rank True Intent Realm.
"Sword art!"
Chen Feng's eyes lit up.
This was quite to his liking.
However, after reading more of the entry requirements, he could only put it down helplessly.
To cultivate this Martial Arts technique, one actually needed to awaken a Wind Element talent.
Otherwise, even the initiation process, which required using wind and sand to refine the body, would be difficult to endure.
Helplessness filled his heart, and he could only give it up.
Then came more manuals. "Sky Burning Incantation: blazing flames burn the heavens; requires a Fire Element talent. (300 merit points.)"
"Adamantine Incantation: temper your body into an adamantine physique, capable of withstanding damage from all manner of sharp weapons. Its weakness is that it fears attacks of water and fire. (300 merit points.)"
"Spiral True Qi Incantation: transforms one's True Qi into a spiral, allowing True Qi to condense faster, in greater quantities, and with stronger attacking power. (Requires powerful meridians and a talent for physical cultivation.)"
"Azure Sea Tide Roar Incantation: Azure Sea True Qi possesses extremely strong recovery abilities. (Those with Water Attribute Martial Talent cultivate it at tremendous speed.)"
He went through the cultivation methods one by one.
Several of them left Chen Feng pleasantly surprised and quite satisfied.
In any case, every one of them had at least four levels.
They were enough to cultivate someone to the Fourth Rank Martial Artist Realm.
As for after the Fourth Rank Martial Artist Realm, one could exchange for other methods.
That way, even if one later cultivated other Martial Arts, the compatibility would be better, and the chances of breaking through would increase as well.
Yet as he looked at these manuals, nearly all of them had various requirements.
Chen Feng's eyes turned thoughtful. "Could this be compatibility?"
Judging by the information displayed for these advanced techniques, one could still cultivate them without any Martial Talent, but the difficulty and speed of cultivation would naturally be far worse than for martial artists with corresponding talents.
Thoughtfulness filled Chen Feng's eyes as he examined the techniques one by one.
The most important function of Martial Talent was that, upon comprehending the relevant True Intent in the Sixth Rank True Intent Realm, it greatly reduced the difficulty.
Chen Feng pondered this. Unlike what Yun Xi, Qian Hu, and the others believed, his cultivation was connected to the Proficiency Panel.
With the Proficiency Panel, so long as he successfully cultivated any Martial Arts technique or martial skill, he could awaken the corresponding talent.
In that case, he did not need to worry about any talent restrictions.
With that thought in mind, Chen Feng became much more relaxed as he continued examining these Martial Arts techniques and skills.
What he needed most now was a systematic means of cultivation.
A Body Refining Technique and an internal cultivation method.
Those were what he needed most right now.
However, he only had five hundred merit points, enough to exchange for just one advanced technique.
So he would prioritize a cultivation system.
Chen Feng weighed these matters in his heart.
The Gale Sword Art suited his temperament somewhat, while a Fire Attribute technique like the Sky Burning Incantation possessed terrifying offensive power.
He had some thoughts about both.
However, near the edge of the third floor, there was also a bronze-colored jade slip.
Below it was an introduction to the technique.
"Blood Dragon Incantation!"
"Use dragon blood to temper the flesh and forge a True Dragon Physique no weaker than Dragon Skin, Dragon Blood, Dragon Sinew, Dragon Bone, and Dragon Heart!"
"It even includes the Blood Dragon Visualization Method, which can temper the spirit."
When Chen Feng saw the introduction to this technique, his heart stirred.
The Lower Three Ranks of body tempering mainly consisted of tempering the skin, bones, and organs—only three realms.
Yet this Blood Dragon Incantation had several additional methods of tempering.
Among Body Refining Techniques, it belonged to the very pinnacle.
It had even surpassed the scope of advanced techniques.
However, cultivating the Blood Dragon Incantation came with restrictions. Most importantly, one needed to rely on the power of dragon blood for the fastest cultivation progress.
But dragons were among the most terrifying existences even within the ranks of demons.
How could dragon blood be obtained so easily?
Just as he was still hesitating in his heart.
There was further information above stating that Half-Dragon Race blood containing dragon blood, or even demon blood, could also be used for cultivation.
It was simply that the speed and difficulty of cultivation would differ.
Chen Feng pondered for a moment. "Then I'll choose this technique first."
Its cultivation speed was fast, and its body tempering was powerful.
What else was there for him to choose?
Moreover, since this technique involved dragon blood, he was also looking forward to seeing what talent he would awaken if he cultivated it successfully.
He had also wanted to choose a True Qi-type technique. The Sky Burning Incantation had caught his eye, but unfortunately, he no longer had enough merit points.
So he would not choose it for now.
After earning more merit points in the future, he could continue selecting other techniques.
Next, he should choose another means of attack and a movement technique to make up for what he currently lacked.
Having made his choice, Chen Feng prepared to head downstairs and obtain the complete version.
At that moment, the white-clad woman, who had been quietly studying the information in the pavilion all this time, showed a trace of surprise when she saw Chen Feng's choice. "You chose the Blood Dragon Incantation?"
"This technique may be quick to learn, but without pure dragon blood, its later cultivation speed will be extremely slow, and the risk of mutation is enormous."
"Besides, this lineage has already declined. You will not receive any support."
Chen Feng glanced at the woman in white, cupped his hands, and smiled. "Thank you."
Then he turned and left directly.
The woman behind him looked somewhat surprised, her eyes thoughtful. "Leaving himself no way back?"
She had naturally seen the resolve in Chen Feng's eyes.
The moment he set his sights on the Blood Dragon Incantation, it felt as though he had completely refused to leave himself any retreat.
That instead put a trace of contemplation in the white-clad woman's eyes. A moment later, a glimmer of light flashed through them, and she chuckled softly. "A freshman dares to be this resolute—what am I still hesitating over?"
"It's you."
She directly picked up the technique she had studied for so long without reaching a decision.
There was an introduction beneath this technique as well.
"Five Phases Divine Gang, supremely hard and supremely yang! Five kinds of Gang Qi, violently unmatched!"
As a woman, she actually intended to cultivate such a domineering technique.
Chen Feng had already arrived on the second floor. Compared with advanced techniques, the intermediate Martial Arts techniques and skills on the second floor mostly cost from several dozen to one or two hundred merit points.
After looking through them, Chen Feng chose an intermediate movement technique, the Cloud Smoke Movement Technique, spending one hundred merit points.
Whether for long-distance travel or swift turns and shifts within a confined space, its speed was not weak.
It was enough for him.
He also selected an offensive martial skill. He had archery for long range, and at close range he still preferred clean, decisive saber techniques, so he chose the Crimson Flame Saber Art.
It had eighteen saber forms in total. Once cultivated to great mastery, its saber techniques would be like raging flames setting the plains ablaze—equally terrifying.
All five hundred merit points were spent.
What came next would be a period of explosive growth in strength.
He believed it would not be long before he killed his way back to Black Mountain.
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