Testing Your Learning Ability

The moment the voices from outside faded, Li Cheng entered with another person.

Ning Ri greeted them first, "Greetings, Elder Zhou! Greetings, Senior Brother Bei!"

Li Cheng smiled and nodded at Ning Ri before going to the side and turning into a test stone tablet, standing silently. Clearly, he was pretending to be a stone tablet again...

Meanwhile, Zhou Hai chuckled and said, "No need for formalities."

After greeting Zhou Hai, Ning Ri took a closer look at him.

Zhou Hai wore a grey robe, was tall and imposing, and had faint words visible on his face—

"This is too heaven-defying!"

Ning Ri: "?"

What is this?

Seeing Ning Ri's slightly stunned gaze, Zhou Hai immediately realized something and raised his hand to wipe his face. The words "This is too heaven-defying!" then disappeared.

Zhou Hai chuckled, "Young friend, do not be alarmed. This is for teaching. Some outer disciples have poor hearing, so I project what I'm teaching onto my face so they know what I'm saying."

So it's like subtitles, Ning Ri thought. In his past life, he respected subtitle creators the most, and he immediately felt a sense of awe. "Elder Zhou truly has the heart of a teacher. This junior is deeply impressed!"

Speaking of which, even with cultivation, can ears still go bad?

Zhou Hai waved his hand and continued, "Alright, let me examine your acupoints and spiritual roots. Do you mind?"

Ning Ri shook his head, indicating he did not.

As Zhou Hai's spiritual energy circulated within him, Ning Ri watched Zhou Hai's expression turn to one of amazement. "Truly, your acupoints are blocked and your spiritual roots are incomplete. However, I can see why you are able to cultivate."

Ning Ri immediately asked, "Elder Zhou, why is that?!"

Zhou Hai replied, "I believe the impurities in your acupoints helped you."

Ning Ri blinked. "Ah?"

Zhou Hai patiently explained, "Cultivation requires spiritual roots, acupoints, and meridians."

"The function of spiritual roots is to absorb and refine spiritual energy. Acupoints and meridians serve as entry and exit points and channels for spiritual energy."

"External spiritual energy enters the body through the acupoints, flows through the meridians to the spiritual roots in the dantian, and is then refined by the spiritual roots."

"Afterward, the spiritual energy refined by the spiritual roots becomes part of the body, and the waste produced during the refining process is automatically expelled by the acupoints."

"Although your spiritual roots are incomplete and cannot refine spiritual energy normally, you are not without spiritual roots."

"Therefore, your spiritual roots are still functional. They can still absorb spiritual energy and refine it, but because they are incomplete, the speed is very slow."

"Under normal circumstances, due to your slow refining speed, your spiritual energy would dissipate immediately. But who knew, the impurities in your acupoints happened to compensate for your incomplete spiritual roots, trapping the spiritual energy within the acupoints. They enter slowly and leave slowly, ultimately creating this unprecedented and wondrous physique..."

"Marvelous, marvelous! It seems you were born to join my Heaven Defying Sect!"

"It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call you a Innate Cultivation Sacred Body!"

Ning Ri: "..."

Wait, hold on.

How did I become an Innate Cultivation Sacred Body just like that?

Zhou Hai continued, "However, if you wish to participate in the disciple trial, you must prove one more ability to me."

"What ability?"

"Learning ability," Zhou Hai said. "Have you learned any techniques?"

Ning Ri shook his head. "No."

Gale Step and Crocodile Turtle Iron Bone Skill are both incomplete versions.

How can that count as learning?

So, give me a new technique, my respected Subtitle Elder!

Zhou Hai took out a jade slip. "In that case, take a look at this technique. With your cultivation at the third level of Qi Refining, you are capable of performing it. After half an hour, demonstrate it before me, and I will see what level you can achieve."

"Yes!"

Ning Ri immediately took the jade slip.

Then, Zhou Hai closed his eyes and waited.

The technique Zhou Hai provided was called [Spirit Absorption Technique].

It was a Qi Refining technique used to accelerate spiritual energy absorption. Its specific method involved controlling each acupoint to increase pressure, thereby speeding up the flow of external spiritual energy into the body.

This particular version of the technique Zhou Hai provided was clearly tailored for Ning Ri's benefit.

Ning Ri felt a surge of gratitude.

The technique stated that each person's body has thirteen hundred acupoints.

Ning Ri had been startled by this number when he first began his Qi Refining. He could tell that these acupoints were significantly different from those in his previous life, and the sheer number was somewhat frightening.

The first thing this Spirit Absorption Technique required Ning Ri to cultivate was the seven orifices.

Eyes, nose, mouth, ears!

As for the remaining 1,293 acupoints, the technique hasn't mentioned them yet.

Clearly, these were not accessible to him at the third level of Qi Refining.

Next, Ning Ri opened his status panel—

[Host]: Ning Ri

[Skills]:

1. [Mortal Blade Arts]: 10 (Maxed) (Resettable)
2. [Qi Refining Art · Incomplete]: 3 (Maxed) (Resettable)
3. [Gale Step · Incomplete]: 3 (Maxed) (Resettable)
4. [Crocodile Turtle Iron Bone Skill · Incomplete]: 0
5. [Spirit Absorption Technique]: 0

Free Skill Points: 0

Ning Ri clicked on [Mortal Blade Arts]'s [Resettable] option, and a reminder immediately popped up:

"Does the host wish to confirm resetting points?"

[Yes]

[No]

Ning Ri selected [Yes].

Accompanying a tremor in his body, a sensation of withdrawal surged within him. Ning Ri felt as if something in his mind had vanished.

He still understood [Mortal Blade Arts], but if he were to pick up a blade now, it would feel completely foreign.

This was the so-called "rusty hands" feeling.

Ning Ri had experienced this before in his previous life.

Years after finishing his college entrance exams, when he revisited math problems from his senior year of high school, he had the feeling of, I definitely learned this before, so why don't I understand it now?...

At this moment, his free skill points became 10.

After resetting his points, Ning Ri sat by himself, eyes closed, motionless.

To satisfy the half-hour time limit set by Zhou Hai, he pretended to ponder for half an hour...

Of course.

He actually did ponder, and as required by the jade slip, he inhaled forcefully—

But unfortunately, it had no effect.

In Ning Ri's current state, he couldn't absorb energy on his own.

Afterward, he brought up the status panel again.

He looked at [Spirit Absorption Technique], intending to go all-in right then.

But on second thought, even with his innate cultivation sacred body, he shouldn't be so conspicuous.

Thus, he only added three points to [Spirit Absorption Technique].

The panel then displayed:

5. [Spirit Absorption Technique]: 3

With a tremor in his body, Ning Ri immediately felt as if he had entered a state of [Enlightenment], as if his entire being had entered a profound realm...

Immediately after.

He opened his eyes...

At this moment, Zhou Hai looked over and smiled, "Half an hour is up. How do you feel?"

Ning Ri said solemnly, "Elder Zhou, I feel I've already gained some insights."

Zhou Hai walked up to Ning Ri, "Oh? Then try it!"

"Yes!"

After Ning Ri responded, he immediately circulated [Spirit Absorption Technique]...

The mature experience from [Spirit Absorption Technique: 3] flowed into Ning Ri's heart. The thin spiritual energy in his dantian now had a purpose, rushing to his nostrils without hesitation. Following the knowledge within his body, Ning Ri forcefully inhaled...

Whoosh--

Ning Ri's nose acted like a supercharger, and all the spiritual energy in front of him surged into his nostrils...

Seeing this, Zhou Hai's eyes first lit up, then his expression changed drastically:

"Why are you absorbing the spiritual energy from me?!"

If you find this book enjoyable, don't forget to add it to your bookshelf to avoid losing it!