The name "Fire Starting Skill" sounded a little crude, but after Li Xiuchang finished reading its description, he found that the technique was unexpectedly good.
At the very least, it suited him extremely well.
Strictly speaking, this was a dual-attribute technique for cultivating both fire and wood. The reason it had been placed under the Fire Attribute Cultivation Method category was that the Spiritual Power ultimately produced through cultivation truly possessed only the fire attribute.
When cultivating the Fire Starting Skill, one would form both fire- and wood-attribute Spiritual Power within the body, just like with other dual-attribute fire-and-wood techniques.
However, the wood-attribute Spiritual Power was merely fuel. It would all be devoured by the fire-attribute Spiritual Power.
Wood gave birth to fire, making the flames burn fiercer. After devouring the wood-attribute Spiritual Power, the fire-attribute Spiritual Power would grow stronger and gradually transform into magic power.
Not only could this make up for the decrease in cultivation speed caused by cultivating a dual-attribute technique, it would also make the resulting fire-attribute magic power more violent and destructive.
Moreover, the Fire Starting Skill could be cultivated not only by those with a fire-and-wood dual-attribute constitution. Those with a pure fire-attribute constitution could cultivate it as well; they simply needed to absorb wood-attribute Spiritual Power from the outside world.
The wood-attribute Spiritual Power in the outside world mainly came from various spirit plants such as Spirit Grass and spirit trees, as well as wood-attribute Demonic Cores and the like.
This was also why Li Xiuchang had been tempted by this technique.
He remembered that in the Mortal Cultivation Genre novels he had read in his previous life, the protagonist had relied on his ability to nurture Spirit Medicine and slowly but surely cultivated his way to immortality.
His "length" had a similar effect. It could make Spirit Grass and Spirit Medicine grow taller.
He could even be more direct and crude: replicate the method he had used the first time he turned a Gold Leaf into a Gold Brick, purchase precious forging materials, hammer them into thin sheets, add length to them, then resell them and make a killing.
For Li Xiuchang, converting "length" into spirit stones was an easy matter.
And with spirit stones, he could purchase Spirit Grass and Spirit Medicine. Wouldn't he have as much as he wanted?
With large quantities of Spirit Grass and Spirit Medicine as "fuel," the cultivation speed of the Fire Starting Skill would inevitably increase by a great deal.
However, Li Xiuchang currently had three problems. First, he had no spirit stones and could not afford precious forging materials. Second, he lacked strength; rashly taking precious materials of unexplainable origin out to sell would be extremely risky. Third, he did not have much "length" at the moment—only one inch.
He still chose to proceed steadily. Until his own strength was sufficient, he would try not to use such a dangerous method to earn spirit stones.
In short, the Fire Starting Skill was a rare technique with extremely high returns on investment. Li Xiuchang naturally would not miss it, and immediately selected the Fire Starting Skill.
"Are you certain you want to choose this technique?" the old man guarding the Library Pavilion reminded him. "This technique is indeed very suitable for you, and it is quite good in every regard. However, it has no continuation."
"No continuation? Were the later sections lost?" Li Xiuchang asked regretfully.
The old man shook his head. "This Fire Starting Skill was created by one of our Immortal Dust Sect's seniors. He simply became interested on a whim and created the Qi Condensation section of this technique. As for the subsequent Foundation Establishment section, there has been no sign of it ever since."
"Is that senior still alive?"
"Of course. That senior's Cultivation Level is exceedingly high, and his lifespan is long. He is currently in the prime of his life."
"That's good." Li Xiuchang breathed a sigh of relief. He might still have several decades before reaching Foundation Establishment. Perhaps by then, that senior would have completed the subsequent technique.
Seeing that Li Xiuchang was clinging to a sliver of hope, the old man poured cold water over him. "That senior created at least a hundred Qi Condensation techniques without continuations like the Fire Starting Skill. These were merely casual works of his. He may have forgotten about them the moment he turned around."
Li Xiuchang: ...
Eunuchs should all die miserable deaths!
Repeat offenders deserved to be torn limb from limb!
Li Xiuchang cursed inwardly, but said aloud, "This senior truly has the common people at heart. To create so many Qi Condensation techniques for new disciples to cultivate is genuinely admirable."
Upon hearing this, the old man looked Li Xiuchang up and down once more and said, "Perhaps you will have a place among the Immortal Dust Sect's higher-ups in the future."
"You flatter me, Senior."
In the end, Li Xiuchang still chose the Fire Starting Skill.
The lack of a subsequent technique meant that when Li Xiuchang reached the Foundation Establishment Realm, he would need to change techniques.
Changing cultivation techniques might take some effort, but that was a matter for the future. Li Xiuchang knew that his aptitude was poor, so he needed all the more to seize the present.
At the very least, the Fire Starting Skill was the fastest cultivation technique available to him during the Qi Condensation Stage. It would allow both his fire-and-wood dual-attribute constitution and his "length" to serve a purpose.
Completing the sect-rules examination and obtaining a cultivation technique was the first trial new outer disciples faced after joining the sect.
The second trial that followed was to cultivate magic power and become a genuine Early Qi Condensation cultivator.
Once he had magic power, he could begin learning Cultivation Techniques. At that point, Li Xiuchang would also need to choose one of the Hundred Cultivation Arts to study.
Holding his copied Fire Starting Skill, Li Xiuchang returned to the entrance of the Reception Area and waited for Senior Brother Zhang Wanzhi to come pick him up.
He waited and waited, but Senior Brother Zhang never came. Instead, he saw someone familiar.
"Senior Brother Wang." Li Xiuchang greeted him.
The person who had arrived was none other than Wang Long, who had been responsible for guiding Li Xiuchang into the sect.
"Junior Brother Li." Wang Long smiled. "Seeing you here, did you pass the sect-rules examination?"
"I did. I just finished choosing a cultivation technique."
"It's quite a distance from here to your Eastern Geng District. How about I give you a ride?" Wang Long offered.
"This... Thank you for your kindness, Senior Brother, but I agreed to wait here for Senior Brother Zhang. If I leave ahead of him, I'm afraid..." Li Xiuchang said awkwardly.
"Senior Brother Zhang? You mean Senior Brother Zhang Wanzhi from the Eastern Geng District?" Wang Long asked.
Li Xiuchang nodded. Wang Long's face immediately revealed a hint of envy as he said, "You've only just joined the sect, yet you've already received Senior Brother Zhang's care. Your future is limitless."
Li Xiuchang had long sensed that Zhang Wanzhi was extraordinary. Curious, he used the opportunity to ask Wang Long a few questions.
Wang Long held Senior Brother Zhang Wanzhi in the highest regard. With a sigh, he said, "Getting to know Senior Brother Zhang Wanzhi is one of the few benefits of living in the Eastern Geng District. To say that Senior Brother Zhang is the number one genius among our outer disciples is something no one would ever question.
"Our outer disciples can enter the inner sect by reaching Foundation Establishment before the age of forty. But Senior Brother Zhang happened to reach Foundation Establishment at forty-one—he missed it by just a little."
"That truly is a pity." Li Xiuchang agreed. "But even so, that shouldn't be enough to make him the undisputed number one genius among the outer disciples, should it?"
"Of course not. Talent in cultivation is merely the most insignificant of Senior Brother Zhang's many talents. What he truly excels at is the Hundred Cultivation Arts.
"If any of us outer disciples reaches the third tier in a single Cultivation Technique, we can become an Attendant of the outer sect. Senior Brother Zhang has reached the second tier in more than a dozen Cultivation Techniques, including alchemy, talismans, the Array Path, medicine, and others. What's more, he is at Peak Second Tier in all of them, only one step away from the third tier! Yet every single one of them has encountered a bottleneck, and he has been unable to break through."
Li Xiuchang drew in a sharp breath.
"Could he have a cheat too?"
It was no wonder Li Xiuchang had such a thought. For an ordinary outer disciple to have even one skill with the potential to reach the third tier was already exceedingly difficult. Zhang Wanzhi had fully mastered more than a dozen Peak Second Tier skills. It was simply too outrageous.
At the same time, Li Xiuchang also understood why Zhang Wanzhi was the undisputed number one genius among the outer disciples.
Anyone even slightly more talented than him had either entered the inner sect or become an Attendant. They were no longer outer disciples.
"Not only that, Senior Brother Zhang is forthright and generous. He often looks after his fellow disciples and is deeply respected. He has considerable prestige among us outer disciples. It's just a pity... We all believe Senior Brother Zhang is a victim of the Eastern Geng District's curse. If not for the curse's influence, a prodigy like Senior Brother Zhang would have entered the inner sect or become an Attendant long ago.
"Many of us have urged Senior Brother Zhang to move away from the Eastern Geng District, but perhaps it's a genius's pride—he has always refused."
As the two spoke, they saw Zhang Wanzhi arrive on a flying sword.
"Senior Brother Zhang." Wang Long warmly went up to him and said in a low voice, "About those spirit stones I owe you..."
Zhang Wanzhi patted him on the shoulder and interrupted, "If you're short on money, repay me a little later. There's no rush."
"Thank you, Senior Brother!" Wang Long thanked him repeatedly, and it was obvious he was completely sincere.
Other disciples gradually gathered around them as well, striking up conversations with Zhang Wanzhi. Only then did Li Xiuchang see just how good Zhang Wanzhi's relationships were.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Zhang Wanzhi did not linger. He picked up Li Xiuchang and flew toward the Eastern Geng District.
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