Choosing Cultivation Manuals Tempest

Only by stepping into the Scripture Depository can one truly understand the terrifying depth of the Qi Yun Sect's millennium-old heritage, and why thousands of families across the world would send their children to the Qi Yun Sect even if it meant serving as mere laborers.

Nearly ten thousand individual booklets, each containing a summary of a Cultivation Manual, were neatly arranged across hundreds of bookshelves. Every shelf was crafted from priceless Sandalwood, filling the entire Scripture Depository with a thick, lingering scent of incense.

After wandering casually through the first floor of the Scripture Depository, Ye Zhen began to understand why the sect mandated that no disciple could remain inside for more than half an hour.

The sheer number of Cultivation Manuals was overwhelming, enough to dazzle the eyes of any who entered.

Every technique had its own unique benefits and strengths; if there were no time limit, many disciples would likely become so indecisive that they wouldn't be able to leave for a day or two.

The Cultivation Manuals housed within the Scripture Depository were categorized by bookshelf, and further classified by grade with meticulous detail to help disciples make quick selections.

There were sections for cultivation techniques, sword arts, fist techniques, blade arts, combined offensive and defensive techniques, speed-based manuals, movement techniques, and so on.

Before long, Ye Zhen had selected a few Cultivation Manuals as candidates.

"White Crane Divine Claw, Mortal-tier High Grade technique, primarily offensive!"

"Heavenly Thunder Palm, Mortal-tier High Grade technique, primarily offensive."

"Five Peaks Divine Fist, Mortal-tier High Grade technique, primarily offensive."

"Turtle Crane Evasion Fist, Mortal-tier Mid Grade technique, primarily defensive."

"Grasshopper Step, Mortal-tier High Grade movement technique."

"Snake-Wandering Steps, Mortal-tier High Grade movement technique."

"Seven Star Sword Finger, Mortal-tier High Grade technique, primarily offensive!"

Soon, Ye Zhen had picked out seven techniques he felt were suitable for himself. In Ye Zhen's understanding, there was no such thing as the strongest technique, only the most suitable one.

For example, if you were to have Wang Qi, an Outer Disciple born with immense natural strength but a clumsy build, practice the Snake-Wandering Steps, it would be a foolish move. Conversely, someone like Wang Qi, with his innate strength, was better suited for fist techniques like the Great Strength Tiger King Fist, which relied on heavy, crushing force.

Ye Zhen naturally chose techniques that suited his own characteristics.

Ye Zhen had a well-proportioned build and strong explosive power, placing him in the category of people with very average traits. Therefore, many of the techniques here were suitable for him, but the Essence Blood Origin Body Art he practiced was quite unique.

Today's battle with Li Xuelong had allowed Ye Zhen to witness the domineering nature of the Essence Blood Origin Body Art firsthand; once the Qi Gang was formed, it truly could cut through metal and jade like butter.

As far as Ye Zhen knew, a martial artist could only potentially cultivate Qi Gang after condensing their True Yuan. Yet, the Essence Blood Origin Body Art had allowed him to cultivate it early. Ye Zhen estimated that the grade of this technique was at least Human-tier Low Grade, perhaps even higher.

Mortal-tier Low or Mid Grade techniques were the standard treatment for Inner Disciples. Ye Zhen felt a bit curious about the identity of Instructor Liao, who possessed such violent tendencies.

Since Ye Zhen possessed a sharp weapon like the Qi Gang, his choice of techniques had to revolve entirely around those that could maximize the power of his Qi Gang.

Based on this principle, Ye Zhen selected these seven potential techniques.

The White Crane Divine Claw emphasized flexibility and variety, known for its bizarre and unpredictable changes; if mastered, it would leave opponents unable to defend themselves. The Heavenly Thunder Palm, however, followed a path of rigid ferocity, which also suited Ye Zhen.

However, Ye Zhen ultimately chose the Five Peaks Divine Fist. The Five Peaks Divine Fist also followed a path of rigid ferocity; in terms of raw power, it was slightly inferior to the Heavenly Thunder Palm, but if the Five Peaks Divine Fist were mastered, the fist energy could extend up to three feet away from the body!

The fact that the fist energy could extend three feet from the body was the reason Ye Zhen ultimately chose the Five Peaks Divine Fist.

As for the movement technique, Ye Zhen ultimately chose the Snake-Wandering Steps.

The Grasshopper Step was more outstanding in terms of pure speed, being faster than the Snake-Wandering Steps, but it lacked variety. In comparison, the movements of the Snake-Wandering Steps were more complex and bizarre, making them better suited for the application of Ye Zhen's Qi Gang.

With the Snake-Wandering Steps, if Ye Zhen were to suddenly throw a punch and unleash his Qi Gang, it might have the miraculous effect of catching the enemy off guard and securing victory. More importantly, the Snake-Wandering Steps possessed explosive power over short distances.

The Snake-Wandering Steps included a movement technique called Snake Springing Grass, which could cover a distance of ten to several dozen meters in an instant. At a critical moment, it might have a miraculous effect, making it more suitable than the speed-focused Grasshopper Step.

As for the cultivation technique, Ye Zhen had also looked through them, but even after flipping through over a hundred Mortal-tier High Grade cultivation techniques, not a single one allowed for the cultivation of Qi Gang while still in the Blood Refining Realm.

The grade of this Essence Blood Origin Body Art made Ye Zhen look forward to it even more.

What was selected on the first floor of the Scripture Depository were actually just the summaries of the Cultivation Manuals; to obtain the actual manuals, one had to exchange them with the Sect Deacon of the Scripture Depository.

It was said that this was a rule established by the Qi Yun Sect to prevent disciples from simply memorizing the formulas, with the ultimate goal of preventing them from learning too many things without focus and ending up achieving nothing at all.

Because there were so many Outer Disciples, there were quite a few coming to the Scripture Depository every day to choose manuals. Since there was only one Sect Deacon stationed here, while choosing the summaries was fast, a long line had formed for the actual exchange of the manuals.

Moreover, the old Sect Deacon here would sometimes offer a few words of guidance to the Outer Disciples on whether their chosen techniques were suitable, which made the process quite slow.

Ye Zhen also stood honestly in the queue. After waiting for about half an hour, there was only one Outer Disciple left in front of him.

The old Sect Deacon offered a few words of advice to the black-robed Outer Disciple in front of Ye Zhen before heading into the back room to retrieve the manual. It was right then that an arrogant and overbearing voice suddenly rang out from behind Ye Zhen.

"Move aside, move aside, let me go first!" An Outer Disciple in black robes with a black mole on the side of his brow came charging through from the back of the line, causing the black-robed disciples in front of him to stumble left and right.

"Are you all blind? Get out of my way, I have things to do!" He cursed as he walked. As he spoke, his triangular eyes twitched, pulling at the black mole on his brow, looking exceptionally fierce.

"Damn, Hong Bao is here, move fast!" The few black-robed Outer Disciples behind Ye Zhen, seeing this person's behavior, hurriedly scattered with looks of fear, leaving only Ye Zhen standing there.

Hearing this name, Ye Zhen's brows furrowed slightly; the name seemed familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before.

"Hey, you guy in front, are you deaf? Move out of my way!" Seeing that Ye Zhen didn't move, Hong Bao barked.

Ye Zhen acted as if he hadn't heard, standing there without moving an inch.

Seeing that his shouting was ineffective, Hong Bao's brows twitched violently, pulling at that black mole, his fierce nature fully revealed. "Damn it, are you deaf? Move out of my way!"

Amidst the angry roar, a gust of wind rose. Hong Bao actually slapped his palm toward Ye Zhen, intending to shove him aside.

"Get lost. Who do you think you are? What gives you the right?"

The moment Hong Bao's palm landed on Ye Zhen's shoulder, Ye Zhen's shoulder gave a sudden jolt, and a surge of internal energy welled up spontaneously.

Bang!

Hong Bao's palm was sent flying high, and his entire frame was forced back a step.

Hiss!

A collective intake of breath echoed through the room. The many Outer Disciples who had just made way were stunned—someone actually dared to trade blows with Hong Bao?

After being forced back by Ye Zhen, Hong Bao's face flushed red before a fierce expression suddenly took hold. "Good! You dare to bare your claws at me? On what grounds?

I am the second-ranked on the Earth Ranking! Kid, get the hell out of here!"

Second on the Earth Ranking? Ye Zhen instantly understood where his sense of familiarity came from; he had seen this guy's name on the Earth Ranking.

With a roar, Hong Bao's hands suddenly morphed into endless palm shadows, aiming to strike down directly at Ye Zhen's head.

"Hong Bao, if you break the sect rules one more time, you will be expelled from the sect!" The cold voice of the elderly Sect Deacon from the Scripture Pavilion, who had just returned with the manuals, rang out. It was as if Hong Bao had been hit by a spell, causing him to freeze on the spot.

"Heh, I wouldn't dare!" Hong Bao squeezed a forced smile onto his face and stood with his hands at his sides behind Ye Zhen, though his gaze looked as if he wanted to swallow Ye Zhen whole.

Ye Zhen did not show any weakness, staring coldly back at Hong Bao without yielding an inch.

His experiences over the past few days had made Ye Zhen gradually realize one thing: as a martial artist, one must never swallow their pride, nor should they be cowardly or submissive.

Before beating up Wu Jian, Ye Zhen had swallowed his pride every day. Although he was training, his blood and qi never flowed smoothly during his practice.

But after his strength surged, and he had beaten Wu Jian and defeated Ma Yuanwu, Ye Zhen clearly felt that his blood and qi flowed exceptionally smoothly during training, and the results of his cultivation were even better.

Comparing the two, Ye Zhen grasped this principle, though he understood it in his heart, he could not quite put it into words.

After dismissing the Outer Disciple who had been in front of Ye Zhen, the Sect Deacon took the slips for the manuals Ye Zhen had chosen and said casually, "Hand over your Identity Jade Token. The Five Peaks Divine Fist costs 100 Sect Contribution Points, and the Snake-Wandering Steps costs 150 Sect Contribution Points."

"They cost Sect Contribution Points? Deacon, aren't new Outer Disciples allowed to choose one cultivation manual, one martial skill, and one movement technique for free?" Ye Zhen asked, puzzled.

"The batch from a few days ago? You haven't chosen yet? Hand over your Identity Jade Token." The old Sect Deacon was quite surprised.

Not only that, but the crowd of Outer Disciples behind him was even more shocked. They could never have imagined that the person who dared to challenge the second-ranked Hong Bao was actually a new Outer Disciple who hadn't even chosen his cultivation manuals yet.

Hong Bao's eyes widened, and he pointed at Ye Zhen, cursing angrily, "Damn it, a fresh Outer Disciple dares to give me, the second-ranked on the Earth Ranking, a cold shoulder? You've got a death wish, just wait until I..."

The old Sect Deacon glared, causing Hong Bao's cursing to come to an abrupt halt. "That's right, your free opportunity has indeed not been used. You can take these two manuals directly, but for this Snake-Wandering Steps, I advise you to choose another one!"

"Why?" Ye Zhen asked, confused.

"It is extremely difficult to master. I have guarded the first floor of this Scripture Pavilion for over a decade, and I have never seen a single disciple successfully master the Snake-Wandering Steps."

Ye Zhen, however, was not one to be easily discouraged. "I would like to try."

The old Sect Deacon wore an expression that said he had expected this, turning to retrieve the two manuals and handing them to Ye Zhen. "Every disciple who chose the Snake-Wandering Steps and was advised against it by me reacted just like you. Both are Mortal-tier High Grade manuals, but the 150 Sect Contribution Point price tag on the Snake-Wandering Steps is not there for nothing."

"Thank you for the warning, Deacon, but I still want to try," Ye Zhen insisted.

"Next!" With his advice unheeded, the Sect Deacon said no more, and Ye Zhen turned to leave.

As Ye Zhen turned and passed by Hong Bao, the latter's vicious, baleful voice rang in his ear, "Kid, you just wait. I'll make sure you regret this..."

"I'll be waiting anytime!"

Ye Zhen's single sentence nearly caused Hong Bao's triangular eyes to pop with rage. A newcomer, and yet so arrogant. Just as he wanted to roar something else, Ye Zhen had already drifted away.

***********

ps: Brothers, I have views and favorites, but why are there no recommendation votes? I'm crying, please give me your recommendation votes!

Just a heads up, to make the reading experience more comfortable for you all, I will try my best to update on a schedule from now on. During the new book phase, there will be two updates daily: the first around 2:30 PM and the second around 9:30 PM!