Choosing Cultivation Techniques

A Dreadnought typically has a crew of a thousand.

Other ironclad ships have fewer personnel.

But a fleet of eight ships would certainly have over four thousand people aboard. Of these four thousand, aside from those brave enough to stand on deck and fire their guns to stop them, the rest were basically hiding behind the heavy ship armaments. Huo Yuanjia and Geng Liangchen, carrying Dharma Swords bestowed by Lan Yi, boarded the enemy ships...

Could they kill all four thousand people?

Or rather, Could two Spirit Cultivation Practitioners, relying on Dharma Swords and mind power, kill four thousand soldiers?

The answer was yes.

'A strong Human-form, even if surrounded by thunder fire and ironclad armies in ancient times, would not be exhausted of their mind power without killing at least two thousand soldiers. And if it were a Dharma Form, they could kill their way through an army, coming and going freely. Only an equally powerful expert, or a Human-form practitioner fighting with their life on the line, could stop them.'

'In other words, to exhaust a Human-form Martial Artist, without a good way to restrain them, even if two thousand people died, they would at most only feel dizzy and mentally scattered.'

'Daoist Arts are different, however.'

Lan Yi was currently resting and recuperating in his private cabin.

Images flashed through his mind of his past service in the Artificial Divine Realm and his subsequent martial arts advancements. Due to his excellent foundation and clean background, he was quickly promoted to the rank of centurion. His first battle was to accompany an elite army to suppress a Martial Arts sect that had defied royal orders.

That was the first time Lan Yi witnessed the grand spectacle of Martial Artists confronting a formidable army.

To ordinary people, those Human-form Martial Artists were like Vajra Arhats or heavenly generals. Not only were they immensely strong, but they could also control wind, earth, and fire, manipulate water to form ice, wield thunder fire, and possess all sorts of incredible abilities.

Then...

The army steamrolled over them, and the Martial Arts sect, along with their ancestors, turned to dust.

The enfeoffed Daoists, by casting Daoist Arts, weakened the besieged Martial Artists one by one with ease, and then easily killed them. While this was partly because the sect lacked any experts above the Dharma Form realm, it also demonstrated the advantages of Daoist Arts in another aspect.

Lan Yi did not favor Daoist Arts over Martial Arts, nor did he despise Martial Arts.

On the contrary, as a psionic cultivator, he cultivated both Daoist Arts and Martial Arts, and thus understood the terrifying power of Martial Arts when cultivated to a profound level.

The journey would take some time.

He did not waste this travel time, using [Cang Hua] to burn white paper and list out the Martial Arts techniques and resources he would need in the future.

As for Geng Liangchen and Huo Yuanjia.

According to Lan Yi's estimation, even if they were outmatched, as long as they didn't act foolishly, they wouldn't die. Spirit Cultivation Practitioners were not easily killed. Of course, if they were extremely unlucky and happened to be hit by a cannonball, then they could only blame their bad luck. War, after all, was a matter of life and death.

Lan Yi's attainments in Martial Arts were rather ordinary.

Of course, this "ordinary" was in comparison to the Martial Arts prodigies before his rebirth. Cultivating Martial Arts depended on aptitude, and many true Martial Arts techniques required talent.

Currently, Lan Yi's Martial Arts cultivation was at the Spirit Cultivation Human-form stage.

He had not actually practiced Martial Arts.

The reason he possessed Human-form cultivation was twofold: firstly, his inherent experience was sufficient; even without practicing Martial Arts techniques, his willpower, amplified by psionic energy, could form mental attacks. Secondly, [Cang Hua] had modified his Innate Qi, and after achieving great success in Qi Cultivation, he naturally attained the Human-form.

In essence, Lan Yi's Martial Arts cultivation was a byproduct of his Daoist Arts cultivation, and even his mental landscape was a scene of primal, violent lightning.

Three sheets of white paper.

They floated in the air before Lan Yi.

At the top of each sheet was a major heading.

[Nansheng Sect], [Shenxiao Peak], [North Demon Sect]

These were the three major powers Lan Yi had encountered and trained with in the Artificial Divine Realm. His Daoist Arts largely originated from these three sects. It was a pity that although the names of these three sects still existed, they had long since been destroyed, with only scattered legacies remaining. Lan Yi had searched for them many times without success.

Since his Daoist Arts originated from these three sects, if he were to cultivate Martial Arts, Lan Yi also intended to choose from their legacies.

The Martial Arts of the [North Demon Sect] were the first to be excluded.

The reason was simple: the true Martial Arts legacies of the [North Demon Sect] were too fragmented, and they primarily used Golden Radiance Power, that is, nuclear energy, to temper their bodies and achieve their killing moves.

Golden Radiance Power was too overbearing and extreme.

If he were to cultivate these Martial Arts, Lan Yi would basically have to bid farewell to Daoist Arts in the early stages. His life force and psionic energy would be damaged, and his Solidified Daoist Arts would be completely destroyed.

Daoist Arts were so convenient and useful.

Lan Yi was not about to pick up sesame seeds and discard a watermelon.

This left him to choose his true Martial Arts legacies from the [Nansheng Sect] and [Shenxiao Peak].

This also involved some troublesome matters.

He remembered some of the true Martial Arts legacies in his memory, but some, even if remembered, were useless. These involved the inheritances of predecessors, Void Cultivation willpower, and essential true techniques, which might require a special trip to the corresponding Artificial Divine Realm.

"As expected, cultivating Martial Arts is troublesome," Lan Yi muttered with a slight complaint, though his expression was calm and composed.

He had already made his choice.

The page for the [North Demon Sect] was instantly burned to drifting ashes by [Cang Hua]. On the pages for the [Nansheng Sect] and [Shenxiao Peak], numerous small characters were crossed out, leaving only two Martial Arts techniques.

[Nansheng Sect] True Martial Art: [Dragon Sparrow Swallowing Whale Diagram]

[Shenxiao Peak] True Martial Art: [Primordial Magnet Star Dou Technique]

Both of these true Martial Arts techniques were of the type that would not affect the operation of his life force and psionic energy, and both had aspects that complemented the casting of Daoist Arts. One focused on the application of Innate Qi, and the other on the tempering of the mental landscape.

As for combat, They are all about the same. Before Void Cultivation, they are worth using for amusement, and it's fine to bully some youngsters. If I were to return to the main world and didn't want to leave a trace or make a big scene, Martial Arts would actually be much more convenient than Daoist Arts. Anyway, Lan Yi doesn't care; he'll use whichever is more effective.

"The Dragon Sparrow, inherently divine, lost its mother and was left in the mortal realm. Its heart is at ease, without contention, achieving nothing in a hundred years. One day, it rises with the wind, silencing the sun and moon. It preys on dragons and whales, its will stirred by wind and rain..."

[Cang Hua] paused while writing.

Lan Yi tilted his head slightly.

Zhao Sikong's figure quietly appeared at the cabin door. He moved stealthily like a ghost, and few people, besides Lan Yi, could track his movements.

"Immortal Master, something has happened."

"What is it?"

"A fleet of ships has arrived near us. It should be part of the foreigner's southern fleet that has detoured. They are preparing to sneak attack Puhai."

"Go and handle it." Lan Yi knew the foreigners were planning to bombard the port and might even shell the city. Since they encountered them, killing them was the obvious course of action.

"As Immortal Master commands." Zhao Sikong cupped his hands.

"Wait a moment." Lan Yi suddenly changed his mind. "I'll do it. This ship is too stuffy. It's a good chance to stretch my muscles and give them some propaganda material."

The "them" Lan Yi referred to were the reporters and gentry who, whether willingly or not, had been invited onto the ironclad ship by the Martial Artists. They had already accumulated plenty of propaganda material about the Martial Artists, but very little about Immortal Master Lan Yi.

They couldn't keep writing tabloid gossip about Immortal Master Lan Yi forever, could they?

It just so happened that Lan Yi also wanted to experiment with the synergy between his two Martial Arts and Daoist Arts.