Fist Techniques, The Three Major Schools of Spirit Refinement Cultivators

After testing the strength of this Mortal Breaking Realm movement technique.

Gu Cheng steadied himself and turned his gaze to his personal attribute panel.

[Host: Gu Cheng]

[Cultivation:

Qi Refinement: Qi Blood Ninth Layer

Body Refinement: Mortal Breaking Seventh Layer

Spirit Refinement: Mortal Breaking First Layer]

[Remaining Lifespan: 805 years]

[Learned Martial Arts:

Raging Bull Fist: Minor Accomplishment

Mortal Breaking · Blood Shadow Blade Technique: Ultimate Intent (Greedy Wolf Blood Blade)

Mortal Breaking · Flowing Cloud Riding Wind Art: Ultimate Intent (Fox Shadow Traces)

Qi Blood · Wind Thunder Blade Technique: Ultimate Intent (Lightning Cyclone Slash)

Qi Blood (Rare) · Hundred Refinements of the Azure Dragon: Grand Perfection

Mortal Breaking · Blood Blade Scripture: Great Accomplishment

Pure Heart Manual: Ultimate Intent (Bewitching Visage)]

Under normal circumstances.

Before a martial artist becomes an Innate Grandmaster, their cultivation primarily focuses on Qi Refinement, with Body Refinement and Spirit Refinement as supplementary.

For someone like Gu Cheng, whose Body Refinement and Spirit Refinement have both reached the Mortal Breaking Realm, while his Qi Refinement remains stuck in the Qi Blood Realm, he is truly an anomaly among anomalies.

Perhaps in the eyes of others.

Since Gu Cheng has not yet condensed a Qi Sea, he is, at most, a martial artist at the peak of the Qi Blood Realm.

But in reality, with his Body Refinement and Spirit Refinement cultivation, coupled with two Mortal Breaking Realm martial arts that have reached the pinnacle of Ultimate Intent.

Gu Cheng's current true combat power already has few rivals in the Mortal Breaking Realm.

Even when facing an Innate Realm Grandmaster, he is not without a chance to contend with them!

In a sense.

Gu Cheng could be considered a highly unconventional "level-stuck expert."

Just the list of martial arts, all either Ultimate Intent or Grand Perfection, would be enough to shock anyone who heard it.

"But speaking of which...

There seems to be one martial art on my panel that looks really out of place?"

Gazing at the Raging Bull Fist, which was only at Minor Accomplishment.

Gu Cheng's brow furrowed slightly.

With his perfectionism kicking in, he immediately poured his lifespan into it.

Given Gu Cheng's current martial arts realm, this extremely rudimentary fist technique presented no difficulty whatsoever.

In less than a year, he easily cultivated it to Grand Perfection.

He then spent another ten years of lifespan to push this fist technique all the way to Ultimate Intent.

[Raging Bull Fist: Ultimate Intent (Bull Demon Strength)]

[Bull Demon Strength: You have mastered a unique power-exerting technique. When you unleash a punch, it is as if a Bull Demon has descended, and your own strength has been slightly enhanced.]

"Hmm, this passive isn't bad. It's a nice bonus."

Gu Cheng felt the changes within his body, and his previously furrowed brow immediately relaxed.

With this, The only martial art on him that hadn't reached Grand Perfection was the second volume of the Blood Blade Scripture.

There was no need to rush that either.

Once Shopkeeper Song delivered the last few medicinal ingredients, and Xiao Yun's sister refined the Boiling Blood Powder.

With the infusion of his eight hundred years of lifespan, everything would fall into place naturally.

The subsequent matters would be even simpler.

First, he would hunt down and kill those two Demon Kings on Black Wind Mountain to make soup, settling old scores in one go.

Then, he would find and utterly destroy that mysterious remnant of the Rebirth Sect.

Changle County, this "starter village," would essentially be cleared with flying colors, right?

The next day, in the early morning.

Xu Nianxue was hunched over her desk, continuing to transcribe the Mortal Breaking Realm martial arts she hadn't finished writing.

However, judging by her unfocused gaze and messy brushstrokes, it was clear she was distracted.

At that moment, Gu Cheng gently knocked on her door.

He came in carrying a rosewood food box, and as usual, began "feeding the pet."

"..."

Miss Xu glanced at the food box in the young man's hand, pursed her lips, and her expression turned slightly unnatural.

Yesterday's "dark history" was simply too embarrassing.

Even with her carefree nature, she felt too ashamed to speak of it, so she merely feigned composure, acting as if nothing had happened.

Xu Nianxue's gaze shifted upwards to her "feeder" and she immediately noticed the change in Gu Cheng.

The faint pressure she had sensed from him before was gone.

In its place was a demeanor that felt as refreshing as a spring breeze, making him exceptionally pleasant to look at.

If she didn't feed him daily and know him inside and out, she might have instinctively mistaken him for a gentle, harmless, and handsome young master.

Not only that.

Miss Xu also keenly sensed that Gu Cheng's eyes were vastly different from usual.

In those deep, ink-like eyes, a divine light was condensed and unmoving, possessing a certain rounded quality of returning to simplicity.

Clearly, his divine sense had undergone a qualitative improvement!

"You... your Spirit Refinement realm has broken through to the Mortal Breaking Realm?"

Xu Nianxue's small mouth parted, and she looked at the young man with a face full of astonishment.

"Mhm."

Gu Cheng placed the food box on the table and nodded calmly.

After all, he had spent nearly two hundred years in the illusion, refining his mind, and had successfully overcome his inner desires.

Even the Pure Heart Manual had been pushed to the Ultimate Intent realm, so his Spirit Refinement cultivation breaking through to Mortal Breaking was a natural progression.

"..."

Xu Nianxue remained silent, her fair and delicate face filled with complex emotions.

Before, Gu Cheng had condensed his divine sense in just one night.

She had only thought he was playing the fool to hide his strength, that he must have practiced other Spirit Refinement methods before, and perhaps for many years.

But even if Gu Cheng had been refining his spirit since he was in his mother's womb, without a master's guidance or sufficient cultivation resources, to break through to the Mortal Breaking Realm in his early twenties.

Such innate Spirit Refinement talent, even across all twelve prefectures of Yun Province, would definitely rank in the top ten!

Xu Nianxue couldn't help but sigh softly.

This feeling of being ruthlessly crushed in the area she was most skilled at was truly difficult to accept.

Her mood soured.

Xu Nianxue quickly opened the food box, grabbed a soup dumpling, and stuffed it into her mouth.

Comforted by the delicious food, the young girl's gloomy mood finally eased slightly.

She swallowed the food in her mouth and asked Gu Cheng, "Young Hero Gu, since your Spirit Refinement cultivation has reached the Mortal Breaking Realm, have you decided which path you'll take?"

"Path?" Gu Cheng's gaze flickered.

"Are there even further divisions within Spirit Refinement?"

"Naturally!" Xu Nianxue nodded as if it were obvious.

"Spirit Refinement cultivators have a wide variety of methods, but it's better to master one skill than to dabble in a hundred.

If you don't pinpoint a direction for specialization, it's easy to end up scattered and waste your time and talent."

Seeing Gu Cheng's bewildered expression, Miss Xu's lips curved slightly, and the sense of superiority she hadn't felt in a long time finally returned.

In her good mood, she began to patiently enlighten Gu Cheng.

Gu Cheng sat quietly to the side, like a primary school student.

Listening to Teacher Xu's earnest teachings, he quickly gained a general understanding of the various paths of Spirit Refinement.

Generally speaking, Spirit Refinement cultivators are mainly divided into three major paths:

Weapon Control, Spellcasting, and Demon Servants.

The Weapon Control path is the easiest to understand.

This style of combat relies entirely on divine sense to control magical artifacts and talismans, making it a pure item-based approach.

Because it's relatively easy to get started with, it's the most popular path. However, talismans and magical artifacts can be quite expensive.

The Spellcasting path is also easy to understand.

It primarily uses divine sense to cast spells, achieving effects like summoning wind and rain or controlling lightning, similar to a mage in a game.

The renowned Thunder Law of the Xu Family in Yun Province is a prime example of Spellcasting.

As for the Demon Servant path, it's a bit more unique.

It requires using divine sense to refine the souls of deceased demons into one's own servants, roughly equivalent to a summoner in a game.

"Generally speaking, Spirit Refinement Cultivators who can control Demon Servants are usually stronger."

Xu Nianxue took a sip of hot tea and said earnestly:

"If their divine sense is strong enough, they can control multiple Demon Servants simultaneously, easily taking on several martial artists of the same rank alone. They are practically invincible among their peers!"

"That powerful?" Gu Cheng's eyes lit up.

Compared to the direct and reckless fighting style of Body Refinement Cultivators.

This tactic of summoning a horde of subordinates and overwhelming opponents with numbers sounded much more impressive.

"It's powerful, but the process of refining Demon Servants is incredibly difficult."

Seeing the youth's interested expression, Xu Nianxue quickly poured cold water on his enthusiasm.

"For a Mortal Breaking Realm Spirit Refinement Cultivator to refine a usable Demon Servant, it would take at least twenty years!"

"Those exceptionally powerful and famous Demon Servants known in the martial world take centuries to refine. They are usually passed down through generations by major powers and influential families."

"If you have no background or influence, it's best not to waste your time on this."

Oh? Waste time?

I love wasting time!

After hearing Miss Xu's advice, Gu Cheng became even more interested.

Based on his previous cultivation experience.

Techniques that require a significant amount of time often possess considerable power.

For him, who possessed the Life-Spending System, this was practically a tailor-made divine skill!

Besides, why must he choose only one of the three major paths of Spirit Refinement?

Only children make choices; a cheater takes them all!