Practicing a martial arts manual incorrectly could, at best, leave you muddleheaded and drastically change your temperament. At worst, you could suffer qi deviation and die on the spot!
But Shi Feizhe only had a few wisps of qi in his body. There was no way he could suffer qi deviation.
He didn't even have any "fire" to go astray!
As for becoming muddleheaded or raving mad, he was only trying to get started, so it probably wouldn't be a big problem.
As soon as he felt the slightest thing was wrong, he would stop practicing.
He had to figure this out. Which one was right? Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to eat or sleep in peace!
If he didn't get to the bottom of it, he'd doubt his technique every time he practiced from then on. Even if there was nothing wrong with it, constantly suspecting and second-guessing himself would drive him mad.
Besides, if someone doubted their technique—and doubted themselves—how could they ever gain great power?
Who would choose to practice a martial arts technique just to test whether it was real?
He had no choice, did he?
Once he'd thought it through, Shi Feizhe stopped agonizing over it. He picked up the second copy of True Origin Sword Finger Technique that he'd bought yesterday and began practicing according to its instructions.
It also required him to stand in Sword Stance, though the posture was slightly different. He'd stood for only half an hour when he felt qi stirring. Wisps of True Origin True Qi formed in his Dantian, then merged with the True Origin True Qi he'd produced earlier!
This one was actually right!
This one was actually fucking real!!!
Shi Feizhe was dumbfounded. He couldn't make sense of what was going on.
Both manuals were wrong in dozens of places, and some of those differences were completely contradictory. How the hell could he still practice them successfully?
How could they produce qi?
Shi Feizhe sat there in a daze for a long while, unable to figure out what was going on. He even slapped himself, wondering if he was still asleep.
He stood in the Sword Stance from the second copy of True Origin Sword Finger Technique for another quarter of an hour. More wisps of True Origin True Qi formed in his Dantian, gradually strengthening the mass of qi there.
Qi didn't lie!
So this manual really was real!
Of the three copies he knew about, two were genuine and could be practiced. That meant the third one had to be fake!
As if possessed, Shi Feizhe began standing in the Sword Stance from the third copy of True Origin Sword Finger Technique. A quarter of an hour later, he felt that familiar sensation. Another wisp of True Origin True Qi formed in his Dantian!
Now Shi Feizhe wasn't just a little confused. He was completely flabbergasted.
What was going on?!
The martial world really was full of surprises.
He took the three copies of True Origin Sword Finger Technique and compared them again and again, checking every detail and circling the differences with a charcoal pencil. Then he practiced each of the three versions in turn.
That was when he realized he could even practice all three copies of True Origin Sword Finger Technique at the same time!
So that was it!
Drawing on all the martial arts novels he'd read in his previous life, his imagination ran wild, and at last he understood!
The first copy of True Origin Sword Finger Technique he'd practiced was the master text. The others were supplementary versions. Once he mastered the master text, understanding one thing meant understanding a hundred. Though the supplementary versions had been altered, the overall structure of the technique remained intact, so they could still be practiced!
The proof was that he could practice all three copies of True Origin Sword Finger Technique at the same time, producing three times as much True Origin True Qi in the same span of time!!
No wonder no one had ever managed to practice this True Origin Sword Finger Technique. They first had to find a master text to get started, then seek out other copies to supplement it, like collecting Dragon Pearls, and improve their cultivation speed.
If there were other versions of True Origin Sword Finger Technique out there, he could increase his cultivation speed even further, master the divine art sooner, and roam the world with none to rival him!
The more copies he collected, the faster he could practice!
No wonder this was a legendary art that no one had mastered in decades. It held such a mystery!
No, perhaps someone had mastered it, but they were unlucky and got killed. That was how I got such a bargain!
Sure enough, as a transmigrator, I might not have a system or a cheat, but I've got pretty good luck!
Dying from overwork and then transmigrating to another world was proof enough that my luck was extraordinary!
A boy who loves working overtime can't have bad luck!
Luck is part of strength!
Once he'd figured it all out, Shi Feizhe felt as though the rugged road ahead in the martial world had suddenly opened up before him!
Based on his earlier estimate of the progress he could make with True Origin Sword Finger Technique, ten years of practice would barely get him through the basics. After thirty years, he'd achieve minor mastery, roughly on par with the Confucian scholar and monk he'd seen yesterday. After sixty years, he'd reach great mastery, like an expert at the True Person Realm!
Now, with his cultivation speed tripled, that timeline had shrunk dramatically!
In just over three years, he could master the basics! Ten years would bring him to minor mastery! In twenty years, he could achieve great mastery!
If he also used the methods in Nether Springs Divine Shadow Record to train his Blood Qi Spirit and condense his qi, he might progress even faster! The sooner he achieved minor mastery, the sooner he could travel the world and search for other versions of True Origin Sword Finger Technique.
All he had to do was practice regularly. Once he could protect himself, he'd venture into the martial world and collect copies of True Origin Sword Finger Technique.
Then he could roam the martial world to his heart's content, making this transmigration worthwhile!
With all that in mind, Shi Feizhe could hardly sit still. He hurried to get up and practice in Sword Stance. But once he'd stood for a while, he stopped.
That was because the best time to practice True Origin Sword Finger Technique in Sword Stance was in the morning, with nighttime the next best option. He shouldn't practice in Sword Stance for more than an hour, or he'd inevitably damage his vital essence.
He'd already spent more than an hour standing in Sword Stance while testing the three manuals.
Forcing himself to practice now would do more harm than good. He'd wait until tomorrow morning.
Martial cultivation was about accumulating progress day by day. There was no need to rush.
Shi Feizhe felt a little hungry. He looked up at the sunlight outside the window; the sun was about to set. He'd spent the entire afternoon studying in his room.
Who knew when he'd be able to afford dinner without worrying about the cost?
At that thought, his excitement cooled.
Being invincible in the future wouldn't solve the problem of his three meals a day right now.
He shook his head as if to drive away his hunger, then continued studying the latter sections of the other two copies of True Origin Sword Finger Technique.
The latter sections of True Origin Sword Finger Technique covered how to use the sword fingers and their techniques. Flying Swallow Pierces Clouds, Snowy Wave Sword Surge, Flowing Water Leaves No Trace, and Vast Azure Expanse were all sword-finger moves.
Though the moves differed somewhat between the two manuals, they still made Shi Feizhe's heart surge with excitement. Unfortunately, his qi was far too weak to execute them.
According to True Origin Sword Finger Technique, projecting qi before reaching minor mastery was extremely dangerous. His meridians hadn't been tempered by qi and were still very fragile. The slightest mistake could sever his meridians and make his qi explode through his limbs!
Last time he'd projected his qi and killed that guy, he'd really been lucky as hell!
As he read, Shi Feizhe began to feel tired. He put out the oil lamp and went to sleep.
Tomorrow had its own troubles.
Shi Feizhe: I'm lucky, so I'm strong. That makes perfect sense, right?
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