Energy Points: 13
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Even after Great Accomplishment, there were still higher realms. For now, though, Yun Shu could only make progress one step at a time. He felt that while he was still in the Body Refining Realm, he should be able to push his Body Refining Technique a little further. At the very least, he could bring it to the Perfection level.
By then, there would be almost no shortcomings in his Body Refining Realm, and his foundation would undoubtedly be incredibly solid.
At that moment, the sky had just begun to brighten, and disciples were gradually making their way over.
Yun Shu rested for a little while, watching them. A sense of satisfaction welled up inside him.
You've only just gotten up to start cultivating, while I've already broken through another stage.
The gap between us will only grow wider. You'll never have the slightest chance of catching up.
I've already seen the moonlight before dawn. It's not only beautiful, but carries hope, too.
If you don't work hard and push yourself while you're young, then when the time comes, all you can do is wait for fate to butcher you? Live as someone else's underling?
I won't!
With that thought, Yun Shu stood up again.
He continued to hammer away, methodically, at the most basic movements.
What he didn't know was that when he reached Great Accomplishment in the Body Refining Realm, a Grey-robed Elder had slowly opened his eyes on the elevated platform above the training ground in the Menial Disciple Area.
The elder was lean, his robe caked with dust, as if he hadn't moved in a very long time.
His eyes were clouded, but in an instant, they cleared.
He gazed into the distance, toward the east.
"Great Accomplishment, at Body Refining Stage Six?"
A hoarse voice came from his mouth. "Not bad. Let's see where your limit in Body Refining lies."
Then the elder closed his eyes again, returning to his motionless state, like a stone statue.
It wasn't until noon that Yun Shu finally stopped practicing the Body Refining Technique.
Under the blazing sun, his skin had been tanned to an even deeper bronze.
But progress in Body Refining filled his body with surging strength. Once he started cultivating, he forgot all about the heat.
Body Refining Stage Six peak!
Yun Shu had pushed his cultivation to this level, then stopped.
He couldn't keep cultivating. If his realm advanced beyond his control, it might cause damage. Cultivation was never something to rush; he needed time to digest his gains.
The Female Protagonist had spent two months at the Body Refining Stage. Someone without talent like him might as well start following her pace from now on.
Body Refining Stage Seven was already the Late Body Refining Stage.
He'd made it from the middle stage to the late stage in far too little time.
He needed to let things settle a little.
And the best way to do that was, naturally, actual combat.
He didn't immediately go accept a mission. Instead, he planned to improve himself a little more. Since he couldn't raise his cultivation for the time being, he'd have to work on other aspects.
Yun Shu licked his slightly dry lips and took a thread-bound book from his robes.
It was Falling Cloud Palm, one of the most basic Martial Techniques. It was handed out as soon as someone joined the Outer Sect. You could say that every Outer Sect disciple had a copy; some people even used it to prop up a wobbly table.
Still, it was a Martial Technique, wasn't it? His Contribution Points couldn't buy him anything yet, so he might as well learn this one first. He didn't look down on it. There were no weak Martial Techniques, only weak people.
Sword Intent was still his trump card, and he knew too few sword moves—just the one. Even with Sword Intent enhancing it, he couldn't bring out much more power.
Martial Techniques, on the other hand, were different.
Their improvement to his strength was something he could see and feel.
Falling Cloud Palm's strikes descended like clouds, flowing one after another. As Martial Techniques went, it was very simple.
Using it wasn't especially complicated or troublesome, either.
Put simply, Martial Techniques were ways of wielding Qi and Blood Power through fists, feet, or other parts of the body. That was why they were called techniques.
After entering the Qi Condensation Stage, one used Spiritual Energy instead, and those abilities could be called arts or spells.
After reading through it carefully several times, Yun Shu began to practice.
For him, the hardest part of Martial Techniques and cultivation methods wasn't the middle or later stages—it was getting started. As long as he succeeded on the first try, everything after that would fall into place.
Palm winds swept from his hands. It was as if a cloud truly passed before him, carrying a gentle yet deadly force.
Falling Cloud Palm had three stages.
The first was Cloud Transformation Palm, the second was Floating Cloud Palm, and only the third was Falling Cloud Palm. Yun Shu practiced the entire sequence with utmost care, not daring to make the slightest mistake.
"Ding! You practiced Falling Cloud Palm once. Proficiency +1."
"..."
"Ding! You practiced Falling Cloud Palm once. Proficiency +1."
His concentration was absolute.
Clear chimes rang in Yun Shu's mind one after another, and his Falling Cloud Palm advanced by leaps and bounds.
"I can't believe someone's still practicing Falling Cloud Palm. Brings back memories. I think the last time I practiced it was four or five years ago. Haha."
"Yeah, it's way too basic. Sure, it's called a Martial Technique, but it only has a few moves. It's something you learn when you first join, right? Any Martial Technique you randomly redeem from the Scripture Pavilion is better than this."
"Hey, I tossed mine out as soon as they gave it to me. Seeing someone practice it now, though, makes me wonder if there's more to it."
"Good thing you tossed it. There's not much worth practicing in it. I heard even those Martial World experts in the Mortal World don't learn it. They think it's too simple, too."
They were a group of four Outer Sect disciples passing by together.
Seeing Yun Shu practice such a basic introductory Martial Technique struck them as novel, but they didn't mean any harm.
Yun Shu wasn't distracted.
Those prompts continued to flash through his mind. Each one meant his understanding of the Martial Technique had deepened another level.
"Ding! You practiced Falling Cloud Palm once. Current proficiency: 10. You have reached Minor Accomplishment."
Minor Accomplishment?
Yun Shu gave it a try.
"Cloud Transformation Palm!"
His hands moved, leaving a blur of afterimages. A huge palm phantom appeared before him, and he thrust it forward. The air exploded with a thunderous roar.
"Floating Cloud Palm!"
This palm strike was gentler, but the dangerous aura it carried was still enough to make hearts pound.
Finally—
"Falling Cloud Palm!"
He swept his hands lightly, and cloudlike currents descended one after another, flowing without end.
A dense surge of Qi and Blood Power poured out. In the next instant, violent palm winds burst from his hands and slammed forward. Each strike carried the phantom of a huge, blood-red palm wind—a manifestation of his powerful Qi and Blood Power.
He didn't know how many palms he'd thrown. The air in the space before him rumbled, and his hands had even taken on a faint reddish hue. Only when the Qi and Blood surging within him had weakened considerably did he stop.
The four disciples stared, dumbfounded.
That was Falling Cloud Palm?
The Martial Technique they used to prop up tables?
How was that possible?
But there was no doubt about it: even all four of them together would probably be slapped to death by a single one of his Falling Cloud Palm strikes.
"Blood Qi... Blood Qi Projection? Body Refining Peak?" one of the disciples stammered, eyes wide.
Either possibility was a blow to their fragile hearts.
Anyone capable of Blood Qi Projection was a powerhouse at Body Refining Peak. Such people were top experts among the Outer Sect disciples!
Even some of the Outer Sect Deacons were only at Body Refining Peak.
The disciple before them looked to be... sixteen or seventeen?
To have reached this level was no exaggeration—a peerless genius in Body Refining! As long as he had an outstanding Immortal Root, he was sure to enter the Inner Sect!
Though cultivation focused little on Body Refining, powerful Body Cultivators still inspired awe, like towering mountains.
"He shouldn't be at Body Refining Peak, but he must be in the Late Body Refining Stage. I've only seen Qi and Blood this dense on people from the Outer Sect Ranking List."
"So strong. He must be a Senior Brother in the top hundred of the Outer Sect."
"But why would a top-hundred Senior Brother in the Outer Sect practice Falling Cloud Palm?"
"Idiot, didn't you notice this Falling Cloud Palm seems different from the one we know? He must have reached the point of Blood Qi Projection to bring out its full power."
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