The moment Wang Qi opened the food box, he was stunned.
The meals issued by the kitchen consisted of four dishes, one soup, and a bowl of white rice. The dishes merely balanced meat and vegetables, and the cooking was only slightly better than a farmer's home cooking—not especially masterful. The only praiseworthy thing was that the food contained spiritual energy, but that was not because the ingredients were special; cultivators had forcibly infused it during cooking.
What truly surprised Wang Qi were the inscribed seals on the food box.
"This kind of food is actually packed in a box like this. Tsk tsk, it keeps things warm and fresh in one—selling a single box outside would be enough to set up a full Manchu-Han Imperial Feast... Oh, there's no Manchu or Han in this world. A Human-Demon Imperial Feast?"
Zhen Chanzi said, "This shows that the Immortal Alliance places great importance on training its disciples."
Having been hungry all day, Wang Qi quickly finished dinner. After returning the food box, bowl, and chopsticks, he wiped his mouth and walked out of the kitchen.
"Unexpectedly delicious." Wang Qi burped and commented, "It clearly looked ordinary. Yet after eating it, my whole body feels wonderfully at ease, like I'm soaking in hot water."
"The spiritual energy in the food seeped into your body through your stomach and intestines, nourishing your physique," Zhen Chanzi said. "As for why it tasted good—hehe, using mana to control the changes in the ingredients, how could it possibly taste bad? Do modern cultivators even have a school devoted specifically to the Way of cuisine?"
"Ancient Method Cultivators had sects this painfully pointless too?" Wang Qi asked.
"A sect would be overstating it. But this old man knows of one lineage that specifically used spiritual beasts and spiritual herbs in cooking. Eating it increased one's cultivation; in truth, it was merely a variation of alchemy. They believed that the better a dish tasted, the greater its efficacy."
With the evening breeze blowing against him, Wang Qi was in high spirits. He wandered casually through the immortal academy, treating it as an after-dinner stroll. Before he knew it, he had arrived before Chuan Gong Hall.
Wang Qi's eyes immediately lit up. "I hadn't planned to study cultivation methods yet. But choosing a day is worse than running into one. Let's go in and take a look!"
Upon entering Chuan Gong Hall, one found a great hall. Several light spheres floated in midair, illuminating the hall as brightly as day. The hall was not especially large. Directly opposite the entrance stood a wall, while more than a hundred meditation cushions were arranged neatly across the floor. Talismans surrounded the cushions, ensuring that disciples seated upon them would not be disturbed by noise. The wall was carved with the foundational cultivation methods of the major sects.
Wang Qi found a cushion and sat down, examining the cultivation methods on the wall.
At the far left was City of Mountains and Rivers' Yan Cheng Xuandi Jing. The mana cultivated through this method was abundant and powerful, and its combat strength was formidable. After cultivating its first layer, one could draw a thread of Earth Fire into the body, nurture fire within the dantian, and add a touch of liveliness to one's dense true yuan.
Wang Qi nodded. "Mm, continental drift theory. City of Mountains and Rivers is indeed founded on geology, geography, and other Earth sciences—though perhaps they should be called 'Divine Land sciences' here?"
Unfortunately, he had not been very interested in Earth sciences in his previous life.
"Liuyun Sect's Yunlan Furi Jue. Fluid mechanics and meteorology too? Lightness techniques and flight." Wang Qi began imagining Liuyun cultivators. White robes fluttering, bodies as light as swallows, elegant and graceful. When fighting, they would definitely be masters at flying kites—ptui ptui, masters at creating romance and moonlit charm, that was more like it. This aesthetic was great!
Unfortunately, his understanding of fluid mechanics in his previous life had only been introductory. It would not be difficult for him to crush middle school students at the immortal academy, but once he formally entered a sect, he would likely be left behind by the other disciples with ease.
Thinking this, Wang Qi simply skipped over the cultivation methods of sects such as Thousand Machines Pavilion and Sky Spirit Ridge, going straight to the introductory methods of the various branches of the Returning to One Alliance and Myriad Dharma Sect.
"Burning Sky Manor—just from the name, it must be thermodynamics." Wang Qi continued reading. "'Jiyan Body Technique'? A body technique? Is there some mistake? Aren't we here to study cultivation methods?"
Startled, Wang Qi carefully read Burning Sky Manor's introductory cultivation method. When he finished, he slapped his thigh. "You can do it like this too?!"
"Jiyan Body Technique" was not meant for combat, nor could it be used to travel a thousand miles in a rush. This cultivation method merely used movement in place of seated meditation. Its core was to directly turn the force generated by bodily movement into the heat energy required by the cultivation method!
At first glance, this cultivation method seemed unremarkable aside from its novel method of practice. In gaming terms, it merely added a few points of burning damage. Yet it was the foundation of all Burning Sky Manor spells, allowing one to switch to any of Burning Sky Manor's peerless cultivation methods. Its prospects were truly boundless.
"Myriad Dharma Sect's Yi Bi Suanjing is rather interesting. It increases computational power? That doesn't sound especially strong. 'The methods of numbers arise from circles and squares; circles arise from squares, squares arise from rulers, and rulers arise from nine times nine, eighty-one'... 'Raise the ruler to gauge height, overturn the ruler to measure depth, lay the ruler down to know distance. Bend the ruler to make a circle, join rulers to make a square. Squares belong to earth, circles belong to heaven; heaven is round and earth is square. Square numbers are the canon; from squares arise circles.'... 'Use a conical hat to depict heaven. Heaven is blue-black, earth is yellow-red; the numbers of heaven are like a conical hat, blue-black on the outside. Vermilion-yellow within, to symbolize the positions of heaven and earth.'..."
As Wang Qi recited Myriad Dharma Sect's cultivation method, a trace of enlightenment came to him.
This cultivation method contained geometric principles, precisely what Wang Qi had studied since childhood in his previous life. Looking at the method, he instinctively began circulating his cultivation!
"Wait!" Wang Qi suddenly woke up. "I haven't finished looking at the other cultivation methods yet. I can't make a rash choice!"
Zhen Chanzi interjected, "You brat! Do you know that you nearly attained enlightenment just now?!"
There was a strong note of frustration at Wang Qi's failure to live up to expectations in Zhen Chanzi's voice. His mind had not been focused on circulating mana, yet his body had begun practicing on its own. This clearly meant that the accumulation in his heart had erupted, and it would have been of immense benefit to a cultivator's understanding of a cultivation method. Ancient Method Cultivators called this "enlightenment." Moreover, such a state was something one could encounter but not seek. Yet this brat had actually withdrawn from it deliberately!
Wang Qi ignored Zhen Chanzi. Stroking his chin, he thought, This uses geometry as its foundation and supplements it with many algorithms, but I can't sense many conceptual elements. The algorithms it embodies are also quite rudimentary, so they probably aren't especially advanced. Next one.
At the very center were the cultivation methods of the Returning to One Alliance's three major sects.
"Yuanli Sect's Tianyuan Zhenjie, Lord of Yuanli's cultivation method. Let me see... Oh, as expected, it's a derivative cultivation method based on the three laws of mechanics. It has no particularly miraculous divine abilities, but its attribute growth is extremely well-rounded! Its movement techniques are flexible too, and it excels at borrowing force to strike back."
"Benlei Pavilion's Yuan Magnetic Great Method and Leiting Jue. The former is neither outstanding in attack nor defense, but it is good at controlling magical artifacts and excels at sticking to opponents. The latter allows one to cultivate many highly aggressive spells."
Lightning attribute—the common attribute of Long Aotian protagonists. Overbearing, high-class, and fashionable enough. Judging purely by aesthetic, Leiting Jue was an excellent choice. However, Wang Qi had another concern.
"I wonder whether Faraday Cages work in this world. Based on known electromagnetic principles, the theory behind this thing is very likely valid!"
A Faraday Cage was a common device on Earth that could isolate the electromagnetic environments inside and outside it. Put simply, if one stayed inside a Faraday Cage, even a hundred thousand volts striking outside would not kill anyone within.
More importantly, this thing was exceptionally easy to construct—an outer shell of good conductor material was enough! Even with Wang Qi's shallow artifact-refining knowledge, he could think of several ways to construct a Faraday Cage inside a magical robe. If Faraday Cages were widespread in this world, he might spend ages charging up a huge lightning attack, only to make the other person's hair stand on end at most!
Wang Qi shook his head and drove this terrifying thought from his mind.
"Guanghua Hall... optics? There are two cultivation methods too. Lieyang Boqi and Tianguang Huawu Jue. It seems one explains optics through wave theory, and the other through particle theory."
Lieyang Boqi, one of Guanghua Hall's introductory cultivation methods. Its momentum was like the great sun and blazing fire. The mana it cultivated was formless yet substantial, allowing one to bring forth the power of the blazing sun with every gesture.
Tianguang Huawu Jue, one of Guanghua Hall's introductory cultivation methods. It refined the illusory into the real, allowing a wisp of light to be forged into substance and transformed into weapons, or to wound enemies invisibly.
After reading them, Wang Qi shook his head. Wave theory and particle theory were both one-sided. Cultivating either of these methods would likely make it difficult to reach the summit.
After finishing Guanghua Hall's cultivation methods, Wang Qi looked around again, then frowned. "There are no cultivation methods from Misty Palace? And these methods all seem rather low-level." After thinking for a moment, he asked Zhen Chanzi, "By the way, old man, what do you think of these cultivation methods?"
Zhen Chanzi said, "This old man does not fully understand the artistic concept contained within these cultivation methods, but judging by my vision and experience alone, they are all extraordinary methods."
Wang Qi noticed that there was a small door on each side of the wall covered in cultivation methods. Only then did he vaguely recall Su Junyu mentioning this before. The cultivation methods at the front of Chuan Gong Hall were all easy to begin and would not hinder one from later switching to other divine methods. Behind Chuan Gong Hall were the true peerless cultivation methods.
Wang Qi passed through one of the small doors and arrived behind Chuan Gong Hall. Both doors led to a hall much smaller than the front hall. Several doors stood on either side, leading to different stone chambers, while a cultivation method was carved into the wall directly opposite the small doors. There were likewise many meditation cushions on the floor of the rear hall.
Wang Qi sat down and examined the cultivation method on the rear hall wall. Yet this time, the instant he saw it, he felt an ancient, vast, and vibrant aura.
This cultivation method contained few words, consisting mostly of profound images. At the top of those images were the four conspicuous characters: Tianyan Tulu.
Tianyan Tulu, Sky Spirit Ridge's peerless cultivation method! Tianyan Tulu was extremely easy to begin, with a threshold even lower than ordinary cultivation methods. Correspondingly, the combat power it added in its early stages was negligible, and it provided no bonuses whatsoever.
Yet despite such major flaws, in Lu Renjia's weighted algorithm, it was the only cultivation method whose weight reached six.
One had to know that internal cultivation methods did not carry much weight in combat. Even the cultivation methods of the Five Excellences sects generally had weights below three, while ancient cultivators' cultivation methods usually had negative weights.
The reason this cultivation method received such a high evaluation was entirely because it could evolve.
The system of Tianyan Tulu was extremely open, and anyone could develop it independently. The cultivation methods developed by different people would also differ. Moreover, this evolution had no upper limit. If one possessed great perseverance and great wisdom, one could even forgo spells and magical artifacts, yet still sweep all under heaven with no opponent to match them. The reason its evaluation was only six was that even Tianze Shenjun, the creator of this cultivation method, had only deduced it to this degree so far.
Furthermore, because the cultivation method could be modified freely, Tianyan Tulu could be cultivated alongside any other cultivation method!
"A cultivation method derived from evolution theory can naturally evolve." Wang Qi was overjoyed. This cultivation method combined fashionable flair, aesthetic, and the superiority of intelligence into one—it could practically satisfy every need!
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