Skill Buffs

"You can't remember?"

Zhou Chen's eyes, previously hazy from alcohol, instantly cleared as he muttered, "Is someone targeting the Third Young Master with memory-tampering methods?"

That Marquis of Martial Achievement was a staunch royalist who had always been at odds with the Prime Minister in the imperial court; this provocation would surely intensify the conflict between them.

However, no sooner had the words left his lips than Zhou Chen whipped his head around to look at Si Ziyu, his expression strange and bewildered.

"That's not right. Didn't you just say you were responsible for the Third Young Master's safety at that time? If he can't remember, how could a Grandmaster like you forget?"

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A desolate wind blew across the horizon, causing their robes to snap and flutter.

Si Ziyu met Zhou Chen's gaze in silence for two seconds before shaking his head gently.

"Correct. I don't remember either."

"Someone at the Origin Beginning realm?"

"Unclear. It is said that the Prime Minister has had the Shadow Guard investigating for over a year, but there have been no results."

Zhou Chen remained silent for a long time, then downed a large gulp of the pungent liquor and let out a long, weary sigh.

"Tsk, what a troubled autumn. It's a good thing I was transferred to Jingjiang City to protect the Third Young Master."

"Do not forget the task the Eldest Young Master entrusted to us," Si Ziyu reminded him.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chen rubbed his messy hair with a lazy air, waved his hand, and spoke casually:

"It's just teaching the Third Young Master how to cultivate, isn't it? I know, don't worry."

Inside the main bedchamber of the pavilion, Xu Yuan was panting heavily.

At this moment, the various expensive pieces of furniture in the room had been completely dismantled by him.

Of course, with the exception of the bed he had woken up on.

After all, if he dismantled that, Xu Yuan would have no choice but to sleep on the floor.

But to be this exhausted just from tearing apart a house—his stamina was likely inferior to the husky he had kept in his past life.

This frail body had not undergone any major changes despite obtaining the Innate Body; it remained as kidney-deficient as ever.

Cultivating and practicing breathing techniques to accumulate Origin Qi did gradually improve and strengthen one's physique, but since Xu Yuan had only just stepped into the path of cultivation, such changes were not yet obvious.

Standing in place, he took two deep breaths before retreating to the bed to sit cross-legged and regulate his breathing.

As the Blood Origin Heart-Meteor Art began to circulate, Xu Yuan's rapid breathing quickly steadied.

Having officially stepped into cultivation, Xu Yuan had actually discovered many interesting things.

For instance, a complete cultivation technique actually contained many different meridian circulation routes within it, adapted for various situations.

There was one set for healing, one for cultivation, and one for combat, among others.

These several circulation routes complemented each other, yet remained clearly distinct.

Another example: the strength of all cultivators could actually be divided into two stages.

The first stage was the normal state—in layman's terms, when a cultivator was not circulating their technique.

In this stage, the cultivator relied entirely on the hard strength accumulated through past practice.

Just like the few strikes of the scabbard Ran Qingmo had used to tame the White Tiger earlier; Xu Yuan estimated that she had relied entirely on her past accumulation, without any added benefits from a technique.

The second stage was when the cultivator's internal technique began to circulate.

The circulation of a technique would provide a massive boost to the cultivator's strength.

The specific effect of this boost would continuously increase based on the efficiency of the cultivator's circulation.

It was just like when he had faced the vine whipped by Xu Changge earlier.

For the first two lashes, he only needed partial circulation to dodge, but for the third, he had to circulate his power to the limit just to withstand it.

Moreover, Xu Yuan judged that different types of techniques would also result in different levels of this boost.

The more powerful the technique, the stronger the boost it provided.

Since transmigrating, Xu Yuan had practiced two types of techniques, so he could make a comparison.

One was the Lotus Sword Art passed to him by Ran Qingmo, and the other was the current blood-colored grade Blood Origin Heart-Meteor Art.

The boosting effects of the two were simply not in the same league.

Under the enhancement of the Blood Origin Heart-Meteor Art, his endurance, reaction speed, and strength had all faintly exceeded the scope of a normal person.

Of course, The benefits of a technique went far beyond this; there were also some incidental technique moves.

Just like Xu Yuan's blood-colored flames, or Ran Qingmo's Ice Cloud Steps.

The more he cultivated, the more Xu Yuan marveled at the cultivation system of this world.

As for why cultivators could not keep their techniques in a state of constant circulation to maintain peak combat power against sneak attacks:

It was because meridians were fragile things. Unless one possessed a special constitution, a cultivator could not maintain full-power circulation for long periods; prolonged high-load operation would cause damage to the meridians.

The second reason is that the meridian circulation route during combat continuously consumes the Origin Qi within the body.

Adjusting his physical state to its peak, Xu Yuan retrieved two bottles of pills from his Sumeru Ring.

He took one Green Forest Pill and one Pulse Protection Pill, swallowed them, and closed his eyes to enter a meditative state.

Two streams of medicinal power dispersed throughout his body.

A thin film of refined medicine appeared along the inner walls of his meridians, and at the same time, Xu Yuan felt his Soul Intent stimulated, becoming significantly clearer.

The effect was so pronounced that it lived up to its reputation as a divine early-game medicine, one that even Xu Yuan had rarely consumed in the game Cangyuan.

Wasting no more time, he extended his Soul Intent and immediately sensed the surrounding Origin Qi, which had already condensed into a viscous, liquid state.

A trace of surprise surfaced in his heart.

Even in that cave dwelling with a pool of spiritual liquid, he had never felt Origin Qi this dense.

As Xu Changge's personal transport, the Mystic Eagle pavilion was naturally covered in various arrays, among which was a Spirit Gathering Array to aid in cultivation.

The Spirit Gathering Array included the effects of a Spirit Locking Array, but their applications differed greatly.

A Spirit Locking Array was more covert, preventing Origin Qi within a space from leaking out, and was mostly used at spiritual springs or spiritual eyes.

A Spirit Gathering Array, however, drew surrounding Origin Qi inward and was mostly used in open areas; once established, the fluctuations of gathering Origin Qi were easily sensed by others' Soul Intent.

Yet, looking at the liquid-state Origin Qi, even with a Spirit Gathering Array, this room shouldn't have been able to achieve such an effect.

As Xu Yuan pondered this, he did not immediately begin his cultivation, but instead began to drift through the ocean of liquid Origin Qi, searching for its source.

He surmised that there must be a treasure in his brother's bedchamber.

His Innate Soul Body talent manifested once more; amidst the subtle flow of Origin Qi, Xu Yuan finally tracked down the source of the liquid energy.

Opening his eyes, Xu Yuan walked slowly to the center of the room.

After a second of silence, he circulated his cultivation technique, causing blood-colored flames to erupt from his fist, and then he slammed a punch directly into the floor.

"Bang!"

Wood splinters flew through the air, and Xu Yuan was sent flying backward by a powerful rebounding force.

"Thud!"

With a muffled sound, he crashed heavily against the wooden wall.

Xu Yuan felt dizzy and disoriented, and even the cultivation technique circulating within him had been disrupted by the recoil.

When he struggled to his feet and looked up again, he saw a white bead half a foot in diameter revealed beneath the shattered floorboards!