Choose One of the Nine Secrets

"Councilor Li, um, may I look before I choose?"

Luo Feng asked, thick-skinned.

He had originally intended to refuse, but after what Hong said, he no longer had the slightest thought of doing so.

In fact, he was now inwardly rejoicing that the Dojo Master had interrupted his later words, otherwise, it would have been truly difficult for him to speak up now.

"You certainly have a high opinion of yourself."

Li Qingxu glanced at Luo Feng; he really dared to say such a thing.

"Hehe, I don't know anything about these, so how am I supposed to choose?"

Luo Feng scratched his head.

"Secret of Movement, Secret of All, Secret of Fighting, Secret of Recovery, Secret of Weaponry."

"These five supreme secret arts each have their own miraculous effects."

Li Qingxu said in a flat tone; he had only collected these five of the Nine Secrets.

As for the other four—the Secrets of Presence, Number, Array, and Foreknowledge—he had not found them in his past life.

However, he was able to touch upon the state of the God-Forbidden Domain.

"Uh."

Luo Feng was somewhat stunned. He said these four secrets had miraculous effects, but what were they?

How was this even harder to choose from than the Dojo Master's treasures?

At least the Dojo Master had pictures and descriptions of the physical items, but Councilor Li had nothing at all. What was he to do?

"The Secret of Movement should be about speed, right? Weaponry should refer to weapons, Fighting? Fighting?"

"But what about the other two?"

Luo Feng felt his brain was about to smoke; guessing the specific effects just by the names was incredibly difficult.

To the side, Hong picked up his teacup and took a silent sip, deep in thought.

The supreme Dao Diagram that Li Qingxu had given him earlier must have been this Secret of Movement.

For such a profound and obscure supreme secret art, there were actually four more.

It seemed the inheritance from the cosmic power that Li Qingxu had obtained was even more terrifying than he had imagined.

Watching Luo Feng scratching his ears and cheeks, a smile appeared at the corner of Li Qingxu's mouth.

And the smile at the corner of his mouth naturally did not escape the eyes of Luo Feng and Hong.

Hong shook his head helplessly.

Luo Feng said with a wry smile: "Councilor Li, I really can't guess. Could you give me a hint?"

"Fine."

Li Qingxu set down his teacup and earnestly gave Luo Feng a brief explanation of these five secret arts.

"Secret of Movement: The ultimate in speed; it can pause time, traverse the void, and when cultivated to the peak, one can step into the realm of the Laws of Time."

"Secret of All: Can increase combat power by ten times; no side effects, but the trigger rate is random."

"Secret of Recovery: Can instantly heal wounds and regenerate from a drop of blood; when cultivated to the peak, one is nearly immortal."

"Secret of Fighting: Can evolve all offensive techniques, simulate the attacks of others, and optimize them into the ultimate combat method; it is known as the number one offensive art in the world."

"Secret of Weaponry: Can control all weapons under heaven, and can even forcibly control living beings."

His voice was calm and heavy, as if it came from ten thousand years ago, or perhaps from ten thousand years in the future.

But to the ears of Luo Feng and Hong, it was as if a supreme deity were whispering in their minds.

After a long while.

"The realm of the Laws of Time?!!"

Hong looked at Li Qingxu with an expression of disbelief.

Over the years, he had excavated many alien civilization ruins on Earth, many of which contained simple descriptions of the universe.

For example, the cultivation realms: after Planetary Level, there is Star Level.

As for higher levels, the information in the ruins only had extremely concise descriptions, stating that one needed to comprehend the laws.

But now, a supreme secret art actually involved the realm of the Laws of Time!

And the most crucial point was that he had comprehended the Secret of Movement!

"No wonder, no wonder."

Hong muttered to himself.

So that Dao Diagram involved the realm of laws; no wonder it was so profound and difficult to comprehend.

"Dojo Master, is there something wrong with the realm of the Laws of Time?"

Luo Feng looked at Hong, whose expression had changed drastically, and asked with extreme confusion.

Hong, the world's number one powerhouse, had actually become so unsettled because of those few words; the contrast compared to his previous god-like state was simply too vast.

"I was wrong."

Hong let out a deep sigh.

When he had previously contemplated that Dao Diagram, he had focused primarily on his own domain rather than the diagram itself.

In four months, his domain had leaped from the second level to the fourth.

He had originally thought his direction of contemplation was correct, as the increase in strength brought by a fourth-level domain was immense.

But now that he knew the Dao Diagram involved the laws of time, he finally understood how foolish he had been.

Li Qingxu held his teacup, silently sipping tea to the side.

He had already said what needed to be said; as for how to choose, that was a matter for Luo Feng.

He had vaguely guessed the reason for Hong's intense reaction.

But as the saying went, cultivation is a personal journey.

"Dojo Master?"

Luo Feng called out, his heart filled with anxiety.

"Luo Feng, there is not much I can do to help you, as I do not know the other four secret arts."

"What I can tell you is that the Secret of Movement is important—extremely, incredibly important—as it involves realms beyond the Star Level."

"As for how you choose, that is up to you."

Hong shook his head, picked up the teapot to pour himself a cup, and downed it in one gulp.

At this moment, he wanted nothing more than to go into seclusion and re-contemplate the Dao Diagram he had memorized.

"Up to me, then."

Luo Feng took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the excitement in his heart, and began to ponder silently.

The Secret of Movement must be the most important, given that it could make the Dojo Master lose his composure to such an extent.

The Secret of Fighting also seemed excellent, touted as the number one in offensive power in the world.

The Secret of Practitioner and the Secret of Soldier should be a tier lower, though perhaps that wasn't the case; after all, Councilor Li had listed them together, implying their effects might be stronger than their descriptions suggested.

His greatest strength was his identity as a Spiritual Reader, while his identity as a martial artist lagged far behind.

Both the Secret of Fighting and the Secret of Movement were highly compatible with him, if he had to choose one.

"The Secret of Movement!"

Luo Feng's gaze was firm.

"Are you certain?"

Li Qingxu looked at Luo Feng and asked.

He had expected Luo Feng to choose the Secret of Fighting, but the result was the Secret of Movement.

"Certain."

Luo Feng nodded heavily.

Choosing one out of five was pure torture; if only he could choose them all.

"Hmm, will you contemplate it here, or?"

Li Qingxu looked at him and asked.

"This, Dojo Master?"

Luo Feng felt a bit awkward; he had no residency rights at the Extreme Headquarters.

"This floor is empty; just take him into any room. I am going into seclusion as well," Hong said.

"Very well, Luo Feng, follow me."

Li Qingxu stood up and led Luo Feng out.

In another suite on the top floor of the Limit Dojo, inside the martial arts hall.

Li Qingxu flicked his sleeve, and a Dao Diagram shimmering with golden divine light hovered in the air above the room.

The diagram was even clearer than the previous one, as if the real Nine-Layer Dao Diagram had descended.

"Hiss!"

Luo Feng looked at the diagram and couldn't help but draw a sharp breath.

Within his field of vision, he felt as if a boundless, vast universe was slowly descending.

Faintly, it seemed as if another vast universe was overlapping upon it.

"But how is one to contemplate this?"

Luo Feng walked to the center of the martial arts hall, sat cross-legged, and looked up at the diagram that resembled a universe.

"This Dao Diagram will persist for one month. How much you can comprehend depends entirely on you."

After Li Qingxu finished speaking, he turned and left the suite.

He still had sixty-three Wood Bud Crystals left unused, and he also needed to go into seclusion for a period of time.

As for the duration of the Nine-Layer Dao Diagram, that was something Hong had told him.