Choose One of the Nine Secrets

"Councilor Li, um... can I choose after taking a look?"

Luo Feng asked shamelessly.

He had originally been planning to refuse, but after hearing Hong's words, he no longer had even the slightest desire to turn the offer down.

In fact, he was now glad the Dojo Master had interrupted him before he could finish speaking. Otherwise, he really wouldn't have known how to bring it up.

"You've got quite the nerve."

Li Qingxu glanced at Luo Feng. He really dared to say that.

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

Luo Feng scratched his head.

"The Secret of Xing, the Secret of Jie, the Secret of Dou, the Secret of Zhe, and the Secret of Bing."

"Each of the five supreme arts has its own unique effects."

Li Qingxu spoke calmly. He had only managed to collect these five of the Nine Secrets.

As for the other four—the Secrets of Lin, Shu, Zu, and Qian—he hadn't found them in his previous life either.

But he was able to touch upon the God-Forbidden Domain.

"Uh..."

Luo Feng was a little dazed. Li Qingxu said the five secrets each had their own unique effects, but what were they?

Choosing was even harder than picking from the Dojo Master's treasures.

At least the Dojo Master had pictures of the actual items and descriptions. Councilor Li had given him nothing. What was he supposed to do?

"The Secret of Xing should be about speed, right? Bing probably means weapons. Dou... fighting?"

"But what about the other two?"

Luo Feng felt as if his brain was about to smoke. Trying to guess their exact effects just from their names was too hard.

Nearby, Hong lifted his teacup and took a quiet sip, pondering to himself.

The supreme Dao Diagram Li Qingxu had given him earlier must have been the Secret of Xing.

There were still four other supreme arts this profound and abstruse, this difficult to comprehend.

It seemed the inheritance Li Qingxu had obtained from a cosmic power was even more formidable than he'd imagined.

Watching Luo Feng scratch his head and fidget, a smile appeared at the corner of Li Qingxu's mouth.

Naturally, neither Luo Feng nor Hong missed it.

Hong shook his head helplessly.

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

"Very well."

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

"Secret of Xing: the pinnacle of speed. It can halt time and traverse the void. Cultivated to its peak, it can reach into the domain of the Law of Time."

"Secret of Jie: increases combat power tenfold, with no side effects, but activates at random."

"Secret of Zhe: instantly heals injuries and can regenerate from a drop of blood. Cultivated to its peak, it can make you nearly immortal."

"Secret of Dou: can evolve any offensive technique and imitate other people's attacks, refining them into the ultimate methods of combat. It is hailed as the greatest offensive art in the world."

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

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

But to Luo Feng and Hong, it sounded as if a supreme deity were murmuring in their minds.

After a long while—

"The domain of the Law of Time?!"

Hong stared at Li Qingxu in disbelief.

Over the years, he had uncovered many ruins left behind by alien civilizations on Earth. Some of them contained brief descriptions of the universe.

For example, the cultivation levels: after Planetary Level came Star Level.

The ruins offered only extremely brief descriptions of the higher levels, saying that one had to comprehend the laws.

But now, a supreme art actually involved the domain of the Law of Time!

And, most importantly, he had comprehended the Secret of Xing!

"No wonder. No wonder..."

Hong murmured.

So that Dao Diagram involved the domain of the laws. No wonder it had been so profound and difficult to understand.

"Dojo Master, is there something special about the domain of the Law of Time?"

Luo Feng asked in great confusion, looking at Hong, whose expression had changed dramatically.

Hong, the strongest person in the world, had become so unsettled over just a few words. The contrast with his earlier, almost godlike composure was staggering.

"I was wrong."

Hong let out a deep sigh.

When he had previously tried to comprehend the Dao Diagram, he hadn't focused on the diagram itself. Instead, he had focused on his own Domain.

In four months, his Domain had leapt from the second level to the fourth.

He had thought he was on the right track. After all, reaching the Fourth-Level Domain had brought an enormous increase in strength.

But now that he knew the diagram involved the Law of Time, he understood how foolish he'd been.

Li Qingxu held his teacup and quietly savored his tea.

He had already said what needed to be said. Choosing was up to Luo Feng.

Hong's intense reaction had given him some idea of what was going on.

But as the saying went, cultivation was a personal matter.

"Dojo Master?"

Luo Feng called out anxiously in his heart.

"Luo Feng, there's not much I can do to help you. I don't know the other four arts, after all."

"All I can tell you is that the Secret of Xing is very important—extremely important. It concerns realms beyond Star Level."

"How you choose is still up to you."

Hong shook his head, picked up the teapot, poured himself a cup, and drank it in one gulp.

At that moment, he wanted to go into seclusion and start comprehending the Dao Diagram he had memorized all over again.

"My choice..."

Luo Feng took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his excitement as he quietly considered his options.

The Secret of Xing was probably the most important, given how flustered it had made the Dojo Master.

The Secret of Dou also seemed excellent. It was hailed as the greatest offensive art in the world.

The Secrets of Bing, Zhe, and Jie seemed to be a tier below—but perhaps not. After all, Councilor Li had listed them together, which suggested their actual effects were probably even greater than the descriptions implied.

My greatest strength is being a Spiritual Reader, while my martial artist side is much weaker.

The Secrets of Dou and Xing both suit me well. If I had to choose one of the two...

"The Secret of Xing!"

Luo Feng's gaze was resolute.

"Have you decided?"

Li Qingxu looked at Luo Feng and asked.

He had thought Luo Feng would choose the Secret of Dou, but instead, he had chosen the Secret of Xing.

"I have."

Luo Feng nodded firmly.

Choosing one out of five was torture. If only he could choose them all.

"Good. Do you want to comprehend it here, or...?"

Li Qingxu looked at him and asked.

"Well... Dojo Master?"

Luo Feng felt a little awkward. He didn't have the right to stay at Extreme Headquarters.

"No one's using the rooms on this floor. Take him to whichever one you like. I'm going into seclusion, too."

Hong spoke up.

"All right. Luo Feng, come with me."

Li Qingxu stood and led Luo Feng out.

In the training hall of another suite on the top floor of the Limit Dojo—

Li Qingxu swept his sleeve, and a Dao Diagram shimmering with golden radiance appeared overhead.

This Dao Diagram was even clearer than the previous one, as if the nine heavens had descended into the room.

"Gasp!"

Luo Feng looked up at the diagram and couldn't help drawing in a sharp breath.

In his sight, he felt as if an immense, boundless universe were slowly descending.

Faintly, it seemed that another vast universe was overlapping it.

"But how am I supposed to comprehend it?"

Luo Feng walked to the center of the training hall, sat cross-legged, and gazed up at the Dao Diagram that resembled a universe.

"This Dao Diagram will remain for one month. How much you can comprehend is up to you."

After saying that, Li Qingxu turned and left the suite.

He still had sixty-three Wood Bud Crystals he hadn't used, so he needed to go into seclusion for a while as well.

It had been Hong who told him how long the Nine-Layer Dao Diagram would last.