Enthralled! (Seeking votes at the beginning of the month!)

"It's just a fragment of a secret technique, what is there to be so surprised about?" Master Jingzhi's indifferent voice drifted over.

But this is a secret technique!

Even a fragment is of immeasurable value; you said so yourself during your lecture the day before yesterday.

You even said that outside of immortal cultivation sects and large clans, they almost never exist.

And now it's just "nothing to be surprised about"?

Zhou Hao was speechless.

What is a secret technique?

If divine abilities are innate methods created by powerful ancient gods and devils, which only those on the Gods and Devils Body Refining Path can cultivate, then secret techniques are methods created by predecessors and great beings of the Qi Refining Path, which can only be executed using Purple Mansion Origin Power or even immortal power.

Famous divine abilities, such as Law of Heaven and Earth, Kua Fu Chases the Sun, Seventy-Two Transformations, Three Heads and Six Arms, Houyi Shoots the Suns, and so on, allow experts of the Gods and Devils Body Refining Path to crush those of the same rank, or even kill Qi Refining cultivators across higher ranks.

However, the Qi Refining Path also possesses extremely powerful immortal secret techniques that rival top-tier divine abilities, such as Universe in the Sleeve, Great Five Elements Escape, Moving Stars and Changing Dippers, Samadhi True Fire, and so on. If a Qi Refining cultivator can master one powerful secret technique and combine it with a Dharma Treasure, they can stand on equal footing even when facing a Gods and Devils Body Refining expert of the same rank.

It is just that divine abilities are precious and secret techniques are hard to come by. Many cultivators reach the Purple Mansion Realm and, despite being capable of cultivating divine abilities and practicing secret techniques, simply have nothing to practice.

"This Free and Easy Wandering evasion secret technique is one of the supreme evasion techniques in the Dao Sect of the Heavenly Realm. It is widely circulated. If you can survive the tribulation to become an immortal and reach the Heavenly Realm in the future, you will naturally have a chance to obtain the full version."

Master Jingzhi said leisurely, "Of course, the entire Great Xia Dynasty hasn't had a single person successfully survive the tribulation in millions of years, so I don't think you have much of a chance. Although this is a fragment, it is enough to last you until you reach the Void Return Primordial Spirit stage."

The remark about him not having much of a chance choked Zhou Hao so much that he couldn't speak for a long time. He simply ignored him and focused on studying the book in his hands.

Whoosh~~~~

As he continued to flip through the pages, the cultivation information for the Free and Easy Wandering evasion technique was quickly memorized by Zhou Hao.

The foundation of the Free and Easy Wandering evasion technique is footwork. Seeing the countless footprints drawn on the pages, along with the noted directions and the path for true energy circulation, Zhou Hao's eyes lit up.

"This basic movement technique is also based on the sixty-four hexagrams!"

Before he transmigrated, he had learned the Gang Step used for rituals from his master, True Person Daoyi, which was based on the sixty-four hexagrams of the I Ching. Although it differed from the basic footwork of this Free and Easy Wandering technique, they ultimately shared the same origin, which invisibly made the initial entry into the technique much simpler.

Suppressing the urge to immediately try practicing it, Zhou Hao continued flipping forward.

After mastering the basic footwork, the focus shifts to the secret technique of true energy and Origin Power circulation.

The Free and Easy Wandering evasion technique is divided into multiple realms. In addition to unique true energy circulation, it also requires a sufficient level of Dao comprehension to improve.

The first realm can potentially be mastered by a Xiantian Lifeform, requiring the prior comprehension of the True Meaning of Wind.

When executing the evasion technique, a light breeze will surround the body, and the practitioner will feel as if they are using a Light Body Talisman, with their movement speed increasing several times over.

The second realm requires Purple Mansion Origin Power to activate and can only be practiced at the Purple Mansion Realm. Once mastered, one can ride the wind like a Myriad Phenomena True Person, flying two hundred thousand li in a single day—twice as fast as a Purple Mansion Cultivator driving a Dharma Treasure.

If one were to also drive a flying Dharma Treasure, the speed would be enough to rival a Myriad Phenomena True Person.

Furthermore, as one's comprehension of the True Meaning of the Dao deepens and one's Origin Power realm improves, the speed can become even faster.

The third realm requires the Domain Realm of the Dao to practice, and achieving great success requires a complete understanding of the Dao of Wind.

Once mastered, the practitioner can transform into a green breeze, wandering the East Sea in the morning and resting at the West Mountain in the evening. Even a Void Return Earth Immortal would be no more than this.

"There are only three levels of the technique?" Zhou Hao closed the book and frowned, "The third level is incomplete."

"If you can master the first two levels, even if you can't defeat someone in the same major realm, no one will ever be able to catch you if you want to run. If you master the third level, even a Loose Immortal or Earth Immortal won't be able to catch you with just evasion techniques, unless they use spatial displacement. What more could you want?"

Master Jingzhi snorted coldly, "If the first three levels were truly complete, it would have been kept in an immortal sect as a core inheritance."

"Yes, yes. You are right, sir." Zhou Hao realized this as well.

Being able to learn such a secret technique fragment in the Martial Repository, which was only prepared for the Xiantian Lifeforms of the Green Flood Dragon Army, was already a massive stroke of luck. If the first three levels were truly complete, would it ever be his turn to practice it?

"Get lost now that you've finished reading." Master Jingzhi closed his eyes, "Don't disturb my afternoon nap."

Zhou Hao looked up at the sky. It was only the hour of Chen, and the Solar Star had just risen.

An afternoon nap at this time?

He didn't dare to ask.

After all, Master Jingzhi could still be sharp-tongued even after eating the Zhilong Meat he had brought.

But since he had taken the man's evasion secret technique to study, he was truly at a disadvantage.

Putting away the stone basin on the stone table, Zhou Hao was just about to set down the book in his hand.

"I copied that book yesterday, you can take it with you." Master Jingzhi waved his hand, "The introductory footwork is the foundation; you cannot afford the slightest mistake."

Copied last night?

Could it be that this wasn't a technique preserved within the Martial Repository?

Looking at the brand-new book in his hand, thinking of the dense, countless footprints and diagrams, and recalling Master Jingzhi's dark circles, Zhou Hao felt a tremor in his heart.

"Many thanks for the instruction, Master." Zhou Hao bowed to the reclining chair. Seeing that Master Jingzhi didn't respond and seemed to have fallen asleep, he left on tiptoe.

"Not having Origin Power is so inconvenient, I can't even cast a Water Marking spell. Yueying, do you know I spent the entire night writing..."

On the reclining chair, Master Jingzhi seemed to be muttering in his sleep. After a few murmurs, he fell into a deep slumber under the morning sun.

...In the drill ground, the soldiers of the Fifth Squad had already begun their morning training.

With only four days left before departing Jade Dragon City to head out to the island garrison, Zhou Hao had ordered yesterday that all ranks and squads must drill at the hour of the dragon every day to ensure seamless coordination.

"Heave!"

"Ha!"

Seeing his soldiers already beginning their drills under the guidance of the five Guild Leaders, with Deputy Commander Hu Yong supervising from the side, Zhou Hao watched for a while before walking off to the side, preparing to begin practicing the introductory footwork of Free and Easy Wandering.

The manual written by Master Jingzhi was thick, and more than half of it was filled with illustrations of footprints. Not only were they marked with terms like "Guimei" and "Wuwang" to indicate their positions according to the sixty-four hexagrams, but thin lines with arrows connected one footprint to the next, showing how much effort had been put into it.

Zhou Hao took out the book, compared it with the mental image in his mind, and walked through it step by step. Only after confirming he had it right did he begin to practice, coordinating his breathing and the circulation of his true essence according to the recorded cultivation path.

At first, Zhou Hao was like a toddler just learning to walk; he would stumble mid-stride, unable to complete the next step, and would have to come to a halt.

Every time he stopped, the circulation of his true essence would stagnate, his breathing would fall out of rhythm, and he would have to start all over again.

As time passed, Zhou Hao's strange behavior began to attract the attention of the other Xiantian Lifeforms.

"What is the Commander doing? Why isn't he walking properly, just walking in circles?" Shangguan Yun wondered aloud to his sister standing nearby.

"He must be practicing some movement technique, right?" Shangguan Yu watched curiously for a while, but couldn't see anything special about Zhou Hao's footwork.

"Practicing a movement technique?" Shangguan Yun curled his lip. "Those movements look truly ugly."

Ugly?

Zhou Hao also felt that he looked quite ridiculous at the moment.

He had assumed that with his foundation in the Gang Step and his insight into the True Meaning of Wind, mastering basic footwork would be simple.

But right now, Zhou Hao had only one feeling.

Awkward!

The footprints drawn in the book seemed simple enough, but only when he actually tried to walk them did he realize how awkward they truly were.

Some footprints required him to step in an order that defied natural habit, and for those where the distance between positions was too great, he even had to hop on one leg...

On top of that, he had to coordinate his breathing and the circulation of his true essence; it was as awkward as it could possibly be.

After yet another failure, Zhou Hao heard the irrepressible laughter of the soldiers in the distance, and he felt his face grow hot.

However, this only stirred his stubborn streak.

"I refuse to believe I can't do this."

Dismissing the thought that had surfaced in his mind of using the Blue Flower Water Vapor to enter a state of enlightenment, Zhou Hao started practicing from the beginning once more.

"If I have to rely on the Blue Flower Water Vapor for even the most basic introductory footwork, what will I be able to learn once I leave the Blue Flower Space in the future?"

A person must always rely on themselves. No matter how good the water vapor and mist within the Blue Flower Space were, they could only be tools—a trump card for critical moments.

If he relied on them for even his daily cultivation, and this became a long-term habit, what would happen when one day the Blue Flower Water Vapor and mist no longer had any effect?

Would his achievements at that point be his absolute limit?

No!

Absolutely not!

Zhou Hao continued to practice earnestly, following every instruction to the letter.

The surrounding gazes were strange?

So what!

No matter how arduous the process, as long as the result was what he wanted, he didn't care what they thought!

Once, twice, three times... countless times; whenever he failed, he started over from the beginning.

Gradually, the footwork under Zhou Hao's feet began to flow, the true essence within his body moved more smoothly, and his once awkward and comical figure gained a touch of elegance.

Whoosh~~~

A gust of wind suddenly rose from thin air, swirling around him, and his footwork became increasingly proficient and rapid.

The circulation of true essence within Zhou Hao's body accelerated, and his body seemed to lose its weight, as if he could drift away with the wind at the slightest movement.

"Yes, that's it." Zhou Hao's eyes grew brighter and brighter, and with the final step taken—

Swish!

His figure appeared thirty zhang away.

On the ground of the Drill Ground, a massive circle nearly a hundred zhang wide, formed by countless footprints, was clearly visible under the moonlight.

"It's done!" A smile appeared on Zhou Hao's face.

The first stage of the Evasion Secret Technique, Free and Easy Wandering, was finally complete!

"Zhou Hao, are you alright?"

A familiar voice came, pulling Zhou Hao from his immersion.

"Xiangcao?" Zhou Hao turned his head.

He saw Xiangcao standing a few zhang away, accompanied by a woman wearing Black Jade Dragon Armor—it was Yang Yun.

"And Commander Yang Yun, why are you two here?"

"Why are we here?" Yang Yun asked with a faint, teasing smile. "For the past two days, you've been practicing your movement techniques on the Drill Ground like you're possessed, ignoring everyone who calls you. Little Sister Xiangcao has been standing here with you for two full days, too."

"If you don't feel bad for her, I certainly do."

"Sister Yun." Xiangcao's cheeks flushed. "Who was standing with him? I was just worried he might have an accident."

"What kind of accident could a Xiantian Lifeform have?" Yang Yun joked. "Body refiners are all as sturdy as oxen; you can't tire them out."

Sister Yun? Little Sister?

Since when did they get so close?

Wait!

Two days?

I actually spent two days immersed in cultivation?

"Gurgle~~~"

A sound erupted from Zhou Hao's stomach as his hunger pangs set in.

"Have you two eaten? How about... we talk while we grab a bite?"