After the wounded soldiers had recovered most of the way, Zhu Youning led the army back to Bian Prefecture.
This time, there was no rush to return, so Zhu Youning took a full twelve days to reach Bian Prefecture.
During those twelve days, Zhu Youning gorged himself on medicinal supplements. Only after he had nearly eaten all the tonics in his system inventory did he finally gain a total of 134 practice waves.
To date, Zhu Youning had accumulated 222 practice waves.
So Zhu Youning opened the system shop and quickly exchanged for two peerless martial arts.
[Wedding Dress Divine Art (Fake): 100 practice waves required for exchange]
[Yin Yang Fusion Art: 100 practice waves required for exchange]
The first one Zhu Youning chose was Wedding Dress Divine Art.
The reason was simple.
One word: strong!
The supreme art of martial Buddhism—Wedding Dress Divine Art!
In I Practice Martial Arts From the Heart, Wedding Dress Divine Art was one of the rare peerless divine arts with four traits.
Take Yin Yang Fusion Art, for example. It had only two traits: Constant Readiness and Yin Yang Harmony.
Wedding Dress Divine Art, however, had a full four traits!
They were Mysterious Origin Heavenly Stellar Earthly Fiend Qi, Indestructible Diamond, As-You-Wish Realm, and Break Then Establish.
Of course, having four traits didn't mean Wedding Dress Divine Art surpassed every other martial art. It meant that its qualities were unusual.
Its defining trait was Break Then Establish.
Wedding dress, wedding dress... The original meaning of a wedding dress was that a woman was never more beautiful than on her wedding day. When she donned her wedding dress, she cast off her old clothes and put on new ones, as if reborn.
Put simply, those who cultivated Wedding Dress Divine Art had to destroy all the power they had cultivated once they reached sixty or seventy percent mastery—or pass it on to someone else—and then start over from scratch.
To make use of its edge, one must first blunt it. That was precisely the principle.
Wedding Dress Divine Art was, from the outset, a martial art meant to be cultivated and then destroyed.
After the power was destroyed, the cultivator would still have a remnant foundation within them. When they started training again, they would make twice the progress with half the effort, and their power would grow even stronger than before.
The more times one dispersed their power and retrained in Wedding Dress Divine Art, the greater its might became.
If one never retrained even once, then Wedding Dress Divine Art would forever remain at seventy percent mastery, unable to reach the pinnacle.
This was actually clear from the system's display.
If Wedding Dress Divine Art had not been retrained, the system would show the suffix "Fake" after its name.
Only after Zhu Youning retrained once would the suffix "Fake" disappear.
And without retraining, Wedding Dress Divine Art had only one trait: Mysterious Origin Heavenly Stellar Earthly Fiend Qi.
As for the other martial art, Zhu Youning chose Yin Yang Fusion Art.
Its function needed no explanation. It primarily acted as a peacemaker.
After cultivating Yin Yang Fusion Art, Zhu Youning could cultivate more internal arts, and he could also make multiple types of true qi coexist, creating a scene akin to "a hundred flowers blooming, a hundred schools of thought contending."
Put simply, if Zhu Youning exchanged for Wedding Dress Divine Art but not Yin Yang Fusion Art, then the Mysterious Origin Heavenly Stellar Earthly Fiend Qi cultivated through Wedding Dress Divine Art would clash with the Northern Dark True Qi from Northern Dark Divine Art.
Both kinds of true qi were exceptionally pure and powerful.
As the saying went, "One mountain cannot shelter two tigers." Northern Dark Divine Art could indeed embrace all martial arts, but only when Northern Dark True Qi was dominant. It would convert all other true qi into Northern Dark True Qi, thereby achieving harmony.
Mysterious Origin Heavenly Stellar Earthly Fiend Qi was also an extremely domineering kind of true qi.
If Zhu Youning wanted to retain both Mysterious Origin Heavenly Stellar Earthly Fiend Qi and Northern Dark True Qi, he had to exchange for an art that could harmonize the two.
That art was Yin Yang Fusion Art.
After exchanging for these two peerless martial arts, Zhu Youning replaced Tiger Roar Art and Nine Yin: Healing Chapter in his automatic cultivation slots with the two new arts.
That meant all four of Zhu Youning's automatic martial arts slots were now filled with peerless martial arts rarely seen in the world.
And from that moment on, his path in martial arts was finally on the right track.
Besides that, Zhu Youning exchanged for another martial art. It wasn't very profound, but it was practical.
[Breath Concealment Technique: 10 practice waves required for exchange]
In the game I Practice Martial Arts From the Heart, the Breath Concealment Technique served a simple, practical purpose: it gave one a chance to skip battles in dungeons. It was an essential art for almost every player.
Once exchanged, it also had a simple, practical use in the real world: concealing one's inner breath.
After cultivating Breath Concealment Technique, as long as he didn't actively fight anyone, it would be very difficult for others to see his true martial arts realm.
After exchanging for three martial arts, Zhu Youning opened his personal panel again.
[Zhu Youning] [Realm: Great Heavenly Rank] [Martial Arts: Tiger Roar Art, Dragon-Snake Spear Technique, Calm Heart Technique, Cold Heart Art, Nine Yin: Healing Chapter, Northern Dark Divine Art, Qi Scripture, Wedding Dress Divine Art, Yin Yang Fusion Art] [Martial Arts Currently Being Automatically Cultivated: Northern Dark Divine Art, Qi Scripture, Wedding Dress Divine Art, Yin Yang Fusion Art] [Qi Scripture: One of the most profound internal arts in the Central Plains. It can cleanse the meridians throughout the body, not only strengthening one's foundation with wondrous effects but also enabling the projection of qi beyond the body. Traits: Tendon and Bone Tempering, True Qi Projection] [Tiger Roar Art: An internal art that gathers the best techniques of various Central Plains sects, with fierce and powerful qi. Trait: Fierce True Qi] [Dragon-Snake Spear Technique: A spear technique Zhu Youning developed from battlefield drills, with fierce and swift moves. Trait: Swiftness] [Cold Heart Art: A relatively basic art that can cultivate cold-natured true qi and can be used alongside Yin Yang Fusion Art. Trait: None] [Calm Heart Technique: Based on seated meditation, it controls breathing to direct the movement of true qi. It is the foundation for practicing more advanced internal arts and has the effect of regulating breathing and easing the body. Trait: None] [Nine Yin: Healing Chapter: The healing chapter of Nine Yin Manual, greatly beneficial for recovery from internal injuries. Trait: None] [Northern Dark Divine Art: The highest art of Xiaoyao Sect. Once cultivated, every acupoint in the body can absorb another's internal energy and transform it into Northern Dark True Qi. Traits: Reversing True Qi, Constant Readiness] [Wedding Dress Divine Art (Fake): The supreme art of martial Buddhism—Wedding Dress Divine Art! This martial art is the Iron-Blooded Banner Sect's guardian divine art. Its founding creators were the Yun and Tie clans, and it contains the might of heavenly thunder and earthly fire, allowing it to sweep through thousands of troops. Trait: Mysterious Origin Heavenly Stellar Earthly Fiend Qi] [Yin Yang Fusion Art: Excellent when used alongside internal martial arts, it can harmonize multiple types of true qi. Traits: Constant Readiness, Yin Yang Harmony] [Breath Concealment Technique: A special art that can conceal one's inner breath to a certain extent. Trait: None] [Talents: Battle-Hardened, Born Savage, Pure Internal Strength] [Current Status: Full of Energy] [Items: Cold Steel Swords*12, Cold Steel Spears*12, Horse-Chopping Sabers*8, Ring-Pommel Sabers*5, Ghost-Head Sabers*4, Green Mandala Flowers*7, Jade Bee Honey Syrup*11, Tiger Bones*21, Bear Gallbladders*14, Schisandra*13, Velvet Antlers*4, Bird's Nests*9, Polygonum Multiflorum*16, Lingzhi Mushrooms*12, Trogopterus Dung*] [Current Practice Waves: 12]
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