You've Learned It Too

The Vice Minister of War's Mansion

When Chen Yuan heard what had happened at the Ten Thousand Stars Sect's Apprenticeship Ceremony, the sword slipped from her hand and clattered to the ground. She didn't even notice.

"First level of Qi Refining?" Chen Yuan murmured to herself. The image of Zhou Cheng she'd seen on the road last time came to mind. How had that seemingly frail man actually broken through to the first level of Qi Refining?

The maid beside her stammered, "I heard the Minister of Rites just went to Zhou Mansion with his wife and youngest daughter."

The Minister of Rites' youngest daughter was about the same age as Chen Yuan, but surpassed her in every way. At fourteen, she had already reached the ninth level of Body Refining Realm. The Minister of Rites had brought his youngest daughter to visit Zhou Mansion. The reason was obvious.

Chen Yuan said nothing. She picked up the sword from the ground and continued practicing. Yet as she performed the Jade Maiden Sword Technique, she somehow couldn't summon the feeling of a jade maiden.

Zhou Cheng was in his new courtyard, sparring with Qin Meng and Lin Ru in saber techniques, fist techniques, and footwork. But now that his three martial skills had reached the Mastery Realm, sparring with Qin Meng no longer helped him at all.

Did that mean he needed to spar with someone who had martial skills at the Perfection Realm to improve quickly?

He wondered whether his master, Xing Yao, had any martial skills at the Perfection Realm.

Zhou Cheng pondered.

Since sparring with Qin Meng and the others no longer helped, Zhou Cheng went to the study and began leafing through the Ten Thousand Stars Sect Rules.

There weren't many rules in the book. Besides outlining some of the sect's regulations, it also went into detail about the various mission ranks and rewards.

As an inner disciple of the Ten Thousand Stars Sect, Zhou Cheng enjoyed considerable freedom and could come and go from the sect as he pleased.

At the same time, the rewards for completing missions issued by the sect were quite generous.

After finishing the Ten Thousand Stars Sect Rules, Zhou Cheng picked up a book titled All Under Heaven.

It detailed the Great Feng Dynasty and the neighboring nations, along with the martial arts and experts of their major sects and gangs.

All Under Heaven was a thick book, and it took Zhou Cheng more than an hour to finish it.

Only then did he look over the three martial arts manuals the Ten Thousand Stars Sect had issued that day.

An internal cultivation method called the Star Gathering Great Method.

A fist technique called the Star-Splitting Fist.

And a movement technique called the Spirit Monkey Hundred Transformations Movement Technique.

The Star Gathering Great Method sensed the power of the stars and drew it into the body, transforming it into internal energy. The Star-Splitting Fist had eighteen moves and decent power. Zhou Cheng had seen Jiang Shuo use it the day before.

What interested Zhou Cheng was the Spirit Monkey Hundred Transformations Movement Technique. It had something in common with the Wind-Facing Willow Steps, but was also different. The Wind-Facing Willow Steps was purely a movement technique, while the Spirit Monkey Hundred Transformations Movement Technique combined movement, palm, and fist techniques.

The Spirit Monkey Hundred Transformations Movement Technique had a total of 108 moves, and the further one progressed, the harder they became to master.

Zhou Cheng turned the pages one by one.

His memory was excellent now. After reading each page, he had already memorized every move on it.

At last, Zhou Cheng finished reading the entire Spirit Monkey Hundred Transformations Movement Technique.

Once he had committed all 108 moves to memory, Zhou Cheng noticed that a new martial skill had appeared in the system's character panel.

Host: Zhou Cheng

Wind-Facing Willow Steps: Mastery Realm (Progress 1)

Roaming Dragon White Tiger Fist: Mastery Realm (Progress 1)

Demon-Subduing Saber Technique: Mastery Realm (Progress 1)

Spirit Monkey Hundred Transformations Movement Technique: Beginner (Progress 1)

The Spirit Monkey Hundred Transformations Movement Technique had already begun cultivating automatically.

Because the Spirit Monkey Hundred Transformations Movement Technique shares similarities with the Wind-Facing Willow Steps, its cultivation speed has increased greatly under the latter's inspiration.

At the sound, Zhou Cheng looked over. The cultivation progress of the Spirit Monkey Hundred Transformations Movement Technique had already risen to 2.

And it was continuing to increase at an astonishing speed.

At this rate, it should reach the Proficient Realm by tomorrow morning.

Seeing this, Zhou Cheng picked up the Star-Splitting Fist manual and finished reading it as well.

His martial arts could cultivate automatically anyway, so learning another fist technique couldn't hurt.

Once Zhou Cheng finished reading the Star-Splitting Fist, it appeared under the martial arts section.

Congratulations, Host. You have successfully learned the Star-Splitting Fist.

The Star-Splitting Fist challenged the Roaming Dragon White Tiger Fist. After a fierce clash, the Star-Splitting Fist was utterly defeated and merged into the Roaming Dragon White Tiger Fist.

With the Star-Splitting Fist's integration, the Roaming Dragon White Tiger Fist's foundation has greatly improved. Cultivation progress increased by 1.

The series of notifications left Zhou Cheng stunned.

Now that the Roaming Dragon White Tiger Fist had reached the Mastery Realm, its automatic cultivation had slowed to a crawl. Could learning a new fist technique really increase its cultivation progress by 1?

If so, wouldn't learning another ninety-eight fist techniques let the Roaming Dragon White Tiger Fist break through to the Perfection Realm?

Zhou Cheng's heart began to race.

What puzzled him was why the Spirit Monkey Hundred Transformations Movement Technique couldn't merge into the Wind-Facing Willow Steps.

The next day, the weather was bright and clear.

Zhou Cheng went to the palace where Xing Yao lived.

Xing Yao's face was ruddy and beaming. Seeing Zhou Cheng, he smiled warmly. "You're here. Sit." He then sat down with Zhou Cheng in the front hall.

"Did you rest well last night?" Xing Yao looked at Zhou Cheng with affectionate eyes. "Have you read the three martial arts manuals the sect gave you?"

Zhou Cheng replied, "I've read all three manuals."

Xing Yao didn't think much of Zhou Cheng having read them. He smiled and said, "The Star-Splitting Fist is one of the strongest acquired martial skills in our Ten Thousand Stars Sect."

"It's a little difficult to comprehend. If there's anything you don't understand, come ask me anytime."

Zhou Cheng thought for a moment, then said, "Master, actually, I've already learned the Star-Splitting Fist."

Xing Yao nodded, then suddenly froze and stared at Zhou Cheng in disbelief. "What did you say? You've learned it?"

Zhou Cheng answered honestly, "This disciple has already learned it."

"Show it to me." Xing Yao stood up, visibly excited.

Zhou Cheng went to the middle of the hall and began demonstrating the technique. Although the Star-Splitting Fist had already merged into the Roaming Dragon White Tiger Fist, he had still learned it, so he had no trouble performing it.

Zhou Cheng's movements flowed like water, without a trace of hesitation. Every move stirred up a fierce gust of wind.

Xing Yao watched each move intently, his hands trembling slightly as he struggled to contain himself.

When Zhou Cheng finished the Star-Splitting Fist, Xing Yao drew a deep breath. Not one of the moves Zhou Cheng had performed contained the slightest mistake.

"A prodigy! A prodigy!" Xing Yao exclaimed, overcome with excitement.

Gao Yi, the Ten Thousand Stars Sect's chief disciple, had taken half a month to learn the Star-Splitting Fist. That had already broken the sect's record. But Zhou Cheng had learned it in just one night! If that wasn't being a prodigy, what was?

"Actually, this disciple has also learned the Spirit Monkey Hundred Transformations Movement Technique," Zhou Cheng said. He hesitated for a moment while Xing Yao was still overwhelmed, but decided to be honest.

Xing Yao stared blankly at Zhou Cheng, unable to react for a moment.

"You've learned the Spirit Monkey Hundred Transformations Movement Technique too?" Xing Yao's voice trembled slightly.