Eradicating the Demonic Cult

It is no wonder Xing Yao is so agitated.

The Spirit Monkey Hundred Transformations Movement Technique, consisting of one hundred and eight moves, integrates movement, fist techniques, and palm techniques into one; it is many times more difficult than the Star-Splitting Fist.

Back in the day, even he had taken half a year to barely learn it.

And that was barely learning it, not mastering it.

Now, Zhou Cheng had learned it in a single night?

Zhou Cheng nodded.

"Show me once," Xing Yao said, trying his best to suppress the excitement in his heart.

Zhou Cheng returned to the main hall and began to perform the Spirit Monkey Hundred Transformations Movement Technique.

The Spirit Monkey Hundred Transformations Movement Technique was something Xing Yao had obtained on a deserted island overseas years ago. This martial art originated from the movements of various spirit monkeys, yet it surpassed them.

The further one progressed, the more difficult the movements became; some required continuous tumbling in mid-air.

A practitioner not only needed pure internal energy but also a high degree of physical flexibility to execute it.

In the hall, Zhou Cheng's figure flickered constantly—agile, unpredictable, and full of intricate, tricky maneuvers. Yet, Zhou Cheng executed them one by one, fluid and coherent.

Watching Zhou Cheng perform the Spirit Monkey Hundred Transformations Movement Technique almost perfectly, Xing Yao's eyes shone with brilliance.

After Zhou Cheng finished all one hundred and eight moves, he was neither flushed nor out of breath.

Xing Yao looked at Zhou Cheng, unable to suppress the excitement in his heart.

Earlier, in the cave, when Zhou Cheng performed the Pure Fire Saber Technique, he had felt that Zhou Cheng was a martial arts genius. Now, he realized he had still vastly underestimated Zhou Cheng's talent.

At the same time, he felt increasingly gratified to have taken Zhou Cheng as his closing disciple.

He patted Zhou Cheng on the shoulder, too excited to speak, his eyes crinkling into smiles.

"Master, do you have any other acquired-level fist, movement, or saber techniques?" Zhou Cheng asked Xing Yao.

Xing Yao was startled, then beamed like a flower: "Wait here." He went into the back hall and, after a while, returned carrying a large chest.

"These are some martial arts from various sects that I have collected over the years. Take a look," Xing Yao said. "Many of these manuals were obtained only after I put in a great deal of effort back then."

Zhou Cheng flipped through the large chest, estimating there were two or three hundred martial arts manuals, and smiled.

This master was truly worth the apprenticeship.

If he had to go out and acquire this many manuals himself, it would have taken a very long time.

Seeing Zhou Cheng's joyful expression, Xing Yao said solemnly: "Disciple, although your martial arts talent is astonishing, it is better to master a few techniques than to be a jack-of-all-trades. I believe you should focus on a few main techniques; the most important thing is to continue raising your internal energy."

"Moreover, although these acquired-level techniques are good, they are still far inferior to innate-level techniques."

Zhou Cheng said: "Master, rest assured, I understand."

He certainly understood this principle, but he had his own plans.

"Master, have you ever cultivated any martial art to the realm of perfection?" Zhou Cheng asked suddenly.

Upon hearing this, Xing Yao shook his head: "The realm of perfection—how could it be so easy to reach? Let alone me, even the other top grandmasters have not been able to cultivate any martial art to that level."

Zhou Cheng was quite disappointed.

Afterward, Zhou Cheng sat with Xing Yao for nearly another hour, asking many questions about cultivation and matters regarding the Great Feng Dynasty, before taking the two hundred-plus manuals back to his own courtyard.

Watching Zhou Cheng's retreating figure, Xing Yao's eyes were filled with affection: "Perhaps this child will be able to break through to the King Realm in the future!"

Breaking through to the King Realm was not only his dream but the dream of every martial artist in the Great Feng Dynasty.

After returning to his courtyard, Zhou Cheng began to sort through the two hundred-plus manuals in the chest.

Sixty-two books on fist techniques.

Thirty-seven books on palm techniques.

Forty-three books on movement techniques.

Forty-nine books on saber techniques.

Seventy-four books on sword techniques.

Sword techniques were the most numerous, followed by fist, saber, movement, and palm techniques.

Hungry for knowledge, Zhou Cheng began to pore over the manuals. He ignored the sword and palm techniques, focusing exclusively on fist, saber, and movement techniques.

The first one he read was the Spinning Fist.

This Spinning Fist was quite marvelous; when a punch was thrown, the force could rotate, making it extremely bizarre and difficult to guard against.

Sure enough, after Zhou Cheng learned the Spinning Fist, it was defeated by the Roaming Dragon White Tiger Fist and absorbed into it, increasing the progress of the Roaming Dragon White Tiger Fist by 1%.

Since Zhou Cheng only needed to memorize these fist techniques for them to be automatically mastered, he averaged two books per hour. By the end of the day, the progress of the Roaming Dragon White Tiger Fist had increased astonishingly, reaching 24%.

In less than three days, Zhou Cheng had finished reading all sixty-two fist technique manuals. Combined with the earlier Star-Splitting Fist, the progress of the Roaming Dragon White Tiger Fist reached 64%.

Next, Zhou Cheng began to flip through the saber technique manuals.

There were forty-nine saber technique manuals, so it took Zhou Cheng two days to learn them all.

Zhou Cheng's Demon-Subduing Saber Technique improved to 50.

At this moment, five days had passed since the Apprenticeship Ceremony.

With Zhou Cheng consuming a Nine-Orifice Golden Pill every day, by the morning of the fifth day after the Apprenticeship Ceremony, he successfully cleared the barrier of his Yin Qiao Meridian and broke through to the seventh level of Qi Refining.

Seventh level of Qi Refining. Zhou Cheng circulated the Northern Dark Divine Technique; his internal energy surged and rolled through the seven major meridians—the Conception Vessel, Governing Vessel, Thrusting Vessel, Dai Meridian, Yin Wei Meridian, Yangwei Meridian, and Yin Qiao Meridian—becoming more than twice as profound as before.

"Congratulations to the host for breaking through to the seventh level of Qi Refining. You have received a realm breakthrough gift pack."

As he broke through to the seventh level of Qi Refining, the voice sounded.

Zhou Cheng opened the realm gift pack, and eight Marrow-Cleansing Pills appeared in his inventory.

Originally, Zhou Cheng had assumed it would be four Marrow-Cleansing Pills like the last time; having four extra now was an unexpected joy.

Zhou Cheng swallowed all eight Marrow-Cleansing Pills.

Having just broken through to the seventh level of Qi Refining, Zhou Cheng continued to improve under the impact of the eight pills' medicinal power, finally reaching 32.

Meanwhile, Zhou Cheng's century-genius aptitude evolved to 40.

Just as Zhou Cheng broke through to the seventh level of Qi Refining, a disciple came over and asked Zhou Cheng to go to the main hall, though he did not say what for.

When Zhou Cheng arrived at the main hall, his master Xing Yao, as well as Su Huang, Shi Fei, Wu Shuo, Gao Yi, and others were all there; every Grand Elder and Elder of the Ten Thousand Stars Sect had arrived.

Seeing Zhou Cheng arrive, Xing Yao smiled and patted the seat beside him, gesturing for Zhou Cheng to come over and sit by his side.

Although Su Huang and the others were dissatisfied, they dared not say anything.

"Since everyone is here, let us discuss the matter of eradicating the Demonic Cult this time," Su Huang said.