Letting Go

"This martial art suited me quite well. What a pity I still didn't have enough modules—unless I dismantled Internal Energy Protection."

Lu Bai carefully read through the Blood Burning Technique. It was a cultivation technique meant for staking one's life.

Unlike mainstream martial arts, which extracted and accumulated Internal Force through the combination of Dynamic and Static Exercises,

the Blood Burning Technique used a bit of Internal Force to directly ignite one's own Vitality, brutally converting Vitality into a massive amount of Internal Force in a short time.

That Internal Force would violently batter the body, forcing it into a state of explosive eruption.

While gaining a great deal of berserk Internal Force, one would also possess physical qualities comparable to an External Martial Arts practitioner.

Of course, since it was a life-risking martial art, once the Blood Burning Technique was used, the best possible outcome was depleted Vitality; more likely, one would simply die on the spot.

In short, this was no proper martial art.

And precisely because this martial art was so improper, it did not require many modules to construct.

For instance, he had already obtained the Elemental Module [Ignition] by dismantling secret manuals.

Beyond that, there were modules extracted from Flowery Fists and Embroidered Legs.

Such as the Release Modules [Conversion], [Extraction], [Burst], [Fist], and [Foot].

The Elemental Modules [Excitation], [Flower], [Wood], [Nutrients], and several [Vitality].

The Operation Modules [Flesh and Blood], [Meridian], [Acupoint], and [Dantian].

Yet he had exceedingly few Control Modules. None had been dismantled from the several secret manuals.

He only had the two that had dropped from the Elder earlier.

One was [Focus], which had now been placed in [Internal Energy Protection].

And the other...

Lu Bai pinched a purple module, his expression somewhat gloomy.

"Control Module [Letting Go]. Let go of everything. Evaluation: A mindset of drifting with the current—when nothing can be forced, it is better to let it all go."

This was the second Control Module Lu Bai had extracted from that Hundred Flower Grave Elder, and the first module that came with an evaluation.

That signified that this module had reached a certain level of quality.

Modules had quality grades. Lu Bai had noticed this after completing [Internal Energy Protection].

Different [Meridians] and [Acupoints] could produce different effects. Some Meridians were narrow and required Focus and extra effort, while others were as broad as canals, letting the flow run freely.

Quality varied more or less, but a quality like that of [Letting Go] was likely exceedingly rare.

"But what use do I have for Letting Go of this quality?"

No matter how high its quality was, [Letting Go] was still Letting Go. It placed everything within the body in a state of neglect; whether it was there or not made little difference, and it might even backfire.

"Truly worthy of being trash." Lu Bai recalled that Elder.

For him to condense [Letting Go] of such high quality, one could imagine exactly what kind of state he had been in before.

"Either dismantle Internal Energy Protection and move Focus over to combine the Blood Burning Technique, or just use Letting Go directly."

Lu Bai considered it and found there was no need.

"According to the description, the ability formed by the Blood Burning Technique is exceptionally violent. Even with [Focus] added, it probably would not do much. It might even ruin Internal Energy Protection instead."

Although the modules in the Skill Bar could be taken out and put back in at any time, adjusting a skill still required time.

There was a gap of time involved, and in battle, that brief moment could very well cost someone their life.

Lu Bai placed the modules into the Skill Bar one by one, then began making adjustments.

A point of [Internal Force] was placed in [Dantian], directly linked to [Ignition]. He then added [Vitality], followed by the Control Module [Letting Go]. Though it did not matter whether he added it or not, Lu Bai added it anyway.

The portion for igniting Vitality was complete. Next, he added the [Conversion] module, then placed a point of [Internal Force] after [Conversion] as the template for conversion.

If [Ignition] were replaced with [Excitation], and [Letting Go] with [Focus], it would become the foundation for refining Internal Force.

Then one would arrange the Extraordinary Meridians, the various Acupoints, and so on, converting Vitality into Internal Force bit by bit.

Lu Bai had tried it before and discovered that it truly could refine some Internal Force.

Unfortunately, that Internal Force was difficult to preserve, and its quality was abysmal. Compared with the [Internal Force] inside the module, the difference was that between tofu and stone.

But that was hardly surprising. The sources of [Internal Force] were people who had tempered their Internal Force for years, even decades.

For Lu Bai to refine high-quality [Internal Force] in a short time while his modules were incomplete was nothing but a pipe dream.

So Lu Bai still focused wholeheartedly on the [Blood Burning Technique].

[Burst], as a Release Module, connected to [Flesh and Blood], and the construction of the entire skill was complete.

At present, it used a total of nine modules. Perhaps he could add [Excitation] as well, and the positions or connection methods of some modules could also be adjusted.

"Unfortunately, the Blood Burning Technique's side effects are too obvious. I can't test it carelessly."

Lu Bai looked at the newly assembled skill. Its construction was certainly very crude at the moment.

Based on his experience constructing and debugging [Internal Energy Protection], there would be no problem activating this skill, but how efficient it would be was difficult to say.

"Module allocation and connection are a profound field, with countless twists and turns within it." Lu Bai thought, "Perhaps after leaving this dimension, I should find someone to teach me properly."

Earth's module system had developed for seventy-seven years. Its research into modules would surely be better than him figuring it out alone.

Lu Bai had never believed he possessed much talent in research.

He clearly knew where his own talents lay, and he knew how to play to his strengths while avoiding his weaknesses.

"For now, I'll make do. After using it a few more times, I'll gain more insight and be able to modify it."

Lu Bai did not dwell on it further. He simply waited quietly. Before long, his partner Lin Bai entered.

"I've gotten the information." Before entering, Lin Bai had looked around in every direction. Only after confirming no one was following him did he speak.

Lu Bai could actually leave now. His gains had already been great enough; if he stayed any longer, the returns would plummet in a straight line.

Yet before leaving, there were still some things he wanted to know.

Namely, the method Flower Face had used back then to absorb the modules from the Sworn Follower.

The modules obtained from dismantling secret manuals showed that the Hundred Flower Grave lineage's martial arts all possessed flower-and-wood attributes.

Even after symbiosis with the Life-Eroding Flower, those flower-and-wood attributes had merely been further enhanced.

But that time, after Flower Face absorbed the modules from the Sworn Follower, black energy had coiled around his entire body.

Based on what Lu Bai had learned and understood about martial arts these past days, Flower Face had mutated the attribute of his own Internal Force.

Therefore, Lu Bai had asked Lin Bai to inquire about relevant intelligence. He had a premonition that this information might be extremely important to him.

Yet after Lin Bai finished speaking, he fell silent. The fear he had previously shown toward Lu Bai was gone from his face.

Lu Bai took out a [Internal Force] module and tossed it to him. Lin Bai caught it delightedly, then continued.

"That was a cultivation technique bestowed from above."

"It's called the Withered Glory Scripture!"

Energy Modules were gray, Control Modules purple, Operation Modules transparent, Elemental Modules gold, and Release Modules blue.

This chapter went into relatively detailed description of skill module construction. I wonder whether everyone found it dull. If you think it is not good, then after Xu Ming, this part will be abbreviated, and skill construction will instead be placed here in the author's notes. Later, Xu Ming will set up a supporting-character thread and a module-skill thread in the comments section, and everyone is welcome to participate enthusiastically.