You Can Go to the Scripture Library Now

A few days had passed.

Practicing the Arhat Fist every day was undoubtedly starting to make Li Su feel bored.

The main issue was the abundance of free time. Although he could pass the time by practicing the Formless Calamity Finger, he dared not manifest the energy, lest he attract unwanted attention; after all, this technique was far from subtle.

Furthermore, as someone enjoying the same treatment as Xuancheng, Xuankong was undoubtedly the target of close scrutiny from Xuannan and the others.

In their eyes, Li Su's talent was likely inferior to Xuancheng's.

Because of this, when Xuanbei successfully cultivated the first layer of energy, he even made a point of showing it off.

"Xuanbei, you've changed."

"You are a master, a future high monk of the Dharma. It's just one martial art, yet you start showing off the moment you master a single layer of force."

Li Su felt a bit helpless, feeling as though the image of the high monks of the Xuan generation at the Shaolin Temple during the Tianlong era was on the verge of collapsing.

Should he go find the old monk and switch to a different finger technique?

No, that wouldn't do. How much time had passed? Not even two months; it didn't fit his established persona.

They said the Arhat Fist could be practiced for a lifetime, so how could he give up on the Formless Calamity Finger after only a month and a half?

He had to stick with it for at least a year or so, right?

But how was he supposed to wait that long?

He didn't know when he would be allowed to start practicing the Arhat Gong. As for the Arhat Fist, he had already reached the "Grand Circulation" stage; while it wasn't entirely useless, it held little significance. It was much like the Formless Calamity Finger—a slow, grinding process where two or three repetitions a day were sufficient.

After grinding for another half-month, Xuanbei reached the second layer of the Formless Calamity Finger, and Xuannan and the others went off to switch techniques. Li Su finally made up his mind to pay a visit to the monk Tianming.

After all, he had far too much free time throughout the day.

Three or four hours of nothing to do.

Although his greatest pursuit in this life was sixty years of internal energy, if he could attain two cycles of sixty years, Li Su wouldn't refuse, would he? No one would complain about having more internal energy.

Li Su stood up and headed toward the Arhat Hall.

Xuannan and the other young monks were excited.

Xuanbei, in particular, couldn't help but reveal a happy smile, while Xuancheng wore a look of disappointment. He hadn't expected that the long-awaited Xuankong would only be at this level. Although he hadn't practiced the Formless Calamity Finger himself, he had learned a bit about it from Xuanbei and the others.

It was somewhat difficult, but after a slight attempt, he had mastered the Forward Spiral in just ten days.

It was only because the True Qi formed by the Vajra series of techniques wasn't suitable for the Formless Calamity Finger that he hadn't gone to find the monk Tianming.

As for Xuanci, that lad sighed and said, "Let's go hunt some game in a while."

They were supposed to uphold the monastic precepts, of course, but they were all just children; who didn't want to eat meat? Who hadn't done it before?

Eh? You ask about Xuzhu? That guy was just a simpleton.

Although he was a chatterbox, his heart was undoubtedly kind. He knew very well what it felt like to watch others succeed while failing himself. As the second-best disciple after Xuancheng, he was used to it.

The group nodded in agreement.

Even Xuancheng, despite his disappointment, said nothing.

They had lived together for several years, and their bond was genuine. The Shaolin Temple didn't have a particularly cutthroat atmosphere, and the affection between fellow disciples was much like that of biological brothers.

Feeling the attitude of the group behind him, the corners of Li Su's mouth twitched. Although he hadn't failed to master it, he couldn't help but smile. This feeling wasn't bad at all.

"What is it? Is your cultivation not going smoothly?" In the side hall of the Arhat Hall, seeing Li Su arrive, the monk Tianming felt a bit happy for some reason.

Well, that made sense.

The Arhat Gong was one thing; if one's talent and comprehension were insufficient, it was hard to even get started.

But the Formless Calamity Finger was different. He had mastered it himself, and it had taken him nearly two years just to get a basic grasp of it.

If Li Su had mastered it all at once, he would have jumped into the river.

A master had to save face, after all, didn't he?

Watching his master's expression, the corners of Li Su's mouth twitched. He wondered if he should just point a finger and let the man see for himself? Was it that he couldn't master it? No, it was that he had mastered it too well, wasn't it?

But thinking of Xuanbei, he held back.

If word of this got out, how would Xuanbei react?

Forget it, if he couldn't do it, he couldn't do it.

At worst, he just wouldn't use it. The Shaolin Temple had so many martial arts; it wouldn't matter if he never used this finger technique in his life.

Li Su didn't speak, just looked at Tianming with a somewhat sullen expression. That's right, I didn't master it. Hurry up and give me a different technique.

The monk Tianming chuckled and said, "You don't need to worry too much. Once you reach the Great Completion of the Arhat Gong and your Arhat Golden Body is perfected, the difficulty of practicing this Formless Calamity Finger should decrease significantly."

Li Su was startled. He took out a charcoal pencil and wrote: "Master, can perfecting the Arhat Golden Body really increase the speed of practicing the Formless Calamity Finger?"

The monk Tianming smiled. "Of course. While the Arhat Gong may not compare to supreme martial arts like the Muscle Tendon Changing Classic here at the Shaolin Temple, it cannot be said to be inferior; it simply serves a different purpose."

"Techniques like the Muscle Tendon Changing Classic focus more on the nature of their True Qi, which is true for almost all supreme-level martial arts in the world today. The Arhat Gong is different. Although it also refines Qi, its primary purpose lies in the body itself. It uses this special Arhat True Qi to temper one's own meridians and forge the Arhat Golden Body."

"Once you reach Great Completion, your internal meridians will be incredibly sturdy. Ordinary energy strikes will struggle to harm you, and even powerful techniques will have their effectiveness greatly reduced when used against you, making it nearly impossible to directly damage your meridians."

"Because of this trait, once you reach Great Completion, the difficulty of learning martial arts and techniques that rely on the application of True Qi will be greatly reduced. Therefore, even if you cannot practice the Formless Calamity Finger now, it will become much simpler once you have achieved Great Completion in the Arhat Gong."

Li Su's eyes lit up, and he understood in an instant.

No wonder he felt the Formless Calamity Finger was easier to cultivate than the Arhat Gong, as simple as wishing for something and having it come true. It seemed this wasn't just a matter of talent, but also due to his Arhat Golden Body reaching the minor completion stage.

However, thinking of this, Li Su felt a bit troubled.

He had come primarily because he had already mastered the Formless Calamity Finger and had too much free time on his hands, so he wanted to switch to a different technique.

But with Monk Tianming putting it this way, changing techniques was likely out of the question.

Before Li Su could speak, Monk Tianming continued, "Very well. The main purpose of teaching you finger-based techniques was to temper your temperament. Your current situation, where you cannot cultivate it, is perhaps due to your poor grasp of true qi fluctuations. You have focused mostly on stance training for the Arhat Fist, and I had forgotten this point. I should have taught you a palm technique focused on qi circulation first, then the Formless Calamity Finger."

But what should he teach?

Although he was the Head of the Arhat Hall, responsible for teaching introductory techniques, he knew many martial arts and was familiar with all the entry-level skills of the Shaolin Temple. However, Li Su's situation clearly made him unsuitable for introductory palm techniques.

After all, once those types of techniques were learned, there were advanced versions waiting to follow.

Li Su was practicing the Arhat Divine Art, which already belonged to the category of advanced techniques; before reaching great completion, it was not suitable to learn other advanced methods.

As for profound palm techniques focused solely on qi circulation, he did not possess many.

After thinking for a while, Monk Tianming blinked and took out a tablet, handing it to Li Su. "Take this tablet to the Scripture Library and choose a palm technique from within."

His eyes widened, and Li Su was completely stunned.

The Scripture Library?

Without a doubt, as a place he had dreamed of visiting, he never expected that he would be able to enter so soon.

The Muscle Tendon Changing Classic, the Indestructible Diamond Divine Art—they were all in there.

Not only that, but his obsession since coming to the world of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, the Nine Yang Divine Skill—the original version, or perhaps even the second edition—was also inside.

Regardless of whether they were there or not, as something he had longed for, he had to go and take a look, didn't he?

Slightly agitated, Li Su took the tablet from Monk Tianming with trembling hands. Is it there? Is it? Is it?

The Nine Yang Manual!!!