It had been a few days.
Being able to practice only Arhat Fist every day was undoubtedly getting boring for Li Su.
The main problem was all the free time he had. He could practice Formless Calamity Finger to pass the time, but to avoid drawing attention, he didn't dare let his qi burst forth. That technique made quite a commotion.
What was more, Xuankong, who enjoyed the same treatment as Xuancheng, had become the target everyone else was striving to catch up to.
In their eyes, Li Su's talent ought to be a little worse than Xuancheng's.
So when Xuanbei mastered the first level of qi force, he made a point of showing it off.
Xuanbei, you had changed.
You were a senior monk, a future master of Buddhist teachings. It was only one martial art, yet the moment you mastered the first level of force, you started showing off.
Li Su felt helpless. He thought the image of the Shaolin Temple's senior monks of the Xuan generation in the Heavenly Dragon era was about to crumble.
Should he go ask the old monk to trade him for another finger technique?
No, no. How long had it been? Not even two months. That didn't fit his persona.
They said you could practice Arhat Fist for a lifetime. How could he give up on Formless Calamity Finger after just a month and a half?
At least he should stick with it for a year or two, right?
But how could he wait that long?
Who knew when he would be able to start practicing Arhat Gong? Arhat Fist alone had already reached the Circulation Realm. It wasn't completely useless, but it didn't mean much. Like Formless Calamity Finger, it was a slow, steady grind; practicing it two or three times a day was enough.
After grinding away for almost another half a month, Xuanbei reached the second level of force in Formless Calamity Finger, and Xuannan and the others all went to ask for new finger techniques. At last, Li Su made up his mind to visit Monk Tianming.
After all, he had far too much free time each day.
Three or four hours, with nothing to do.
Although his greatest wish in this life was to acquire sixty years of internal energy, he certainly wouldn't turn down a hundred and twenty years. Who would complain about having more internal energy?
As Li Su rose and headed toward Arhat Hall,
the young monks, Xuannan and the others, grew excited.
Xuanbei in particular couldn't keep the happy smile off his face, while Xuancheng looked disappointed. He hadn't expected Xuankong, whom he'd been anticipating for so long, to be only this capable. Xuancheng hadn't practiced Formless Calamity Finger himself, but he'd learned about it from Xuanbei and the others.
It was a little difficult, but after only a brief attempt, he had mastered the Forward Spiral in ten days.
It was just that the qi produced by Vajra-series techniques wasn't suited to Formless Calamity Finger, so he hadn't gone to see Monk Tianming.
As for Xuanci, the kid sighed and said, "Let's go hunt some game in a bit."
They naturally kept the rules and precepts, but they were all children. Who didn't want to eat meat? Who hadn't done it before?
Er, what about Xuzhu? He was just a simpleton.
Though he was a chatterbox, he was undeniably kindhearted. He knew all too well how it felt when everyone else succeeded at cultivation while he couldn't. As the second-best after Xuancheng, he was used to it.
Everyone nodded at that.
Even Xuancheng, though disappointed, said nothing.
They'd lived together for years. Their affection was real, and competition at Shaolin Temple wasn't especially fierce. The bond between fellow disciples was much like that between brothers.
Feeling the attitude of everyone behind him, Li Su's mouth twitched. Though he hadn't actually failed to master it, he couldn't help smiling. It wasn't a bad feeling.
"What is it? Is your cultivation not going well?" In a side hall of Arhat Hall, Monk Tianming seemed oddly pleased when he saw Li Su arrive.
Well, that made sense.
Arhat Gong was one thing. Without enough talent and insight, it was hard to even get started.
But Formless Calamity Finger was different. He had mastered it himself, and it had taken him almost two years just to barely get the hang of it.
If Li Su had mastered it in one go, he really would have jumped into the river.
A master had to save face, after all.
Looking at his master's expression, Li Su's mouth twitched. Should he jab a finger at him to show him? It wasn't that he couldn't master it. He'd mastered it too damn well.
But when he thought of Xuanbei, he held back.
If word got out, how would Xuanbei react?
Fine, if he couldn't master it, then he couldn't.
He could just not use it. Shaolin Temple had so many martial arts. It wouldn't matter if he never used this finger technique in his life.
Li Su said nothing, only gazed glumly at Tianming. That's right, I haven't mastered it. Hurry up and give me a different technique.
Monk Tianming chuckled. "You don't need to worry too much. Once your Arhat Gong is perfected and your Arhat Golden Body is complete, the difficulty of practicing Formless Calamity Finger should drop considerably."
Li Su froze, then took out his charcoal pencil and wrote: "Master, will completing the Arhat Golden Body also speed up my practice of Formless Calamity Finger?"
Monk Tianming smiled. "Of course. Arhat Gong may indeed fall short of top-tier martial arts like the Muscle Tendon Changing Classic, but that doesn't mean it's inferior. It simply serves a different purpose.
"Techniques like the Muscle Tendon Changing Classic focus more on the nature of their true qi. Most of the world's top-tier martial arts are like that. Arhat Gong is different. Though it also cultivates qi, its main purpose is to strengthen the body. It uses its unique Arhat True Qi to temper your meridians and cultivate the Arhat Golden Body.
"Once it's perfected, your meridians will be incredibly sturdy, and ordinary qi force won't be able to damage them. Even the effects of exceptionally powerful techniques will be greatly diminished when they strike you; they will find it almost impossible to directly damage your meridians.
"Because of this trait, once you've perfected it, martial arts that involve using true qi will become much easier for you to learn. So even if you can't master Formless Calamity Finger now, practicing it after your Arhat Gong is perfected will be much easier."
Li Su's eyes lit up. He understood at once.
No wonder Formless Calamity Finger felt easier to practice than Arhat Gong, as simple as getting everything he wished for. It was probably not only because of his talent; having partially cultivated the Arhat Golden Body must have played a part too.
But thinking of that made Li Su feel miserable.
The main reason he'd come was that he'd already mastered Formless Calamity Finger and had too much free time each day. He'd wanted to switch to another technique.
But after hearing what Monk Tianming said, it looked like switching techniques was out of the question.
Before Li Su could say anything, Monk Tianming continued, "Well, the main purpose of teaching you finger techniques was to temper your temperament. In your current situation, perhaps you can't practice it because your control over changes in true qi is still too limited. With Arhat Fist, you've focused more on stance training. I'd forgotten that. I should have taught you a palm technique focused on the circulation of qi first, then Formless Calamity Finger."
But what should he teach him?
Though he was the chief of Arhat Hall, responsible for teaching new disciples, he knew many martial arts and could teach most of Shaolin Temple's basic techniques. But Li Su's circumstances clearly didn't suit a basic palm technique.
After all, basic techniques had advanced techniques waiting beyond them.
Li Su practiced the Arhat Divine Art, which was already an advanced technique. Before he mastered it, he shouldn't study another advanced art.
As for profound palm techniques focused solely on the circulation of qi, Tianming didn't know many.
After thinking for a while, Monk Tianming blinked, fetched a token, and handed it to Li Su. "Take this token to the Scripture Library and choose a palm technique."
Li Su's eyes widened. He was completely stunned.
The Scripture Library?
It was undoubtedly the place he'd dreamed of visiting, but he'd never imagined he would get to go in so soon.
The Muscle Tendon Changing Classic and the Indestructible Diamond Divine Art were both inside.
And then there was the obsession he'd carried with him since coming to the Heavenly Dragon era: the Nine Yang Divine Skill. The original version, and even the second version, might be there too.
Whether they had it or not, he had to go take a look, didn't he?
A little excited, Li Su trembled as he took the token Monk Tianming handed him. Was it there? Was it? Was it?
The Nine Yang Manual!!!