Qi Poison: Bamboo Green Snake, Green Hundred Shadows Secret Technique!

"Poison miasma isn't just for self-protection; it can also be coated onto other objects."

"Take our Tang Sect's custom hand spikes, for instance. Coating them makes them sharper while adding a toxic edge."

"If you don't have a weapon, you can coat your own body instead. Like this, for example."

Tang Jiaren extended his index and middle fingers, pressing them together to form a sword-finger, and the poison miasma converged upon them.

It finally coalesced into a purple spike.

"This is a Poison Spike. If you practice enough, a spike formed from poison miasma can be as sharp as a blade."

"Furthermore, if your technique is refined enough, you can extend these spikes from any part of your body."

As he spoke, Tang Jiaren lifted his foot, manifesting a spike upon it, then gave his arm a shake, causing another to sprout from his elbow.

"Great-Granduncle, I want to learn this!"

Qin Qi suddenly realized that if he covered his entire body in poison miasma and then manifested spikes, wouldn't he be a living suit of thorns?

A suit of thorns that was also poisonous!

"Of course you'll learn it, but don't be in such a rush. I haven't even shown you how to use Qi Poison yet."

Tang Jiaren said with a smile. As he finished speaking, the purple miasma on his body shifted into green Qi Poison.

The Qi Poison gathered in his hand, eventually taking the shape of a green snake. The serpent looked incredibly lifelike, even flicking its tongue.

"Beyond the basic spitting of venom, this is the most common application of our Tang Sect's Qi Poison: the Bamboo Green Snake."

Tang Jiaren controlled the Qi Poison: Bamboo Green Snake to launch an attack, sending it lunging straight at Qin Qi.

Qin Qi didn't dodge. Since he wouldn't actually die, he wanted to experience it firsthand. The Bamboo Green Snake reached him and sank its fangs into him.

"This is the first method of attack. Once it bites, it deals damage while injecting a massive dose of toxins."

Tang Jiaren explained.

"I see."

Qin Qi nodded. Compared to simply spitting venom, the Bamboo Green Snake added a layer of physical damage.

After demonstrating the first method, the snake began to coil around Qin Qi, preparing to constrict him.

"This force is just like being wrapped by a real giant python!"

Qin Qi truly felt a tremendous pressure, as if his entire body were about to be crushed.

"This is the second method of attack. It's not just for offense; you can also use it to block incoming strikes when necessary."

Once he finished, Tang Jiaren demonstrated the third method. The Bamboo Green Snake spat out two arrows made of concentrated venom.

"This is the third method. The Bamboo Green Snake formed from Qi Poison can also fire projectiles of condensed venom."

Tang Jiaren added, "Don't worry about mastering it right now. Just commit it to memory, and you can learn it slowly later on."

"Understood. Great-Granduncle, I actually have a question."

"What if I released dozens of these Bamboo Green Snakes at once and attacked from all directions?"

"How would that be any different from releasing dozens of clones?"

Qin Qi had suddenly hit upon this thought. These snakes could spit venom and deal physical damage; the only difference between them and clones was that they didn't look like him.

But he shouldn't forget that this was Qi Poison—it could change shape. What if he made them look like himself?

"No difference at all. If you can multitask, there's no reason you couldn't use them as clones."

"There was a kid in the Tang Sect named Tang Jian. He had the highest talent for the Qi Poison: Bamboo Green Snake that I've seen in years."

"He developed the Green Hundred Shadows Secret Technique, allowing him to release hundreds of Bamboo Green Snakes in an instant."

"He was one man acting as a hundred, and he excelled at fighting multiple opponents at once."

Tang Jiaren recalled Tang Jian. In truth, Tang Jian wasn't exactly young anymore, though he was still much younger than Tang Jiaren.

"Great-Granduncle, I want to learn that move too!"

Qin Qi immediately spoke up.

"You greedy little brat, wanting to learn everything at once. Focus on building your foundation first."

Tang Jiaren scolded him with a laugh.

"Fine, I'll take the foundation, but I want the secret technique too!"

"Great-Granduncle, please start explaining the usage of the Qi Poison: Bamboo Green Snake and the poison miasma in detail."

Qin Qi said earnestly. There were still many techniques within the Tang Sect to learn.

But compared to Qi Poison, things like the Instant Strike and Catkin Step were true martial arts that couldn't be mastered by talent alone; they required grueling, bitter practice.

"System, activate Epiphany state."

Qin Qi currently had two hundred credits. An epiphany cost one hundred, so he would still have one hundred left after this.

Tang Jiaren began to meticulously teach Qin Qi the method for manifesting the Bamboo Green Snake.

In the blink of an eye, ten minutes passed, and the epiphany came to an end.

"Qi Poison: Bamboo Green Snake!"

Qin Qi extended his hand, and a Bamboo Green Snake as thick as an arm appeared upon it, flicking its tongue with a lifelike, agile appearance.

"Good lad, your talent for control is truly impressive. To achieve such results on your first attempt at using the Bamboo Green Snake is truly excellent."

Tang Jiaren watched the Bamboo Green Snake Qin Qi had manifested, nodding in satisfaction as he spoke.

"However, it is still too large. When you can condense the Bamboo Green Snake to the size of a finger..."

"That is when you will be able to attempt learning the Green Hundred Shadows Secret Technique."

Tang Jiaren explained that the more condensed the Tang Sect's Qi Poison, the greater its toxicity, flexibility, and reach.

Therefore, the smaller the Bamboo Green Snake's form, the more formidable it was; the larger it was, the weaker it became.

[Ding, teacher 'Tang Jiaren's' approval of the host has reached 40%.]

[Ding, host has learned Qi Poison: Bamboo Green Snake. Reward: 100 credits, 1 achievement point.]

[Ding, obtained Tang Jiaren's insights on Qi Poison, credits +10.]

[Ding, obtained Tang Jiaren's insights on Qi Poison, credits +10.]

Listening to the prompts in his mind, Qin Qi suddenly realized that he seemed to have achieved a perpetual motion machine.

He spent credits to trigger an epiphany, learned moves and abilities rapidly within that state, and the act of learning in turn earned him credits.

"If I can play it like this, then I won't be polite!"

"System, trigger the epiphany again!"

With the system rewards and the credits earned from listening to Tang Jiaren's lecture, Qin Qi had a total of three hundred points; he spent one hundred to trigger the epiphany once more.

"Great-granduncle, I feel like I'm in great shape. Let's continue learning Poison Barrier!"

Qin Qi said, his spirits soaring.

"Hmm... very well."

Tang Jiaren looked at Qin Qi and hesitated; they had already learned quite a bit today.

He feared that teaching Qin Qi too much at once would be overwhelming, but then he looked at the Bamboo Green Snake Qin Qi had manifested.

He felt that Qin Qi's talent was sufficient, so it should be fine.

[Ding, host has learned Poison Barrier. Reward: 1 achievement point, 100 credits.]

[Ding, obtained Tang Jiaren's insights on Poison Barrier, credits +10.]

By the time Qin Qi exited the learning space, his achievement points had accumulated to 4, and his credits had been replenished to four hundred.

"Credits are spent quickly, but they are earned just as fast!"

"I love learning; learning makes me happy!"

Qin Qi looked toward Notting Academy; attending classes at the academy should count as learning, right? There must be rewards for that too!

He was now eagerly looking forward to the official start of the term!

"Sigh, I'm out of money. Dinner tonight is going to be a problem."

Qin Qi suddenly remembered this issue; the money he had snatched had all been spent on medicine, and now he had nothing left for food.

"Forget it, I'll head back first and see if I can run into some rich kid at the academy who wants to provoke me."

"I'll take the opportunity to beat him up to test my moves, and then snatch some money."

Having learned new techniques, Qin Qi was like a carpenter who had just picked up a hammer—everyone he saw looked like a nail.

He couldn't help but want to give them a few whacks.