Peach Blossom Manual, Awei's Eighteen Forms

"Coiling Dragon Staff!"

Ao Yin summoned his first martial soul and weighed the Coiling Dragon Staff in his hand. The staff, whose weight had originally been restrained to ten jun, now felt as light as a wooden stick in Ao Yin's grasp.

"Too light!"

Ao Yin shook his head slightly. With a thought, the Coiling Dragon Staff in his hand appeared unchanged, yet its weight suddenly surged, reaching one hundred jun in an instant—barely the limit of what Ao Yin could lift at present.

"Good. I'll treat these three months as body-tempering training!"

Ao Yin smiled faintly. Unrestrained, the Coiling Dragon Staff weighed as heavily as ten thousand jun, and with its dragon patterns activated, its weight would multiply further.

Although he had obtained [Strength of One Hundred Jun] through signing in, his strength still was not enough.

Ao Yin planned to keep himself at his limit at all times during these three months in Holy Soul Village, using it to temper his body.

With that in mind, Ao Yin walked up to a towering century-old dead tree.

"You'll do nicely for a test!"

The words had barely fallen.

Ao Yin infused the Coiling Dragon Staff with his strength of one hundred jun and swung it down.

Buzz—

With a dull boom, the powerful Coiling Dragon Staff slammed viciously into the tree. The entire dead tree shuddered, and a deep dent appeared where the staff had struck the trunk.

"Huh! It still didn't fall?"

Had anyone else been present, they would have been left dumbfounded. He was holding a staff, not a blade!

A six-year-old child had sent a century-old dead tree teetering with a single blow?

Who wouldn't be terrified by that sight?

Yet Ao Yin was far from satisfied. He snorted softly. "If one strike isn't enough, then I'll give you two!"

Filled with indignation, Ao Yin imagined the dead tree was Tang San and began smashing it wildly.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Wood chips flew from the trunk. Before long, the century-old dead tree collapsed to the ground with a thunderous crash.

Ao Yin took a deep breath, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and murmured thoughtfully, "This century-old dead tree is tall and thick. It should be enough to trade the village chief for a few days' worth of meals, right?"

As he spoke, he put away the Coiling Dragon Staff. Looking at the century-old dead tree before him, nearly a meter in diameter and close to ten meters tall, he fell into thought.

"Forget it. I'll carry it back first. If it isn't enough, I'll head up the mountain and chop down more!"

Ao Yin stopped dwelling on it. He hoisted the entire dead tree onto his shoulder and headed down the mountain.

Compared to Ao Yin's tiny six-year-old body, the sight was like an ant moving a mountain—utterly terrifying.

When Village Chief Jack saw the century-old dead tree in his yard, he was completely stunned!

His voice trembled as he said, "Is this the work efficiency of someone born with full soul power? What a waste of talent!"

"It's fine. Just give me an extra chicken leg!"

Ao Yin waved his hand, as though he had done it solely for the chicken leg!

In truth, it really was a trivial matter to him. But if chopping more firewood could help Village Chief Jack earn a little more money, then it could be considered repayment for the care Jack had shown him over the years.

And so, Ao Yin went up the mountain to chop trees every day and signed in daily.

[Ding! Sign-in at Holy Soul Village successful. Congratulations, Host, you have obtained a Level One reward—Dog-Beating Staff Technique.]

[Ding! Sign-in at Holy Soul Village successful. Congratulations, Host, you have obtained a Level One reward—Mist Step.]

[Ding! Sign-in at Holy Soul Village successful. Congratulations, Host, you have obtained a Level Two reward—Strength of One Thousand Jun!]

Time flew by, and more than three months passed in the blink of an eye.

Most of the daily sign-in rewards were Level One rewards. Among them, [Strength of One Hundred Jun] appeared most frequently, followed by martial techniques such as [Dog-Beating Staff Technique] and [Mist Step]...

Of course, there were quite a few Level Two sign-in rewards as well. From time to time, he would receive [Strength of One Thousand Jun]. As its name suggested, it provided a strength boost fully ten times greater than [Strength of One Hundred Jun]!

What devilish training? There was no need for that at all!

He could become stronger just by signing in!

The dead trees Ao Yin carried back grew larger by the day, and the firewood in the village chief's small courtyard piled up into a mountain at a visible rate.

Of course, this increase in efficiency was not because Ao Yin possessed exceptional talent for cultivation, but because of the accumulated rewards from his daily sign-ins!

Ao Yin's strength had now reached the terrifying level of [Ten Thousand Jun]. He no longer needed to place any restraints on his first martial soul. Even the Coiling Dragon Staff, as heavy as ten thousand jun, could be wielded as easily as an extension of his arm!

As for martial techniques like [Dog-Beating Staff Technique] and [Mist Step], although they were Level One rewards, they differed from soul skills. They could be used without activating soul power, somewhat resembling the various supreme techniques within the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record that Tang San cultivated!

"I just wonder which is stronger."

Over the past three months, Ao Yin had mastered all the martial arts techniques he had received as rewards, and he felt they were not much inferior to the Tang Sect's secret arts.

No matter what, as the saying went, one force could overcome ten techniques. With [Ten Thousand Jun of Strength] empowering him, any martial art or secret art was merely icing on the cake!

Just as he was thinking this, the system notification sounded beside his ear.

[ Ding! Today's sign-in attempts have refreshed! ]

[ Would you like to sign in? ]

"Sign in!" Ao Yin signed in as usual.

[ Ding! Sign-in at Holy Soul Village successful. Congratulations, Host, you have obtained a Level 2 reward—Peach Blossom Manual! ]

"Huh! That really is icing on the cake!"

"A Level 2 reward, the Peach Blossom Manual?"

Ao Yin raised an eyebrow slightly. He had been signing in at Holy Soul Village for over three months, and aside from [Thousand Jun of Strength], he had received no other Level 2 rewards.

What the hell was this [Peach Blossom Manual]?

Filled with curiosity, Ao Yin carefully examined it.

"The Peach Blossom Manual is a close-combat body technique created by a senior named 'Awei.' It contains eighteen forms, including Old Man Pushing the Cart, Guanyin Sitting on a Lotus, Poison Dragon Drill, One Shot to the Soul, Continuous Penetration, Kato's Finger... It is also known as 'Awei's Eighteen Forms—full service, no discounts.'"

"???"

Three huge question marks appeared above Ao Yin's little head.

He promptly shut the book. "I'm still just a child!"

Though he said that, Ao Yin had lived three lives and possessed an extraordinary temperament. Suppressing the embarrassment in his heart, he reopened the [Peach Blossom Manual] and began studying it intently, his eyes gleaming.

At the same time, his hands began involuntarily practicing the moves described in the manual.

After a long while, he finally stopped when he felt his energy had been drained.

Ao Yin took a deep breath. So it was actually an advanced martial skill. The so-called "Awei's Eighteen Forms" included close-range heavy strikes, aerial suppression, charging thrusts, grappling and bone-breaking... and other combat techniques. They were obscure and profound, and studying them inevitably consumed a great deal of mental energy.

"As expected of a Level 2 reward. I've learned quite a lot from it!"

Ao Yin felt as though a door to a new world had been opened before him. He swore that from then on, he would never again look down on martial arts techniques.

Not only that, he resolved to study diligently, put what he learned into practice, and use it in real combat!

"Little Ao, have you packed your things? It's about time to leave!"

As he drifted off in thought, a familiar voice came from outside the house. It was Village Chief Jack.

Only then did Ao Yin remember that today was the day he would leave for Notting Academy.

"Village Chief, I'm coming!"

Ao Yin did not have much to pack and had prepared everything long ago. He immediately met up with the village chief and headed for Notting Academy.