Secrets of the Grandmaster Realm

The small courtyard remained as cold and quiet as ever.

Back in his own courtyard, Jiang Chen looked at the two mice, whose spirits had improved considerably, and the Peachwood tree, which had not changed in the slightest. He shut the courtyard gate tightly and sat on the stone bench beneath the Peachwood tree.

"Mystic Slaying Finger."

With a small stove brewing tea, Jiang Chen carefully studied this martial art.

For the vast majority of cultivators, martial arts were things that could not be brought onto the grand stage. Jiang Wang's former self was no exception. Aside from the Heart-Severing Palm he had comprehended on his own, he had not cultivated any other martial arts. It was not that he could not come into contact with them, nor that he could not learn them, but that he disdained them.

Of course, there was nothing wrong with that. After all, cultivators had limited time and energy. Rather than dividing one's attention with martial arts, it was better to devote oneself to cultivation and temper the fleshly body. So long as one could break through to Qi Refining, everything else would cease to be a problem. No matter how well one trained in martial arts, one could not withstand the spells of a Qi Refining cultivator.

However, Jiang Chen did not care about such things. In the apocalypse, being picky and choosy was no virtue. Anything useful, anything effective, could be put to use. At present, martial arts still had considerable value in Jiang Chen's eyes. At the very least, they could serve as routine methods and make up for the shortcomings in his arsenal.

More importantly, in his view, cultivating a martial art did not actually require much time. The cost was within an acceptable range.

The fragrance of tea drifted through the air. After refilling the tea once, Jiang Chen set down the manual in his hand.

The next moment, he sprang into the air, his fingers joined like a sword as he began practicing in the courtyard.

If the Heart-Severing Palm emphasized soft, insidious force, then the Mystic Slaying Finger emphasized the concentration of power. Cultivated to the utmost limit, it could gather most of a martial artist's strength into a single point, using a point to break a surface and the weak to defeat the strong. Even among first-rate martial arts, it was quite exceptional.

As time passed, Jiang Chen's grasp of the Mystic Slaying Finger grew increasingly proficient. He could already wield it properly. By ordinary standards, this marked entry into the art, but Jiang Chen had no intention of stopping there.

"The Mystic Slaying Finger values killing. It carries the resolve of staking everything on a single throw. Perhaps I can incorporate the combat techniques I learned in the apocalypse into it."

"Though those combat techniques are not as systematic as these martial arts, they were truly honed through battle after battle of life and death."

As soon as the thought arose, Jiang Chen began experimenting without the slightest hesitation.

At this point, the Mystic Slaying Finger that Jiang Chen had already grasped suddenly became chaotic, devoid of any pattern. Yet Jiang Chen did not care. He continued practicing by himself, almost as if possessed.

And so, time slipped away without a sound.

When the sun sank below the horizon and day gave way to night, inspiration suddenly struck Jiang Chen. He fused the Killing Intent he had comprehended into the Mystic Slaying Finger.

"Kill!"

Killing Intent erupted in his heart. Like a swordsman drawing his blade, Jiang Chen naturally pointed a finger at the main trunk of the Peachwood tree.

In that instant, a wisp of heaven and earth spiritual energy was stirred. It blended with the Killing Intent, transforming into scarlet energy that gathered at Jiang Chen's fingertip. It endowed the finger with a profound and mysterious wonder, allowing it to fundamentally surpass ordinary martial arts.

With a hum, Killing Intent was soundless and killing aura formless. Before Jiang Chen's Mystic Slaying Finger had truly landed, the standing Peachwood tree seemed to have suffered some kind of devastation. Its once vigorous life force began to plummet.

It was foreseeable that once Jiang Chen's Mystic Slaying Finger fell, eroded by Killing Intent, this Peachwood tree would be killed at its root, leaving not the slightest trace of life behind.

However, at that moment, an unusual vitality began surging from within the Peachwood tree. Sensing the vastness of that vitality, like a man parched for ages finally encountering sweet rain, the Peachwood tree instinctively began to absorb it madly, hoping to use that vitality to mend the damage inflicted by Killing Intent. This was life redeeming itself.

At the instant Jiang Chen's fingertip truly touched the Peachwood trunk, he finally broke free from that near-possessed state and regained his clarity.

"I never expected the Killing Intent I comprehended in the apocalypse to spark such brilliance when it collided with the Mystic Slaying Finger."

"Beyond first-rate martial arts, this world has the Grandmaster Realm—the realm Ironman Tu has always pursued. Grandmasters value Divine Intent. Perhaps the Killing Intent I have comprehended is also a kind of Divine Intent."

The scarlet in his eyes faded. Leaving a small mark on the Peachwood trunk without harming its foundation, Jiang Chen dispersed his strength. Thus, the Peachwood tree narrowly escaped disaster.

"I previously thought plants found it difficult to absorb the power of Blood Qi. Now it seems I simply had not found the right method. This time, I stumbled into it by accident."

All manner of insights settled in his heart. Jiang Chen turned his gaze toward the motionless Peachwood tree and smiled.

Even ants struggled to survive, and the Peachwood tree was no different. Under the threat of death, this Peachwood tree had successfully fused with the Blood Qi Jiang Chen had watered it with before. Though the amount was not much, it was still a good beginning—an unexpected delight.

After examining the Peachwood tree, Jiang Chen shifted his gaze toward the bamboo cage nearby. When he had just comprehended the new Mystic Slaying Finger, his Killing Intent had leaked outward, and the two mice had also been affected.

At that moment, one mouse seemed to have been stimulated somehow. It squeaked and screeched wildly, nearly crazed as it slammed itself against the bamboo cage, trying to escape. The other buried its head deep, hiding motionlessly in the corner and playing dead. Only the wet patch beneath it showed that it seemed to have been frightened into wetting itself.

Seeing this, Jiang Chen raised a brow. But he did not pay them much attention. He had more important matters to attend to.

He found brush and ink, lit a lamp, and by the moonlight, Jiang Chen recorded each of his insights one by one.

A short while later, after confirming there were no mistakes, Jiang Chen stopped.

"Grandmasters possess Divine Intent and can stir heaven and earth spiritual energy, thereby producing mysteries akin to spells. Perhaps this is the greatest secret of Grandmaster martial arts."

"After my revision, this Mystic Slaying Finger is still incomplete, merely a prototype. Yet in a sense, it is already a Grandmaster martial art, because it has fused with the power of Killing Intent."

Looking at the revised manual in his hand, Jiang Chen was quite satisfied.

This comprehension had given him a different kind of insight. The Grandmaster Realm of martial arts was no longer mysterious to him, and the key to opening its gates had long been in his grasp. So long as he accumulated enough, he could naturally step into that realm and attain the lifelong pursuit of countless martial artists.

It had to be said that Ironman Tu had a keen eye. He had chosen a martial art that suited him exceptionally well. Otherwise, he would not have progressed so smoothly.

"Grandmaster martial artists can use Divine Intent to stir heaven and earth spiritual energy. Does that mean Grandmaster martial artists can cultivate as well?"

Jiang Chen's thoughts spread outward as he considered a possibility.

The first step of cultivation was to stir heaven and earth spiritual energy to temper the body. Ordinary cultivators relied on their Spiritual Apertures to draw it in naturally, while Grandmasters could forcibly bind it with Divine Intent. Though their methods differed, the final result was similar.

After a moment, Jiang Chen withdrew his thoughts and shook his head. Whether Grandmasters could cultivate was not important to him. After all, he possessed a Spiritual Aperture. If he truly was curious, he could try it after becoming a Grandmaster someday. The Grandmaster Realm was not some unattainable height to him.