Choosing Martial Arts

"The operator has reached the fourth stage of Ninefold Essence Refinement and meets the Republic's requirements for switching cultivation methods. Please choose the cultivation method you wish to switch to. If you have any requirements, please select them in the filter field.

"State regulations stipulate that martial arts examination candidates may only switch to another cultivation method after reaching the fourth stage of Essence Tempering or entering the second half of their senior year.

"Any violation, once discovered, will result in severe punishment for those who instigated it.

"At best, a disciplinary record will be placed on file; at worst, martial cultivation will be abolished and criminal sentencing imposed.

"Once prospective martial artists reach the fourth stage, they may freely select one cultivation method up to upper-grade Yellow rank."

Following the artificial intelligence's instructions, Chen Wu entered his requirements into the filter field and clicked search.

Less than three seconds later, the names and relevant details of thirteen filtered cultivation methods appeared on the screen in an orderly list.

Chen Wu then adjusted the cultivation method grade filter to middle-grade Yellow rank and above.

After this round of filtering, only three remained on the display: Profound Origin Art, Jade Condensation Art, and Essence Tempering Method.

Among them, Jade Condensation Art and Essence Tempering Method were upper-grade Yellow-rank methods, while Profound Origin Art was a middle-grade Yellow-rank method.

All three methods could purify true qi and temper the source seed.

All three methods could purify true qi and temper the source seed.

What set Profound Origin Art apart from the other two was that, rather than an internal cultivation method, it was more accurately a technique that helped practitioners condense purer true qi.

This was also the main reason why Profound Origin Art ranked lower than the other two martial arts.

After quickly familiarizing himself with the characteristics of the three methods, Chen Wu ultimately chose Profound Origin Art as the method he would switch to.

For him, the Basic Internal Art issued by the school was already enough. It would not be too late to switch to another cultivation method after attaining rank. Moreover, Profound Origin Art was the only one of the three that would not affect the nature of his source seed.

When he opened Profound Origin Art on the provincial library's official website, he found its introduction.

"On the path of martial arts, Essence Tempering has nine transformations. The more times one tempers one's essence, the larger one's qi sea will be upon attaining rank, and the more true qi it can store."

"Yet many people, constrained by their talent, come to a halt at the third or fourth transformation."

"To ascend to heaven through nine transformations of Essence Tempering—based on this principle, its creator devised a technique that further enhances the tempering of true qi, helping prospective martial artists to the greatest extent possible to open their qi seas and purify their true qi when they can no longer break through to a higher realm."

After carefully reading the introduction once, Chen Wu became even more certain of the creator's intentions.

The original intent had been to let martial artists stuck at the third transformation, unable to break through, gain combat power comparable to those at the fourth transformation after practicing this art, helping them achieve better results in the martial arts examination.

As everyone knew, although the third Essence Tempering transformation possessed some combat capability, it relied more heavily on a body hardened through painstaking training.

Only upon reaching the fourth transformation could one truly mobilize a portion of one's true qi.

By practicing this art, one could display fourth-transformation strength while still at the third transformation.

Furthermore, after being refined, the seed of true essence could suppress opponents of the same rank after opening the qi sea.

According to the method's description, martial artists who attained rank from the third Essence Tempering transformation would, after practicing Profound Origin Art, fall short of genuine fourth-transformation ranked martial artists, yet still hold an advantage within their own rank.

Therefore, at the end of the introduction, the creator advised practitioners to choose this method only a month before the martial arts examination, after confirming that they had no hope of further breakthroughs.

The price of practicing this method was that once the true essence source seed had completed its condensation, breaking through to higher Essence Tempering realms would require not merely twice as much true qi.

This also meant that once ordinary martial artists practiced it, it would be difficult for them to make any further breakthroughs in the Essence Tempering realm.

That was why a grandmaster had judged this method to be rather difficult, suitable only for beginners cultivating in the Essence Tempering realm.

The creator's original intention was to give martial arts examination candidates more opportunities in secret realm trials. After attaining rank and gaining a certain degree of ability, they could either specialize in other methods or further purify their true qi.

But for Chen Wu, who had an endless supply of heaven-and-earth essence qi to rely on, it was the most suitable Foundation Establishment method.

On the path of martial arts, the foundation mattered above all else.

If martial cultivation were compared to constructing a building, the firmer the foundation, the higher the floors one could build.

And Profound Origin Art was precisely what could help Chen Wu make his foundation surpass all others.

With the Holy Demon Embryo absorbing the qi of heaven and earth to bolster him, the vast amount of essence qi required for Chen Wu's tempered true essence seed to break through was no problem at all.

Chen Wu immediately chose this art as the cultivation method he would switch to.

After he clicked confirm, the artificial intelligence immediately began arranging for the method to be uploaded to Chen Wu's phone account.

While waiting for the method to upload, Chen Wu had no intention of sitting idle and continued searching for cultivation methods on the computer.

Although Profound Origin Art would greatly help Chen Wu in terms of his internal cultivation foundation, he still needed some means to face enemies.

He happened to have the two points earned from alchemy, and he did not intend to keep them for long. It was the perfect chance to see what martial skills were suitable for exchange.

After searching for a while, Chen Wu's pupils contracted. He saw a familiar name on the screen.

"Primal Heaven Mirror, first five layers. Middle-grade Profound rank. Exchange price: 150 points."

"It really was this martial art."

Chen Wu opened the introduction and discovered that it was indeed the cultivation method from his memories.

The Primal Heaven Mirror was said to have been created by the great deity Nuwa. It was distinguished by its use of natural energies and contained both internal cultivation and martial skills.

Its conception was lofty, and it differed greatly from modern martial arts principles.

In the era of ancient mythology, the Fire God Zhurong and the Water God Gonggong fought a great war over dominion of the world.

Defeated, the Water God Gonggong flew into a rage and crashed into Mount Buzhou, splitting the heavens and unleashing floods that caused grievous casualties among the people.

With a heart of great compassion, Nuwa took upon herself the task of mending the heavens. She gathered Five-Colored Stones, smelted them, and used them to patch the sky.

Afterward, she cut off the legs of a divine tortoise to prop up the four poles, calmed the floods, and slew the savage beasts. Only then could all living beings dwell in peace.

Based on this experience, the great deity Nuwa created this divine-grade method, which encompassed ten images such as heaven, earth, clouds, and rosy mists, expounding the principles of nature's creation.

This method had ten layers: "White Cloud Smoke," "Roseglow Ripple," "Earth Kunlun," "Jade Snow Ice," "Violet Star River," "Dark Chaos," "Indigo Sea," "Golden Dawn," "Blood Firmament," and "Profound Universe."

Each layer corresponded to a type of natural energy. Its variety of attribute transformations could be called the greatest among countless cultivation methods.

Practitioners could progress layer by layer, or cultivate a single layer alone. Only after mastering the first nine layers would they have a chance to glimpse the "Profound Universe," which contained the ultimate truths of the cosmos.

The artistic conception of this method was so lofty that it could reach directly to the first rank.

Precisely because of this, a question arose in Chen Wu's heart: why was this method so cheap?

A martial art like Primal Heaven Mirror, which embraced all things and possessed immense adaptability, should not have been priced this low.

However, when Chen Wu saw the price breakdown by layers, he immediately understood the reason behind it.

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