Xu Qing pondered for a moment. He had originally planned to ask Du Cangying for the middle section of the Azure Hawk Force once he stepped into the Transformative Force realm. Now, it seemed he would have to think it over carefully.
"It's still because I don't know enough about the specifics of 'Transformative Force.' If I had known that reaching 'Transformative Force' would bring such a leap in physical strength, I wouldn't have waited until after breaking through to ask Du Cangying for the middle section of the Azure Hawk Force."
Xu Qing sighed with some regret.
Now, however,
he could only abandon his original plan.
Blood Curse Beast Taming Technique LV4:80/80 (Upgradeable!)
"Upgrade the Blood Curse Beast Taming Technique."
Xu Qing said.
Buzz!
The Omni-Codex flashed with fluorescent light.
The next moment,
in a daze,
Xu Qing's consciousness seemed to enter that mysterious space once again. Within that mysterious space, he continuously comprehended and deduced the Blood Curse Beast Taming Technique.
At last,
Boom!
It was as though enlightenment had been poured straight into his mind.
Xu Qing had already mastered the upgraded Blood Curse Beast Taming Technique.
Blood Curse Beast Taming Technique LV5:0/160 (...)
The LV5 Blood Curse Beast Taming Technique could already command sixteen tamed beasts at once.
"Not bad."
Xu Qing nodded in satisfaction.
Thirteen Sword Strikes of Life-Taking LV2:60/60 (Upgradeable!)
"Upgrade the Thirteen Sword Strikes of Life-Taking."
Clang!
It was as if the cry of a sword rang beside his ear.
In truth,
the sword cry had risen from the depths of Xu Qing's heart.
Buzz!
The Omni-Codex glimmered with fluorescent light.
Xu Qing's consciousness gradually entered a mysterious space. Just like the previous upgrades, his consciousness continuously deduced and comprehended the Thirteen Sword Strikes of Life-Taking within that mysterious space.
The upgrade was complete.
Thirteen Sword Strikes of Life-Taking LV3:0/120 (This was originally an exceptionally exquisite sword art, consisting of thirteen strikes. Each strike contained one hundred and eight transformations, emphasizing speed, precision, and ruthlessness. At the same time, every strike carried an extremely fierce and baleful aura, representing a sword art of death and destruction. After deduction and evolution, it had further derived the Fourteenth Sword Strike of Life-Taking, named: Sword of Death.)
At LV3, the Thirteen Sword Strikes of Life-Taking further completed the 'Fourteenth Sword Strike of Life-Taking: Sword of Death.' At LV2, the 'Sword of Death' had possessed only thirty-six transformations.
Now,
after reaching LV3, the 'Sword of Death' had increased to seventy-two transformations.
"Not bad."
Xu Qing nodded, fairly satisfied.
"Since it's no longer easy to obtain the subsequent methods of the Azure Hawk Force from Du Cangying, I'll put that aside for now and focus wholeheartedly on cultivating Eight Extremities Fist."
Xu Qing said, "As long as I keep upgrading Eight Extremities Fist, I can likewise raise my realm and strength. There's no need to risk being discovered by Du Cangying."
Originally,
Xu Qing had thought that if he could become a true disciple of the Azure Hawk Martial Arts School, he might have a chance to glimpse the school's Fundamental Method.
Now, it seemed
he could only discuss it later.
Besides,
after Xu Qing stepped into Transformative Force, his appetite had soared. Three jin of Tai Sui Spirit Meat for each of his three daily meals could no longer sustain his daily cultivation.
If he were living normally,
three jin of Tai Sui Spirit Meat a day would have been enough.
However,
Xu Qing cultivated every day and practiced martial arts every day. As his realm surged, the amount of Tai Sui Spirit Meat he needed each day suddenly increased three- or fourfold.
That meant
Xu Qing needed to eat over ten jin of Tai Sui Spirit Meat every day.
He was completely and utterly a bottomless pit.
One could imagine it.
Martial artists ate so enormously every day, and this was only for Transformative Force martial artists. Above Transformative Force were Dan Force martial artists, and above Dan Force were martial artists of the Aura Realm.
Supporting even one martial artist's daily meals was already a tremendous expense. Yet now, the Great Zhou Martial Kingdom suffered all kinds of natural disasters year after year, causing countless crops to yield not a single grain.
The common people were nearly starving to death. Where would there be so much grain to feed martial artists?
After all,
martial artists wielded powerful Martial Force and did not engage in production at all. Only ordinary commoners at the bottom of society engaged in production.
In this way,
it was inevitable that the Great Zhou Martial Kingdom would be filled with misery and that the times would grow turbulent.
Of course,
spirit food like Tai Sui Spirit Meat came from a special demon known as a 'Tai Sui.' Once this demon had been tamed, it could become a 'meat field' and produce a considerable amount of Tai Sui Spirit Meat each day.
However,
the growth of a 'meat field' did not come from nothing. It still had to be fed, and only then could it produce enough spirit food each day.
"Eating over ten jin of Tai Sui Spirit Meat every day takes quite a bit of time just to finish the meals."
Xu Qing pondered. "It seems that after stepping into 'Transformative Force,' Tai Sui Spirit Meat should also be removed from my diet. Within the Azure Hawk Martial Arts School, Tai Sui Spirit Meat is only 'Level 1 Spirit Food.' Besides Tai Sui Spirit Meat, there is also spirit food called 'Meat Ganoderma,' which belongs to 'Level Two Spirit Food.' Even a Transformative Force martial artist only needs to eat one jin a day."
"Furthermore,"
"'Level Two Spirit Food' far surpasses 'Level 1 Spirit Food' in every aspect. It can also increase a martial artist's cultivation progress and is quite helpful for cultivation."
"However,"
"the price of 'Level Two Spirit Food' is naturally twenty times that of 'Level 1 Spirit Food.' One jin of Tai Sui Spirit Meat costs only ten taels of silver, while one jin of Meat Ganoderma costs two hundred taels of silver."
After thinking it over,
Xu Qing still decided to switch his future spirit food to Meat Ganoderma.
The first reason was that
Xu Qing had tens of thousands of taels of silver on him now. He was not short of money at all, and he ought to turn that money into his own strength as quickly as possible.
The second reason was that
Meat Ganoderma was far more effective than Tai Sui Spirit Meat. One jin a day was enough, saving Xu Qing the time spent eating.
Afterward,
Xu Qing made a trip to the Azure Hawk Martial Arts School. He entered the inner courtyard, arrived at the Resource Hall, took out three thousand taels' worth of silver notes, and bought fifteen jin of Meat Ganoderma.
"Xu Qing, let me remind you of something. Meat Ganoderma contains highly concentrated energy. Don't eat too much at once. If your body can't withstand it, you could burst apart and die."
Someone from the Resource Hall reminded Xu Qing.
"Alright, thank you for the reminder."
Xu Qing clasped his hands.
Time flew by.
Over the following days, Xu Qing began living a two-point routine every day. After eating one jin of Meat Ganoderma in the morning, he left home and headed to White Dwarf Mountain, using those ants to farm experience for the Blood Curse Beast Taming Technique.
At the same time,
Xu Qing practiced Eight Extremities Fist and the Thirteen Sword Strikes of Life-Taking every day.
Generally speaking,
after cultivating for an entire day, Eight Extremities Fist could gain around fifty experience points. At night, practicing the Thirteen Sword Strikes of Life-Taking could gain around ten experience points.
Apart from that,
Xu Qing rarely practiced other martial arts, placing most of his time into Eight Extremities Fist and the Thirteen Sword Strikes of Life-Taking.
In the blink of an eye,
twelve days passed.
Of the fifteen jin of Meat Ganoderma Xu Qing had bought from the Azure Hawk Martial Arts School last time, three jin remained, enough for another three days. Meanwhile, the Thirteen Sword Strikes of Life-Taking could already be upgraded. After eating it all.
Twelve days.
Eight Extremities Fist LV8:600/1280.
Thirteen Sword Strikes of Life-Taking LV3:120/120.
Blood Curse Beast Taming Technique LV5:120/160.
"Upgrade the Thirteen Sword Strikes of Life-Taking."
Xu Qing said.
Boom!
Xu Qing's mind shook, and the Omni-Codex flashed with fluorescent light. His consciousness seemed to enter a mysterious space, where he practiced and deduced the Thirteen Sword Strikes of Life-Taking.
At last,
enlightenment flooded his mind.
Xu Qing had already mastered the upgraded Thirteen Sword Strikes of Life-Taking.
Thirteen Sword Strikes of Life-Taking LV4:0/240 (...)
After the upgrade,
the Fourteenth Sword was perfected once more. The transformations of the 'Sword of Death' increased from the original seventy-two to one hundred and eight.
In other words,
the 'Fourteenth Sword Strike of Life-Taking: Sword of Death' had been completely perfected.
In the blink of an eye,
another three days passed.
The fifteen jin of Meat Ganoderma Xu Qing had bought last time had all been eaten.
At dusk,
within the courtyard.
"Not bad."
Xu Qing watched Yu Hu complete the full set of Eight Extremities Fist. A satisfied smile appeared on his face as he said, "Yu Hu, from today onward, you have completely learned Eight Extremities Fist."
"Thank you, Master."
Yu Hu knelt on the ground.
"Mm."
Xu Qing nodded lightly. "Starting tomorrow, you no longer need to come running to your master's place every evening. Just practice Eight Extremities Fist at home."
"If you have any doubts or things you don't understand about the fist art, then come find your master."
"Yes."
Yu Hu kowtowed in salute.
"Practice martial arts properly. Don't squander your time. When you have trained Eight Extremities Fist to the level of Bright Force, your master will continue teaching you."
Xu Qing said this.
"This disciple shall heed Master's teachings."
Yu Hu's tone was sincere.
"Go."
Xu Qing waved his hand.
Thus,
Xu Qing's first disciple in name had more or less completed his apprenticeship. Though Yu Hu had learned only Eight Extremities Fist, the Eight Extremities Fist Xu Qing taught contained the essence of combat methods and a trace of cultivation methods. It was enough for Yu Hu to use this combat art to cultivate genuine Bright Force and become a Bright Force martial artist.
In fact,
Xu Qing did not know exactly how good Yu Hu's innate aptitude was, but his physical constitution was indeed fairly good, and he trained diligently. If he could keep persevering with such effort, he would achieve something in the future.
"It's just..."
Xu Qing frowned slightly. He recalled what the Shaman Evil Ghost had said. There was a 'spell' within Yu Hu's mind. According to Xu Qing's deduction, it must have been planted by that old priest four years ago, using that wooden plaque of Extreme Yin Wood as the medium.
"What exactly is that 'spell'?"
Xu Qing sank into thought.
Unfortunately,
Xu Qing knew only martial arts. He knew neither Daoist divine abilities, Confucian methods, nor Immortal Sect magic, so he could not undo this 'spell.'
Perhaps,
the one who tied the bell must be the one to untie it.
To remove this 'spell,' he would still have to find that old priest from four years ago.
The next day,
Xu Qing went to the Azure Hawk Martial Arts School again. He arrived at the Resource Hall, took out another three thousand taels' worth of silver notes, and bought a full fifteen jin of Meat Ganoderma.
"Xu Qing, it's you again. You've already finished the fifteen jin of Meat Ganoderma you bought last time? That quickly? You seem to be only at Bright Force."
The person from the Resource Hall asked in confusion.
"I'm stocking up a little more. Just stocking up a little more."
Xu Qing explained.
"Spirit food still shouldn't be stored for too long. If you store it too long, its energy will dissipate. Besides, the Azure Hawk Martial Arts School always has Meat Ganoderma available, so there's no need to stockpile it."
The person from the Resource Hall said.
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