Secret Technique Perfected

Unfortunately, the path to Transforming Strength had long since been lost. Even Jia Qingshan did not know how to proceed further, so Wu Ming could only set the matter aside for now.

But then an idea struck him, and he suddenly asked, "By the way, Master, I once heard of a kind of Hidden Strength that can also unleash several times one's normal power, but its principles differ from what you described. Is it related to Xingyi Quan's Hidden Strength?"

"Oh?" Jia Qingshan was intrigued. "Tell me about it."

So Wu Ming told him everything about the Hidden Strength principles behind the original Ninefold Thunder Blade. Jia Qingshan frowned slightly after hearing it. "Layered Hidden Strength? It does resemble the principles of Baji Quan somewhat, but not entirely."

Following Wu Ming's description, he tried throwing a punch. A flash of understanding suddenly crossed his eyes. "I remember now. This is not a Huaxia Internal Martial Arts technique, but a theory originating from India's Ancient Yoga Technique."

"Ancient Yoga Technique?" Wu Ming was startled.

"That's right." Jia Qingshan nodded. "There are actually masters within the country who specialize in Ancient Yoga Technique. The most famous is Master Banda, Lei Xiao. Banda is a transliteration from an ancient Indian language; translated, it means 'Energy Lock.'"

"The theory behind Energy Locks is to temporarily lock away the body's force, layer it several times over, then release it all at once, producing several times the power."

"Compared to true Hidden Strength, Energy Locks lean more toward technique than principle."

"But it has its advantages as well. It is easier to get started with. Even beginners can master the most basic form of explosive release within a year or two, while Internal Martial Arts disciples of the same period might still be feeling their way through Bright Strength."

As he spoke, he glanced at Wu Ming. "Of course, you little monster are an exception."

Wu Ming smiled and did not pursue the topic. Instead, he asked, "Master, how strong is this Master Lei Xiao?"

He suspected that this so-called Master Lei Xiao might be the Thunder God of the future. After all, the principles of Energy Locks were far too similar to the Ninefold Thunder Blade.

But Jia Qingshan shook his head. "Lei Xiao? He is called a master only because his control over force is highly refined. He himself, however, is not skilled at combat."

Wu Ming froze. Not skilled at combat? Then was he still the Thunder God?

"What, you don't believe me?"

Jia Qingshan chuckled. "Ancient Yoga Technique is deeply influenced by India's Buddhist culture. It views the fleshly body as merely a shell and does not place much importance on physical tempering."

"Thus, yoga practitioners cultivate force differently from Internal Martial Arts. Without the transition through Bright Strength, their power feels soft and weak. No matter how high their explosive output is, it is merely a castle in the air."

"His son, however, is quite formidable. He follows a path combining Internal Martial Arts with yoga techniques. His strength far surpasses his father's, and despite his young age, he has already reached the Hidden Strength realm."

Wu Ming's eyes lit up. "Lei Xiao's son? What is his name?"

"I don't know. He has never revealed his real name." Jia Qingshan shook his head. "But he gave himself a nickname: Thunder God. He generally uses that name when dealing with outsiders."

Thunder God?!

Wu Ming took a deep breath. Everything matched up!

According to Jia Qingshan, the core of Internal Martial Arts lay in control. Whether Bright Strength or Hidden Strength, the goal was to control one's body.

Ancient Yoga Technique, on the other hand, took a different path. It placed greater emphasis on exploring the mind and energy, while paying comparatively little attention to the body itself.

Thus, Ancient Yoga Technique's application of force could be called miraculous, yet it did not know how to strengthen that force itself.

The Thunder God, however, combined the strengths of both schools, cultivating both mind and body. Naturally, his combat power was immense, and in the future, he would even create a supreme art hailed as the world's number one method of exerting force.

"By the way, Master, how did you know the Thunder God was at Hidden Strength?" Wu Ming suddenly came back to his senses. "Could it be that you've met him before?"

"More than met him. We even exchanged blows."

Jia Qingshan shook his head and recounted an old incident. "Three years ago, the Thunder God somehow heard of my former reputation and came to challenge me to a spar."

"Unfortunately, he was still too young at the time. Though he had reached Hidden Strength, he had yet to fully mature, so he narrowly lost to me."

"But his heart was pure, and he had not come to provoke me deliberately, so I did not strike too heavily. Afterward, he exchanged some martial insights with me, then casually left behind a copy of the Banda Secret Essentials before departing."

"If not for that, when you mentioned the technique of layering Hidden Strength just now, I would not have connected it to Energy Locks so quickly."

As he spoke, he noticed Wu Ming's expression and grinned. "What? Interested in this manual?"

Wu Ming nodded repeatedly. Of course he was interested. It was the predecessor to the Ninefold Thunder Blade.

Transforming Strength was powerful, but it was still too vague and distant for him right now. In comparison, Energy Lock techniques were much more practical and could help him quickly master the layered force of Hidden Strength.

"Don't worry. Since I promised to teach you Internal Martial Arts, I won't hold anything back."

Although the Banda Secret Essentials did not truly belong to Internal Martial Arts, Jia Qingshan did not care about such details. He merely said, "But I must remind you of one thing. Though this secret technique is good, it requires the practitioner to possess a pure mind. Otherwise, it is difficult even to enter the gate."

"I have had this secret technique for three years, yet for this very reason, I have never been able to comprehend its methods."

He warned him seriously, "I also hope you will act within your limits. The moment you find something wrong, stop in time. Don't waste your years for nothing."

"I will." Wu Ming nodded heavily.

That very night, he obtained his second secret technique, the Banda Secret Essentials. Together with the Jade Lock Golden Pass Formula, these two secret techniques would become the main focus of his cultivation after Hidden Strength.

That was right. Since he had been relentlessly pushing toward Hidden Strength these past few days, he had not had time to cultivate the Jade Lock Golden Pass Formula.

Fortunately, now that he had crossed the threshold into Hidden Strength and fully mastered Xingyi Quan, he finally had the spare energy to study various secret techniques.

In fact, this had also been Jia Qingshan's suggestion. The Jade Lock Golden Pass Formula served to seal the body and required extremely high control over one's physical form.

Only by mastering Hidden Strength first and then learning this secret technique could he achieve twice the result with half the effort.

Besides that, blade techniques were formally added to Wu Ming's daily cultivation routine. With Hidden Strength granting him such precise control over his body, the basic movements of blade techniques no longer held any secrets in his eyes.

In only half a day, Wu Ming mastered every basic blade move. Then, over the next two and a half days, he transformed the force principles of Five Elements Fist one by one into five blade techniques.

But that was still only the foundation. Going forward, he would need to comprehend the essence of every school of Internal Martial Arts and integrate it into his own fist and blade techniques, steadily pushing his Hidden Strength toward full mastery.

Unfortunately, the day after teaching him the Banda Secret Essentials, Jia Qingshan announced that he was entering seclusion to devote himself completely to comprehending cosmic energy.

Before Jia Qingshan emerged from seclusion, Wu Ming could only temper his blade techniques and cultivate the two secret arts.

Fortunately, with the foundation laid by Hidden Strength, the Jade Lock Golden Pass Formula was incredibly quick to learn. In just one day, he reached the minor mastery stage and sealed thirty percent of the pores across his body.

Thanks to that, the time he could spend cultivating Genetic Energy at night increased slightly, equivalent to raising the effect of the Guidance Technique to 3.3 times.

As the Jade Lock Golden Pass Formula continued to improve, Wu Ming's daily cultivation gains steadily increased as well.

Several days passed in the blink of an eye, and the date arrived at February 8.

By then, Wu Ming could seal more than ninety percent of the pores and acupoints throughout his body, leaving only the Baihui acupoint atop his head as a pressure-release outlet to prevent excessive internal pressure from damaging his body.

And reaching this point meant that the Jade Lock Golden Pass Formula had been completely perfected.

Under his daily high-intensity training, the effect of the Guidance Technique had already risen to five times, and his strength increased by more than 260 kilograms each day!

But just as Wu Ming happily tested the effects of the secret technique, his Spiritual Force suddenly sensed a distinct surge of energy coming from the dormitory building at the foot of the mountain.

Jia Qingshan had broken through!