Cloudtrace Phantom
It's mid-February now.
Ye An's position in the Demon Suppressing Guard has been officially promoted to Commandant.
However, Ye An was not a legitimate member of the Demon Suppressing Guard. The position of Commandant was only nominal. Although he enjoyed a salary, his real power was limited. He could only mobilize some basic resources and manpower in certain situations.
Unlike those who started out serving in the Demon Suppressing Guard instead of joining from the Sect, the former wield real power, while the latter, like Ye An, enjoy resources and help with tasks, but have little real authority.
As Ye An flipped through the Merit book, his gaze fell upon a treasure— the Nine-Aperture Lingzhi!
Required Merit Points: 24,000!
This item can improve a martial artist's Root Bone, even if it's Grade A.
It's safe to say that perhaps only the Demon Suppressing Guard possesses such precious materials.
Ye An had recently checked the Sect's records and found that the Four Symbols Sect also had a treasure that could upgrade Grade B+ Bone Aptitude to Grade A.
However, its greatest use is not in improving Root Bone.
The Cangwu Tree has two special treasures: Cangwu Spirit Liquid and Cangwu Fruit.
What Ye An was thinking about was the Cangwu Fruit.
However, the Cangwu Fruit requires a long period of time to be of great use, and using this fruit to improve Root Bone would be a huge waste.
Its better use is to break through the bottleneck of the Gathered Origin Realm; that is its true purpose.
I wonder if Sect Master Zhao Xuanji will use this opportunity to provoke his Sect during the upcoming Four Sects Grand Competition.
Ye An glanced at his remaining Merit points in the Demon Suppressing Guard; it was less than eight thousand.
Even after completing two Demon Suppressing Guard missions and earning a first-class merit, he was still far from being able to exchange for the Nine-Aperture Lingzhi.
Moreover, such special events don't happen often, so Ye An might as well use some of the Merit award rather than keeping it unusable.
Once your strength improves, it will be easier to obtain Merit points when encountering special missions.
Ye An then decided to go to the residence of the Demon Master in Cangwu County to see if there was anything worth exchanging.
Demon Suppressing Guard Cangwu Prefecture.
After arriving at the Demon Suppressing Guard, Ye An discovered that he didn't need most of the things.
With the Cangwu Spirit Liquid now available to aid in Martial Arts advancement, exchanging resources for it is particularly pointless.
Ye An prepared to go to the side hall on the second floor, because there were many Martial Arts manuals worth exchanging for there.
Ye An glanced around and saw a row of bookshelves. Ye An was only missing one type of Martial Arts, which was related to Movement Method.
Finally, Ye An stopped and stood beside one of the bookshelves.
"Cloudtrace Phantom and Illusions: Fragments" - Secret Art of Movement Method.
Required Merit Points: 4,000.
Secret Art Movement Method techniques!
It was exactly what he needed, so Ye An immediately exchanged it, only to be told off by the garrison Commandant.
The complete Mnemonic and secrets of "Cloudtrace Phantom," as well as the complete operating diagram, are in Yun Province Prefecture and will take a few days to arrive.
Five days later, an official from the Demon Suppressing Guard Bureau delivered a sealed wooden box.
After handing the wooden box to Ye An, the Commandant of the Demon Suppressing Guard spoke politely, but still with a touch of official business. "Commandant, this Movement Method Secret Art can only be comprehended by the person Commandant it. Please remember this."
"I see."
After hearing Ye An's reply, the Commandant bowed and left.
Ye An opened the booklet, and the more he read, the more he realized that this Movement Method Secret Art was extraordinary.
The core of "Cloudtrace Phantom" lies in two words: "Shadow Borrowing".
This movement Movement Method does not rely on pure explosive power for acceleration. Instead, it uses True Essence to form a special pattern on the soles of the feet, using one's own shadow as a "lever point" to create afterimages during movement.
When one reaches the Initial Glance of cultivation, one can briefly leave behind a phantom image that is almost identical to the real body, causing the opponent to misjudge the situation.
A passage from the Secret Art caught Ye An's attention. "Where the shadow is, the body follows. The shadow does not dissipate, the body does not appear."
What's the meaning?
This means that the real body can switch places with the illusory image in a very short time.
When one cultivates to a higher level, the afterimage can even move autonomously for brief periods.
It can not only confuse the opponent, but also create opportunities.
Ye An closed the booklet and began to try to activate the Secret Art.
The first time, the moment Ye An's True Essence formed Qi Sea under his feet, his body swayed, and then he stopped as if he had stepped into thin air.
On the second try, Ye An found the knack, feeling his body become lighter and his speed increased.
The third time, Ye An activated his Movement Method Secret Art to move a distance, but left an afterimage where he had just started.
[Cloudtrace Phantom (Initial Glance): 1/1000]
The next second, [Peak Perfection] activated, and 30% of the progress reward was directly poured in.
[Cloudtrace Phantom (Initial Glance): 301/1000]
Ye An immediately felt the Qi Sea under his feet become solid, and his movements were almost completely silent.
Ye An tried to quickly turn back in the courtyard. When he returned, the afterimage he left in the same spot still maintained the same posture he had when he started.
But Ye An's true form had already bypassed all the obstacles in the courtyard and landed on the other side of the courtyard wall.
The afterimage lasted for a full two breaths before disappearing in the next instant.
Ye An Cloudtrace Phantom again, his figure replacing the afterimage.
At this moment, Ye An gained a deeper understanding of "traveling by Shadow Borrowing".
This Secret Art can save lives in critical moments, or it can kill.
Having mastered a Movement Method Secret Art, Ye An once again focused his attention on the Martial Arts of the Black Tortoise Hall.
From early February to early March, Ye An consumed all three drops of Cangwu Spirit Liquid while simultaneously improving his Black Tortoise Sea-Suppressing Art and Black Tortoise Mountain-Suppressing Palm.
Under the magical nourishment of this ring, Ye An's Mid-Grade B Root Bone officially broke through to the High-Grade B in early March.
The moment Ye An's Root Bone broke through from the Mid-Grade B to the High-Grade B, his whole body trembled violently.
A warm mist rose from his body, seeping out through his robes in wisps, as if impurities buried deep in his meridians had been completely eliminated and turned into gas that drifted out of his body.
In that instant, Ye An felt his limbs and internal organs were strengthened, followed by a tingling and numb sensation that spread like a drink being poured over his head.
This scene was like someone who had been thirsty in the desert for a long time finally drinking a mouthful of sweet spring water.
This feeling of lingering sensation came and went several times before finally ending.
Ye An felt that the efficiency of his True Essence flowing through his meridians had increased significantly. Although his Root Bone had only improved by one small level, the benefit to Ye An was undoubtedly enormous.
Ye An could still feel that the ring's effect of nourishing his Root Bone was still present, but his Grade B+ Bone Aptitude, and he couldn't break through to Grade A.
However, Ye An was already quite satisfied; this step was enough to save a lot of time in subsequent cultivation.
At this point, Ye An had completed a month of training, and his progress in the Black Tortoise Hall Martial Arts was:
[Black Tortoise Sea-Suppressing Art - Qi Condensation Chapter (Second Level): 962/1500]
[Black Tortoise Mountain-Suppressing Palm - Part 1 (Micro): 971/1500]
The progress of the two Martial Arts has slowed down considerably compared to last month. The further Martial Arts, the more difficult it becomes to improve.
This is just a normal training curve; there's nothing to worry about.
After all, the most difficult level in Martial Arts is between 9 and 10, and Ye An doesn't have that difficulty.