Combat Training

For a while after that, the Yellow Springs Demon Saint personally taught Wu Bai Glimmering Shadow, helping him train while making up for his lack of combat experience.

In particular, once Wu Bai mastered Mixed Origin Force, he effectively gained several Dou Techniques derived from it.

Sending the force out through his fingertips produced the Mixed Origin Finger.

Sending it out through his palm produced the Mixed Origin Palm.

There were also the Mixed Origin Fist, Mixed Origin Kick, Mixed Origin Leg... and more.

The Yellow Springs Demon Saint taught him these techniques because Wu Bai had already opened the tiny meridians throughout his body. All his meridians were connected.

The names might sound ridiculous. After all, each technique seemed to do nothing more than send force outward.

But each one channeled that force through different tiny meridians to draw out as much power as possible. It was far more than a change of name.

In the dense forest, the smell of rot marked the nearby swamp.

Above the swamp, the Yellow Springs Demon Saint looked around, then watched Wu Bai sprint toward him with a smile.

He flicked a pebble straight at Wu Bai's stomach. Wu Bai seemed not to notice it and kept running directly toward him.

The pebble struck Wu Bai, but there was no sound, not even a cry of pain. It passed straight through his body.

The Yellow Springs Demon Saint turned his head. Wu Bai had suddenly appeared behind him and to one side, two fingers raised.

A sharp burst of blue-white force flashed toward the Yellow Springs Demon Saint's face. He shifted slightly aside and dodged it.

A dragon's roar rang out as Wu Bai formed a fiery flood dragon over ten feet long.

It opened its jaws toward the Yellow Springs Demon Saint and spewed a searing pillar of flame.

The Yellow Springs Demon Saint turned slightly again, letting the pillar of flame pass close by. Its heat was enough to warp the air.

The flames slammed into the swamp. Steam billowed up and enveloped the Yellow Springs Demon Saint.

He swept the steam away. The fiery flood dragon had already vanished, leaving only a few wisps of blue-white flame.

He turned at once and saw Wu Bai a short distance away, his hands pressed together and his fingers aimed at him.

Whoosh!

Compressed force tore through the air, a piercing crack trailing behind it.

Nearly silent, it punched through everything in its path for a hundred meters.

Neither tough trees nor solid rock could withstand the compressed force.

Through the holes, each only slightly thicker than a needle, the scenery a hundred meters away was clearly visible.

A few seconds later, wisps of smoke rose from the holes in the trees, heated by the force's passage.

The Yellow Springs Demon Saint looked away, delight and pride plain on his face.

"Good lad. If that move hit someone in the upper body, an ordinary Dou Ling would die on the spot. In terms of damage to a single target, even an Earth-rank Dou Technique might not match it."

Wu Bai walked over, his face pale and both palms still trembling uncontrollably.

"But the cost is steep. If I miss, all I can do afterward is run. And compressing the force takes far more Soul Power than refining a Fifth-grade Pill. Even if my hands can eventually bear the strain, with my current Soul Power, I'd lose consciousness after three uses."

Despite his words, excitement still shone in Wu Bai's eyes.

He had drawn on his memories and his mastery of Dou Techniques to create a powerful new technique. The sense of achievement was immense.

"Heh. Seems this old man isn't half bad at teaching!"

The Yellow Springs Demon Saint laughed and patted Wu Bai's shoulder. "Why didn't you aim that last move at me?"

"You're my teacher. What if I hurt you?"

"Ha! Are you looking down on me, boy? Even in my current state, I could stand still and let you hit me. You wouldn't hurt me in the slightest."

"But you're my teacher."

Wu Bai shook his head stubbornly. Of course he knew how strong his teacher was.

He had never seen the Yellow Springs Demon Saint truly fight, but he had another old master to use as a point of comparison.

Yao Chen could fight a Dou Zong while in soul form. Surely his teacher was no weaker than Yao Chen?

Wu Bai simply could not bring himself to attack his teacher.

He was no treacherous disciple. The move's power was uncertain. What if his teacher let down his guard and really got hurt?

"You brat..."

The Yellow Springs Demon Saint opened his mouth, then said nothing. He merely patted Wu Bai's shoulder again.

Then he happily announced that Wu Bai's combat training was complete.

In his eyes, the combination Wu Bai had just used was more than enough to deal with anyone below the Dou Wang level.

And that last move? Even a Dou Wang would die with a hole through his head!

"Your training from here on should focus on your Cultivation Technique."

"My Cultivation Technique? I've already mastered it."

Wu Bai was puzzled. Was his mastery still lacking?

The Yellow Springs Demon Saint shook his head and lightly touched Wu Bai's forehead with a finger.

"You have mastered it, but you're still missing something. Haven't you noticed that your flames burn hotter than other people's?"

"Isn't that because I'm an Alchemist and have a top-tier seventh-rank Flood Dragon Flame Seed?"

"..."

The Yellow Springs Demon Saint fell silent. The boy had a point.

"The technique you cultivate wasn't something I chose at random. It's actually a Cultivation Technique that trains both Dou Qi and the body."

"The Dou Qi produced by the Sunflame Art is hotter than most people's. You can also use it to temper your body from the inside out."

"I didn't tell you before because you were too weak. Now that you're a Da Dou Shi, you can begin the first stage of tempering."

The Yellow Springs Demon Saint sighed softly. "It may be impossible, but keep an eye out for Earth Core Body Tempering Milk, even if it's been diluted."

"It's the essence of the earth's veins. Even diluted Earth Core Body Tempering Milk would be enough to temper your body to a level comparable to those who've trained theirs since childhood."

"With it to aid your training, you could temper your body twice as efficiently."

"And the seventh-grade Pill Formula that can improve your aptitude later on requires Earth Core Body Tempering Milk too."

"But if you can't find any, that's fine. There's an Eighth-Tier Pill Formula you can use instead. It'll just take longer."

When Wu Bai suddenly lowered his head, the Yellow Springs Demon Saint thought he had put too much pressure on the boy and dampened his spirits.

Wu Bai spoke with a hint of hesitation and hope. "Teacher, sorry for the trouble, but could you check whether there are any Snow Demon Sky Apes nearby?"

"Hm? Snow Demon Sky Apes?"

The Yellow Springs Demon Saint paused. Why the sudden change of subject?

But it was rare for his disciple to ask him for help. He did not refuse and gave a slight nod.