Badass Skill!

In the silent, deserted depths of night.

The instant Wang Zhuo sank his awareness into his body, he saw that chaos again.

Ever since entering his body, the source powers of the Logia fruits had been ceaselessly crashing through his meridians and organs.

They fought and wrestled with one another, none willing to submit.

Blue-green wood Qi sought to spread through everything, only to be scorched by blazing red fire Qi until it curled and withered.

Heavy yellow earth Qi sought to suppress all directions, only to be scattered by the clear, sharp metal wind.

Moistening, descending water Qi sought to permeate his entire body, only to encounter blockages of earth Qi.

Metal, wood, water, fire, and earth were the principles of the five elements of heaven and earth, yet inside his body, they had become a deadlock of mutual assault.

Whenever he had used them before, he had relied entirely on his formidable cultivation and Cursed Energy to force them down. Ultimately, it was like drinking poison to quench his thirst, draining his mind.

Today, he had gained insight into Threefold Reversal and understood the principle of storing Qi in the five viscera.

He simply seized this opportunity of deep meditation to make his own body a crucible!

He would firmly anchor the five source powers within his five viscera, each in its proper place, keeping one another in check.

At a thought, innate True Qi rose from his dantian and first settled into the spleen in his middle burner.

He silently recited: The spleen belongs to earth, governs support and transformation, and serves as the hub of the five elements.

The deep, weighty source power of the Earth-Earth Fruit slowly sank with his True Qi, anchoring firmly within his spleen.

Dense, murky yellow earth Qi spread outward, like the earth steadying the mountains, first pressing down heavily upon the chaotic forces spilling out in all directions.

With earth at the center, stabilizing the foundation, the forces of the four directions had somewhere to return and no longer crashed about like headless flies.

Once the hub was established, he guided the blue-green wood Qi into his liver.

The liver belonged to wood, governing growth and free circulation, as well as binding and restraint.

The Wood-Wood Fruit's power of vitality flowed slowly along the liver meridian. It no longer spread and grew wildly everywhere, but hid among the lobes of his liver, circulating freely along the twelve meridians.

At rest, it nourished his flesh and bones; in action, it could produce countless trees to entangle, seal, and suppress an enemy's body.

Wood Qi was prone to excessive flourishing, but with lung metal Qi restraining it above and kidney water Qi nourishing it below, it could grow without running wild and expand without losing restraint.

Next, he guided the blazing red fire Qi into his heart.

The heart belonged to fire, governing warmth and circulation; when unleashed, it possessed the might to incinerate.

The Flame-Flame Fruit's source of blazing flames entered his heart. No longer raging about violently, it instead became a gentle heart fire, traveling throughout his body along his blood vessels.

In defense, it warmed and nourished his internal organs; in action, flames soared into the air, burning everything to ash.

Nourished by liver wood, his heart fire would never run dry, and balanced by kidney water, it would not grow excessive. With water and fire in harmony, there was no danger of burning himself.

Then he guided the clear, sharp metal wind into his lungs.

The lungs belonged to metal, governing killing and restraint, each breath a blade.

When the Wind-Wind Fruit's source power of airflow entered his lungs, it rose and fell with his breathing.

As he exhaled, metal wind left its sheath, sharp as a knife, slicing through all things.

As he inhaled, all that sharpness withdrew, protecting his skin and hair.

Nourished by spleen earth, lung metal had deep foundations; tempered by heart fire, it became even sharper. With liver wood also keeping it in balance, it would not become so sharp that it snapped.

Finally, he guided the moistening, descending water Qi into his kidneys.

The kidneys belonged to water, governing the storage of essence and fluid transformation, permeating every opening.

The Swim-Swim Fruit's source power of flowing water sank into the gate of life between his kidneys. It no longer flooded outward, instead becoming subtle bodily fluids that circulated through his twelve meridians and permeated his flesh and marrow.

In action, it could be water or ice, transforming without fixed form.

In defense, it transformed into essence and Qi, safeguarding the foundation of his life.

Nourished by lung metal, kidney water flowed without end; restrained by spleen earth, it neither grew cold nor overflowed, gathering and releasing freely.

At this point, all five forms of Qi were in their proper places.

Blue-green entered the liver, crimson entered the heart, earthy yellow occupied the spleen, bright white entered the lungs, and dark black sank into the kidneys.

Then they began circulating slowly in the generating sequence of the five elements.

Liver wood generated heart fire, heart fire warmed spleen earth, spleen earth generated lung metal, lung metal nourished kidney water, and kidney water nurtured liver wood.

Like a ring without ends, they sustained one another endlessly.

The principle of mutual restraint was also hidden within.

Liver wood loosened spleen earth.

Spleen earth controlled kidney water.

Kidney water restrained heart fire.

Heart fire tempered lung metal.

Lung metal curbed liver wood.

Generation ensured an endless supply; restraint prevented excess.

The five natural powers that had once crashed ceaselessly through his body, consuming one another, had now completely become the inherent properties of his five viscera.

They nourished one another and held one another in check.

Each governed its own domain, yet all formed a seamless whole.

All internal depletion vanished, leaving only harmonious, solid power hidden deep within his organs, neither displayed nor revealed.

With the enhancement of immortality, True Qi surged like a river released through floodgates, advancing rather than retreating, battering his internal organs and every inch of his muscles.

Destruction, regeneration.

Destruction, regeneration.

The cycle continued without end, finding life through death.

As Wang Zhuo meditated, the aura around him grew increasingly still.

The sparrow on his shoulder tilted its little head. It only sensed the fresh fragrance of plants rising from the young man one moment, the coolness of a breeze passing over him the next, followed shortly by a faint warmth.

The grass beneath his feet grew evenly, crystalline morning dew on its leaf tips, no longer growing wildly.

The ivy on the wooden wall clung firmly in place, its flowers blooming in tranquil splendor.

The soil grew slightly more compact, as though supported by a thick earth Qi, steady as rock.

Not far away, the Taoist priest held his breath. Although he could not sense the slightest formidable aura being released, he inexplicably felt that a complete little world lay hidden within that seated figure.

With a slight shift of his thoughts, Wang Zhuo slowly brought his practice to a close.

He knew clearly that using these natural powers in the past had been like commanding five fierce generals, each powerful but acting independently, requiring him to constantly divide his attention to suppress them.

From this day forward.

The five forms of Qi would reside within the five viscera!

Generation, restraint, control, and transformation would all follow his will alone.

It was not that he controlled the powers of five fruits.

His flesh itself was a world complete with all five elements.

As a breeze blew past.

He dispersed into the wind where he stood, startling the sparrow into flight, then returned with the wind and appeared again.

The little sparrow understood none of this. With clear-eyed stupidity in its gaze, it flew back again.

Present, yet absent.

Wang Zhuo's body transformed into golden mist, becoming an egret one moment, a sparrow the next, then a mountain ape, the mist shifting colors without fixed form.

Blue-green, red, yellow, white, black.

When he returned to his original spot again, he gazed into the night and suddenly felt that the sky was high and the earth vast, free for him to soar.

"What I've comprehended has already surpassed the Eight Extraordinary Skills!"

[Congratulations to the host for pioneering a new path. Please name your cultivation method: ""]

[Title awarded: Founding Grandmaster]

Wang Zhuo's formerly sage-like expression turned to shock. "Holy crap... there are title rewards too? How come I never knew?"

As for naming it, after all the painstaking effort he had put into racking his brains, he certainly had to give it a supremely badass name.

Why not just call it Badass Skill...

[Kill, kill, kill!]

Hey, hey, hey, I was kidding, just kidding.

Since it's a fusion of Threefold Reversal and the Five Viscera Skill... Five Viscera Reversal?

True Scripture of the Five Qi Returning to the Origin?

Precious Proclamation of Innate Truth Refinement?

Threefold Return to the Origin?

Only now did Wang Zhuo feel a headache coming on. He genuinely had naming anxiety. A good-sounding name was fine, but a bad one would torment him for a lifetime.

After turning it over and over in his mind, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

"System, call it Five Refinements of Returning to the Hidden!"

[Name confirmed: "Five Refinements of Returning to the Hidden"]

[Grade: Profound]

"Profound? As in Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow?" Wang Zhuo murmured in surprise. If those really were the rankings, he still had a long road ahead.

Just as he was feeling pleased with himself, Feng Baobao had walked over without him noticing when.

"There are loads of weeds growing here. If you don't pull them out, they'll keep growing."

Wang Zhuo stared blankly. "Huh?"