Chapter 30: Finger-Tapping Divine Techniques
Chapter 30: Chapter 30: Finger-Tapping Divine Techniques
A day had passed since the tragic Superpower rampage at Jinchuan Three Greats.
In the morning, Fang Chen arrived at school out of habit, only to find the gates tightly shut and a temporary notice posted:
[The school is suspending all classes. Temporary transfer procedures will be processed for all students by May 10th, assigning them to other schools to complete their final exam preparations.]
Fang Chen, however, received a special notification to visit the Martial Arts Association’s Jinchuan City branch.
A solemn-faced middle-aged Martial Artist received him.
"Remaining calm in the face of danger, displaying precise judgment, and acting as the core to lead over a dozen classmates to a successful escape. You even devised the correct defensive measures during the initial stages of the rampage. Fang, you did very well." The middle-aged Martial Artist’s tone carried approval, but also a hint of heaviness. "This is a reward from the association. It is both a commendation and an expectation."
He pushed forward an envelope and a quaint, thread-bound book.
Inside the envelope was a bonus of fifty thousand yuan.
On the cover of the book were four vigorous words: Finger-Tapping Divine Techniques!
"This is... a True Martial Level Combat Skill?!" Fang Chen’s heart skipped a beat.
The Swordsmanship, Fist Technique, Leg Technique, and Body Technique he had previously cultivated were merely widely circulated Basic Martial Skills that could be bought in ordinary bookstores or martial arts gyms.
However, True Martial Level Combat Skills were Killing Arts created specifically for Martial Artists at the True Martial Realm and above. Their power and intricacy were far beyond what Basic Martial Skills could compare to, making them extremely difficult to obtain!
Finger-Tapping Divine Techniques!
This was the first Secret Skill he had acquired, something not just anyone could learn.
Leaving the Martial Arts Association, Fang Chen headed to a relatively bustling food street and nearby wet market in the west of the city.
Here, food was abundant with plenty of stock, and there were several residential buildings. Eating by himself for six or seven years would not be a problem.
He waited quietly until the Time Stop cooldown refreshed.
With a thought, Fang Chen activated his ability the second the cooldown ended, entering Time Stop!
The world instantly froze.
Fang Chen had a clear goal. Entering this time was strictly to focus on cultivating this newly acquired Finger-Tapping Divine Techniques!
He borrowed a mechanical watch from the wrist of a frozen passerby, wound it up, and used it to measure time.
He began his cultivation!
He ate when hungry, slept when tired, and practiced when awake.
Time flowed silently within the Time Stop Domain.
One year, two years, three years...
This Finger-Tapping Divine Techniques was an extremely focused and ruthless Finger Technique.
Cultivating it to Minor Achievement allowed one to highly condense True Qi at the fingertips, easily piercing a stone slab with a single finger.
At Great Success, one could manipulate light Weapons like Flying Blades and short swords to injure enemies from afar with unpredictable agility.
At the realm of Perfection, everything could serve as a finger. Flying Flower and Leaf Picking, flicking stones and shooting water—anything grabbed at hand possessed immense lethal power, and the fingers themselves could even clash head-on with blades!
Fang Chen eliminated all distractions, pouring all his energy into this Finger Technique.
It took him half a year for his Finger Power to take initial shape, reaching the Minor Achievement realm.
After two years of arduous training, he stepped into Great Success.
Six years later, he finally pushed this Finger Technique to the realm of Perfection!
However, Perfection was not the end.
On his interface, [Transcendence Progress: 1%] appeared next to Finger-Tapping Divine Techniques.
"Books don’t record what the Realm of Transcendence entails," Fang Chen pondered. "It seems that the Realm of Transcendence for every Combat Skill requires the Martial Artist to comprehend, pioneer, and create it themselves in actual combat. Figuring it out in isolation will ultimately fail to grasp its profound essence."
He no longer forced it, but instead began attempting to combine his newly acquired Telekinesis with the Finger-Tapping Divine Techniques.
Driven by his Telekinesis-guided Spiritual Power, the stones and leaves he flicked achieved pinpoint accuracy, hitting exactly where he aimed!
"Not bad." Fang Chen nodded in satisfaction.
His gains from this Time Stop Cultivation far exceeded his expectations.
"Time to go back." As the thought settled, he ended this closed-door training session.
Fang Chen returned to reality and made his way to the school once more.
At this hour, there were noticeably more students returning to school to check the notices. However, most of their faces bore the dazed and desolate expressions of disaster survivors; the former laughter and chatter of the campus were gone.
"Hey, Chen!" Xia Chu’s voice called out from behind as she trotted up to catch him. "I saw the notice board specifically praising you! What kind of reward did the Martial Arts Association give you?"
"Just fifty thousand yuan and a True Martial Level Finger Technique," Fang Chen answered truthfully, adding, "Once I’ve completely mastered it, I can teach you the Luck Technique and Power Generation Techniques inside it."
"Really?" Xia Chu’s eyes lit up, but then she asked worriedly, "Aren’t there protective measures that forbid passing it on to outsiders?"
"No." Fang Chen shook his head. "The Steward made it clear that this Cultivation Technique was gifted to me, and I have the right to dispose of it as I please."
"Awesome!" Xia Chu cheered, but her mood instantly deflated. "It’s a pity, though... I haven’t reached the True Martial Realm yet. Sigh, I haven’t even condensed True Qi. Even if you teach me the essence, I probably wouldn’t understand it, let alone use it."
She sighed, her tone turning firm. "After what happened yesterday, I truly feel that no matter what, I must step into the True Martial Realm as soon as possible! It would be even better if I could awaken a Superpower. At the very least... I need the ability to protect myself."
"Yeah, having this determination is a good thing." Fang Chen nodded and walked toward the campus. "Come on, let’s head into the school."
"Why go into the school?" Xia Chu was puzzled. "No one is having classes right now."
"It’s quiet exactly because there’s no one around. I’m afraid I won’t have time to do it after today," Fang Chen said without looking back.
Xia Chu’s cheeks flushed red, and she fidgeted self-consciously. "Do... it? Ah... Chen, are you in that much of a rush? Um... shouldn’t we change locations?"
Fang Chen had already reached the school gates. Hearing this, he stopped, turned around, and looked at her. "What are you dawdling for? Didn’t I tell you last time that I’d find a chance to use my True Qi to guide you, letting you personally experience the Qi Sensing when True Qi circulates through the meridians? This will help you break through your bottleneck."
"Ah? Oh, right! So... so it was that!" Realizing she had misunderstood, Xia Chu’s face grew even redder as she hurriedly caught up. "Okay! Let’s go right now!"
Just as the two were preparing to scale the wall and enter, a somewhat concerned female voice called out from the side.
"Fang, are your injuries... okay now?"
Fang Chen turned toward the voice. It was her—Ye Yuxuan.
Yesterday, it was she who had used a Wind Blade at the critical moment to scatter the Ghost Shadow and save him.
"It’s you, Ye," Fang Chen said, his tone softening. "Thank you for stepping in yesterday. I owe you a favor."
Ye Yuxuan hurriedly waved her hands, looking a bit embarrassed. "No, no, no, Fang, you absolutely shouldn’t say that! You’ve helped me before too. Besides, yesterday you were the one who kept stepping up and leading everyone to find a way out. If it weren’t for you, we might not have lived to see the sun today."
As she waved her hands, Fang Chen’s sharp eyes caught something—her right hand was missing a little finger!
The wound was incredibly smooth, as if she had been born that way.
Fang Chen frowned slightly, pointing at her hand. "What happened to your hand? Is it an injury from yesterday?"
Hearing this, Ye Yuxuan openly held that hand up in front of her and smiled, though her smile carried a trace of helplessness.
"Ah, this... It doesn’t really count as an injury. Actually, this is the side effect of me using my Superpower. Every time I use Wind Magic, I randomly lose a finger."
She feigned a relaxed tone. "It’s fine, though. The process doesn’t hurt, and there’s no bleeding wound. It’s just like... that finger never grew there in the first place."
Fang Chen was shocked. "But... as far as I know, there are many ways to cast Magic. Some require chanting incantations, some require complex Sealing, and some require a combination of both. With your fingers missing like this, won’t it greatly affect your Sealing in the future?"
Ye Yuxuan seemed to have already considered this question and kept smiling. "It’s not too bad. At worst, I’ll just try to avoid using Wind Magic in the future and attempt to learn Magic of other elements. Anyway, Fang, don’t worry about it. I’m really fine!"
She waved her hand, signaling that she was perfectly okay. "I’m heading home first. I won’t bother you two anymore! Bye-bye!"
She turned to leave, but after taking a few steps, she looked back with a hopeful smile. "I hope that when they divide us up, we get assigned to the same temporary school! Hehe!"
Watching Ye Yuxuan’s retreating back, Fang Chen fell silent for a moment.
"Let’s go," he said to Xia Chu. "We need to hurry up and help you find that Qi Sensing."