Chapter 93: Six Meridian Divine Sword?
As expected, working behind closed doors on the path of the Martial Dao ultimately had its limits.
Fang Chen came to a realization. Within the Time Stop Domain, relying on his own talent and the accumulation of time, he could indeed forcefully hone True Martial Level Combat Skills to the Perfection level.
But this also seemed to approach the ceiling of self-exploration.
This was only the True Martial Level. In the future, upon stepping into the High Martial Realm, the cultivation difficulty of those even more profound and abstruse Martial Skills would inevitably increase exponentially.
To break through Perfection and reach that incredibly mysterious Realm of Transcendence, he needed new understanding, new perspectives, and a massive amount of high-level actual combat experience to serve as a catalyst!
His thoughts smoothed out, Fang Chen no longer hesitated.
He found a relatively quiet corner, sat directly cross-legged, and sank his heart spirits into his body.
Entering Time Stop!
The world froze once again.
This time, his goal was clear.
He would use the precious experience from the three hearty battles against High Martial Realm Martial Artists, along with that sliver of enlightenment’s Spiritual Light, to reorganize and hone several core True Martial Level Martial Skills!
[Profound Tiger Wind-Breaking Sword], [Phantom Illusion Step], [Finger-Tapping Divine Techniques], [Thousand Waves Palm], and [Iron Wall Strike]!
Striking while the iron was hot, he began a new round of bitter cultivation.
The duration of this seclusion, compared to his previous Time Stop Cultivations, wasn’t considered long—only about two years or so.
Yet, the effects were extremely prominent!
Combined with his combat enlightenments and the implicit enhancements to his physical fitness and Spiritual Power brought by the various Enhancing Potions he had recently “zero-dollar shopped” from Jade Dew Hall, his understanding of these Martial Skills deepened rapidly. His cultivation progress advanced a thousand miles a day.
Multiple Martial Skills reached the absolute pinnacle of the Perfection level, as if touching a formless barrier. He was only one final push away from that ultimate Realm of Transcendence!
Among them, the fastest progress belonged to the [Finger-Tapping Divine Techniques]!
This Hidden Weapon technique naturally placed heavy emphasis on the micro-control of True Qi and mental lock-on, sharing a similar approach with Fang Chen’s skyrocketing Spiritual Power and exquisite control over Sword Qi.
Catalyzed by the fusion of various insights, it was the first to undergo a Qualitative Change!
[Finger-Tapping Divine Techniques: Transcendence]!
This was Fang Chen’s first True Martial Level Martial Skill to break through to the Transcendence Level!
If the Perfection level of the Finger-Tapping Divine Techniques was “Flying Flower and Leaf Picking can injure people,” where any physical object infused with True Qi could become a fierce Hidden Weapon…
Then this Transcendence Level Finger-Tapping Divine Techniques had undergone a fundamental transformation!
He no longer needed to rely on external objects. By simply forming his fingers into a sword, his internal True Qi and Spiritual Power achieved high synergy. They instantly compressed and condensed at his fingertips, and then—SWISH!
A formless and intangible, yet incredibly sharp Finger Force pierced through the air!
Its speed vastly exceeded what it was before. Soundless and trackless, it seemed to directly pierce the air!
This was the result of him fusing his profound understanding of Sword Qi, compressing True Qi to its absolute limit, and firing it through the air in the form of Formless Sword Qi!
Although its might still couldn’t compare to the solid Sword Qi unleashed with his full strength while wielding a sharp sword, it won in its concealment, matchless swiftness, and longer attack range!
Looking at his fingertips, a strange light flickered in Fang Chen’s eyes.
“This is… a bit like the Martial Arts from a novel I read in my past life—the Six Meridian Divine Sword.
“Formless Sword Qi, injuring enemies from afar.
“Not bad!”
Fang Chen nodded in satisfaction.
This was undoubtedly an excellent trump card.
He didn’t end this Time Stop Cultivation immediately.
With his strength advancing, his mind grew active again.
Since he was in the academy, why not take the opportunity to explore a bit?
He traversed the frozen academy.
He found the academy’s potion storage. Although the reserves inside were quite abundant, the varieties and qualities were largely identical with minor differences to those at Jade Dew Hall, and even fell short in certain high-end Potions. For him, there wasn’t much room for improvement left.
Subsequently, he sneaked into the academy’s Library Pavilion.
The ancient texts within the pavilion were as vast as a smoky sea, among which there was no lack of High Martial Realm Martial Arts Secret Manuals.
Fang Chen flipped through a few books. The contents were indeed exquisite, but just like the situation he previously encountered at the Jinchuan City Martial Arts Association, without a High Martial Realm Cultivation Technique as a foundation and without opening up his Qi Sea, forcibly cultivating these Martial Skills would only lead to conflicting True Qi circulation paths, causing swelling, pain, and discomfort in his meridians. It would be harmful without any benefits.
As for High Martial Realm Cultivation Techniques, Fang Chen didn’t find any books. Instead, in a cabinet made of extraordinary material, he found many Jade Scrolls.
He wondered, “Are High Martial Realm Cultivation Techniques passed down in the form of Jade Scrolls?”
Fang Chen tried to pour his True Qi into one. However, the moment the True Qi was injected, the Jade Scroll shattered directly.
“It’s even encrypted?”
Fang Chen tried to break it open with his Spiritual Power and Telekinesis.
It still didn’t work. After breaking open the Jade Scroll, there was nothing inside. No Cultivation Technique or consciousness implanted itself into his mind.
However, he wasn’t entirely without gains.
Inside the Library Pavilion, there were also massive amounts of miscellaneous books, such as cultivation insights from senior experts, travel notes, continental anecdotes, Demon Beast bestiaries, encyclopedias of Spirit Grass, and so on.
This knowledge might not directly increase his combat prowess, but it vastly broadened his horizons and enriched his experience.
“I suppose this trip wasn’t made in vain.”
Fang Chen closed the final notebook detailing the customs of border Alien Races, feeling his cognitive boundaries widen significantly once again.
He then went to the cafeteria for a hearty meal. After a brief rest, a thought flashed, and he ended Time Stop.
Returning to reality, there was still some time left before the examinations completely ended.
With nothing to do, Fang Chen strolled around the other examination areas, observing quite a few candidates’ matches.
The progression of the second and third rounds of challenges was noticeably faster, and there were no longer any extended rest periods arranged in between.
By around five in the afternoon, all three rounds of challenges for all groups completely concluded.
Immediately after, the evaluators of each group gathered in a conference room. They closed the doors and began their final reviews and deliberations.
Inside the conference room, the atmosphere was serious and earnest.
“Hehe,” the academy evaluator for Group 8 spoke first, his tone carrying a trace of unconcealable pride. “Our group produced quite a special case. A candidate actually defeated the examiner head-on! Furthermore, even setting aside that victory in the first round, his performance in the subsequent two rounds was equally eye-catching. He is absolutely in a league of his own among all the candidates.”
The old man from the Martial Arts Association stroked his beard and nodded, chiming in. “Taking all three rounds of performance into account, Fang Chen, Number 16 of Group 8, will be directly admitted. None of you have any objections, right?”
The evaluators from the other groups had long heard of this matter, and they shook their heads one after another to express their lack of objections.
“No objections.”
“With that kind of performance, if he isn’t admitted or ranked near the top, it truly wouldn’t make sense.”
“Alright, then we’ll confirm this one first.” The academy executive hosting the meeting nodded, making a mark on the list. “Good. Fang Chen is the first direct admission. Next, each group will report in turn. First, present a list of ten people whose performances in your group were the most outstanding and whom you believe can be directly recommended.”
This was customary. Each group had the authority to directly recommend the ten best-performing candidates in their group. Totalling one hundred and fifty people, these would serve as the first batch of candidates for priority admission.
The groups began to report in sequence.
“Our Group 3 recommends Wang Jun, Early Stage of True Martial Realm. His application of True Qi is proficient, his will is tenacious, and he has awakened a Superpower…”
“Group 7 recommends Li Fengyi. Although a woman, her Body Technique is agile and her Swordsmanship is precise. Her performance in the three rounds rose steadily…”
“Group 12 recommends Zhao Qian, Mid-Stage True Martial Realm. His family’s inherited ‘Vajra Force Swing’ has already achieved seventy percent proficiency…”