I couldn’t suppress the concern I feel for my mother since giving birth to twins seems to be more painful and tiring compared to giving birth to just one baby, so I quietly open the door and peek inside.
*creak*
One of the servants who see me puts a finger in front of her mouth, making the “keep quiet” sign and then points towards my mother on the bed and the twins next to her. It seems like they have already fallen asleep.
Since there is nothing else for me to do and I do not want to wake them up, I leave the room quietly and head for the Shang family’s library.
…
Right now, the only martial skill I know is <Drill Punch>. After months of practising the drill punch, I am already able to create an explosion far bigger than what my father created when he was demonstrating the punch to me. It seemed like both the system and my father was right when they said that I did not have enough qi to properly execute the punch.
I guess that cultivation is naturally something that everyone in this world can do, unlike the web novels I’ve read in my previous life where only those who had something called “spiritual roots” could do, and the only reason why everyone was not cultivating is because the powerful and influential people did not allow it to spread.
While Drill punch is a fundamental martial technique, I’ve found out that its power is proportional to the qi used when executing the skill. The more qi I used, the bigger the explosion will be and my Drill Punch has also started creating some sort of suction force since every time I punch out, the dust around will start flying around and onto my face.
Since the system had already helped me achieved mastery of the technique, all I had to do was execute it over and over again when I practiced it and never really learnt the intricacies of the skill.
…
In the library, I walked towards the aisle where all the movement techniques were kept. While nothing was restricted in the library as it was set up for the family members, the more important techniques would only be taught to the talented descendants by the family elders through verbal instructions.
Few people would also want to steal or hide the techniques in the library as everyone understood that it was all available for the benefit of the family, and if a person wanted to bring a book back to his home to study, all he had to do was make a copy.
While the technology of this world wasn’t developed as much because nobody cared for the poor and unfortunate, technologies that would make life better for the influential and powerful or cultivators were well developed.
I am not sure if cultivators of this world are using jade pieces to store and transmit information like the web novels I read in my past life, but xylography is widely used and the family already has woodblock engravings of all the books in the library.
After browsing all the movement techniques that is in the library, I picked out 3 different movement techniques and lay them down on the table in front of me to examine them closer.I pull out the chair and sit down.
I picked these three techniques because I can’t seem to decide which one is better. I only have less than 2 months or so before the cultivators from the sects arrive so I can only learn one since the system will not help me master these skills.
The system will only help me to master skills that are passed down and there aren’t any wishes from the people around me that I can help fulfil to inherit skills from.
The first movement skill is the <Cloud Threading Steps>, this technique allows one to skilfully move in combat so that the opponent is unable to get a read on your movements and predict where you will be. In most of the web novels I’ve read, the main character will always have a skill similar to this and this movement skill will allow him to take on opponents stronger than him!
The second movement skill is the <Thousand Steps, Thousand Men>. As cultivators get stronger with every realm they achieve, they will soon be capable of superhuman feats such as flying or moving at the speed of light.
However few cultivators are known to be able to create mirages with their speed alone. This technique will allow a cultivator to create mirages of themselves, however, notes from the peers who had practised this wrote that these mirages are nothing but illusions that can only confuse the opponent for a short time. While the technique manual claims that these illusions will be given real bodies upon mastery of the skill and be able to cause damage, nobody has ever reached mastery of the technique.
The last movement skill I have picked out is <Instant Blink>. This skill allows a person to teleport a short distance and allows for a person to deliver the killing blow quickly or to quickly retreat. Becoming more proficient in this will allow a person to teleport further and mastery allows the possibility of some insights into how to evolve the skill, allowing us to teleport through objects.
The notes from the numerous people who have learnt this skill said that they all made some kind of understanding of something like the way of the heavens. I guess something similar to or maybe it is the heavenly Tao exists in this world too. However what they understood were all different and they could never teleport into a location outside of their vision.
Flipping through the pages of these three manuals, the skill <Thousand Steps, Thousand Men> is a little weird, as it first requires you to perform multiple movements in quick succession without error at first but will require lesser movements to be performed the further your mastery is.
It is a complex skill and there is no way I can master it without the assistance of the system before the cultivators arrive. The <Cloud Threading Steps> does not require much learning but it requires the application of its principles to be understood. This requires that the understanding of the skill to be polished during combat and I have nobody to practice combat with at home.
My mother used to play finger games with me but she does not have any time to play with me anymore since all her attention are on my siblings now. My father is away at work in the day and would only have an hour or two of free time each day before he goes to bed. He is also constantly tired for some odd reason.
Therefore the only technique that I can learn before the Immortal sects come is <Instant Blink>. Instant blink only requires the movement of qi and is similar to drill punch regarding execution. and constant practice will be sufficient to improve the technique.
As I have decided to learn this. I head to the printing room in the library and retrieve the woodblock with the engravings of <Instant Blink>’s manual and I print myself a copy to bring it home.
…
At home, I start practising in the courtyard after dinner. During dinner, my father asked which movement technique I chose to learn and I told him that it was instant blink. My father said in approval that instant blink is a good choice. While its usefulness does not change much as I get stronger, it is an excellent technique to have in my repertoire and provides me with many options during combat.
In the courtyard, I start practicing Instant Blink. According to Instant Blink’s manual, I have to direct the qi in my body towards different part of my feet, depending on which direction I want to go. I also have to tilt my body towards the direction for better control in the initial stage. Right now it is not really a blink, but a single movement that propels me towards the direction that I want to go quickly.
I try channeling my qi towards to the soles of my foot, and tilt my body forward which will send me leaping forward.
It feels different trying to learn a martial technique without the system assistance. I could already execute Drill Punch perfectly but when i try to execute Instant Blink, I often leap too high and hit a tree, or too far and crash against the walls of the house. Eventually, I hear crying and my father comes out to watch me practise and catch me if I am sent flying towards the walls of the house.
After an hour or so, my father gets bored and tells me to go practice in the pond so it will cause lesser noise as everyone else needs to rest.
…
The next day, I get a servant to collect the hundred spirit stones from the main hall and she returned with the stones in the afternoon. I spent the next few weeks practising instant blink and drill punch to perfection in order to show off my genius at the disciple selection. Who said that geniuses do not work hard too?
The time for me to enter the sect will come soon!
