Chapter 167 - 105: Six Power Level Paths of Hand, Fist, Palm, Finger, Claw, and Leg; One Ye Longxiang’s Head

Chapter 167: Chapter 105: Six Power Level Paths of Hand, Fist, Palm, Finger, Claw, and Leg; One Ye Longxiang’s Head

The pool’s water receded, leaving only the dry riverbed.

Cai Ling’Er gazed at the stone wall of the pool, once submerged beneath the waters of the Cold Pool. After a faint glimmer of light, it revealed a series of human figures, depicted in powerful, sweeping strokes. Their palm and fist techniques seemed to flow into one another, forming a single, seamless whole...

She gasped in astonishment.

"Whoa, so it’s real?"

She pulled out a Compass and fiddled with it. She watched as the needle hummed and vibrated without stopping, finally pointing to a set of withered bones that were as white as jade.

She stared blankly for a long moment, then stroked the Compass, unable to contain her delight.

"Hahaha! It can find a Thousand-Year Demon Pill in its lair, and it can divine the location of a Qi Barrier tomb using Geomancy! My Daoist Skill and Strange Techniques can finally be considered mastered!"

"Hmph. You might think my Martial Dao is mediocre, but you have no idea that I’m a rare genius, one in a hundred, who practices Daoist and Martial Dual Cultivation! My progress may be slow, but give me time. Becoming a Qi Cultivation Grandmaster will be a walk in the park!"

Cai Ling’Er looked at the Jade Marrow Cold Lotus and the traces of the Six-Wall Martial Arts. After her round of shameless boasting, her little eyes darted about, gleaming with desire.

Good heavens!

’An Earth Treasure! A Qi Dao Inheritance!’

’This isn’t the kind of thing you just stumble upon!’

’It’s not like I haven’t divined places like this before, but they were always just ’suspected’ locations. Who knew how accurate those readings were?’

’I never thought I’d actually hit the jackpot this time!’

The former was one thing. The Jadeite Shop did business all over, and her family had at least a few treasured plants they were carefully cultivating. It wasn’t as if Cai Ling’Er had never seen one growing up.

But her grandfather guarded them like they were his most precious treasures; she doubted she’d ever be fortunate enough to get her hands on one.

As for the latter...

’A Secret Martial Dao, Ye Longxiang’s Head!’

Although she was young and had never heard of this particular Secret Martial Dao, she had no idea which School or True Sect it belonged to.

But!

Even her family, the immensely wealthy Jadeite Shop Cai Family of Jiangyin Prefecture, who held a seat among the Nine Lords, didn’t possess a Martial Arts scripture like this!

She’d heard that a Lord of Humanity in the Great Xuan had once compiled a Martial Scripture that recorded and assessed all the ranks of the Martial Dao. According to it, stages like Entering the Realm and Nourishing Stance were considered merely scratching the surface, a preliminary understanding at best.

Only a Secret Inheritance!

That was the true measure that set one Martial Artist apart from another!

Why was Ji Xiu’s Master, Duan Chenzhou, able to utterly dominate the entire younger generation of Jiangyin Prefecture while at the Power Barrier?

Mastering the Three Great Limits and breaking through Golden Muscle and Jade Veins, Mercury Blood Silver Marrow, and the Purple Ribbon Immortal Robe had given him a profound foundation, but that was only half the reason.

The other half was that his mastery of the Secret Martial Dao, the Crescent Celestial Saber, which he wielded with Gang Qi, put his skills a huge cut above everyone else in his generation!

While others were still competing with basic Fist and Foot techniques or their Martial Stance...

...he had already inherited the Crescent Celestial Saber. He could condense Sword Gang, and every time he drew his blade, it was as if a bright moon was shining down. The difference was plain to see.

It was said that if one could break through their Shackles and become a Qi Cultivation Grandmaster...

...or reach the Perfection of the Power Stage, where one’s Divine Thought condenses and fuses with their Gang Qi...

...one could even manifest a tangible projection of their Secret Martial Dao!

The more profound one’s mastery, the more real the Secret Martial Essence inscribed within that projection became, to the point where it could affect reality itself.

According to the legends, some masters who achieved Great Success in a Secret Martial Dao would spend decades of their life devoted to a single Secret Inheritance.

When they engaged in combat, the manifestation of their projection could shatter an opponent’s Martial Arts Zen Heart, dim their Divine Soul, and destabilize their Qi Barrier, making it impossible for them to ever advance again in their lifetime!

Ruining someone was far, far more difficult than simply killing them.

This fact alone spoke to the immense value of a Secret Inheritance!

Unless it was created by a top Grandmaster who had studied countless Martial Scriptures, synthesized their knowledge, drawn upon the strengths of various schools, and drafted an initial version that was then refined by generations over time...

...one could never create a foundational Secret Inheritance capable of sustaining a School for a hundred years!

Just look at the various powers within Jiangyin Prefecture.

The Thirty-Six Professions, the Daoist Schools in the prefecture—which of them didn’t have a Qi Cultivation Grandmaster in residence?

But while some of their members may have mastered a Secret Inheritance, not a single one of them was capable of creating a Secret Martial art to serve as their own cornerstone.

Only the Martial Mansion, representing the Great Xuan, and the Schools that held dominion over their own islands possessed collections of Secret Martial Dao.

Sect Leaders, Prefecture Officials, the Great Xuan!

Those were the true apex powers in Jiangyin Prefecture.

Even the disciples of the Grand Lineages mostly had to enter a School as a child or a Martial Arts Institute as a youth to seek out such an inheritance.

Yet here was one, lost to the wilderness, personally inscribed by a Grandmaster who had long since turned to dust, his Divine Charm hidden within the stone...

What normal person wouldn’t find their breath growing heavy, their mind filled with covetous thoughts?

Ji Xiu saw all of this with perfect clarity. He caught the desire in Cai Ling’Er’s eyes at a glance, and since they had found this place together, he had no intention of keeping it for himself.

"You deserve credit for helping us find this place."

"This Secret Martial art was left behind by a senior. Its Profound Mystery is inscribed on this stone wall. If you can comprehend it, then it is yours by right."

Hearing such a magnanimous declaration, Cai Ling’Er’s pretty eyes filled with emotion.

’That’s a Grandmaster’s inheritance!’

’How many sworn brothers, bound by blood oaths, would turn on each other after searching high and low for a find like this? An opportunity great enough to found one’s own Sect.’

’With wavering hearts, they would draw their weapons on one another in the next second, consumed by greed. They’d scheme to make it their own family’s inheritance, the foundation for the next hundred, even thousand, years.’

’How many people could be as generous as Ji Xiu?’

’Most would just get rid of you once you were no longer useful. That would be considered merciful enough!’

’Out here in these deep, ancient forests, just like when they first met, if he really decided to kill her, her illustrious status would be utterly useless.’

But Ji Xiu was unaware of the tumultuous thoughts running through Cai Ling’Er’s mind.