Chapter 179 - 109: That Day, a Youth of 17, in the Prime of His Youth, Comprehended a Secret Inheritance Overnight, Like a Reincarnated Human Immortal

Snowflakes filled the air, but Ji Xiu controlled their flurry with his hands and feet, shaping them into a Dragon Head with his movements.

ROAR!

Abruptly, a faint, illusory roar echoed, seeming to rise from the young man's very spine.

The stance was unleashed in a flash.

Duan Chenzhou, hands clasped behind his back, emerged slowly with Qin Zhuo at his side, just in time to witness this exact scene.

"Martial Uncle, since when were our School's fist and foot techniques so miraculous?"

"When did the Ancestral Master ever leave behind such a 'Secret Boxing and Kicking' technique before he passed on!"

Qin Zhuo, who had just been reeling from the shock of Ji Xiu breaking his Body's Great Limit, came out to see Ji Xiu treading upon the accumulated snow. Against the twilight, he was spontaneously performing a set of what was, at a single glance, an initiated 'Secret Martial Dao'.

He immediately glanced at Duan Chenzhou. Not understanding what he was seeing but deeply impressed, he simply marveled, assuming it was some ultimate technique his Martial Uncle had inherited from the Ancestral Master.

"..."

Duan Chenzhou remained silent, his blade-like brows furrowed as his piercing eyes fixed intently on Ji Xiu.

He watched as Ji Xiu stood with his eyes lightly closed, like a Celestial Human in a state of sudden enlightenment. Though merely a youth, he already possessed the faint air of a Grandmaster.

He found himself unconsciously drawn into the artistic conception of the technique, feeling an urge to study and comprehend it himself.

Startled from his reverie by his senior martial nephew's reverent words, Duan Chenzhou snapped back to his senses. He was momentarily speechless and desperately wanted to say,

'I don't even know this technique myself! How could I have taught him? Where would I have even learned it?!'

'The conditions for a Secret Martial Dao are incredibly harsh. One must first succeed at Entering the Realm, then form a stance, and achieve a body of Perfection strong enough to bear the Divine Essence and Truth contained within the Secret Martial art. Only then can one even begin to learn it.'

'Mastering one is several times more difficult than mastering a Martial Power Level technique!'

'Forget ordinary Skin Refining Martial Artists... even a Qi Cultivation Grandmaster, upon mastering one with sufficient proficiency, could use it to dominate a Prefecture City and establish their own place.'

The reason he hadn't taught Ji Xiu the Crescent Celestial Saber was twofold: on one hand, he felt Ji Xiu's Saber Technique still lacked polish; on the other, his Cultivation was not yet at a level where a Secret Martial art would be useful.

Unless one was a high-ranking Noble from the Great Xuan Celestial Capital, for whom even a Secret Martial Dao—the signature technique of a Qi Cultivation Grandmaster—could be treated as a common art used merely for Foundation Establishment and Body Refining.

Otherwise, for the heirs and True Inheritance disciples of ordinary Schools, the Secret Martial art would only be taught after they reached the Skin Refining realm, mastered an Outer Gang Secret Method, and could transform their Force into Gang.

This was because after Strength Becoming Gang, a Martial Artist could perform incredible feats like Flying Flower Picking Leaves or Punching the Bull from Afar.

More importantly, they could infuse their Martial Stance into their Gang Qi, producing various manifestations of True Gang. This was considered the first major threshold for unleashing the full power of a Secret Martial art, coming just before Opening the Sea of Qi, harvesting the body's Great Medicine, and condensing a breath of 'True Qi'.

Teaching the Secret Martial art at this realm allowed them to study and hone it naturally. Then, after several years, as they reached and strived for the Qi Cultivation Grandmaster realm, they would also achieve Great Success in their Secret Martial art. The moment they broke through their bottleneck, they could instantly become the public face of their school, a true master in their own right.

This was the path chosen by most talented disciples from prominent families within the prefecture.

But!

To see Ji Xiu, without a word, having somehow learned a 'Secret Martial Inheritance' completely different from his own lineage... while Duan Chenzhou was gratified, he couldn't help but feel a tinge of sourness and suspicion.

'Damn it!'

'Who in the world was it?'

'What shameless bastard from what School or True Sect secretly taught my prized disciple such a powerful Secret Martial art?'

'They did it right under my nose, keeping me completely in the dark! They must have paid a tremendous price!'

Others might not understand, but Duan Chenzhou knew very well the nature of a Secret Martial Dao.

That year, at twenty-three, he had already broken through the Outer Gang realm and donned an Immortal Robe.

If he hadn't pursued the Secret Martial Crescent Celestial Saber and the Three-Limited Purple Ribbon Immortal Robe...

...he was ninety percent certain he could have become a Qi Cultivation Grandmaster before the age of twenty-five, and still have opened one of the Upper Three Grades of Qi Sea!

But in his pursuit of the body's Three Limits—to awaken the Innate Talent born from opening the Secret Treasures of sinew, bone, and skin, to forge a Martial Dao Treasure Body, and to master the Secret Martial Celestial Saber—he sought Perfection in all things!

Therefore...

Duan Chenzhou had willingly delayed his progress for a full six years!

In those six years, he spent three years refining his Skin Membrane, clearing his major acupoints, and striving for a Leakless state. The other three years... were spent practicing the saber!

He knew better than anyone the hardship of mastering a Secret Martial art.

Back then, it had taken him six months to just glimpse the principles of the Crescent Celestial Saber. Even without having cultivated his Divine Soul, he was able to use Visualization to see the 'full moon'. For this, his Master had praised him endlessly, calling him a genius of the Sword Dao.

If he'd had a better background and started earlier...

...then based on his aptitude, being a top talent of One Mansion would by no means have been his limit.

It wouldn't have been impossible for him to be counted among the Heroes of the State, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with those born into the great Noble Clans that stood above even the Grand Lineages.

Taking six months to gain initiation into the Cultivation of the Secret Martial Crescent Celestial Saber had earned him such high praise.

And his Master... he was a true Giant of the Sword Dao, a figure who stood at the very pinnacle of all Grandmasters!

He had seen far too many mediocre individuals who spent years, even decades, mechanically forcing their way through their own Secret Inheritance, only to barely grasp the first principles.

That was why his Master knew how precious such Innate Talent was, and had said that Duan Chenzhou had the qualifications to inherit even 'higher Martial Arts' in the future.

'That's how it was for me.'

'So what about this disciple of mine?'

'Just three or four months ago, he was nothing but a lowly Groom, living a precarious existence under someone else's roof! He hadn't even succeeded in Entering the Realm!'

'At that time, he would have been utterly incapable of bearing the burden of a Secret Martial Dao.'

'And when I taught him the Nourishing Stance Saber Technique and the Sword Mountain and Fire Sea Stance... he was practically bursting with excitement. Without a doubt, this Dragon Head-shaped Secret Fist and Foot Inheritance is something he only began his Cultivation of within the last month.'