Chapter 596 - 255: Source

Chapter 596: Chapter 255: Source

It was important to understand that cultivating Leaf Skills had high barriers to entry and was incredibly difficult.

Very few people’s Leaf Skill cultivation could keep pace with their actual cultivation Realm.

Take the disciples, for example. They should have been able to fly upon reaching the True Essence Realm... but the reality was that many disciples struggled to even reach the entry-level for the Body Technique Leaf Skill by the time they were in the True Essence Second Realm, and thus couldn’t fly.

For instance, the Golden Rainbow Sword Sect disciples Qin Fang had encountered that day were almost all at the Primordial Stream Realm, yet only a few of them could fly.

And the vast majority of those flew clumsily.

It was clear their Body Technique Leaf Skill had probably just barely reached the entry-level.

...And was the Heavenly Gang Wuji Sect any different?

Many disciples had been in the True Essence Realm for years, but their inability to master even the entry-level Body Technique Leaf Skill meant they couldn’t fly... which was why Qin Fang’s "Jinhua Shuiyue Beginner Class" was so profitable.

...It wasn’t just the disciples.

Weren’t the Elders the same?

He remembered Master Fan had once said... if he had successfully cultivated a War Gang Avatar, he would have wanted to give one to Qin Fang...

This showed that even for a Sixth Realm Powerhouse like Master Fan, his Leaf Skills couldn’t keep up with his cultivation.

This was true for Divine Gang Mysterious Shadow, and it was true for the Body Technique Leaf Skill.

Other Leaf Skills...

Were naturally the same!

Perhaps the entry difficulty for Defense Leaf Skills and Attack Leaf Skills wasn’t as high as it was for Body Technique Leaf Skills.

However, the real thresholds lay further in.

Entry-level was easy, but Minor Achievement, Great Success... and especially Perfection, were extremely difficult.

This resulted in the ’Root and Leaf’ of most Martial Artists being mismatched.

They often had ’Strong Roots and Weak Leaves’.

This meant they possessed great power but were unable to properly wield it.

But Qin Fang...

His Leaf Skills had always progressed in lockstep with his cultivation!

As long as his cultivation reached the required level, he had enough contribution points, and sufficient supplementary medicines, his Leaf Skills would perfectly reach the maximum potential for his current cultivation.

...This allowed him to perfectly unleash nearly one hundred percent of his combat power!

And that...

Was utterly terrifying.

It was also the greatest difference between a genius and a mediocrity!

Why was it that among those in the Fifth Realm, some were strong, while others were clearly weaker?

Assuming they all had similar opportunities, their Natures shouldn’t be that different.

So why were some still stronger?

...It was because their Leaf Skills were stronger!

...Before this, Qin Fang had never really paid much attention to this fact.

Relying on his panel, which removed nearly all difficulties and bottlenecks from his Leaf Skill cultivation, he had spent most of his time in closed-door cultivation and rarely fought others.

So he had subconsciously assumed everyone else was the same.

But now that Master Fan had pointed it out, he had a sudden realization...

’...It seems that really is the case.’

’In that case, does that mean I’m in a league of my own within the Divine Illumination Realm?’

’No wonder when I fought that True Blood Great Demon yesterday, the True Blood Realm didn’t seem as terrifying as I’d imagined...’

’...So it wasn’t that the True Blood Realm was too weak, but that I’m stronger than I thought?’

Looking back on that battle now, Qin Fang saw it in a completely different light.

For example, when he clashed with the True Blood Rabbit Demon, his Abyss Water Armor had seven layers broken.

...One had to remember, his current Abyss Water Armor was cultivated to the Perfection stage!

A True Gang, Perfection-stage Abyss Water Armor.

It took having seven layers broken to barely withstand the True Blood Rabbit Demon’s assault without injury.

...Could other people, even if they had a Defense Leaf Skill, possibly cultivate it to Perfection while in the Divine Illumination Realm?

There was probably a big question mark hanging over that!

And if it wasn’t at Perfection, then facing an attack like the True Blood Rabbit Demon’s would likely result in instant, severe injury.

At that point, escape would be impossible.

There would only be one path: death.

Taking a step back, even if their defense was at Perfection... could their Spiritual Sense Leaf Skill be cultivated to the point where it could resist the True Blood Rabbit Demon’s divine sense attack?

And if they resisted the divine sense attack, was their Body Technique Leaf Skill cultivated enough to barely keep up with the True Blood Rabbit Demon?

And if their Body Technique Leaf Skill was up to par, what about their Attack Leaf Skill?

...Thinking about it this way, it seemed that if one had even the slightest weakness, facing that True Blood Rabbit Demon from yesterday with the cultivation of a Divine Illumination Realm practitioner would be a certain death sentence, wouldn’t it?

Qin Fang blinked.

’It seems I’m a little bit stronger than I imagined...’

"But still, you crossed a major Realm. Don’t be so reckless in the future. When you encounter a True Blood Realm Great Demon, don’t act rashly unless absolutely necessary. After all, there are huge gaps in power between one True Blood and another..."

Master Fan didn’t know what was going through Qin Fang’s mind. After a sigh, he frowned and continued to admonish Qin Fang.

...In his eyes, it was extremely unwise for Qin Fang to fight a True Blood at his current cultivation level.

Qin Fang snapped back to reality. "Yes, Master Fan, I understand."

He didn’t explain that the True Blood Rabbit Demon had ambushed him, and that he hadn’t even noticed the True Blood Great Demon before that.

...There was no need to over-explain things that had already happened.

Seeing Qin Fang agree, Master Fan finally gave a slight nod.

"Mm, in that case, you should come with us to see that Grotto Heaven..."

As he spoke, Master Fan gazed into the distance, a hint of yearning and anticipation in his eyes. "A Grotto Heaven condensed by a Seventh Realm Powerhouse... To be honest, I’ve never seen one either."

A Grotto Heaven was a more powerful form of a Martial Domain.

As a Sixth Realm Martial Artist, Fan Zhengchu was also eager to witness a true ’Grotto Heaven’ with his own eyes.

It might be of great help to him when he attempts to condense his own ’Grotto Heaven’ in the future.

...Of course, condensing a ’Grotto Heaven’ depended on Talent, but more importantly, it required obtaining the precious materials needed for the condensation.

But these materials were not easy to acquire. They were true Heavenly and Earthly Treasures, which even the Heavenly Gang Wuji Sect didn’t possess. They could only be found in certain special treasured lands.

Obtaining them depended not just on strength, but also on fate and opportunity.