After receiving a profound lesson on the martial arts stage, Lin Fan was certain that his brilliant image had deeply impressed the majority of the students.
However, the more flawless a person appears, the more jealousy they tend to provoke. Indeed, right after the martial arts competition ended, a wave of negative comments emerged.
“What? A group of untalented students—no matter how hard they try, they won’t amount to anything.”
“Natural talent determines everything. A mere chicken can never become a phoenix,” and similar remarks flew.
…
Lin Fan held these comments in utter contempt. “Just wait and see,” he thought. “This great master will cultivate a group of outstanding students for you all to witness.”
Today’s words deeply resonated with thirteen students, who felt they had finally encountered a wise mentor—one who truly understood them.
After the martial arts match concluded, Lin Fan generously granted the students half a day off, telling them to go about their own business.
Back when he was at the Saint Devil Sect, Lin Fan had regretted not visiting the library to choose cultivation techniques. Now that he had arrived at Tianfu Academy, he vowed not to repeat that mistake, or else he feared divine punishment.
As for the ranks of techniques, Lin Fan never cared. As long as it was a cultivation method, it would do. After all, with his ability to infinitely upgrade techniques, even a lowly one like “Monkey Steals the Peach” could be enhanced by him to the point of violating cosmic laws. There was no technique he couldn’t master.
Tianfu Academy had been established by powerful cultivators and supported by the royal family. Though its library might not be as vast and comprehensive as that of the Saint Devil Sect, it was still nothing to scoff at.
When Lin Fan finally entered the library after completing registration, he was struck by the sight of a sea of students buried in their studies, poring over various techniques. He couldn’t help but sigh in admiration.
The library was massive, with rows upon rows of shelves filled with cultivation manuals. However, many were incomplete, and some shelves held only a few books. It was clear that quality techniques were scarce.
Lin Fan ran his fingers along the spines of the manuals, searching for something suitable for himself.
*Ping* “Detected a low-tier technique, ‘Heavenly Maimed Foot.’ Learn it?”
*Ping* “Detected a low-level technique, ‘Iron Crotch.’ Would you like to learn it?”
…
*Ding* “Detected a lower-tier Yellow Rank technique, ‘Hidden Breath Art.’ Learn it?”
Lin Fan scanned from one end of the shelves to the other and was somewhat disappointed. “Is this all Tianfu Academy has to offer? Nothing but low-tier techniques. Truly disappointing.”
Just then, Lin Fan noticed a Yellow Rank lower-tier technique. His heart leapt with joy—this was a promising start.
Though Yellow Rank lower-tier wasn’t impressive, finding even one decent manual among all these low-quality ones was quite an achievement.
“Hidden Breath Art”? The name sounded intriguing.
Lin Fan pulled the book from the shelf and examined it closely.
The cover was worn and tattered, suggesting it was quite old. As he flipped to the first page, he began reading.
It turned out this technique had been theorized long ago by a former teacher at Tianfu Academy. However, no one had ever successfully cultivated it—except for the very teacher who had created it.
Lin Fan skimmed through the introduction and understood that the teacher had once encountered a fierce beast possessing a unique ability: its body color could shift according to its surroundings, effectively rendering it invisible.
The teacher divided “Hidden Breath Art” into three stages, each more peculiar than the last. At the third stage, by circulating inner energy, the practitioner could truly change their body color to match the environment.
However, Lin Fan was left speechless when he read the rest of the story.
The teacher had been killed.
It turned out that during a duel, the teacher had tried to ambush his opponent by using “Hidden Breath Art” to blend into the surroundings, thinking he wouldn’t be seen. But the opponent pretended not to notice and then suddenly approached and beheaded him.
After killing the teacher, the opponent left with one final remark: “Do you think I’m blind?”
Before dying, the teacher had written the “Hidden Breath Art” manual in blood, warning future cultivators to proceed with caution.
“This is basically a chameleon technique,” Lin Fan muttered with a snort. He thought the teacher’s idea was decent, albeit a bit foolish. Even if you changed color, as long as someone wasn’t blind, they could still see you.
Still, Lin Fan found the technique interesting.
Though the technique only had three stages, Lin Fan’s ability to infinitely upgrade it meant he could push it to absurd extremes. He decided to learn it.
*Ping* “Congratulations! You have learned ‘Hidden Breath Art.'”
“‘Hidden Breath Art’ Level 1 (0/100).”
Lin Fan continued browsing the first floor of the library. Most of the techniques here were either low-tier or Yellow Rank.
Some were practically useless. Lin Fan always believed in one principle: quantity doesn’t matter, mastery does. He hadn’t even fully mastered techniques like “Chasing Wind Sword,” “Flower-Picking Finger,” “Immovable Emperor Fist,” “Illusory Steps,” and “Black Tiger Steals the Heart.” Learning more random techniques wouldn’t help.
When Lin Fan noticed someone descending from a staircase, he felt a surge of hope. There must be more books upstairs. However, just as he was about to climb the stairs, an old man with a white beard blocked his path.
“You’re not allowed up there,” the old man said, squinting.
“What do you mean? They can go up, so why can’t I?” Lin Fan protested. This was discrimination!
“Only students ranked above Class B may enter the upper floors. You’re not qualified,” the old man replied.
Lin Fan glanced at the old man’s crotch and mentally cursed his ancestors for eighteen generations.
One day, you’ll regret this.
With that, Lin Fan left the library, eager to return to his room and study the “Hidden Breath Art.”
…
Back in his room, Lin Fan closed the door and began cultivating the “Hidden Breath Art.”
Unlike other techniques, this one required personal cultivation to level up.
As Lin Fan channeled the technique, his inner energy gradually began to deplete.
*Ping* “Congratulations! Hidden Breath Art experience +100.”
*Ping* “Congratulations! Hidden Breath Art has leveled up.”
“Hidden Breath Art Level 2 (0/1000).”
Lin Fan grinned. He hadn’t expected it to level up so quickly—this was surprisingly easy.
He could already feel subtle changes within. His inner energy was mimicking the surrounding environment. Indeed, this technique was like a chameleon.
Still, no matter how well he blended in, anyone with decent vision could still see that there was a person there.
Lin Fan then focused on dual cultivation—maintaining “Hidden Breath Art” while simultaneously refining the Supreme Heaven Rank heart technique “Invisible Devil Art” he had taken from Mo Yixuan.
*Ding* “Congratulations! Supreme Heaven Rank heart technique ‘Invisible Devil Art’ experience +10.”
*Ding* “Congratulations! Hidden Breath Art experience +100.”
…
*Ding* “Congratulations! Hidden Breath Art has leveled up.”
“Hidden Breath Art Level 3 (0/2000).”
Cultivating these two Supreme Heaven Rank techniques left Lin Fan with a headache. The experience gains were so minimal they were practically unbearable.
He had no idea how long it would take to fully upgrade both techniques.
Although reaching the first level of each only required 100,000 experience points, gaining them ten at a time felt like a cruel punishment.
Moreover, the inner energy consumption was immense. He had to frequently pause cultivation to recover before resuming his training.
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