The sky gradually darkened, and many parts of the Yuan Qing Daoist Temple glowed with light.
Inside the Secret Arts Pavilion.
Dongbo Xueying went directly to the third floor, for the first floor held only ‘Lower Grade Secret Arts,’ the second floor ‘Middle Grade Secret Arts,’ while the third floor housed ‘Upper Grade Secret Arts’ and ‘Transcendent Grade Secret Arts.’
Though legends spoke of even greater ‘Divine Grade Secret Arts,’ only the Earth God Temple, the Blood Blade Tavern, and the Demon God Assembly possessed such techniques!
“Secret arts are indeed vital,” Dongbo Xueying murmured, flipping through various manuals, increasingly appreciating their importance.
Techniques for cultivating Aura of Rivalry were merely for building Aura of Rivalry.
Secret arts, however, were the techniques for applying Aura of Rivalry!
It was like a piece of paper: rolled slightly into a rope, it could only support a few jin of weight before tearing.
But if the same paper were cut into hundreds of strips, braided together like hair, it could support dozens, even hundreds of jin.
Same material, different combinations, yet vastly different strength!
“Secret arts are about the exquisite integration of Aura of Rivalry,” Dongbo Xueying thought, holding a manual, reading its description. “Some secret arts greatly enhance defensive effects. Others boost offensive power. Some increase mobility. With the same amount of Aura of Rivalry, merely combining it skillfully can greatly amplify its power.”
Transcendent cultivators could master several secret arts simultaneously.
In battle, they could switch between them!
…
Looking at the Supreme secret arts, Dongbo Xueying felt envious.
“It’s getting late,” he mused, glancing at the sky. Though the temple was brightly lit, it was likely already deep into the night. He had been too engrossed in reading about the secret arts. Unlike weapons, which could be tested with a few swings, reading about secret arts made time slip away unnoticed.
“Right, the vice-pavilion master mentioned the bookshelf at the very back of the third floor,” Dongbo Xueying quickly made his way to the farthest bookshelf, beginning to search. “The vice-pavilion master noticed my Ancient Bloodline awakening at a glance and told me to look here. Could it be related to the Ancient Bloodline?”
“Hmm?”
Dongbo Xueying suddenly noticed something, picking up a golden-bound book titled “Scroll of Radiance,” reading its introduction. “This is actually a body cultivation method?”
“Never thought the Yuan Qing Daoist Temple would have body cultivation techniques!” Dongbo Xueying eagerly flipped through more books and soon found another body cultivation manual on the same shelf, titled “Dragon Demon Cultivation.”
“The Scroll of Radiance and the Dragon Demon Cultivation… both were sent back from the Divine Realm by Yuan Qing Emperor, the founder of Yuan Qing Daoist Temple?” Dongbo Xueying read with admiration. Yuan Qing Emperor, the founder of the temple, was a Xia Clan ancestor who became a god over eight million years ago. Even after ascending to the Divine Realm, he still cherished his homeland.
He found ways to send back various Aura of Rivalry secret arts and body cultivation techniques. In fact, many transcendent secret arts were sent back by Xia Clan ancestors in the Divine Realm; cultivators in the Mortal Realm couldn’t create such powerful techniques themselves.
As for Divine Grade secret arts?
Despite countless Xia Clan ancestors entering the Divine Realm throughout history, none were known to have sent back a Divine Grade secret art.
The Earth God Temple, the Blood Blade Tavern, and the Demon God Assembly all had terrifying beings behind them to possess Divine Grade secret arts.
“These are actually body cultivation techniques!” Dongbo Xueying was thrilled.
Compared to Aura of Rivalry secret arts, body cultivation methods were extremely rare.
The two most famous powers in the world for body cultivation were the Demon God Assembly and the Earth God Temple!
“Perhaps my Ancient Bloodline’s second awakening depends on these techniques,” Dongbo Xueying thought, flipping through the two manuals.
The second awakening of the Ancient Bloodline was extremely difficult.
There were two ways to achieve it.
The first was through body cultivation techniques, absorbing the power of heaven and earth to continuously strengthen the body. As the body grew stronger, the chance of a second awakening increased. According to Xia Clan records, any Ancient Bloodline awakener who trained their body to ‘Saint Peak’ level would definitely achieve a second awakening! Of course, reaching Saint Middle stage usually gave a good chance.
The second way was pure luck—perhaps a life-or-death battle might trigger a sudden second awakening!
Two methods.
Relying on luck was too uncertain. In the entire history of the Xia Clan, not a single case of second awakening through luck had ever occurred! In contrast, a lucky beast in the Monster Clan had once achieved it by chance.
“Relying on luck is unreliable.”
“Only through body cultivation techniques is there hope,” Dongbo Xueying thought.
Body cultivation differed greatly from Aura of Rivalry cultivation.
Each breakthrough in body enhancement required a massive surge in the power of heaven and earth—far more than what was needed for Aura of Rivalry cultivation!
For Ancient Bloodline awakeners, upon reaching the Transcendent stage, their bodies were already at the Flying Heaven Middle stage.
From Flying Heaven Middle to Peak, one needed 1000 jin of Yuan Stones—more than what was required to advance from Flying Heaven Initial to Saint Initial in Aura of Rivalry cultivation! Even Dongbo Xueying, a prodigy, had only been gifted 600 jin of Yuan Stones by the Yuan Qing Daoist Temple for his invitation.
From Flying Heaven Peak to Saint Initial, one needed 50,000 jin of Yuan Stones—more than what was needed to cross into the Demigod stage in Aura of Rivalry cultivation!
From Saint Initial to Middle, about 2 million jin of Yuan Stones were needed—an amount that would make even Demigods tremble. Most Demigods couldn’t gather such a quantity in their entire lifetimes!
From Saint Middle to Peak… that was an unimaginable amount! As the saying went, even if all the Yuan Stones from every Transcendent World in a Material Realm were mined out, it wouldn’t be enough!
Thus, the idea that reaching Saint Peak in body cultivation would guarantee a second Ancient Bloodline awakening was merely an ideal wish!
“The stronger the body, the greater the chance of a second awakening. I currently have plenty of Yuan Stones. It’s worth spending 1000 jin to advance my body to Flying Heaven Peak,” Dongbo Xueying decided. When he grew stronger and acquired more Yuan Stones in the future, he would spend 50,000 jin to advance to Saint Initial—then his chances of awakening would be even greater.
As for Saint Middle… that was too distant!
…
“Scroll of Radiance or Dragon Demon Cultivation? Which one should I choose?” Dongbo Xueying pondered, looking at the two body cultivation manuals before him.
For Aura of Rivalry secret arts, one could cultivate multiple techniques simultaneously.
Body cultivation was entirely different.
Each body cultivation method came with a specific secret art, and only that one could be cultivated!
The Dragon Demon Cultivation was paired with the secret art “Dragon Demon Strength.”
Dragon Demon Strength was a secret art that altered the most intricate structures of muscles and bones!
Like ordinary humans.
Even among the weak, some were naturally fast while others were naturally strong—this was due to innate differences in muscles and bones.
Similarly, among sixth-stage magical beasts, some were extremely fast while others possessed immense strength.
Dragon Demon Strength was a secret art developed by dissecting a powerful Dragon Demon’s body in the Divine Realm. Paired with Dragon Demon Cultivation, it was most suitable for enhancing muscle and tendon resilience, allowing the body to unleash greater force.
Dragon Demon Strength was divided into five stages.
The first stage could increase strength by 20%. Most Transcendent cultivators could grasp it with some effort.
The second stage boosted strength by 50%! This required higher Insight and cultivation level.
The third stage doubled strength! Reaching this level was rare; even among Saint-level experts, few could achieve it.
The fourth stage tripled strength! Demigods practicing this body cultivation method usually reached the fourth stage.
The fifth stage multiplied strength sixfold! Perfect mastery! Extremely difficult!
“This secret art is truly powerful,” Dongbo Xueying thought with longing. “A secret art reaching perfection can multiply strength sixfold! And it’s only a transcendent-grade secret art.”
What did six times strength mean?
Even with the Outbreak of a strength bloodline, physical strength was only doubled, albeit with rapid energy consumption. Dragon Demon Strength, however, was an evolution of the body’s intricate structures. With normal energy consumption, strength could reach six times its original level! How miraculous! Of course, Dongbo Xueying was a newly-minted Transcendent cultivator; merely entering the Threshold of the Dragon Demon Strength secret art would be an achievement.
…
Dragon Demon Cultivation was paired with the secret art Dragon Demon Strength, significantly enhancing strength after cultivation.
The Scroll of Radiance was paired with “Radiant Colored Glaze Body,” enhancing speed after cultivation! The increase in speed was also terrifying.
It was well known that Ancient Bloodline cultivators naturally had high recovery abilities. As they cultivated, their bodies would approach, and even achieve, an immortal body. This was why many Demigods, knowing the slim chances of a second bloodline awakening, still chose to cultivate body techniques. Even those without an Ancient Bloodline awakening had attempted body cultivation.
“I’ll go with Dragon Demon Cultivation,” Dongbo Xueying decided after a moment’s thought.
He chose Dragon Demon Cultivation for three reasons.
First, the secret art Dragon Demon Strength contained many profound mysteries related to fire, whereas Radiant Colored Glaze Body was tied to light. Dongbo Xueying had already grasped the mysteries of water and fire in all things, so naturally, he chose what suited him.
Second, it enhanced strength! Combined with his innate talent “Power Outbreak,” it was more suitable.
Third, his Ancient Bloodline was a strength bloodline! Choosing the path of strength would give him a better chance of a second awakening.
“Senior Long, Senior Que, I’ve made my choice. It’s this Dragon Demon Cultivation,” Dongbo Xueying said.
“Not choosing any Aura of Rivalry secret arts?” Senior Long’s deep voice echoed.
“Not for now,” Dongbo Xueying smiled.
One could exchange for parts of the Dragon Demon Cultivation separately, but since he had the chance to choose freely once, Dongbo Xueying naturally took the complete version!
As for Aura of Rivalry secret arts?
His Aura of Rivalry was only at Flying Heaven Initial stage. Even if he studied secret arts now, his physical strength would surpass them in the short term! After all, his focus was limited. He could study secret arts later once his Aura of Rivalry cultivation matched his body’s strength. After all, secret arts were easier to master at higher cultivation levels.
…
“All set.”
“Techniques for cultivating Aura of Rivalry, weapons, secret arts—all obtained,” Dongbo Xueying exited the Secret Arts Pavilion. The sky was still dark, with a crescent moon hanging in the distance. “Time to head to the Xihuo World!”
All newly-minted Transcendents must go to the Xihuo World as soon as possible.
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