Chapter 162: Forces
The next day, at night.
The convoy had already reached the border of Yuquan Prefecture City. The scenery on both sides gradually shifted from familiar hills and villages into desolate canyons with jagged cliffs and sparse human presence.
The several dozen mbers of the Shangyang Residence made camp there to rest and prepare for the next day’s journey.
After dinner, once he had eaten and drunk his fill, Xu Yuan went alone to an unoccupied patch of dense forest and began practicing after taking up his stance.
【Skills: Jade Platform Stance Art (Perfect 100%) Thunderclap Fist (Perfect 100%) Golden Bell Shield (Major Mastery 3%) Layered Wave Palm (Minor Mastery 10%)】
【Aptitude: 45 (One in Ten Thousand)】
【Martial Seed (0): Berserk, Paralysis, Rebound Shock】
Xu Yuan looked at the panel data and nodded slightly.
After several days of cultivation, the Golden Bell Shield had already reached Major Mastery, while the Layered Wave Palm was also progressing steadily.
He glanced around. At this mont, everything was utterly silent. Only fragnts of moonlight filtered through the branches and leaves, spilling onto the clearing in the woods.
Then his footing sank, his qi and blood surged through his body, and a powerful force gathered in both arms. His palms moved as if pushing and redirecting, sending an unbroken wave of strength outward.
Crack!
Several old trees nearby were caught in the blast. Crisp snapping sounds rang out from their trunks as splinters flew in all directions.
Xu Yuan had reached the height of his enthusiasm. He fully opened his stance, his robes snapping sharply in the wind, his toes touching the ground as he spun, shifted, and darted about. In the darkness, his body beca a blurred afterimage.
Then both his arms suddenly rose, and with the night wind wrapped around his palms, he thrust them out with a thunderous burst.
The force was as light as a breaking wave. The palm wind swept across the ground, pressing the grass low. Before the first surge had fully faded, the second move followed close behind. Layer upon layer of force welled up through his palms, and the sound of air splitting gradually rose, like a river swelling as the first crest of its waves burst forth.
The Layered Wave Palm and the Golden Bell Shield should have been martial arts of the sa rank, though the Golden Bell Shield had more additional attributes and leaned toward a heavier style, while the forr carried more outright dominance.
Xu Yuan’s aptitude had now reached a staggering 45 points. His reactions were swift and his thinking agile. Even when learning a ranked martial art like this, everything ca naturally to him, and his progress was astonishingly fast.
Almost every ti he finished a full set, he gained a clear new insight.
Again and again, Xu Yuan perford the Layered Wave Palm. Gradually, he beca slightly dazed, as if the surroundings were no longer a dense forest but jagged sea reefs, endlessly battered by furious waves.
Boom.
“Triple Wave Striking the Reef!”
Xu Yuan suddenly thrust out a palm. The movent shifted and transford continuously, like overlapping blossoms of spray. With a single hand, he unleashed three consecutive palm strikes forward.
Crack!
A giant tree in front of him, thick enough that it would take two people to wrap their arms around it, split clean through at the waist from that single strike. Wood chips exploded everywhere, and the tree crashed heavily to the ground with a trendous boom.
Judging by the force of those few strikes, even an Extraordinary ridians martial artist would be severely wounded on the spot if hit.
Seeing this, Xu Yuan felt delighted and imdiately opened the panel again.
【Skills: Jade Platform Stance Art (Perfect 100%) Thunderclap Fist (Perfect 100%) Golden Bell Shield (Major Mastery 3%) Layered Wave Palm (Minor Mastery 22%)】
【Aptitude: 45 (One in Ten Thousand)】
【Martial Seed (0): Berserk, Paralysis, Rebound Shock】
‘That just now should have counted as an inspiration breakthrough, so the progress jumped by a whole small section.’
Xu Yuan’s eyes shone brightly. That alone had saved him two or three days of effort.
However, that sort of state could only be encountered by chance and not sought deliberately. Even with Xu Yuan’s current aptitude, an inspiration breakthrough only ca once in a while.
‘This Layered Wave Palm was absolutely worth buying. It’s only at Minor Mastery, yet its power already far surpasses the Thunderclap Fist.’
‘If it reaches the Perfect level, it’ll be even more incredible. One palm, nine waves. Its power will multiply several tis over. And if I combine it with the Paralysis skill, that would be truly formidable...’
Xu Yuan stood where he was, pondering silently.
“Your Layered Wave Palm is quite well executed. You must have practiced it for a long ti, haven’t you?”
Suddenly, a cold voice sounded from behind Xu Yuan.
‘So fast. I didn’t notice her at all!’
Xu Yuan’s heart jolted. The other person had nearly walked right up beside him, yet he had felt nothing whatsoever. If she had wanted his life, taking it would have been as easy as reaching into a bag for an item.
With that thought, Xu Yuan turned around and saw Shangyang Qingyu standing beneath the moonlight in a green robe, like a stalk of green bamboo. She looked refined, heroic, and apart from the world.
“Eldest Miss, I also only began practicing this art recently, perhaps within the span of a few months.” Xu Yuan cupped his fist in salute, showing no sign of surprise.
Given her Grandmaster-level cultivation, sensing movent within a short distance was hardly anything difficult.
“Oh?”
Shangyang Qingyu lifted a brow. “Earlier, Second Brother said your aptitude was extraordinary. I was still sowhat unconvinced, but now it seems his words were indeed true.”
“For an ordinary Extraordinary ridians martial artist to strike those few palms as you just did, they would need at least two years of bitter training.”
Shangyang Qingyu seed rather surprised by Xu Yuan’s aptitude, and her tone softened sowhat as she continued:
“With your talent, even in the Fangcun Sect, you would most likely be able to make a na for yourself.”
Hearing that, Xu Yuan revealed a puzzled expression and cupped his fist again. “The Fangcun Sect? Could this be the mountain gate of the Eldest Miss?”
Shangyang Qingyu nodded. Her gaze fell through the night onto Xu Yuan. After pondering for a mont, she said:
“Originally, I could not be bothered to explain all this, but never mind... I will tell you about the Jiuyang Commandery that we are heading to this ti. Tomorrow, you may pass it on to the others as well.”
Xu Yuan imdiately straightened his expression and said, “I would be honored to hear the details.”
He knew that the destination for their group was the Jiuyang Commandery, but his understanding of that place was extrely limited.
As for the other four, they had all been active only within the scope of Yuquan Prefecture City, so they were equally ignorant of it.
If soone was willing to tell them in advance, then that could only be a good thing.
“The entire commandery’s forces are deeply intertwined, but among the very top tier, there are mainly the following factions.”
Shangyang Qingyu’s voice was steady and clear as she spoke slowly:
“First, there is the Fangcun Sect. This sect is located on Mount Fangcun outside the commandery city. The sect is divided into five peaks, and each peak specializes in sothing different. I myself am in Ziqing Peak, which places the greatest emphasis on offensive killing techniques.”
“Although the five peaks each have their own focus, their core cultivation thods complent one another, and disciples often exchange knowledge with each other as well.”
Xu Yuan silently committed that to mory. For soone like him, who cultivated both the Layered Wave Palm and the Golden Bell Shield, going to that peak would indeed suit him quite well.
“In addition, there are also the Sword-Nurturing Pavilion, the Houtu Sect, the Vajra Monastery, and others. Their strength is in no way inferior to that of the Fangcun Sect. These four great sects control most of the tax revenues of more than forty cities within the commandery, suppressing powerful local clans and sinister sects in every region. They can be called the pillars of the land.”
“However, if you ever run into disciples of the Sword-Nurturing Pavilion or the Vajra Monastery, you must be careful... There are hardly any normal people among them.”
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