Chapter 812: Chapter 106: Compatibility (Need so monthly tickets to secure the ranking!)
At this mont in the Hall of Divine Flas, it wasn’t just Longxi’s three teammates who were lost in confusion. After perusing that “Secret Technique Atlas,” sons of noble families who ca to participate in Longzhou’s youth martial arts competition were sowhat struck too. When they realized that the martial arts they took pride in could easily be broken by a secret technique, their decades-long beliefs in the martial path naturally began to crumble.
Not just them, but also disciples from various sects presented a desolate state after the third round ended.
“This won’t do,” Tang Luo thought to himself and suddenly spoke, “Isn’t it quite normal for martial arts to counter one another? Why the long faces?”
The bewildered gazes of everyone in the Hall of Divine Flas quickly focused on Tang Luo, who smiled and joked, “Moreover, with your shallow cultivation, is it any wonder that your techniques are being broken? You should know, any secret technique recorded in that ‘Secret Technique Atlas’ would take decades of hard work to master. If soone puts in that much effort and can’t handle a few youngsters like you, that would be the real travesty.”
It’s like all those who talk about Spiritual Power overpowering others without discussing quality are basically big-talking swindlers. By ignoring the secret techniques’ inherent strength and solely focusing on wins and losses, you will never have an objective understanding.
Consider a simple example: everyone knows water can extinguish fire. But if a house is ablaze and two people are trapped inside, and I give you a cup of water to perform your ‘water beats fire’ act, you’ll likely just gulp it down and then die with dignity.
Just as so insects, impervious to swords and spears, claim to defeat all physical cultivation, should try facing a cultivator whose body is as strong as steel. If these insects don’t break their teeth, then it’s a sign that the martial artist still lacks in their physical technique mastery.
Often people suffer because they place too much importance on victory and defeat, without ever considering the bigger picture. If one could be more objective, they would realize that although martial arts are filled with the unknown, they are ultimately fair: effort will invariably be rewarded, it’s just a matter of how much.
The greatest joy in studying martial arts is in finding a path that is stable in effort but yields the highest return, ideally with limitless potential. That would be truly blissful.
Tang Luo’s words were not hidden or hoarded but were plainly spoken in the Hall of Divine Flas. Not only Cui Haoran and Li Xuanba, but many sons of noble families freed themselves from confusion after hearing his speech, looking at him with gratitude.
A young nobleman approached excitedly, bowed to Tang Luo, and thanked him, “I was mired in confusion and could not extricate myself. Had it not been for Tang Luo’s enlightening words to rouse from deafness, I would have nearly developed inner demons. Please accept my deepest thanks.”
On the path of martial arts, the experienced are teachers. Those willing to share their martial arts experience are respected wherever they go. Tang Luo’s recent action had earned the respect of all the noble sons in the Hall of Divine Flas. With the young nobleman setting the example, many others who had walked out of their confusion saluted Tang Luo from a distance. Even the Grandmasters above the hall spared extra glances towards Longxi’s group.
However, Tang Luo generally did not take others’ praise or criticism to heart. After nodding lightly to those who saluted him in return, he turned to his three teammates, whose clarity had returned, and said, “This is not the place to talk, let’s go back.”
After the announcent of the third challenge’s results one day later, on September 11, Tang Luo didn’t want to stay under the watchful eyes of these three grandmasters, especially the middle-aged scholar-looking Master Chen with his seemingly ever-scheming gaze, which was a real headache.
Upon returning to their residence on Chongming Peak, the three teammates bathed and changed clothes before gathering again in Tang Luo’s room. They had too many uncertainties in this trial and urgently needed their captain’s affirmation, just like students seeking validation from the top scholar after an exam.
Li Xuanba, ever direct, sat down with a look of anticipation and asked Tang Luo, “Captain, what do you think of the combination I chose? Is there potential for a good ranking with ‘Seven Evils Return to Origin Slash’ as the main attack, ‘Immovable White Bone Dharma Aspect’ as a secondary attack, ‘Ziwei Heavenly Star Intent’ to strengthen the soul, ‘Nine Curves Luminous Smoke Steps’ for evasion, and ‘Hundred Refinents Bear Strength’ to enhance the body?”
Seeing Li Xuanba’s hopeful expression, Tang Luo asked with a complicated look, “Have you not studied so of the works on Spiritual Power research?”
“What’s wrong, Captain?” Li Xuanba was stunned, a sense of dread suddenly gripping his heart, “Is there sothing wrong with my combination?”
The worst had happened, and although it pained him, Tang Luo still gave a straightforward explanation, “Well, ‘Immovable White Bone Dharma Aspect’ and ‘Ziwei Heavenly Star Intent’ are incompatible, as are ‘Seven Evils Return to Origin Slash’ and ‘Hundred Refinents Bear Strength.’ Theoretically, it’s impossible to cultivate these four secret techniques at the sa ti and even if by so fluke they do appear together in one person, the incompatibility issues will greatly diminish the power of each secret technique and will also make the martial artist extrely weak, so you need to be ntally prepared.”
Such ntal preparation simply ant that the combination was too weak, and his final ranking would likely be disappointing.
Li Xuanba’s eyes widened with pain and confusion as he asked unwillingly, “Why? What exactly is this compatibility, and why does it affect the power of the secret techniques?”
“This so-called compatibility is a term used by martial arts researchers, referring to the degree of harmony between secret techniques. The simplest example is the mutual generation and overcoming of the Five Elents, the balance of Yin and Yang, light against heavy, fast against slow. When there’s compatibility, secret techniques can create effects greater than the sum of their parts, even exceeding a combined power of two or three tis that. However, when there’s incompatibility, the secret techniques conflict with each other, sotis even leading to collapse.”
Tang Luo explained to Li Xuanba, “Take your combination for example. The ‘Seven Evils Return to Origin Slash’ requires harboring seven forms of Evil Qi in the seven major acupoints of the torso, and the power of this technique relies entirely on the strength of these seven forms of Evil Qi. Now, ‘Hundred Refinents Bear Strength’ as a body refining technique also uses the torso’s major acupoints to store Spiritual Power and then stimulates the body to temper it with this energy. But you should know, Yin Evil Qi can contaminate Spiritual Power, and they cannot blend. If you want to ensure the power of the ‘Seven Evils Return to Origin Slash’, you must sacrifice the Spiritual Power of the seven acupoints, effectively rendering your ‘Hundred Refinents Bear Strength’ useless.”
“As for ‘Immovable White Bone Dharma Aspect’ and ‘Ziwei Heavenly Star Intent’, the forr involves visualizing Yin Evil Qi to create a Dharma Aspect of a dark soul, while the latter is a noble technique that draws on the fire of the stars to strengthen the divine soul. The two have no chance of being cultivated together, and even if it were possible, when you face an enemy, initiating the White Bone Dharma Aspect would prevent you from activating the Ziwei intent, and vice versa. So these two techniques also conflict in compatibility.”
“Out of your secret technique combination, only ‘Nine Curves Luminous Smoke Steps’ doesn’t conflict with the others, but unfortunately, it does not benefit from any synergy either. If we consider the strength of a single secret technique as 1, then the combination you have chosen has a final strength of less than 3.”
Li Xuanba’s face fell, realizing that the secret technique combination that he thought was well-rounded was actually so flawed. He cursed himself for not having thoroughly studied the sage writings, filled with regret.
Reviews
All reviews (0)