Chapter 212: Second Stage Of The Body-strengthening Secret Art
“Fly?”
The martial artists present, including Meng Wei, all looked at Lin Qi with shock and confusion, wondering if Lin Qi had misspoken.
Martial artists, put bluntly, were just stronger people. Even Bone Forging Realm martial artists as powerful as superhumans could not fly.
If one really wanted to fly, at most it would be like the Winged Tribe, with a pair of wings to glide or stay in the air for a short time, but still without true flight.
But before Meng Wei and the others could voice their doubts, they saw Lin Qi take a few quick steps, rise into the air, step on the empty sky, directly twist and turn in midair, even leaving several phantoms behind. Then he stood in the air above everyone’s heads, quietly looking down at them.
“This is the flying technique you are going to learn, and also the high-level martial skill Startling Swan, the signature art of our Obsidian Martial Arts Hall.”
Yet it was as if none of those present heard Lin Qi’s words. They only stared up at him standing in the air, mouths agape, eyes bulging.
“Flying! The hall master can actually fly!”
“I must be seeing things. The hall master is actually standing in midair!”
“Levitation, this is actually a martial skill?”
Some of the more knowledgeable martial artists, including Xia Ling, watched Lin Qi continuously stepping on the air, and the shock in their hearts could no longer be described in words. It completely shattered their understanding of this world.
Previously, the Lightning Palm taught by the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, plus the mental secret technique that allowed him to hand-craft a super electromagnetic cannon, was already exaggerated enough. They did not expect martial skills could be used like this.
And now they were being told that humans could actually fly.
If they told others this, who would believe it?
But the fact was right before their eyes, leaving no room for doubt.
While everyone fell into silence and shock, Lin Qi stepped down from the air one step at a time, as if an invisible staircase existed beneath his feet. Each step triggered an air explosion that landed directly on everyone’s hearts, stirring irresistible yearning.
“Next I will teach you to master this martial skill step by step, and your daily curriculum from now on will be centered on training this martial skill. Every day I will take one to two hours to guide you.” As Lin Qi spoke, he took out the pre-copied manuals of Startling Swan and handed them to everyone.
As a high-level martial skill fused by the system, Startling Swan posed no problem for players to learn, but in normal conditions, teaching it to others would bring many issues.
Fortunately, his mastery of Startling Swan had reached the Perfection Realm. He had no doubts left about cultivating or using it, so teaching it was no longer a problem. Especially now that his Stellar Explosion Meditation Technique had reached 85% proficiency, his spirit was extremely sharp. Within a hundred meters, even with his eyes closed, he could clearly sense everything.
With such spiritual support, he could clearly sense the qi and blood and internal force flow in bodies within ten meters. Whenever something went wrong, he could correct it immediately, making him far better at teaching than players who had learned through repeated failure.
This was also something Lin Qi had planned long ago.
The hall’s garrison had to possess a certain level of combat power, but for now, the hall’s local martial artists were too few, and the strongest among them was only Meng Wei, an intermediate martial artist. Even if Luo Qi managed to repair the B4-grade battle armor, that level of strength still did not amount to much.
But if they added the Golden Sand Eagle and Startling Swan, then even beginner martial artists would have the power to threaten high-level monsters. With that, whether it was guarding the hall daily or guarding Crimson Moon Mountain, it would no longer be an issue.
Once Meng Wei and the others learned Startling Swan, they would be able to follow transport convoys to the frontline with survivability likely stronger than that of ordinary Bone Forging Realm experts. As long as they did not encounter flying monsters, they would basically be able to escape.
“It’s a pity I haven’t reached the Bone Forging Realm yet. Otherwise, breaking free from the City of Light Chasing wouldn’t be impossible.” Lin Qi glanced at his attribute panel and sighed inwardly.
Host: Lin Qi.
Age:
Administrator permissions: level one.
Permission level: Merit-Based Admission Authority level two.
Martial arts level: high-level martial artist.
Strength: 7 kilograms. （Bone Forging Realm Initial Stage Martial Artist standard: 6000 kilograms）
Speed: 4 meters per second. （Bone Forging Realm Initial Stage Martial Artist standard: 80 meters per second）
Internal organs: internal refinement and strengthening 7% complete.
Cultivation method: Startling Spirit Breathing Technique （Ghostly Light Six Forms Second Level proficiency 15%, Cloud Mist Transformation Second Level proficiency 17%, Reverse Star Triple proficiency 21%）
In terms of physical fitness, he now comprehensively surpassed high-level martial artists. Even without completing the first round of full-body bone strengthening, he was already close to the level of a Bone Forging Realm martial artist.
With the Perfection Realm Lightning Palm and Perfection Realm Startling Swan buffs, his actual strength had already exceeded 6000 kilograms, and his speed surpassed 80 meters per second.
Adding the Reverse Star Hand, which he had reached proficient level in, and the Beginner Giant Strength bonus from the Club, his nearly fifty tons of burst power was in no way inferior to that of Bone Forging Realm intermediate martial artists.
If he became a Bone Forging Realm beginner martial artist and completed one full round of quenching of all his bones, his strength might not be much weaker than Elder Liu’s.
City of Light Chasing, Martial Artist Association.
In a lavish conference hall on the top floor, more than ten Bone Forging Realm human race martial artists sat around a round table, each with a grim expression.
Liu Tianzong had been the pillar of the human race in the City of Light Chasing. His death instantly cut their overall strength by at least half. They had fallen from being a relatively strong ordinary race in the city to barely stronger than the weaker races. Their treatment in all aspects of city life was rapidly declining.
“The city’s Light Chasing Council has already decided. They will send a top-tier Bone Forging Realm ape clan expert to guard Yunxia Town together with me. In addition, we must vacate 30% of our residential areas in the city center. You should all make arrangements for the relocation of our people.” A man in his sixties spoke helplessly.
The other Bone Forging Realm martial artists present fell silent upon hearing this.
The city center of the City of Light Chasing was where the energy was most concentrated. Children who merely lived there, even without much exercise, could easily become quasi-martial artists before adulthood. Any child with talent and willingness to work hard was guaranteed to become a martial artist and had a chance to enter the Genius Training Camp.
Over the years, as the human race weakened, their share of living space in the city center had shrunk more and more, from occupying about one tenth of the city center area at the beginning to now only one or two percent.
If they lost another 30%, then being able to house over ten thousand people would already be good. After that, the difficulty of cultivating talents capable of getting into the Genius Training Camp would undoubtedly increase greatly.
If they could not get into the Genius Training Camp, the difficulty of becoming Bone Forging Realm would be multiplied several times.
“Elder Xiang, Elder Liu was only one step away from that higher level. How could he just fall like that?” A woman about twenty-six or twenty-seven years old, with shoulder-length hair, bright eyes and white teeth, wearing a light cyan leather jacket with a slightly open collar that faintly revealed a few faded claw marks at her collarbone, stood up and questioned the old man directly.
“Yuedie, I know this is hard for you to accept, especially since Old Liu was your instructor. You know better than anyone how strong he was.” The old man looked at her with deep regret. “But that attack came too suddenly. The number of high-level lords was beyond imagination; there were eight of them. Not only did Old Liu fall, but even the Vice City Lord of Wanxing City who was guarding alongside him lost an arm and was gravely injured, nearly dying. More than ten advanced Bone Forging Realm experts were all wiped out. If the City Lord of Wanxing City had not happened to be nearby and rushed there immediately, no one in that town would have survived.”
“Eight high-level lords attacking at the same time?” The woman was stunned.
Although the fortress towns on the wilderness frontline were always locked in fierce fighting, encountering two high-level lords in an assault was already very rare. That was why they usually stationed two top-tier Bone Forging Realm experts there.
Eight high-level lords attacking at once was almost on the level of a monster tide assaulting a city.
“Although the monster tide has not fully formed yet, the overall strength of the monsters has already far surpassed previous tides. Now, not only do the city lords of our Five Cities take turns guarding the frontline, we have also contacted all the cities in this region to request support to jointly resist this monster tide.” The old man looked at the woman and spoke earnestly. “Yuedie, you only graduated from the Genius Training Camp this year, but you already reached the Bone Forging Realm before graduation, and now you are not far from the intermediate level. You are the most talented martial artist our human race has produced in years.”
“Now that Old Liu is gone and I am getting old, never mind reaching that higher level, it is hard enough for me to become a top-tier Bone Forging Realm expert. We can only rely on you now. You must not collapse because of Old Liu’s death.”
“Whether it is to avenge Old Liu or to reclaim what we have lost, you must first become a top-tier Bone Forging Realm expert.”
As the old man tried to persuade her, the dejected Bone Forging Realm martial artists present also turned to look at the woman, and a faint glimmer of hope appeared in their eyes.
Xiong Yuedie.
This extraordinary woman, who had barely managed to get into the Genius Training Camp, had surprised many Bone Forging Realm martial artists at the time. It was not only because Xiong Yuedie came from an ordinary family in the City of Light Chasing proper, with no cultivation resources. What astonished people even more was that she had not undergone formal training in high school. Only after entering an ordinary university in the City of Light Chasing and joining the martial arts club in her sophomore year did she begin to truly train.
In just over a year after graduating from university, she became a martial artist and even passed the exam to enter the Genius Training Camp. Her rise was unbelievable.
After she entered the Genius Training Camp, Liu Tianzong personally took her as a disciple. Now Xiong Yuedie’s strength was already not much weaker than that of those Bone Forging Realm intermediate martial artists.
With such terrifying talent, leaving aside reaching the level of a City Lord, becoming a top-tier Bone Forging Realm expert should pose no problem.
“Now that Old Liu is gone, after you complete the transport mission assigned by the Association, I plan to put aside my pride and take you into the inheritance ruins next time. Use this time to prepare well.” The old man looked at Xiong Yuedie and said seriously, “No matter what, I must take you into the deeper layers of the ruins. What you can obtain there will depend entirely on yourself.”
“Elder Xiang, what about the new hall master of the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall? I heard he has special grade potential, and his talent is no weaker than mine.” Xiong Yuedie could not help bringing up Lin Qi, the newly risen human Bone Forging Realm expert, whom she had once invited to join a hunting group, hoping to add another pillar for the human race.
“Him?” The old man frowned slightly and said helplessly, “I cannot help him. Too many eyes are on him now, or rather, on the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall. The Chiyue Town he established was already a thorn in the side of Wanxing City. Wanxing City has been lenient not to make trouble for him yet, and now Chiyue Town has revealed the presence of a small energy vein. Without Old Liu sitting in town, the factions in the city will not tolerate it, especially with Wanxing City showing no reaction. Those factions are even more determined to seize Chiyue Town.”
“We are already struggling to keep Yunxia Town. If we meddle in Chiyue Town’s affairs, we might not even be able to protect Yunxia Town.”
“Are we just going to leave it alone?” Xiong Yuedie found this hard to accept.
The Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, though open in principle to all races, mainly recruited human race disciples. And as its reputation grew, more and more human vagrants from the wilderness joined it. This was effectively a way of strengthening the human race.
If they abandoned it, it would be equivalent to giving up on these humans.
“Of course we will not ignore it,” the old man said slowly. “Although those factions are targeting him and are even planning to act against the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, eliminating those disciples who go out, our human race is not that easy to bully. We may not be able to help with Chiyue Town, and near the city we Bone Forging Realm experts should not act rashly, but I have already instructed your third senior brother to organize people and teach those factions that are stretching their claws a lesson. They must not think that just because Old Liu is gone, they can bully us at will.”
“Third senior brother will lead the team?” Xiong Yuedie felt much more at ease upon hearing this.
Her teacher had taken on four disciples in total. She was the fourth. Her third senior brother, Wu Zhuoqun, had been accepted after being found in the wilderness; he was already over twenty-five then and had missed the chance to enter the Genius Training Camp.
But relying on his talent, Wu Zhuoqun, even without the resources and cultivation of the Genius Training Camp, had become a peak high-level martial artist at only twenty-eight. He was just one step away from the Bone Forging Realm. With the assistance of B6-grade battle armor and weapons, he ranked among the top five captains in the City of Light Chasing Defense Group. One-on-one, he could contend with high-level monsters.
If Wu Zhuoqun led a team against those factions’ people, those factions would likely stop their petty tricks afterward.
Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, sunset.
In a quiet underground confinement room, three figures over two meters tall slowly appeared.
“Damn it! That leopard is too cowardly. We just drank a bit of its blood, it’s not like we ate it, and it actually ran more than two hundred kilometers deep into the wilderness.” Lin Xinyao said angrily.
“Fanchen, what do we do now?” Li Tianxing said with a headache. “The area around that place is full of lord monsters, and high-level monsters are everywhere. With our current level, where we’ve only trained our cultivation methods to proficiency, we simply cannot reach that leopard.”
Now, thanks to the Two-Horned Leopard’s blood, the three of them had finally cultivated the Cultivation Method Second Level to proficient level. Their physical fitness was already close to that of high-level martial artists. With just a few dozen more drinks of the Two-Horned Leopard’s blood, they could smoothly become high-level martial artists and pull far ahead of other teams’ experts.
“At that distance, we probably cannot rely on just ourselves anymore.” Lu Fanchen sighed and suggested, “If we still want to exploit this wilderness bug to level up quickly, we can only join forces with the experts from other teams and use numbers to draw away the monsters. What do you think?”
More than two hundred kilometers deep into the wilderness, monster groups were extremely dense, and many of the leading monsters were lords. Although the three of them had already trained the Heaven Shaking Fist to a high level and could seriously injure a high-level monster with one punch, in front of such hordes, that was far from enough.
If they wanted to drink the Two-Horned Leopard’s blood again, the only way was to increase their numbers. Otherwise, they could only watch this chance for rapid growth slip away.
“Let’s join forces.” Lin Xinyao thought it over and decided.
“I agree.” Li Tianxing nodded. “No one knows when this bug in High Martial Arts Descend will be fixed, and more and more large guilds are entering, with wave after wave of experts. Our opponents are not just Heavenly Might anymore. Raising our strength quickly is the king’s way.”
“Alright, I’ll go talk to them.” Seeing that both agreed, Lu Fanchen left the basement to find the leaders of several teams.
Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, first floor Primary Gravity Room.
Luo Wu Shang sat cross-legged on the ground, her clothes soaked through with sweat. Each drop that fell onto the B2-grade alloy floor sounded like a hammer hitting metal, making a dull thud-thud-thud.
As soon as Luo Wu Shang opened her eyes, a mouthful of blood spurted out, and her expression became somewhat weak.
“Fifteen times gravity really is still too much for me.” Luo Wu Shang wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, revealing a rare smile. “But I have finally mastered the Body Strengthening Secret Technique Second Level. Now, my body toughness might surpass even mid-level monsters.”
While she was wiping off the blood, the weakness on Luo Wu Shang’s face quickly faded, her complexion turning rosy again. Her recovery power was nearly comparable to having taken a Type II Healing Potion.
Just as Luo Wu Shang was about to test her newly mastered Body Strengthening Secret Technique Second Level, her smart watch suddenly rang.
“This is rare. You actually contacted me on your own. Is something up?” Luo Wu Shang looked at the incoming call from Lu Fanchen, a bit surprised.
“I found a wilderness bug that lets you level up quickly. Its effect is much better than continuously using Type 2 Energy Potions for cultivation. Is Heavenly Might interested?” Lu Fanchen said directly.
“Of course I am interested. What price do we have to pay?” Luo Wu Shang asked without hesitation.
Type 2 Energy Potions were scarce, and the hall limited their sale. Because of this, she still had not managed to advance to high-level martial artist. If Type 2 Energy Potions were plentiful, she would have advanced long ago.
Now that something more effective than Type 2 Energy Potions had appeared, she could not possibly miss it.
And since Lu Fanchen was from Mythical Paradise, she did not believe he would let her benefit for free.
“Come to my lounge now. Yi Ye Fu Yun and Fang Zhen will be here soon. Once everyone is here, we will talk details.” Lu Fanchen hung up after speaking.
“So several teams are going to act together? Looks like exploiting this wilderness bug won’t be easy.” Luo Wu Shang’s lips curved up slightly. “But it’s just right for testing my current strength in the wilderness.”
She left the Primary Gravity Room and headed to the lounge on the second floor to wait for Yi Ye Fu Yun, Fang Zhen, and the others.
By the time the sun had fully set,
a core disciple assessment team of over thirty martial artists, formed by several major teams, drove a medium transport vehicle and sped out of the city.
At the same time the medium transport vehicle left the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, a few Winged Youths standing at a street corner outside the hall watched it depart and immediately reported this information through their smart watches.
“A large group of martial artists from the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall has left the City of Light Chasing?” Mans looked at his subordinates’ report and smiled. “I have been worrying about a lack of opportunities these days. Now we can cooperate with those factions and wipe out these martial artists from the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall in one go!”
