Chapter 13: True Dragon Stake
In Ning Qi’s courtyard.
The exotic beasts’ low roars or sharp howls occasionally rang out. If anyone were here, they would surely be dumbfounded.
Ning Qi’s gaze was focused, and he was completely immersed in the world of stance technique.
At times he was like Bi An howling, at times like Suan Ni leaping, at times like Ba Xia suppressing the sea, at times like Qiu Niu crossing water…
He had practiced the True Martial Nine Stances to complete mastery at will, with Divine Intent switching seamlessly. One moment it was Bi An Stance, the next it switched to Chi Wen Stance. The nine originally distinct stance techniques seemed like a single stance technique, as if fused into one.
If the other True Disciples saw this, they would probably doubt their lives.
Ning Qi’s eyes were bright.
Spiritual Insights kept emerging in his mind.
“Not enough! Still not enough!”
“I now seem to have fused the nine stance techniques into one, but it’s actually just superficial. Although combining their strengths has improved Skin Refining efficiency, it’s far from my expectations and still within the scope of superior stance techniques.”
Ning Qi pondered while practicing the stance techniques. At his level, several stance techniques no longer required thought; instinct sufficed.
At this moment.
Ning Qi’s skin membrane kept pulsing, extremely alarming. The reddened skin membrane had taken on an iron color, full of powerful texture.
Ten days passed.
He had advanced further, reaching the Iron Skin Realm. At this realm, blades and swords could hardly injure him.
Though young, his combat power surpassed many adults.
This cultivation speed was already extremely fast, but Ning Qi was still not satisfied.
“Among the True Martial Nine Stances, there is clearly some pattern. Simply fusing their forms isn’t enough; the key lies in Divine Intent!”
After stepping into Iron Skin Realm yesterday, Ning Qi felt something different when looking at the True Martial Nine Stances.
The Body Tempering process was a process of comprehension.
Standing higher meant seeing farther.
If Ning Qi were at Inner Yuan Realm now, having fully experienced the Body Tempering process once, he felt he could grasp the connections between the True Martial Nine Stances in just a quarter-hour, or even less.
No matter how strong one’s comprehension, it needed sufficient cognition and foundation to support it.
After all, stance technique was not just Skin Refining but encompassed the entire Body Tempering process.
However.
Having studied for ten days was enough.
The Spiritual Insights in Ning Qi’s mind surged more vigorously. With a thought, Divine Intent enveloped him, switching constantly. Later, it gradually fused—not forcibly mashed together, but each taking the essence to form something new.
“Bi An’s ferocity, Ba Xia’s heaviness, Chao Feng’s agility, Qiu Niu’s steadiness, Ya Zi’s viciousness…”
“Dragon begets nine sons, each different, but all from the true dragon’s body!”
“Tracing back to the source is… True Dragon!”
The instant Ning Qi comprehended it.
The exotic beasts’ roars in the courtyard vanished, replaced by a supremely majestic dragon roar resounding.
Ning Qi’s sweat evaporation suddenly accelerated, turning into white mist that enveloped him, obscuring his true appearance. His moves gradually changed, derived from the True Martial Nine Stances yet utterly different. From afar, it looked like a young true dragon leaping in the white mist.
Ning Qi felt utterly refreshed.
This was the stance technique he created himself, naturally reaching the highest realm immediately. At this moment, Body Tempering efficiency surged again, feeling fully double what it was before!
“Refreshing! Refreshing! Refreshing!”
Ning Qi laughed heartily in his heart.
He didn’t stop, practicing until muscle exhaustion before reluctantly jumping into the prepared medicinal bath.
He closed his eyes.
Ning Qi was still somewhat excited.
The sense of achievement from solving a puzzle after deep contemplation was no less than a realm breakthrough—perhaps even greater. It was somewhat like the thrill of solving an extremely difficult math problem in high school in his previous life, but even more so.
“I can now be certain that above the True Martial Nine Stances, there must be an even stronger stance technique!”
“In a sense, I’ve reverse-engineered it. I don’t know if the True Dragon Stance I’ve created is the same as the original—stronger or weaker?”
“Perhaps… I should consult Master?”
This thought arose involuntarily.
But he felt he might not get an answer.
He had previously heard from Senior Disciple Brother Luo Wentian that the True Martial Inheritance obtained by Master Dragon Mountain Daoist seemed incomplete, missing some more core elements.
Moreover.
From Ning Qi’s understanding of Dragon Mountain Daoist.
He felt his Master was not the type to hold back. If there truly was a stance technique stronger than the True Martial Nine Stances, he would surely have brought it out long ago.
Still, he planned to find time to ask. If such a stance technique existed, it could corroborate with the True Dragon Stance he created, perhaps making True Dragon Stance even stronger.
Though True Dragon Stance could already be called a peerless stance technique, Ning Qi still wanted to see if he could strengthen it further.
Moreover.
Ning Qi felt it necessary to inform Dragon Mountain Daoist of his cultivation progress, which related to whether he could gain greater freedom later.
As for the other Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters, he temporarily didn’t plan to tell them his realm.
Ning Qi was afraid of discouraging them.
The other Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters were fine—still as usual when meeting again—but that day Eighth Senior Brother was a bit strange. Later, when Ning Qi went to see Qin Yun again one day, he discovered that this Eighth Senior Brother had entered closed-door cultivation again.
“He wasn’t stimulated, was he?”
Ning Qi was puzzled and planned to check on him later.
“After Master comes out of closed-door cultivation, I’ll first talk to him about the True Martial Stance and the Improved Body Tempering Powder.”
Ning Qi cast aside distractions, emptied his mind, and focused on the medicinal bath.
A fiery stinging pain came from his skin membrane, but he relished it as a sign of growing stronger.
Time passed in the blink of an eye.
Another eight days passed.
Ning Qi didn’t wait for Dragon Mountain Daoist to emerge but first stepped into Jade Skin Realm.
He had spent ten days advancing from Stone Skin to Iron Skin, but only eight days from Iron Skin to Jade Skin—even including one day spent re-cultivating the previous three realms, showing True Dragon Stance’s prowess.
Ning Qi curiously examined his skin.
White and lustrous as jade, completely different from before.
But Jade Skin Realm was the perfection of Skin Refining—not only resistant to blades and swords but also able to withstand massive impacts, both rigid and flexible.
Moreover, Ning Qi cultivated the peerless True Dragon Stance, with a far more solid foundation than others.
“Next is Muscle Refining Realm!”
“To be precise, I reached Skin Refining perfection in just one month—or even less. At this rate, one realm per month means I could complete the entire Body Tempering great realm and birth Inner Yuan in a year?”
Ning Qi was first surprised, then shook his head.
“No, Body Tempering gets harder later, especially the later realms delving deeper into the body, requiring utmost caution.”
“Moreover, my current swift speed fundamentally stems from comprehending Divine Intent Perfection in stance technique right upon starting the Martial Way, even creating a peerless one like True Dragon Stance.”
“But think about it—Eighth Senior Brother is also exceptionally talented. He touched the Martial Way at seven and likely mastered Ya Zi Stance to Divine Intent Perfection in three or four years, yet it still took him a full eleven years to complete Body Tempering and birth Inner Yuan. That shows the later difficulty.”
“Still, my speed will be much faster. My Martial Way path has just begun; there will be more time later to innovate and accelerate.”
“True Dragon Stance is not my limit.”
Ning Qi’s eyes were firm and confident.
