Chapter 118: Chapter 80: Reconciliation of General and Minister, Abundant Gains, The Greatest Talent of Great Yin
The Prime Minister asked, "I have three techniques: Demon-Breaking Saber, Vajra Body, and Fire Sun Divine Skill. Which do you wish to practice first?"
Li Xuan replied, "I shall practice them together."
He dared to say it, and the Prime Minister dared to agree.
He clapped his hands, and a woman stepped forward, laying out three scrolls on the table.
These were three cultivation techniques without the fundamental diagrams.
The Prime Minister said, "I admire the vigor of the young, but if this vigor is merely boasting to deceive me, I will punish both you and Zhou Chihe. Have you thought it through?"
He looked at the three cultivation techniques, then at the boy’s hand.
The boy’s hand showed no hesitation and directly took the techniques.
The Prime Minister nodded appreciatively, took a sip of tea, and said, "I will remain here for seven days. Within these seven days, if you can master the basics of any one of these three techniques, you will have passed.
As for my presence here, do not make it public, do not arrange... I am not staying here for you; I am merely passing by."
Li Xuan did not ask further questions, respectfully agreeing, "After seven days, I..."
The Prime Minister waved his hand and said, "Only after you succeed can you call yourself a student."
Li Xuan bowed and left with the three scrolls.
Without the fundamental diagrams, the cultivation techniques cannot be perfected, but reaching mastery would be feasible.
...
After returning to the Li family, Li Xuan first handed the recipe for the "Vajra Body" to his wife for secret preparation, then went to the secret chamber himself, took out the cultivation techniques, and lit an incense burner to track time.
Then, he directly injected the demon blood of the "Malformed Monkey" and "Tiger Demon" into his body.
His legs turned into tentacles, but it did not affect his training.
At this moment, the spirit attribute column showed "[Spirit: 25+36/30]".
Besides "photographic memory," he vaguely sensed a new ability—unity of knowledge and action.
Ordinarily, people learn and their state at the end is: the mind says ’I understand,’ and the body says ’you don’t understand at all.’
But now Li Xuan felt as if his mind and body had reached a terrifying harmony, enabling the body to naturally master what the mind knows at the moment of understanding.
He opened the Demon-Breaking Saber technique, picked up a saber, holding the book in his left hand and practicing with his right.
In just half a day, the saber’s flash grew sharp.
He put the scroll down, pondered the issues in execution, then resumed practice, repeated this process, unaware of the time passing by.
Suddenly, his expression shifted, and he abruptly stood up, gripped the saber with five fingers, and slashed forward four times, each slash like a thunderous explosion, echoing through the small house.
This was the killing method of the "Demon-Breaking Saber": Thunder from Four Directions. Successfully executing it signified mastery.
’Achieved mastery...’
Li Xuan glanced at the incense burner.
From entering the secret chamber until now, exactly twenty-four hours had passed.
In other words, what once took about a month to perfect now took only two days.
This was partly due to not having practiced foundational techniques, but more so because his attributes far exceeded those of grandmaster-level techniques, complemented by his spirit’s insightfulness.
He exited the chamber, hurried to the dining hall.
During these two days, Qiao’Er had been waiting in the dining hall, knowing that whenever her master emerged from seclusion, he would be ravenous.
Thus, she had been preparing.
Because it was not yet evening, Qiao’Er was still there.
Seeing her master approaching from afar, she quickly withdrew her head, trotted back indoors, and urgently called, "Quick, quick, quick."
At once, the cooks in the dining hall bustled about.
Qiao’Er then retrieved the prepared dishes.
Having learned much while following Tian Yuan in daily life, she was quite the clever girl.
Li Xuan, without holding back, ate heartily.
After eating, he rested for a while, and Qiao’Er went to fetch the "medicine prepared by Tian Yuan."
Taking the medicine, Li Xuan returned to seclusion.
...
After five days.
The young man exhaled a hot breath in the secret chamber.
This was the breathing technique of the "Fire Sun Divine Skill."
Though called divine skill, it remained within the realm of the ordinary, allowing the surface of the body to emit heat, endure cold caves without freezing, maintain a steady internal breath, and stimulate blood circulation.
Exhaling hot breath indicated that this technique... had also reached mastery.
As for the "Vajra Body," he had similarly achieved mastery.
...
Upon leaving again, Li Xuan quickly ate and prepared to head to the Bixiang Tea House.
Qiao’Er looked at her master with concern.
In her eyes, her master was like the sky.
But right now, this sky was disheveled and poorly dressed.
"Master, shall I prepare water for your bath?" Qiao’Er asked.
Li Xuan shook his head and said, "Prepare it in the evening."
Qiao’Er, surprised and delighted, said, "In the evening, you’re not going back into seclusion? I... I’ll tell the lady."
Li Xuan nodded.
And so, disheveled as he was, he left the house.
In seven days, to master all three grandmaster-level techniques to perfection... this was beyond monstrous talent; it was terrifying.
Remember, the Prime Minister’s standard of judging "genius" was simply to master the basics of any technique within seven days.
Yet he had mastered all three.
Merely entering the basics of one versus perfecting three—a contrast too stark.
Thus, he naturally wanted to conceal a bit.
The disheveled image was enough to suggest he had exerted all his effort and was a martial art maniac.
...
Bixiang Tea House.
Prime Minister of Great Yin, Yan Fujing, was listening to the report of a dusty martial artist.
Reflectiveness appeared in his eyes, then he waved his hand and looked at the map spread out on the table.
