Chapter 139: Chapter 138: Progress
GURGLE! GURGLE!
The rumbling of his internal organs echoed through the room. Combined with the Force Release from Zhao Xuanqi’s muscles, the vibration of his vocal cords, and the Turtle and Snake Breath, it produced an almost mystical effect.
The airflow around him stirred. Wisps of visible currents enveloped an area about a meter around him. From a distance, it looked as though a giant turtle shell was covering his body.
The Turtle and Snake Form seemed to be manifesting into reality.
Internal Organs Resonating!
He had already been just one step away from the realm of Internal Organs Resonating. Now that his control over his body had greatly improved, crossing this threshold after half a month of training was simply a natural progression.
For an ordinary Martial Artist focused on Inner Cultivation, Internal Organs Resonating was already an incredibly profound realm. The collective power of the organs was terrifying. But for a true master, this was merely the beginning.
Five Qi Tongxuan—tempering the five major organs one by one, causing them to undergo an inhuman qualitative change and sublimation, unlocking all sorts of incredible abilities that were like Superpowers—that was the true essence of a master’s Inner Cultivation.
Zhao Xuanqi relaxed his stance and slowly rose to his feet.
’Internal Organs Resonating... it’s not the limit...’
He muttered to himself.
The gains from his battle with Wu Yin were even greater than he had imagined. The revelation of his innate Qilin’s Intent had been like breaking through a dam, shattering his old limitations. His control over his body had increased dramatically, reaching a level far beyond mere Internal Organs Resonating.
Once he made the proper preparations, he could begin to consider advancing down the path of Five Qi Tongxuan.
The Five Qi Tongxuan method taught by the Hundred Beasts Fist was actually divided into several tiers of varying strength. If he wanted to cultivate the highest-tier Secret Transmission, the conditions were extremely demanding and came with great risks. He would need to be thoroughly prepared before he even tried.
However, even without reaching the realm of Five Qi Tongxuan, the improvement in his bodily control was real and substantial. This meant his fighting style and Force techniques had reached a new level.
At that very moment, Zhao Xuanqi stood in place. His organs rumbled, his vocal cords vibrated, and the muscles all over his body suddenly went slack—then, in the next instant, they tensed like forged steel!!
CRACK!!
Unleashed in a state of Internal Organs Resonating by gathering the power of his entire body, this full-body Inch Force was terrifying to the extreme. His clothes snapped loudly as the force struck the air, and a thin, hazy Qi Shield, like a water mist, faintly appeared around him.
CRACK-CRACK-CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!!
The next moment, parts of his body rippled like waves as he continuously unleashed Inch Force, producing a series of explosive cracks. This maintained a thin, visible Qi Shield a few centimeters from his body.
TAK!!
While generating force throughout his body, Zhao Xuanqi took a step forward. He continued to release this force as he walked, keeping the thin Qi Shield wrapped around him.
As he approached the nearby bed.
CRACK!!
The Qi Shield made contact before he did, letting out an even more violent explosion of sound. The bed was actually pushed back a fraction, as if the Qi Shield were a solid object.
Gang Qi Protection!
This was an ability that was almost legendary in the Martial Dao, and Zhao Xuanqi was now displaying it.
By continuously using Inch Force from his muscles to strike the surrounding air, he created a thin Qi Shield that could repel splashed water and resist flames. It could even potentially block ordinary Hidden Weapons and attacks.
In fact, Zhao Xuanqi recalled legends from his past life of people who could cultivate this Gang Qi Protection to the point of being impervious to blades and spears, like a suit of golden armor. They reached a terrifying state where no blade, axe, arrow, or even cannon could get near them.
For him now, however, this Gang Qi Protection was just a paper tiger. It looked intimidating, but it couldn’t even block a moderately powerful Hidden Weapon. It was only good for deflecting splashed water or ink. Besides, the drain on his Physical Ability was enormous, making it unsuitable for actual combat.
This was because his Physical Ability and his control over his body were still far from sufficient.
However, while the Gang Qi Protection itself was useless, other applications of Gang Qi offered a significant boost to his power.
He sank into his stance, assuming a Beast Form, and suddenly struck out with his claw.
ROAR!!
A terrifying roar, like that of a real tiger, resounded. Gang Qi shot out from his fingertips, compressing the air and vaguely forming the shape of a beast’s head with its jaws wide open.
When released through a normal Technique, the effective range of Gang Qi was only a few dozen centimeters. Beyond that, the Gang Qi would dissipate.
ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!!
Zhao Xuanqi executed several Beast Forms in a row. The wild roars echoed inside the room as illusory heads of different beasts were projected one after another. If an ordinary person saw this, they might mistake him for one of the Deities who commands ghosts and monsters.
However, after mastering Gang Qi, the greatest improvement was not to the Walking Beast Form, but to the Flying Bird Form!
Before now, Zhao Xuanqi had rarely used the Flying Bird Form, which belongs to the Soaring Form. Without a weapon, its power was limited, so he had only ever adopted its Body Technique.
But now, everything was different.
Zhao Xuanqi’s gaze fell on a solid wood chair nearby. He walked over, picked it up, and with a slight exertion of force, tossed it into the air.
At that exact moment, he slowly spread his arms, his palms open and fingers straight, like a bird spreading its wings.
Graceful, elegant, beautiful...
But beneath this facade hid a lethal danger.
The moment the chair began to fall, he moved.
His arms vibrated faintly, creating a series of afterimages in the dim room, as if they had instantly split into countless copies.
At first glance, it looked just like a peacock spreading its tail feathers.
SWISH-SWISH-SWISH!!
In an instant, his palms left over a dozen afterimages in the air as thread-like things sliced at the falling chair.
CRASH! CLATTER!!
The chair instantly disintegrated in mid-air, breaking into dozens of pieces of various sizes that clattered to the floor. From beginning to end, Zhao Xuanqi’s hands had never actually touched the chair’s surface.
This terrifying effect was achieved by using a Technique to channel his Force, transforming Gang Qi into thread-like Qi Blades. To some extent, now that he had mastered Gang Qi, the slashing power of his hands was no weaker than a sword’s.
This was the wonder of Gang Qi.
By grasping Gang Qi, he had completely compensated for the Flying Bird Form’s greatest weakness: its lack of lethality. As a style that emphasized point and line attacks, it now reached the same level of power as the Walking Beast Form, and in some situations, was even superior!
DONG! DONG! DONG!!
Just then, the sound of footsteps came from downstairs. Zhao Xuanqi frowned slightly, relaxed his stance, then opened his door and went down to the first-floor hall.
When he saw the figure standing next to Yang Zhongliang in the hall, Zhao Xuanqi was a little surprised. It was Sun Yunyong, who had been away for some time.
"Weren’t you on another mission? What brings you here? Did you run into some kind of trouble?"
Zhao Xuanqi asked Sun Yunyong bluntly.
"No. I came this time to bring you a message from the Divine Martial Department. The Elders from the Black Tortoise Sect and the White Tiger Sect stationed in Jinmen have sent word through our channels. They wish to meet you in person to have a discussion. Are you willing?"
Sun Yunyong also got straight to the point.
