Chapter 54: Chapter 52: Secret Technique Framework
Early the next morning, Xi Yueyao rode Chief Black Cat out on patrol. With her majestic bearing, she looked like a queen inspecting her subjects—as flashy as could be.
Feng Hao had no interest in her antics. He headed straight for the Secret Technique Pavilion to study and do some research.
The Secret Technique Pavilion was arguably the liveliest place in the academy. Not everyone could create their own Secret Techniques, after all, so most students chose to learn one from the pavilion’s collection.
By the time Feng Hao arrived, the Secret Technique Pavilion was already bustling with people. From third-years down to first-years, students of every grade level could be found there. Even many instructors came to the pavilion to study.
The Secret Technique Pavilion at any academy was the culmination of generations of outstanding students’ work. It contained no shortage of cleverly conceived and powerfully effective Secret Technique Marks. It was no exaggeration to say the pavilion was the very foundation of the academy’s legacy.
From what Feng Hao understood, the quality of a Secret Technique Pavilion’s collection was a crucial metric for measuring an academy’s strength.
Rongcheng Academy had been founded a thousand years ago, at almost the same time as the city of Rongcheng itself. Although it ranked in the lower-middle tier of the academic federation, its Secret Technique Pavilion had a high-quality collection, refined over a millennium.
The academy’s low rating was mainly due to Rongcheng’s small and relatively weak pool of prospective students—a consequence of its poor geographical location.
The moment Feng Hao stepped into the Secret Technique Pavilion, countless eyes turned his way. Many students couldn’t help but exclaim:
"Hey, look! Isn’t that Feng Hao, the ’strongest visiting student’? What’s he doing in the Secret Technique Pavilion?"
"What a stupid question. It’s not like your family owns the Secret Technique Pavilion. If you can be here, why can’t he?"
"Doesn’t he practice with Dark Energy? You don’t think he’s already condensed it, do you?"
"Probably. I never thought a visiting student could be so incredible!"
"Tell me about it. Ah, forget it. Let’s not talk about it. It’s too depressing."
...
Feng Hao paid the chatter no mind. In fact, he’d been in this situation ever since he defeated Xiyue Frost. Every time he showed his face, he drew a crowd and a storm of discussion.
The Secret Technique Pavilion had nine floors, with the techniques recorded on them becoming more advanced the higher you went. Since Feng Hao had only just condensed his Dark Energy, he was limited to browsing the second and third floors.
After browsing back and forth between the second and third floors, Feng Hao finally located the Secret Technique Inscriptions for Dark Energy.
Due to the unique nature of Demon Patterns, most Secret Technique Marks could only be preserved by being engraved on special stone tablets. Only a handful of top-tier Secret Techniques were inscribed on Scrolls.
’It’s all force and magic-damage Secret Techniques. The Dark Energy path really is unpopular.’
The Secret Technique Pavilion was clearly sectioned off, with inscriptions for similar techniques grouped together. Feng Hao finally managed to find the area for Dark Energy inscriptions, but the handful of stone tablets there made him give a wry, helpless smile.
Compared to the other inscription areas, the Dark Energy Area was practically deserted. The few people he did see were just passing through.
Heaving a helpless sigh, he sat down cross-legged and began to carefully examine the Secret Technique Marks on the tablets.
Thanks to his recent studies, Feng Hao had a basic grasp of universal Demon Patterns, allowing him to easily decipher the structure of the Demon Patterns within the Secret Techniques on the inscriptions.
Take the first inscription, for example. It was the simplest combination of marks: a Dark Force Demon Pattern at its core, supplemented by two extensions, ’Qi’ and ’Extension,’ then linked by a ’Split’ Demon Pattern. The overall structure was simple and clear, and he could roughly visualize the Secret Technique’s final effect.
’The structure is simple, but the way the lines connect is exquisite. No wonder it was recorded as an inscription.’
After studying them for a while, Feng Hao learned a great deal. He had to admit he still had much to learn about the study of Demon Patterns.
The Dark Energy Area on the third floor contained six inscriptions in total. The one in the center recorded two Secret Techniques, bringing the total to seven. All of them required the user to have condensed their Dark Energy before they could be learned.
By comparing, studying, and theorizing about them, Feng Hao’s understanding of Secret Technique construction grew deeper and deeper.
Unlike the other students, Feng Hao wasn’t planning to learn the Secret Techniques from the inscriptions. Instead, he delved into their underlying principles and secrets, seeking to better understand how each line connected and the effects of their combination.
The more he learned, the more he appreciated the wonder and mystery of Demon Patterns. It seemed as though every single Demon Pattern was worth a lifetime of study.
’Whew... No wonder so many people just learn directly from the inscriptions. Building a Secret Technique from scratch is incredibly complex!’
Feng Hao sighed with genuine feeling. His interest in Demon Patterns grew even stronger. This kind of deep, challenging ’gameplay’ was exactly what he was looking for.
...
「Five days passed in a flash.」
Feng Hao came to observe and study every single day. Through his tireless efforts, he finally managed to thoroughly analyze all seven Secret Technique Marks. At the same time, his own concepts and ideas began to take shape in his mind.
The line between theory and practice is often just a single step. Having found his direction, Feng Hao immediately began constructing his own Secret Technique Mark.
’According to the fifth inscription, a Basic Secret Skill’s mark can be copied directly, and it retains most of the original skill’s proficiency. I comprehended Dark Moon Slaughter myself, so copying it shouldn’t be an issue.’
His consciousness sank into his sea of knowledge. He quickly duplicated the mark for Dark Moon Slaughter, making two copies.
Next, he added a ’Condense’ Demon Pattern to each of the two marks. It was proof that his days of research had not been in vain—the addition of both ’Condense’ Demon Patterns was a success.
’Finally, I’ll use a ’Rotate’ Demon Pattern as the center to link the two together.’
According to his initial design, Feng Hao wanted to create a Secret Technique suitable for dual-wielding. The version he was currently constructing was the simplest of his several proposed designs.
Copying and linking two basic marks essentially created a Dual Core Secret Technique, since it possessed two Dark Cores. Fortunately, the compatibility between identical cores was very high, so it wasn’t too difficult to construct.
’This should work.’
Within his sea of knowledge, Feng Hao focused intently on connecting the lines, not daring to be the slightest bit careless. Beads of sweat formed on his skin from the tension.
Finally, when the last line was connected, the entire pattern of the mark lit up. The Secret Technique Mark was successfully constructed!
Feng Hao was ecstatic. He hurriedly branded the Secret Technique Mark onto his Genetic Tree and only then did he finally relax.
Bubbling with excitement, Feng Hao eagerly opened his game-like panel to take a look:
[Unnamed]
Proficiency: 35
Mana Cost: 48
Effect: Cast by spinning, forming a vortex of energy and dealing two instances of 135% Dark Energy damage
Attack Range: 1.5 meters
Mark Cooldown: 12 seconds
Cast Time: 0.8 seconds
"Haha! This skill is practically invincible, and it’s an area-of-effect attack!" Feng Hao couldn’t help but laugh out loud. With a glint in his eye, he took the Dark Moon Soul from his Spatial Ring and easily refined it.
After fusing with the Dark Moon Soul, the Secret Technique’s attack range instantly increased from 1.5 meters to 3.5 meters, creating a lethal radius of 7 meters. He grew excited just thinking about it.
’What should I name it? Bladestorm? No, no, that name is so cliché.’
After racking his brain, he finally came up with a suitable name. He opened his panel again, and the stats had been updated:
[Moon Wheel Dance]
Secret Skill Soul: Dark Moon
Proficiency: 35
Mana Cost: 48
Effect: Gathers Dark Moon Power and casts by spinning, forming a vortex of Moon Blades and dealing two instances of 135% Dark Energy damage
Attack Range: 3.5 meters
Mark Cooldown: 12 seconds
Cast Time: 0.8 seconds
