Chapter 70: Chapter 70: Receiving
Inside the inn, Jiang Ran sat cross-legged.
He circulated his inner breath, using the Righteous Heart of Creation Scripture to gather the Inner Strength within his body. A moment later, he opened his eyes.
His gaze, however, held a hint of confusion.
All told, the rewards from this time had granted him a total of fifteen years of Inner Strength.
Yet even fifteen years of Inner Strength weren’t enough to advance the Righteous Heart of Creation Scripture by another level!
’They said before that the Righteous Heart of Creation Scripture was difficult to cultivate, but I didn’t take it seriously.’
’I can’t believe fifteen years of pure Inner Energy still aren’t enough to push it to the eighth level.’
’It’s truly difficult at the start, difficult in the middle, and it just keeps getting more and more difficult.’
’If I had to rely on my own cultivation, how would I even train this Inner Energy...?’
Jiang Ran suddenly understood why everyone in the martial world gave the Righteous Heart of Creation Scripture a wide berth.
This was truly the biggest trap in the martial world!
You could pour a lifetime of time and energy into it, only to end up with nothing to show for it.
Who would be willing to accept such an outcome?
If not for his Assassin system, and the fact that the Righteous Heart of Creation Scripture was a reward he had already obtained, he absolutely would never have started cultivating it had he known its history beforehand.
Much less reach his current level.
’I really have no idea what kind of stunning genius created this Inner Energy technique... Did they actually master it completely? Or were the later levels all just speculation?’
Jiang Ran shook his head and didn’t dwell on it.
After a moment of contemplation, he moved on to the next reward.
Seven-Aperture Heavenly Craft Hands.
As he selected the word ’Accept’, his hands instantly felt cool, as if submerged in ice water.
It wasn’t bone-chillingly cold, but rather pleasant.
Simultaneously, a passage of text surfaced in his mind.
He had grasped its full meaning in the blink of an eye.
Opening his eyes, Jiang Ran looked down at his hands, somewhat stunned.
’This isn’t actually a martial art...’
From the information in the text, Jiang Ran learned that the so-called Seven-Aperture Heavenly Craft Hands was an acquired physical trait, one that had to be cultivated from childhood.
From a young age, one must soak their hands in medicinal solutions day and night.
To make the hands as supple as if they were boneless, yet as hard as stone.
The next step was to hone their sensitivity, allowing the hands to perceive the most minute sensations.
Only when one could feel everything from a single strand of hair to a speck of dust was the second step considered complete.
The third step was the most crucial.
This was because the first two steps put the hands through almost unimaginable torment.
Those cultivating the Seven-Aperture Heavenly Craft Hands required others to tend to their every need day and night before completing the second step.
Their hands could not be used for anything else.
Otherwise, a touch that an ordinary person wouldn’t even notice would feel like excruciating pain.
Thus, the third step was to merge the hands with one’s Qi.
Once this step was complete, by circulating one’s Qi, the hands could become hard or soft at will, and perceive the slightest variations in anything they touched.
And the entire purpose of this was for the art of Mechanical Technique.
Unfortunately, what Jiang Ran received today was only the Seven-Aperture Heavenly Craft Hands, without the accompanying knowledge of Mechanical Technique.
The text stated that a person with the Seven-Aperture Heavenly Craft Hands could discern the inner workings of any mechanism as soon as they touched it.
’A pity... This isn’t very useful to me. Even if I can figure out how a mechanism works, I still don’t know how to disable it.’
He spread his hands. As it was a system reward, his hands had already been transformed the moment he received it.
Now, as he circulated his inner breath, the sensation in his hands immediately changed.
He felt a light, granular touch—the dust motes in the air settling on his skin. With a mere thought, he circulated his Qi, and the sensation was instantly blocked.
He reached out and pressed the nearby bedpost. After feeling it over inch by inch, he instantly knew everything about it.
He knew where there were holes, where it was cracked on the inside, where the joints were...
Jiang Ran couldn’t help but laugh.
’This thing is pretty interesting.’
He altered the flow of his inner breath again, blocking the extraordinary perception. Then, he casually bent a finger back until it touched the back of his hand, feeling not the slightest pain.
After a moment’s observation, another thought struck him, and he executed a move from the Thirteen Mad Demon Claws of Kun.
The wind from his claws was fierce and sharp, tearing through the air with the sound of ripping silk.
’The Thirteen Mad Demon Claws of Kun haven’t been negatively affected. In fact, this might even be a boost.’
Letting out a soft breath, Jiang Ran opened the system interface once more.
He claimed the Barbaric Dragon Strength.
This time, it was Jiang Ran’s entire body that changed.
Bones all over his body began to CRACK and POP.
The large tendons in his legs trembled and his wrists throbbed relentlessly. The core incantation flowed through him, and a moment later, Jiang Ran opened his eyes.
’This... is Zuo Kuangge’s martial art, isn’t it?’
Jiang Ran vaguely remembered Qingyi mentioning that Zuo Kuangge’s art was called the Great Barbarian Skill.
And this Barbaric Dragon Strength was, in fact, an external art for tempering the muscles and bones and building physical power.
Its methods for channeling power didn’t involve Inner Strength at all; they purely increased one’s physical might.
Among all seven leaders of Feiyun Stronghold, only Zuo Kuangge had followed the path of overwhelming all skills with pure strength.
The art wasn’t complex, nor did it have any specific stances or moves.
As for just how much his physical strength had increased, it was hard to say for now.
However, Jiang Ran could feel that his muscles and bones were indeed much stronger than before.
He casually pressed a finger against the bedpost, and without using much force, left a shallow indentation.
After claiming all these rewards, Jiang Ran stared blankly at the last one.
’Blood Cauldron Scripture...’
Jiang Ran heaved a long sigh. What in the world was he supposed to do with this thing?
A system reward was one thing, but if he claimed this martial art and ever used it, he’d likely be hunted down by the entire martial world.
Li Feiyun, the renowned grand leader of Feiyun Stronghold, had never let anyone know he possessed the Blood Cauldron Scripture until yesterday.
Fan Yumou of the Qinghe Gang and Gu Mosheng of the Sunset Gang had also cultivated it in secret, terrified of being discovered.
Most importantly, he already possessed the highly refined Righteous Heart of Creation Scripture.
’If this Demon Skill enters my body, won’t it end up clashing with the Righteous Heart of Creation Scripture?’
’Would I die from cultivation deviation before I even made a name for myself in the martial world?’
Looking at the [Claim/Forfeit] options, Jiang Ran hesitated for a long while. Just as he was about to choose ’Forfeit’, he suddenly thought of the look of utter disbelief on Li Feiyun’s face.
’The Blood Cauldron Scripture... had no effect on me.’
’Why was it ineffective?’
This was a question Jiang Ran couldn’t wrap his head around.
’What if I also possessed the Blood Cauldron’s True Qi?’
Once the thought took root, he found it hard to dismiss.
After a long time, he finally let out a breath and decisively tapped the word ’Forfeit’.
’I’m on a righteous path now. It’s best not to meddle with these kinds of Demon Sect skills.’
’It’s not worth the risk.’
As he thought this, he felt a small sense of relief. Then, a new notification popped up.
[You have forfeited a reward. The quality of your reward for the next completed mission will be slightly increased.]
...
A giant question mark materialized in Jiang Ran’s mind...
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