Accumulating experience means the original movement technique doesn’t disappear, while devouring experience causes the original technique to vanish completely, unable to be re-cultivated or successfully practiced again.
However, the characteristics of the devoured technique are absorbed by “Bull Demon Technique.”
Fortunately, this devouring isn’t passive but active, meaning it’s selective, otherwise Ling Xiao wouldn’t dare practice it.
Both extraordinary techniques are evolvable, and when cultivated to their highest stages, they become earth-shattering.
So, they absolutely must be practiced, though their methods are a bit peculiar, forcing Ling Xiao to cultivate other martial arts first.
Luckily, with the Mountain and River Martial Soul, he can copy techniques, and he didn’t hold back from pilfering plenty from the Ling Clan’s library pavilion.
Now he can pick a few to start cultivating.
Seeing the manuals in the Mountain and River Diagram’s library, Ling Xiao began rolling around on his bed in excitement.
Tianfeng City, where they lived, was part of the Northern Han Kingdom. By market prices, a basic martial technique sold for ten taels of silver, a low-tier one for a thousand taels, and a mid-tier one for a whopping hundred thousand taels.
Why couldn’t a poor guy like Ling Xiao even afford a basic technique?
Because he couldn’t save up ten taels in his entire life.
No hesitation needed, Ling Xiao decided to sell some basic techniques, at least enough to get his grandfather’s ribs treated.
Since the Ling Clan showed him no kindness, he wouldn’t feel guilty about showing none in return.
He hadn’t spent this year in the Ling Clan freeloading, he’d trained and worked, yet received not a single coin, only some meager rations.
And even those didn’t fill his stomach.
For a clan like that, he genuinely felt no respect.
So, privately selling martial manuals didn’t seem like a big deal.
Of course, for safety’s sake, he planned to start with basic techniques, since they were common and not exclusive to the Ling Clan, making it hard for anyone to notice.
With that in mind, he hurriedly left for Tianfeng City’s auction house.
Typically, basic techniques could be consigned to the auction house, and if sold, the silver would be transferred directly to your bank account.
No need to wait around all day.
So, after consigning ten basic techniques, Ling Xiao returned to the Ling Clan. Healing his grandfather was crucial.
But boosting his strength was just as important.
Without enough power, his grandfather’s injuries would surely happen again.
Back in his room, Ling Xiao began selecting from the over nine thousand techniques.
Though it’s said that biting off more than you can chew is bad, martial arts are unique, many complement each other, not only avoiding conflict but even speeding up cultivation progress.
So, he definitely wanted to pick several to pair up and practice.
Plus, to advance “Soaring Cloud Steps” and feed “Bull Demon Technique,” he’d need to keep cultivating more techniques anyway.
With the Mountain and River Diagram’s suggestions, the selection process became much quicker. If he’d picked on his own, it might’ve taken a day and night without a decision.
But with the diagram’s guidance, he chose five techniques in less than a quarter of an hour.
It was practically a set, and the Mountain and River Diagram even named it “Soul of the Fist.”
Cultivating these five together could boost training speed by 10 to 30 percent, increase true qi accumulation by 10 to 30 percent.
When using fist-based martial skills, their power could rise by one to two times!
The five techniques of “Soul of the Fist” were “Tiger Descending the Mountain Steps,” “Meteor Fist,” “Explosive Qi Technique,” “Red Sun Technique,” and “Qi Recovery Technique.”
A closer look revealed that these five revolved around “Meteor Fist” as the core, with the other four as support.
Mid-tier movement technique “Tiger Descending the Mountain Steps,” a fierce method, where each forward charge increases strength, momentum, and speed, like a tiger storming down a mountain!
Of course, this mid-tier technique would later serve “Soaring Cloud Steps.”
Mid-tier internal energy method “Red Sun Technique,” a qi-boosting practice that adds a scorching fire effect to martial skills, also enhancing fist power.
Mid-tier secret skills “Qi Recovery Technique” and “Explosive Qi Technique,” one restores true qi, the other unleashes it in a burst.
The latter maximizes “Meteor Fist’s” power instantly, though it consumes a ton of true qi.
The former, “Qi Recovery Technique,” largely offsets that drawback.
That’s why Ling Xiao chose these five.
As for why “Meteor Fist” among fist techniques, it’s simple, it’s the most powerful mid-tier technique, and Ling Xiao loved bold, unrestrained combat.
Its power rivaled some high-tier techniques, though, like “Explosive Qi Technique,” its downside was high consumption, so awakening-stage martial artists rarely chose it.
But Ling Xiao was different.
Thanks to the Mountain and River Martial Soul, his true qi was thicker than others at his level, and he’d specifically picked “Qi Recovery Technique” to cover the flaw.
For other martial artists, even geniuses, cultivating three techniques at once was astounding, but he could rely on the diagram’s analysis and simulation.
He could absolutely handle five techniques simultaneously.
And they were complementary to boot.
That was his edge!
From now on, Ling Xiao was no longer the little beggar everyone could push around, his path in martial arts would be smooth and boundless.
After selecting the “Soul of the Fist” set, Ling Xiao began cultivating.
Though called simultaneous cultivation, he was still just one person, so he had to go in order, but his progress in each would outpace others.
He started with “Red Sun Technique.”
The reasoning was straightforward, “Red Sun Technique” boosted true qi and strengthened the body.
This was vital for both movement and martial skills, since true qi was a martial artist’s foundation.
Even martial realms were divided by true qi stages.
Ling Xiao closed his eyes and followed “Red Sun Technique’s” instructions.
As true qi flowed through his body, he grew excited, whenever it hit a blockage or snag, the Mountain and River Martial Soul kicked in, resolving the issue and mapping the correct qi path.
This made going berserk impossible, and cultivating techniques came with no so-called barriers.
For others, breaking through cultivation hurdles could take months or years, but for him, those hurdles didn’t exist.
It was all green lights, smooth sailing.
His natural talent wasn’t bad, but it hadn’t been anywhere near this prodigious.
All this stemmed from the Mountain and River Martial Soul’s unique effects.
This made Ling Xiao value and grow more curious about it.
Martial souls were already mysterious, and the Mountain and River Martial Soul seemed even more so than most, just how incredible was it?
Ling Xiao was desperate to find out.
But to uncover that secret, his current strength clearly wasn’t enough.
Cultivation was the key to unlocking the Mountain and River Diagram’s mysteries.
Because as he practiced “Red Sun Technique,” he could distinctly feel subtle, wondrous changes in the diagram.
Of course, the most obvious was the clouds continuing to dissipate.
Now, in the diagram’s little village, another place had appeared.
It was an altar, and inside wasn’t a statue, but a flame!
A dazzling, radiant flame!
