Chapter 115: The Essence of Taiji Fist

【Phantom Arrow Technique: Entering the Hall, Traits: Aiming Level 3, Superhuman Strength Level 2】

A vague conjecture formed in Lu Yu's mind: could it be that the higher the level of 【Basic Archery】, the less Experience Value is required to upgrade Advanced Arrow Techniques?

He remembered that the last time he raised 【Phantom Arrow Technique】 from Small Success to Entering the Hall, it cost 50 points of Experience Value. If he had wanted to upgrade it further at that time, the cost would surely have been 100 points or more.

Back then, 【Basic Archery】 was only Level 6, but now it has already reached Level 11.

Lu Yu took a deep breath and, full of anticipation, added 1 point of Experience Value to 【Phantom Arrow Technique】.

In an instant, he saw the proficiency of 【Phantom Arrow Technique】 "whoosh" and surge by nearly 4%!

Lu Yu's eyes widened instantly, his face filled with irrepressible ecstasy.

Doesn't this mean that it would only take about 25 points of Experience Value to raise 【Phantom Arrow Technique】 to the next Realm?

He could hardly believe his own deduction.

One must know, this is moving from the third Realm to the fourth! The required Experience Value is actually less than before?

With things having reached this point, the answer seems self-evident.

The higher the level of Basic Martial Arts, the less Experience Value is required to improve Advanced Martial Arts.

This is not only true for Arrow Techniques; I fear that Fist Techniques, Spear Techniques, Blade Techniques, Footwork, and the like all follow this rule!

Lu Yu clenched his fists tightly, a wave of excitement surging in his heart.

If this is the case, it would be simply wonderful.

On one hand, Basic Martial Arts seem to have no level cap, and it is relatively easy to increase their proficiency.

On the other hand, it can save a large amount of Experience Value to be used for improving other martial arts.

"It seems I can raise Basic Archery by another level tonight. Once that's done, I'll max out the level of Phantom Arrow Technique," Lu Yu muttered to himself in a low voice.

Of course, he could also choose to focus entirely on pushing Basic Archery as hard as he could; perhaps by then, the Experience Value cost to upgrade Phantom Arrow Technique would be less than two digits.

But that idea is a bit too extreme.

Vaguely, he had another guess.

Could it be that once Basic Martial Arts reach a certain level, using Advanced Martial Arts will no longer increase the proficiency of Basic Martial Arts?

This question swirled in his mind, but he decided to put it aside for now and continue practicing Basic Archery.

This practice session took quite a long time, a full hour or more.

As a faint, warm current rose within his body, Lu Yu hurriedly looked at the Skill bar.

【Basic Archery: lv12, Traits: Body Strengthening Level 12, Arm Strength Mastery Level 12, Steady Shot Level 12, Continuous Shot Level 10, Rapid Shot Level 7, Volley Level 4】

"Huh, no new traits unlocked?" Lu Yu was a bit puzzled, checked it carefully again, and confirmed there really weren't any.

It is likely that the further one goes, the harder it becomes to unlock new traits.

"Let's look at Phantom Arrow Technique." Lu Yu's lips curled up slightly as he invested 1 point of Experience Value into Phantom Arrow Technique.

The original 3.6% proficiency suddenly soared to 8.6%, an increase of 5%. This means he now only needs 20 points of Experience Value to raise this arrow technique to the Great Success realm.

"Should I keep practicing?" Lu Yu hesitated for a moment, then quickly nodded and said, "Then I'll practice for a while longer."

Every bit of Experience Value saved counts.

Next, Lu Yu practiced the three-arrow Volley, but the proficiency gained each time was less than 1%.

Fortunately, Lu Yu had experienced Footwork practice before, so not only did he not feel frustrated, but a trace of secret joy even arose in his heart.

It only takes shooting a hundred or so arrows to level up? This doesn't seem too difficult after all.

Nearly two hours passed, and it was almost 12 o'clock when that familiar warm current surged in his body once again.

"Hoo..." Lu Yu let out a long breath and shook his aching arms; fortunately, this round of practice was finally over.

【Basic Archery: lv13, Traits: Body Strengthening Level 13, Arm Strength Mastery Level 13, Steady Shot Level 13, Continuous Shot Level 11, Rapid Shot Level 8, Volley Level 5】

The Level 5 Volley trait means he can fire six arrows at once.

Whether facing a single powerful enemy or multiple enemies, this is a huge improvement.

However, the prerequisite is that his strength is sufficient to draw the bow.

Lu Yu cast his gaze toward 【Phantom Arrow Technique】.

It is time to max out the level of this Advanced Arrow Technique.

He still invested 1 point of Experience Value first, and saw the proficiency surge by 8%, reaching 16.6% directly.

Lu Yu couldn't help but gasp; at this rate, eleven or twelve points of Experience Value would be enough to max it out.

He no longer hesitated and added another 11 points of Experience Value directly.

Instantly, the soreness in his arms receded like a tide, and at this moment, he felt he was full of strength again.

Not only that, a strange feeling welled up in his heart.

He was all too familiar with this feeling; it must be that a new trait had been unlocked.

"Could it be..." Lu Yu hurriedly looked at the Skill bar.

【Phantom Arrow Technique: Already Great Success, Traits: Aiming Level 4, Superhuman Strength Level 3, Consecutive Phantom Arrows Level 1】

【Consecutive Phantom Arrows: Active Skill, after activation, consumes internal Blood Qi, increases firing speed by 50%, each level increase adds an extra 10% to firing speed】

Lu Yu stared at the skill description for a long while; this active skill seems like something to be saved for critical moments. Wang Shu once said that after consuming Blood Qi Power, a Martial Artist will fall into a weakened state and will need at least two or three days to recover to their best state; if used frequently, it will also cause irreparable damage to the body.

However, as a reward for paying the price, the improvement effect of this skill is quite considerable, directly increasing firing speed by fifty percent! And there is room for further improvement.

Given his current situation, using the 500-jin draw-weight bow in his hand, he can manage to shoot about one arrow per second; if he activates this skill, he could shoot two arrows per second. If his strength attribute were higher, the effect would surely be even more astonishing.

"Fortunately, for me, consuming Blood Qi Power is not a big problem." Lu Yu smiled slightly.

As long as he has enough Potential Points, he can activate this skill without any scruples.

"Continue improving." Lu Yu invested another 1 point of Experience Value; this time the proficiency increased by 5%, meaning another 20 points of Experience Value would be enough.

He added the remaining 19 points of Experience Value in one go.

At this time, the soreness in his arms had completely disappeared; he only felt his whole body was full of strength, and he even felt he could continue practicing.

"Forget it, I still have to go out hunting early tomorrow morning." After pondering for a moment, Lu Yu still suppressed the urge to upgrade Basic Archery once more.

【Phantom Arrow Technique: Consummation, Traits: Aiming Level 5, Superhuman Strength Level 4, Consecutive Phantom Arrows Level 2】

Phantom Arrow Technique had finally reached Consummation; the proficiency column disappeared, replaced by the four small characters "Cannot be upgraded."

Lu Yu felt both happy and a little bit disappointed inside.

However, overall, happiness still held the upper hand.

This Advanced Martial Arts not only provided him with 20 points of Strength attribute but also came with one status skill and one active skill, which was already quite good.

"I wonder when I'll be able to obtain the next Advanced Arrow Technique. Hmm, I'll ask that old man next time I go to Zhou Family Fort."

Lu Yu looked at the Experience Value; 722 points remained, and this upgrade had consumed less than 48 points in total.

"Should I use these Experience Values on Taiji Fist? Or wait until the Basic Fist Technique level increases before adding them?"

Lu Yu was caught in a dilemma for a moment.

After thinking for a while, he decided to add them first; otherwise, too many Experience Values would be left over.

Moreover, Taiji Fist could provide quite a few attribute points, helping him break through to the mid-stage of Flesh Refining as soon as possible and start practicing the Contemplation Method earlier.

The last time he upgraded Taiji Fist, it consumed 100 Experience Value points; Lu Yu estimated that this time it would definitely be over 200 points.

He tried investing 1 Experience Value point, and sure enough, the proficiency increased by 0.5%.

Since he had already decided, there was nothing to hesitate about.

He invested 199 Experience Value points in one go.

In an instant, his bones emitted a faint trembling sound, his muscles tightened, yet his whole body felt exceptionally light, and the Qi and blood within his vessels accelerated, as if he could even hear the sound of them flowing.

Not only that, a brand-new memory surfaced in his mind.

【Wang Family Taiji Fist: Already Great Success, Traits: Prolonging Life Level 4, Vigorous Strength Level 4, Lightness Level 4, Blood Circulation Level 3, Sealing and Closing Level 1】

【Sealing and Closing: Active skill, can be activated in an unarmed state; after activating by consuming Mental Power, the chance of a successful parry increases by 50%, and for every level increased, the effect increases by an additional 50%】

"It's a parry skill?" Lu Yu frowned slightly.

Although this probability sounded quite high—50% at level one, and it could reach 100% at level two.

But there was a prerequisite: one must be empty-handed; if holding a weapon, this skill could not be activated.

Looking at it this way, it seemed a bit impractical; one couldn't exactly block incoming arrows or bullets with bare hands, right?

However, it seemed it could still come in handy for catching hidden weapons or maneuvering against martial artists using blades or swords.

"Wait, am I thinking about this trait too simply?" A flash of inspiration suddenly crossed Lu Yu's mind.

The Taiji Fist passed down today, as an internal martial art, already focused on defense, so it made sense to unlock such a trait that wasn't very offensive.

What if this trait were combined with an external martial art?

For example, Baji Fist.

Wouldn't that make him both offensive and defensive?

Lu Yu's eyes lit up; the more he thought about it, the more feasible the idea seemed. After all, this skill was like a status effect that could be activated as long as Mental Power was consumed.

"Looking at it this way, this trait is actually quite good." A smile appeared on Lu Yu's face, and he glanced at the Experience Value; 522 points remained.

If nothing went wrong, it would take at least 400 points to raise Taiji Fist to the Consummation realm, leaving only 122 Experience Value points.

Lu Yu glanced at the 【Water-Walking Lightness Skill】 that was currently unlocking; it would take another two days to finish. After pondering for a moment, he decided to continue upgrading Taiji Fist.

After consuming another 400 Experience Value points, the same changes as before occurred throughout his body, though the movement was slightly smaller.

Besides that, that strange feeling surged into his heart once again.

Lu Yu opened his mouth slightly; could it be that this was unlocking a new trait again?

And it was a trait unlocked at the Consummation realm!

His heart beat faster involuntarily, and he looked at the skill bar with slight nervousness.

【Wang Family Taiji Fist: Consummation, Traits: Prolonging Life Level 5, Vigorous Strength Level 5, Lightness Level 5, Blood Circulation Level 4, Sealing and Closing Level 2, Overcoming Hardness with Softness Level 1】

【Overcoming Hardness with Softness: Active skill, when your Strength is not lower than the opponent's and you are empty-handed, you can consume Mental Power to activate; in the activated state, you only need to use 50% of your own strength to be equivalent to the opponent's full force; for every level increased, the strength used decreases by 10%】

Another active skill!

Lu Yu looked at the trait description and couldn't help but take a deep breath.

Wang Shu had said that the highest realm of Taiji Fist could borrow force to strike, using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds.

This "Overcoming Hardness with Softness" was precisely the essence of this fist technique!

This was the goal that countless Taiji Fist practitioners pursued their whole lives!

Lu Yu stared intently at the trait description; without a doubt, this was an extremely powerful trait.

Even if both sides were equal in strength, one only needed to use half the strength to be on par with the opponent; if 60% strength were used, victory would only be a matter of time.

However, it had a very critical prerequisite: the practitioner's Strength attribute must be equal to or higher than the opponent's.

Otherwise, this trait could not be activated at all.

Thinking about it carefully, this was also reasonable. If one's own strength was not even equal to the opponent's, how could one achieve using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds?

"I wonder if Wang Shu has mastered this trait?" A thought-provoking smile appeared on Lu Yu's face. Based on his estimation, Wang Shu had likely not mastered it yet.

Of course, he wouldn't be so childish as to run in front of Wang Shu and show off.

After all, to obtain other fist techniques, reaching the Great Success realm was already enough; it was better to keep the Consummation realm a secret for now.

After finishing all this, he could not suppress his inner eagerness and impatiently cast his gaze toward his attribute panel.

Today's improvement was so significant that he must have reached the threshold for a breakthrough; he wondered if he could break through to the mid-stage of Flesh Refining in one go?

Level: 9

Constitution: 112.13

Strength: 110.5

Agility: 68.33

Spirit: 17.15

Potential Point: 252

Experience Value: 122

The two attributes of Stamina and Strength both broke through the 100-point mark, even climbing to 110 points. The increase in the Agility attribute was also quite considerable, nearing 70 points.

By comparison, the Mental Attribute appeared somewhat inferior, becoming increasingly conspicuous.

Lu Yu looked toward the Realm column; sure enough, a plus sign appeared behind it. He tapped it lightly.

【Breakthrough Threshold: Either Constitution or Strength attribute reaches 100 points, threshold met】

【Average of the three attributes of Constitution and Strength exceeds 80, breakthrough success rate reaches 100%, current breakthrough success rate 100%】

【Proceed with breakthrough?】

Lu Yu almost chose yes without hesitation.

But he immediately realized that even if he chose to break through at this moment, his Mental Attribute would still not meet the standard for practicing the Contemplation Method, and he would have to strengthen his body once more.

The Potential Points he had accumulated were indeed enough to strengthen his body one time, raising his Mental Attribute to 20 points.

But if he did that, it would be equivalent to exhausting all his trump cards.