Chapter 157: Unorthodox and Orthodox Interdependence

Lu Yu carefully examined the skill description for 【Surging Wave Strike】:

【Surging Wave Strike: Active skill. Consumes a portion of strength; the power of the next palm strike is doubled. For every level increased, the strength consumed and the effect are both doubled. Only takes effect when using Pigua Palm.】

After reading it, Lu Yu could not help but nod to himself, a hint of pleasant surprise appearing in his eyes.

This skill was truly extraordinary; doubling the power was already a quite considerable effect.

One must know that every bit of power increased meant one more point of winning chance in battle.

Moreover, what was pleasantly surprising was that the strength consumed was not much; calculated this way, the cost-effectiveness was quite good.

Especially the latter part, "For every level increased, the strength consumed and the effect are both doubled," made him feel extremely moved.

This meant that as long as he worked hard to increase the level of this skill, Surging Wave Strike could fully potentially unleash a palm strike with triple power, or even quadruple power, and it seemed that breaking through even higher was not an unreachable fantasy.

"But, how should one further improve after reaching the Consummation realm?" Lu Yu could not help but furrow his brows.

He discovered that the traits unlocked when many martial arts reached Consummation usually showed that they could continue to be improved.

"Could it be that if the level of Basic Palm Technique is high enough, it can raise the upper limit of Pigua Palm?" This thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

After thinking it over carefully, it seemed there was indeed some logic to it.

After all, a ten-thousand-foot tower rises from the ground; the predecessors who created Pigua Palm must have created this unique palm technique after practicing Basic Palm Technique to a certain profound degree. It would be worth trying according to this line of thought.

Lu Yu silently noted this guess in his heart, then checked his Experience Value, finding that 64 points remained, which theoretically should be enough to max out Eight Trigrams Palm.

With a thought, he consumed one point of Experience Value, and he saw the proficiency of Eight Trigrams Palm rise by 50% instantly.

"It seems the distribution of Experience Value required for improving Eight Trigrams Palm is different from Pigua Palm; the improvement margin seems to be larger."

Lu Yu was not surprised, but instead secretly happy in his heart, and hurriedly invested another point of Experience Value.

In an instant, a warm current surged within his body; the commotion this time was much greater than when he improved Pigua Palm before.

He hurriedly looked at the skill bar, and upon seeing it, his breathing instantly became rapid.

【Eight Trigrams Palm: Entry, Traits: Strengthen Body Level 1, Agile Steps Level 1】

These two traits were both brand new, and their effects were extremely tempting.

【Strengthen Body: For every level increased, Constitution and Strength attributes are permanently increased by 4 points.】

【Agile Steps: For every level increased, Agility attribute is permanently increased by 8 points.】

"8 points of Agility attribute..." Lu Yu simply could not believe his own eyes.

This was just at Entry; if he practiced it to the Consummation realm, wouldn't it increase the Agility attribute by 40 points?

Adding in the bonuses to Constitution and Strength attributes, that would truly be a huge profit.

"As expected of Eight Trigrams Palm." He could not help but mutter to himself.

Wang Shu once said that among the three internal martial arts—Taiji Fist, Xingyi Fist, and Eight Trigrams Palm—Eight Trigrams Palm was the most difficult to practice.

Xingyi Fist was relatively the simplest; one only needed to constantly perform Standing Post and use the strength of the whole body to strike according to the requirements of Stance Training.

Although the process was somewhat dull, the speed of gaining skill was the fastest.

Taiji Fist had many movements and the stance was relatively low; practicing it made the body feel more comfortable, yet gaining skill was very slow, and many people practiced for many years and only learned some superficial knowledge.

And Eight Trigrams Palm was not only high in difficulty but also extremely special, because it required putting in hard work on walking the circle.

When walking the circle, the body had to constantly twist; the left shoulder had to align with the right foot, and the right shoulder with the left foot. After repeating this many times, a person would be exhausted, not to mention reaching the realm where the body follows the steps and every posture connects.

Precisely because of this, there were many people practicing Taiji and Xingyi Fist, while those practicing Eight Trigrams Palm were few and far between.

"Since that is the case, then I will continue to improve Eight Trigrams Palm." Lu Yu decided secretly in his heart.

Judging solely from the attribute points added by this palm technique, it was completely worth the consumed Experience Value, not to mention that subsequent levels would surely unlock powerful Consummation traits not inferior to Taiji Fist or Baji Fist.

This time, Lu Yu consumed 4 points of Experience Value, and accompanied by a warm current flowing through his body, a strange feeling surged into his heart.

Could it be that a new trait was unlocked again? Lu Yu hurriedly looked at the skill bar.

【Eight Trigrams Palm: Minor Accomplishment, Traits: Strengthen Body Level 2, Agile Steps Level 2, Form Like a Swimming Dragon Level 1】

【Form Like a Swimming Dragon: For every level increased, movement technique is improved by 50%; only takes effect when using Eight Trigrams Palm.】

"50%, two-tenths more than the effect of Basic Movement Technique." Lu Yu calculated rapidly; reaching the Consummation realm, the movement technique effect could be improved by two times, two times! This improvement margin was truly astonishing.

Lu Yu did not hesitate at all and continued to improve. He consumed another 8 points of Experience Value, but unfortunately, no new trait was unlocked this time.

Lu Yu took a look at the remaining Experience Value; 50 points remained, which should be enough to max out Eight Trigrams Palm.

Next, he consumed another 15 points of Experience Value, and that strange feeling welled up from his heart once again.

【Eight Trigrams Palm: Great Success, Traits: Strengthen Body Level 4, Agile Steps Level 4, Form Like a Swimming Dragon Level 3, Unorthodox and Orthodox Interdependence Level 1】

"Unorthodox and Orthodox Interdependence?" Lu Yu could not help but be stunned when he saw this trait.

【Unorthodox and Orthodox Interdependence: Active skill. After activation, continuously consumes Mental Power. During activation, the opponent's chance of a successful Block decreases by 30%. For every level increased, the opponent's chance of a successful Block decreases by an additional 30%. Only takes effect when using Eight Trigrams Palm.】

"So that's how it is." Lu Yu suddenly realized.

Eight Trigrams Palm focuses on the flexibility of movement, requiring the practitioner to cleverly change the distance and direction between the enemy and oneself in the process of constantly walking the circle.

It makes the opponent have the illusion of seeing the practitioner in front and then suddenly behind, and when the opponent is dizzy, it suddenly launches an attack, similar to finding the opponent's flaw and launching a surprise attack from an unexpected angle.

Moreover, this trait could be improved by one more level; after reaching Level 2, the opponent's chance of a successful Block would directly decrease by three-fifths!

It was just a pity that there was a note at the back stating that this trait could only take effect when using Eight Trigrams Palm.

"Only the last proficiency level remains." Lu Yu rubbed his hands in anticipation and consumed 30 points of Experience Value, finally raising Eight Trigrams Palm to the Consummation realm.

【Eight Trigrams Palm: Consummation, Traits: Strengthen Body Level 5, Agile Steps Level 5, Form Like a Swimming Dragon Level 4, Unorthodox and Orthodox Interdependence Level 2, Endless Cycle Level 1】

【Endless Cycle: When using Eight Trigrams Palm, strength recovery speed is increased by 100%. For every level increased, the effect is increased by 100%.】

"Is this the Consummation trait of Eight Trigrams Palm?" Lu Yu looked at the trait description seriously, somewhat unexpectedly; it was actually a passive skill.

Strength recovery speed increased by 100%; this was simply a divine skill for recovery! And it would not only function during the Entering Strength Stage; when entering the next major Realm, it could also be used to recover True Qi.

After studying it carefully, he found that although it was limited to taking effect when using Eight Trigrams Palm, it did not explicitly state that it must be in a battle state; even if he practiced it while idle in daily life, he could trigger this effect.

Viewed this way, this trait was quite good; let alone a 100% increase, even if it were only 10%.

It could play a crucial role at certain critical moments, such as when facing a war of attrition or continuous battles; having one more point of strength recovery meant one more point of winning chance.

"There are five points of Experience Value remaining." Lu Yu sighed softly; although he felt somewhat unsatisfied, he understood that the improvement of his martial arts for tonight could only end here.

However, fortunately, the harvest was bountiful; the Eight Trigrams Palm martial art alone brought an increase of 40 points of Agility, 20 points of Constitution, and 20 points of Strength, for a total of 80 attribute points!

By comparison, the improvement from the Pigua Palm seemed somewhat less, with only 15 points of Agility.