Chapter 10: Martial Arts Selection

Among the six categories of martial arts.

Internal energy cultivation methods mainly include techniques for practicing internal energy.

External martial arts methods mainly include some hard-body training and techniques to improve defense.

Lightness skills encompass all footwork, evasive techniques for dodging and shifting, as well as methods for borrowing force.

Force-application techniques mainly encompass methods for controlling and applying one's own power, such as internal force, borrowing force, neutralizing force, discharging force, and exerting force.

Basic techniques contain the most fundamental knowledge, such as breath-holding, acupoints, and healing.

Enemy-killing techniques are the most complex among the six categories, encompassing various martial arts for killing and defending against enemies, such as fists, palms, legs, swords, whips, and so on.

If subdivided, the enemy-killing techniques alone could be further divided into seven or eight categories.

Among the six categories, the first choice Shi Quan made was the internal energy cultivation method; this choice was also the fastest.

Although there are many internal energy cultivation methods, Shi Quan had actually already made his choice while organizing them.

Nine Yang Divine Art.

This internal energy cultivation method is the strongest technique within the Nine Yin Nine Yang True Scripture; the technique absorbs the essence of heaven and earth, with Yin and Yang generating each other, dividing internal energy into Yin and Yang forces, capable of automatic circulation, mutually nourishing, continuous and endless, becoming stronger the more one fights, and it is also the internal energy cultivation method that best fits the many martial arts within the Nine Yin Nine Yang True Scripture.

Coupled with the trace of Yin-Yang force in his body gifted when extracting the Nine Yin Nine Yang True Scripture, his practice of the Nine Yang Divine Art is twice the result with half the effort; not only can he quickly get started, but it is also the internal energy cultivation method that best fits him.

Internal energy cultivation methods are the most important of all techniques, and the choice of other techniques depends on Shi Quan's personal preferences.

The martial arts recorded in the Nine Yin Nine Yang True Scripture are all secret, profound, and deep; even the lower-tier martial arts, when practiced to a deep level, are of great benefit to the practitioner.

Soon, Shi Quan made his second choice; he chose a relatively basic body-tempering method from the external martial arts: Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing.

The Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing method, using the mutual generation of Yin and Yang forces, has the effect of strengthening the body; practiced to a deep level, it can achieve the effect of immunity to all poisons and diseases; although it is an external martial arts method, it is actually a type of internal refining method.

The reason Shi Quan chose this martial art is that the Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing method has a very special effect: it can help the practitioner stimulate and improve their own potential, which can be said to be a required course for Foundation Establishment.

A good beginning is half the battle; after making the initial choices, the subsequent ones became much easier.

Next, Shi Quan chose a hard-body training technique from the external martial arts: Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill.

Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill is one of the top-tier hard-body training methods recorded in the True Scripture; the whole body is tempered like steel, indestructible, with strength like a Vajra, and the whole body is invulnerable; it appears rigid and fierce, yet it also balances Yin and Yang, and its execution is no different from a normal state, unlike the Golden Bell Shield or Iron Shirt, which are stiff and difficult to move.

According to Shi Quan's thinking, he does not want to practice his life-saving technique into the kind of "Iron Block" that leads to death like in One Piece.

With this, the external martial arts methods also came to an end.

Lightness skills were also relatively simple; he directly chose Nine Shadows Shift, which is actually an upgraded version of the Spiral Nine Shadows from the Nine Yin True Scripture.

Nine Shadows Shift is also one of the most superior lightness skills in the True Scripture, integrating body movement, footwork, and Gang Qi into one; one can rise several zhang from flat ground or fly thousands of miles in mid-air, with a layer of natural Gang Qi around the body, integrating enemy defense into one; practiced to a deep level, one can even manifest nine figures, making it impossible to distinguish the real from the fake.

One lightness skill, Nine Shadows Shift, is enough; Shi Quan's gaze soon fell upon the force-application techniques, and he quickly made his choice: the force-application technique Universe Shift.

Universe Shift uses the principles of Taiji Yin and Yang; moving force to shift can discharge an enemy's moves and force, emphasizing discharging force and clever force, using the thick Nine Yin Nine Yang internal force as the driving power to form a positive and negative Qi wall; no matter how powerful the external striking force is, it will only be shifted and discharged by the clever centrifugal force, like a clay ox entering the sea.

Although he already had the hard-body training technique Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill and the lightness skill Nine Shadows Shift, for the force-application technique, Shi Quan still chose the defense-oriented Universe Shift.

Internal energy cultivation method: Nine Yang Divine Art; internal refining method: Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing; external martial arts method (hard-body): Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill; lightness skill: Nine Shadows Shift; force-application technique: Universe Shift.

In Shi Quan's view, whether it is external martial arts, lightness skills, or force-application techniques, the purpose of these is to save one's life and face enemies; if he wants to kill and defend against enemies, he can choose to learn from the enemy-killing techniques later.

Moreover, these five techniques can resist, attack, and run; the combination is already very complete.

The martial arts in the True Scripture are all extraordinarily profound; these five martial arts are enough for him to study, and he also needs to learn some basic martial arts like acupoints from the basic techniques; subsequently, he still has the support of soul skills, and from the current perspective, focusing on these five martial arts is already enough.

"The technique Tang San practices seems to be the internal energy cultivation method Mysterious Heaven Skill, the hand-refining method Mysterious Jade Hand, the grappling method Crane Controlling Dragon Capturing, the lightness method Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, and... the eye-refining method Purple Demon Eye."

Shi Quan, who intended to end his selection, suddenly frowned; recalling Tang San's Purple Demon Eye, he noticed that he seemed to have overlooked one point, which is martial arts related to the spirit; this is not a martial arts world, and there are quite a few Spirit-type Soul Masters on the Douluo Continent; Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill has no effect against Spirit-type Soul Masters.

"It looks like I have to look for more."

Thinking of this, Shi Quan searched his mind again; after all, it was a martial art related to the spirit, and Shi Quan originally didn't hold much hope, as in his memory, there were no martial arts that involved the spirit or soul.

However, he didn't know until he looked; Shi Quan didn't expect that there were actually martial arts related to the spirit in the True Scripture, and there was more than one or two.

For example, Soul Transfer Great Law, Mind-Awe Technique, etc.

After some checking, Shi Quan did not choose an attack-type martial art like Soul Transfer Great Law, but chose a very special martial art named Spirit Gathering Soul Awe Technique.

Spirit Gathering Soul Awe: Nine Yin nourishes the spirit, Nine Yang condenses the soul; gathering momentum, condensing the spirit; practiced to a deep level, internal energy and one's own spirit can combine to form a pressure as if it were substantial, forming suppression and deterrence, used to deal with opponents with high martial arts but weak willpower, specifically to suppress the enemy's arrogance and build one's own invincible momentum, achieving the effect of subduing the enemy without fighting.

He has the Spirit Soul martial soul, which specializes in the soul; attack-type soul skills will be provided later by the Spirit Soul martial soul's soul rings; the Spirit Gathering Soul Awe Technique's use of gathering momentum and condensing the spirit is more compatible with the Spirit Soul martial soul and more practical compared to hypnosis and attack-type martial arts like Soul Transfer Great Law and Mind-Awe Technique.

The original five martial arts have now added a new mental martial art: Spirit Gathering Soul Awe Technique.

Shi Quan opened his eyes again, only to find that everyone in the dormitory except him had already sunk into their own dreams.

Outside the dormitory, the bright moon was in the sky; it was already late at night.

Rubbing his swollen head, choosing these six martial arts from so many others had cost Shi Quan quite a bit of mental energy.

After a simple rest, Shi Quan did not delay too much; sitting cross-legged with his five hearts facing the sky again, he adjusted the soul power in his body and began to practice according to the first layer of the Nine Yang Divine Art.

He hadn't noticed before, but as he circulated his soul power, Shi Quan noticed that his soul power seemed to have decreased and had become somewhat different; there seemed to be two different forces in his body: one was the force of Yin and Yang mutual generation, and the other was his original soul power.

"Where is my soul power?"

Shi Quan's brows were tightly locked; he suddenly thought of a possibility: internal energy and soul power seem to be unable to coexist; Tang San seemed to have said that if a Spirit Master wants to practice his Mysterious Heaven Skill, everything must start from scratch.

"Doesn't that mean I have to discard the soul power I worked hard to cultivate for three months?"

Thinking of this, Shi Quan couldn't help but show a wry smile; if he were starting from scratch with his innate level-one soul power, it wouldn't matter.

After finally consuming the Martial Soul Awakening Liquid to raise his talent to level four, and then improving to level five through three months of hard work, only to be told now that everything must be overturned and started over, he wanted to curse in his heart.

But since things have reached this point, in order to practice the Nine Yang Divine Art, let alone level five, even if it were a few levels higher, it would be worth it to him.

Guard the dantian, lead the Qi from the dantian up along the Governing Vessel, and return to the dantian down along the Conception Vessel. Thus, wait for twelve cycles of the Small Heavenly Circuit.

Shi Quan's knowledge of meridians and acupoints was only at a theoretical level; when it came to actual practice, it was naturally not as simple and clear as the theory; fortunately, Shi Quan had the assistance of the Spirit Soul martial soul, which allowed him to easily multitask, simultaneously following the description of the Nine Yang Divine Art and the knowledge of meridians and acupoints in his head to mobilize the soul power in his body to circulate.

Ordinary people practicing the Nine Yang Divine Art need to first use special locations or treasures to cultivate a trace of Yin-Yang internal energy containing Yin and Yang forces before they can practice normally.

But Shi Quan is different, because he has a trace of Yin-Yang force in his body, and when he received the inheritance of the Nine Yin Nine Yang True Scripture, this trace of Yin-Yang force had automatically circulated in his body, transforming a portion of his soul power into internal energy, so Shi Quan had already entered the door before he even started practicing the Nine Yang Divine Art.

Now that he is practicing, it is naturally a matter of course; it is just that because he is not yet familiar with his own meridians and acupoints, although he knows the theory of these basic knowledge, he must need time to digest and master them.

After running one Small Heavenly Circuit, just one Small Heavenly Circuit, Shi Quan had already spent a full quarter of an hour; such a Small Heavenly Circuit has to be run for a full twelve cycles, and after twelve cycles, the internal energy also needs to undergo twenty-four cycles of more complex Large Heavenly Circuit operation; only then is it considered one full cycle.

After all, it was his first time practicing, and he also needed to digest the basic theoretical knowledge in his mind; after this one time, the night with the bright moon in the sky had already been replaced by the rising sun in the east.

Watching the specks of golden light outside the window spilling onto the world, Shi Quan exhaled a breath of turbid air; his mood became surging, and a night of cultivation did not make him feel the slightest fatigue, but rather an indescribable sense of refreshment.

Most importantly, after running the Nine Yin Nine Yang Divine Art once, Shi Quan keenly noticed that the soul power within his body had not dissipated, but had instead transformed into his Internal Energy during the circulation of the technique; this was good news for him, as at least the soul power he had worked so hard to cultivate would not be directly wasted.

It was already dawn, and Shi Quan did not continue to cultivate; it was not that he did not want to, but that his stomach would not allow it.

Because he had received the inheritance of the true scripture last night, he had missed dinner, and coupled with a night of cultivation, he was truly hungry.

The time was still early, and most of the people in the Dormitory were still sleeping; after Shi Quan got out of bed, changed into his Notting Academy school uniform, and tidied up simply, he walked out of the Dormitory without stopping and headed straight for the Canteen.

Coincidentally, just as Shi Quan went downstairs, he ran into Master and Tang San.

Regarding this so-called protagonist, Shi Quan did not have any groundless malice; he had always upheld the philosophy that if you do not provoke me, I cannot be bothered to pay attention to you; now that they had met, he greeted them casually: "Good morning, Tang San, Master, are you two also going to the Canteen? Would you like to go together?"

"No need, we have other matters." Master had not expected to run into another student in the academy so early in the morning, and it just happened to be Shi Quan, who had the same martial soul as Tang San.

Shi Quan knew that Master was preparing to take Tang San to the Hunting Soul Forest to hunt a Spirit Beast and obtain a Soul Ring, so he was not surprised by Master's answer; he nodded and walked quickly toward the Canteen without looking back.

Tang San watched Shi Quan's back, "This Shi Quan is quite diligent, getting up so early."

"With his talent, if he can maintain this diligence and have a bit of luck, he could reach the rank of Soul Elder," Master nodded and commented indifferently.

Tang San suddenly asked: "Teacher, you said his Blue Silver Grass should be a Mutated Spirit; what do you think the direction of his mutation is?"

At the mention of this, a look of understanding appeared on Master's face, and he said confidently: "I have investigated; this Shi Quan's martial soul was inherited from his mother's Blue Silver Grass, while his father's martial soul was a special Mutated Spirit, Earth."

Tang San said: "Teacher, do you mean Shi Quan's Mutated Spirit Blue Silver Grass originated from his father?"

Master nodded approvingly toward Tang San and explained: "The weakness of Blue Silver Grass itself makes it very difficult to produce mutation effects with other martial souls; even if it mutates, it cannot occupy a dominant position and will only be Devoured. Therefore, a common martial soul like Blue Silver Grass almost never has the possibility of mutation."

"Shi Quan's situation belongs to an extremely special case, and even I have encountered it for the first time; Shi Quan's father's martial soul was mutated Earth, and in other words, Earth is the ground beneath our feet; plants grow on the Earth, and the Earth nourishes plants, providing a foundation for the Growth of plants."

"I speculate that Shi Quan's Blue Silver Grass should be just such a situation; the mutated Earth nourished his Blue Silver Grass, thus giving rise to his unique Mutated Spirit Blue Silver Grass; the direction of his Blue Silver Grass mutation is most likely life or toughness, but according to his Innate Soul Power and Spirit Proof, no abnormalities can be seen from the outside, and with soul power at level one, his degree of mutation is not high, perhaps only slightly stronger than ordinary Blue Silver Grass."

After hearing Master's explanation, Tang San's eyes sparkled, and he admired Master even more in his heart, feeling fortunate to have taken such a famous teacher.

(End of this chapter)