Inside Tang Jie’s room.
The frenzied rapid memorization had finally ended, and only some floating flecks of paper served as evidence of the insanity of recitation that had occurred.
Tang Jie held the newly-written small booklet in his hand, going over every word and sentence. Only when he was sure that nothing had been left out did he sigh in relief.
He put down the book and looked at Yiyi, who had fallen asleep from exhaustion. He put a blanket on her before leaving the room.
It was bright and cheery outside.
With the first round concluded, there was a break of a few days until the second round. In these few days, those students who had gone on to the next round were all cultivating in preparation for the coming battle, and even those who hadn’t qualified were dragged in to help with training.
Exiting his room, Tang Jie walked along a tree-shaded path to a stone house. He called out, “Senior Brother Peng, are you there?”
The door opened to reveal Peng Yaolong’s big head, his hair looking like a bird’s nest.
He looked at Tang Jie and sullenly said, “Kid, what are you doing?”
Tang Jie replied, “Senior Brother Peng, if energy travels through the Hidden Gate down to the Abdominal Passage, can it skip over the Yin Metropolis to enter the Stone Gate?”
Peng Yaolong was startled, instinctively replying, “How could that be possible? Energy must travel through the meridians in sequence. How could it skip over one?”
“What if it merged with the blood, traveling through blood energy?”
“This…” Peng Yaolong was rendered speechless. He considered the prospect for some time before saying, “Difficult, difficult, absurd. It would be very hard to pull off. But most importantly of all, why are you even asking this?”
“By strengthening both energy and blood, you can stimulate them both and create a steady and smooth flow of energy!” Tang Jie replied.
“Keep dreaming!” Peng Yaolong scoffed. “Unless you have the appropriate mantra and the corresponding method, this is nothing more than wishful thinking.”
“Then if I gave you the mantra, would you be willing to try?”
“Huh?” Peng Yaolong froze.
Tang Jie spat out a mantra and the corresponding energy circulation path.
Peng Yaolong was left rather confused. He blurted out, “It sounds like a real thing. Where’d you get this mantra from?”
Tang Jie ignored the question and said, “Once you’ve comprehended it, tell me if it actually works. You don’t need to thank me, only tell me what you’ve comprehended.”
He turned and left.
Peng Yaolong wanted to call him back, but as he pondered the cultivation mantra that Tang Jie had given him, he found it extremely profound and felt like there was actually a chance of success. He was itching to try his hand, so he quickly went back into his room.
After leaving Peng Yaolong, Tang Jie went to Ye Tianshang.
Upon seeing Ye Tianshang, he directly asked, “If energy is circulated through the Lesser Yang, can some of the energy be split off into the Greater Yin?”
Ye Tianshang looked at him like he was an idiot. “How is that possible? If you could really do that, then I could use my Windcloud Step with my Galefury Sword, at least doubling the power of my sword arts!”
“You can just circulate energy through both channels.”
Ye Tianshang grew angry. “You idiot! The result of circulating energy through both channels is a weakening of the flow such that you won’t even be able to cast a little spell, and if you do manage to pull it off, all you’ll get is a little gust!”
“That’s not for certain. With the method of the energy whirlpool, circulating energy through the Twelve Hidden Whirlpools and gradually building up energy, let alone two, you can even circulate energy through three to four energy channels.”
Ye Tianshang was gobsmacked. “What’s this Twelve Hidden Whirlpools? How have I never heard of them before?”
“It’s a vortex method of circulating energy. Through this method, the energy flow will gradually get stronger, but it is difficult to control. Thus, it’s not suitable for when you’re only circulating energy through one channel, as the excess power will hurt the body. If you want to learn it, I can teach you.”
“You… really have something like that?”
Tang Jie recited the mantra. It wasn’t too long, and Ye Tianshang quickly remembered it.
Tang Jie patted Ye Tianshang and said, “You have three days…”
After saying words similar to what he had said to Peng Yaolong, he left.
His next visit was to Wei Tianchong, but he also brought Shi Meng into the conversation this time.
But he was much more direct with the two of them.
Tang Jie said, “Young Master, I will teach you a method that, upon success, will clear your mind and allow you to send spiritual energy wherever you want it to go. But you must comprehend it within three days. If you do well, I will teach you another section.”
Wei Tianchong was confused. “What’s the use of it?”
“You will have greater reaction speed and have a stronger intuition,” Tang Jie replied.
Wei Tianchong had a slow personality, and even if Yan Changfeng had made him understand this, understanding had nothing to do with dealing with it. Tang Jie was teaching him the Bright Heart Art of the Ninedark Mantra, making him more intelligent and his reactions sharper.
Besides that, the Bright Heart Art also helped in comprehending the Dao, and it made learning spell arts more efficient. The mantra book said that cultivating the mantra would allow one to understand all arts. To tell the truth, this part could be considered the most valuable part of the Ninedark Mantra.
Wei Tianchong had always trusted Tang Jie, so he nodded in agreement.
Tang Jie said to Shi Meng, “I will also teach you an art. It is called ‘the Eight Desolations Spirit Gathering Art’. It will allow you to maximize the amount of spiritual energy you can gather from the surrounding world to improve yourself. Do you want to learn it?”
Shi Meng said in delight, “Of course I’ll learn it!”
He had average aptitude, came from a poor family, and had limited combat abilities. In this life, he couldn’t expect to command the winds and storms as Tang Jie and the others could. Even if he put all his focus into advancing in cultivation realm, as time passed, he would ultimately fall behind Tang Jie and Wei Tianchong.
For Shi Meng, just keeping up in cultivation realm was a luxury. As for actual combat ability, he had long ago given up on that.
And now, Tang Jie was giving him a chance to keep up.
From start to finish, he had never said anything about keeping the mantras a secret.
Once everyone had understood the advantages of these methods, they wouldn’t even need prompting from Tang Jie. All on their own, they would regard the mantras as treasures and stow them away.
After leaving the pair, Tang Jie went to see Qi Shaoming.
Qi Shaoming was a rather taciturn character, so when Tang Jie saw him, he directly said, “I have a method that can activate the radiance of the Violet Temple Point, allowing you to get as long as nine breaths. It’s just that it will use quite a lot of spiritual energy. Do you want it?”
Qi Shaoming’s Chill Phantom Slash was getting stronger and stronger, the power of the Lesser Sea Grotto Metal Mantra combined with the nine phantoms unsurpassed. For Qi Shaoming, other than the large consumption of power, the only problem was that the technique did not last for very long, the nine phantoms quickly dissipating. If they did not hurt the target at the moment they appeared, the energy would essentially be wasted. But it was also a close-combat spell art, so there were frequently obstructions.
The phantoms depended on one’s ability to congeal spiritual energy, and in this aspect, the Violet Temple Point was the best. Alas, Qi Shaoming cultivated the Lesser Sea Grotto Metal Mantra, which didn’t focus on the Violet Temple Point. Thus, if he relied on himself, he could probably go an entire lifetime without resolving this problem.
But today, Tang Jie had told him that he could help Qi Shaoming extend the time his clones lasted to nine breaths!
Nine breaths meant that Qi Shaoming’s clones could last for nine seconds!
What did this mean?
It had to be understood that Qi Shaoming’s clones could only last for one second at present. Even if he cultivated to Celestial Heart, he could only increase the combat power of the clones, not the time that they lasted.
Just how big of a boost was this for Qi Shaoming?
Of course, this wasn’t something that could be done instantly, but no matter how difficult it was, Qi Shaoming felt that it was worth it.
Qi Shaoming looked in shock at Tang Jie. “Are you playing a joke on me?”
“Memorize the mantra. I’m only going to say it once. You’ll know whether it’s true or not once you try it for yourself. I’ll come and find you again in three days.” Tang Jie couldn’t be bothered to explain, and he began to recite the mantra.
Qi Shaoming didn’t give it much credence at first, but as he listened, he found it more profound and unusual. By the end, he was sweating profusely as he wrote everything down. By the time he had confirmed that everything was there and looked up, Tang Jie was nowhere to be seen.
Although he had yet to actually cultivate it, Qi Shaoming had no doubt about the mantra’s effects. Looking in the direction Tang Jie had disappeared with eyes full of gratitude, he muttered, “Why… Why do you want to help me?”
Tang Jie didn’t have time to ponder Qi Shaoming’s gratitude. He was rushing off to his next target, Cai Junyang.
What he taught to Cai Junyang was the Hundred Tribulation Passage Art.
This spell had the ability to temporarily protect the body if one sustained heavy injury. But this was only the surface effect. In reality, every time the user experienced death, it would stimulate some of their potential, not only improving their combat power, but borrowing the terror that came from being at the precipice of death to help the cultivator comprehend the ways of the world and understand the Dao Will.
The Ninedark Mantra was a complete mantra and not a set of small mantras, but because it had so many powerful effects, Tang Jie had been able to divide it into unrelated parts, give them names, and call them secret arts. But in reality, these were actually many cultivation methods.
As their interlinking parts had been removed, let alone putting them together, even if his fellows really did start talking with each other, they would still not get the complete Ninedark Mantra. Besides, Tang Jie had never planned to give out all the cultivation methods.
These methods had different values, and the most valuable were the Bright Heart and the Hundred Tribulations Passage.
Bright Heart had the best effect for cultivating spell arts, and the Hundred Tribulations Passage was superior to even Bright Heart when it came to comprehending the Dao.
As for Peng Yaolong, he had been given the Energy-Blood Simulflow, a secret art to cultivate and utilize spiritual energy and physical power in concert. It was extremely strong when it came to actual combat, and it was on par in value with Bright Heart and Hundred Tribulations Passage. But Tang Jie had removed the parts of this mantra concerning comprehension of the Dao, making it inferior in these aspects.
Ye Tianshang’s Twelve Hidden Whirlpools and Qi Shaoming’s Violet Temple Radiance each had their own standout points. One amplified an existing advantage while the other made up for a shortcoming, but they both boosted one’s explosive power. Thus, when it came to greatest benefit in the shortest time, it would be these two.
Besides these six, Tang Jie had ten-some other split-off mantras. More than half of them concerned higher levels, so not mastering them for now was no problem. As for those that needed to be grasped, these were the Boundless Return to Truth, the Cloud Canopy, and the Dark Lightning.
The Boundless Return to Truth was the core cultivation method of the Ninedark Mantra, and its function was to guide spiritual essence and combine secret arts. Let alone the secret arts of the Ninedark Mantra, it could also incorporate, absorb, and use other cultivation methods. This was the most important central node, so Tang Jie did not give it to anybody.
The Cloud Canopy was a method that sped up the circulation of the Minor Circuit Heaven, and to put it bluntly, it sped up recovery speed. It actually had the same mantra as the Eight Desolations Spirit Gathering Art. The only difference was that one worked on the Major Circuit Heaven, increasing cultivation speed, and the other worked on the Minor Circuit Heaven, increasing recovery speed. They had many commonalities, but Tang Jie had still split them into two secret arts based on their functions.
Dark Lightning was a method for accelerating energy circulation, allowing for faster art manifestation.
These three cultivation methods were methods that he needed to grasp in this period. Tang Jie had assigned himself the task of comprehending the Boundless Return to Truth and the random snatches that he had removed from everything else, so he still needed to find someone to assign the other two methods to.
Tang Jie had chosen Xu Miaoran for the Cloud Canopy.
Xu Miaoran was the child of a True Lord, so she naturally had countless secret arts at her disposal. The vast majority of powerful spell arts shared in common one thing: they used excessive amounts of spiritual energy. Thus, Xu Miaoran had always been lacking in magic power. The increased recovery of the Cloud Canopy would be very helpful for her. Once Tang Jie had overcome this trial, he would also pass on the Bright Heart and Eight Desolations Spirit Gathering to her, which would make her strength soar.
The last one was Dark Lightning, but when he thought about his acquaintances, he found that he couldn’t find a suitable target.
As he was thinking it over, the original body sent over a thought.
“To break the corpse horde, we need fierce Yang energy to create an opening with which we can use righteous energy to dispel the corpses. This requires us to achieve minor success in the cultivation of simultaneous blood and energy circulation. Getting a basic grasp of this method is far from enough.”
“The Ninedark Mantra is vast and infinite, and just studying it requires everyone’s combined effort. Cultivating it to minor attainment will probably take a year and half at least.”
“There’s no need for minor attainment. A sound wave secret art will be enough.”
“The problem is that the Ninedark Mantra is a mantra, not a spell art. There is no such secret art.”
“Then create it. Let’s focus on the Bright Heart chapter first, and then grasp the Energy-Blood Simulflow. The rest will serve as extra.”
“That’s less reliable than minor attainment.”
“If we have someone’s instruction, it will be more reliable.”
“No one among our peers can instruct us.”
“That truly is the case.”
The conversation with himself held in the depths of the soul faded away, and within his room, Tang Jie’s eyes flashed.
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He knew who to give the final secret art to.
In a small courtyard within a forest, Xie Fengtang was seated beneath a tree, one hand holding a teapot which he used to pour himself tea.
Down below, Tang Jie respectfully bowed.
Once Xie Fengtang had poured himself a cup of tea, he asked, “Why have you come to find me?”
“This student was fortunate enough to obtain an art that can hasten energy circulation. Sensing that it is a supreme treasure and remembering all the kindness Headmaster has shown me, I have come to present it to you!”
Yes, the last person he had found was Xie Fengtang.
Who said that he had to pick a student to transmit the scripture to?
If necessary, a student could also teach the teacher.
“Hm?” Xie Fengtang was taken by surprise by Tang Jie’s words, and then he smiled.
He didn’t think that Tang Jie could give him some “supreme treasure” of an art, but there was no need to reject a student’s kind intentions. Thus, he waved his teacup lid and said, “If that’s the case, let’s have a listen.”
“Yes!” Tang Jie began to recite, “When energy is at the Heaven Projection, circulate in accordance with the Wind Return Stamp Art, anchoring upon the Jade Rotator…”
Xie Fengtang’s calm and relaxed face suddenly froze, and he stared at Tang Jie.
As Tang Jie continued to recite, his expression turned more and more serious.
He gradually stood up from his seat, the teapot in his hand becoming motionless.
“Thus, energy is like thunder, breath like the flame, evening rains and morning stars, dew and violet lightning…”
Tang Jie continued to recite, and Xie Fengtang felt like great waves were raging in his mind.
With his rich experience, he could instantly tell that this was a top-class mantra. Alas, it was incomplete, and all that was left was the method of hastening energy circulation. Where had this kid gotten it from?
Xie Fengtang’s disbelief grew as he stared at Tang Jie.
“…This is the Dao of Circulation!” After reciting the last line, which had been of his own creation, Tang Jie finished.
He looked at Xie Fengtang and said in a soft voice, “This student has finished reciting. Headmaster, do you have any advice to offer?”
Xie Fengtang was in a stupor for a while before finally putting down his teapot.
He took out a small cup, filled it, and then said, “Sit… Have some tea!”
Hearing this, Tang Jie smiled.