Martial Saint with Passives

However, based on Lin Bihe’s imposing aura, Jiang Che felt he would probably be dead in three moves.

’It seems that against anyone two Great Realms above me, it’s certain death, even with my Transformation. Against someone one Great Realm higher, I can’t win without it. After transforming, I can rely on my sheer toughness to wear them down. As for those in the same Great Realm, I can beat them easily, even without transforming.’

Jiang Che now had a rough estimate of his own strength.

Lin Bihe heard the other disciples murmuring and gasping in awe, but her expression remained unchanged.

After she stepped down, the other disciples went up one by one to be tested.

Jiang Che noticed that Lin Bihe was the only one in the Refining Organ Realm. Most of the others were in the Bone Forging Realm, but a few, like himself, were still at Force Integration.

Since Jiang Che was the last disciple to join the Inner Courtyard, he was last in line.

When he went up, Xu Qingshan expressionlessly took his wrist and closed his eyes to examine him.

However, when he opened his eyes, he gave Jiang Che a deep look and said,

”I know all about what happened at the Golden Leaf Forest.”

Jiang Che didn’t know the extent of his master’s knowledge but guessed that no one could possibly know about his Transformation.

He likely only knew about the fight with the two Demon Sect spies, so Jiang Che said,

”I was just lucky.”

Xu Qingshan lowered his voice. ”Lucky? Don’t think I don’t know. You’ve been practicing many different Cultivation Techniques in secret, haven’t you?”

”Yes,” Jiang Che said.

Xu Qingshan shook his head. ”Have you noticed recently that even though you have abundant Qi Blood, you can’t convert it all into Strength?”

Jiang Che was surprised. ”Master, how did you know?”

Xu Qingshan snorted.

”It’s because you muddled your training, you brat! Before Force Integration, practicing an extra Martial Art does indeed grant you a bit more power. Of course, most people don’t have the energy to master so many of them, so you’ve shown some real talent there. That’s also why you’re able to fight someone in the Bone Forging Realm while you’re still at Force Integration.

”But once you reach Force Integration, the more Cultivation Techniques you practice, the harder it is to advance! In your current state, I’m afraid you’ll never reach Bone Forging in your entire life!”

Jiang Che was shocked. ”Why is that?”

Xu Qingshan explained, ”Every Cultivation Technique generates its own corresponding type of Qi Blood. Different techniques, different Qi Blood. You might feel that the Qi Blood in your body is a unified whole, but from my perspective, it’s an absolute mess! Only the Qi Blood generated by Cloud-Stacking Fist can be converted into Strength via your True Skill! Your Root Bone is already mediocre at best, so your Qi Blood accumulates slower than others to begin with. Now you’ve scattered most of it. And you still hope to reach Bone Forging? It’s pure fantasy!”

Jiang Che’s heart lurched. Xu Qingshan had told him before that his Qi Blood was impure.

He knew it was a bad thing, but he never realized the consequences were this severe!

Jiang Che quickly said, ”Please, Master, show me the way!”

Xu Qingshan frowned. ”There is a way, but...”

”But what?” Jiang Che pressed.

Xu Qingshan sighed. ”Never mind. Have you ever heard of Dissipating Skill?”

”’Dissipating Skill?’” Jiang Che repeated, confused.

Xu Qingshan said, ”If you dissipate all other Cultivation Techniques and only keep our Cangyun Sect’s techniques, then you’ll still have a chance to break through to Bone Forging. But for every technique you dissipate, your foundation will be damaged. You’ve mastered too many techniques. If you dissipate all of them, I’m afraid your foundation will be severely damaged, and it will still be difficult to break through to Bone Forging!”

”I understand,” Jiang Che said. ”Master, how can I obtain a Dissipating Technique?”

Xu Qingshan said, ”You can find a Dissipating Technique in the Scripture Pavilion. Oh, and there are several kinds. Try to pick one that suits you best; the damage will be less severe that way. After you’ve dissipated your skills, you must immediately take some Strengthening and Nourishing medicine. The higher the quality of the medicine, the less damage your foundation will sustain.”

”Thank you for your guidance, Master!” Jiang Che said.

Xu Qingshan waved his hand, signaling that Jiang Che could step down.

Jiang Che bowed respectfully and stepped down from the platform.

Many of the other disciples had overheard their conversation. When they learned that the new junior brother had to dissipate his skills, their eyes filled with pity.

No matter what preparations one made, Dissipating Skill would always damage one’s foundation.

’This junior brother’s future looks bleak.’

Jiang Che, however, had no regrets.

Everything he had achieved was thanks to his Skill Proficiency Panel.

If he hadn’t practiced so many Cultivation Techniques, he wouldn’t have been able to activate so many Talents.

Without those Talents, he would have died back in Lin Yuan City. He wouldn’t even be here today.

But now, if he didn’t dissipate his skills, his Qi Force simply wouldn’t increase, and he would never be able to break through to Bone Forging in this lifetime.

To keep moving forward, his only option was to try Dissipating Skill.

’I don’t know if the Talents will disappear along with the skills after I dissipate them... If the Talents remain, then that wouldn’t be too bad,’ he thought to himself.

As for damaging his foundation, Jiang Che wasn’t worried.

With his Skill Proficiency Panel, he was certain he could train the Nine Heavens Azure Cloud Technique to Perfection.

No matter how poor his foundation became, his Realm would be genuine.

When the time came, he could just crush any enemy with the sheer power of his Realm.

After the gathering ended, Jiang Che headed straight for the Scripture Pavilion.

The Scripture Pavilion was built atop one of the peaks of Cangyun Mountain.

When Jiang Che reached the summit, he saw a six-story-tall pavilion.

A plaque above the pavilion’s entrance bore the two large words: Scripture Pavilion.

Disciples with powerful, profound auras came and went.

This was actually Jiang Che’s first visit to the Scripture Pavilion since becoming an Inner Courtyard Disciple.

He straightened his clothes and strode inside.

Inside, he saw an old Daoist with a white beard and hair, his back hunched as he meticulously copied a classic text.

Jiang Che presented his Inner Courtyard Disciple Identity Token. ”Master,” he said, ”I’m a new Inner Courtyard Disciple. I’m looking for a Dissipating Technique.”

The old Daoist put down his brush and sized up Jiang Che. He took the Identity Token, confirmed its authenticity, and handed it back.

”What’s your name?”

Jiang Che cupped his hands. ”I am Jiang Che.”

The old Daoist nodded. ”Mm, the kid from Yunhai Courtyard. I’ll remember you. The Dissipating Techniques are on the third layer. Go find one yourself. However, the books upstairs are just samples and descriptions. Once you’ve made your choice, come back to the first layer to get the actual manual from me. Books from the third layer cost one hundred gold a piece.”

Jiang Che was already used to the exorbitant prices, which often ran into the hundreds of gold. ”May I ask, Master, what are the prices for the other layers? And what kinds of Secret Manuals do they contain?”

The old Daoist replied, ”My surname is Zhang. The first layer contains various records from the Jianghu. You can borrow them for free, up to ten a month. If you don’t return them within a month or want more, you have to buy them. That’ll be one piece of gold per book.”

’This must be one of the perks of being an Inner Courtyard Disciple,’ Jiang Che thought. ’I should come here more often when I have time to broaden my horizons.’

The old Daoist continued, ”The second layer primarily holds Cultivation Techniques from the Qi Blood Realm. You can’t borrow those; you can only buy them. Twenty gold a piece.”

’Twenty gold... that’s two thousand silver per manual. I spent ten thousand silver on Qi Blood Realm Martial Arts back in Lin Yuan City! It seems buying them in a small city is ridiculously expensive!’

A wave of frustration washed over Jiang Che as he thought about how much extra money he’d spent.

For a moment, he even entertained the idea of buying up all the Qi Blood Realm Martial Arts on the second layer.

But then he remembered that he couldn’t practice any more Martial Arts—in fact, he was here to get rid of them—and sighed.

”The third layer contains various unusual Ultimate Techniques, such as the Dissipating Technique, Concealment Technique, Disguise Technique, Alchemy Method, and the like. They cost one hundred gold a piece.”

Jiang Che’s interest was piqued. ”Will practicing those make one’s Qi Blood impure?” he asked.

The old Daoist said, ”It depends on the specific technique. Some won’t, while others will have a slight effect.”

Jiang Che nodded. ’If that’s the case, perhaps I can use these unusual Ultimate Techniques to grind for more Talents in the future!’

”The Fourth Layer. That’s where you’ll find the True Skills of our Sect’s various courtyards, though they only go up to the Refining Organ Realm. Five hundred gold a piece.”

Something occurred to Jiang Che. ”Does that mean I can buy the True Skills from other courtyards as well?”

The old Daoist nodded. ”You can, but let’s not even talk about the difficulty. The impact on your Qi Blood from practicing two True Skills is far greater than that of Qi Blood Realm Martial Arts. Are you sure you want to do that?”

”No, I’m just asking,” Jiang Che said.

The old Daoist added, ”However, some disciples do consult the True Skills of other courtyards. Not to cultivate them, but to seek inspiration for breaking through their own bottlenecks.”

Jiang Che nodded. ”I see. By the way, what about the fifth and Sixth Layer?”

The old Daoist shot Jiang Che a glance. ”You can’t access those two layers. You’d need special approval from the Sect Leader.”

Jiang Che was taken aback. ”The Sect Leader’s special approval?! What kind of Secret Manuals are that precious?”

The old Daoist said, ”It’s not a secret. The fifth layer contains the post-True Master Realm True Skills for each courtyard. They also cost five hundred gold a piece. But the gold isn’t the hard part; it’s earning the right. You need to make significant contributions to the Sect. As for the Sixth Layer... it holds the True Skills of other Sects, but they are mostly incomplete fragments. One thousand gold a piece.”

Jiang Che nodded. Those two layers were indeed valuable, but he had no use for them at the moment.

Having gotten his answers, Jiang Che headed straight for the third layer.

After some searching, he found three different Dissipating Technique manuals.