High Martial Arts: Grinding for the Supreme Talent

Chapter 177: Chapter 177: Hundred Calamities Atlas

”Hooo...”

Lin Qi found a cushion and sat down, crossing his legs. He adjusted his state, closed his eyes, and began to endure the Spirit Shock.

The others were all geniuses and reacted quickly. They followed suit, beginning to receive the invisible Spirit Shock.

After a moment, facing the wave-like Spirit Shock felt like riding a bus. He started to feel a bit carsick, but after sitting for a while, he began to adapt.

Soon after, Lin Qi had fully adapted. He snapped his eyes open and slowly stood up.

”Brother Qi, let’s go to the next level!”

Jiangtao also opened his eyes and made the suggestion.

”The Spirit Shock on the first level isn’t very strong, and the effect is mediocre. We can head to the next level,” Guo Heng also said.

”Agreed!”

A few others opened their eyes as well. Zhou Xiyin, Li Zhou, and Wang Qiufeng thought so too.

They decided to head to the second level. Some people didn’t follow, as they were already starting to feel unwell.

Following the spiral staircase, the group arrived on the second level, which didn’t look much different from the first.

BOOM!

The moment they stepped into the blue area, everyone felt as if their brains had been struck by a heavy hammer.

Their heads throbbed as if they were about to split open, and then a surging tide crashed down upon them.

This Spirit Shock assaulted them from all directions, pressing down on their bodies from every angle.

Lin Qi frowned, found a cushion, and sat down, struggling to hold on.

”AHH!!”

A few people even cried out in pain.

Beside him, the faces of Zhou Xiyin, Jiangtao, Wang Qiufeng, and the others also twisted in agony.

Compared to the first level, the Spirit Shock on the second had clearly intensified by a large margin.

The pain doubled. Everyone’s expression changed drastically as they hurried to sit down and bear it.

”I can’t take it anymore!”

About ten minutes later, Lv Xiang clutched his head and shook it. He stood up and scrambled back to the white area.

”Me too!”

”It’s too painful!”

Seeing this, the others also began to give up one by one.

Every one of them looked anguished and pale, as if they had stayed up for three days and nights straight.

Half an hour passed like this. Li Zhou also stood up, his forehead beaded with sweat and his face pale.

He walked directly into the white area, and the Spirit Shock battering his body instantly vanished.

He plopped down on the floor, his entire mind dizzy and unwilling to get up.

”This is awful!” Li Zhou shook his head forcefully. The intense feeling of motion sickness made him want to vomit.

He looked up. Only a few of the people who had come with him were still holding on.

”I can’t go on either!” Zhou Xiyin’s delicate face was filled with pain as she made her choice.

Guo Heng and Wang Qiufeng followed.

Another two minutes passed. Jiangtao also stood up, walked to the white area, and collapsed straight onto the floor.

”I can’t stand it!” Jiangtao’s face was ashen, his head pounding as if it would split.

In the end, only Lin Qi remained.

Another 20 minutes passed in the blink of an eye. He had been enduring the Spirit Shock for nearly an hour now.

Lin Qi’s brows were knitted tightly. His spirit felt like a small boat in the ocean, constantly battered by giant waves.

An unknown amount of time passed. Just as he felt he was reaching his limit, a voice sounded in his ear.

”Master, one hour is up!” It was Little Chan, reminding him.

He snapped his eyes open, his gaze sharp.

[You have withstood the Spirit Shock. Your Spirit has been tempered. Spiritual Power +0.1]

[Your Spirit has been tempered. Spirit +0.1]

[... Spirit +0.1]

...

[Spiritual Power: 32→33]

...

Lin Qi’s gaze locked onto the panel. To his surprise, it had updated to show a new attribute—Spiritual Power.

’My Spiritual Power is actually a bit higher than my Qi and Blood Value, but only by a little.’

’Spiritual Power needs to be a bit higher to improve Perception,’ Lin Qi thought to himself.

He slowly stood up and walked into the white area, finally feeling a sense of relief, though the dizziness remained.

”Brother Qi, that’s amazing!” Jiangtao said with a smile, rubbing his head.

”We reached our limit in about half an hour. As expected of the Dean, your Spirit must be the strongest among us,” Zhou Xiyin also said with a smile.

The others chimed in with praise.

Just then, a figure slowly descended the stairs. He had handsome and refined features.

”It’s Ao Feng!” Jiangtao said.

Ao Feng’s handsome face looked at Lin Qi among the crowd, a playful smile appearing. ”As the senior brother of the Sixth Institute, why aren’t you cultivating on the third level? You should go check it out. The Spirit Shock on the second level is too weak. The effect isn’t great!”

Lin Qi narrowed his eyes and shook his head. ”No thanks.”

Hearing this, Ao Feng shook his head and turned to leave, his figure disappearing completely.

”Brother Qi, that guy looks down on you,” Jiangtao said, clenching his fists.

”It’s fine,” Lin Qi said, shaking his head, his expression calm.

”I’m going upstairs to take a look!” Jiangtao said and went up to the third floor. He returned a moment later.

”Brother Qi, I saw Huo Wanyang!” Jiangtao said in surprise.

”Huo Wanyang obviously got here before us, yet he’s lasted even longer than we did on the third level. His Spiritual Power...” Guo Heng frowned.

”It’s fine. We’ve had our experience. It’s time to go back,” Lin Qi said calmly.

A few minutes later, the group took a car back.

”Actually, Ao Feng and Huo Wanyang must have taken a lot of potions to boost their Spiritual Power,” Wang Qiufeng suddenly said.

He then added with a wry smile, ”I’ve taken some too, but I’m still no match for Brother Qi.”

”Brother Qi, your Spirit Talent is definitely very strong.”

Everyone nodded. Many of them came from wealthy families and had been exposed to Spiritual Power early on, so they had definitely taken some potions as well.

”Next, we all have to start Cultivation on Spiritual Techniques. They’re even more difficult than Source Energy Skills.”

”I started my Cultivation half a month ago, but I still haven’t succeeded,” Wang Qiufeng said with a bitter smile.

”Same here. It’s just too difficult,” Zhou Xiyin also said, shaking her head.

Listening from the side, Lin Qi was secretly alarmed. ’Wang Qiufeng placed third in Cang Province, yet he hasn’t managed to learn a Spiritual Technique in half a month.’

’Are Spiritual Techniques really that difficult?’

Lin Qi frowned.

...

「Half an hour later.」

In his detached villa, Lin Qi opened a Level 3 Nutritional Meal on the living room table and began to eat.

After finishing, he touched his forehead, still feeling dizzy. He took out a Stimulant Potion and chugged three bottles before he felt slightly better.

’The Refining God Tower can provide Refinement, but the toll on one’s Spirit is enormous.’

’It’s even more draining than a full day of matching in the Red Realm.’

’Do I need to buy new potions?’

Musing over this, Lin Qi returned to his Martial Arts Room, changed into a Martial Arts Uniform, and began his daily Cultivation.

The reduced class schedule gave him more time to devote to his Cultivation.

「Two hours later.」

”Hooo!”

A gust of wind dissipated. Lin Qi, sitting cross-legged, opened his eyes, and a Golden Light flashed wildly within them.

He stood up, took out his phone, and sent a message to Luu Wei.

A moment later, a green screen was projected in front of him, and Luu Wei, with her baby-fat cheeks, appeared on it.

”Lin Qi, let me give you a brief introduction to Spiritual Techniques.”

”Spiritual Techniques involve the ethereal and illusory nature of the Spirit. The Cultivation methods vary, the difficulty is exceptionally high, and the techniques themselves are very expensive. They may even require auxiliary cultivation tools, which are also abnormally pricey.”

”You need to be mentally prepared.”

”A talented genius might take a month to learn one.”

”Those with average Talent might need even longer, and those with no Talent will never learn one. They can only use the Refining God Tower to increase their Spiritual Power.”

”So you have to be patient. Don’t rush it.”

”I understand,” Lin Qi nodded and ended the video call.

Meanwhile, Luu Wei stared at the black screen, secretly curious.

’With Lin Qi’s Talent, I wonder how long it will take him to master it. A month should be no problem, right?’

...

”Little Chan, open the Red Dome House!”

”Yes, Master!”

Little Chan, dressed in a blue robe with black hair and eyes that seemed increasingly lively, flew in the air. With a wave of her delicate hand, she projected an oversized green screen.

Lin Qi quickly logged into the Red Dome House himself.

He expertly navigated to the Secret Manuals module and began a search:

[Secret Manual]→[Cultivation Technique]→[Spirit]→[Low Realm]

The page quickly refreshed, and a series of technique names appeared before him.

[”Lotus Meditation Technique”, Type: Spiritual Technique, Rating: ★★★★★, Price: 12,000,000 Xia Country Coins, Note: Requires the Hundred Lotus Diagram for Cultivation (Red Dome)]

...

[”Hundred Calamities Atlas”, Type: Spiritual Technique, Rating: ★★★★★, Price: 12,000,000 Xia Country Coins, Note: Requires a Disaster Beast Map for Cultivation (Red Dome)]

...

[”Starry Sky Visualization Technique”, Type: Spiritual Technique, Rating: ★★★★★, Price: 12,000,000 Xia Country Coins, Note: Requires the Starry Sky Map for Cultivation (Chongming *1.5)]

...

Lin Qi frowned as he looked. There were fewer Spiritual Skills than he had imagined—only twenty-four.

Of those, only nine had a Five-star rating.

The most crucial part was the exorbitant price. The Five-star rating ones all cost 12 million Xia Country Coins.

No wonder Teacher Jia said they were expensive; an ordinary person couldn’t afford one at all.

They also required special resources for Cultivation. Even with the numerous rewards he had received, he could barely afford it.

After some simple deliberation, Lin Qi began to check his compatibility with the nine Spiritual Techniques.

A moment later, three techniques appeared in his vision.

”Hundred Calamities Atlas” (Compatibility: 99%)

”Starry Sky Visualization Technique” (Compatibility: 98%)

”Lotus Visualization Technique” (Compatibility: 97%)

...

Lin Qi nodded to himself. The Hundred Calamities Atlas was the technique most compatible with him.

With this in mind, he added it to his shopping cart and continued to search for the Disaster Beast Map. The page quickly refreshed, and a series of images appeared before him.

[Item: Level 1 Disaster Beast Map]

[Effect: Created by a High Realm Martial Artist using a Spiritual Imprint of a Calamity Beast on a Scroll. Can assist in the Cultivation of the Spiritual Technique ”Hundred Calamities Atlas”. Note: The Disaster Beast Map is a consumable item.]

[Price: 1,000,000]

When Lin Qi saw the price of one million, he let out a breath. That really wasn’t cheap.

But he had no other choice.

He added it to the cart and checked out.

[You have chosen to purchase ”Hundred Calamities Atlas” and a Level 1 Disaster Beast Map. The total price is 13,000,000. Due to a 40% discount, the final price is 7,800,000!]

[Pay now? Yes/No]

[Payment Successful!]

[Your items will be delivered within two days.]

Lin Qi pressed his fingerprint to complete the payment.

Seeing his balance decrease by 7.8 million Xia Country Coins, his heart bled.

He had painstakingly saved up nearly thirty million, and in one go, it was slashed to less than twenty million.

’I hope this Spiritual Technique doesn’t disappoint me.’

Lin Qi calmed his mind and threw himself back into his training.

...

「The next day.」

”BEEP BEEP!!”

”Student Lin Qi, here’s your delivery. Please sign for it!”

At the villa’s entrance, a burly man in a black and red uniform enthusiastically handed over two metal boxes.

”BEEP!”

Lin Qi placed his hand on the boxes to verify his identity and accepted them.

He carried the two metal boxes back to his Martial Arts Room.

Inside the Martial Arts Room, the temperature was adjusted to a perfect 25 degrees Celsius.

Lin Qi pressed the button on one of the boxes first.

”BEEP!”

’Alright, time to start cultivating the Spiritual Technique!’

’I hope it doesn’t disappoint!’

...