High Martial Arts: Grinding for the Supreme Talent

Chapter 503: Chapter 483: Control Technique—Ten Thousand Rivers Stream

「Martial Arts Calendar, Year 2048. June 13th.」

”According to our latest report, our nation has officially named the Tenth-Level Calamity Beast from the White Eagle Federation the Thunder Prison Fierce Lion.”

”This is the second Tenth-Level Calamity Beast known to date.”

”In the White Eagle Federation, the number of Martial Artists sacrificed to the Thunder Prison Fierce Lion has now exceeded 3,000. The casualties include three Eighth Realm Martial Artists and twenty Seventh Realm Martial Artists.”

”Civilian deaths have surpassed 40,000, with the number of injured reaching as high as 180,000...”

After signing for the Secret Manual from the courier, Lin Qi returned to his Martial Arts Room and saw the latest news broadcast.

’A Tenth-Level Calamity Beast—the Thunder Prison Fierce Lion!’

Lin Qi thought to himself. The Thunder Prison Fierce Lion was also the hot topic of discussion in all his group chats.

In his class group chat for the Celestial Vault Institute, Dean Liu had posted information about the Thunder Prison Fierce Lion.

[Tenth-Level Calamity Beast: Thunder Prison Fierce Lion]

[Information: 700 meters in length, resembles a giant lion. Its entire body is covered in a deep blue mane of thunder, with dazzling electric arcs flashing between the strands.]

[Six massive thunderbolt spikes grow from its back, and it possesses the power to control Thunder...]

...

After reading the information on the Thunder Prison Fierce Lion, Lin Qi imagined it in battle, filling the sky with thunderbolts. He couldn’t help but shake his head; the name was quite fitting.

A body length of 700 meters!

Keep in mind, a creature just ten meters long would already possess terrifying physical strength, enough to level cities.

To say nothing of something 70 times larger—a beast capable of overturning rivers and seas.

An ordinary High Realm Martial Artist likely wouldn’t survive a single blow, even with Battle Armor.

Few Martial Artists could withstand a single strike from a Tenth-Level Calamity Beast.

Most critically, in addition to their immense physical bodies, they also commanded powerful Natural Powers.

They were more terrifying than natural disasters. The news reported that in just a few hours, the Tenth-Level Calamity Beast had caused over 3,000 deaths, including several High Realm Martial Artists.

If a few more Tenth-Level Calamity Beasts were to appear, no nation could withstand the assault.

What’s more, Ninth-Level Calamity Beasts were also launching attacks in its wake.

He saw in the group chat that in addition to the Thunder Prison Fierce Lion, three new Ninth-Level Calamity Beasts had also appeared.

The first thing that came to Lin Qi’s mind was that the number of Middle-Level Source Energy techniques would probably increase to twenty-seven.

He put down his phone and slowly opened the metal box. The more Tenth-Level Calamity Beasts that appeared, the less surprised he felt compared to before.

’As long as it doesn’t appear in Xia Country, it’ll be fine.’

What he needed to do now was improve his own strength.

HUMMM!!

The metal box slowly opened, revealing its contents: a solid purple Secret Manual that exuded a peculiar aura.

Alongside it were two scrolls, one purple and one black.

The purple was an impression of a Seventh-Level Calamity Beast, while the black was an impression of an Eighth-Level Calamity Beast.

There was no impression of a Ninth-Level Calamity Beast.

Lin Qi opened the Secret Manual—the *Ten Thousand Calamities Atlas*.

The cover of the Secret Manual was etched with countless patterns. Woven into these designs were numerous Level 7, Level 8, and even Level 9 Calamity Beasts.

They all seemed to be fused into the cover, which also emitted a peculiar fragrance.

The scent had a calming effect on the mind.

He carefully browsed through the contents. The Cultivation method was largely the same.

It involved entering the Consciousness Space, performing a visualization of a Seventh-Level Calamity Beast, merging with its body, and then battling the beast from the Scroll.

Unlike Low-Level Calamity Beasts, High-Level ones had greater physical strength and possessed Little Divine Powers, making them significantly harder to visualize successfully.

This posed no difficulty for Lin Qi, however. He could already visualize a Level 9 Platinum Evil Tiger; a mere Seventh-Level Calamity Beast was not much of a challenge.

However, compared to the Cultivation method, he was more interested in the manual’s other content.

For example, the techniques for controlling Spiritual Power.

He had never seen anything like this in the previous *Hundred Calamities Atlas* or *Thousand Calamities Atlas*.

The most basic visualization method involved using one’s consciousness as a brush to sketch the desired Calamity Beast.

After that came guiding one’s Qi Blood and using Perception to sense the surrounding environment; these were all fundamentals.

They were as simple as walking, breathing, or running.

A sophisticated Control Technique, however, was like practicing martial arts; the difficulty rose dramatically.

This was the kind of Control Technique that Spiritual Mind Masters needed to master.

They had to mobilize their Spiritual Telekinesis, attach it to Flying Knives, and control the blades as if they were extensions of their own limbs.

Ninth Realm Martial Artists with powerful enough Spiritual Power could even cast Illusion Techniques, trapping their opponents in hallucinations.

But this was a Control Technique for Spiritual Mind Masters; Ordinary Martial Artists had no need for something so complex.

Only half of the *Ten Thousand Calamities Atlas* was dedicated to the Cultivation method itself; the rest was all about techniques for controlling Spiritual Power.

’This is...?’

Reading the middle section, Lin Qi’s eyes suddenly lit up.

’This is an advanced application of Spiritual Power!’

He read it carefully. The manual described an even more complex application of Spiritual Power.

”Spiritual Power is like water. It can be divided for control or gathered as one. Its transformations are endless.”

”As one’s Spiritual Power grows, it can be commanded as easily as one’s own limbs, allowing for ever more subtle applications...”

Lin Qi grew more excited as he read. He never realized that advanced manipulation of Spiritual Power could be better applied to Marrow Refining.

Spiritual Mind Masters had no other Special Abilities, only Spiritual Telekinesis, so their Marrow Refining efficiency was inferior to those who used Natural Power.

However, they possessed more Advanced Spiritual Control Techniques, which allowed them to fuse their power with their Qi Blood. By constantly transforming it, they could use it like Power to perform Marrow Refining and increase its efficiency.

When combined with the Bone Marrow Cultivation Technique from the *Platinum Evil Tiger Evolution Method*, the efficiency could be drastically improved.

However, this was very difficult for ordinary people to achieve, as the High-Level Control Technique had extremely high Spiritual Power requirements.

Typically, one needed to have broken through to the Seventh Realm.

And those who possessed Seventh Realm-level Spiritual Power were already Seventh Realm Martial Artists; only Spiritual Mind Masters were a good fit.

But he was different. His Spiritual Power was much higher than his Qi and Blood Value.

At this thought, he set down the Secret Manual and took out a bottle of Flesh and Blood Harmonizer.

He sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began his Marrow Refining.

He had eaten a great deal of Disaster Beast Flesh and Blood over the past two days, and a vast amount of its essence now lay dormant within his body.

VMMMM!!

He unleashed his powerful Spiritual Power, and the entire world grew sharper within his Perception.

He recalled the Control Technique described in the Secret Manual. This technique had a name: Ten Thousand Rivers Stream.

The principle of Ten Thousand Rivers Stream was to make one’s Spiritual Power act like Flowing Water, dividing it into countless streams, each wisp controlled at will.

Lin Qi began attempting to control his Spiritual Power with more finesse, splitting it into ten streams, then a hundred.

’This is so difficult!’

Lin Qi frowned, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

His previous control over his Spiritual Power had been far too crude.

It was like an instinctual application; his Spiritual Power had grown just as his body had—as he grew older, his physical attributes naturally improved.

He was naturally able to do things he couldn’t before.

But once he needed to learn a method to control that power with finesse, he felt the strain and difficulty.

Lin Qi told himself not to rush. He calmed his mind and patiently followed the method in the Secret Manual, breaking down his Spiritual Power and slowly fusing it with his body.

BOOM!!

His body began to operate furiously. Under the effects of the Flesh and Blood Harmonizer, all of his cells surged into action.

The essence hidden deep within his body was rapidly absorbed.

’My perception of my own body has become so much clearer.’

’In Martial Arts, there’s a concept called Introspection, which is using Spiritual Power to form an eye that can observe everything inside the body.’

’The higher the Spiritual Power, the stronger the Introspection. Clearly sensing the body’s functions helps unearth its full potential.’

Lin Qi thought to himself. He could now perceive his own body with abnormal clarity—the beating of his heart, the flow of his blood, the functioning of his internal organs.

He could ”see” the cycles formed by all the different parts of his body with far greater clarity.

Slowly, he began to focus on dividing his Spiritual Power. Though it was arduous, Lin Qi felt himself improving with every passing moment.

His Spiritual Power constantly merged into his bloodstream, guiding his Qi Blood.

With the addition of his Power and Special Ability, the difficulty of controlling his Spiritual Power rose.

But in turn, it caused his blood to become highly condensed, allowing it to seep into his golden Slaughter Tiger Bones and begin scouring his marrow.

VMMMM!!

As his marrow was scoured, an intense, stinging pain shot through him, but inwardly, Lin Qi was ecstatic.

The more intense the pain, the better the results.

He could clearly feel the suppression firmly locked within his marrow being scoured away, bit by bit.

The effect was double what it had been before.

...

「Two hours later.」

Drenched in sweat, Lin Qi’s eyes snapped open.

An intense Golden Light illuminated the Martial Arts Room. His eyes were as brilliant and profound as stars, and a powerful spiritual fluctuation emanated from him.

HUUFF!!

His chest heaved as he exhaled a turbid breath that kicked up a violent gust of wind.

[You have consumed a Flesh and Blood Harmonizer and cultivated the High-Level Control Technique—Ten Thousand Rivers Stream—from the Advanced Spiritual Power Technique, the *Ten Thousand Calamities Atlas*. Your Talent is extraordinary; you learned it quickly.]

[You have applied Ten Thousand Rivers Stream to your Marrow Refining. Your Marrow Refining efficiency has increased significantly. Your Marrow has improved. Qi and Blood Value +20]

[Qi and Blood Value: 3880 → 3900]

...

Lin Qi stood up, and looking at the data on the panel, he couldn’t help but clench his fists.

He felt the Qi Blood boiling within him as power welled up endlessly.

His physical constitution had improved by another large margin.

’Excellent. With an Advanced Spiritual Control Technique like Ten Thousand Rivers Stream, my Marrow Refining efficiency has increased dramatically.’

’My breakthrough to the Seventh Realm can be moved up again.’

Lin Qi thought to himself. He was only 100 Qi and Blood Value short. Once he fully mastered the Ten Thousand Rivers Stream technique, his Cultivation efficiency would increase even further.

By the time school started and he entered the Celestial Vault Institute, he should be ready to break through to the Seventh Realm.

...

「Several days passed.」

The college entrance exam results were soon released, and all the graduating high school students began filling out their university applications.

This had little to do with Lin Qi, however. He remained at home, focused on his Cultivation, taking an occasional break to relax.

He would go out with Jiangtao and Jiang Miaoyin, having fun and sampling fine cuisine.

Xu Changfeng also invited Lin Qi out for meals from time to time, always taking him to the most exclusive restaurants in Celestial Sea City.

Thanks to this, Lin Qi got to try many rare delicacies he had never tasted before.

He settled into a leisurely routine, balancing work and rest, and his mastery of the Ten Thousand Rivers Stream Control Technique grew more and more Proficient.

His Spiritual Power and Qi and Blood Value increased daily, getting closer and closer to the 4,000 mark.

「In the blink of an eye, it was July.」

On this day, inside the Martial Arts Room of Villa 66 in the Imperial View Mansion District.

”Master, Jiangtao called you an hour ago.”

Lin Qi had just finished his Cultivation, and Little Chan spoke up from the side to remind him.

”Call him back!”

Lin Qi had put his communicator on silent mode; he was not to be disturbed during his Cultivation unless it was a matter of life and death.

She immediately projected a screen and dialed Jiangtao’s number. A moment later, Jiangtao’s face appeared on the screen.

”Brother Qi, this is bad!”

”A Tenth-Level Calamity Beast has appeared in our Xia Country!”

Lin Qi’s expression changed drastically upon hearing this!

...