Era of Mist

Chapter 128: Chapter 127: The Six Great Mind Arts and the Six Great Attributes

”And it’s precisely because of this irreplaceable function that these Six Basic Heart Techniques are known as the Fundamental Heart Skills.

”The Six Basic Heart Techniques each improve a different area.”

Shi Tiexin immediately pulled out a notebook, ready to take careful notes, as Little Dog Egg continued to chat away.

”Basic Mathematics increases Comprehension.”

”Basic Rhetoric increases Sensitivity.”

”Basic Natural History increases Discernment.”

”Basic Biology increases Constitution.”

”Basic Physics increases Force.”

”Basic Chemistry increases Qi Channels.”

”Comprehension, Sensitivity, Discernment, Constitution, Force, and Qi Channels. These are the six major attributes, and every single one has a broad impact on a Cultivator’s combat power. Now, let me briefly explain the specific effects of each attribute.”

Si Chongtian spoke with the ease of someone reciting his family heirlooms.

”First, Comprehension. That’s a rather general term. To be precise, it’s the speed at which you grasp rule-based and technical concepts. The higher your Comprehension, the faster your understanding of nature, the universe, and all things rational.”

”Next is Sensitivity. I didn’t even understand what this attribute meant the first time I heard of it. I later realized it refers to your speed in perceiving intentional and artistic concepts. Not all martial arts follow a rational path; many are intuitive. The higher your Sensitivity, the faster and more profound your understanding of life, emotions, and all things intuitive.”

”Comprehension and Sensitivity are more or less equals. My mentor once said that Comprehension allows you to grasp the Celestial Dao, while Sensitivity allows you to touch the human way. The Celestial Dao is precise but cold and unfeeling. The human way is passionate but prone to chaos. Each has its own strengths.”

’Comprehension and Sensitivity.’

’The Celestial Dao and the human way?’

A flicker of understanding crossed Shi Tiexin’s mind as he had a sudden realization. ’The reason I had such a strong impression of that shorty’s Snake Form Fist while I was practicing my calligraphy must have been my Sensitivity at work.’

”Natural History increases Discernment. Discernment makes a person wise. Someone with high Discernment will have greater mental stability, making them less susceptible to being bewitched, suffering from Qi deviation, or falling into extremism.”

”You should know, many people claim that there are no good or evil Cultivation Techniques, only good or evil people. But some demonic techniques genuinely affect a person’s mind—otherwise, why would the Demon Sect be called the Demon Sect? Not everyone who clamors that Cultivation Techniques are inherently neutral can actually control a demonic one. Someone with higher Discernment will have stronger resistance to foreign spiritual influences and will be better able to preserve their sense of self.”

Shi Tiexin nodded earnestly.

’Demonic techniques, succumbing to darkness... all that stuff seems so far off right now,’ Shi Tiexin thought. ’But as long as I keep getting stronger, I’m bound to run into all sorts of unexpected problems one day. Maybe there really are things like spiritual attacks or the temptations of a Heart Demon. Or maybe not. After all, I just read about that stuff in some pulp fiction.’

’But what if those novelists weren’t just making things up?’

’I have to raise Discernment. I absolutely have to.’

”Biology increases Constitution. This might sound miraculous at first. A lot of people don’t understand how cultivating a Heart Technique can directly change your physical body. But from my own personal experience, this so-called increase to Constitution doesn’t mean your bones get denser or your physique gets stronger. There are plenty of strength-based techniques that can do that.”

”The Constitution you gain from Biology refers to your body’s compatibility, adaptability, and tolerance for various Heart Techniques.”

”You might not get it from that explanation. To be honest, I don’t fully understand it myself. My mentor said that once you reach the Second Layer of Heart Technique, Cultivators skilled in Biology can use their Heart Technique to modify their physical body, making them faster, sharpening their reflexes, boosting their recovery, and so on. The effects are simply divine. But whether you can actually use these Heart Techniques on yourself depends on whether your physical body can handle the strain.”

”The stronger your body-enhancing techniques, the stronger your physical body, and the more you can handle. If you’re hopeless at those techniques but your Constitution attribute is high enough, that’s also fine. If both your body-enhancing cultivation and your Constitution are high, then it goes without saying—you’ll be invincible. Furthermore, after the Second Layer of Heart Technique, many Heart Techniques that must be projected externally for combat also require Constitution for support. The higher your Constitution, the more powerful a Heart Technique you can withstand.”

’Compatibility?’

Shi Tiexin thought for a moment before asking, ”I was working security at the provincial examination today. During the test, I saw everyone display a six-colored layer of light. Does the Constitution attribute affect that layer of light?”

”Oh, so you were helping with security at the provincial examination today, Big Brother Tie? Perfect, I can use that as an example.” Si Chongtian’s knowledge in this area was clearly solid. ”To be precise, every one of the Six Basic Heart Techniques affects all other Heart Techniques; it’s just a matter of whether the relationship is direct or indirect. Constitution definitely affects the layer of light. My mentor was very clear: the stronger your Constitution, the less extra energy you waste when forming that layer.”

’So that’s how it works. It directly affects the layer of light,’ he thought. ’And it has such a long-term impact. I have to raise Constitution. I definitely have to.’

”Physics increases Force. This attribute can boost the power of a Martial Artist’s strikes and also has some effect on the physical body. But its main role relates to Heart Techniques. When you release a Heart Technique, higher Force makes the arrangement of your psionic energy denser, which increases its penetrating power, resilience, and so on. Simply put, more Force means more power. Applied to the layer of light, it just means the layer is sturdier and stronger.”

”Of course, that’s just a simple explanation. The specific details will only become apparent once you can actually use other Heart Techniques.”

’The stronger my Force, the stronger the layer of light?’ he mused. ’And it has long-term effects, too... Right, I have to raise Force. I definitely have to.’

”The last one is Basic Chemistry, which increases Qi Channels. We can ignore its effect on the physical body; it’s negligible. But its effect on Heart Techniques is significant. It’s simple but extremely effective: it increases the recovery speed of your psionic energy. It has no other effects, but its single-minded focus makes it powerful. Constitution also adds a little to your recovery speed, but it’s nothing compared to the bonus you get from the Qi Channels attribute.”

”The effect is just incredible. Anyone who’s tried it knows what I’m talking about!”

’Psionic energy recovery speed?’

’Is there even any question? Raise it, raise it, raise it! I have to raise this one. I’m gonna max it out!’

’Uh, but wait... is ”maxing it out” even a thing?’

Shi Tiexin immediately asked, ”I think I basically understand the roles of the six attributes. Comprehension and Sensitivity increase cultivation speed. Discernment strengthens personal mental fortitude. Constitution, Force, and Qi Channels directly improve various effects when using and releasing Heart Techniques. So, how high can these six attributes go? And since the cultivation levels for the Fundamental Heart Skills can be high or low, do they all provide the same bonus?”

”Excellent! Big Brother Tie, that’s a very insightful and crucial question. You sound like you know your stuff! But before I answer that, there’s something else I need to mention.” Si Chongtian scratched his head, then leaned in with a mysterious expression. ”Big Brother Tie, have you ever heard of an ’interface’?”

”An interface?!”

Shi Tiexin’s heart jolted. He suddenly thought of the vision system attached to him.

’Could it be... that I’m not the only one with a system?!’