Destiny in Cinders

Trueblitz Pentaphase Infusion converted lethal qi in weapons into five-phase destructive power. It collected the clarity of profound essence from the environment to form the mind and the turbidity of the eight wastelands, which were used to reinforce armaments so that they could break through various techniques and energies. It was truly an ultimate combat arcanum.

”I theorize that when you use this technique to its fullest potential, it should be able to manifest pure-yang tribulation and grand-yin polar lethality as well.” As Jin Yanhua had invented this arcanum herself, she knew full well its weaknesses and limits. ”Even though I used Fiveblitz Soaring Divinity as its base, Trueblitz Pentaphase Infusion still isn’t able to form central pivots of yin and yang yet. But once I grasp universal laws at the Sanctification Realm, I’ll be able to refine this arcanum even more. That aside, it should be more than enough for you two in its current state.”

It isn’t just enough, it’s far more than that! An Jing was already quietly circulating the technique as he listened to Jin Yanhua’s subsequent explanation. He was impatient because he could feel his Evenstar resonate and rumble!

Since An Jing gained insight into how divine armaments honed themselves with terrestrial veins, his Evenstar lifestar showed signs that it was at the brink of awakening. From that, he gained a trait that allowed him to strengthen weapons and assimilate their essence.

According to Void Embrace’s tradition, that trait should’ve been named Armament Smelting. While An Jing had mastered it, he didn’t have much weapons training. As such, even if he imported black-iron blades from Skysource by the truckload, assimilating them all wouldn’t produce enough quality essence to push for the trait’s breakthrough.

However, through learning Trueblitz Pentaphase Infusion, he learned what his Evenstar lacked: destruction. His Seven Ruins Arc was a lifearc of finality that mainly symbolized slaughter and destruction. While Qiform Arsenal made it look like he conjured weapons out of thin air, they were actually manifestations of his killing intent. At its core, it was not an ability for crafting, but killing! The same principle applied to his Evenstar ability. Its true nature was that of destruction.

While Trueblitz Pentaphase Infusion was said to enhance weapons, there was a component of destructive lightning once the weapons were enhanced to their maximum potential! However, typical lightning techniques tapped into the aspects of yin, yang and the five phases. Yet, Trueblitz Pentaphase Infusion only tapped into the killing essence of weapons as fuel for its power.

I finally understand how my abilities pair together! An Jing could finally see it all clearly. His blood-lethal-qi ability, Qiform Arsenal, could be used to manifest qi armaments for him. Then, he would use his metal-lethal-qi ability along with Trueblitz Pentaphase Infusion to strengthen the qi armament to the point that it would explode, unleashing powerful lightning onto his foes! When he wasn’t fighting, he could assimilate the essence of weapons like he was building up ammunition. When he needed it, he could turn them into explosive lightning blasts!

Jin Yanhua furrowed her brow slightly at the sight of An Jing studying the technique so earnestly. She was worried that he would hurt himself. But when he displayed proper competence in the technique, her earlier worries seemed completely laughable. Was there anything that the kid would find difficult?

In fact, there was. Trueblitz Pentaphase Infusion was the most complex technique that An Jing had learned since awakening his lifearc. It also took the most time to grasp. He had only spent half a day learning the Minor Yang Sword Art, but it took Jin Yanhua two days of teaching to get An Jing to master the basics.

An Jing could form gold scales on the backs of his hands. While they looked like actual scales, they were actually reservoirs for him to store armament essence. Jin Yanhua’s own dragon scales were natural reservoirs that could store a boundless amount of armament essence, as was fitting for her Mountain Pile Armaments lifearc. As long as she carried a whole armory around her as she cultivated, her lifearc power grew quickly.

Still, she was somewhat concerned that An Jing managed to manifest reservoirs that quickly. ”You’re really able to pick anything up, huh?”

She touched the golden scales at the back of An Jing’s hands with a solemn look on her face. ”To think that you’re able to manifest them completely. Your talent is indeed incredible, but also dangerous...”

She looked earnestly at him. ”A human like you, even while using this technique, should only be able to manifest blurry pieces of metal on the back of your arms. You’d only be able to manifest them as dao patterns that match what you have in your mind once you reach full mastery with Trueblitz Pentaphase Infusion. Yet, you were able to do that straight from the get-go. The fact that you actually managed to manifest scales suggests that you’ve gained some insight into dragon incantations.

”That’s a good thing, of course. It’s proof that you’ve picked up on the right lessons. However, you also risk not being able to put your own twist into it. Whatever you do, do not forget this: a spell or ability that you can use more easily is far more important, even if it’s a little weaker. At the end of the day, we’re martial cultivators. What we seek is the limits of our own martial path. It doesn’t matter how powerful or perfect the spells we learn and use are.”

”I understand.” An Jing nodded. What she said sounded in line with what Ming Guangchen told him about dao progeny who do not learn combat arts. The most important techniques that he should learn weren’t the most powerful ones, but rather, the ones that suited him best. Everyone had to bring in their own unique twist on the path to seek the dao.

This was one of the problems brought on by his incredible talent. Normal people forgot what they did or ate in a matter of days, let alone completely remembering and understanding complicated techniques. Even if they didn’t forget things completely, their memories could always get corrupted.

The nature of human memory was that it was malleable and could constantly be kneaded to better suit the way one thought. The same applied to cultivation. Even if many people learned the same technique from the same sect, the final forms of the technique would end up radically different, each with the user’s own special something.

An Jing, however, learned techniques too well and remembered it too clearly. As a result, he ended up not having a unique spin of his own. Since he was aware of this shortcoming, there wasn’t anything Jin Yanhua needed to worry about. She believed that he would forge a path of his own. Since then, she only occasionally checked in on An Jing while focusing on getting You Ruhui to master the basics.

An Jing entered a consistent rhythm of focus and cultivation. He rose early every day and meditated, entering the special Heaven’s Child Art state to practice the Minor Yang Sword Art and induce the generation of qi essence in his body. His mastery over the Minor Yang Sword Art progressed rapidly, probably due to having the benefit of starting it young. He would attain full mastery any day now.

After stimulating his qi essence, he used True Nature Ego Fist to hone his skill in applied forces. Then, he would use Qiform Arsenal to help him practice Trueblitz Pentaphase Infusion. The routine was so intense that even a vigorous youth like him felt completely drained by the end of it.

Typically, Ming Guangchen would call him over after his routine to teach him about Void Embrace’s basic cultivation knowledge, spirit items, etiquette and other unspoken rules. All those were things he needed to know to get by. Merely knowing how to fight could only amount to so much. An Jing wasn’t strong to the point that he could completely ignore the rules, after all, so he made sure to learn well. And when night fell, Jin Yanhua would tell the two young ones about her past adventures after their lessons, expanding their horizons even more.