Scripture of Days Past

Once Chu Qiguang, Jiang Longyu, Li He, and Chi Shude had mastered the battle footwork, the majority of the other trainees, including Huang Xiangyu and Zhang Haizhu, managed to do the same within an hour.

They were all prodigies selected by the Demon Vanquishing Department, so mastering some basic footwork was an easy task for everyone. Even the least competent trainees had the footwork mastered within two hours.

”From now on, I will be teaching you the Demon Vanquishing Department’s martial arts, and I will also be instructing you in your martial arts cultivation,” Yang Ling declared. ”A disparity of just a single state is an insurmountable gap for martial artists, so the majority of martial artists in the world prioritize advancing their cultivation base above all else.

”However, given your aptitude and the resources that you’re going to receive from the Demon Vanquishing Department, the majority of you will reach the fifth state at some point in your lives. Once you get there, the only way to set yourself apart from other fifth-state martial artists is through the martial arts techniques that you’ve mastered.

”A fifth-state martial artist who has mastered advanced martial arts techniques will be far more formidable than a fifth-state martial artist who only knows how to wield their qi and blood.

”Hence, while I’m going to help you advance your cultivation bases, I want you to focus on more than just that. In the future, your cultivation base is not going to be the limiting factor. Instead, it’s going to be the quantity and quality of martial arts techniques that you’ve mastered.”

From there, Yang Ling instructed the trainees one-on-one. All martial artists had their own unique problems and bottlenecks, so there was no one-size-fits-all approach.

A benevolent smile tugged at Yang Ling’s lips as he turned his gaze to Jiang Longyu.

After being implicated by Li Changqing, he had been relegated to Jade Fact Mountain, but if he could somehow get on Jiang Longyu’s good side, then he would easily be able to return to the capital.

”Longyu, your foundation is already very solid, so all you need to do is continue cultivating as you’ve done in the past, and you should be able to reach the fourth state at some point over the next two months.

”You can have the Qi Enhancement Pills that I receive every month. I have no use for them, anyway, but they’ll help you consolidate your qi and blood and ensure a smoother breakthrough to the fourth state.”

After that, Yang Ling briefly addressed the other trainees one by one, providing them with some instructions before dismissing them to cultivate on their own.

Finally, it was Chu Qiguang’s turn. Yang Ling had been waiting for this, but he was rather hesitant about what approach he ought to take.

Li Changqing had been like a father to him, so he sorely resented Chu Qiguang for toppling Li Changqing and his entire clan, but at the same time, he didn’t dare to openly exact his revenge on Chu Qiguang.

Meanwhile, Chu Qiguang had to pretend to put on an eager and attentive face.

I’m already at the fifth state; what could you possibly teach me? I guess I’ll just have to feign interest in what he has to say...

The thought of having to waste an entire year pretending to advance his cultivation base left Chu Qiguang feeling a little frustrated.

”What martial arts techniques have you mastered, Chu Qiguang?” Yang Ling asked.

Chu Qiguang considered the question for a moment, and then he revealed everything that he could, such as the Heavenly Spirit Body Refinement Fist Techniques, the Dragon Subjugation Mantra, etc.

He couldn’t reveal things like the Heavenly Fiend Foundation Establishment Technique, the Undying Seal, and the Sumeru King Scripture, so the list wasn’t very long at all.

”That’s it?” Yang Ling asked with an unimpressed expression. ”That’s far too few techniques for a third-state martial artist. You may be able to overcome your opponents through sheer physical prowess for now, but eventually, this is going to come back to bite you.

”I advise you to put your cultivation progression on hold for now and work on mastering some techniques first.

”You clearly already have a strong physical constitution, so I’m going to teach you the Demon Vanquishing Department’s Primordial High Zenith Qigong and the Heavenly Demon Vanquishing Palms.

”Among all of our Demon Vanquishing Department’s cultivation arts, the Primordial High Zenith Qigong ranks number one for enhancing the cultivator’s constitution. If you fully master it, then your fleshly body will become nigh indestructible.

”The Heavenly Demon Vanquishing Palms are an incredibly formidable palm technique that can generate incredibly powerful palm strikes on the basis of a strong fleshly body, which makes it perfect for you to cultivate in conjunction with the Primordial High Zenith Qigong.”

What Yang Ling had intentionally failed to mention was just how difficult it was to make progress in these two cultivation arts; he also didn’t tell Chu Qiguang that they could only be fully mastered by fifth-state martial artists.

Even for Yang Ling himself, the two cultivation arts were too difficult to pursue.

His objective was to make Chu Qiguang waste the entirety of the next year on the two cultivation arts and ensure that he’d make zero progress in his martial arts cultivation.

With that in mind, he pulled out the scriptures that he had prepared in advance and handed them to Chu Qiguang, saying, ”Take a look at these cultivation arts for yourself first. I’ll come back to instruct you once I’ve spoken to everyone else.”

Chu Qiguang eagerly pored over the scriptures, while Yang Ling sneered inwardly in disdain.

Unbeknownst to him, this was exactly what Chu Qiguang wanted. As a fifth-state martial artist, there were no further gains that he could make in his martial arts cultivation base before crossing over to the Dao Comprehension state.

However, in spite of his lofty cultivation base and incredible physical prowess, he was only able to defeat Jiang Longyu with Qiao Zhi’s help, and this was entirely due to a lack of technical proficiency.

He had recently reached the second level of the Undying Seal, but that was more of a passive technique that reacted to his opponent’s attacks. He was still missing offensive techniques that could help him seize the initiative in battle.

As a fiend, Qiao Zhi was limited in his ability to instruct Chu Qiguang in human cultivation arts. As a result, Chu Qiguang had to resort to the Ring of Ignorance just to defeat Chen Zimo, who had been far past his prime.

This doesn’t look too hard, Chu Qiguang thought to himself as he read through the scriptures.

After the martial arts lesson, the trainees had their dinners brought to them, but Jiang Longyu was able to enjoy a different dinner prepared by his servant.

While eating, Jiang Longyu made sure to show off, instructing his servant to introduce to everyone what ingredients were used to cook his meal and how expensive those ingredients were.

”Can you get that lapdog of yours to shut up? No one wants to hear that!” Zhang Haizhu snapped.

”Sheesh! What’re you eating over there, Zhang Haizhu? You eating shit? Because your breath stinks!” Jiang Longyu scoffed disdainfully.

Zhang Haizhu was furious. He slammed his chopsticks on the table and sprang up to his feet, yelling, ”What’s there for you to gloat about? Did you earn the money to buy all that stuff yourself? You’re just a shameless braggart!”

Before the altercation could escalate any further, an instructor stepped in to mediate. Zhang Haizhu was fuming, while Jiang Longyu clearly felt like he had secured the moral victory.

There were no more lessons after dinner; all of the trainees were free to use this time as they saw fit.

Chu Qiguang decided to visit the archives in the west. The building was enshrouded in darkness. As soon as Chu Qiguang reached the entrance, he felt a slight chill run down his spine.