"I still have three plants over a thousand years old whose values exceed the blood pill." Zhao Feng thought for a while, then decided to eat the pill.
Soon the medicine's power started to flow from within him. The energy was very harmonious with his body. Zhao Feng immediately started circulating Air Crossing Breathing Technique to absorb the energy.
The morning of the next day...
Zhao Feng had fully absorbed all the energy and felt his cultivation inch forward a little bit. The green glow inside his left eye had extended just past 1.8 meters.
"Peak fifth rank! The pill is indeed helpful." Zhao Feng nodded his head in satisfaction.
Only Zhao Linlong was on par with him, in terms of cultivation. There was still some time, so Zhao Feng began to practice his Mysterious Wind Palm again.
Hu~
His body leaped into the sky, and his chi spun in the heart of his palm.
Shua!
A branch as thick as an arm was instantly shattered into pieces. Zhao Feng's palm wasn't very powerful, yet it contained the power of spinning and slicing.
"This move has reached the high level of a high ranked martial art!" Zhao Feng exclaimed happily.
Just when Zhao Feng was attempting to fully gain insights into the Mysterious Wind Palm technique a familiar girl's voice sounded, "Brother Feng can I come in?"
Hm? Zhao Feng's eyebrows scrunched up.
Outside the garden, there was a girl clothed in snow white. She was biting her lips, and she didn't dare to look Zhao Feng in the eye. The girl was undoubtedly Zhao Xue.
"Come in." Zhao Feng regained his composure and let her in.
The two looked at each other. Zhao Xue seemed to dodge his eyes.
"What have you come here for?" Zhao Feng asked expressionlessly.
He once had a favorable impression of her, since they were childhood friends. But ever since they entered the Zhao sect, the last bit of that favorable impression had disappeared.
Zhao Xue's eyes turned red as she bit her lip. "I've been muddled ever since I entered the Zhao sect. I hope that Brother Feng can remember our past days and not hate me…"
Looking at Zhao Xue's sad face, Zhao Feng's heart started to ripple, but soon, it became as still as water again.
"Everyone has their own freedom to make their choices…I've never hated you," Zhao Feng faintly smiled, as if he was making a casual statement.
Sure, Zhao Feng had never hated Zhao Xue, but her actions had disappointed him.
I've never hated you!
Zhao Xue's heart shook as she looked at the handsome youth "Has brother Feng never loved me…even back at Green Leaf Village?" Zhao Feng was a bit doubtful after she said this.
Zhao Feng wasn't even fourteen years old. Half a year ago, he was only thirteen. His heart was pure and didn't react to Zhao Xue's love back then.
Now, Zhao Feng was fourteen and straining along the Martial Path, so he was a bit late on understanding the relationship between boys and girls.
Looking at Zhao Feng's reaction, Zhao Xue's heart became cold. She finally knew that Zhao Feng had never loved her. At most, it was a favorable impression during their childhood.
"Brother Feng!" Outside the garden came another clear voice.
Zhao Yufei walked happily into Zhao Feng's garden. The two were neighbors, and they were quite familiar with each other. Therefore, Zhao Yufei came in without knocking. Quickly, she felt that the atmosphere was a bit different.
Zhao Feng and Zhao Xue both stood quietly, and the latter was crying softly.
"What's the matter?" Zhao Feng turned curiously towards Zhao Yufei.
At this moment two beautiful girls stood in this small garden. Zhao Xue's skin was as smooth as water, and her face was beautiful. However, compared to Zhao Yufei's angelic aura, she seemed rather dull by comparison…
In terms of talent, aura, and body, Zhao Xue was far inferior to Zhao Yufei.
"Brother Feng, haven't you been to the Martial Arts Library to get your skills? You can get a peak ranked martial art since you ranked top three," Zhao Yufei said, slightly confused.
She had just gone to the Martial Arts Library to choose her skills. The top ten could choose two high ranked martial arts. The top three could choose one peak ranked and two high ranked martial arts.
"Haha, I almost forgot," Zhao Feng gently smiled.
Looking at Zhao Feng and Zhao Yufei smiling together, Zhao Xue felt sad and regretful. She regretted her decision in choosing Zhao Yijian…
Soon, Zhao Feng arrived at the Martial Arts Library. The elder guarding the library was a white-bearded old man that looked familiar.
"It's you?" The old man's eyes lit up.
Zhao Feng immediately recognized him as well. "This junior sees elder."
This old man was one of the two main judges who had supported Zhao Feng.
"I'm called Zhao Yusong. You can call me elder Zhao," the judge said gently.
"Yes, elder Zhao."
"Come with me." Zhao Yusong took Zhao Feng to the second level.
There were over two hundred martial arts in the second level. Most were high ranked, while a low number of them were peak ranked. Peak ranked martial arts were very precious to the Zhao sect.
Zhao Feng scanned around and was surprised "Zhao elder, why is there only a token instead of the martial art?"
The second level of the Martial Arts Library didn't hold martial arts. Instead, there was a jade token which had the skill's name and short summaries.
"Hehe, martial arts of the high rank or higher are very precious. We can't put the real copy here. When you choose the skill, I'll go get the book for you," Zhao Yusong explained.
Zhao Feng was disappointed. The sect was strict with high ranked martial arts which meant he couldn't ‘steal' any. But being able to choose one peak and two high ranked martial arts was still acceptable. He went around the second level and read all the summaries.
"What, haven't you found a skill you want yet?" Zhao Yusong asked curiously.
Zhao Feng's eyes twirled and laughed, "Elder Zhao…since you're the elder guarding the Martial Arts Library, why don't you recommend some of the best skills for me."
"Hahaha, don't you know that this goes against the sect's rules?" Zhao Yusong's eyes twinkled.
Although he said that, Zhao Yusong still helped. He walked into the second level and slowly took a few jade tokens out.
Chapter 43 – Star Finger
Seeing the elder's movement, Zhao Feng's eyes shone. The second floor of the Martial Arts Library was different from the first floor.
There were no real copies of the skills here. Instead, they were replaced by jade tokens. There weren't that many words on the jade tokens that summarized the martial art's ability, and they weren't very specific. This meant that it was harder to discern which skills were strong or weak.
Zhao Feng couldn't steal one hundred skills like last time and then slowly go over them.
Being the one guarding the Martial Arts Library, Elder Zhao obviously knew all of the skills well. What was more important was that Elder Zhao had seen Feng's battles and understood what he was lacking.
"There are three peak ranked martial arts here, which you are compatible with: they are Mesmerizing Wind Fist, Star Finger, and Sky Striking Leg." Elder Zhao took three jade tokens out.
All of them were offensive skills? Zhao Feng was slightly curious as he heard the names.
"Your offensive skills are too low ranked, so their potential is limited. But you've trained Metal Wall Technique as a defensive skill, which is not far away from a peak ranked martial art. If you ever find the Holy rank Silver Wall Technique, it'd be perfect," the elder explained.
No wonder he was a Martial Master!
Zhao Feng approved of what the elder said. His defense was already fine, so all he needed was offensive skills.
"These three peak ranked skills are all different: Mesmerizing Wind Fist has t
he attributes of wind, and it uses skill to break through power. When used with a high tier movement skill, the damage will double. Star Finger condenses one's chi into a single point, and it can attack everything within a certain range. Sky Striking Leg creates whirlwinds, attacking a many people at once, and it is very effective against human wave tactics…" Elder Zhao explained each of the three skills in simple terms.
Zhao Feng felt moved by all three skills. He could exert a lot of power from training in any of these three skills.
"Which of these three is the most powerful?" Zhao Feng directly asked. Although they were all peak ranked, there were still differences between them.
"Hehe, out of these three skills, the Star Finger is the strongest, approaching even Holy martial arts. It's even better than Zhao Linlong's Spatial Cloud Finger, but the only problem is that it's tough to learn this skill, and there's a certain amount of danger involved," Elder Zhao smiled.
"Then I'll choose that," Zhao Feng didn't hesitate at all.
He had seen Zhao Linlong's Spatial Cloud Finger, and it was indeed powerful. And this Star Finger skill was even stronger than the Spatial Cloud Finger. After confirming that he wanted to choose the skill, Elder Zhao went and retrieved the copy of Star Finger.
Zhao Feng was slightly excited as he received the old book. Soon, the contents of Star Finger went into Zhao Feng's mind. Star Finger was broken into six grades, and the minimum requirement was the fourth rank of the Martial Path. This finger skill condensed one's chi to the utmost. When it reached the low level, it could shoot straight through a two-inch thick metal block.
Even some body strengthening techniques would be useless facing this skill. Furthermore, this skill only cared about power... Nothing else.
"Hahaha, this is just what I wanted," Zhao Feng was extremely pleased.
"Star Finger has a huge advantage. Even if you haven't reached the Seventh rank, but have reached the fourth grade, you can attack through the air," Elder Zhao couldn't stop praising this skill.
Attack through the air?
Zhao Feng's heart rippled. Everyone knew that only when a cultivator reached the seventh rank could their Inner Strength leave the body and attack through the air.
This meant that they didn't need to fight with close combat, and instead they could attack through the air from a distance. This was the difference between the sixth and seventh rank. And the peak ranked skill, Star Finger, could attack through the air before one even reached the seventh rank!
"This finger skill is two to three times harder to train then a normal peak rank martial skill. Some people have considered it to be a half Holy rank Skill. I also trained this once, but I was stuck on the third grade for a long time, and because it was just too hard to reach the fourth grade, I gave up and started to train another skill," Elder Zhao gave Zhao Feng a complicated but expectant expression.
"Why is Elder Zhao so confident in me?" Zhao Feng asked.
"Because your understanding of martial arts is profound. You've already trained core and middle ranked martial arts to perfection. You've even trained Lightly Floating Ferry to a high degree," Elder Zhao praised.
Zhao Feng immediately understood that Elder Zhao knew his knowledge and comprehension was very high, and that he might be able to train Star Finger.
"Let me warn you," the elder's expression turned solemn.
"Elder, please speak."
Elder Zhao's eyes turned sharp, "You'll only have a chance to fight Zhao Linlong if you learn Star Finger, and there's no certainty of winning."
Why?
Zhao Feng didn't understand, wasn't Star Finger better than Spatial Cloud Finger?
"This is because…"
Elder Zhao let out a long sigh, "Since Zhao Linlong became the top disciple, and being the head of the sect's stepson, he not only received an extra thousand year blood plant, he was also allowed into the third floor of the Martial Arts Library."
The third floor of the library? The mysterious third floor?
Zhao Feng was shocked. Everyone knew that the second floor was mainly full of high ranked skills, and a few peak ranked skills. As for the third floor, it was only a legend.
"Zhao Linlong has received a thousand year blood plant, and he has a high chance to break through to the sixth rank of the Martial Path in the next few months and become the head of the four geniuses. The higher-ups of the sect are going to support him in whatever way they can," speaking up to here, Elder Zhao let out a sigh as he thought about Zhao Feng.
After all, Zhao Feng's potential wasn't any lesser than Zhao Linlong's. Regretfully, he was a side branch disciple, while Zhao Linlong was from the main branch and the stepson of the head of the sect.
Even if Zhao Feng had beaten Zhao Linlong that day, his treatment would be different.
"Elder Zhao, can you tell me what's on the third floor? Could it be the legendary Holy ranked martial arts?" Zhao Feng's breathing rate increased.
Holy ranked martial arts were a legend; one could reach the Holy Martial Path by cultivating them.
"Haha, do you think a small city like Sun Feather City could have a full copy of a Holy martial art?" Elder Zhao shook his head but continued. "But Zhao Linlong does indeed have the chance to gain enlightenment from broken Holy martial arts."
Zhao Feng let out a long sigh. Soon, Zhao Feng gave the real copy of Star Finger back to Elder Zhao.
"You don't want to copy it?" the elder asked curiously.
"I've remembered it." Zhao Feng decided not to hide this.
Never Forgetting wasn't that much of a big deal. Elder Zhao was surprised, but the happiness in his eyes grew deeper; it looked like Zhao Feng was indeed a genius.
Zhao Feng was still able to choose two high ranked martial arts after choosing the peak ranked skill. Elder Zhao recommended a movement skill named Lightly Micro Step.
"This skill is rumored to have come from the same origins as Lightly Floating Ferry and it is almost a high ranked martial art," he explained.
One peak ranked finger skill and one high ranked movement skill.
Zhao Feng could still choose one more skill. This time, he chose Withering Wood Technique.
Withering Wood Technique was similar to Hiding Air Technique; it could conceal one's aura and smell. According to the description, if Withering Wood Technique was trained to the high level, the cultivator could enter a ‘fake death' state and escape the enemy's perception.
"You have good eyesight, this skill has an excellent effect," Elder Zhao smiled.
After choosing his skills, Zhao Feng thanked the elder and left.
Deng! Deng! Deng…
Right at this moment, steps sounded outside the library.
A total of three people stepped onto the second level. The first was a white-robed old man, the second, a peaceful, middle-aged man and the last, a youth in gold. The last person was Zhao Linlong!
Zhao Feng immediately bowed towards the first two, "This junior sees elder and head of the sect."
Then he glanced at the youth clothed in gold and said smilingly, "Big brother Linglong."
"En," the head of the sect and the elder nodded their heads.
But Zhao Linlong only faintly looked at him and glanced away without saying a word. This made Zhao Feng feel very awkward and irritated.
After all, Zhao Feng was third in the inner disciples, and although Zhao Linlong was first, he couldn't disregard him.
"The head of the sect and the elder is here, could it be…" Zhao Feng guessed.
If they were to enter the second floor, only one of them was needed and not both. This meant that the two were sending Zhao Linlong to the third floor. It looks like what Elder Zhao said was true!
Zhao Feng started to get angry, but he soon recovered as he thought about the dimension in his left eye.
Zhao Feng headed straight home after that.
Inside the room, he closed his eyes and the three skills Star Finger, Lightly Micro
Step, and Withering Wood Technique popped up inside his mind. Zhao Feng first tried to learn Lightly Micro Step and found that the style of it was similar to Lightly Floating Ferry.
Half an hour later, he had reached the beginning level!
******************
Night-
Zhao Feng surprisingly found that when he used Air Crossing Breathing Technique with Lightly Micro Step, it was even faster.
For the next few days, he concentrated on the new skills.
Lightly Micro Step and Withering Wood Technique were both high ranked martial arts, and Zhao Feng found them very easy to learn. It wasn't just because of the increase of enlightenment he got from his left eye; it was also because Lightly Floating Ferry and Hiding Air Technique set a rock-solid foundation for them both.
Using only ten days, Zhao Feng trained the two skills to the high level.
Next, he was going to train the most important skill, Star Finger! This finger skill was a peak ranked martial art which was hard to cultivate. Even Elder Zhao didn't manage to train all of it.
Chapter 44 – Invitation to the Genius Summit, Part One
Closing his eyes, Zhao Feng began trying to gain insights from Star Finger.
Zhao Feng understood something after a few hours - this skill was indeed far harder than high ranked martial arts. In terms of difficulty, it could only be compared with Lightly Floating Ferry. But Star Finger wasn't just hard; it also had a certain amount of danger involved. When one condensed their Inner Strength, the slightest mistake could result in the cultivator being disabled.
This meant that one needed to be extremely careful and not rush, so the improvement speed would be slow. However, Zhao Feng's left eye increased his mental energy, reaction speed, analytical ability, and enlightenment, which meant that it was hard to go wrong.
Star Finger's danger was minimized. Using two days’ time, Zhao Feng's Star Finger barely managed to reach the first grade. The first grade of the Star Finger condensed the inner strength into one line, and it had strong penetrating power. After reaching the first grade without even using Inner Strength, Zhao Feng could blast through stone with just a casual finger.
King of Gods - (A Chinese Novel Translation): Book 1 Page 24
