CHAPTER 664: CHAPTER 412: PRIVATE MEETING!_2

Wang Zhengyi laughed heartily, his mind clear.

...

"Master!"

As night descended, in the middle of the night, Yan Chuan, Chen Ze, and Cheng Fengxiao met secretly and finally recognized each other.

"Good!"

"Great!"

Cheng Fengxiao patted Yan Chuan, then patted Chen Ze: "Having two disciples at the Innate Realm in my life, it’s been worth it!"

"It’s all because of Master’s good teaching."

Yan Chuan and Chen Ze both laughed.

Cheng Fengxiao also laughed: "Nonsense!" He pointed his finger at Yan Chuan and Chen Ze, "The fact that the two of you could become Innate is your own creation. I didn’t help much."

Cheng Fengxiao claimed no credit.

Yan Chuan didn’t mind.

Chen Ze didn’t either.

The two were nominally his disciples, but more akin to a father-son relationship. Take Yan Chuan, for instance; since he created the ’Tiger Crane Double Forms’ in the middle of last year, it was basically his own hard work.

As for Chen Ze, there’s no need to mention it!

He was early on inserted by Yan Chuan as a spy in Guangling Academy, with no teaching involved for a long time.

That they could prove the Dao, Cheng Fengxiao wouldn’t dare claim any credit.

Feeling truly ashamed.

"My foundation and my junior brother’s were laid by Master. A towering building starts from the ground; without that initial foundation, how could we achieve our current success?"

Yan Chuan didn’t debate this with Master much. Truth be told, Cheng Fengxiao’s words were truthful; to overly praise him would be hypocrisy and seem sarcastic.

So Yan Chuan decisively changed the topic: "I read your letter left with Wei Quan, Master. The letter mentioned you were going to participate in the military recruitment assessment of Hunxi Royal City. How did you end up as an elite disciple of the Jiujiang Institute of the Lishan Sect?"

"It’s a long story, so I’ll keep it short."

With little time for a private meeting, Cheng Fengxiao concisely summarised: "When I participated in the military recruitment assessment of Hunxi Royal City, I accidentally obtained a ’Thunder Fire Stick’. Unexpectedly, this stick belonged to Zhou Shun’s elder brother, one of the Ten Elders of the Jiujiang Institute of the Lishan Sect, who went missing years ago. Through this ’Thunder Fire Stick’, Zhou Shun learned of his brother’s death. Seeing that I buried his brother and erected a monument, he used his authority to let me into the Jiujiang Institute as an elite disciple."

Chance!

Repayment!

It’s just that simple!

The surprise weapon Cheng Fengxiao randomly found had such a grand origin, this is fate.

That he buried the original owner after picking up the surprise weapon shows benevolence.

Fate combined with benevolence!

Therefore, Cheng Fengxiao entered the Lishan Sect, which most people could never get into, and became an elite disciple of the Jiujiang Institute, with the backing of a significant figure like Zhou Shun.

Good deeds bring good rewards!

Fate undefeatable!

"Master’s good deeds bring good results; if it were someone else, they might not have buried a bunch of bones."

If it were someone else, even if Zhou Shun discovered them, bringing people back afterwards to see, Zhou Shun would instantly notice if they took the treasure left by his dead brother and didn’t bother to bury the remains. In such a scenario, it would have been good enough if he easily retrieved the ’Thunder Fire Stick’; in anger, killing the person wouldn’t have been impossible.

Cheng Fengxiao, once called Old Stubborn, was steadfast in holding to the Old School and guarding the Martial Arts Hall, but as one of the former ’Guangling Ten Tigers’, his righteousness and morals were intact, which was no exaggeration.

"The Lishan Sect, being one of the Three Sects, has a sect leader termed as an ancestor, and is one of the seven main figures in Hunxi Royal City. Within, it’s divided into nine courtyards, each holding a True Skill. With Master joining the Jiujiang Institute, you stand a chance to attain the ’Jiujiang Sea Tidal Skill’ held there!"

True Skill!

Directing one toward Wargod status!

In Hunxi Royal City—

Four Families and Three Sects.

Only these seven powers have True Skills.

Others, even if known as the eighth major force of Hunxi, ’Beast King City’, don’t possess any True Skills.

It truly is a great blessing that Cheng Fengxiao could join the Jiujiang Institute!

"What’s worth hoping for!"

Cheng Fengxiao shook his head, "After I entered the Jiujiang Institute, under Zhou Shun’s care, I chose a Heavenly Secret Book ’Four Seas Unification Skill’ from the Hidden Scripture Pavilion. It implies ’all rivers flow into the sea.’ It requires cultivating inner strength of the same source from low to high, weak to strong; mastering one lineage for ’one sea’, ultimately achieving ’Four Seas’ with 16 different inner strengths; when ’Four Seas’ unite, it’s Innate Peak with War God potential!"

"Four Seas Unification Skill!"

This is a renowned Heavenly Secret Book within the Jiujiang Institute and the entire Lishan Sect. Its advantage is that as long as one follows the step-by-step path to master one sea lineage, there’s a significant chance to achieve Innate status. The downside is, after proving Dao to Innate, starting on the second system becomes exponentially more difficult.

"Through the years, many in the Lishan Sect have cultivated ’Four Seas Unification Skill’; the ratio of achieving Innate status is considered the highest among Heavenly levels. However, progress after proving Dao to Innate is the slowest, with a significantly exaggerated proportion staying at Innate First Rank."

"Additionally, there’s another drawback: Although the ratio for ’Four Seas Unification Skill’ to prove Dao to Innate is high, early stage cultivation is slow, requiring many resources. Many start cultivation at thirty or forty, painstakingly practice for forty years, only proving Dao to Late Life Innate at seventy or eighty when elderly and frail!"

Cheng Fengxiao, in his forties, said, "I don’t seek to speedily achieve Innate; just accomplishing it is enough."

He’s aware of his ordinary talent and root bone, so he’s not aiming too high. No matter how old he gets, no matter the potential after becoming Innate, his priority is to steadily reach Innate first.

False Cheng Fengxiao: Brave and diligent!

Real Cheng Fengxiao: Steady and methodical!

...

"’Four Seas Unification Skill.’

"An unbroken lineage."

Yan Chuan, after listening, felt this skill was somewhat similar to the ’Dragon Elephant Wisdom’—both having low entry barriers, both being gradual in progress, both requiring a long-term, life-consuming commitment to cultivate.

But undeniably, for those middle-aged martial artists in their thirties and forties who eventually realize their mediocre aptitudes, such a cultivation technique is absolutely perfect and the top choice.

"’Four Seas Unification Skill’ enjoys a huge reputation, with over 20% of all Innates in the Lishan Sect having attained through cultivating this skill. Although it’s difficult to progress afterward, and many remain at Innate First Rank, it greatly enhances the Lishan Sect’s core strength."

From ’Four Seas Unification Skill,’ generations of heavenly prides in the Lishan Sect have created volumes of compatible inner strength techniques based on it, ranging from low to high for anyone to choose from.

The Lishan Sect’s way to manage ’Four Seas Unification Skill’—

First is layer by layer teaching.

Second is managing corresponding inner strengths.

"Being under Zhou Shun’s care, I received the first five levels of ’Four Seas Unification Skill’, allowing me to cultivate four inner strengths and merge them into one sea to prove Dao to Innate. He also allowed me to choose any four inner strengths from the Hidden Scripture Pavilion to help me create the first sea."

Cheng Fengxiao was very grateful to Zhou Shun.

Though nearing fifty with limited potential, choosing ’Four Seas Unification Skill’ without high ambition, Zhou Shun didn’t look down or abandon him. Instead, he gave ’Four Seas Unification Skill’ and four inner strengths to Cheng Fengxiao. With such conditions, Cheng Fengxiao is essentially in Innate Reserve, with great hopes of proving Dao to Innate; the only question is whether he’ll achieve it at seventy or eighty.

"In the past half-year, I’ve been selecting the first set of four inner strengths needed for ’Four Seas Unification Skill’. Like sharpening a knife before chopping wood, finding the most suitable lineage isn’t easy and requires more time."

Cheng Fengxiao shook his head: "Actually, the most suitable for me is ’Mixed Element Skill’."

From ’Cheng Family Boxing’ to ’Xingyi Boxing’, his boxing lineage is profound. Transitioning to ’Mixed Element Skill’ perfectly accords, and the progress is steady.

In terms of compatibility, Cheng Fengxiao, whose roots lie in boxing, finds the ’Mixed Element Skill’ almost a tailored fit.

But unfortunately—

"’Mixed Element Skill’ is too isolated. I still need three more advanced, unbroken lineage inner strengths."

"These months, the initial inner strengths I’ve tried in the Lishan Sect are all referenced against ’Mixed Element Skill’, but none meet my expectations."

Cheng Fengxiao’s attempt to align other inner strengths against ’Mixed Element Skill’ clearly posed challenges.

But little did he know—

"Mixed Element Skill."

"Purple Mist Divine Skill."

"Innate Skill."

"Nine Yang Divine Skill."

"I’ve already created four linked inner strengths, ’Mixed Element Skill’ is Xin Yi, ’Purple Mist Divine Skill’ is Xin Five, ’Innate Skill’ is Geng Two, ’Nine Yang Divine Skill’ is Geng Five."

"Four Seas Unite!"

"Perfectly fitting!"

Yan Chuan broke into a smile.

...