CHAPTER 392: CHAPTER 37: TENFOLD BURST SKILL

Old Kuru hunched down, his arms brimming with strength.

"Remember, every object and person in the Canglong Continent bears Dark Energy. Locate the vital point and train a pair of eagle eyes to observe the trajectory of Dark Energy flow," Old Kuru said as his heels left the ground, and his body shot out like a cannonball.

Unlike the last time, this time Old Kuru intended to demonstrate purposefully, and Yue Jinghua stood just a short distance away, clearly observing every move he made.

Old Kuru seemed to have only thrown one punch, but in fact, he had unleashed seven punches in rapid succession just moments ago.

In an instant, the leading punch turned into a shadow, and the shadow into energy, unleashing a torrent of Dark Energy resembling a full moon.

In the Qu Wood Forest, the bodies of the Qu Wood seemed to become transparent in an instant. Vaguely, Yue Jinghua seemed to see countless streams of fine Dark Energy flowing over the Qu Wood, much like the meridians on the human body.

Immediately after, a sound like snapping bamboo rang out, and a row of over a dozen Qu Wood broke in response.

Old Kuru’s garments remained still, but he had already positioned himself ten yards away.

"Lass, I learned boxing in my early years, followed by leg techniques, with my specialty being the Flame Explosion Seven Fights Fist, and thus I gather all my Dark Energy into my hands and feet. When channeling energy, I compress all the Dark Energy into my fists, making what you saw just now as Dark Energy Boxing. Under the effect of Dark Energy Boxing, my punching and kicking strength is equivalent to ten times the power of a non-energy state." Ten times the power of a Dark Heavenly Master is nearly what only a Dan Realm Expert could achieve. This is why Old Kuru can still effortlessly triumph over creatures like the bulletproof Centipede Worm.

At first glance, Old Kuru’s Dark Transformation Technique appears similar to the Burst Skills of Dark Practitioners. However, upon closer inspection, they’re different. A Dark Practitioner’s Burst Skill, once triggered, depletes all the practitioner’s Dark Power and leaves them unable to face further adversaries. But Old Kuru’s Dark Transformation Technique is different; it only consumes the normal amount of Dark Power.

After reaching Dark Heavenly status, most Dark Practitioners are no longer content with cultivating Dark Skills available on the market. A majority of them will attempt to create their unique Dark Skills through meditation, yet only a very few can achieve results through such introspection.

And among that small fraction, an even smaller group can break through the bottleneck of the Dan Realm with their unique Dark Skills.

Even if they can’t break through the Dan Realm, that small group of strong individuals who possess their unique Dark Skills are generally unwilling to disclose them. Yet Old Kuru has, without any demands, passed on his Dark Transformation Technique to Yue Jinghua. Realizing this, Yue Jinghua couldn’t help but feel grateful, and the previously flippant demeanor vanished entirely.

She knelt before Old Kuru respectfully and kowtowed three times.

In this life and her past life, Yue Jinghua had only one master, and that was Old Kuru, the recluse living in the Mazaro Mountain.

Old Kuru felt a surge of emotion and unnaturally grunted, "Don’t get too excited too soon. My Dark Energy Boxing may not be suitable for you. Get up first; let me check your cultivation."

Old Kuru placed his hand over Yue Jinghua’s and after a brief probe, he couldn’t help but let out a surprised chirp. What was this? He couldn’t feel a trace of Dark Power within Yue Jinghua’s body.

Could it be that the person before him was a talent-less waste who knew nothing of Dark Power?

For a moment, Old Kuru felt a plummeting sensation from heaven to hell.

But then he remembered the exceedingly splendid sword strike by Yue Jinghua just now, "Hmph, at such a young age, instead of learning something useful, you only know how to play the fool. Have you learned some kind of Dark Skill to conceal your cultivation? Such trickery might fool the ignorant but will not fare well against a real expert who could easily disable you."

"Hehe, with Master around, who would dare give me trouble," Yue Jinghua desperately sang high praise for Old Kuru.

"Be serious. Let me be clear, I can bring you into the fold, but cultivation depends on the individual. You can only stay on the mountain for five days, and after five days, I want you and Granny Madan to leave Mazaro Mountain," Old Kuru’s words left Yue Jinghua somewhat confused. Suddenly, the couple was planning to move.

"To tell you the truth, I retired without authorization in my early years and have still been listed as the head of the Imperial Intelligence Department. Over the years, with the help of some old military buddies, I’ve managed not to reveal my whereabouts. Recently, with the instability at the empire’s borders, my whereabouts have finally been discovered by imperial spies. We’ve grown accustomed to the leisurely life and Granny Madan does not wish to return to Wo Hua Imperial City, so we are planning to relocate to a neighboring duchy." This was the real reason why Old Kuru was leaving Mazaro Mountain. He had already found a hidden place within the territory of the duchy and was preparing to move there after dealing with the matters of the ranch.

Five days to master Old Kuru’s Dark Transformation Technique, a skill that took him his entire life to comprehend?

Even someone as arrogant as Yue Jinghua felt an impossible urge to exclaim.

"Remember this, as a Dark Practitioner, create your place in the world with Dark Energy. Dark Transformation Technique wasn’t created by me alone. On the Canglong Continent, the strong are as numerous as the clouds. In Wo Hua Imperial City alone, there are nearly a thousand Dark Heavenly Masters, not to mention the Heavenly General Long Family, which has stood tall on the continent for hundreds of years, and many other experts hidden in the shadows. Some transform Dark Energy into lethal weapons, others into wings for flying; the world is so vast, and there are countless wonders. Your mastery of Dark Energy is insufficient, but for now, just learn to control the Dark Energy," Old Kuru didn’t expect Yue Jinghua to comprehend it immediately.

Old Kuru’s Dark Transformation Technique, in plain terms, is about compressing Dark Energy into a certain part of the body, and once the energy amasses to a certain extent, it would be unleashed in an explosive burst.

The function of such a technique minimizes the wastage of Dark Energy during its usage, allowing for more efficient use of Dark Energy. However, during her study of the Dark Transformation Technique, Yue Jinghua indeed encountered a bottleneck.

She was not skilled in boxing, and compared to those Dark Practitioners on the continent who specifically cultivated external techniques, her fists, no matter how hard, could not withstand a hit from a Mid-High-level Dark Beast.

In the following days, Old Kuru did not force Yue Jinghua but simply let her sit listlessly in the Qu Wood Forest, staring blankly at the dense Qu Wood trees around her.

Time passed bit by bit, and before she knew it, the fourth day had arrived, and tomorrow Old Kuru would take Granny Madan and leave Mazaro Mountain, where they had lived for decades.

Yue Jinghua’s Dark Transformation Technique still made no headway.

From day to night, Yue Jinghua sat cross-legged in the Qu Wood Forest, listening to the rustling sounds of the trees and leaves as the night wind swept through the forest.

Gazing through the gaps in the leaves, she saw the densely packed stars in the sky and the mountain ridges that resembled serpents in the night.

She recalled every action, every swordsmanship move, every breath, and even the subtle expressions of Old Kuru when he demonstrated the Dark Energy Boxing technique.

It was as if Old Kuru was by her side, his words still echoing in her ears, "Be stronger against the strong; the so-called Dark Transformation Technique is about using Dark Energy to amplify your own inherent strengths manyfold."

Advantage? What was her advantage?

As if a spark suddenly ignited on a dried grassland in autumn, Yue Jinghua finally understood the Dark Transformation Technique that had eluded her.

"Nine Revolutions Creation Technique, Converging Cloud Sword Technique, my advantage is the sword. Old Kuru practiced Dark Energy Boxing, so I shall practice Dark Energy Sword," Yue Jinghua leaped to her feet, unable to help herself from shouting excitedly.