CHAPTER 1122: CHAPTER 170: SKYWALKING NINE FINGERS (PART 2)

"Is this... the Skywalking Nine Fingers...?"

Looking at the words on the book cover, Xiang Zhenyuan’s face showed confusion.

The martial arts of the Xiang family was clearly called the "Skywalker Finger," but the book given to him had its name changed to the "Skywalking Nine Fingers."

"Don’t be surprised, this is the true legacy of the Skywalker Sect — ’Skywalking Nine Fingers.’"

The short man spoke.

"The one you gave us earlier was incomplete. After we returned, through comparison, we found the real Divine Skill of the Skywalker Sect, which is this secret book in your hand."

Upon hearing this, Xiang Zhenyuan remained skeptical in expression.

The cultivation technique passed down through his family had eventually become an incomplete version, while the original was in the hands of outsiders.

Yet, recalling everything that had happened before, he felt a sense of relief.

Exactly, if this one in his family were genuine, why hadn’t he managed to cultivate even the slightest bit of Inner Strength over all these years?

During this long period, the martial arts of the Xiang family must have undergone some unknown changes, resulting in damage and ultimately flowing outwards, eventually being obtained by the sect to which the person standing before him belonged.

Anyway, no matter how you look at it, he originally had nothing.

Even if this secret book was fake, he wouldn’t lose anything.

The two young people from the Star Alliance just watched the opposite side without urging.

They knew that all of this was indeed a bit hard to accept and that time to digest it was normal.

After all, they knew the origin of this book.

It wasn’t any true version of the Xiang family’s martial arts, but a completely different secret book they found in the organization’s library.

In fact, the original name of that secret book wasn’t "Skywalking Nine Fingers," but "Falling Flower Brushing Acupoint Hand," from one of the countless worlds controlled by the Star Alliance.

According to the seniors in the organization, that place was a world similar to ancient Huaxia, with all sorts of dazzling martial arts.

A phenomenon like Spiritual Energy Recovery had recently occurred there, with seniors stationed to suppress demon beasts.

What the two of them had to do was very simple.

They just needed to first understand what kind of martial arts the "Skywalker Finger" of the Skywalker Sect was.

Then, through the library collected within the organization, find a secret book most similar to it and give it a makeover.

Finally, to showcase the effectiveness of their revision, they slightly changed the name of the original Xiang family martial arts, resulting in the current "Skywalking Nine Fingers."

Of course, all of this had actually been completed long before the two found Xiang Zhenyuan.

Strictly speaking, Mr. Xiang was marked as a potential member of the organization long ago, and surveillance of him had been self-initiated long before that.

As everyone knew, the Star Alliance’s assessment process for recruiting new members had always been very strict.

Beyond having the corresponding skills and talents, the most crucial point was that their character must meet the requirements.

Otherwise, who would dare entrust such important Extraordinary Power to someone with questionable morals, as this would be irresponsible to everyone else?

Xiang Zhenyuan led a life filled with principle, cultivating himself calmly, avoiding conflict, and even saved several people through acts of bravery in his youth.

These were all facts checked by the Canglan Department’s executives, leaving basically no room for error.

After passing a hidden test, Xiang Zhenyuan was unknowingly selected as a key figure in the martial arts plan.

Compared to the somewhat vague and difficult-to-control cultivation plan, this transitional martial arts plan served as an excellent buffer.

Research showed that people who practiced Internal Strength could progress faster and more easily overcome the final hurdle of the Body Refining Realm when entering the Cultivation Introduction.

Thus, the Star Alliance brought out the martial arts secret books acquired on the Divine Ancient Continent.

They initially released these martial arts systematically, gradually allowing them to influence more people, improving the overall physical fitness of humanity.

The cultivation techniques mainly focused on health and physical training, with no Demon Secret Manuals or Secret of Killing, thus posing no risk of qi deviation.

In this way, once the overall physical fitness of the population improved, selecting suitable cultivation candidates would be more manageable.

The advantage of this method was that, compared to ordinary Fighting Skill, these martial arts secret books far outshined them by several leagues.

However, they were inferior to cultivation techniques.

Cultivators flying all over the world might be harder to manage.

But martial artists only possessing great physical skills and martial arts were much easier to Control.

Not to mention the ever-growing Abnormality Department.

Even ordinary police officers, equipped with a small handgun, could pose a massive threat to them.

So, by using this gradual approach, enhancing the physical fitness of the populace more effectively, it prepares them for the forthcoming Great Fusion.

In the end, Xiang Zhenyuan happily accepted the "Skywalking Nine Fingers."

Although by casually flipping through a few pages, he found its content vastly different from the martial arts he had practiced before.

But he ultimately believed the opposite party.

After all, with such capability, they wouldn’t deceive him in this matter.

Moreover, this secret book seemed to also practice finger techniques, just like the original one in his family.

The complete version should naturally differ from the incomplete one.

With this thought in mind, Mr. Xiang resolved to diligently cultivate this "Skywalking Nine Fingers" from today onward.

Finally, as the two mysterious men were about to turn and leave, curiosity got the better of Xiang Zhenyuan, and he asked the question that had been troubling him.

"Why are you helping me? The Xiang family owes your sect a great debt and feels apprehensive. Is there anything I need to do...?"

The two men didn’t pause their steps, disappearing in the blink of an eye, leaving only a sentence behind.

"In one month, we will need you to do something, and we will come back for you then!"

Their voice, seemingly enhanced by some Inner Strength, echoed in the empty courtyard for a while before stopping.

Xiang Zhenyuan quietly put away the "Skywalking Nine Fingers," as the previously cloudy and old eyes had vanished, replaced by sharpness and determination.

The next steps were quite simple.

Mr. Xiang didn’t leave the house all month, dedicating himself entirely to furiously cultivating the Skywalking Nine Fingers, that even his son and daughter-in-law couldn’t stand it.

They tried to persuade the old man not to overexert himself out of fear of him getting hurt, but Xiang Zhenyuan turned a deaf ear.

The elder hadn’t immediately disclosed the secret to his family.

While he appeared much younger, his close relatives didn’t immediately notice anything unusual.

Instead, it was his grandson returning from boarding at school who picked up on some changes but didn’t inquire further.

After all, life isn’t full of endless probing.

Minor bodily changes seldom get scrutinized unless they develop negatively.

Mr. Xiang had hesitations about speaking up because he wasn’t sure what those two would ask him to do in a month.

So before that, it was better to keep his family in the dark as much as possible.

Thus, after a month of painstaking cultivation, Xiang Zhenyuan finally gained an initial mastery over the Skywalking Nine Fingers.

He could now fully perform the initial "Shaoyang Finger" and "Jueyin Finger."

Through medicinal baths, Inner Strength began to develop within him, bringing Xiang Zhenyuan to a sudden realization.

So Inner Strength was acquired in this manner; no wonder he had never achieved it before despite his efforts.

What he didn’t know, however, was that simply relying on medicinal baths to stimulate Inner Strength would generally require seven or eight years of soaking.

The reason it happened so quickly, besides his natural talent, was thanks to those two bottles of Sun Essence.

With the improvement brought by the Sun Essence, he had raised his physical condition to near human limits, allowing him to absorb the components in the medicinal bath more efficiently and thereby generate Inner Strength.