Chapter 347 - 263: Qualitative Change: Eight Vajra Techniques, Grandmaster Level

Chapter 347: Chapter 263: Qualitative Change: Eight Vajra Techniques, Grandmaster Level

There shouldn’t be any more trouble from the Bai Family.

Even with two Extraordinaries watching them, Shi Lei was still uneasy and decided to personally stand guard.

The Giant Rock Martial Arts Hall and the Huang Family had a long-standing feud. Now that they had killed a Fifth Grade expert from the Huang Family, there was no turning back for either side.

As a high-ranking member of the Giant Rock Martial Arts Hall, Shi Lei was determined to prevent Bai Ningbing and the others from escaping and conspiring with the Huang Family again.

Once Bai You Ruo returned to take these people away, the matter would be settled for good.

Tang Wen’s thoughts, however, turned to Flame Camp.

Compared to the Black Water Gang, Flame Camp was his true foundation.

His sister, Zhou Bing, the Queen...

’My original plan was to move the camp to Ganshan City.’

’With the help of the White Tiger Race, I could gradually replace one of the local powers and take control of the region.’

’But based on the latest news, Ganshan City isn’t a good place to be.’

’There’s a Demon Cave underground.’

’Internal struggles plague the city.’

’Hu Lan once said that the three major families are unable to leave Ganshan City.’

’Why can’t they leave?’

’There’s probably a huge secret behind it all.’

’Furthermore, the White Tiger Tribe has been in the Ten Thousand Mountains for years. Why did they suddenly display their power and forcibly claim ten percent of Ganshan City’s profits?’

’Are they short on resources?’

’And I can’t forget about the Bai Family as a power.’

’Will the Bai Family send people to Ganshan City?’

’If they do come, what will their attitude be? And if they don’t, what does that signify?’

Thinking about all this, Tang Wen felt it was better for Flame Camp to continue developing in its original territory.

Now that he was in Ganshan City, he was one of the people getting a piece of the pie.

There would be plenty of opportunities to send resources to his camp.

He wouldn’t be short on resources for cultivation beyond the Extraordinary realm, either.

However, he hadn’t started sending anything back yet.

After all, he had only been in Ganshan City for a short while and had held power for even less time. If he started eagerly siphoning off benefits the moment he took charge...

...what would everyone in the Black Water Gang think of him?

Besides, Flame Camp hadn’t even given him an official title...

After sorting through his thoughts one by one,

Tang Wen focused his mind on the cultivation of his Eight Vajra Techniques.

He’d long had a feeling that once he broke through to the Grandmaster Level,

the Eight Vajra Techniques would grant him some unexpected benefits.

It was a pure Daoist School cultivation technique, far from ordinary. The threshold between Expert Level and Grandmaster Level was not so easy to cross.

Because other matters had delayed him, he had never been able to devote his full effort to tempering this cultivation technique.

Starting today, he would have a period of time free from distractions—the perfect opportunity for a breakthrough.

A day passed.

He readapted to ten times gravity.

On the second day, he increased the difficulty as usual, adding more weight.

On the third day, he brought in a hemispherical iron ball. With the curved side on the floor, he stood on the flat circular plane. The ball wobbled, but after practicing for a bit, he used his powerful core strength to adapt completely.

The Experience Panel showed no reaction.

The fourth day was the same.

Five, then six days passed.

Instead of growing frustrated, his mind became calm.

He stopped cooping himself up in the secret room to pursue greater difficulty.

He didn’t even go back into the secret room.

Instead, he retreated to his home’s back garden, practicing the Eight Vajra Techniques alone in a relaxed and natural manner.

A week flew by in a flash.

Tang Wen stopped counting the days.

Time blurred as he lost himself in the cultivation technique, and a day and a night passed.

He experienced it all—from the cold dawn to the warm midday sun, and then to the biting north wind in the dead of night.

At dawn, the red sun began to rise, piercing through the dense fog.

Tang Wen paused his movements and looked to the east.

When the sun had fully emerged, its light shone in all directions.

On a sudden impulse, he looked at his Experience Panel.

At some unknown moment, his Eight Vajra Techniques had already achieved a breakthrough.

BOOM!

It was as if a great bell had tolled in his ears, but on closer listen, it sounded like the chanting of sutras.

[Eight Vajra Techniques, Expert → Grandmaster (1/30,000); Ability: Innate Body]

[Innate Body: Peak comprehension, supreme recovery, extended lifespan]

[Body +10.0]

[Essence +5.0]

Tang Wen was both shocked and overjoyed. The Innate Realm was a term from the Daoist School. While its specific meaning varied between interpretations, all agreed it marked the beginning of transcending the mundane.

And the Experience Panel’s explanation was even more direct.

Compared to that, even the terrifying attribute boosts seemed secondary.

’Peak comprehension... what does that even mean?’

’Am I now comparable to Saintess Hu Lan?’

’And the recovery ability and extended lifespan!’

’These are blessings one could only hope to stumble upon, not actively seek out!’

Forgetting all about eating, he rushed like the wind to the Black Water Sect Headquarters and into his exclusive underground secret chamber.

There were two more cultivation techniques here that he hadn’t yet practiced.

He took out the scroll he had hidden previously.

This scroll had been given to him by the Supreme Elder of the Black Water Gang.

It recorded two spiritual attack techniques.

One was called Deterrence, and the other, Divine Strike.

He hadn’t practiced them before because the residual martial intent imbued in the scroll was already growing weak.

Fearing he would waste the opportunity, he had wanted to wait until his Spiritual Power reached a higher level before attempting to learn them.

Now, the opportunity had arrived. Not only had his Spiritual Power increased significantly, but his comprehension was also at its peak.

Tang Wen closed his eyes and began to meditate. Thirty-seven ancient hieroglyphic characters lit up, followed by a thirty-eighth, and then a thirty-ninth.

The fortieth ancient character failed to light up.

[Essence: 45.91]

’It seems that with a Spiritual Power of nearly 46, the limit for the number of corresponding ancient hieroglyphic characters is thirty-nine,’ he thought.

[Body: 40.65]

He had been too excited earlier to take a closer look.

Only now, as Tang Wen checked his Panel, did he discover that the Basic Techniques he had previously practiced had almost all vanished.

To be precise, they had been devoured.

Devoured by the Eight Vajra Techniques.

The Longevity Formulas, the Eighteen Methods of Qi Cultivation, the Hanging Toad Force, the One Yang Technique... a whole series of cultivation techniques had vanished completely.

Not only that, but his Earth Fire Mixed Element Stance was gone as well.

The Basic Techniques section was completely empty.

Fortunately, Elder Liu’s Six-Form Health Cultivation Technique was still there.

The Thirty-Six Bed Forms were still there.

Tang Wen breathed a sigh of relief.

The Six-Form Health Cultivation Technique enhanced his Constitution, and more importantly, his performance in bed.

As for the Thirty-Six Forms, once he reached the Grandmaster Level with them, they would surely undergo a remarkable transformation.

’In the future, when I’m living off Hu Lan and Lan’Er, I’ll be even more proficient!’

These were his fundamental life skills; if they had disappeared, it would have been a massive loss.

He didn’t feel bad about the other Basic Techniques disappearing. Focusing on just these few would be enough. Practicing them to a profound level would be much more effective.

The breakthrough of his Eight Vajra Techniques to the Grandmaster Level, and the Innate Body it bestowed, made Tang Wen understand one principle.

It’s better to be a master of one trade than a jack of all.

It was good to be rid of all the other miscellaneous techniques; now he could free up time to practice his Vajra Technique.

After composing himself,

Tang Wen sat down cross-legged and slowly unfurled the scroll.

The first image entered his view: a massive, illusory figure of raging fire appearing behind a Martial Artist, its overwhelming pressure striking like a physical force!

Tang Wen closed his eyes and performed the Visualization once.

Three seconds later, he opened his eyes.

[Mental Shock, Beginner (1/500)]

"Is this what peak comprehension feels like?"

Tang Wen muttered to himself, feeling like a struggling student who had finally grasped advanced calculus.

It was the same exhilarating release as having one’s Ren and Du Meridians unblocked.

But it had all come so casually, so unpretentiously!

He took a deep breath and practiced Mental Shock a few more times, immediately gaining several new insights.

He checked the Experience Panel again and saw it rising rapidly.

[Mental Shock, Beginner (311→461/500)]

Clearly, this too was a benefit of his enhanced comprehension.

He suddenly recalled the giant White Tiger true form that Hu Qi had displayed a few days ago.

The Mental Shock technique also used Spiritual Power to construct an illusion and generate Mental Suppression.

’So, if I switch to visualizing the White Tiger’s true form, which has its own inherent pressure, would that also work?’

At this thought, he changed his Visualization Image. An oppressive aura and killing intent surged forth together!

The Experience Panel flashed repeatedly.

He opened it to look and was stunned again—[Mental Shock, Master (1/1,000)]

After recovering from the shock, he practiced a few more times. Unlike his previous methodical tempering,

Tang Wen discovered many details that could be improved, and he refined them as he went.

The Experience Panel provided feedback once more.

He didn’t bother to look, instead continuing to refine the details. Half an hour later...

[Mental Shock, Mastery (297/3,000)]

At some point, the Skill had reached the Master Level.

Tang Wen felt almost intoxicated. He leaned against the wall in a daze, his spirits soaring.

’With comprehension like this, I can probably match the White Tiger Saintess.’

In reality, with his current strength, ordinary Martial Arts techniques and Skills were practically useless unless they were at the Master Level or higher.

They had to be above the Mastery level to have any real stopping power against experts.

The boost to his comprehension saved him a massive amount of time he would have otherwise spent grinding experience points.

He could now push his Skills to the Master Level rapidly.

For the next few days, he once again entered a state of seclusion, raising all of his Skills to the Mastery level or higher.

Time flew by in a flash.

The time he had arranged with his camp had arrived.

Tang Wen emerged from his seclusion and looked to the north. It was time to put the destruction of Black Mountain Camp on the agenda.

The north was already a harsh, cold land, yet another faction had to be there, dividing up the resources.

Black Mountain Camp really deserved to be destroyed!