Chapter 301 - 298: Incoming Message
The number of Tier One Techniques within the Sect was practically an ocean.
Mastering all of them in a short time was fundamentally impossible.
For the past three months, he had been endlessly and repetitively cultivating, bringing one Tier One Technique after another to Perfection. There was little passion in it. Like an assembly-line worker tightening screws day and night, his Heart Spirit had grown weary.
’I wonder how much experience the Perfection Traits will give after I master a Tier Two Magic to Perfection...’
’The boost might be far greater than what I get from grinding Tier One Techniques.’
’I should try it first.’
’If the results are good, I’ll focus on mastering a few more Tier Two Magic first.’
’Once I’ve accumulated enough Cultivation Experience, maybe in the future, I’ll be able to master a Tier One Technique to Perfection just by looking at it a few times...’
With a plan in mind, Shen Changchuan was quick to act.
After some careful selection, Shen Changchuan ultimately chose three Tier Two Magic.
Cyan Willow Broken Soul Sword, Thunder Shadow Swift Movement, and Thick Earth Like Mountain Defense.
They represented offense, Body Technique, and defense, respectively, and would increase Shen Changchuan’s combat strength.
After some thought, Shen Changchuan decided to cultivate Thunder Shadow Swift Movement first.
In terms of offense, having one more or one less Cyan Willow Broken Soul Sword wouldn’t make much of a difference.
Besides, he had his Innate Divine Techniques, so he wasn’t lacking a trump card for when his life was on the line.
As for defense, he had the Treasure Bronze Bell. The defensive power of the Treasure Artifact was far stronger than that of a simple magical defense.
For now, defensive measures were not his most urgent need.
On the contrary, it was his Body Technique that was Shen Changchuan’s "weak spot."
He had reaped the benefits of a Body Technique during his previous fight with Wu Zhen’s young disciple.
Besides, if he encountered an enemy he couldn’t defeat, a well-practiced Body Technique would at least allow him to escape with his life.
Given all this, what reason did Shen Changchuan have not to cultivate Thunder Shadow Swift Movement first?
And so, before long, Shen Changchuan dove headfirst into cultivating the Tier Two Body Technique, Thunder Shadow Swift Movement.
’It’s a shame. I’ve accumulated the most experience with the Wood Element and Sword System. While I have some experience with the Thunder Element and Body Technique, it’s nowhere near as much. Otherwise, this would be a lot easier.’
「Three days later.」
He successfully cultivated Thunder Shadow Swift Movement, but gazing at the progress bar, which showed only 7% completion for the Tier Two Magic, Shen Changchuan couldn’t help but sigh.
Only after truly beginning to cultivate the Tier Two Magic did Shen Changchuan realize just how difficult it was!
Unlike Tier One Techniques, which were a pure conversion of Magical Power into elemental attacks, Tier Two Magic already involved the use of Divine Sense and a fundamental change in the nature of the power itself!
It was just like the "nature transformation" mentioned in Naruto, one of the "Big Three" shonen manga he had watched in his previous life.
Tier Two Magic involved a similar transformation of Magical Power’s nature!
It was precisely this elevation in the nature of its power that gave Tier Two Magic its immense lethality, something that even fellow Cultivators in the Soul Emergence Realm could not easily ignore.
But, cultivating Tier Two Magic was just too difficult!
Even with the accumulated experience from his progress bar, it still took Shen Changchuan a great deal of effort just to reach the Entry Level of cultivation.
The Perfection Traits from his many mastered Tier One Techniques had only managed to raise the progress bar to a mere 7%.
’No wonder the battles of Soul Emergence Realm Cultivators lean more towards the combat of Mystical Martial Artists, rather than turn-based battles where opponents stand still and blast each other with magic.’
’Soul Emergence Realm Cultivators are incredibly fast. Magic that hasn’t reached Perfection is practically useless in a fight.’
’And since reaching even the Entry Level for a Tier Two Magic is so difficult, the difficulty of mastering it to Perfection for Instantaneous casting is astronomical.’
’In the end, fist-and-foot combat still offers a higher cost-performance ratio. They only resort to using Tier Two Magic to attack after a certain amount of their Magical Power and energy has been depleted...’
At this moment, comparing this new understanding with what he knew before, a flash of realization crossed Shen Changchuan’s mind.
When experts clash, victory and defeat hang by a thread.
During a battle, with the speed of a Soul Emergence Realm Cultivator, an enemy’s attack would likely land before one could even finish casting Magic.
Casually casting a Tier Two Magic in the middle of a fight was practically creating an opening for the opponent.
It was no wonder, then, that combat in the Soul Emergence Realm was basically punch-for-punch, with the style gradually skewing toward the fighting methods of the Martial Dao of Mysticism.
Perhaps in places where Immortal Cultivation was more prosperous, the style of combat might be different.
After all, in a place where Immortal Cultivation flourished, there would be no shortage of things like Treasure Artifacts.
Maybe in those places, battles between Soul Emergence Realm Cultivators were primarily duels of blasting each other with powerful Treasure Artifacts.
But for now, the area around the Dragon Cloud Sect was a barren region of the Immortal Cultivation Realm, so it was only natural that one couldn’t witness such a scene of dueling Treasure Artifacts.
Shen Changchuan’s thoughts wandered, but he didn’t stop his arduous cultivation of the Tier Two Magic, Thunder Shadow Swift Movement.
Through repeated, grueling practice, the progress on Thunder Shadow Swift Movement’s progress bar inched upwards bit by bit.
However, as a Tier Two Magic, Thunder Shadow Swift Movement consumed a considerable amount of power.
And after a Cultivator reached the Soul Emergence Realm, the quality and quantity of the Magical Power in their body underwent a qualitative leap.
This also meant that after Shen Changchuan completely exhausted his Magical Power, it would take him at least half a day or more to fully recover it.
If he used Spirit Stones to aid his Cultivation, he could drastically reduce this time.
But by the same token, the amount of Spirit Stones this would cost was enormous!
In order to save time, Shen Changchuan wasn’t stingy with his Spirit Stone consumption.
But watching his entire supply of Spirit Stones vanish at a visible rate still made him feel a pang of heartache.
Fortunately, after a month, he finally succeeded in cultivating the Tier Two Magic, Thunder Shadow Swift Movement, to Perfection.
Of course, the price was that he had been left with practically not a single Spirit Stone to his name.
Thankfully, it had all been worth it.
...
[Tier Two Magic:
Thunder Shadow Swift Movement: 100% (Perfection Traits: A slight increase to magic speed, a slight amount of Thunder Element Body Technique Cultivation Experience)]
...
The description wasn’t much different from the one for a Tier One Technique at Perfection.
It was just that the modifiers for power and Cultivation Experience had changed from ’minor’ and ’negligible’ to ’slight’.
He wasn’t sure how much ’slight’ actually was.
’It should be a bit better than the previous ’minor’ and ’negligible,’ right?’
Shen Changchuan mused internally.
At the same time, he began to practice the Perfected Thunder Shadow Swift Movement.
Unsurprisingly, this Perfected Body Technique was still Instantaneous.
Furthermore, his thoughts moved with his will, allowing Shen Changchuan to cast and use it anytime, anywhere.
This, without a doubt, would give Shen Changchuan a massive advantage in battle!
Just as Shen Changchuan was contemplating his Thunder Shadow Swift Movement, the arrival of a Communication Talisman interrupted his arduous cultivation.