Chapter 151 - 108: Domineering (3)
After saying this, Li Tianxin gave Jiang Ran a serious look.
"Where exactly did you see this person?"
"Wenxiang Forest."
Seeing Li Tianxin’s expression, Jiang Ran decided not to hide anything.
Li Tianxin immediately stood up to leave.
"He’s already gone," Jiang Ran said.
"In all these years, this is the first time I’ve been so close to him. Even if he’s gone, I have to go take a look."
Li Tianxin glanced back at Jiang Ran.
"Stay out of it."
"Are you confident?"
"Even if I do run into him, it’s still anyone’s guess who will come out on top," Li Tianxin said coldly.
Jiang Ran raised an eyebrow. He didn’t know where Li Tianxin got his confidence from.
But after hearing him say that, he ultimately nodded.
"Go on, then."
"Farewell."
Li Tianxin gave Jiang Ran one last, deep look, then leaped out of the inn’s entrance.
Jiang Ran frowned slightly. After a moment’s hesitation, he decided not to follow.
Li Tianxin had his own agenda, and his origins were far from ordinary.
Since he was so determined to go, Jiang Ran knew he had no real standing to stop him.
After a moment of thought, he sighed and went upstairs.
He really did have important business to attend to.
He had to deal with the heads of Dugu Yu and Yin Yue.
Otherwise, in this weather, the two heads would probably rot in just a few days.
Secondly, he had to claim his rewards.
After fussing over the two heads for nearly two hours, Jiang Ran finally sat down on his bed. With a thought, the system interface popped up before him.
[Reward Gained: Two Years of Inner Strength!]
[Reward Gained: Three Years of Inner Strength!]
[Reward Gained...]
The first few rewards were all Inner Strength. Jiang Ran estimated that they added up to exactly twenty years.
But Jiang Ran did not claim them.
Instead, he continued reading down the list.
There were three more rewards.
[Reward Gained: Hidden Shadow Enchanting God Step (Thirty-five Years)!]
[Reward Gained: Tendon and Bone Dislocation Hand (Thirty Years)!]
[Reward Gained: Great Brahman Vajra Skill (Twenty-seven Years)!]
Jiang Ran frowned as he looked at the three rewards.
Especially the Tendon and Bone Dislocation Hand.
’Plenty of people in the martial world know this technique; you can even pay to learn it in some martial arts halls. It might not come with thirty years of practice, but that’s just a matter of proficiency. Besides, many have built upon its foundation, innovating and creating different schools with far more advanced methods. So, this reward... it left much to be desired.’
As for the Hidden Shadow Enchanting God Step.
’This skill must have belonged to Liao Chengfeng. Liao Chengfeng was a remnant of the Search Divine Sect. I don’t know much about the sect, but from what Dugu Yu and the others said, its members mostly engage in clandestine activities. Judging by the name, this reward should be a type of Lightweight Technique. If it really lives up to its name—the ability to hide one’s shadow and enchant the senses—then it wouldn’t be too bad.’
But the most important reward was the last one: the Great Brahman Vajra Skill.
Just yesterday, he had witnessed this skill’s protective ability.
It had its flaws, but its formidable power was undeniable.
This left Jiang Ran feeling conflicted.
The source of his conflict was that he had already forfeited two rewards and received two buffs as a result.
These buffs would enhance the next reward he claimed.
Normally, with so many rewards on the table, Jiang Ran could just forfeit any he didn’t need.
But as it stood, the most useless one seemed to be the thirty years of the Tendon and Bone Dislocation Hand.
Yet, giving it up felt like a waste.
If he only relied on his two existing buffs, he had no idea how much they would enhance the Great Brahman Vajra Skill.
Besides this, Jiang Ran had another concern.
He cultivated the Daoist "Creation True Heart Sutra."
’If I claim the Great Brahman Vajra Skill, can the Buddhist and Daoist paths truly merge?’
"A choice like this... is a bit risky."
Jiang Ran stared at the rewards for a long time. After much hesitation, he finally chose to forfeit the Tendon and Bone Dislocation Hand.
’This skill is a grappling technique, and I already have the Thirteen Mad Demon Claws of Kun. It’s leagues better than the Tendon and Bone Dislocation Hand.’
As expected, doing so stacked another buff for Jiang Ran.
Then he looked at the Great Brahman Vajra Skill and chose to claim it.
The next moment, a prompt appeared before Jiang Ran.
[Enhance this reward?]
"Yes."
[Great Brahman Vajra Skill enhanced to Thirty-seven Years!]
[Continue enhancing?]
’So one enhancement is ten years?’
Realizing this, Jiang Ran enhanced it two more times.
After he made the final selection, no further prompts appeared. The next moment, a sea of text flooded his mind as an extremely pure Inner Strength surged from his Dantian.
This stream of Inner Strength was different from that of his Creation True Heart Sutra.
A golden light seemed to shimmer within its purity, and the faint sound of Buddhist chants echoed in Jiang Ran’s ears, each word and phrase imbuing him with a solemn, majestic air.
And just as this Inner Strength began to spread, the Creation True Heart Sutra within Jiang Ran’s body suddenly stirred.
It broke free from its original path and devoured the Inner Strength of the Great Brahman Vajra Skill.
Jiang Ran froze. ’This is bad,’ he thought.
’Can these two types of Inner Strength really not coexist?’
The thought had barely formed when he realized that his mastery of the Creation True Heart Sutra, which had already reached the eighth level, was growing even more profound.
Every bit of Inner Strength from the Great Brahman Vajra Skill that emerged from his Dantian was instantly absorbed by the Creation True Heart Sutra to empower itself!
"This..."
Jiang Ran suddenly recalled the various rumors about the Creation True Heart Sutra.
Some had used years of painstakingly refined Inner Strength to cultivate the Creation True Heart Sutra, only for their Inner Energy to regress because they failed to reach the sixth level.
But no one ever mentioned whether it was possible to switch back to one’s original martial art after their Inner Energy had regressed.
’Now, it seems that’s impossible!’
’The Creation True Heart Sutra appears pure and in harmony with the natural way of the Dao. But in reality, it’s utterly tyrannical. It simply won’t tolerate the existence of any other type of Inner Strength. Switching to another technique is hopeless; one can only stubbornly stick with this single path. And if you stick with it to the end, you’re doomed to a miserable fate.’
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PS: It’s the end of the month. Does anyone have any spare monthly tickets? If you do, please send them my way~~