I Am Overlord c1-962
Page 9
“Zi Changhe? Is-isn’t that the Purple Lightning Marquis?!” Wang Yang said, completely startled.
“Brother Wang, don’t listen to his bullshit. The junior brother of the Purple Lightning Marquis won’t be from the same generation as us! Look at how young this brat is! How can he be the Purple Lightning Marquis’s junior brother? He’s clearly bluffing us!” the inner court disciples sitting at the same table reminded him.
“Oh right! This damned brat dares to fool me? You even dare to use the Purple Lightning Marquis’s name to weave lies! I must thoroughly discipline you today!” Wang Yang shouted furiously.
“You dare? I’m the one and only Xiang Shaoyun!” Xiang Shaoyun said, declaring his status.
“Who cares if you’re Shaoyun or Shaolin, I’ll still hit you!” Wang Yang bellowed, sending a palm straight for Xiang Shaoyun’s face.
Xiang Shaoyun initially had thoughts of running away, but he found that he was rooted in place by Wang Yang’s aura, all but destroying his hopes of ever escaping.
“F*ck, Zi Changhe’s name is so useless! I can’t even deter a fellow disciple!” Xiang Shaoyun cursed to himself.
Just as Xiang Shaoyun expected to be hit by a solid palm, a person suddenly dashed in front of him and stopped Wang Yang’s palm while saying, “Hold your hand!”
Taking note of the person who had stopped him, Wang Yang angrily shouted, “Wang Zhenchuan, you dare to hinder me?!”
At first glance, Wang Zhenchuan didn’t seem much older than Xiang Shaoyun. Although he could not be considered dashing, he likewise had an extraordinary bearing. He was also another one of Martial Hall Palace’s top 15 inner court disciples.
Wang Zhenchuan came from a poor household, but his talents were anything but ordinary. He poured all his focus into cultivation and was widely known as the next Purple Lightning Marquis. Furthermore, Zi Changhe was Wang Zhenchuan’s idol, a target for him to work toward.
“He is indeed the junior brother of Elder Zi Changhe,” Wang Zhenchuan indifferently replied to Wang Yang.
“You’re utterly blind! He’s so young; how can he possibly be the Purple Lightning Marquis’s junior brother?! Even if he is his disciple, I don’t like his face! You’d better make way soon, or else I’ll consider this as you challenging me!” Wang Yang roared.
Completely unfettered, Wang Zhenchuan cooly replied, “It was Xiang Shaoyun who had caused the five stars illuminating the sky yesterday.”
After he spoke, his words resounded through the entire restaurant, causing everybody there to finally piece everything together.
“So he’s the Xiang Shaoyun who attracted the five stars illuminating the sky phenomenon? No wonder his name sounds so familiar! It was him all along!”
“Five stars illuminating the sky! This guy has a natural high-tier natal chart; his future is limitless! Even our Martial Hall Palace only has one such person—our number one beauty, Gong Qinyin!”
“Indeed! I was lucky enough to see everything yesterday! Many elders wanted to take him in as a disciple, including Vice Palace Master Qing Xiuhe! It was a pity that the nineteenth elder said that he was taking in this disciple on behalf of his master. However, this indeed proves that Xiang Shaoyun is the junior brother of the nineteenth elder!”
“Wang Yang is doomed this time for offending the junior brother of the Purple Lightning Marquis! His days from now on will be hard! We’d better stay away from him!”
“Rightfully so! The Purple Lightning Marquis is fiery and unyielding! He must also dearly cherish his junior brother! Otherwise, he wouldn’t bestow him a jade plate to allow him to eat here! Wang Yang dares to bully him? He sure has guts!”
Clearly hearing each and every word of the outer court disciples, Wang Yang’s face began to pale. He’d never thought in his wildest dreams that this brat was actually the junior brother of the Purple Lightning Marquis! He’d only been gone for a few days and something this major had occurred. Five stars illuminating the sky! If his palm had actually landed on Xiang Shaoyun’s face earlier, he would’ve truly been seeking his own death!
An otherworldly genius of Xiang Shaoyun’s calibre was bound to be a precious gem in the whole Martial Hall Palace! Even the personal disciples of the elders would not want to offend him, much less a mere inner court disciple like him! Doing so would be akin to digging his own grave. Right now, he could not help but feel immense gratitude towards Wang Zhenchuan. By stopping him, Wang Zhenchuan had essentially saved his life!
Looking at the slightly shivering Wang Yang, Xiang Shaoyun put on the airs of an elder and said, “So you know your mistakes now, do you? Luckily for you, this young master here is a generous man, so I will let you off this once! In the future, you better not let me catch you being such a snob anymore!”
“Y-yes…Elder Xiang is absolutely right! I-I, Wang Yang, will never do such a thing again!” Wang Yang said, chilled to the depths of his heart. He had put great effort into obtaining his status as an inner court disciple; he did not wish to throw it away just like that!
Xiang Shaoyun no longer bothered about the pathetic Wang Yang. Instead, he turned to Wang Zhenchuan and patted his shoulder, saying, “You’re not bad! I, Xiang Shaoyun, will look after you from now on!”
After he finished talking, Xiang Shaoyun turned around and strode out of the restaurant in a completely natural manner. The place, however, had become so silent that one could hear a pin drop. A sixth-stage Basic Realm practitioner was going to look after an inner court disciple at the Astral Realm? Had the ways of the world completely flipped?
After exiting the restaurant, Xiang Shaoyun heaved a huge sigh of relief as he patted his chest and muttered, “It’s a good thing that the name ‘Xiang Shaoyun’ is a terrifying one! Nobody dares to mess with me! Mere inner court disciples? Heh, they’re not even fit to be my servants!”
When the disciples in the restaurant heard his words, their expressions became slightly complicated. They all silently cursed, “This brat really is infuriating! Wang Yang was only being polite because of the Purple Lightning Marquis’s status!”
After tossing this brief episode into the back of his head, Xiang Shaoyun did not return directly to the outer court. It was already dinnertime; a vast majority of disciples would already be fighting for food.
Xiang Shaoyun also had no plans to visit Zi Changhe. After all, Zi Changhe himself had said that if he could not reach the Astral Realm within half a year, he could abandon all thought of ever seeking him out.
Outer court, Battle Technique Hall.
This was a place not far from the Hall of Limits, and it was not like the ancient pavilion of the Hall of Limits. Rather, there were several smaller erected pavilions that nobody was taking care of, and these small pavilions formed the Battle Technique Hall.
Xiang Shaoyun made his way towards the first pavilion. Within stood a piece of rock almost two meters tall. This was a Battle Technique Stele. Battle Technique Steles typically stored battle techniques that could be passed down without reservation.
Within this particular stele was Martial Hall Palace’s lowest-ranked battle techniques, the Rushing Qi Fist. All outer sect disciples of Martial Hall Palace were eligible to learn this tier-one battle technique.
Xiang Shaoyun was a very well-read individual, having deep theoretical knowledge of hundreds of high-tier battle techniques. However, with his current strength, he had no means of cultivating those particular techniques.
“I used to think that those trash techniques weren’t even worth a look, but now I’m even picking one up to cultivate.” Xiang Shaoyun sighed to himself, a plethora of emotions surging within his heart. Since he was in the Basic Realm, he could temporarily only learn tier-1 and tier-2 battle techniques. Such low-ranking battle techniques weren’t even in his memory!
Chapter 13: Heaven-defying Comprehension Ability!
The Rushing Qi Fist involved gathering one’s physical strength into one’s fist and unleashing a punch with the might of a charging demonic beast.
This was classified as a peak tier-1 battle technique. Those who cultivated the Rushing Qi Fist would be able to raise their physical strength by 25 to 50 kilograms. This was the unique benefit of practicing this battle technique.
A Basic Realm cultivator who practiced this battle technique against a Basic Realm cultivator who did not would hold an advantage of up to 50 kilograms of strength, which was sufficient to be a decisive factor in a battle.
Calming his heart, Xiang Shaoyun memorized both the method to cultivate the Rushing Qi Fist and the images carved on the wall depicting the process of using the battle technique. He did not immediately begin practicing the Rushing Qi Fist but rather began walking toward the second stele. The technique stored here was a kicking technique.
This was yet another peak tier-1 battle technique, the Gale Winds Kick. It focused on the training of the leg. It did not have the effect of increasing one’s strength like the Rushing Qi Fist, but it could increase the speed of one’s kicks, holding true to its name of “Gale Winds”. This made it extremely hard for one’s opponent to keep track of the kicks.
Once again, Xiang Shaoyun memorized both the method and the carved images within the blink of an eye. If anybody else found out that all it took for Xiang Shaoyun to completely memorize the techniques was a mere cursory glance, they would be shocked out of their skin.
After memorizing the Gale Winds Kick, Xiang Shaoyun proceeded to yet another stele to take a look at the techniques there. Again, after staying there for merely an instant, he moved on to yet another stele. Within a single hour, he thoroughly memorized the five battle techniques held within the steles. The techniques consisted of the Rushing Qi Fist, Gale Winds Kick, Cloud Splitting Palm, Triple Revolutions Sword, and Heavy Cleave Technique—five different tier-1 battle techniques.
Most martial officers would advise their disciples to not bite off more than they could chew, hence only letting them practice at the very most three battle techniques simultaneously. Yet here Xiang Shaoyun was, seemingly wanting to learn all five at once!
Once he was done, Xiang Shaoyun left the Battle Technique Hall and headed back to his living quarters. Throughout his time here, Zi Changhe had only ever given him a single meditation scripture before throwing Xiang Shaoyun to cultivate with the other outer court disciples. However, if there was one thing he did do, he had provided Xiang Shaoyun a nice place to stay.
Xiang Shaoyun stayed in a quiet and beautiful compound by himself, separate from the rest of the disciples. Only personal disciples would have the right to live in such an area. After returning to his courtyard, he quietly thought to himself, It’s a good thing that this cold-hearted senior brother still has some form of humanity left in him!
With a solitary compound, Xiang Shaoyun could solely focus on cultivating his battle techniques. Leaving behind his worries accumulated throughout the day, he quietly sat in his compound. Within his mind first surfaced pictures pertaining to the Rushing Qi Fist, followed by the Gale Winds Kick, and so on. By doing that, the images pertaining to all five battle techniques came to be deeply rooted within his mind.
“Rushing Qi Fist, to gather strength at the fist, drawing support from the force of momentum to enhance the strength of the fist, reaching a level where the momentum of the fist is akin to qi!” Xiang Shaoyun meditated, recalling the essential parts of the Rushing Qi Fist. Shortly after, he stood up, condensing all the strength his sixth-stage Basic Realm body could muster into his fist. Within his mind flashed the first image relating to the Rushing Qi Fist, followed by the second, the third…
Like a play, the images reenacted the method to practice the Rushing Qi Fist over and over again within Xiang Shaoyun’s mind.
Rushing Qi Fist!
Assuming a horse stance, Xiang Shaoyun’s eyes flared wide open as he yelled at the top of his lungs, his fist extending straight forward.
Peng!
One thrust, momentum akin to the qi! An oppressive sound suddenly rang out. Although he had only just begun practicing the Rushing Qi Fist, he was able to extract no less than 3 percent of its full potential. One could not help but admit that Xiang Shaoyun truly had monstrous comprehension!
Rushing Qi Fist!
Once again extending his fist, Xiang Shaoyun went through the exact same motions yet again.
Rushing Qi Fist!
Rushing Qi Fist!
Borrowing the power of the forward thrust, the physical strength within his fists seemed to condense into qi before being released, tapping into about 8 percent of the ability’s full potential.
Xiang Shaoyun unceasingly sent out punch after punch as his body continued to rush forward. Within two hours, he circled his courtyard innumerable times, having thrown out close to a thousand punches. His final effectiveness with the ability was around 30 percent.
Keep in mind this was 30 percent, not 3 percent.
One must keep in mind when learning battle techniques that the most important factor in play was martial comprehension. If one had an insufficient ability to comprehend martial techniques, cultivating a battle technique would be no more than just acting out the motions without unleashing the true power of the battle technique. If one’s comprehension was good, one would be able to unleash more than half of the skill’s potential, increasing one’s own combat power in tandem.
Take the Rushing Qi Fist for example. If one was able to comprehend 50 percent of the skill, one’s physical strength would see an increase of 25 kilograms. On the other hand, if one managed to fully comprehend said skill, one’s physical prowess would increase by 50 kilograms or more!
Ordinary people would require a significant amount of time in order to successfully cultivate a tier-1 battle technique, ranging from anywhere between 10 to 15 days at best to months if one’s comprehension was weak. Furthermore, this was only based on the time it took to comprehend 50 percent of the technique. If they were to seek perfect comprehension, it would be impossible to attain without spending numerous months fully dedicated to the technique. This was not practical by any means.
However, Xiang Shaoyun only required a mere two hours to grasp 30 percent of the Rushing Qi Fist. Comprehension of this level was basically defying the heavens!
That being said, Xiang Shaoyun was not satisfied with his performance. Taking a moment to catch his breath while meditating, he thought to himself, Achieving 30 percent proficiency within two hours is far from good enough! With a battle technique of this level, I must achieve 40, no, 50 percent proficiency! I’ve already wasted 10 of my golden years! I must work 10 times as hard as others, maybe even faster, if I want to catch up to them!
After resting for an hour, Xiang Shaoyun once again stood up and practiced the Rushing Qi Fist.
Pow Pow Pow!
Xiang Shaoyun punched madly as if he were a perpetually tireless demon, one punch faster than the one before. In this manner yet another two hours passed. This time around, he had actually managed to send out 500 more punches than the amount of punches he had sent out last time, taking his total tally in those two hours to 1500 punches. His comprehension of the Rushing Qi Fist also rose to an astounding 70 percent. Likewise, he was able to exert 70 percent of the full potential of the Rushing Qi Fist in practice.
“Continue!” Within Xiang Shaoyun’s eyes flashed a trace of urgency that was usually absent from him.
After yet another hour, Xiang Shaoyun’s comprehension of the Rushing Qi Fist rose to 90 percent. At this point, he no longer continued to practice. He knew that the final 10 percent would not be attained solely through practice, but rather through actual combat. This would be the only way for him to bridge that final remaining gap. He then proceeded to meditate for another hour, solidifying his gains from the past six hours of practice.
The Heaven Conquering Overlord Manual constantly circulated throughout his body. With the nine stars as the foundation, astral energy circulated throughout his body via his meridians and acupoints. As he practiced, the strength in his body slowly converted to reinforce his a
stral energy, getting rid of his exhaustion.
Most cultivators would be unable to awaken all their stars at once. Only after they reached the point of converting physical strength into qi would they be able to invigorate their astral qi to activate their stars from which they would gain astral energy.
Right now, however, Xiang Shaoyun’s nine stars within his natal chart had long awoken, and he was only in the Basic Realm! This was one of the benefits of having such an extraordinary physique. In order to awaken one’s stars from the very start of one’s cultivation journey, one needed to possess a seven-star physique at the very least.
A person with such a heaven-blessed physique would be a complete natural when it came to martial cultivation. The cultivation speed of such people would be several times that of normal people.
Xiang Shaoyun had a physique of nine stars shaking the heavens, the king of all physiques! If he was to whole-heartedly focus on cultivation, the rate at which he would improve would be beyond one’s imagination. After fully replenishing his strength, his mind once again entered a state for practicing battle techniques.
Gale Winds Kick!
Gale winds were a symbol of speed. When fully comprehended, the speed of one’s kick would be like that of a raging hurricane, destroying all in its wake. This was the essence of the Gale Winds Kick! Xiang Shaoyun’s natural comprehension ability was incredibly amazing; just from the mantra, he was able to immediately understand the key points to cultivate it.
Xiang Shaoyun began by practicing kicks, throws, wrestling, and lifting, the most basic of exercises when it came to leg methods.
Chapter 14: Deliberately Siding With Him!
The sun rose from the east, and sunlight flooded the entire compound. Within a certain isolated compound at Martial Hall Palace, a thinly dressed youth was seated in meditation as he welcomed the first rays of purple yang. There, one could only see continuous strands of fine purple yang qi being absorbed by his body, giving him a very majestic and regal bearing.