Chapter 136: Wild Goose Mysterious Technique ×2

Yun Che was someone who often acted unpredictably. This was one of the most immediate impressions Sikong Du had of him after their brief encounter.

For instance, he, an Elementary Profound Realm practitioner, wanted to challenge Murong Yi. And, from all the weapons in the Heavenly Armory Pavilion, he chose the one that Sikong Du had repeatedly explained was absolutely impossible to pick!

“Did you not listen to anything I just said?” Sikong Du asked, trying to remain calm. “This sword is completely unsuitable for profound practitioners like us! The difficulty of wielding it will be hundreds of times that of a regular sword! Although it has the highest grade in the Heavenly Armory Pavilion, the most important thing when choosing a weapon is suitability. Forget about it being an Earth Profound Weapon; even if it were a Sky Profound Weapon, no one in the inner academy would ever choose it!”

“I understand everything you’re saying,” Yun Che said slowly, gritting his teeth as he supported the weight of the Overlord’s Colossal Sword. “But I can feel it – this sword is the perfect weapon for me.”

“You’re using almost all your strength just to lift it. How will you ever wield it?”

“That’s just because my strength is insufficient. As my profound energy improves, there will come a day when I can wield it effortlessly,” Yun Che replied.

“There are no profound skills for heavy swords in the inner academy, or even the entire Blue Wind Profound Palace. Nor are there any instructors who teach heavy sword techniques. If you truly choose it, you won’t even know how to properly train with it.” Sikong Du frowned, patiently trying to dissuade him. He simply couldn’t understand why, after all his explanations, Yun Che still chose this heavy sword that had essentially been forgotten.

“It’s fine; self-study is also a good option.” Yun Che took a deep breath, lifted his hands, and stored the Overlord’s Colossal Sword inside the Sky Poison Pearl. Then, he clapped his hands, looking very pleased. “Brother Sikong, I’ve chosen my weapon. I’ll go to the Profound Gathering Pagoda myself. Please take me to the Grand Profound Hall first.”

“You…” Sikong Du really wanted to call him unreasonable, but ultimately, he could only shake his head helplessly. “Fine, I’ve said all I can say. Since you’ve still chosen this, I have no right to interfere. Let’s go.”

The Grand Profound Hall, where the Blue Wind Profound Palace stores various profound arts and profound skills, is the culmination of the palace’s millennium of accumulated heritage. The Grand Profound Hall is located within the inner academy, but it features a special teleportation array allowing access from the outer, middle, and inner academies. However, outer academy disciples can only enter the first floor, middle academy disciples can enter the first and second floors, and inner academy disciples have free access to all three floors. The higher the floor, the higher the grade of profound arts and skills stored there.

After passing the gatekeeper elder’s identity verification, Yun Che followed Sikong Du directly to the third floor of the Grand Profound Hall. It was perfectly quiet here, imbued with a mysterious and potent aura of profound energy. As far as the eye could see, jade tablets and scrolls containing various profound arts and skills filled the space.

“Inner academy disciples may visit the Grand Profound Hall once every two months, selecting a maximum of two profound arts or skills. They must return them within one month, regardless of whether they’ve fully comprehended them.”

Sikong Du paced a few steps forward, stopping before a jade shelf, and gestured. “Yun Che, you’re in luck. Our Blue Wind Profound Palace’s unique profound art, the ‘Grand Profound Heart Manual,’ is still here and hasn’t been borrowed by other inner academy disciples. As a new inner academy disciple, this is the first one you must take! Cultivating the Grand Profound Heart Manual can significantly enhance your ability to control profound energy. At a sufficiently high level, challenging those above your rank will be effortless. Furthermore, most of our palace’s unique profound skills require the Grand Profound Heart Manual as a foundation to activate. Aside from this essential ‘Grand Profound Heart Manual,’ you can choose one more profound skill of sufficient power.”

Yun Che walked over to Sikong Du, picked up the “Grand Profound Heart Manual,” briefly examined its attributes and content with his profound energy, then put it down and began looking through other jade tablets and scrolls. Sikong Du frowned but said nothing. With so many profound arts and skills available, yet only two could be chosen, it was natural to compare them carefully. He recalled how, on his first visit, he had been so stunned he couldn’t regain his senses for half a day, then excitedly left after spending an entire day choosing.

However, he was confident that after much comparison, Yun Che would definitely come back to choose the “Grand Profound Heart Manual.”

Yun Che moved from one jade shelf to another, picking up each scroll, only to glance at it briefly before quickly putting it down. The longest one remained in his hand for merely five or six breaths. After more than half an hour, Yun Che still hadn’t made any selections.

“Yun Che, are you overwhelmed by choices?” Sikong Du said, understandingly. “It’s alright, take your time. Back then, I, your senior brother, spent a whole day choosing.”

Yun Che nodded and walked towards the next jade shelf, which was right next to the east wall. As he approached, he spotted a half-human-height bamboo basket tucked into a corner. The basket was haphazardly filled with crumpled jade scrolls. These were clearly also profound skill scrolls, but the aura they emitted was extremely faint.

“Brother Sikong, what are these in here?” Yun Che asked, pointing at the bamboo basket.

“Oh! Those are various profound skills the Blue Wind Profound Palace has acquired over the years from across the empire through different means. Some powerful ones are kept on the first or second floor, and a very small number are even on the third. But some folk profound skills, like ‘wild chicken’ techniques, are of such low grade and weak power that no one would even spare them a glance, even if they were on the first floor. So, some time ago, the elder guarding the Grand Profound Hall sorted out these worthless and unwanted folk profound skills. They were originally meant to be discarded or destroyed, but it seems they were just left there and forgotten.”

“Oh?” Yun Che acknowledged, then walked directly to the bamboo basket, casually picking up a few of the scrolls containing what Sikong Du called “wild chicken” profound skills and began to look through them. He picked one up, put it down, then a second, then a third, a fourth…

As Yun Che approached the bamboo basket, Sikong Du had a bad feeling. Given Yun Che’s previous actions, Sikong Du had concluded that this guy was capable of doing anything, no matter how outrageous.

Sure enough, Yun Che didn’t disappoint him. He took two scrolls from the basket and said, “Alright, I’ll choose these two. Brother Sikong, let’s go.”

“Flame Fist,” “Fire Cloud Palm”…

Upon seeing the names of these two profound skills, Sikong Du nearly spat out a mouthful of old blood. Finally, abandoning all pretense of composure, he burst out, “Yun Che!! Are you out of your mind?! You challenged Murong Yi, and I endured it. You chose a heavy sword no one else would ever pick, and I tolerated that too… But what do you mean by choosing two wild chicken profound skills?! Flame Fist and Fire Cloud Palm… Good heavens! These are simply two profound skills so low-level they couldn’t possibly be any lower! Anyone with even a basic understanding of fire profound arts, capable of manifesting fire with profound energy—even a three-year-old—could master these in half an hour! As for their power, they’re trash among trash! Do you really need to pick such profound skills in the Grand Profound Hall? You could go to any merchant guild outside and buy a pound of them for a single Azure Profound Coin!”

Yun Che quickly waved his hand, forcing a smile. “Calm down, Brother Sikong. I happen to have fire-attributed profound energy, so I chose two fire-attributed profound skills. I think they should be very suitable for me.”

“Suitable for your sister!” Sikong Du exclaimed, pointing behind him. “Although there aren’t many fire-attributed profound skills here, there are still dozens! ‘Cataclysmic Profound Flame,’ ‘Heavenly Sun Finger,’ ‘Soul Burning Fist’… Which one isn’t a hundred times stronger than what you have in your hand?!”

“But I think these two are more suitable for me. Because they seem easy to cultivate.”

Yun Che’s reply nearly made Sikong Du choke and pass out.

“Now that I’ve chosen my weapon and profound skills, please take me to my living quarters, Brother Sikong,” Yun Che said earnestly, putting away “Flame Fist” and “Fire Cloud Palm.”

Sikong Du’s mouth twitched. Too exasperated to say another word, he led Yun Che out of the Grand Profound Hall as requested, heading directly to the residence arranged for him.

The Blue Wind Profound Palace was naturally generous with the living quarters for inner academy disciples. When Yun Che saw the house before him, he was secretly surprised. The room was unexpectedly spacious and even came with an elegant small courtyard. All necessary amenities were provided inside, and even the bedding was woven from the finest silk.

Every inner academy disciple was a figure important enough to be warmly invited by the Blue Wind Imperial Family; thus, they were certainly not treated lightly.

“This is your residence. I live in courtyard number 41, so you can find me anytime if you need anything. Also, your profound cultivation room in the Profound Gathering Pagoda is number 101. A corresponding profound energy mark has been placed within your body, so only you can enter that specific location. You can go in and cultivate in peace whenever you wish. Furthermore, don’t forget to visit the Inner Academy Profound Pill Pavilion every seven days to collect ten Mid-Grade Profound Recovery Pills, three Bone Tempering Pills, and two Minor Reversal Pills. Lastly, within this inner academy, if you encounter other disciples, absolutely do not provoke any conflicts, because anyone here is someone you cannot afford to offend.”

“The Profound Palace places no restrictions on the freedom of inner academy disciples. You can move freely throughout the outer, middle, and inner academies, and you can also leave the Profound Palace at any time… if you’re willing to waste your cultivation time in the inner academy, that is.”

Having delivered all the necessary instructions, Sikong Du didn’t linger and left directly. He was now increasingly certain that Yun Che was either mentally deficient or a lunatic.

Fifteen minutes later, Sikong Du appeared before Qin Wushang, who was sitting opposite Qin Wuyou, leisurely sipping tea.

“Is everything settled?” Qin Wushang asked with a chuckle.

“Yes, disciple has settled Yun Che. It’s just…” Sikong Du’s expression was conflicted, almost reluctant to speak.

“Just what?” Qin Wushang glanced sideways.

“At the Heavenly Armory Pavilion, he chose the Overlord’s Colossal Sword.”

“Oh?” Qin Wushang looked surprised, then questioned Qin Wuyou, “Is this young lad proficient with heavy swords?”

“No!” Qin Wuyou shook his head. “As far as I know, he isn’t proficient with any weapon. As for why he chose that heavy sword, it truly is quite strange. But from what I understand of him, he’s definitely not the kind of rash person who would simply pick the Overlord’s Colossal Sword because of its highest grade. By the way, Sikong Du, which two profound arts and skills did he choose?”

“He didn’t choose a profound art,” Sikong Du said, taking a deep breath and shrugging his eyebrows. “Instead, he chose two profound skills: ‘Flame Fist’ and ‘Fire Cloud Palm.’”

“Pfft!”

Qin Wushang and Qin Wuyou simultaneously spat out their tea… all over each other’s faces.