Chapter 2052: Head-Shaking Cultivation Method

Upon reflection, it seemed the opponent truly hadn't cared who they were during the battle. If he had known their identities beforehand, he would surely have shown some apprehension, rather than completely disregarding them. Since it wasn't a deliberate encounter, the conspiracy theory doesn't hold.

"Perhaps his disguise methods are too advanced, so much so that even I was deceived," Sect Leader Kuixiao said, shaking his head and furrowing his brows. "That's why I gave him the Barrier-Breaking Pill and promised to help him break through to the Immortal Lord realm. I wanted to gauge his reaction. But the result was... he made no further demands. Instead, he wanted... to read books!"

The two elders pondered. So the Sect Leader had already made his calculations. Granting such a precious item as the Barrier-Breaking Pill directly and promising help to break through to the Immortal Lord realm showed significant regard. At this point, even excessive demands would likely have been granted! Yet the other party seemed oblivious, choosing instead to read books. While books are valuable, their benefits require gradual accumulation; one cannot discern or comprehend anything from them in a single day. Therefore, his request amounted to nothing significant.

"How is he now?" Sect Leader Kuixiao asked, a hint of emotion in his voice.

"He's still reading," the First Elder replied, cupping his fists. "He hasn't come out since entering the library!"

"Alright, find a way to investigate what books he's reading and report back," Sect Leader Kuixiao said after a pause.

"Yes, sir!" The First Elder turned and left. Not long after, he returned with a conflicted expression.

"Well?"

"This is... a recording from the library's surveillance," the First Elder said, his face flushed as if holding back something. "The Sect Leader can see for himself..."

With a puzzled glance, Sect Leader Kuixiao took the jade token, tapped it, and its contents immediately appeared. He saw the man named Liu Yang standing in the library, continuously shaking his head. The recording showed him shaking his head for over ten minutes. For each row of bookshelves or section of books, he would shake his head multiple times, then move on to the next row and continue.

"Is this... epilepsy?" Sect Leader Kuixiao and Elder Hongwu exchanged bewildered glances, completely at a loss. Didn't he claim he wanted to read books? Why did he come here only to shake his head so earnestly?

"Keep investigating..." After studying it for a long time, still unable to grasp the meaning behind the head-shaking, Sect Leader Kuixiao could only instruct further. As they continued to investigate, Liu Yang in the recording continued to shake his head.

"It seems he's not stealing the secrets of Seven Star Pavilion's cultivation techniques either..." After an unknown period, the First Elder said, his face flushed. If he were stealing cultivation secrets, he would surely take out books, study them carefully, and then secretly copy them down. This guy, on the other hand, started shaking his head as soon as he entered the library and has been doing it for over two hours without looking at a single book. If one could steal secrets just by shaking their head, then no sect would have any secrets left.

"Persisting like this for two hours, he must have a purpose... I'll try it!" Elder Hongwu could no longer hold back. With a flick of his wrist, a pile of books appeared on the ground nearby. He took a deep breath and, just like Liu Yang in the recording, began to shake his head.

Sect Leader Kuixiao and the First Elder quickly looked over. After Elder Hongwu shook his head several times in succession, they couldn't help but ask, "How is it? Have you discovered anything?"

"Dizzy... feeling nauseous!" Elder Hongwu replied.

Sect Leader Kuixiao and the First Elder were speechless.

As the third hour of observation approached, they saw Liu Yang, who had been continuously shaking his head, stop. He sat cross-legged on the spot, motionless, as if resting.

"He finally stopped..." everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Honestly, he didn't seem dizzy, but watching him had made them dizzy; they truly didn't know how he managed to persist.

"He's cultivating!" As Liu Yang sat down, everyone quickly understood. He must have gotten tired from the head-shaking and needed to recover.

"Is he taking... High-Grade Immortal Essence Pills?" In the recording, shortly after Liu Yang sat down, he began to swallow pills: one, two, three... After swallowing five consecutively, he suddenly stood up.

"This medicinal power... he's only a True Immortal, can he digest it?" The First Elder's face turned pale. High-Grade Immortal Essence Pills were potent even for Immortal Lords; even he would need over ten days to fully digest just one. Yet the other party, only at the True Immortal realm, swallowed five in one go... Wasn't he afraid of bursting to death?

"Could he be trying to break through to Immortal Lord?" Sect Leader Kuixiao frowned, just as he was wondering, he saw Liu Yang, who had been sitting on the ground, suddenly stand up. *Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!* His fists and palms danced, stirring up a whistling wind.

"This is... my Dragon Transformation Palm?" The First Elder was stunned. The other party was performing his most proficient technique, the Dragon Transformation Palm, and seemed to be executing it with even greater subtlety and swiftness. He had practiced this move for countless years to master it, yet the other party's first execution was already stronger than his. He was utterly dumbfounded.

"No... that part is wrong. Huh? Why does it feel like... his execution is more logical? More powerful?" After watching for a while, his brows furrowed. What the other party performed was clearly different from his own execution and also from the secret manual. Yet, for some reason, it gave a feeling of flowing naturally, as if his own execution was flawed, and the other's was correct.

"Let me try..." He quickly stood up and, following the other's movements, performed the Dragon Transformation Palm once more. *Boom!* With a roar, immortal power surged through his body, and an invincible aura erupted from within.

"This... grand mastery?" The First Elder was going crazy.

He had been immersed in the Dragon Transformation Palm for decades, yet grand mastery had always been far out of reach. He had thought it hopeless for life, never dreaming that by simply imitating the other's movements once, he would immediately break through. This was too fast! He quickly looked up, only to see the figure in the recording had already moved past the Dragon Transformation Palm and was performing the No-Flower Palm.

Elder Hongwu, who was standing nearby, also stood dumbfounded for a moment before following suit and imitating. *Boom!* Likewise, not long after, his power greatly increased, as if he too had broken through some kind of restriction. Immediately after, Liu Yang in the recording performed the Sect Leader's most proficient technique, Thunder-Clasping Cloud Suppressing. Sect Leader Kuixiao then imitated him, and not long after, he also broke through.

"Just by shaking his head here for three hours, he not only learned the sect's most profound martial arts... he also modified them, making them even more mysterious and powerful..." After an unknown period, Sect Leader Kuixiao recovered from his shock and mumbled, "Could it be that shaking one's head can clear the mind and accelerate martial arts learning?" He had also secretly tried shaking his head just now, but it only made him dizzy and blurry. How did the other person do it?

"It must be some kind of secret method for rapid learning!" the First Elder said after pondering for a moment. "By shaking his head, he activates his mind, allowing him to comprehend martial arts faster..."

"But he hasn't looked at any books," Elder Hongwu wondered, "so how did he learn these martial arts? He shook his head for three hours without even flipping a single page. When did he learn them? And how could he achieve grand mastery in the blink of an eye, surpassing us who have been immersed for decades?"

"It's possible... he secretly learned them during our battle," Sect Leader Kuixiao said after a pause. "Some highly talented individuals have photographic memories; many martial arts can be learned just by glancing at them! It's said that Hall Master Kong from back then possessed this ability..." This was the only explanation they had. Otherwise, they truly didn't know how the other party could learn martial arts just by shaking his head, and be so formidable at it.

As they were still marveling, the First Elder's voice, full of tension, rang out again. "Sect Leader... look!" Sect Leader Kuixiao looked up and immediately saw Liu Yang in the recording. After finishing Thunder-Clasping Cloud Suppressing, he clenched his fist and began to perform another set of martial arts.

"Red Dust Miles?""Purple Sun Hanging River?""Hundred Birds Facing the Sun?""Myriad Traces Vanish..."The names of Seven Star Pavilion's most top-tier martial arts were spoken one by one from the three men's mouths. The young man in the recording seemed to have instantly transformed into the founding patriarch of Seven Star Pavilion, effortlessly performing countless martial arts and cultivation techniques, each reaching the realm of grand mastery!

There was a dead silence. After an unknown period, Sect Leader Kuixiao's voice was somewhat hoarse. "Seven Star Pavilion has twenty-three top-tier martial arts. Throughout history, if a Sect Leader or Elder could master even one, it would be enough to make a name for themselves and have few rivals in the world... He's mastered all of them?"

Seven Star Pavilion possessed many martial arts on par with Thunder-Clasping Cloud Suppressing, but all were extremely difficult to cultivate, each requiring immense effort and dedication. For instance, to cultivate Thunder-Clasping Cloud Suppressing, he had specifically traveled to the Southern Border to observe thunderstorms, journeyed to the Western Regions to study the formation and descent of clouds, and even went to the City of Trapped Void to seek answers, nearly losing his life. Yet the other party... learned them all just by shaking his head in the library for three hours. Moreover, each set was more formidable than his own, a person who had cultivated for a century, as if Liu Yang had found the flaws in the techniques and corrected them. Could there truly be such a genius in the world?

"If he became our Sect Leader," Elder Hongwu said, unable to close his mouth, "our Seven Star Pavilion would transform into a Divine Seven Star Pavilion, and that would be just around the corner..."

"Become Sect Leader?" Sect Leader Kuixiao looked over. "You don't want to teach him a lesson anymore?" Earlier, this guy had explicitly said he wanted to properly teach the other party a lesson.

"Well..." Elder Hongwu's face flushed. "Even though I'm a major cultivation realm higher than him, I certainly wouldn't be his opponent." The other party had mastered so many martial arts, coupled with his understanding of combat. He understood that even if he was a major cultivation realm higher, he would still lose terribly in a fight. There was simply no comparison. Thus, the so-called lesson had become a joke.

"You're not his match even with a full realm's advantage. If he successfully breaks through to the peak of the Immortal Lord realm," the First Elder said, his eyes lighting up, "is there any chance he could win first place in the joint competition of the six major sects?"

"This..." Sect Leader Kuixiao pondered, "Zhang Xuan of Soaring Cloud Sword Pavilion, who comprehends the Sword Intent of the Gods, can also kill Immortal Lords while only a True Immortal. Zheng Yang, the new Sect Leader of Myriad Beasts Gate, despite being at the peak of the Immortal Lord realm, can tame countless immortal beasts for his own use, and his combat power is also extraordinary. If this Liu Yang is not one of those two in disguise, then he could certainly rival them, shining just as brightly!"

"Whether he is or isn't is actually quite simple," the First Elder said. "The Sect Leader just needs to enter the Divine Access Hall and ask Han Jianqiu and Qin Yuan. Won't that make it clear?"