Chapter 51: Heavenly Dao Golden Body

In the corner, rows of books were densely packed. All were cultivation techniques, including those for Martial Artists Stages 1, 2, 3, and 4. Similar to Hongtian Academy, the number of books decreased with higher stages; for Stage 6 cultivation methods, there were only about ten volumes.

"Though few, they are better than nothing!" He had initially expected hundreds or even thousands of books, similar to the previous library, for him to browse through. Now, it seemed he had been overly optimistic.

However, after a moment's thought, he understood. Academies teach and nurture talent, and since everyone has a different physique, suitable cultivation methods also vary. If everything were rigid and unchanging, how could they teach according to individual aptitude? Naturally, more secret techniques are needed to broaden one's thinking. A personal collection, however, is different; only one or two methods might suit him. To have gathered over ten volumes was already quite good.

He casually picked up these ten-odd books. With a quick flip, secret manuals appeared in his mind.

"What's wrong? Are these cultivation methods too low-level for your taste, young man?" Seeing the young man merely pick up the books, quickly flip through them, and put them down without seeming to read any content, Master Lu Chen asked, puzzled.

"No, I was just looking around!" Zhang Xuan shook his head, glanced around, and seeing only these few cultivation methods, was about to bid farewell. He suddenly paused, pointing to a pile of books not far away: "What are these...?"

"Oh, these were left by my good-for-nothing son!" Master Lu Chen said with a wry smile. "He favored brute strength, so he collected many secret manuals on enhancing physical power. He even went to the royal library and brought back all related books from there! For a martial artist's cultivation, true qi is the most important; the physical body is merely superficial, not worth mentioning!" Although martial artists also practice the Skin and Bone Realm, tempering their skin and bones, when it truly comes down to it, true qi is paramount. Only with pure and robust true qi can one's strength truly be formidable!

As for the physical body, in the eyes of many cultivators, it's merely a minor, auxiliary path, inconsequential.

"May I take a look?" Seeing that there were thousands of books on enhancing physical strength, Zhang Xuan was intrigued and couldn't help but ask.

He possessed the Library of Heaven's Path. He didn't need the cultivation methods to be profound; as long as there were enough of them, he could filter out the dross, retain the essence, distinguish the true from the false, and keep what was truly useful.

Although cultivating the physical body seemed superficial and wouldn't lead to rapid advancement in strength, if so many books could help eliminate errors and guide him onto the correct path, perhaps the effect would be entirely different.

Anyway, he didn't have enough Stage 6 cultivation methods right now, so it might be better to look through these first; perhaps he could gain some insights.

"Young man, feel free to look!" Master Lu Chen smiled faintly. Since he had brought him in, he naturally wouldn't be stingy; he could look however he pleased.

"Then I'll be presumptuous!" Zhang Xuan nodded and walked toward the pile of books. Just like before, he casually flipped through them.

Pages rustled! Pages rustled!

"What is he doing...?" Master Lu Chen, who was to the side, looked completely bewildered by this action. Wasn't he going to read? Why was he just flipping through them? Could it be that these books... also weren't to his liking?

That's right. This young man was looking for Stage 6 cultivation methods, so his strength must have already reached Martial Artist Stage 5. At that level, he would have long since passed the Skin and Bone Realm, making physical body cultivation largely irrelevant. He was probably just curious. Realizing this, he understood and stopped overthinking. He also casually picked up some calligraphy left by a master and began to observe it carefully.

More than ten minutes later, he had flipped through the entire pile of body-tempering techniques.

"The correct cultivation method!" Looking at the thousands of new books in the Library of Heaven's Path, Zhang Xuan's mind stirred, and with a flash of light, a flawless book appeared in his consciousness.

Similar to the previous cultivation methods, it compiled all the correct steps from thousands of books, perfectly integrated.

"Let's see..." He casually opened the page, and a passage of text instantly flooded into his mind.

"True qi is water, and the physical body is the barrel that holds the water. Only if the barrel is sturdy can it hold more water, and water of higher quality..."

The very first sentence immediately enlightened him.

"That's right!" Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up.

Previously, he had thought like everyone else, believing that physical cultivation was unimportant and that true qi cultivation was paramount. Only now did he realize how shallow that idea was. If there's no skin, where will the fur cling? The relationship between true qi and the physical body is the same. Only with a strong physical body can one withstand more turbulent true qi power and unleash greater might.

As if a great door had been opened, Zhang Xuan couldn't help but continue reading downward, growing more excited with each line. The true qi within his body also began to circulate ceaselessly according to the methods described in the book.

Creak! Creak!

As the true qi circulated, his already strong physical body underwent another transformation. His muscle fibers gradually became thicker, and his skin grew tougher. Everything was progressing along a more rational and correct path.

Crack! Crack!

Immersed in the book's explanations, Zhang Xuan was unaware that his physical body was undergoing an astonishing transformation. It was as if he were being cast in steel, slowly turning him into a formidable weapon, far beyond ordinary people.

"As expected of a cultivation method refined by the library, it's truly powerful! From now on, I'll call it the Heavenly Dao Golden Body!"

An hour later.

Zhang Xuan finally finished reading the book, and his true qi had thoroughly circulated through his body according to the methods described within.

Buzz!

As he finished naming it, the book before him glowed brilliantly, and four large characters appeared on its cover: "Heavenly Dao Golden Body!"

"I'll cultivate this properly in the future... Hmm? Have I already finished cultivating it?"

He looked at the book, intending to go back and cultivate it thoroughly, but then realized that, without his conscious awareness, he had already completed the cultivation of this technique while reading!

In other words, he had completely mastered this cultivation method.

"I already knew that Heavenly Dao cultivation methods have no errors and cultivate very quickly. I just didn't expect this Heavenly Dao Golden Body to be cultivated without my realizing it..."

He had previous experience with Heavenly Dao cultivation methods, knowing that flawless techniques yielded twice the results with half the effort and were extremely fast. He had also anticipated that cultivating the Heavenly Dao Golden Body wouldn't be too difficult, but he never expected... to complete the cultivation simply by reading through the book once.

It left him somewhat dumbfounded.

"Never mind that for now. Although I didn't find enough Stage 6 martial artist cultivation methods, with this body-tempering technique, my strength should have improved considerably!"

This visit to Master Lu Chen's house, while not achieving the goal of finding enough Stage 6 martial artist cultivation methods, still resulted in gaining the Heavenly Dao Golden Body, which was a definite gain.

However, the physical body is different from true qi. The quantity of true qi is clearly visible, and after cultivation, one's strength is apparent at a glance. But the physical body is hidden beneath the skin, making it difficult to clearly perceive its changes.

In other words, although he had completed the Heavenly Dao Golden Body, he didn't know how much his strength had increased, nor whether his physical body had actually grown or not. Of course, it wasn't crucial. Since he had already finished cultivating, he would know once he found a strength-testing stone pillar and tried it out.

"What exactly is this young man Zhang Xuan doing?" Master Lu Chen, who had come along, was now utterly bewildered. He was reading, but also occasionally looked at Zhang Xuan. This fellow had only flipped through the books for a short while, then stood motionless in one spot for an entire hour. What was going on?

Could he have read too much and fallen into a cultivation deviation? This wasn't unprecedented. There was once a super genius in Tianxuan Kingdom's capital. While others needed two, three, or even more years to learn a cultivation method or martial skill, he only needed two or three days! Because of this, he learned all sorts of cultivation methods and martial skills, hoping to integrate them and create a unique one. The result was... he fell into a cultivation deviation before his new and unique method was even created!

This young man, at such a young age, had already cultivated his power to the peak of Martial Artist Stage 5, and his calligraphy and painting had reached the master realm. Could he... really be like that senior, biting off more than he could chew, and encountering some problem?

"Young man..." Filled with doubt, he could no longer hold back. He walked closer, reaching out to interrupt his thoughts, hoping to prevent him from falling deeper.

Zhang Xuan was currently marveling at the power of the Heavenly Dao divine technique when he heard a shout, followed by a hand touching his body.

"Oh, Master Lu Chen..." Coming back to his senses, he quickly turned around, and his shoulder accidentally brushed against the latter.

Thump!

With a dull thud, Master Lu Chen was instantly sent flying backward. His back slammed into a row of bookshelves, scattering books everywhere with a clatter.