Chapter 131: Folded Sound Curve, Zhuang Ziqing's Shock

"It's truly untrainable," Zhao Xing thought as he walked out of Fuchun Garden, recalling what Marquis Tian had just said.

When fighting with the army, they sometimes encountered extremely unusual situations, such as "Ten Suns in the Sky," which completely destroyed everything.

There were also extremely special cases, such as forbidden magic zones.

In such zones, not only Diviners but all magic-based professions were unable to cast spells, leaving them with only their physical combat abilities.

At this point, the advantage of martial artists became apparent.

Precisely because of such situations, martial artists had always been a large group. Otherwise, the Qi Yun Dynasty would solely train mages, as magic was often far more effective than martial arts.

Zhao Xing had participated in similar training in his previous life. Therefore, when Tian Yan gave him those two elixirs, he vaguely guessed what the mandatory training course would be.

He just hadn't expected it to come so soon.

"But thinking about it, it makes sense," Zhao Xing mused. "The Diviner reserves in the Ten Sun Cave Heaven all have a foundation in magic. In the short term, there won't be much improvement in magic training. Instead, physical training like this will be more effective and can also raise everyone's 'Gathering Origin' level."

After learning about the mandatory training content for twenty days later, Zhao Xing also understood that the welcoming gift Tian Yan had given him was not random.

The Earth Origin Vermilion Fruit was to improve his 'Gathering Origin' level.

The Hundred Beasts Throat Elixir and Earth Fiend Lung Refining Elixir were for preparing to cultivate martial arts.

Since physical training and fighting were involved, some martial arts moves would certainly be necessary.

"For Diviners to practice martial arts," Zhao Xing thought, "unless they already have a foundation, they won't achieve much in such a short time."

"Month for staff, year for saber, lifetime for spear," he mused. "Practicing weapon techniques? That's even harder."

Practicing hand-to-hand combat? That also couldn't be achieved overnight.

"The quick-gain option is sound wave techniques," he concluded. "This must be what the teacher intended, and most Diviners will probably choose these types of martial arts."

"Oh, the second and third-tier treasures are starting to rise in price."

Zhao Xing was browsing the Martial Arts Repository.

Soon, he saw more than a dozen types of second-tier elixirs, such as the Tiger Throat Elixir and Lung Strengthening Elixir, starting to rise in price.

The four academies only had 200 people.

Only 21 people had A-grade resources.

Based on the situation in each academy, Zhao Xing estimated that fewer than 1,000 people received 1,000 training points per month.

After joining their respective branches, most people received fewer than 500 points monthly.

Consequently, the price increase was mostly for second-tier elixirs, while third-tier elixirs only increased by one or two points.

As for the Hundred Beasts Throat Elixir and Earth Fiend Lung Refining Elixir that Zhao Xing possessed?

Their prices hadn't budged at all.

This was because ninety percent of the Diviner reserves couldn't afford even one.

Zhao Xing still had over 6,000 points, plus the Thunder Stones sent by Long Xiao and Chen Shijie, which had a recycling value of 8,000 points.

Seeing the price increase for second-tier treasures, he had considered stockpiling them, but then he remembered that the recycling price was only eighty percent of the selling price, and he immediately abandoned the idea.

"Even if all ten thousand Diviner reserves came to buy second-tier treasures, the price wouldn't go up by many points," he muttered. "Forget it, no need to engage in such underhanded tactics."

Zhao Xing closed the treasure list and switched to the martial arts technique list.

"Let's see if there are any sound wave techniques I want."

A quick search brought up a large number of martial arts techniques; even searching for sound wave techniques yielded thousands of results. Zhao Xing once again marveled at the abundance of resources during this era.

If this were during the collapse of the Qi Yun Dynasty, the difficulty of acquiring any of them would be ten times greater. Due to the turmoil, fewer people would be researching new martial arts and spells.

Tiger Roar: Novice-tier Martial ArtPrice: 80 pointsAfter cultivation, one can emit the roar of a fierce tiger.Description: Upon purchase, you will receive a set of accompanying cultivation resources, including materials such as the Tiger Throat Elixir and Bone Fish Lung Slices.

Dragon's Roar: Novice-tier Martial ArtPrice: 110 pointsAfter cultivation, one can emit the clear sound of a dragon's roar.Description: Upon purchase, you will receive a set of accompanying cultivation resources, including Dragon's Feast Grass and Lung Qi Liquid.

The cultivation methods themselves were still free. The points were mainly for purchasing the necessary treasures for cultivation, which could aid or accelerate cultivation.

Zhao Xing was now relatively wealthy and no longer bothered with novice-tier martial arts.

He directly chose to view intermediate-tier martial arts.

His teacher had already prepared cultivation materials for him. He only needed to check what parts were missing, and if he had already prepared some materials or treasures, the price would be cheaper.

Tiger Roar, Dragon's Roar: Intermediate-tier Martial ArtPrice: 1,200 pointsAfter cultivation, one can emit the sound of a tiger's roar and a dragon's cry, continuously echoing, capable of shattering rocks and cracking metal.Description: Upon purchase, you will receive a set of accompanying cultivation resources, including Dragon Spirit Grass, Lung Gold Spirit Liquid, Saber Fish Lung Slices, and Fierce Tiger Throat Elixir.

"Tiger Roar, Dragon's Roar is a decent sound wave technique," Zhao Xing commented, "but the materials required for its cultivation don't overlap with what my teacher gave me. Skipping this one."

Zhao Xing continued browsing. Intermediate-tier martial arts also had varying levels of quality, and now that he was well-off, he naturally wasn't interested in mediocre ones.

Lu Shu's Cry: Intermediate-tier Martial Art.Price: 2,500 points.Lu Shu's Cry, a languid sound, causes limbs to ache and the body to become weak upon hearing it.Description: Upon purchase, you will receive a set of accompanying cultivation resources, including a fourth-tier Hundred Beasts Throat Elixir, third-tier deer antler, third-tier lung elixir, and a Sound Storage Stone.

"Hmm? This one isn't bad," he thought. "If I were to buy it, I'd only need to spend an extra 500 points... Let's see if there's anything better."

Raging Gong Sound: Intermediate-tier Martial ArtPrice: 1,500 points

Nine Yin Ocarina BlastsReleases nine consecutive sound waves, creating a chain explosion whose power can be stacked.Price: 2,200 pointsPrice: 1,000 pointsPrice: 1,000 points

As he continued browsing, Zhao Xing saw many familiar and unfamiliar sound wave martial arts.

Many had good effects and power, but they were difficult to cultivate and required many supplementary materials.

Some were cost-effective, but their power was mediocre.

After half an hour of careful review, Zhao Xing finally decided on three sound wave martial arts.

Kui Niu Thunder Roar: Intermediate-tier Martial ArtPrice: 8,000 pointsKui Niu Thunder Roar, eclipsing the sun and moon.Description: Upon purchase, you will receive a set of accompanying cultivation resources, including the Hundred Beasts Throat Elixir, Earth Fiend Lung Refining Elixir, Eighth-grade Brute Ox Vocal Cord Meat, Lung Gold Spirit Liquid, and other materials.

"The Kui Niu's hide can be a drum, its bones a mallet, and its roar can be heard across ten thousand li. This is a sound wave secret art passed down from the ancient Sect Era." Zhao Xing, seeing this familiar name, placed the order without hesitation.

He knew the power of this sound wave martial art. Among sound wave techniques, it was considered top-tier. Furthermore, it could be continuously cultivated to higher levels; this intermediate-tier method was merely a part of the complete secret art.

"I already have three Hundred Beasts Throat Elixirs and two Earth Fiend Lung Refining Elixirs," he calculated, "so buying this secret art only actually requires 4,000 points for the remaining materials."

As for the other two sound wave secret techniques, Folding Sound and Curved Form, their materials were relatively inexpensive, and they were easy to learn.

Zhao Xing bought double portions of their materials, spending another 4,000 points.

If the Kui Niu Thunder Roar proved difficult to cultivate and showed little effect within twenty days, then the Folding Sound and Curved Form techniques could be used as a stopgap.

"Order placed!"

When purchasing the Kui Niu Thunder Roar, Zhao Xing specifically noted that only 4,000 points should be deducted.

Purchasing double portions of both the Folding Sound and Curved Form techniques deducted another 4,000 points.

Originally, after converting the Thunder Stones into points, and adding the 5,000 points for A-grade resources and 1,000 points for reporting, he had a total of 14,000 points.

Now, after the deductions, he only had 6,000 points left.

"Six thousand points should be enough for now," Zhao Xing thought, not feeling bad about spending them. They were just numbers sitting there; they couldn't reproduce, so of course, he should spend them!

Fifteen minutes later, at the gate of the Eighteen Locust Willow Courtyard.

"Clip-clop, clip-clop."

The familiar sound of a bamboo horse approached. A Mechanic, carrying a large box, stopped outside the courtyard gate.

"Zhao Xing, your delivery has arrived!"

The Mechanic yelled at the top of his lungs.

There was no other way; the courtyard was too large, and a softer call wouldn't be heard.

The sound spread out in ripples. Zhao Xing flew over, looking at the Mechanic outside the gate, feeling a little surprised.

"Old Gao, your voice is quite loud," Zhao Xing remarked. "Have you cultivated a sound wave technique?"

Gao Ming was the name of this delivery Mechanic. After delivering letters and goods a few times, he had gotten to know Zhao Xing.

"Yes, I cultivated the Nine Yin Ocarina Blasts," Gao Ming said with a laugh. "We Mechanics don't have much time to practice martial arts; passing the assessment is enough. Besides, I'm too lazy to dismount and touch the spell formation on the courtyard gate. It's much simpler to just yell."

"Alright, toss the stuff over to me. You can get back to work."

"Okay, catch!" Gao Ming flung the package, and it landed steadily in Zhao Xing's hand.

"Clip-clop, clip-clop," he rode off on his bamboo horse.

Inside the courtyard, Zhao Xing carried the packages to his cultivation room.

"Everything's here."

"It's quite heavy, actually."

The items came in separate boxes: three boxes in total, one large and two small.

The smaller ones were clearly the two sets for Folding Sound and Curved Form.

"Folding Sound and Curved Form are less difficult," he decided. "I'll practice them first to build a foundation."

Opening the box, he found a martial arts manual inside.

Whether it was a martial arts manual or a magic manual, these pages contained subtle Dao charm.

As Zhao Xing opened it, the method of Yuan Qi circulation for "Folding Sound and Curved Form" appeared in his mind. At the same time, the characters before his eyes seemed to come alive.

"Swish, swish, swish"—all the characters on one page transformed into human figures, demonstrating the techniques before Zhao Xing.

"The manuals must cost money too," Zhao Xing thought. "They're more advanced than the books I read in Gucheng." He quietly immersed himself in the understanding.

After finishing, he opened two small boxes.

Inside the boxes were a third-tier elixir and a bottle of regulating spirit liquid to protect the throat and lungs, preventing injury to the internal organs and throat during initial cultivation.

Otherwise, just yelling for half an hour could make one's voice hoarse.

"Time to cultivate!"

The next day, at dawn.

"Haa!"

Zhao Xing opened his mouth. A stream of Qi rose from his abdominal cavity, causing a faint stinging sensation, and was then compressed through his throat and mouth.

"Whoosh!"

His lips moved slightly. A sharp, vaguely rhombus-shaped spike, formed from sound waves, pierced the air, violently hitting the wall in front of him.

"Bang!"

The walls of the cultivation room were reinforced with spell formations. When hit, they only showed a white dimple.

"After a night of hard cultivation, this second technique has also been initiated," Zhao Xing muttered, "reaching the first-revolution martial art level."

Zhao Xing checked his status panel.

Intermediate Martial Art (Sound Blade): 1254/9999Intermediate Martial Art (Sound Spike): 1005/9999

"Although the Sound Blade and Sound Spike of Folding Sound and Curved Form are two different martial arts, they share commonalities," Zhao Xing noted. "Only the supplementary materials required for cultivation differ."

"They're easy to pick up, and their power isn't small." Zhao Xing touched his throat, feeling no adverse effects, and continued cultivating.

You cultivated ten times and gained some insight, adjusting the Yuan Qi circulation position, increasing progress by 200 points.

You cultivated a hundred times and achieved minor success, perfecting flaws in your force exertion, increasing progress by 400 points.

You cultivated a thousand times and gained considerable understanding of this martial art, increasing progress by 500 points.

You cultivated five thousand times and have fully mastered this martial art, beginning to make overall adjustments based on your body structure to make it more suitable for your use, increasing progress by 2,000 points!

You have reached the Seventh Revolution!

You cultivated five thousand times and comprehended the profound mysteries of this martial art, having truly entered its inner sanctum, and your body has fully adapted to the use of the secret technique, increasing progress by 2,000 points!

You have reached the Seventh Revolution!

For three consecutive days, Zhao Xing was completely immersed in cultivation.

When tired or sleepy, he would use the Sleep Bug spell to clear his head.

When hungry, he would eat Origin Fruits to recover, always maintaining peak condition.

In three days and three nights, Zhao Xing cultivated both sound wave martial arts five thousand times each.

"Five thousand practices each, and I've reached the Seventh Revolution," Zhao Xing said with a slight smile.

The descriptions of these two sound wave martial arts in the Martial Arts Repository also mentioned how many times one needed to practice to reach certain realms.

This was assuming no shortage of auxiliary materials.

Generally, performing it over a hundred times would lead to initiation, reaching the First Revolution.

Five thousand times meant considerable proficiency. According to the cultivation standard for normal talent, one could probably cultivate it to the Fourth Revolution.

If one fell below this number, it indicated that their talent was below average, proving a weaker talent in that particular martial art.

"The big data provided by the Martial Arts Repository can help people see if they are suited for practicing a particular secret technique."

"From what I can tell now, even for sound wave martial arts, my comprehension is still quite good."

There's a big difference between the Fourth and Seventh Revolutions.

From the First to Third Revolutions, one could only say the technique had just been initiated.

From the Fourth to Sixth Revolutions, one had achieved minor success.

From the Seventh to Ninth Revolutions, one had truly entered its inner sanctum, having understood the technique to a profound level.

The big data in the Martial Arts Repository only recorded how long it took to cultivate to the Fourth Revolution. This was because whether one could truly enter its inner sanctum afterward depended too much on individual talent, making it unsuitable for general reference.

Some people might reach completion after practicing five thousand times, while others might still be at the Fourth Revolution after tens of thousands of practices.

After a short rest, Zhao Xing left his room and headed to Fuchun Garden.

Tian Yan was a relatively responsible teacher. Every three days, he would check Zhao Xing's cultivation progress.

However, today, he wasn't the only one in Fuchun Garden.

Zhuang Ziqing and Han Bing from the Earthly Fortune Academy were also there.

Although they had different teachers, Tian Yan was still one of the Agricultural Officials of the Earthly Fortune Academy, enjoying A-grade treatment. They could still come to seek his guidance, though of course, they had to consider the timing; they couldn't disturb him every day.

"Zhao Xing." Zhuang Ziqing greeted him, his voice a bit hoarse.

As for Han Bing, he didn't speak at all, merely nodding.

"You two, also..."

"Yes," Zhuang Ziqing said with a wry smile. "The mandatory training prohibits the use of magic; we must cultivate martial arts. Diviners' first choice is always sound wave techniques."

Zhuang Ziqing's face was originally somewhat thin, but now his cheeks were puffed out, giving him a squarish face.

Han Bing's cheeks weren't puffed out, but his throat was visibly red and swollen, not yet subsided.

It seemed both of them had encountered some problems during cultivation and had come to seek guidance from Tian Yan.

"You're all here?" After a short wait, Tian Yan emerged from behind a screen in the back hall. His steps were firm, and his demeanor was as steady as a mountain, somewhat different from his usual benevolent and gentle self. It seemed he had just finished his own practice.

"Greetings, Teacher."

"Greetings, Marquis Tian."

"Gre-e-tings... Marquis."

The three bowed in unison. Han Bing also forced himself to speak despite his throat discomfort, but it was clearly a struggle.

"How did you end up like this?" Tian Yan looked at Han Bing and frowned. "In just a few days, your voice is completely hoarse, your throat is red and swollen, and your force exertion has a serious problem in this area... Come here."

Han Bing obediently stepped forward.

Tian Yan's palm moved back and forth over Han Bing's throat. A faint breeze entered, and the surrounding light seemed to brighten.

"This technique..." Zhao Xing vaguely felt the environment around him change. "Could Teacher be using a Solar Term Order to treat Han Bing? I can only vaguely sense it's related to spring, but I can't discern the specific method."

"Alright," Tian Yan said. "The problem isn't big. Try speaking."

"Thank you, Marquis Tian." Han Bing quickly cupped his hands in greeting. His swelling had already subsided.

"Teacher, what technique was that?" Zhao Xing asked.

"Solar Term Order, Beginning of Spring," Tian Yan explained. "Life's revival; its Qi can heal all things." He pointed at Han Bing's throat. "He's shed a layer of skin."

Zhao Xing looked and indeed, some dead skin had appeared on Han Bing's throat.

This was like a snake shedding its skin or a crab changing its shell. In this process, old organs and tissues are replaced, and new ones grow.

However, it was very difficult for humans to achieve such a transformation. Zhao Xing speculated that Tian Yan's Solar Term Order had reached a level where it could allow life to 'undergo seasonal change', at least partial seasonal change.

"Zhuang Ziqing, your problem isn't big, but Zhao Xing." Tian Yan frowned. "Your voice is as normal as ever. Have you been slacking these past few days, or did you not understand my intentions and didn't cultivate sound wave techniques?"

The latter half of his words carried a hint of severity. Marquis Tian thought Zhao Xing had grown arrogant after entering the Earthly Fortune Academy.

"Teacher, you've misunderstood," Zhao Xing quickly said. "Your student has not slacked off."

"Prove it to me." Tian Yan pointed to a stone lion placed outside the hall.

"As you command." Zhao Xing turned around. As he breathed, his chest swelled. Then he opened his mouth and exhaled, and instantly a sound blade sliced through the air, striking the stone lion.

"Crack!" A corner of the stone lion's ear was instantly sliced off.

"Huh?!" Zhuang Ziqing, standing nearby, saw this scene and his eyelids twitched.