Chapter 1894 (Raw 1995): Bitter Cultivation
Chapter 1894 (Raw 1995): Bitter Cultivation
Xiao Chen decided to progress from easy to difficult. He would practice Light of Freedom first to perfect his Thunder Dragon Steps.
He had created Thunder Dragon Steps himself, and it did not have a complete sequence of ideas.
As for the many Martial Techniques of the Heavenly Dragon Palace, they had been passed down through many generations, continuously perfected with a lot of effort.
Xiao Chen’s Thunder Dragon Steps might still be fine for his own cultivation, but it was not worthy of being compiled in a secret manual to be passed down.
This was the difference. Right now, he needed to perfect his Thunder Dragon Steps.
Light of Freedom was a lightning-attributed Movement Technique. After it reached Great Perfection, his entire physical body would turn into a flash of electric light.
One would be able to move five hundred kilometers in the clouds within a few breaths of time.
The more exquisite part of this Movement Technique lay in the word “freedom.”
Lightning was uncontrollable. It was not like wind or other attributes. After a direction was determined, lightning would not be able to turn.
Although lightning was fast, it was straight and direct.
However, Light of Freedom could be freely controlled within a short distance, allowing one to change directions as one pleased.
However, its shortcoming was also rather obvious. One could only turn into a bolt of lightning. During that time, one’s offensive means would be limited.
Hence, this Movement Technique was excellent for fleeing or traveling. However, it had limited use for killing an enemy.
Xiao Chen flipped open the secret manual and seriously read it. Then, the Thunder Great Dao’s Dao disk spread out silently.
The purple Dao disk gave off a gentle glow. As Xiao Chen flipped the pages, it flickered slightly.
Without his intentional control, the world changed as Xiao Chen comprehended Light of Freedom. Thunderclouds gathered, and lightning occasionally tore across the sky.
Night and day passed as Xiao Chen read Light of Freedom’s secret manual over and over again.
His eyes looked like stars, sparkling with intelligence. It was like his eyes pierced through time and space to watch the creator of this Movement Technique practicing it.
Seven days later:
“Crack!”
Xiao Chen, who appeared to have petrified, slammed the secret manual closed. The light in his eyes extinguished, and he withdrew the Dao disk into his body. The surrounding mysterious phenomena vanished, and the world turned quiet.
“Whoosh!”
Without any warning, Xiao Chen’s body suddenly transformed into specks of electric light, a bright flash of lightning that streaked to the courtyard’s wall. In the next moment, the lightning turned back into Xiao Chen.
“Pu ci!”
After standing stably, Xiao Chen vomited a mouthful of blood. However, he showed a faint smile on his face. “I see.”
He had successfully executed a Medial Grade Earth Ranked Movement Technique.
This was Xiao Chen’s first time using it, and he was clearly unfamiliar with it, injuring himself in the process.
This Movement Technique involved turning into lightning. When reforming, there would be a lag. Otherwise, if one reformed too hastily, one would injure one’s self, which was very risky.
“This Movement Technique is really strong. Probably only the Dragon Race can practice it. If other cultivators wanted to cultivate it, they would only be seeking death as they do not have the strong recovery ability of the Dragon Race,” Xiao Chen said to himself.
Then, in the next moment, he turned into a flash of lightning again, rushing to the peak of a mountain near Cold Moon Cave.
“Whoosh!”
After Xiao Chen’s body reformed, he turned back into lightning again and leaped up to the clouds.
After he turned into lightning, his speed in the clouds increased by a hundred times, allowing him to experience a thrill that he never felt before.
“That was fast!” Xiao Chen could not help exclaiming after recovering his body.
However, when he checked on his Veritable Essence Energy, he got a surprise. He had actually consumed one-third of the primal chaos Veritable Essence Energy in his 9-Star Primal Core in just a few breaths of time.
“If I don’t raise my cultivation, I can’t use this Movement Technique casually,” Xiao Chen said to himself after returning to Cold Moon Cave.
No wonder the secret manual specially instructed that while this Movement Technique was extraordinary, it did not have a high combat ability and was only suitable for fleeing.
However, using Light of Freedom to improve Thunder Dragon Steps would result in a perfect match.
Once that thought occurred to him, he applied himself to it without hesitation.
In the following days, Xiao Chen kept switching between the two Movement Techniques in Cold Moon Cave.
Sometimes, he would turn into lightning, moving freely. Sometimes, he would ride on a lightning dragon and move about.
While the thought was great, the reality was cruel. Every attempt at merger failed.
Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure...
After multiple failures, the berserk lightning had riddled Xiao Chen’s body with wounds. However, he did not show any intention of giving up.
On a certain day after half a month:
“Boom!”
Suddenly, a strange bolt of lightning fell from the sky. It fell straight down. Just as it was about to reach the ground, it suddenly turned and moved around the mountains and rivers.
When the strange lightning was close to Cold Moon Cave, it released Dragon Might and turned into a realistic-looking lightning dragon.
The lightning dragon landed and blasted apart a palace hall within the city-sized Cold Moon Cave.
A cloud of dust bloomed, and the air flickered with crackling electricity.
Carefree laughter came from the thick dust cloud. “Hahahaha! I did it! I did it!”
When the dust scattered, a white-clad person appeared among the rubble. He looked fatigued and was covered in dust.
However, that person tightly clenched his fists. Stubbornness and determination flickered in his clear and bright eyes.
I must become a heaven-class core disciple! I must obtain the qualifications to go to Ancestor Dragon City!
With effort and persistence, there will be a reward.
“Again!” Xiao Chen roared and shook off the dust on his body. Then, he turned into a lightning dragon and soared into the sky.
This is it! This is it! Xiao Chen rejoiced in his heart. However, he was scarily calm.
After he turned into a pure lightning dragon, his speed was no slower than lightning. However, it became easier to control, and his offensive might increased considerably.
Having combined the two Movement Techniques successfully, Xiao Chen improved rapidly.
After another half month, nine bolts of lightning suddenly flew out of Cold Moon Cave, then turned into dragons in the next moment.
Nine dragons flew about in the air.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
The nine lightning dragons easily crushed the tall peaks of the mountain range, blasting them into pieces.
When the nine lightning dragons landed, they gathered and quickly merged. Then, Xiao Chen revealed his true body.
“I did it.”
Xiao Chen finally revealed a satisfied smile. He had finally perfected Thunder Dragon Steps.
Later on, he would take things in order, moving according to the framework that he set and practicing Thunder Dragon Steps to its peak.
He had devoted two months to perfecting this Thunder Dragon Steps. By this time, the commotion that he caused at the dueling plaza should have already passed.
Xiao Chen wondered about the rich clan disciples that entered with him. They should have already made a name for themselves.
Those people were Holy Venerates in the first place. After entering this Heavenly Dragon Palace, they had famous teachers to guide them.
In two months, those people should have improved rapidly and already left closed-door cultivation.
However, that did not matter. These random thoughts had nothing to do with Xiao Chen for now.
“Next should be practicing Firmament’s Rage.”
Xiao Chen sat down cross-legged and took out the secret manual of Firmament’s Rage—the Dragon’s Gate’s Secret Technique—and seriously read through it.
He no longer thought about anything happening outside.
The first step of Firmament’s Rage’s cultivation was the tempering of the five fingers, forging them into a claw that equaled that of an ancient Divine Dragon. They should be impenetrable, strengthened to the point where they were akin to a divine weapon.
Xiao Chen carefully studied the secret manual, continuously thinking about the difficult aspects of the Secret Technique.
Normal people would find many parts impenetrable. However, Xiao Chen used his terrifying comprehension ability to figure them out one by one.
Many stars flickered in Xiao Chen’s clear and bright eyes, looking like they shone with the light of intelligence.
“Because a mixed-blood dragon’s bloodline is not pure enough, it is very difficult to temper the fingers into a dragon claw. Even if one succeeded by some stroke of luck, it would not be powerful enough. Hence, mixed-blood dragons indeed cannot practice this Firmament’s Rage.
“Trying to forge the fingers into an ancient Divine Dragon’s claw that is as tough as divine materials without losing their flexibility is a contradiction in itself. This is a big problem.
“After successfully forming the claw, one needs to infuse their Great Dao Energy to fill their fingers with spirituality. As a result, the move differs from person to person. If it is done with the Sword Dao, the five fingers will be like swords. If it is done with the Saber Sao, naturally, the five fingers will be like sabers.
“After that, I have to find a way to infuse in the energy of the five elements—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. I cannot lack any of them. With the five elements cycling, Firmament’s Rage can condense space and display its true might, one that can destroy nations.”
Secret Techniques were hard to practice and cultivate.
Difficult! Difficult! Difficult!
This was especially so for Firmament’s Rage, which was even more difficult. The Martial Technique Palace’s administrator was right.
Clearly, giving up was not Xiao Chen’s style. He needed to succeed in practicing Firmament’s Rage.
Seven days later, after hard training, he finally completed the first step.
With a thought, Xiao Chen’s fingers flickered with azure light, looking tough and sharp.
He gently swiped his hand across the floor, which was made of divine materials, and left five claw marks.
“Boom!”
Xiao Chen pressed his five fingers in and grabbed forcefully. He managed to pull up the entire floor.
As rumbling sounds rang out continuously, pieces of the floor made of divine materials flew about. The formations in the room immediately broke.
The next step was the infusion of Great Dao Energy to make his five fingers like sabers. Each finger needed to contain overwhelming saber intent. Naturally, just one type of Great Dao Energy would not satisfy Xiao Chen. He also wanted to infuse the Thunder Dao’s Great Dao Energy into them to produce an even more horrifying might.
Because Xiao Chen had a Divine Dragon bloodline and a strong physique, he completed the first step extremely smoothly.
However, the second step was somewhat difficult.