Only I am Venerable-Chapter 31: Magical Mutation
The second page did not contain a Cultivation Technique Mantra either, but rather an ancient text. The language was archaic and its meaning difficult to grasp. If Qin Li hadn’t had a mother as exceptionally brilliant as Qin Hanyue, who had made sure he was literate before the age of ten and had him read all manner of books between the ages of eight and twelve, he never would have been able to understand it.
After reading it, Qin Li drew in a sharp breath, a chill running down his spine. Even when Qin Shisan had threatened him the day before, Qin Li hadn’t been overly concerned. But the words describing this Only I am Venerable technique were simply too horrifying, too unbelievable.
Qin Li couldn’t help but wonder, ’This ancient text... no matter how difficult it is, surely I’m not the only one who can understand it. This is practically a death threat, a stark warning. Why would so many people still throw caution to the wind and cultivate it?’
’Are they just hoping they’ll get lucky? That can’t be right... Maybe one or two people would be that foolish, but after so many have fallen into this trap, would there still be people dumb enough to take such a risk?’
’Power is important, sure, but what’s most important... is your life!’
The text’s prose may have been archaic, but its meaning was explosive—not archaic in the slightest. It stated very directly that without the Celestial Profound Pill, cultivating the Only I am Venerable technique was simply courting death.
The Nirvana every six months was, at its core, a process of repairing the damaged soul! And if one took a Celestial Profound Pill, they could avoid the occurrence of Nirvana altogether!
In other words, everything Hu said was true. Cultivating the Only I am Venerable technique was indeed fast, but it damaged a person’s Soul Origin Power. The power-dissipating Nirvana every six months was meant to repair the damaged soul. Once the soul was repaired, one’s strength would revert to its state before they started practicing the technique... wait, no, it would be slightly stronger than before. But that still meant it was basically a fruitless endeavor! Who would dare to cultivate it?
This meant that if someone had the recipe for the Celestial Profound Pill, they could protect their soul from harm and even prevent the Nirvana phenomenon! Only by possessing the Celestial Profound Pill could one truly become an unparalleled expert!
’This technique... is truly insidious!’
Qin Li couldn’t help but marvel at it. As he understood it, the techniques on the Celestial Essence Continent were a type of Cultivation Technique that allowed one to wield the Power of the Five Elements. Whether it was the Qin Family’s Blade Palm Technique or the techniques from Shangguan Tiema’s collection, Qin Li could usually guess a technique’s specialty from its name alone. A powerful technique could gather the surrounding Five Elements to achieve even greater levels of destruction!
Cultivation Techniques and combat techniques were one and the same; a technique was not merely a set of moves. Whether Low Level or High Level, it was always supplemented by a corresponding Cultivation Technique that activated its use and enhanced its power. This was the fundamental reason why Qin Li had set aside the Martial Arts from his past life and insisted on finding a new technique to cultivate!
Those Martial Arts from his past life were certainly powerful against ordinary people. But against the Martial Artists of the Celestial Essence Continent, he might stand a chance one-on-one against someone at the Yellow Level. Against a Profound Level opponent, however, Qin Li had almost no chance of victory. The incident with Qin Feng was purely a result of courage and luck; Qin Feng would never in a million years have imagined that Qin Li would not only dare to fight back but also possess such uncanny skills.
But if Qin Feng were to fight Qin Li again, Qin Li wouldn’t stand a chance at all!
A Primordial Power Heart Method, on the other hand, was something that purely enhanced one’s Primordial Power. According to the system of advancement on the Celestial Essence Continent, the levels were divided roughly as follows: the 1st to 3rd layers of Primordial Power were Yellow Level; the 4th to 6th layers were Profound Level; the 7th to 8th layers were Earth Level; and the 9th layer... was Celestial Level!
Within this system, given two people with the same level of Primordial Power, the Martial Artist cultivating a High Level technique would generally be stronger. But nothing was absolute. Take Qin Feng, a true master at the sixth stage of the Profound Level, who had fallen to an insignificant character like Qin Li simply because he had underestimated his opponent and lacked real combat experience. However, against someone who had reached the Earth Level, like Qin Shisan, it was questionable whether a sneak attack from Qin Li could even break through his Protective Gang Qi. A successful ambush was simply out of the question.
Therefore, challenging someone of a higher level wasn’t impossible, but if the gap between the two was too large, it was a joke. It was like asking a toddler to fight a grown adult; there was really no chance.
Qin Li stared at the Cultivation Technique in his hand, his heart in turmoil. Some might call him a fool. Given his current status as the link between the Qin Family and the Shangguan Family, obtaining a technique or a Primordial Power Heart Method would be a simple matter of asking. But Qin Li was just too stubborn for that. He could stand being looked down upon by others, but he couldn’t stand looking down on himself. No matter how good their things were, they still belonged to them. Besides, Qin Li didn’t want to get too entangled with these two powerful families.
Accepting favors puts you in their debt. That was true anywhere. There’s no such thing as a free lunch.
The smug faces of Qin Feng and Qin Hu flashed through Qin Li’s mind. He saw the years of secret ridicule from the Qin Family servants, and his mother’s dejected expression every time she collected her monthly allowance from the family’s bursar... Last night’s assassination attempt, Qin Shisan’s cold sneer... One by one, the images appeared in his mind.
To hell with it!
’I’ve lived two lives, yet I still can’t escape this wretched fate!’
’My master told me when I was a child that I had a resilient destiny, blessed with great luck and grand opportunities! Looking at it now, he was right. I took seven bullets and thought it was all over, that death was like a candle being snuffed out. Yet I somehow ended up in this world where strength is everything, and even the Innate Purple Qi Technique, which had never responded before, has become cultivable.’
’If even a child like Watermelon dares to practice this Only I am Venerable Technique, what the hell am I afraid of?’
With that thought, Qin Li gritted his teeth and turned to the next page.
It read: "Between Heaven and Earth, amidst all of creation, across the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, Only I am Venerable! Chapter One: Weapons. The weapons of the world are but sabers, spears, swords, halberds, axes, battle-axes, hooks, and forks... Chapter Two: Fists and Feet." After that were a series of diagrams and mantras.
Flipping to the end, he found a Cultivation Technique Mantra. Qin Li knew this was the most important part.
He focused his gaze, searing every word into his mind as he began to practice according to the mantra. Suddenly, a powerful repulsive force surged from his Dantian. The Innate Purple Qi Technique, as if meeting a formidable foe, automatically activated to protect him. His meridians then flooded with the energy of the Innate Purple Qi, which completely devoured the energy he had just produced from practicing the Only I am Venerable Technique!
Qin Li was absolutely astonished. He couldn’t exactly go find Watermelon right now to ask if the same thing had happened to him. ’Probably not,’ he thought. ’That kid doesn’t even have a Primordial Power Heart Method!’
Just then, a flash of insight appeared in Qin Li’s mind, like a stroke of divine inspiration. It felt as if he had grasped something without being taught, an incredibly pleasant sensation. Qin Li wondered if this was how the legendary cultivators felt when they comprehended the Celestial Dao. For that one instant, it seemed as if nothing between heaven and earth posed any difficulty for him. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞
But alas, that flash of insight was fleeting, gone in an instant. ’Master,’ Qin Li thought, ’did you really create this Innate Purple Qi Technique just because you were bored?’
Because in that single moment, the Innate Purple Qi Technique had given him a flash of understanding: the soul-damaging energy within the Only I am Venerable Technique had actually been devoured by the Innate Purple Qi!
Not only that, but it had also refined that energy for its own use. When Qin Li looked within himself again, he was stunned by the sight in his Dantian.
