Chapter 235: Chapter 210: Nine Transformations Spirit Flame Technique and Celestial Derivation Five Elements Skill

The library was located within the Zhurong Daoist School. It occupied a large area and maintained the appearance of a classical palace.

Along the way, one could see the dining hall, training grounds, Beast Garden, and practice fields, all laid out in an orderly fashion.

Zhurong Daoist School accepted about nine hundred students each year. Including teachers, students, and various administrative staff, the total population was around four thousand. As the two walked, they barely saw any older students; most were new students looking around everywhere.

Some other students tried to enter the library but were blocked by a layer of thick fog.

"Come in!"

Just as Chen Che was about to contact Li Tingyu, her voice echoed in his mind.

Then, the mist that had been enveloping the library actually parted on its own.

"It opened!?"

"We can go in!"

But when the students who were about to follow them tried to step forward, the mist closed again, blocking their path once more.

Inside the hall, a Luminous Bead as large as a reclining ox floated in mid-air, illuminating the space as if it were perpetual daylight.

"So this is the true essence of the Zhurong Daoist School. The Secret Manuals of the entire Immortal Sect are stored here. From Qi Refining to Divinity Transformation, they have everything. The Energy-Introducing Technique we learned was compiled from these Qi Refining Techniques!"

Looking around, Ye Zhihan couldn’t help but sigh in admiration.

"My family’s collection of books is less than one-thousandth of what’s here."

Chen Che remained silent.

Ye Zhihan’s family was a Nascent Soul Race, but their elite members had been all but wiped out while resisting Evil Cultivators during the Calamity of Heaven’s Fall. It wasn’t until a Nascent Soul Cultivator emerged in their clan in the last two hundred years that they began to recover their vitality.

But even so.

’He’s countless times better off than me. Everything I have, I earned by fighting for my life in Yunzhou.’

"You two, come up to the fourth floor."

Stepping onto the fourth floor, the two saw Li Tingyu. She was sitting cross-legged in mid-air, facing a massive bookshelf and flipping through a book of some unknown material. When Chen Che looked up, he caught a glimpse of her small, perfect, jade-like feet dangling beneath her white dress, an anklet with a jade chain on one of them.

"Director Li!" Ye Zhihan said obediently.

"Director Li!" Chen Che echoed. ’She’s the department director, so this title has to be right.’

"Mm."

Li Tingyu pulled her feet back and unhurriedly sized up the two of them.

"As sponsored students, you may each choose one Cultivation Technique from this floor."

Chen Che glanced around and saw about ten other students moving between the shelves on the fourth floor. A few of them had familiar faces.

Ye Zhihan had obviously come prepared.

"Director Li, I would like to learn the Nine Heavens Thunder Sword."

Li Tingyu nodded. With a wave of her hand, a Secret Manual flew from a shelf and floated in front of Ye Zhihan. Chen Che caught a glimpse of it; it was a sheet of gold foil as thin as a cicada’s wing, with no words on it, only covered in winding sword marks.

Upon closer inspection, tiny bolts of lightning seemed to snake along the sword marks, an incredibly wondrous sight.

"The rules..."

"I know the rules. I won’t pass it on to others, and I won’t leak it!"

"Then sign the Blood Contract Book!"

Li Tingyu waved her hand, and a register made of some unknown material floated down. "If you violate the contract, both you and the person you share it with will have your Cultivation crippled."

"I know."

Ye Zhihan replied solemnly.

"That Swordsmanship was chosen for him by his family; it might not be suitable for you. My younger brother has told me many times that of the dozens of classes he’s taught, you are the one who has pleased him the most. And you have indeed been unexpectedly impressive, to have come this far."

Li Tingyu looked at him and said earnestly,

"From now on, I suppose I’m your teacher as well. If there’s a Cultivation Technique you want, I can help you choose."

"I want to learn a powerful Cultivation Technique."

Chen Che nodded repeatedly, putting on the pure and docile air of someone humbly receiving instruction.

"Good!"

As she spoke, Li Tingyu made a grasping motion with her right hand.

WHOOSH!

In the blink of an eye, Chen Che saw countless Cultivation Techniques fly off the shelves. She glanced at Chen Che again, and nearly half of the techniques returned to their places.

But even so, dozens still remained.

"Based on your performance in the Immortal Sect competition, I have selected these seventy-one techniques. They include Swordsmanship techniques, Cultivation Techniques, and even some Body Forging Techniques."

’It really is good to have connections in high places.’ Li Tingyu was indeed very thoughtful.

"However, Tier Four Techniques are not easy to learn. You’ll need sufficient talent. Otherwise, you’ll either need a massive amount of resources or have to put in painstaking, time-consuming effort. You should be mentally prepared for that."

If one’s aptitude was insufficient, they wouldn’t be able to master the Cultivation Technique even if they obtained it; it would just be a waste of time.

This was also why only sponsored students were allowed to receive these techniques. After all, sponsored students were a level above the ordinary students of the Four Great Daoist Schools.

"Resources? What kind of resources?"

"Resources that are compatible with the technique’s attribute, of course!"

’Then that shouldn’t be a problem for me.’

Chen Che’s eyes lit up. He had Jinyun Valley as his backing.

’Even without talent in Magic, I can just pile on resources to make up for it.’

"The most powerful ones are of the fire and thunder types. If you want to learn one, I suggest this Nine Transformations Spirit Flame Technique. It was split off from the Celestial Derivation Five Elements Skill, a Cultivation Technique created by the headmaster. He once said that this technique has no upper limit."

With a crook of her jade-like finger, Li Tingyu selected a Cultivation Technique and tossed it to Chen Che, saying,

"Although it’s only one part, its power is more than sufficient. As for the other four parts, don’t even think about them. Unless you perform some great meritorious service, or your Cultivation reaches the Nascent Soul Realm... you may have a chance to learn the subsequent techniques in the future."

Chen Che held the Nine Transformations Spirit Flame Technique, feeling satisfied.

Seeing Chen Che’s captivated expression, Li Tingyu’s lips curled into a smile. With another crook of her finger, another Cultivation Technique flew over.

"This one is called the Nether Thunder Shocking Celestial Transformation. It’s more powerful than the Nine Transformations Spirit Flame Technique in the early stages, but its potential is lower. There’s also..."

"No need. I’ll learn this one, the Nine Transformations Spirit Flame Technique."

Chen Che answered decisively.

"Tier Four Techniques are controlled by the Immortal Sect. You can only read it here; you cannot take it with you."

Li Tingyu pressed a hand on the Secret Manual, her tone suddenly turning icy.

"The rule is that you must not pass it on to others or leak even a single detail. Whether it’s you or the one who secretly learns it from you, the lightest punishment is having your Cultivation crippled."

Seeing Chen Che nod, Li Tingyu finally tossed over the Blood Contract Book. "This is the Blood Contract Book. Once you sign your name, you cannot violate the terms. Otherwise, your Cultivation will be crippled on the spot. The more you spread it, and the more people who learn of it, the heavier the backlash you will suffer!"

"Understood!"

Chen Che took the Blood Contract Book and flipped through the previous pages.

There were many names inside, including Ye Zhihan’s. However, a few of the names were dim.

Clearly, they broke the rules.

"Alright, find a place to sit down and read. More students are here..."

Li Tingyu instructed, giving a dismissive wave.

Chen Che took the Cultivation Technique, walked to an empty spot, and sat down. As he began to read the Secret Manual, he once again marveled to himself, ’It really is good to have connections in high places.’

’Without my connection to Old Li, I have no idea how long this would have taken.’

’How else would I have known that the Nine Transformations Spirit Flame Technique was split off from a Tier Five Technique?’

’A Tier Four Technique is indeed more complex than a Tier Two one. Hmm, it actually simulates the gaseous, liquid, and solid states of a Cultivator’s True Essence... It’s like nurturing something... No wonder she warned me the progress would be slow!’

Chen Che immersed himself in the text, reading it word by word.

The entire Cultivation Technique was about fifty to sixty thousand words long, but for a Foundation Establishment Cultivator who could read ten lines at a glance, it wasn’t too much.

He memorized it completely after reading through it just once.

Of course, to ensure there were no mistakes, he read it over from beginning to end several more times before he was satisfied.

’I really wish I could take all of these!’

Chen Che couldn’t help but mutter to himself as he went to return the Secret Manual.

’I want every single one.’

’What a pity...’

On the other side, Ye Zhihan, who had also come to return his manual, wore the exact same expression.

The two left the library together, called Ye Youwei to have dinner at the dining hall, and then returned to their dormitory.

On their way back, they happened to run into Qiu Beixuan again.

The latter smiled awkwardly, wracking his brain before finally managing to say,

"Going to the dining hall for dinner?"

...

...

After closing his dorm room door, Chen Che didn’t even have time to catch his breath before he began cultivating the Nine Transformations Spirit Flame Technique.

HFF!

As expected of a Tier Four Technique, even the very first step of initiation was far beyond his imagination.

As the Cultivation Technique operated, he felt all the True Essence in his body pour out like a flood bursting through a dam. As it circulated, a wisp of flame appeared. By the time all of his True Essence was depleted, the wisp had grown to the size of a candle flame.

"What an amazing technique!"

Chen Che’s eyes shone.

One shouldn’t underestimate this inconspicuous flicker of flame. In truth, it was an extremely compressed Spiritual Fire condensed from his entire body’s worth of True Essence.

It could incinerate a Foundation Establishment Cultivator in an instant.

"Huuu..."

After cultivating for a full night, Chen Che finally stopped the technique. The "candle flame" before him, which had been about an inch tall, had now condensed to half an inch. To cultivate the first transformation to Perfection, this cluster of flame needed to grow to at least nine feet in size, and he needed to create nine such clusters!

’As expected of a Tier Four Technique, even the initiation is this difficult. I need resources with a compatible attribute...!’

Chen Che tapped his fingers, complaining inwardly.

For anyone else, cultivating this technique would be a slow, painstaking process. But he could search for resources through his connections in Yunzhou.

So, he immediately sent out a notice:

"Seeking Tier Two and above Fire Attribute Spiritual Objects. Interested parties, please come to Jinyun Valley to sell."

However, the beginning of the school term was filled with miscellaneous tasks, leaving him little time for Cultivation. The entire school’s nine hundred-plus students were divided into the Four Great Departments based on the Hundred Skills of Cultivation: Pill (Alchemy), Array, Artifact, and Talisman. Besides these, there were also various smaller departments like Plant Husbandry, Music, and Painting.

With this division, each department actually had fewer than two hundred students.

There were even many strange and obscure minor departments like Archaeology and Divination, which hadn’t enrolled any new students in years. As for the Puppetry System, which focused on the corpses of Demon Beasts, it hadn’t had a new student enroll in nearly a hundred years following the promulgation of new Immortal Sect laws.

All things considered, the Alchemy Department was still considered a major department, but it only had one class.

After completing the registration procedures, Chen Che officially became a student of the Daoist School.

Ye Zhihan was assigned to the Array System.

Chen Che, Ye Youwei, and Qiu Beixuan were all in the Alchemy Department.

Just as Li Tingyu had said, she was the head teacher for the 19th-year alchemy class—Chen Che’s class. She mainly taught various Tier Two and even Tier Three Magic spells. As for the instructors of the other subjects, they were all Nascent Soul True Monarchs.

The curriculum at Zhurong Daoist School wasn’t packed, generally maintaining a frequency of one class per day.

However, once these Nascent Soul True Monarchs started a lecture, they could go from eight in the morning until past midnight. This was because none of the students had received formal Foundation Establishment Stage training and needed to rebuild their fundamentals. In addition to this, every admitted student received a Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivation Technique:

The Ancient Energy-Introducing Technique!

The Energy-Introducing Technique they had learned in high school was based on this technique, refined and improved by blending it with thousands of other Basic Cultivation Techniques.

「An entire month flew by in the blink of an eye.」

On this day, after finishing his Cultivation, Chen Che stared at the flame before him, now merely three feet in size, and couldn’t help but marvel once again at how difficult Tier Four Techniques were to cultivate. At his current speed, it would take him half a year just to condense a single ball of fire.

And to cultivate the first transformation to Great Perfection would take at least five years.

The time required for the Second Transformation and Third Transformation would likely increase exponentially.

’After all this time, I bet a good amount of Materials have been collected. I hope there’s a pleasant surprise waiting for me!’

Rubbing his chin gently, a look of anticipation appeared in Chen Che’s eyes.