Chapter 1774 — A Strange Martial Art

"Isn't that the same as saying nothing at all?" Hearing Jiao Yazi's explanation, Wei Zhao felt a powerful urge to give him a beating. He had come to the mountain cave full of hope, and this was all he got in return! .hahawx.com

He was actually being told to refine the jade pendant himself, rather than simply adding storage space to it!

"Collect them slowly. You waited ten years already—can't you spare a little more time?" Jiao Yazi shook his head at Wei Zhao's impatience. "Do you know why I had you wait five years before opening the stone gate?"

"Oh?" Wei Zhao asked, somewhat puzzled. "Why?"

"You've seen for yourself how fast cultivation goes inside the jade pendant's space. If you cultivate without letup, within three years you'll bring the first layer of the Xuanyuan Yulong Art to full perfection. That much is certain, isn't it?" Jiao Yazi asked.

"Indeed it is!" Wei Zhao recalled breaking through his bottleneck on the very first night he entered the jade pendant's space, smoothly advancing from the first layer of the Xuanyuan Yulong Art to the second. That alone proved how wondrous the space's effects were!

In fact, Old Jiao's three years was a conservative estimate. If he progressed faster, he might reach the second layer in less than three.

"So why set the five-year term?" Jiao Yazi paused there, then went on: "It was to keep you from being too impatient and opening the second stone gate straightaway. You're young, your temperament unsteady. I feared your haste would defeat its own purpose. With your first layer not yet consolidated, rushing to cultivate the second is no good thing!"

"So that's how it is!" Wei Zhao nodded. "Then there's no hurry to refine this jade pendant. I'll collect the materials slowly and bring the second layer of the Xuanyuan Yulong Art to full perfection first!"

"That's what you should have been doing all along!" Jiao Yazi said.

Now that the decision was made, Wei Zhao no longer needed to hurry through the refinement method for the jade pendant. With the materials not yet fully gathered, reading it would be a waste.

Wei Zhao set down the second silk scroll and reached for the last one. For some reason, he suddenly felt nervous! This final scroll was his only remaining hope—the last boon in the box. He could hardly keep from tensing up.

He had come to the cave to retrieve the second layer of the Xuanyuan Yulong Art, true enough, but he had harbored another hope as well: to find a martial art in this cave suited to his own cultivation.

Of the Earth-rank experts he had encountered, all but Leader Yu possessed martial arts they had made their own, while Wei Zhao had been practicing a technique of Qing Bo's. Whether it was because it did not pair well with the Xuanyuan Yulong Art, he could not say, but after cultivating it so long his progress remained modest, and he was no match for the others.

Without a formidable martial art, the advantage Wei Zhao had enjoyed at the Profound rank—fighting opponents above his level—would vanish entirely.

So Wei Zhao very much hoped to find a martial art suited to him in the cave. He was even somewhat convinced that one must exist there; otherwise, where else would he find one?

And this last silk scroll had become his hope.

Drawing a deep breath, Wei Zhao opened the third silk scroll. But when he saw the two large characters "Martial Art" at the top, he was instantly overcome with excitement, his whole face flushing red. It really was a martial art! Sure enough, behind the second stone gate of the cave, a martial art existed!

Yet when Wei Zhao calmed himself and read the contents carefully, he grew perplexed. What kind of martial art was this? Beneath the two characters "Martial Art" came the main text directly, with no subheadings naming any techniques. And that was not all—what puzzled Wei Zhao further was that the body of this martial art was in fact a passage of cultivation mental technique!

The content of the mental technique and its method of circulating qi were wondrously similar to the Xuanyuan Yulong Art! But it was only a set of qi-training formulas, with no concrete techniques at all. Wei Zhao was greatly baffled. Without techniques, with only mental formulas, what sort of martial art was this?

Could it be that cultivating this martial art's mental formulas would let him unleash techniques? However Wei Zhao thought about it, it seemed unlikely—utterly unrealistic. This was merely a method of circulating qi, with not a word about fighting enemies. He began to suspect he had been deceived.

But judging by what had come before, the Xuanyuan Yulong Art was such a formidable cultivation method—how could there be any deception here? With no other option, Wei Zhao could only go on questioning Jiao Yazi: "Old Jiao, what's the story with this martial art? Why is there only a passage of cultivation mental formulas and no concrete techniques?"

"I just told you—haste defeats its own purpose. My memories concerning martial arts haven't fully recovered yet. How would I know what's going on?" Jiao Yazi said helplessly. "The original plan was that when you opened the second stone gate, you would at most be at the Profound rank. So the martial art was meant as a fallback, in case you broke through to the Earth rank before opening the third gate—that's why it was placed at the very back of the box. As for my memories, they've only just begun to return, and aren't fully restored. Asking me now, I have no way to explain."

"..." Wei Zhao was left speechless by Jiao Yazi's explanation. It was all his own fault for not cultivating inside the jade pendant's space—otherwise, five years ago he could have entered the second stone gate and obtained the mental formulas and martial art of the Xuanyuan Yulong Art's second layer. And by now, Jiao Yazi's memories would probably have fully recovered as well.

But since Jiao Yazi did not know, Wei Zhao could only feel his own way forward. He would try cultivating it first, and if that truly failed, wait until the old man's memories returned. What unsettled him was that last remark of Jiao Yazi's: a fallback in case he broke through to the Earth rank!

Could it be that because he had wasted five years, this martial art was merely a mental technique to lay the foundation before learning the true martial art? And that the real martial art would only be obtained after opening the third stone gate?

At the thought of this possibility, Wei Zhao's heart went cold. His inference was all too plausible!

Had he entered the jade pendant's space earlier, five years ago, Wei Zhao would most likely have been at the Profound rank at best. A mental technique laying the groundwork for Earth-rank martial arts would have been a fine thing then, and once the third stone gate was opened, he could have cultivated the martial art without hindrance.

But he had lost five years, and everything had fallen out of alignment. His strength now exceeded expectations, already reaching the early Earth rank, while the mental technique could no longer keep pace with his cultivation speed!