The two returned to the crowd. Many of the martial students cast glances filled with boundless envy at Luo Chan, but when they looked at Huang Tian, their envy gave way to a deep sense of helplessness.
This guy simply wasn't human!
Head Instructor Liu coughed lightly and asked with some curiosity, "Huang Tian, the Heaven-Supporting Palm you just used—did you learn it while trading blows with Luo Chan?"
Huang Tian nodded.
"You learned it in a single instant?"
"Yes."
Such an unremarkable exchange made the students across the drill ground suck in a sharp breath, as though they had just swallowed extra-numbing, extra-spicy cold skin noodles.
"Just how many martial techniques have you grasped?"
"Many."
It truly was many. Between the ten or twenty varied fist, palm, and leg techniques he had picked up just watching the students spar on the drill ground, plus everything he had read in the Book Pavilion, the number was vast—at least three hundred.
Liu Kuo sighed with emotion and shook his head relentlessly. "This comprehension of yours... it's really... I don't even know what to say. You're more proficient in martial techniques than I am. I almost want to let you take over as head instructor."
Huang Tian smiled faintly and said nothing.
"All right. Luo Chan and Huang Tian have finished their spar. Who else wants to try their hand?" Liu Kuo said, hands clasped behind his back.
The students exchanged glances. Suddenly, a short young man stepped forward—the very one who had shouted earlier, *That's my Mountain-Collapsing Fist!*
"I would like to ask Brother Huang for guidance, and hope you will not withhold your advice," the short youth said with a bow. "Of course, Brother Huang can rest first and catch his breath before we begin."
Huang Tian shook his head. "No need. Let us start directly."
With that, he walked out to the center of the grounds, assumed his stance with the youth, and engaged.
As expected, the spar concluded very quickly. After all, even Luo Chan, the foremost among the students, had been defeated by Huang Tian within a few moves; someone who couldn't even beat Luo Chan stood no chance.
Yet despite his defeat, the short youth was overjoyed, because Huang Tian had countered him with the Mountain-Collapsing Fist!
Repaying him in his own coin—through Huang Tian's execution, the young man could clearly see every flaw and weakness in his own technique, which thrilled him to no end.
Meanwhile, Huang Tian used the bout to integrate the Mountain-Collapsing Fist even more harmoniously into his repertoire, all while invigorating his qi and blood through the exchange, leaving him thoroughly satisfied.
Seeing that both Luo Chan and the short youth had gained so much from sparring with Huang Tian, the students grew eager, each hoping for a turn to test themselves against him.
Huang Tian turned none away. Whatever fist or palm style his opponent used, he answered in kind, convincing each one utterly and leaving them with immense takeaways.
In just a single morning, the twenty-odd martial students began regarding Huang Tian as the undisputed head of their peers, their expressions and words tinged with unconcealable reverence.
***
At midday, after finishing his meal and medicinal soup, Huang Tian took his silver token and headed straight out of the Guard Academy toward the Book Pavilion within the Martial Restraint Guard government office.
Passing the usual inspection by the guardsmen at the entrance, he stepped onto the first floor of the pavilion. The young clerk sitting inside reading a storybook did not shut his book this time; instead, he smiled faintly at Huang Tian and nodded to let him proceed at his leisure.
Huang Tian nodded in return, then walked over to a bookshelf he hadn't finished exploring the day before, pulling out a martial technique manual to skim through rapidly.
The young clerk had grown accustomed to the sight. Shaking his head, he lowered his gaze and returned his focus to his storybook.
Time slipped by. Darkness fell once more, and Huang Tian left just before the pavilion closed, returning to his quarters.
Several days passed in a flash.
Every day, Huang Tian followed a strict routine.
In the morning, he went to the drill ground to spar, guide the students, and temper his qi and blood. In the afternoon, he visited the Book Pavilion. At night, he practiced his stance work and martial techniques until dawn.
Over these days, the qi and blood within Huang Tian's body reached another critical threshold, leaving him just one step away from a breakthrough.
On this day, he visited the Book Pavilion once again. The young clerk on the first floor assumed he would "diligently flip through pages" just like before, but to his surprise, Huang Tian headed toward the second floor.
"He... changed his routine?!"
The young clerk stared blankly for a moment, then chuckled at himself. "He was always entitled to pick two exquisite martial techniques from the second floor. For some reason, he kept putting it off, but today he's finally decided to do it."
In truth, it wasn't a change of heart, but rather that he had already memorized and mastered every ordinary martial technique on the first floor. It was time to see how the exquisite techniques on the second floor differed.
Arriving on the second floor, Huang Tian saw several brown wooden bookshelves. The books were spaced far apart, meaning there weren't actually that many—roughly a hundred volumes in total.
"Your token?"
The person overseeing the second floor was no ordinary clerk, but a middle-aged man with a short beard on his chin and sharp, luminous eyes. His presence even seemed to surpass Head Instructor Liu's by a notch.
*Likely a martial artist of the middle three ranks...*
Huang Tian mused inwardly as he retrieved the silver token from his sleeve.
The middle-aged man took it, inspected it closely for a moment, and tossed it back. "Bearing a silver token entitles you to two martial techniques."
"Understood."
Huang Tian put away the token, walked over to the shelves, and examined them carefully.
"Mountain-Pushing Wave-Stacking Palm: Force surges like tides, spiritual qi roars like the sea. Wave upon wave, overlapping nine times to shatter cities and level mountains..."
"Mysterious Ape Plucking the Moon Fist: Scurry like an ape, reach for the moon like an ape; light and nimble leaps, spirit brimming with vigor..."
"Returning Dragon Guidance: Guiding and deflecting, using an opponent's force against them; qi forms a vortex, seamless and relentless..."
"Thousand Illusions Cloud Hand..."
He picked up a volume and opened it. After flipping through barely a dozen pages, Huang Tian paused. The rest of the book was missing!
*Of course. Exquisite martial techniques are different from the crude arts on the first floor; they naturally wouldn't leave complete copies sitting out on the shelves.*
Since he couldn't take advantage of the situation to memorize entire volumes, Huang Tian quickly scanned the remaining manuals on the shelves. Once he had a general grasp of the martial concepts behind each one, he returned to the middle-aged man.
"I choose the Returning Dragon Guidance and the Mysterious Ape Plucking the Moon Fist."
The man made no comment on his choices, nor did he have any interest in acting like a sweeping monk concealing profound wisdom. He simply nodded. "Granted."
He pressed a spot on the wall behind him. With a low rumble, the wall slid slowly open, revealing an enormous bookcase holding over a hundred manuals.
With practiced ease, he retrieved two volumes and handed them to Huang Tian. "Read them here and return them immediately when you are finished. If time is short and you cannot memorize them, you may return tomorrow. But remember: under no circumstances may you share these martial techniques with outsiders, or you will face severe punishment."
"Understood."
Huang Tian took the manuals, sat down in a nearby chair, opened them, and read through them quickly. Before long, he had finished both exquisite-grade martial arts.
*Compared to crude and ordinary martial techniques, exquisite arts excel in their conceptual depth, underlying philosophy, and complexity. Furthermore, certain lethal moves require true qi to unleash, granting them formidable power...*
As he pondered silently, boundless inspiration erupted within his mind.
Hundreds upon hundreds of ordinary martial techniques, two exquisite arts, the philosophies behind a hundred other exquisite manuals, combined with the myriad cultivation methods and Daoist arts of the profound system—all wove together, plunging him into a state of supreme, wondrous enlightenment...
Chapter 64