ASER - Chapter 100
Chapter 100: Ambition
"Alright, then I'll reluctantly learn from you." A'Diao said, feigning reluctance after gaining an advantage. However, she saw that Qu Jiangnan wasn't particularly joyful. Instead, Qu Jiangnan calmly stated, "Originally, if your spiritual body was below 200 points, I might have decided to teach you other Daoist techniques—some high-grade, powerful ones. But now that you've met the standard, I will teach you this secret technique. Before that, however, I must tell you about its hidden dangers."
A'Diao immediately grew curious and asked, "What hidden dangers?"
"I had an older sister, an exceptionally gifted genius. Even before the revival of spiritual energy, she was extremely interested in Daoist arts and had an innate connection to esoteric techniques. Later, she created this secret technique and taught it to me. But the family forced her into a marriage alliance and killed the man she loved, so she died for love. After the spiritual energy revived, the family learned of the secret technique's existence and demanded I hand it over. I refused, and that's why I came to Jinling Academy."
She didn't deliberately make the story sound tragic or overtly express resentment. Her tone was light and understated, making it difficult to discern her emotions. However, A'Diao glimpsed the white marks where Qu Jiangnan's fingernails dug into her palm, revealing her pain and loathing.
"So, you're saying if you teach me this secret technique, your family might cause trouble for me in the future, like capturing me to torture the secret technique out of me?"
"Correct. So, in the early stages, you cannot reveal it to anyone or let anyone know about this. As for the future… that's a matter for the future. Fortune and misfortune are intertwined. You choose."
"May I ask what kind of secret technique it is?"
"Spirit Attachment."
Qu Jiangnan pointed a finger at the spot between her eyebrows, her fingers forming an incantation. Then, she drew out strands of silvery, luminous threads. These threads spun and intertwined, quickly forming a sphere.
This is? Disembodied mental filaments?!!!
Can it actually leave the body?
A'Diao's understanding of mental power was limited to its function as a control algorithm for the energy system during spellcasting. The stronger the algorithm, the faster and more powerful the spell. However, she had never imagined that the algorithm could leave the body to manipulate physical energy.
A'Diao, inwardly astounded, guessed with a wooden expression, "Can I understand it as: after you launch an attack, your mental filaments will attach to the Spirit Power of the attack itself. Even after the disembodied attack ends, as long as the mental filaments remain, you can still control it to gather for a new attack? Meaning, a secondary attack and energy recovery."
What Qu Jiangnan liked most about A'Diao was her perceptiveness.
"Correct, but it cannot be fully recovered. You know the law of conservation of energy. It starts to deplete the moment it's launched. So, the amount of energy ultimately recovered or controlled for a secondary attack depends on how strong the attached mental filaments are. Actually, my family doesn't know this inner detail. They only know this secret technique allows me to reconfigure attacks for a secondary strike, but they don't know it can recover energy. Even so, it's enough to make them covet it."
At this moment, the Toilet suddenly shouted excitedly, "Learn it quickly! Become her disciple! Hurry…"
Before the Toilet could finish, A'Diao shot up from her lounging posture, grabbed a nearby soft cushion, placed it under her knees, and knelt with a thud.
"Master, please accept this disciple's bow."
"Since this disciple has entered your tutelage, I am now yours. I will definitely be filial to you, care for you in your old age, and arrange your funeral."
Qu Jiangnan: "…………"
That's not really necessary. Everyone knows your talent test leaned towards the suona funeral style.
I'm afraid you might send me off directly.
Almost unable to withstand A'Diao's incredible efficiency, Qu Jiangnan was stunned for a moment before telling A'Diao to rise. "I don't care for such formalities. We don't have any official master-disciple status. I'm just looking for someone to pass this on to. Next, listen to my instruction. What you make of it will depend entirely on yourself."
Qu Jiangnan disliked unnecessary fuss and got straight to the point. The first step was to teach A'Diao how to separate mental filaments from her spiritual body.
The spiritual body was a single, overly large unit that couldn't leave the body. It could only separate out filaments. Then, one had to learn to control them, then make them leave the body, and finally, learn how to use them for Spirit Attachment.
The steps were simple, without any flashy embellishments, but often, the simplest steps were the most difficult. The very first step made A'Diao break out in a cold sweat from the pain.
She didn't succeed after a long while, but Qu Jiangnan found this normal.
"It took me three days to succeed. It would be strange if you succeeded in one go."
A'Diao calmed down a bit, wiped her sweat, and asked curiously, "Teacher Qu, what's your aptitude score? Is it convenient to say?"
"Around three hundred on average."
"……"
Damn!
Are the people in your family out of their minds? Forcibly seizing a secret technique? Wouldn't it be better to nurture and support such a person?
A'Diao's expression was too obvious, but Qu Jiangnan didn't explain. She disliked sharing her private matters with others. If it weren't related to the hidden dangers of the secret technique, she wouldn't have even mentioned her sister.
"I'll teach you the first step's method first. We'll talk about the next step after you've managed to separate a strand of mental filament."
"You can go back now."
Having taught the method, Qu Jiangnan had no intention of keeping her, but she did give A'Diao the talisman notebook.
It was handwritten and looked particularly high-class and impressive. The calligraphy was also truly beautiful, with a natural grace and strength.
My teacher is quite something.
A'Diao: "Huh? It's not an RAR study pack anymore?"
"Value determines treatment. The previous ones were intermediate level; these are more advanced. Go back and tinker with them. If you achieve something noteworthy, and people from outside or my family try to probe in the future, you can use the excuse that you're learning talismans from me to deal with them."
Qu Jiangnan also reminded A'Diao, "Currently, my family doesn't know much about the secret technique, nor do they know its core requirement is spiritual body aptitude. But as time goes on, someone will eventually notice. So, hide your mental talent for as long as you can. Absolutely do not let others know."
As soon as A'Diao left, the Principal contacted Qu Jiangnan.
In the private chat, the Principal asked, "Have you figured out this child's aptitude?"
Qu Jiangnan: "Mm-hmm."
Principal: "How is it?"
Qu Jiangnan: "Not just double 99s. There's also a slight issue with her C-type growth, but by visual estimation, it won't exceed 110. As for D-type, it might be a bit better, around 100. It's acceptable."
She had understated the aptitude by half, feeling no guilt.
Principal: "That's still very high, possibly better than Tuoba. You don't like mentoring students, so why not…"
Qu Jiangnan: "Alright, but are you sure you can handle mentoring her? Don't push her onto me again later."
It was one thing when I hadn't decided to teach her. Now that I'm personally instructing her, how could I let this old man snatch her away?
Constantly comparing the talents of several people, secretly observing and peeking at the group chat. Right, he must have informants in the class group too, otherwise why would he say something like "If you are well, then it's a sunny day…"?
A perfectly respectable Principal acting like a thief. No wonder Chen Xun wasn't fond of this old man.
Now he was even trying to sound her out.
Principal: "Then forget it. Your teaching level has a bit of a gap compared to mine, but at least no one else is mentoring her. If she were to be transferred out, and those from Kyoto deliberately exert pressure, sending some marriage alliance partner to play at a master-disciple romance with you, that would be troublesome. You can't just hang people on trees again…"
His words were full of concern but exceptionally gossipy.
Qu Jiangnan didn't want to discuss this topic and directly blocked him.
Principal: "???"
What did I say? I'm doing this for your own good!
Young ladies these days have such big tempers, really too big.
However, the Principal's expression suddenly changed slightly as he looked towards the distant south.
What was that just now?
There seemed to be a faint, strong fluctuation, but it quickly vanished without a trace.
It seemed to come from the sea region.
Suspicious, the Principal made a call to Qu Jiangnan.
The latter had indeed also sensed it. "The southern sea region, isn't that the coastal area where Danzhou and the other southern five prefectures are connected? Something might have happened there."
Principal: "Then we can't go over to check. Danzhou is currently weak, and the Li Clan of Yunzhou has such long reach precisely because they see Danzhou's weakness. If we rashly go to investigate something, we might even be driven away as enemies."
Although they were all coastal, Danzhou was a bit further inland with a short coastline. Moreover, the sea region was rich in resources. For years, the strongest among the five prefectures, Qingzhou, had controlled it. Qingzhou was powerful, known as the Eagle King of the Five Prefectures, and not to be trifled with.
"If the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up. Let's manage ourselves first… By the way, I received news that the Li family has connected with a certain prince. Although the Baili family doesn't care about the Li family, they still have to be wary of the complex connections behind them. It's possible the two sides have colluded on something. If I remember correctly, that young fellow from the Li family met you in Kyoto and has been visiting your home very frequently recently. Your family used to look down on the Li family, but if that prince is pushing something from behind, then it's hard to say."
"So my advice is for you to make a decision early. Don't follow your sister's old path. It would be too regrettable."
Qu Jiangnan remained silent. The Principal had said enough and let her ponder. Thinking of Qu Jiangnan's sister, such a peerlessly elegant and talented figure, yet dying for such worldly reasons, made his heart ache.
At this moment, along the accessible coastline outside the southern five prefectures, dozens of streaks of light flew into the vast and turbulent sea. Experts from different prefectures searched from different directions but found nothing amiss, only seeing torrential rain and surging waves.
It seemed to be just natural ocean tides, nothing particularly unusual.
But they were also very clear that what they had sensed earlier was distinctly a powerful energy fluctuation.
It was either a super-large spirit gate or a super-strong spiritual vessel descending into the world, or a terrifyingly large earth cavern had appeared.
But after searching and searching, they saw nothing, until… a streak of azure light, as if tearing through space, drew a faint halo and easily appeared before everyone.
Upon seeing this person, they immediately saluted.
The figure in azure, carrying a three-foot snake-scale azure light staff, looked down at the turbulent sea below, raised a hand to dismiss their salutes, and then said, "It should be a large earth cavern."
"Prepare to dispatch people. Keep the commotion small. Don't let people from outside the five prefectures come, otherwise the situation will become very chaotic."
On her way home, A'Diao asked the Toilet a question, "What exactly are my current ABC-type aptitude scores?"
Although she verbally claimed not to care about that unhinged noblewoman from the Baili family, A'Diao's sense of crisis was extremely strong, and she was already subconsciously comparing herself to her.
She knew that the Toilet, after its upgrade, could also test her aptitude.
Toilet: "I don't have a specific algorithm, but your ABC types are definitely above 200 on average now. Plus, your D-type aptitude surpasses that love-brained girl. In terms of overall talent, you only lack in talent matching, but this problem is easily solved with the existence of Spirit Attachment. Moreover, your aptitude is still undergoing an all-round awakening; it just needs some time. In terms of combat power, you can also kill A-grades, there isn't much difference. Oh, and I have to tell you one more thing to boost your confidence."
A'Diao was planning to return early to cultivate and replied casually, "Speak."
Toilet: "When Qu Jiangnan previously tested your spiritual body, what she didn't know was that those dark areas in your mental world are not the soul void of an ordinary person, but rather mental solids in a hidden stage. In other words, your spiritual body's aptitude isn't just that small mass of light."
A'Diao: "???"
She was stunned for a moment, her steps faltering, but she continued walking along the path lit by streetlights and bordered by green fences. "Meaning, my spiritual body can also continue to develop? Its overall potential is still unknown."
"Mm-hmm. I am your intrinsic system, so naturally, I know. Otherwise, how do you think your spiritual body managed to support the opening of a second spirit cluster in a dimensional space? An ordinary person's brain region would have collapsed directly, turning them into an imbecile."
Holy crap, am I a natural prodigy?
Could it be that the Chen family ancestors were also some impressive figures?
But there seemed to be no such record. One of the notable ancestors of the Chen family was just an ordinary Forbidden Master.
And looking at Chen Xun and Chen Yang's performances, neither had much cultivation talent, indicating a weak bloodline.
Then it must be that Heaven had blessed her with talent.
A'Diao's heart surged with emotions, but she quickly calmed down. "Then why is it a mass of blackness? Like a coal briquette."
It had made her think her talent was just so-so.
The Toilet's tone was slightly mysterious: "You forgot, you're curse-type. That's your soul essence."
A'Diao: "……"
Her intrinsic system is a Toilet, and her soul essence is a coal briquette?
The impact today was quite significant, and it quickly suppressed A'Diao's elated mood from her soaring cultivation level.
Experts were as numerous as clouds; she still needed to work hard.
However, the legacies of Cui Liang and those two A-grade unlucky fellows could now be sorted out.
After entering the cultivation room in Shanzhu Ju, A'Diao thought, "From Qu Jiangnan's attitude, the other members of the Baili family should still be composed. They haven't taken me seriously yet and are probably investigating Li Yuanshu. Based on Li Yuanshu's two secret manuals, if I'm not mistaken, Li Yuanshu should be from the Li Clan of Yunzhou. His ancestors' methods fit these Daoist techniques quite well. Heh, he truly has a significant background."
Danzhou wasn't the weakest among the Southern Eagle Five Prefectures; it used to rank around fourth. But during the first era, the struggles were quite tragic, and powerful families and sects were almost completely wiped out. No super-powerful clans like the Li Clan were left. Now, only Jinling Academy was upholding its reputation.
No wonder the Li Clan dared to extend its claws into Danzhou to exploit it. But the upper echelons of Danzhou probably knew by now and were certainly holding a grudge.
Then, A'Diao activated 101, and within it, opened 303, hiding herself entirely in the dimensional space to rummage through their legacies.
Toilet: "……"
What a terrifying host. Her methods are so systematic.
Actually, A'Diao didn't have high hopes for the legacies of Cui Liang and the two A-grade fighters. It wouldn't have mattered much if she had left them for a while. However, the Baili family's power made her feel a sense of crisis, making her eager to consume all resources as soon as possible. That's why she was so impatient to sort out the legacies tonight.
She truly hadn't expected an unexpected pleasant surprise from these three.
Cui Liang + two A-grade fighters' legacy: 300 third-grade spirit cores, 20 fourth-grade spirit cores (one fourth-grade spirit core = 30 third-grade spirit cores = 3000 energy units), 7 Spiritual Vessels (totaling 3500 energy units), 6 Forbidden Items, some equipment + medicinal ingredients + combat resources (approximately three hundred million), and three strange bones.
The pleasant surprise was that she had underestimated the A-grade fighters' wealth accumulation. But on second thought, it made sense. Being A-grade and attached to a top-tier noble family like the Baili family of the Tang Song Nation, their benefits were naturally immense. With their own cultivation and strength, they also accumulated many resources from hunting monsters. Some third-grade demonic spirits were extremely easy for them to deal with. For example, a Ghoul lair similar to the one in Jinxiang, if not for the boss, the three of them could have flattened it with a little time.
They could also defeat fourth-grade Ghoul Mages, so it was perfectly normal for them to have 20 fourth-grade spirit cores on hand. This didn't even count the resources they had consumed for cultivation.
The Spiritual Vessels used by the two A-grades were also clearly much better equipped than those of previous individuals, even slightly better than Li Yuanshu's. The value of the Forbidden Items was also high. A'Diao casually estimated they could sell for 1.5 billion and had the bank personnel come to collect and list them for sale.
"But what are these bones? Cui Liang had one, and the other two each had one as well. Touching them… human bones?"
A'Diao was, after all, a professional in the funeral industry. She had been suspicious at first glance. However, the bones were fragmented, just bone shards. Only after handling them did she confirm they were human bones, and not from ordinary people.
"Are they cultivators' bones?"
She didn't feel disgusted; instead, she was very interested, playing with them in her hand and examining them.
Toilet: "They are the Relic Bones of First-Era Forbidden Masters from three hundred years ago."
A'Diao was stunned for a moment. "Bones remaining from the bodies of Forbidden Masters from the first era? No wonder they contain such a strong sense of energy. These great families wouldn't happen to possess large quantities of such relic bones and distribute them to subordinates like rewards, would they?"
Toilet: "More or less. These relic bones are also resources, and their grade is higher than spirit cores because they contain energy that was successfully absorbed and transformed by these Forbidden Masters. Their conversion rate is far higher than spirit cores, even higher than the Spiritual Energy released by spirit gates. They are basically equivalent to Spirit Essence, the energy exclusively used by Forbidden Masters. So, these bones should be resources the Baili family awarded to A or B-grade cultivators to help them break through the threshold to become Forbidden Masters."
A'Diao hadn't expected such a method, but her train of thought habitually expanded. "If they can be used as rewards, it means they possess a huge quantity. So, the Baili family, and other families comparable to them, must control some battlefield ruins. This would be their greatest asset, held from the first era until now, and their current terrifying strength also stems from this."
Everyone started on the same line, but some families had "mines" at home and First-Era Forbidden Masters' burial grounds. While you run, they fly directly. So, the difference in cultivation speed originates from this.
No wonder that noblewoman from the Baili family cultivated so quickly.
With aptitude and resources, wasn't that just flying?
"Comparable to Spirit Essence, it indeed helps in breaking through the Forbidden Master threshold, but it doesn't seem to be of much use to me."
Toilet: "Indeed, not much use. For you, there is no threshold to becoming a Forbidden Master."
Her physique had been refined to such an extent, with a total of ten bone realignments, not to mention daily marrow cleansing. Her physique was fine. Her spiritual body was even less of an issue; she could thrash that foolish noblewoman from the Baili family. What threshold could there be?
But now that she had them, it felt a bit useless, which made A'Diao a little displeased. After playing with them for a while, A'Diao's eyes suddenly narrowed. "Must Spirit Essence of a Forbidden Master only be mastered by a Forbidden Master?"
Toilet: "???"
What kind of obvious nonsense is this?
The Toilet didn't make a sound, as if looking down on her. A'Diao, however, paid it no mind. She took out paper and pen and began to rapidly write down energy formulas for Spiritual Energy and Spirit Power… Then she ran to the laboratory and used equipment to extract a bit of Spirit Essence liquid from the relic bones.
Anyway, it was a series of complex operations, followed by various calculations and tests, and she finally derived a formula for it.
She had mastered Spiritual Energy and Spirit Power, as her cultivation level was already there. But how Spirit Power transformed into Spirit Essence could be somewhat understood through the formula.
The Toilet gradually realized what she was trying to do: "You want to master Spirit Essence before reaching the Forbidden Master stage? But with such energy and time, it would be better to directly advance to A-grade. So, your goal isn't to become a Forbidden Master as soon as possible, but to broaden your foundation before becoming one? For example, the number of meridians?"
A'Diao: "Qu Jiangnan said that the reason Forbidden Master is the true threshold for cultivators is firstly due to the energy progression from Spirit Power to Spirit Essence. Secondly, after the spirit cluster transforms into a spirit core, the spirit cluster is an independent storage-type existence. But after the spirit core is formed, it connects to all major meridians and vessels. The difference is that using Spirit Power within the spirit cluster requires one to mobilize it oneself, consuming willpower and needing more time for spellcasting. A spirit core, however, is comparable to intelligent control; it can flow through the meridians whenever needed without additional mobilization. Therefore, those below Forbidden Master cannot instantly cast Daoist techniques, but those above—like the Principal and Qu Jiangnan—their spells are instant-cast, allowing them to preemptively kill enemies."
"From what Qu Jiangnan implied, if the world's sects and mountain schools were to open their doors for recruitment, Lushan Academy would undoubtedly be the best, and also the highest goal for those top noble families' prodigies in Kyoto. That noblewoman is probably aiming for this as well."
Toilet: "But you feel Qu Jiangnan doesn't think highly of your chances, so she doesn't even suggest you try for it."
It was actually understandable. After all, Qu Jiangnan only knew A'Diao's spiritual body aptitude was high, but not outrageously so. Her other aspects were far from Lushan Academy's level—Qu Jiangnan's own standing was high, her perspective broad, so she naturally knew how difficult Lushan Academy was.
And A'Diao's spiritual body secret and the secret technique she was learning couldn't be revealed for the time being… unless A'Diao's other aptitudes showed hope of her getting into Lushan Academy. At that point, she would actually be qualified to reveal the secret of this technique.
A'Diao's eyes glinted. "The prestige of this Lushan Academy should be far higher than these powerful and noble families like Baili, including the Qu family. As long as I get in, let alone having learned this secret technique, even if I use this secret technique to thrash the fools of their families, they wouldn't dare say anything! So I must get in!"
As long as she became a person of Lushan Academy, power, fame, benefits—she would have everything.
Just like the benefits she experienced in all aspects after getting into Jinling Academy, Lushan Academy would only magnify all of this countless times.
A'Diao suddenly regained the ambitious drive she had when aiming for Jinling Academy, far surpassing the desire to thrash some love-brained person or fierce nobles.
As long as she climbed to the highest position, why bother with trivial matters like assassins and stumbling blocks that lesser people cared about? Naturally, she would stand atop the highest peak and see all other mountains dwarf beneath her feet!
At that time, even if she did nothing, the others would voluntarily bow their heads out of fear, or other followers would take care of these scumbags for her.
A'Diao's heart surged with excitement, and the Toilet felt it too. Then it said…
"First, stop with the 'planning the mansion before buying the lottery ticket' kind of wishful thinking."
"You still haven't said how you plan to master the spirit core, meridians, and Spirit Essence before becoming a Forbidden Master. There are many people in this world with your idea, but those who can achieve it are extremely rare. Anyway, I don't know how."
A'Diao: "……"
You damned Toilet, such a killjoy!
Get instant access to all the chapters now.
Comments
Post a Comment