Martial Immortality: Starting with the Spirit Beast Scroll

Chapter 322: Chapter 310: Solid Spirit Skill

"What’s the name of that punch you just used?"

Fang Qinglu pursed his lips and asked Zhao Lin.

"Thunder Sound Fist."

Zhao Lin hadn’t actually wanted to use this martial technique, but judging from the situation, he knew it would have been nearly impossible to defeat this Sword Cultivator without the Thunder Sound Fist.

Besides, with the Spirit Cultivation Map in his possession, as long as he gathered enough Spirit Stones, he could secretly cultivate one or two—or even more—perfect-level magic spells to serve as new trump cards.

"Thunder Sound Fist. I’ll remember it."

Fang Qinglu nodded. "We’ll fight again when we get the chance."

"Alright!"

Zhao Lin agreed casually and walked slowly back to his contingent.

There was one match left, but no matter who won or lost, it wouldn’t affect his ranking.

When the disciples from Nanhe Province saw Zhao Lin return, they all looked at him with envy, including the senior disciple who served as their instructor.

A Jade Marrow Pill, sixty merit points, and one hundred Spirit Stones from the Dean—Zhao Lin had definitely reaped the biggest rewards this time.

Never mind the rest; a pill like the Jade Marrow Pill, so beneficial to one’s cultivation, couldn’t be bought with Spirit Stones or even merit points.

But envy was one thing; everyone also knew that none of the other disciples, besides Zhao Lin, was capable of consecutively defeating a Magic Cultivator, a Body Cultivator, and a Sword Cultivator.

Elders Zhou Hongfang and Nie Wu were both smiling. By taking first place in the competition, Zhao Lin had brought great honor to Nanhe Province.

After a while, once the crowd had quieted down, the arbiter elder announced, "The third match: Fang Qinglu versus Wei Shi."

"Elder, I forfeit. You can declare me the loser," Fang Qinglu said unexpectedly.

"What? You forfeit?"

The arbiter elder frowned. "Were you injured just now?"

"If I can’t get first place, then second and third make no difference to me."

Fang Qinglu shook his head, his reply brimming with confidence.

"No difference?"

The arbiter elder’s face darkened, and just as he was about to scold him, Dean Pang stood up and waved a hand. "Forget it. There’s no need to force him. We’ll count the third match as a win for Wei Shi."

Wei Shi blinked in surprise, then grinned broadly. "Hey, that works for me!"

With the matches concluded, this year’s Dharma Assembly came to an end. The disciples from the three provinces returned to their quarters to rest.

The night passed uneventfully.

The next day, Zhou Hongfang led his contingent of disciples away from Dongyang County.

Before they departed, Zhou Hongfang said with a chuckle to Dean Pang, who had come to see them off, "Next year, Nanhe Province is hosting the Dharma Assembly. Dean Pang, you absolutely must attend."

Dean Pang laughed. "Even if you hadn’t mentioned it, Dean Zhou, I was already planning to come. I’ve been wanting to taste the Hidden Sword Cold Fish."

"By the way, what’s the format for next year’s competition? Will cultivators other than Magic Cultivators be allowed to participate?"

Zhou Hongfang asked with a sly smile.

Zhao Lin had only been in the sect for a year, while Fang Qinglu and Wei Shi were both third-year disciples. This meant that next year, Zhao Lin would be even more unbeatable.

Hearing this, Dean Pang’s mouth twitched. He said, somewhat awkwardly, "Let’s drop it. The competition should remain focused on Magic Cultivators. Those who specialize in combat are better suited for the main sect-wide tournament."

"Then we’ll see each other again next year."

Zhou Hongfang chuckled, then boarded the Spiritual Vessel.

...

「Two days later.」

The group returned to Han Chi County.

As the year drew to a close, the disciples of the Spirit Dao Institute were about to begin a long break of around half a month.

Disciples whose families hadn’t come with them to the Chenghua Sect returned to their home-worlds to visit relatives. Those whose families lived in the mortal settlements also went to reunite with them. Cultivators who were alone, like Li Sancai, remained in the county to practice.

Before the break, the Teaching Elder imparted a Cultivation Technique to all the first-year disciples.

The Cultivation Technique was called the "Solid Spirit Skill."

The Solid Spirit Skill had only one purpose: to fortify one’s Divine Sense and prevent possession!

"The Solid Spirit Skill is a mandatory Cultivation Technique for every cultivator, and the reason is simple. In the Cultivation Realm, there are many powerful cultivators who, unable to break through to the next realm, find their lifespans coming to an end."

"Some of them, unwilling to give up on their path, simply don’t want to die. So they turn to possession, hoping to be reborn in a new body!"

Elder Wu’s gaze swept over the crowd as he spoke slowly. "Would any of you like to be possessed?"

The disciples all shook their heads vigorously. Zhu Cong asked curiously, "Elder, if someone is possessed, what happens to the original person?"

"The original person? Their soul is annihilated, leaving behind only a fragment of their memories for the possessor to absorb."

Elder Wu replied.

"Is possession easy?"

Zhu Cong asked.

"Extremely difficult! Possession is an act that defies the heavens, and it carries a great risk of divine punishment. But even so, some people are desperate enough to risk it just to prolong their lives."

Elder Wu explained, "Even a mere mortal can unleash unimaginable willpower when faced with a life-or-death crisis."

"As the saying goes, even a common man, once angered, can become deadly."

"However, one can only possess other cultivators. Mortals are protected by the Celestial Dao, so they cannot be possessed."

"Of course, a cultivator generally wouldn’t want to possess a mortal anyway. Mortals can’t cultivate, so taking one over would only add a few decades to one’s life. The gain isn’t worth the cost."

"Possessing another cultivator is also difficult, but there are always heretical cultivators in the world who develop wicked arts for this purpose. To guard against this, every sect has its own protective spells. Our Chenghua Sect’s technique is the Solid Spirit Skill."

Zhu Cong patted his chest. "Elder, after we cultivate the Solid Spirit Skill, we can’t be possessed, right?"

Elder Wu laughed. "Nothing in this world is absolute. However, once you’ve cultivated the Solid Spirit Skill, the chances of being successfully possessed are minuscule, even if the one trying is a Golden Core Cultivator."

"A high-level cultivator’s Divine Sense may be powerful, but when it comes to possession, you have the home-field advantage. As long as you practice the Solid Spirit Skill, you are basically safe from harm."

"Furthermore, possession is an extremely perilous act. If it fails, the attacker’s body and soul are both annihilated."

"There’s a reason we didn’t teach you this spell when you first joined the sect. First, your cultivation levels were too low, and practicing it then would have slowed your progress."

"Second, you’ve been in the county under the sect’s protection this whole year, so there was no urgency."

"Now, some of you will be leaving the county to visit your families, so you must learn this spell to prevent any villains from taking advantage of the opportunity."

Zhao Lin nodded to himself after hearing the explanation. ’The sect really is thorough in its considerations.’

After his explanation, Elder Wu began to teach the mnemonic chant for the Solid Spirit Skill to the disciples.

Not daring to slack off, the disciples immediately began to practice diligently according to the chant.

The chant for the Solid Spirit Skill was simple; it was equivalent to building a fence around the outer layer of one’s sea of consciousness. By practicing it three times a day, one could see initial results within three days.

Two days later, Zhao Lin received his rewards from the Dharma Assembly.

Considering he would soon be returning to his home-world and the effects of the Jade Marrow Pill lasted for a full month, Zhao Lin decided not to take it yet. He would wait until he returned, then try to break through to the Qi Refining Third Layer in one go.

A few more days passed in a flash, and the day to return home to visit family arrived.

In total, eleven disciples were returning to their home-worlds to visit family. They included disciples from the Spirit Dao Institute as well as senior disciples who had already graduated from the institute and were now cultivating in the county.

Elder Wu led the group onto the Spiritual Vessel, then said to the disciple operating the flight Array: "Depart!"

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!