Chapter 358: Chapter 176: Root and Leaf
...After all, the Root Skill itself, besides strengthening one’s Physique, was all about training the body’s various techniques for exerting strength.
And the offensive methods of a Mortal Realm Leaf Skill were also just various techniques for exerting strength... like how to make oneself faster and stronger to directly harm an enemy...
Other than his fight against the veteran Huajin, Chen Shanhe, where the Mortal Martial Canon proved incredibly useful, Qin Fang had rarely used earlier techniques like the Ox Demon Mountain-Opening Fist or the Gale Saber Technique...
...even though he had trained them all to the Perfection realm.
But for the most part, he used them to supplement his Root Skill.
’But this Extraordinary Level Leaf Skill... it seems to be a completely different matter!’
These were true techniques for utilizing True Essence, making them vastly different from the Root Skill!
For example, he had now formed his True Essence.
But he could only manage the simplest form of True Essence Emission... When facing an enemy, the most he could do was infuse his True Essence into a palm strike... Essentially, he hadn’t yet broken free from the shackles of Mortal Martial Arts.
But this Extraordinary Leaf Skill...
Qin Fang stared in shock.
...even from a simple introduction and description, he immediately realized...
Extraordinary Leaf Skills and Mortal Body Leaf Skills were probably fundamentally different!
He was tempted to redeem one right away to see for himself.
But he took out his Token and paused.
’No, I only have three chances to redeem a Leaf Skill... I have to think this through carefully.’
’If I choose one carelessly and pick the wrong one, I’ll have wasted a huge amount of contribution points... and right now, I don’t have a single point to my name...’
Qin Fang took a deep breath and began to think seriously.
Leaf Skills were primarily for offense and defense.
If we’re talking about combat, then...
’First, I’ll definitely need a Body Protection Technique. My Physique has improved a lot now that I’m at the True Essence Realm, but I still have a feeling it won’t be enough against other Martial Artists of the same realm... Maybe these Extraordinary Level Leaf Skills have some kind of miraculous quality...’
’Second is a Body Technique. I’m faster than before, but my use of True Essence is still very limited—it’s just simple force exertion. Judging by these Leaf Skill descriptions, I bet their Body Techniques are different.’
’Finally, there’s offense... The Darts that I used to rely on don’t seem very useful now that I’m in the True Essence Realm. At most, I can coat them with a bit of True Essence. It increases their destructive power somewhat, but it still doesn’t feel like enough.’
After a moment of thought, Qin Fang made his decision.
Body protection, a body technique, and an offensive skill—those were the three aspects he would focus on!
With that in mind, he began to choose carefully, poring over the descriptions.
The more he read, the more astounded he became... Extraordinary Leaf Skills and Mortal Martial Leaf Skills were two completely different concepts!
A short while later, his eyes lit up as he found one...
’Mirror Flower Water Moon’... Transform the body into flowing water, casting shadows that blur reality and illusion... Circulate Profound Water True Essence to its peak throughout the legs and body. This allows the user, during high-speed movement, direction changes, and evasive maneuvers, to leave behind one or more extremely lifelike, short-lived Water Element Residue Shadows along their trajectory, each bearing an aura identical to the user’s own...
Reading this description, Qin Fang’s eyes narrowed slightly.
After a moment’s hesitation, he took a deep breath.
A Body Technique...
...I choose you!
’I’ll use this ’Mirror Flower Water Moon’ to see for myself what the real difference is between an Extraordinary Leaf Skill and a Mortal Martial Leaf Skill!’
He took out his Token, tapped it on the string-bound book describing ’Mirror Flower Water Moon,’ and selected "Redeem."
Instantly, a Jade Scroll floated out from the top row and drifted down.
Qin Fang caught it, let out a soft breath, and pressed it against his forehead...
"Merge with the intent of water; let your steps tread between the real and the illusory. By circulating Profound Water True Essence to its peak, you will generate ’Water Element Residue Shadows’ amidst high-speed Momentum. Your true body can then shift short distances between these shadows, achieving the effect of an Illusory Trace and evading fatal blows. This practice requires specific Spirit Essences to temper the meridians and Divine Sense."
"First Realm: Fleeting Shadows!"
"The core of this practice is to stably condense a single residue shadow at the end of a linear sprint or a simple change in direction..."
"Circulate the True Essence. From the Dantian, it passes through the Huiyin, Changqiang, and Life Gate... reaching the Baihui... This is the path of the Ascending Du Meridian, used to refresh the spirit and stabilize one’s center..."
"It then passes the Divine Court, the Forehead, and the Su Liao... to the Gingival Junction... This is the Ascending Branch of the Ren Meridian, a shallow circulatory path for connecting with the Divine Will..."
"...then through the Chengjiang, Lianquan, and Tiantu..."
A long and complex route for circulating True Essence quietly materialized in his mind.
Qin Fang gasped...
...It was different!
Completely different!
This Extraordinary Leaf Skill and the Mortal Martial Leaf Skill were truly two completely different things!
Mortal Martial Leaf Skills seemed to be completely subservient to the Root Skill.
As long as one’s Root Skill cultivation was advanced and their Physique was strong enough, it made little difference whether they knew a Leaf Skill or not.
But this Extraordinary Leaf Skill was completely different...
...Just the complex and clearly structured circulation of True Essence felt in no way inferior to the cultivation of a Root Skill!
’Could it be...’
’...that only upon reaching the Extraordinary Realm does the true difference between ’Root’ and ’Leaf’ manifest?’
...No wonder they were distinguished as Root and Leaf!
After the initial shock, he completely immersed himself, focusing his mind to comprehend the rest of the information...
...The information would only be transmitted three times, after which the Jade Scroll would destroy itself.
If he failed to memorize it all...
...it would be a devastating loss!
...The subsequent information about ’Mirror Flower Water Moon’ completely confirmed Qin Fang’s suspicions.
The complexity of this Leaf Skill was in no way inferior to that of a Root Skill!
This information contained not only the method for circulating True Essence but also specific training instructions... for example, one was to find a wide, flat area, pour Profound Water True Essence into their legs, and repeatedly perform linear sprints, exploding from a standstill to top speed.
Then, in the precise instant between movements—as the body is about to settle but has not, when the old force is spent but new force has yet to be generated—one must use their will to forcibly intercept a wisp of leaking True Essence and Momentum, condensing it a foot behind them into a faint blue illusionary shadow that matches their own silhouette and aura...
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