Chapter 403: Half a Day at the Secret Art Pavilion With the Unparalleled Martial Arts Pupil
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
In a room of approximately twenty square meters, breaths of amazement by Ren Tiansheng and a few others were the only sounds that could be heard. Gao Yuan could only glare bitterly at Qin Fen, his self-confidence and pride a.s.sociated with years of martial arts training had collapsed in a blink of an eye.
Every martial artist that was eligible to enter the Sacred Martial Hall was known to possess vast potential in martial arts. Gao Yuan had always been prideful of the fact that he was able to study in the Sacred Martial Hall for many years.
But right now, that little pride residing within Gao Yuan had collapsed alongside the recognition of Bai Sheng.
Ren Tiansheng’s lifeless eyes were once again quickly filled with life as he witnessed the masterful control of the sixth level of True Energy Oscillation! Maybe Ren Tiansheng was destined to not succeed in the control of the six levels of True Energy Oscillation. However, with the help of such a powerful master, perhaps Nirvana Marrow Transformation was not a dream at all.
As Gao Yuan saw Qin Fen sighing, he got up and bowed as he clenched his fists, “If Old Ren can accept you as a teacher, I can too…”
Qin Fen felt the fiery pa.s.sion in Gao Yuan’s eyes and waved his hand, “Senior Gao, you must be mistaken, this is really a mistake! I did not intend to refuse your requests for help with my silence, but rather I felt flattered to be overestimated by all of you. If you are really willing to accept my help, then all you need to do is to just sit cross-legged.”
Ren Tiansheng and Gao Yuan asked at the same time, “Who shall go first?”
With the opportunity to master the control of six levels of True Energy Oscillation, humility flew out of everyone’s minds as everyone wanted to be the first to do so.
Qin Fen smiled as he raised his arms to make a sword-thrusting gesture and said, “Both of you, together.”
“What?”
Ren Tiansheng and Gao Yuan both turned to look at Qin Fen and asked, “Master, what did you just say? Both of us together? Distraction? Can you afford to be distracted?”
Qin Fen sighed and smiled. A martial artist at the ripe young age of nineteen had reached his peak in the mastering of martial arts. Had he not been the very nineteen-year-old martial artist that mastered the arts, he would have regarded this story as utter bulls.h.i.+t.
“I… have fully mastered the art…”
Ren Tiansheng and Gao Yuan both fell into silence at the same time. Can this young man further diminish the hard work of others in martial arts training? For a nineteen-year-old to master the arts, should a forty-year-old like us who are yet to master the arts just give it up completely and take up farming instead?
Qin Fen’s wrists flipped and aimed the sword to their shoulders, as he split the True Energy and redirected it to both of their bodies.
Sacred Martial Hall? Qin Fen, for the first time, had the feeling of coming to the right place. If it wasn’t for the battle with that strange young man during the daytime, from which he learned a lot from; if it wasn’t for that fruitful battle at the Wu Gate; and if it wasn’t for today’s task in helping these people to improve their control of True Energy Oscillation, it would take at least a year to master these martial arts under the conditions of isolated training.
In a short period of two days of entering the Sacred Martial Hall, Qin Fen had reached a mastery normally made possible only after a year of intense, isolated training. Qin Fen felt indescribable happiness within him. If he could maintain his progress at this pace, maybe he might be able to become a master of divine beast level in the future.
Ren Tiansheng’s qualifications were not better than Bai Sheng. Even with Qin Fen’s help, it took him five hours to reach the sixth level of control of True Energy Oscillation.
“This is… this is…” Ren Tiansheng looked at his hands in disbelief. The True Energy Oscillation on each meridian was already exciting enough, but the difference in strengths of the True Energy Oscillation was the most exciting part.
The Sacred Martial Hall also had the intensity range required for each meridian to perform the True Energy Oscillation. However, the measurements were way less precise than the measurements given by Qin Fen.
It was a True Energy Oscillation map so precise that no modifications were needed, where its users just needed to follow the steps listed on the map! Apart from admiration, Ren Tiansheng really couldn’t think of any other ways to react.
“Hu… it’s done…”
Qin Fen weakly leaned back in his chair. Not only his forehead, but the back of his legs were also sweating profusely. a.s.sisting both of them at once in their True Energy Oscillation also proved to be a challenge for Qin Fen.
He could challenge himself while helping others at the same time. Qin Fen didn’t mind doing more of these things at all. Every training session would produce a lot of progress.
Bai Sheng looked at Qin Fen’s tired face as he patted his companion’s shoulder and whispered, “Let’s call it a day and try again tomorrow. Qin Fen is too tired today.”
Tired? Gao Yuan looked at the hot, steamy sweat around Qin Fen’s body and nodded. This young man might be a prodigy in martial arts, but he possessed only the strength of a ten-star. He had pushed his True Energy, physical stamina, and mental spirit to the limit from the fight with Wu Zun during the day.
It’s not surprising if someone fainted on the spot right after the match. For a guy that was still able to move freely and help three people in their True Energy Oscillation, it would be unusual if Qin Fen wasn’t tired at all after the ordeal.
Qin Fen slumped in his chair and looked at the three people as he weakly said, “Then, I’ll see you out, seniors.”
“You take a rest first.” Bai Sheng nodded, “You should rest.”
As the door was shut, Qin Fen stood up by supporting himself with the chair through sheer strength alone as his bones and muscles let out signals of fatigue. The continuous battle and helping others today had led his body to a state of fatigue never experienced since the Nirvana Marrow Transformation. Qin Fen was so tired that he didn’t even feel like taking a shower. He just wanted to lie down on his bed and sleep instead.
“Even though I’m tired, I still have to take a shower.”
Qin Fen walked to the bathroom with his hands on the wall and quickly took a shower. He laid down on his bed after showering and practiced the Rejuvenation Art sent by Song Jia on his bed. Through the practice of the Art, his strength recovered little by little.
“Take a good night’s rest and save your energy for the Secret Art Pavilion tomorrow.” Qin Fen closed his eyes and said, “The Sacred Martial Hall is really a gathering place of masters. That young man today really showed me that there are masters among masters…”
The room quickly fell into silence as Qin Fen dozed off with regulated breathing. He had also made a name for himself, as he was quickly becoming popular among the younger martial artists in the Sacred Martial Hall.
“Qin Fen?”
“Who is Qin Fen?”
“The one that defeated Hades, the Young Netherworld King had come to the Sacred Martial Hall?”
“Oh really? They may be prodigies outside. But they should know the difference between the Sacred Martial Hall and the outer world as long as they are in the Sacred Martial Hall.”
“I’m afraid that is hard! I heard that he is currently demoralizing the newcomers of the Inner Sacred Martial Hall as a basic martial artist from the Outer Sacred Martial Hall.”
“Also, I heard that he had defeated the senior martial artists that intended to induct him with the Glorious Tradition.”
“That’s not all! He had also openly challenged the pride of the Inner Sacred Martial Hall by leading a crowd to occupy their exclusive seats in the lecture hall.”
“This newcomer is too arrogant. Seems like it is necessary to teach him a lesson…”
All sorts of rumors spread overnight to the ears of many martial artists in the Sacred Martial Hall. The undercurrent of battle slowly edged itself over time as the rumors spread.
The sun entered the room through the curtains, and the fatigue in Qin Fen’s eyes was replaced by excitement. His body had returned to its peak performance after a night’s rest.
Pus.h.i.+ng the windows open, Qin Fen closed his eyes and felt everything outside: the gra.s.s, the breeze, the trees. Even if you don’t open your eyes, you can still feel everything outside, as if their breathing can be heard.
Mastery, this is the state after the mastery.
Although the state of mastery was achieved yesterday, it was a tiring experience to go through that very moment.
“Very good!” Qin Fen patted the window sill with both hands, his eyes staring at the distance of Sacred Martial Hall, “Since I had just achieved mastery, my body should be currently at its best condition. Now is the time to visit the Secret Art Pavilion.”
Qin Fen took out his badge. He was yet to be proficient in operating the functions of the badge.
“h.e.l.lo. Do you wish to visit the Secret Art Pavilion today?”
“Yes.”
“Please confirm the time.”
“Right now.”
“Please select an electronic projection map.”
Qin Fen single-handedly held on to a window frame and jumped down to the ground from the window. This ability learned as a martial artist really saved a lot of time.
Following the electronic navigation map, Qin Fen came to the legendary Secret Art Pavilion of the Sacred Martial Hall.
The architectural style of the Secret Art Pavilion really lived up to its name for its simple yet elegant aesthetics in architecture.
There is a huge paG.o.da with a height of twenty-eight stories. From the exterior, you can feel the atmosphere of ancient temples, much like the Pavilion of Tibetan Buddhist Scriptures of the Shaolin Temple seen in the martial arts TV series.
“Secret Art Pavilion”. These three words didn’t really exert a sense of vigor and power, yet the feeling of deep martial arts knowledge could be felt from the words at the same time. The inscription was straightforward unlike the pretentious atmosphere at the Wu Gate, in which secret meanings were purposely hidden within their inscriptions to build up a faux sense of elegance.
“Like deja vu.” Qin Fen frowned slightly, “But a little different.”
The doors of the Secret Art Pavilion slowly pushed open as a martial artist of approximately forty years old appeared from the Pavilion. The man had a large waist with round arms and a dark complexion on his face. The man stared and a.s.sessed Qin Fen with his two eyes resembling bronze bells, just like a watchman on patrol duty.
“Hey kid, you must be a newcomer of the Sacred Martial Hall. This is the Secret Art Pavilion, not a place for outsiders.”
His voice was as rough as thunder, it would be unsurprising for ordinary people to develop tinnitus just from listening to him.
Qin Fen nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders. In a martial arts Holy Land like the Sacred Martial Hall, everyone thought that their talents were not that much worse off than the others. Therefore it is nothing extraordinary for a senior to show off to the juniors. I just have to get used to it.
“Senior.” Qin Fen said, “I have come to use the Secret Art Pavilion for twelve hours.”
“Twelve hours?” The man’s expression darkened, “A newcomer, having the right to use the Secret Art Pavilion? Am I a fool to you? If you get the f*ck out right now, I can look past this incident as a harmless prank. If I have to use the a.s.sessing instrument to a.s.sess you, I will beat you up.”
Qin Fen took the badge out of his arms and waved it with his hand, “When I entered the Sacred Martial Hall, I was lucky enough to complete the Stone Arches of Three Bells, including the fog bell trial. According to the rules, I am eligible to use the Secret Art Pavilion for twelve hours as a martial artist from the Outer Sacred Martial Hall.”
“What? You completed the fog bell trial?” The man’s eyes that resembled bronze bells had widened even more at this moment.
Qin Fen nodded. Although it was difficult, ringing it was not an impossible feat.
The man moved to Qin Fen and circled him for a few laps as he a.s.sessed Qin Fen from head to toe and from toe to head, all the while showing a deep frown that could squeeze a fly to death. “You are still a basic martial artist from the Outer Sacred Martial Hall?”
Qin Fen nodded again. If the Inner Sacred Martial Hall didn’t have that many restrictions, it would’ve been better to join the Inner Sacred Martial Hall.
The man fell silent for a few seconds and burst into laughter all of a sudden while looking at the sky. His bronze bell-like eyes glared at Qin Fen as he opened his mouth and shouted, “Ptui!”
The countless sprays of spit from the huge mouth had caused the weather in front of the man to bring upon heavy rain similar to some areas in the city.
Qin Fen gently turned his right ankle and dodged to the side using the strength of his waist to avoid the sprays of spit.
“Are you crazy?” The man glared at Qin Fen, “If you are that qualified, why don’t you join the Inner Sacred Martial Hall? How can a basic martial artist qualify only for the Outer Sacred Martial Hall ring the fog bell? Let alone the paper bell, or the stone bell…”
Qin Fen sighed. The status of the Martial Arts Holy Land was so high that it led to delusions of grandeur among its martial artists. Should a martial artist join the Inner Sacred Martial Hall solely because they managed to ring the fog bell or the paper bell?
“Senior, you can make an inquiry to the Sacred Martial Hall.” Qin Fen could no longer maintain his initial courtesy. If one can still remain polite after being spat on in the face, they are not martial artists, but s.h.i.+n.o.bis.
The man burst into laughter once again and took out a badge similar to Qin Fen’s and said, “Boy, I am the watchman of the Secret Art Pavilion. Anyone eligible in entering the Pavilion will have their personal info sent to me by the Sacred Martial Hall. I can see whether one is eligible for entry just by scanning them with a light beam. I can look the other way if you leave now, or else you will be violating the rules of the Sacred Martial Hall, which may lead to expulsion.”
Qin Fen shrugged his shoulders and made an inviting gesture with his hands.
The man pressed the badge in his hand and a light column enveloped Qin Fen. He smiled and said, “Haha, I’ve seen a lot of people like you pretending to be calm. Now I shall expose you…”
“The one that pa.s.sed the fog bell trial…” The mechanical and cold electronic voice emanated from the man’s badge, “Qin Fen, ident.i.ty verified. Eligible to enter the Secret Art Pavilion for twelve hours…”
Qin Fen looked at the stiff face of the large man in front of him and slowly lifted his leg to move forward, pus.h.i.+ng the man’s body to the side with his hand and swayed into the Secret Art Pavilion.
Creak…
The door of the secret art cabinet creaked and heavily slammed shut again and made a loud slamming sound that woke the large man from his shocked state.
“How is it possible?” The man turned his head and stared at the door of the Secret Art Pavilion and said, “A basic martial artist from the Outer Sacred Martial Hall was able to knock out the fog bell? According to legend, no newcomer should be able to ring the Three Bells! How did he do that?”
The Secret Art Pavilion stored not only the records of progress and inner thoughts of past martial artists in the Sacred Martial Hall but also the best and rarest martial arts tomes that couldn’t be found anywhere else. The Pavilion housed many tomes that had yet to be seen by many martial artists in the outside world.
Sacred Martial Hall had categorized the study materials in detail according to the levels of martial artists, their star ranks, differing editions, genres and also their values.
“Dragon Elephant Prajna Art!” Qin Fen bolted towards the top of the tower, “It should be in the Secret Internal Art area.”
With the gradual sophistication of the foundation of martial arts as time went by, Qin Fen had become increasingly suspicious of the internal art of cultivation. Was it true that the art he was cultivating was the Dragon Elephant Prajna Art? Why was he still unable to exceed ten-stars despite the intense training? Comparing relatively to the training progress of Caesar and the rest of their Secret Internal Art, Qin Fen was making very little progress.
The deeper the foundation of one’s martial arts, the fiercer the outbreak of their strength should be. Qin Fen realized that although he had tremendous growth in strength, his foundation in martial arts was disproportionate to his strength.
Unable to find a valid explanation to his problem, Qin Fen began to suspect that there were issues in the Dragon Elephant Prajna Art from the Limit Codex.
The internal art area was also rich in collections. There were no electronic books here as every book in the Pavilion was handwritten.
Qin Fen clearly knew the differences between the electronic copies and handwritten copies.
The electronic version of the internal art cultivating books could only see execution lines and slogans, or certain text annotations, but the handwritten copies were different. In addition to these functions, they also had a function that the electronic version did not have at all. That was the charm of a handwritten copy!
Every tome in the Sacred Martial Hall relating to the internal arts was handwritten by martial artists specializing in the training of internal arts. Every word inscribed within reflects their understanding of this particular form of martial art.
Just like the word “Wu”, the writings carried the truth and meaning of martial arts, allowing the reader to better understand the essence of this martial art.
The Dragon Elephant Prajna Art was one of the popular Secret Arts. Qin Fen quickly found a copy of it from the bookshelves with the label of “Strength”.
The essence of martial arts emanated from the words as the book was flipped open. Qin Fen’s spirit shook a little before he quickly and meticulously browsed through the records in the book.
Dragon Elephant Prajna Art first level… Dragon Elephant Prajna Art second level… the third level…
Qin Fen looked at the records on the books with a gradually dignified expression. What is written in this book is way different from the Dragon Elephant Prajna Art that I learned!
Although it couldn’t be considered as completely different, there were still huge differences between both versions.
“This… this is the real thing…”
Qin Fen held the tome of Dragon Elephant Prajna Art with his slightly trembling arms. The very pair of stable arms that did not flinch even in a huge thundercloud storm began to s.h.i.+ver fiercely at this very moment.
Qin Fen couldn’t help but tremble, his mood was anything but calm.
As the understanding of martial became deeper these days, the need for better martial dao reading material began to grow in Qin Fen. Complementing that with the findings of various sects of martial arts, Qin Fen was completely confident that the copy of Dragon Elephant Prajna Art in the Secret Art Pavilion was the authentic copy! Absolutely not a simplified version of the Art!
The first two chapters of the cultivation of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Art announced by the Federation was not a simplified version! The two chapters were authentic copies of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Art!
“That…” Qin Fen felt gooseb.u.mps across his body, with his scalp going numb thanks to the cold temperature. Qin Fen’s eyes slowly stared at the book as he asked himself, “Then… what kind of internal art have I been training?”
“Eh…”
A sigh rang in the mind of Qin Fen.
Qin Fen was very familiar with the voice of this sigh. It must’ve been the master’s voice.
“What is going on?” The book in Qin Fen’s hand slipped to the ground. The master usually appeared only after he was deep asleep. Why is there a sigh in the state of consciousness today?
“Let’s meditate now…”
The three simple words of the master revealed a message. Qin Fen knew that he was able to seek the truth through meditation.
Qin Fen cross-legged and meditated…
Qin Fen’s mind was clear and the master appeared in front of him.
The master today was elegant and eloquent as usual, constantly radiating the aura of worldly masters such as the White Tiger in their movements.
Qin Fen had mixed reactions when he looked at the master. Although he knew that these masters would not harm him, it felt awkward for him to be kept in the dark, as if he was a fool.
“You must have many questions, young man.” The master kindly smiled, “Actually, this is a tome that should’ve been revealed to you a long time ago, but we have to keep it a secret from you at that time. As such, you had been kept in the dark for a very long time. Why don’t you take a look at the other tomes of martial arts and internal arts? We shall discuss it later.”
Other martial arts? Qin Fen curiously opened his eyes and got up to retrieve a copy of “Power of Mount Sumeru” from the “Strength” section, a set of internal cultivation techniques that enjoyed the same popularity as “Dragon Elephant Prajna Art”.
“This is…” After Qin Fen finished reading, he curiously grabbed a copy of “Strength of Nine Oxes and Two Tigers” and reread it again.
“Nine Suns Divine Art”, “Ancient Chinese G.o.ds Divine Art”, “Jade Girl Heart Sutra”, “Revelations of Clear Skies”, “Yijin Sutra”…
“This is… this is…” Qin Fen was baffled. Each of the Secret Internal Art sets could be said to have their own merits, and also at odds with each other. It was indeed no easy task to master any of the secret internal arts.
“The true essence of these cultivation methods…” Qin Fen helplessly put down the “Yijin Sutra” in his hand while staring at the floor, “They should be in the polar opposite, unable to merge with one another! How is it possible for the Secret Internal Art to contain familiar images from my study of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Art? I am afraid that is not only the case…”
Qin Fen turned his body and scanned through the Divine Art of Guardian Defense, his face showing more questions than ever, “There… is also essence to be found here.”
Qin Fen looked up at the books on the bookshelves in the tower and s.p.a.ced out for a while, “These martial arts, can they be found within the Dragon Elephant Prajna Art that I’ve been studying all along? Combining the differing essence? Who is this person, and how did they obtain such an ability?”
“Eh…”
The Master raised a sigh once again. Qin Fen once again sat cross-legged and began his meditation all the while staring at the elegant and powerful master, as Qin Fen asked, “Master, is this the peak of your research?”
“My research?” The master self-deprecated, “You had overestimated me. How is it possible for me to research such a mystical art all by myself?”
“Did you research together…?”
“It’s eight of us together…” the Master sighed, “Simply put, although you have only seen seven of us so far, there are actually eight of us. You should still remember that time I once mentioned to you about the martial artist of heaven-breaker level?”
Qin Fen nodded lightly. A handful of news about the heaven-breaker martial artist was heard about recently. It was even harder to forget about it especially when the Vile King, Zeng Yicheng started insulting him even at the slightest mention of him.
“Putting it simply, he gathered the Limit Codex we created.” The master’s eyes drifted into deep recollection as his tone became deeper, “The Limit Codex, the Limit Codex! This set of Codex contains countless secretive arts. Those with the Codex will be a.s.signed by their martial arts instructors to train on the internal art that is the most suitable for them. Theoretically, the internal art that you were currently practicing was practiced by only a few, as its conditions were too harsh…”
Qin Fen silently waited for the silent master to speak again.
“Simply put, your internal cultivation technique is the highest level of martial arts in Limit Codex, which was introduced to the world by me.” The Master’s face was filled with excitement and pride, “This set of martial arts was jointly created by our Eight Masters, combining the most essential parts of countless martial arts! Even if the essence is at odds with each other, the contradiction was solved and merged thanks to the great wisdom of that guy. We named this creation as “The World Martial Arts Master Outline!”
The World Martial Arts Master Outline! The Master flashed a face of pride and straightened his back, demonstrating the style of a peerless master whose aura paralleled the White Tiger!
…
After a brief silence, the master stowed away his pride and showed a slight dash of bitterness on his face, “I am unsure if you are lucky or unlucky. If your overall quality is unsuitable for the World Martial Arts Master Outline but rather suitable for the Dragon Elephant Prajna Art, then you will be learning the Dragon Elephant Prajna Art. Your foundations may be slightly weaker at the moment, but rest a.s.sured, your strength is beyond the level of ten-stars.
If Song Zhenting heard this right now, he would surely understand why he was able to see the images of various martial arts from Qin Fen’s back. As Qin Fen’s foundation was not that strong for he had just received the Limit Codex, he would subconsciously expose his martial arts. However, as he became gradually stronger, he would eventually carve his own path of martial arts, covering up those things in the process.
“A lot of martial arts are easy to learn yet difficult to master.” The Master said with a slight tone of helplessness echoing in Qin Fen’s mind, the “World Martial Arts Master Outline covers an extremely vast topic and contained countless essences, which made it a form of martial arts that is both difficult to learn and master. Although this martial art program is introduced and recommended by me as the apex of martial arts, it is not an easy path in the pursuit of martial perfection. A slight mistake would render one stagnant in their progress, just like you are right now.”
Qin Fen gently nodded his head. The World Martial Arts Master Outline had brought together countless essences of cultivation technique for Internal Arts! It is no wonder that when I read the Sutra of the Jade Girl, I immediately knew how to modify it! It is because I had cultivated the essence from my training, in which I successfully incorporated into the teachings of the Sutra!
“It is unsure whether this is a good or bad thing for you.” The master said slowly, “The reason why I didn’t tell you about it at the beginning was because I was afraid of giving you too much mental pressure that may affect your martial arts training. Moreover, I also feared that you will become prideful as a result of learning a powerful martial art, bringing forth larger obstacles in your path of martial arts training, impeding you further as a result.”
Pride? Pressure? Qin Fen shook his head. After years of hards.h.i.+p, he had honed his heart and strengthened his will. How could his heart waver to such trivial things?
“Now that you have discovered it…” The master smiled, “Then I will tell you. From our continuous observation over the days, you turned out not to be the person that we were initially worried about.”
Qin Fen shook his head. The Master should’ve told me earlier. If I understood the reasoning earlier, I would be better prepared in casting away my curiously and doubts. Perhaps I wouldn’t even be stuck at the ten-star rank by now.
“Alright, young man.” The master waved and said, “Now I have solved your mystery, you can continue with your business. The path of martial dao does not consist of only Internal Arts. You should know this by now.”
Qin Fen nodded and stopped his meditation. He looked at the bookshelves filled with tomes of the Secret Internal Art. These tomes might be invaluable to others, but for Qin Fen, he had little use of these tomes.
“If that is the case.” Qin Fen walked out of the internal art floor, “Then I should take a look at something else. I should benefit a lot from learning further about my fists and feet.”
As Qin Fen walked into the Dragon Fist Room, he realized that the knowledge regarding the Dragon Fist in this room far exceeded his own. The room also contained countless invaluable notes by the predecessors on the Dragon Fist.
Without a second thought, Qin Fen plunged into the ocean of the Dragon Fist! The acc.u.mulated experience of countless predecessors was far more efficient than solo meditation! Furthermore, with many predecessors being unique and whimsical individuals, objects resembling the Dragon Fist were created as a result.
Dialogues, regardless of its length, could usually give countless inspirations to Qin Fen. Even if the inspirations were whimsical, Qin Fen was still able to benefit from it regardless.
For twelve hours, Qin Fen immersed himself in the ocean of martial dao. Being one with the vast ocean surface of martial dao, Qin Fen madly absorbed whatever martial dao knowledge the ocean had to offer.
As time went by, Qin Fen could no longer understand the text at his own leisure pace. Apart from the important bits, Qin Fen forcibly memorized most of the tomes he read.
As the Dragon Fist was somewhat connected in terms of discipline, it was complemented with Qin Fen’s good memory. Qin Fen was able to learn a lot about martial dao from memorizing the text.
Ding dong…
“Twelve hours have pa.s.sed, please leave the Secret Art Pavilion.”
Qin Fen reluctantly put a note back in the bookshelf. There are many things in the Pavilion that I haven’t discovered! Giving up right now is a very tough decision to make.
Joining the Inner Sacred Martial Hall? Qin Fen shook his head repeatedly to remove the thought out of his head. Joining the Inner Sacred Martial Hall just for this at the cost of personal freedom was a no-no.
A dragon regardless of its size was able to travel the skies and seas with absolute unbound freedom. If the dragon was restrained to a place, how was it still a dragon?
Qin Fen took a deep breath and discarded the tempting thoughts of joining the Inner Sacred Martial Hall as he quickly left the Pavilion under the watchful eye of the large man who guarded the Sacred Martial Hall.
“After these twelve hours today, there should be ma.s.sive changes in his thoughts.”
In the monitoring room, the Sakra gently stroked his chin with one hand, with his eyes flas.h.i.+ng with confidence and happiness. Any young martial artist witnessing the vast amount of martial arts tomes in the Secret Art Pavilion would find it impossible to refuse.
Ferrero slightly nodded in agreement with the other leaders regarding Sakra Aziya’s speculation.
Martial artists were eligible in entering the Sacred Martial Hall each possessed exceptional martial arts talent. The more talented they were, the easier it was for them to get entangled and obsessed with the vast realm of martial arts, rendering escape impossible.
As Qin Fen possessed the best talent, he must naturally be obsessed in the vast realm of martial arts according to normal circ.u.mstances.
Sakra let out a happy smile. The moment Qin Fen moved into the Sacred Martial Hall, he would receive the most rewards as the one upholding the integrity and laws of the Sacred Martial Hall.
Ferrero’s eyes gave out a slight envious look. The Sakra’s calculations were indeed accurate. It seemed that the rewards at the end might even parallel the benefits of the Seat of Honor.
Bai Sheng had a bitter smile. This theory might be effective towards others, however, it was a different case for Qin Fen. If this theory worked well in practice, then the Book of Wu alone on the day of the invitation should’ve been enough to convince Qin Fen into joining the Sacred Martial Hall.
Qin Fen had a firm yet complicated heart that was hard to understand by everyone. Bai Sheng had remained firm on his belief that the Sakra’s plans had been foiled.
Twelve hours later, the sky became dim again. Qin Fen hurriedly ate a meal at the Sacred Martial Hall canteen. Due to the chain of events over the past two days, there was no time for him to have a good meal.
When Qin Fen returned to his room, he felt no surprise to see a group of young martial artists gathered in his room. Qin Fen already sensed their presence long before he entered the room.
This was the upgraded martial sense to the body after the mastery.
Xue Tian was still lying on the small sofa-bed. Caesar and others each had a nutrient drink on their hands and chatted away. When Qin Fen walked into the room, Caesar smiled.
Qin Fen dragged a chair over. After three days, the owner of the room still had little to no chance of sitting on the sofa, but rather only on the simplest bench as he helplessly watched a band of robbers occupy the sofa without any self-awareness.
“Shouldn’t you be in isolated training?” Qin Fen was not curious about everyone personally, but rather about the reason why they were here.
Caesar put the nutrients drink on the coffee table and said, “Qin Fen, are you able to conduct a special training session for us tomorrow?”
“What?” Qin Fen looked at Caesar, shocked and curious. He looked at the serious-looking young people, “This is the Sacred Martial Hall. Isn’t it easy to ask for special training? Also, why do you need special training all of a sudden?”
“It’s because of Yang Lie.” Xue Tian laid on his sofa-bed and stretched his body, “You were at the Secret Art Pavilion today, so you don’t know what they went through today. They heard rumors about Yang Lie when they were having lunch today.
“That can’t be!” Qin Fen grinned, “How long has it been since the woman took Yang Lie away? How much did he improve?”
Xue Tian squirmed on the sofa like a bean worm as he held his katana, “You still don’t know what happened, do you? Yang Lie fell into a coma seven times within a short period of time.”
“Seven times?” Qin Fen asked in shock. Yang Lie’s physical fitness and strength were definitely one of the best among the younger martial artists. Even he fell into a coma seven times in such a period of time? What kind of training was that? Won’t people die from such training?”
“Perhaps you haven’t heard?” Xue Tian scratched his forehead, “I heard that the woman is a madman. As a master from the first rows of the Martial Arts Department, she takes pleasure in training talented newcomers. The more talented they are, the harder her training regimen is. I heard that a man known as the Martial Arts Madman had fainted twelve times within a day under her training, that’s even worse than Yang Lie.”
“An average of two hours between faints?” Qin Fen flipped his eyes and guessed, how did the woman manage to achieve such a terrifying number through her training?”
“But there is one thing that is worthy of recognition.” Caesar said sternly, “Anyone that survives the training under that woman will have their skills skyrocket in a short period of time. Yang Lie, for instance, possesses a good martial arts foundation. Therefore it is no surprise if he were to rapidly improve under her tutelage.”
“Then you…” Qin Fen suddenly raised his hand and slammed the table, “Are you here for the seats determined by that so-called Seven Day Battle?”
Solomon silently nodded. The other young martial artists showed equally serious faces. The only ranking that everyone was able to compete with as of now was third place. Not a single soul intended to be eliminated from the battle. Yang Lie’s actions had everyone doubting their ability to win the battle.
“But…”
“No buts, Qin Fen.” Caesar stopped Qin Fen with his hands and said, “We will be in your care for these few days. Don’t go soft on us. Just teach us anything that you think is useful in improving our strength without considering the difficulty and dangers a.s.sociated with it. Just do it.”
“Yeah!” Brooks took off his hat and showed his bright and gemlike pupils that were pumped with battle intent, “Even if I lose, I shall not lose to Yang Lie!”