Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 177 - 177 0179 Some Benefits for You_2

Chapter 177: Chapter 0179: Some Benefits for You_2 Chapter 177: Chapter 0179: Some Benefits for You_2 Just within tens of minutes, Qi Tian had already done a cursory review of the three secret manuals. The current Qi Tian could not hide his disappointment. All three of the manuals were of the Mysterious Lower Class level, only slightly better than the Yellow Grade Top Quality Thirteen Demonic Strokes that he was currently using.

According to Qi Tian’s analysis, the three staff skills had slightly different focus areas. However, no one was definitely better than the other. Therefore, he spent a bit of time comparing the three of them, then chose one, “Eighteen Demonic Strokes.” This skill was an extension of Thirteen Demonic Strokes, not just adding five more moves. In reality, it also added further explanation on Staff Skill and included variations.

Having already mastered Thirteen Demonic Strokes, it would be significantly easier for Qi Tian to practice Eighteen Demonic Strokes. Since there was a method to save time, he was not willing to waste precious time starting from scratch to practice other techniques not significantly better.

Keeping the Eighteen Demonic Strokes manual in his hand, he returned the other two manuals to their original place. He then retrieved the three keys and the runes were re-suppressed on the secret manuals. The used keys were also discarded. This was why he didn’t stow away the keys earlier.

At this point, Qi Tian still had four keys in his hand. He planned to use these four keys to carefully choose a technique that would benefit him. He had many weaknesses, the biggest of which was his lack of agility arts. His Chasing Wind Step was only of the Yellow-rank Lower Class, which felt utterly useless to him. The Galloping Skill of the Wuhang Ring was decent but it consumed too much True Essence and had usage limits – it could only be used once per day. This meant he needed a better technique for his daily practice.

Qi Tian headed straight over to the shelf labeled as agility arts only to discover the shelf was bare, not a single manual was there. What Qi Tian didn’t know was that among all the martial arts, agility arts was the scarcest. Many people weren’t sure what agility art the Mansion Master, Xiao Xiaowu, of the Imperial Master Mansion practiced. Even Luo Xia, the Master of the Sky Eagle Hall, only practiced Yellow Grade Middle-class agility arts. There were no records of anyone practicing Yellow Grade Top Quality or Mysterious level agility arts.

Qi Tian was deeply disappointed, but there was nothing he could do. If they were not there, they just weren’t. Nobody could make one for him out of thin air. He had to find another way to remedy this shortcoming in the future.

Qi Tian began to consider what the next skill should be. As he thought, he scanned the books on the shelves. Suddenly, something on a shelf far away caught his eye. It glittered brilliantly, flashing startlingly bright, directly in Qi Tian’s eyes – a momentary discomfort.

Qi Tian quickly walked over. After some searching, he discovered a peculiar manual at the very bottom of the shelf. This manual was carved in a shape of a clenched fist and glowed a bright red hue, almost giving the impression that it could burst into flames any moment.

Qi Tian directly took out a key, removed the rune suppressing the manual, and grasped it in his hand. Although the manual was shaped like a fist, it was actually a piece of jade, a common medium used by cultivators and Great Masters to record information. It was known as “Jade Pupil Simplified,” or simply, jade slip.

As Qi Tian was about to place the jade slip on his forehead, he realized that this was no ordinary jade slip. The surface of the jade was densely covered with tiny characters, each occupying an area barely half a millimeter square. Qi Tian squinted his eyes. He could only faintly recognize a few of the characters. Most of them were too small and too numerous; they blurred when he tried to read them and were too difficult to recognize – not because he couldn’t read them, it was all too normal given the circumstances.

Qi Tian temporarily gave up trying to decipher the tiny characters on the jade. He placed the jade on his forehead in an attempt to directly access the information stored within, but quickly discovered that it was not possible. Beyond having the warmth of the jade against his forehead, nothing happened.

Qi Tian shook his head with a bitter smile. He should have been aware of this. The armory stored all these manuals that had been looked over by countless people; surely every manual had been checked out countless times. If there had been any benefits, they would’ve been taken long ago. He would be last in line.

Qi Tian again focused on the myriad of tiny characters on the jade, hoping they wouldn’t disappoint him. Yet, due to their minuscule size, it would be almost impossible to decipher each character by eye. It strained his eyes and mind, and he could not guarantee that he would read each character correctly.

However, such a minor issue would not deter Qi Tian. He rummaged through the Wuhang Ring and eventually located a crystal cup. He filled the cup with water and voila – a simple magnifying glass. With this, Qi Tian successfully created it, he checked the characters inscribed on the jade surface through it.

This time, every character was magnified several times, clear and discernible. Qi Tian started reading the entire text from beginning to end and was pleasantly surprised to learn that the creator of the jade didn’t just randomly carve it into the shape of a fist – there was a depth of significance.

The jade contained the personal experiences of a master in fist skill training, including teachings on dozens of methods to train in fist techniques. Following these methods can enable people to use less True Essence while producing higher damage and increasing the speed of their fist skill practice. Furthermore, Qi Tian was overjoyed to find that one of the teachings addressed a question he had sought for a long time: how to perform the Fire Fist.

Of course, what the Fist Grandmaster left behind was not the Fire Fist, but he taught how to perform fist techniques imbued with the power of the Five Elements, such as the Fire Fist, Earth Ring, Gold Fist, and so on.

Reading the concise introduction on the jade surface, Qi Tian felt like he had found the answer to a puzzle. He already had some experience and knowledge in practicing Fire Fist, and now combined with the Fist Grandmaster’s tips, Qi Tian had an immediate sense of enlightenment.

He couldn’t help but start to mimic the movements of the Fire Fist. However, before he could finish even a few moves, Huang Liuyan’s urging voice echoed from the entrance of the armory. “Qi Tian, have you made your selection? There are only a few minutes left. When the time’s up, you’ll need to come out regardless of what you’ve chosen.”

“Okay, I’ve made my selection.” Qi Tian hurriedly held onto the jade and went to the entrance. “Senior Sister Apprentice, I wish to take this manual out of the armory. What conditions do I need to satisfy?”

Huang Liuyan glanced at the jade slip and said, “I have some recollection of this jade slip. You have good fist skills, so it might be beneficial for you. However, it’s not worth it to bring this out of the armory at such a high cost. The writings on the surface of the jade have long been copied down. You just need to ask for a copy.”

Qi Tian shook his head definitively. He preferred to personally decipher the words on the jade instead of relying on someone else’s transcription, which could contain errors.

Huang Liuyan sighed upon seeing Qi Tian’s insistence. “If you really want to take it out of the armory, then prepare yourself mentally. To my knowledge, to bring such manuals out of the armory will cost you by the hour. It’s 500 silver pieces and 10 disciple points per hour.”