227: Mirage

"Keep up."

"By the way, you should know by now what Innate Skill you ought to choose in a moment, right?"

Xiao Weiqing nodded. "I know, Teacher."

Of course, he would choose... a Body Refining Innate Skill.

As for techniques.

Maybe next time.

Xiao Weiqing was currently single-mindedly focused on fusing the Samadhi True Fire. His Physical Body Realm was too low and was seriously dragging him down. While the Blazing Sun Body Tempering Method was indeed suitable for him, it was significantly slower compared to his Spiritual Qi and Mental Energy Cultivation.

Rank 3 was, after all, only Rank 3.

It wasn't that the Blazing Sun Body Tempering Method was bad; it was just that Xiao Weiqing's standards had increased.

Ishida Yue nodded. She had first sparred a few moves with Xiao Weiqing before slowly explaining, hoping he would realize his own shortcomings.

Fortunately, Xiao Weiqing was not arrogant and was willing to listen to advice.

The two boarded an aircraft.

They flew over high mountains.

Heading all the way toward the sky.

The aircraft moved slowly, allowing a clear view of the entire Azure Dragon Island. Xiao Weiqing saw the temple in the distance, and the Awakening Tower near the temple's divine endowment area.

There was another person on the Awakening Tower. When Xiao Weiqing looked over, a phantom image actually appeared above that person's head, performing a fist technique.

"Hmm?"

"Teacher, that person?"

Ishida Yue said, "He succeeded in his Awakening and even enhanced his Extraordinary Talent. We call that phantom image above his head an 'Awakening Vision.'"

"Then how many Ranks did he go up?"

"1 Rank."

"He is now Rank 6."

"Only Rank 6?"

Xiao Weiqing was stunned; he thought the person had reached Rank 7.

Ishida Yue said crossly, "Do you think Rank 6 is as common as dirt? How many Rank 6s did your Great Xia have awaken last year?"

"The Training Camp has many Rank 6s because it gathers the vast majority of the top Geniuses on Planet Blue."

"Oh. Teacher, how do you judge how many Ranks someone has gained?"

"By looking at the height of the vision's phantom."

"One meter is Rank 1, one zhang is Rank 2, and three zhang is Rank 3—though Rank 3 is just a conjecture."

"Three zhang? Rank 3?"

"Yes. Only Dongfang Hao's vision reached three zhang during his Second Awakening, so everyone conjectures that a three-zhang vision corresponds to Rank 3."

"However, more people believe that a Second Awakening can only raise an Extraordinary Talent by 2 Ranks at most. According to what Dongfang Hao himself said back then, he only gained 2 Ranks; his vision was just slightly larger than others'."

"We're here."

The two stepped out of the cabin door.

"Where are we going?"

"The temple."

Ishida Yue led Xiao Weiqing on foot to the entrance of the towering temple, which was majestic and solemn.

The side door on the left opened automatically.

"Go in."

Xiao Weiqing nodded and stepped inside, entering a massive building that resembled a library.

The dome was hundreds of meters high with mysterious murals, though their true forms could not be seen clearly. Tens of thousands of talent orbs floated in mid-air.

"How many are there?"

Xiao Weiqing was shocked. Even if only one percent were Rank 6 Innate Skills, there would still be hundreds of them.

The rest were Rank 5 and Rank 4; the Training Camp didn't have any Rank 3 Innate Skills.

"Phew—"

Xiao Weiqing calmed his mind and walked up to a holographic screen.

"It has a search function; that's quite advanced."

He entered 'Body Tempering' and selected 'Rank 5'.

He clicked confirm.

The page refreshed with a dense list of over a thousand entries.

"Good heavens."

Xiao Weiqing continued to filter: 'Fire Element'.

There were still dozens of entries left, making Xiao Weiqing's head spin.

"Scarlet Sun Bone-Burning Art: draws in pure... reshapes..."

This was similar to the Blazing Sun Body Tempering Method, but it worked from the inside out and was more powerful. Xiao Weiqing put it on his shortlist.

"Five-Cycle Nirvana Sutra: First Cycle... Second Cycle... Fifth Cycle... Physical Body strength can be multiplied several times over, comparable to the Yao Race."

"This one is also quite good and suits me well."

He continued looking down.

"Lava Body-Casting Method..."

"Blazing Flame Body..."

Xiao Weiqing looked through them one by one, not missing a single one.

How should he put it?

"As expected, I want them all."

Ultimately.

Xiao Weiqing decided to choose the Five-Cycle Nirvana Sutra. Just as he was about to press confirm,

With the mindset of 'since I'm already here anyway,'

Xiao Weiqing suddenly changed the filter criteria from Rank 5 to Rank 6.

The interface refreshed.

This time, there were only about 20 entries.

The very first one made it impossible for Xiao Weiqing to look away.

"Indestructible True Fire Body: Smelt True Fire into oneself to temper the Physical Body. As long as the True Fire is not extinguished, the Physical Body will not be destroyed. When Cultivated to the Peak, opening the eyes brings day, and closing them brings night..."

Without any hesitation.

Xiao Weiqing selected it and confirmed.

"You do not have the authority to select this Innate Skill!"

Confirm, select, confirm again.

"You do not have the authority to select this Innate Skill!" x2

Confirm again, select again, confirm again.

"You do not have the authority to select this Innate Skill!" x3

...He kept clicking until his finger felt sore.

"Damn, who made this System? The stability is so good; it doesn't even glitch after being pressed so many times."

After seeing the Indestructible True Fire Body, Xiao Weiqing changed his mind.

He opened his Wristband and checked the Trainee handbook.

He found that there were three ways to obtain a Rank 6 Innate Skill. Currently, the fastest way to meet the requirements was to get onto the All-Time Combat Power Rankings.

Xiao Weiqing remembered that the 100th place was over 6,400.

He was 1,000 short. It wasn't exactly a lot, but it wasn't a small amount either.

However, relying solely on the Heaven-Reaching Pillar and Innate Skill combat power, it would be difficult to increase it by that much in a short time. Based on his Mental Energy Rank, even if he immediately broke through to the 44th floor of the Crystal Long Bridge, he would still be far off.

"Looking at it this way, I still have to rely on Basic Combat Power. If I break through the three gates and, ideally, enter the Fourth Realm, then even if my total combat power doesn't make the top hundred, it probably won't be off by much."

"It's settled then."

"Five-Cycle Nirvana Sutra, it's not that you're not good; it's that my standards have increased."

Finally.

Xiao Weiqing selected a Rank 5 Movement Technique.

Mirage Light Thousand Shadows.

This Movement Technique transforms the user into a thousand shadows of light. Reality and illusion are governed by one's thoughts; wherever the light and shadow shine, all is real.

Having obtained an Innate Skill he was satisfied with, Xiao Weiqing walked out the main door.

"Teacher, I've made my choice."

"It took you this long?"

Ishida Yue was a bit puzzled; it had been almost an hour.

Xiao Weiqing could only chuckle and say, "There were too many Innate Skills. It made my head spin, and I wanted them all. I didn't know what to choose."

He couldn't exactly tell Ishida Yue that he had been tapping a holographic screen inside for half an hour.

"What did you choose?"

"I chose a Movement Technique."

Ishida Yue nodded in satisfaction. "Good, very smart."

"You are a Technique Cultivator; you definitely don't lack offensive means. Survival should be the first priority."

"Let's go. We're heading back."

On the way back.

"Xiao Weiqing, I generally come to the Training Camp for half a day on Mondays and Fridays. The rest of the time, I have classes at the Azure Dragon Academy, and I also need to Cultivate myself."

"Teacher, I understand."

Xiao Weiqing had always Cultivated on his own; what he needed was occasional guidance.

"Mhm."

"Then go back and Cultivate well. It's almost the end of the month. Go to the Heaven-Reaching Pillar more often. Even if you are a Technique Cultivator, the body is the ultimate foundation."

"Also, now that you've chosen a Movement Technique, don't slack off. I'll come to check on Friday."

"I know, Teacher."

The two parted ways.

Xiao Weiqing couldn't wait to return to Lingyun Pavilion.