68: Aura Cloak

Thursday.

Technique Cultivator class.

A-4 Training Ground.

While everyone was waiting.

A gale swept through the training ground, forcing everyone to squint their eyes.

Immediately after, a whirlwind formed in front of the Upper Academy Trainees, and a tall figure slowly materialized—it was Li Ding.

“Wow, it's Teacher Li.”

“How did he do that?” everyone asked curiously.

Teacher Li stood before them, dressed in the exquisite uniform of Luo Jiang Academy. He had a well-proportioned build and looked like a gentleman.

Li Ding placed one hand across his abdomen and the other behind his back, chuckling lightly:

“Elementalization. In theory, any Extraordinary Talent of the elemental series can achieve this.”

“Teacher, does Elementalization grant immunity to physical attacks?”

Li Ding nodded. “Obviously.”

“Not just physical attacks, but also most technique attacks and Spirit Art attacks.”

Fei Xiaobao exclaimed, “Wow, wouldn't I be invincible in the future then?”

“Invincible?”

Li Ding laughed. “It's still too early for that. While you can elementalize, Spirit Cultivators and Martial Cultivators naturally have their own countermeasures. However, the power of Elementalization is beyond doubt, and its practical utility in various aspects is very strong.”

“Alright, enough of that. Class begins.”

Everyone immediately straightened up, anticipating what Li Ding would teach them.

“You've already been to the Spiritual Energy Tower, so I won't take you there again. Those of you whose Extraordinary Talent comes with a built-in Qi Absorption Method, just Cultivate step-by-step. For those still using the basic Qi Absorption techniques, go to the academy and purchase an Advanced Qi Absorption Method as soon as possible. It should be at least Level 3, or you'll easily fall behind.”

One Trainee said, “Teacher, I don't have that many points. A Level 3 Qi Absorption Method costs over ten thousand points.”

“Yeah, Teacher, it's too expensive.”

Many Trainees complained.

Li Ding pressed his hands down. “Go take out a loan. You should know that a Level 3 technique only costs 10,000 points at the academy; outside, it would be at least several times that. Be grateful.”

“I know, I've already taken a loan, but the mental pressure is just so high. I've only just stepped into the Extraordinary realm and I'm already carrying so much debt.”

Li Ding smiled. “Go back and do more missions. Be diligent, and you can pay it off in one or two semesters.”

None of the Trainees who could enter the Upper Academy were fools. They knew that in cultivation, being one step ahead meant being ahead at every step. As long as they kept up with the top Trainees and stayed in the Upper Academy, it would definitely be worth it.

“After these few days of Cultivation, I believe most of you have already injected quite a bit of Spiritual Qi into your shenque acupoint.”

“Today's first lesson is to teach you how to better utilize Spiritual Qi. First, I will teach you to condense a Spirit Energy Cloak.”

Li Ding said, “Everyone, spread out a bit.”

“Let's see you burst your Qi.”

Everyone looked at each other.

“Hurry up. It's just bursting Qi, not asking you to burst your clothes.”

Hearing this.

Qin Tian was the first to erupt his Spiritual Qi. With a boom, his entire being was enveloped in white light.

Xue Cheng, standing nearby, was pushed aside by the shockwave.

“Qin Tian, I didn't provoke you, did I?” Xue Cheng said irritably.

Then, he also erupted his Spiritual Qi.

The training ground looked like fireworks blooming.

One after another, multi-colored Spiritual Qi sprayed out like rocket exhaust.

Li Ding walked in a circle around the group.

“Not bad, none of you have slacked on your Spiritual Qi Cultivation.”

“Qin Tian, Xiao Weiqing, Wei Lan—you are quite a surprise. Especially Xiao Weiqing, your shenque is almost at Perfection.”

Hearing this, everyone looked at Xiao Weiqing in shock.

“What?”

“Almost at Perfection?”

“How is that possible?”

“It's only been a few days!”

Li Ding continued: “Not only that, look at them—especially Wei Lan—and then look at yourselves. Have you noticed the difference?”

Fei Xiaobao asked, “What's the difference?”

Yin Tiantian muttered softly, “She's just a bit cuter, has a better figure, and is a bit bigger.”

“Hmph, what's so great about that.”

“Sister Yin, that's more than just 'a bit',” Fei Xiaobao joked.

“Get lost, you dead fatty.”

Fei Xiaobao: “...”

Xue Cheng said, “It's the density of the Spiritual Qi, right?” His was decent, but compared to the three of them, it was still far behind.

Li Ding nodded. “Correct. For Qin Tian, it's because of his Extraordinary Talent; for Xiao Weiqing, it's the quality of his Spiritual Qi; and for Wei Lan, it's because of her Mental Energy.”

“The Spiritual Qi covering the surface of their bodies is denser and more uniform than yours.”

“To me, the Spirit Energy Cloaks of the rest of you look like tattered cotton coats, while theirs are like cracked leather armor.”

As he spoke, Li Ding held out his palm—slender and fair.

“A true Spirit Energy Cloak should look like this.”

As his palm opened, Spiritual Qi overflowed, looking like a crystal-clear glove worn on his hand, yet no one doubted the defensive power of this Spiritual Qi.

“This is what you need to achieve.”

“Alright, disperse your Spiritual Qi.”

“Qin Tian, go over there and bring that box over,” Li Ding instructed.

“Yes.”

Qin Tian brought the box over. When it was opened, the items inside were revealed: black rulers, two feet long and three fingers wide.

“One for each person.”

“This ruler is called a Qi-Dispersing Ruler. It's made of special Materials and can disperse any Spiritual Qi that isn't dense with a single strike.”

“Once you have a ruler, pair up and stand face-to-face,” Li Ding said with a mischievous look.

The Upper Academy Trainees roughly knew what was coming.

“Dead fatty, let's go.” Zhuang Yu approached Fei Xiaobao.

“Bring it on, as if I'm afraid of you.” Fei Xiaobao and Zhuang Yu stood face-to-face.

Duan Shuyu approached Xue Cheng.

Qin Tian approached Xiao Weiqing, his eyes burning with an obvious intent: “The two of us?”

Yin Tiantian, looking unconvinced, approached Wei Lan. “Wei Lan, shall we try?”

“No way!” X2

Xiao Weiqing and Wei Lan refused without hesitation. Are you crazy? Why would we pair up with you.

Then, Xiao Weiqing and Wei Lan walked to the side, stood face-to-face, and smiled at each other.

Leaving behind a depressed Qin Tian and Yin Tiantian.

Seeing that everyone was ready, Li Ding said, “Is everyone ready?”

“Hold the ruler in your left hand, and let Spiritual Qi overflow from your right hand.”

Everyone followed suit.

Li Ding patrolled among the Trainees like an aristocrat, pointing things out and occasionally nodding.

Five minutes later.

“Not bad.”

Li Ding said softly, “Now, everyone, raise your left hand, and then...”

Before he could finish.

“Smack~”

A crisp sound echoed throughout the training ground.

“Aaaahhhh!~~~”

A heart-wrenching scream rang out.

“Dead fatty, I'll screw your ancestors!”

Without waiting for Li Ding to finish, Fei Xiaobao had directly slammed the ruler onto Zhuang Yu's right hand with such force that the ruler bent.

The Spiritual Qi on Zhuang Yu's palm instantly collapsed upon contact, and his palm turned bright red in an instant.

Li Ding laughed. “Good, that's the spirit. Just like that.”

Hearing this.

Veins popped on Zhuang Yu's arm as he jumped up and slammed his ruler down onto Fei Xiaobao's right hand.

The ruler whistled through the air and struck Fei Xiaobao's palm.

“Ow!~~~~~~~”

Fei Xiaobao leaped two meters into the air.

Then.

Screams of agony rose and fell across the training ground.

Wei Lan felt a chill in her heart as she listened. “Brother Qing, I'm a bit scared.”

Xiao Weiqing teased, “Don't worry, I'll be gentle.”

“Okay.”

Wei Lan squinted her eyes, looking terrified. “Go ahead, but you must be gentle.”

“Don't worry, here I come.”

“Smack!”

“Ahhh~~”

Wei Lan screamed, tears almost flowing. “It hurts so much.”

Xiao Weiqing was stunned. “I didn't use much force.”

Li Ding walked over and said with a smile, “The Qi-Dispersing Ruler's ability to disperse Spiritual Qi is somewhat related to your swinging force, but it's more about its inherent suppression of Spiritual Qi. The looser your Spiritual Qi is, the more it hurts.”

Xiao Weiqing nodded.

Hearing this, Wei Lan's eyes darted around.

“Brother Qing, it's my turn.”

“Come on.”

Wei Lan swung with all her might at Xiao Weiqing's palm.

“Smack!~”

“Hng!~”

Xiao Weiqing felt his palm go numb, followed by a piercing pain that shot straight to his brain. The Spiritual Qi on his hand almost failed to hold.

“You didn't need to use that much force, did you?”

Wei Lan giggled. “Didn't Teacher Li say it doesn't have much to do with the swinging force? I just wanted to test it.”

Xiao Weiqing gave Wei Lan an annoyed glare.

Li Ding stood before the group.

“Now you know what to do. Control your Spiritual Qi to be meticulous and dense. Continue.”

“Ah, again?”

Li Ding said, “This is just the beginning. This morning, strive to make your palms and arms reach the passing grade.”

“Teacher, what counts as a passing grade?”

“If it remains condensed and doesn't disperse after being struck by the Qi-Dispersing Ruler, it's a pass.”

“Teacher, what if we don't pass?”

Li Ding smiled warmly. “It's fine. You can take the rulers back to practice on your own. Tomorrow, I'll ask Teacher Sun to check.”

“No way!”

Li Ding pulled a long face. “Hmm? Are you Cultivating for me?”

“Whether your strength is high or low, the academy won't give me a single extra point.”

Zhuang Yu sighed. “Let's go, dead fatty. Let's agree this time—be gentle, don't bring personal grudges into this.”

Fei Xiaobao grinned. “Don't worry, I! Will! Be! very gentle!”

A moment later.

In the A-4 Training Ground, wails of pain rose and fell like a living hell.

As noon approached.

The hands of all one hundred Upper Academy Trainees were as red as iron rods. However, the results were significant; it was as if a new world had been opened to them.

The rest was just slow practice until their entire bodies could reach this level.

Li Ding said, “That's all for today. Those who haven't achieved it yet need to work hard. This doesn't just affect your actual combat power, it's even more crucial for your future battles against Yao Beasts.”

“Especially for the Martial Cultivator Trainees—you often need to fight Yao Beasts in close quarters. The Spirit Energy Cloak is equivalent to an extra layer of protection.”

“Dismissed.”

Everyone left the training ground with a pair of swollen red hands.