Chapter 81: Juggernaut
So far, Benton had come up with two techniques he definitely wanted—the one that layered void and variable aspected qi on a weapon tip and the one that made an arrow faster and/or homing.
What else?
The first thing that came to mind was some kind of area attack. All things were possible in a cultivation world, so he should expect the unexpected. Even though his arrows would be hard to counter and would deliver a devastating blow, they weren’t impossible to evade or block.
If he had some kind of area affect, that addition would really round out his offensive powerset. Su’s memories indicated that, though a fireball could be blocked by just about any type of qi, only ones effecting temperature would prevent the heat from penetrating.
That fact gave Benton an interesting idea.
“System,” he said internally, “can using gravity to make objects heavier be blocked by a qi shield?”
The answer depends on how the Host applies the gravity. A small pulse aimed at an opponent’s weapon to increase its weight can be blocked by a shield just like any other qi attack. Increasing the local gravity of an entire area can be countered but not blocked by a shield.
That response contained an interesting tidbit that needed unpacking.
“System, how can a localized gravity increase be countered?”
If Host’s opponent has access to talismans or personal qi that decrease gravity, that decrease can directly counter Host's increase in the local gravity. The incidence of cultivators with a qi aspect is low, making the chance of encountering this scenario improbable.
Additionally, some cultivators possess techniques that directly counter local physical effects caused by qi in a similar way that shields block qi attacks. Though much rarer and more qi intensive than qi shields, any cultivator who participates in many battles is likely to have access to such.
If Benton encountered an opponent who also used gravity aspected qi, he’d deal with that eventuality when the time came.