Chapter 282: I’ve Already Mastered It
Liu Ran withdrew her fist, and her aura vanished in an instant. After the fierce wind died down, she continued.
"The punch I just threw was pure force. My skin, Great Tendons, muscles, and bones all worked in concert to generate that immense power."
"It also contained a kind of Penetration Power. When this force combines with the body’s Power and strikes flesh and blood, it instantly tears through muscles, blood vessels, and organs. It can penetrate deep inside the body, even through skin as hard as steel."
"The same applies when wielding a weapon. As Power reverberates and flows through your tendons and bones, its destructive capability increases."
"That’s why upon reaching the Bone Cultivation Realm, a Martial Artist’s strength increases dramatically, widening the gap with Low Realm Martial Artists."
After Liu Ran finished, Lin Qi knew exactly what she meant. He couldn’t help but think of the assassin who tried to kill him during the Spring Festival.
The man had been a Fourth Realm Martial Artist, and when they fought, Lin Qi had felt that the destructive force of his Power was overwhelming.
The damage to the muscles in his arm had been immense. If it weren’t for his astonishing physique and his Steel Bones and Iron Flesh ability allowing him to endure it head-on, he might have been defeated quickly.
"Of course, there is another significant change in the Fourth Realm."
Liu Ran continued.
"And that is Power Separation!"
"Power Separation?" Jiangtao asked, puzzled.
"That’s right, Power Separation!" Liu Ran nodded. Then, she extended her hand and flicked a finger into the empty air.
Jiangtao felt as if a marble had struck him in the face. Lin Qi saw a red mark appear on Jiangtao’s cheek—the sensation was incredibly real.
Then, Liu Ran flicked her finger again.
Guan Shan, Wang Qiufeng, and even Lin Qi felt something hit their faces. It stung a little.
"So this is Power Separation? It’s amazing!" Jiangtao exclaimed, touching the spot on his face where he’d been hit.
Lin Qi suddenly remembered that during his fight with the assassin, he’d noticed the man’s Power could leave his body, even striking him when he dodged by several centimeters.
He had thought the assassin’s Power was special, not realizing that "Power Separation" was something every Fourth Realm Martial Artist could do.
Liu Ran raised her hand. The air around her fingers vibrated, creating visible ripples. She spoke again.
"After breaking through to the Fourth Realm of Bone Cultivation, your bones become much stronger and harder. As I said before, you can coordinate your flesh, tendons, skin, and bones to exert force simultaneously."
"Vibrations within the body can generate even more immense Power, but it remains attached to your weapon or, at best, confined within your flesh and bone."
"But decades ago, Emperor Red discovered that the Source Energy we absorb into our bodies can actually merge with our Power."
"When Power erupts and your flesh and bones vibrate, they can fuse together. Using Source Energy as a medium, you can then release that Power from your body."
"This is what we call Power Separation."
"Power Separation can increase the destructive force, Penetration Power, and attack range of your techniques."
"As your physical condition improves, the higher your Qi and Blood Value and the harder your bones become, the greater the range and destructive force of your Power will be."
"Eventually, you can even condense your Power into a solid form, giving you the ability to attack Calamity Beasts from a distance," Liu Ran said.
Hearing this, everyone was lost in imagination.
"But merging Power and Source Energy is too difficult," someone said, shaking their head.
"Tell me about it. Just figuring out how to merge Source Energy and Power took me twenty days," another person said.
"It took me a whole month to master it!"
"I think it took me twenty-one days!"
"Ding Danxuan seems to be the fastest. She mastered it in less than half a month," someone mentioned.
Several people looked at Ding Danxuan with envy. Such was the Talent of the Dean.
Seeing this, Ding Danxuan straightened her slender neck, the corners of her lips curling up slightly.
"To be precise, it was thirteen and a half days. And I’d say that’s still slow."
Listening to the discussion from the side, Lin Qi had a rather strange expression. ’Merging Power and Source Energy?’
’Is that what I think it is?’
’I think I already learned that back in the Third Realm. Did I skip a step?’
’It takes others half a month to a full month, but I think it only took me two and a half days?’
’Should I say something?’
’Nah, they wouldn’t believe me anyway. I’d better not say anything and crush their confidence.’
"Now that we’ve covered the benefits of Bone Cultivation, let’s discuss Cultivation in the Fourth Realm."
Liu Ran had the yellow metal sphere switch the projection. It now showed a human figure sitting cross-legged in cultivation, surrounded by points of light.
Everyone knew those were Source Energy.
Behind the human figure, the silhouette of a massive Ape Form Calamity Beast appeared.
"When you break through to the Fourth Realm of Bone Cultivation, our Martial Arts divisions become more detailed regarding Qi and Blood Value. To break through to the Fifth Realm, you need a much higher Qi and Blood Value."
"A Qi and Blood Value over 100 is the benchmark for the Fourth Realm of Bone Cultivation. To reach the Fifth Realm, you need a Qi and Blood Value of 400. That’s a 300-point difference."
After Liu Ran finished speaking, Jiangtao, Guan Shan, and Wang Qiufeng all took a deep breath.
The 60 Qi and Blood Value required for the Third Realm already felt like a struggle. An additional 300 was five times that amount.
None of them had ever seen such a high Qi and Blood Value.
Ding Danxuan nodded as well. As the second-year Dean of the Azure Sky Sixth Institute, she had broken through to the Fourth Realm in her first year.
Yet now she was still in the Early-stage of the Fourth Realm, a long way from the Late-stage.
Liu Ran slowly began to explain.
"Increasing your Qi and Blood Value becomes progressively more difficult. The Martial Artists of our Blue Star discovered this problem long ago."
"Thus, Intermediate Source Energy Techniques were created—Source Energy Techniques specifically for Middle Realm Martial Artists."
"For top-tier talents like you, you’ll need to cultivate a new Source Energy Technique to increase your cultivation efficiency."
"That’s one part of it. The other is using resources specifically targeted for the Bone Cultivation Realm."
"The Martial Arts of our Xia Country have been developing for 47 years now. There are specialized Cultivation Resources for each of the Nine Great Realms."
"It’s just that they get more and more expensive."
Everyone nodded. Without money and resources, relying on Talent alone for Martial Arts Cultivation was simply too slow.
...
A few minutes later, Liu Ran switched off the projection, glanced around the room, and spoke.
"Alright, that’s all for today’s lesson. If you have any questions, you can stay behind and ask. The rest of you are dismissed."
"Goodbye, Teacher!"
Only three people from the group remained.
The others said their goodbyes and left.
"Teacher, with Lin Qi’s Talent, how long do you think it will take him to master Power Separation?"
Ding Danxuan asked curiously as she approached Teacher Liu Ran.
"I think it should take him about ten days, right?" a third-year male student said.
"I think so, too."
Liu Ran recalled the feeling she got from him earlier. As a High Realm Martial Artist, her Perception was much keener.
Lin Qi was completely different from any disciple she had ever taught.
So she shook her head and said, "Lin Qi is unlike other geniuses. I feel ten days is too long. Maybe seven or eight."
...
「After the class ended.」
Lin Qi, Jiangtao, Guan Shan, and Wang Qiufeng left the Cangjing Building, each boarding a tram back to their dorms.
"Brother Qi, I can’t believe you broke through to the Fourth Realm so quickly."
"Ding Danxuan, the previous Dean of our Sixth Institute, took thirteen days with her level of Talent to merge Power and Source Energy and achieve Power Separation."
"With your incredible Talent, you could probably cut that time in half. You should be able to master it in six or seven days, right?"
Jiangtao said, with Guan Shan and Wang Qiufeng nodding in agreement.
Lin Qi looked at the three of them, hesitated for a moment, and then said:
"What if I told you I already mastered merging Power and Source Energy back in the Third Realm? Would you believe me?"
...