On the arena stage, the fervor and battle intent gradually subsided.
Qin Feng, Dragon Jade, Nissan, and Ning Jing looked at each other and smiled. The silent understanding and exhilarating thrill shared between comrades-in-arms far outweighed the outcome of the battle.
Below the stage, thunderous applause and cheers echoed endlessly. The students’ faces were filled with shock and admiration.
Amidst this fervent atmosphere, the two senior Instructors, Liang You and Chu Qi, slowly walked onto the stage.
The moment they appeared, the surrounding clamor miraculously died down. All eyes converged on them, filled with awe and anticipation.
This was a lesson from the strong—a rare and precious opportunity.
"I’ve more or less seen everything I needed to."
Liang You adjusted the gold-rimmed glasses on his nose, a slight smile gracing his scholarly face. His calm gaze swept over Qin Feng and the others, finally settling on Dragon Jade, Nissan, and Ning Jing.
"First, I’d like to take this opportunity to briefly explain to everyone why a Sixth-Level Soaring Martial Artist undergoes a qualitative leap in power compared to someone at the Fifth-level Yuanqiao Realm after mastering a Spiritual Manipulation Technique."
His voice was gentle and clear, seeming to possess a power that compelled everyone to listen with rapt attention.
"The reason is simple. A Martial Artist’s terrifying destructive power stems from the unification of three core elements: Mental Power, the circulation of Spiritual Energy, and weapon arts—what you all learn as ’Killing Techniques.’ These three are complementary; not one can be missing."
"Before the sixth level, you relied more on your body’s instincts and hard-won skills to passively channel Spiritual Energy. It’s like trying to divert a raging river with your bare hands. While you can still cause immense destruction, it’s inefficient and your control is crude."
"But Mental Power,"
Liang You’s eyes glinted with wisdom. "It is the master engineer. When Mental Power gets involved, it can actively and meticulously guide, compress, and shape the Spiritual Energy within your body. This causes the efficiency, speed, and even precision of your Spiritual Energy’s circulation to increase exponentially."
He extended a finger and pointed at Nissan. "If we compare Spiritual Energy to gunpowder, you used to be igniting a large pile of loose powder. It made a huge boom, but its destructive power was limited. Just now, however, you packed that same amount of gunpowder tightly into a cartridge. That’s why the ultimate destructive power unleashed by your Killing Techniques becomes so terrifying."
Chu Qi, the other senior Instructor, crossed his arms. He fixed the three with his blade-sharp gaze and added in a deep voice, "Ning Jing, Nissan, Dragon Jade, you three have only just broken through. Your control over your Mental Power is still clumsy. Your Fourth-level Killing Techniques can’t even be considered at the rudimentary stage yet. In that last battle, you didn’t display your true capabilities."
"Once you thoroughly master the Spiritual Manipulation Technique and bring a Fourth-level Killing Technique to the rudimentary stage, the destructive power you’ll be able to unleash will be at least ten times greater than it is now!"
Ten times!
That number made many of the students below the stage gasp, their faces paling with shock.
They were finally beginning to truly grasp just how terrifying the chasm was between the fifth and sixth levels.
Hearing this, Ning Jing, Dragon Jade, and Nissan all grew solemn. They knew better than anyone that Instructor Chu Qi was not exaggerating.
In their battle against Qin Feng, they had appeared powerful, but in reality, their use of Mental Power had been clumsy and halting, far from the state where mind and will were one.
"However, that’s not a major issue."
Liang You smiled gently. "This just requires diligent study and hard practice. There are no shortcuts. Go to the Imperial Arena for more high-intensity battles, and hone your control over Mental Power in your private Virtual Spaces. The three of you are all geniuses who broke through with foundations of Top-grade Primordial Acupoints. Your Killing Techniques from before the third level had all reached the Control Realm long ago. Your comprehension is fine, so just take your time. We have faith in you."
The three of them nodded solemnly, showing they understood.
The confusion in their eyes vanished, replaced by a more resolute goal for their training.
Then, Liang You and Chu Qi both turned their gazes to Qin Feng.
This time, their eyes held not just scrutiny, but also unconcealed admiration and appreciation.
"Qin Feng,"
Instructor Chu Qi’s voice softened, a rare occurrence. "Those killing moves you created yourself, especially the final one, [Qian Yuan]... they can’t be described as simply ’perfect.’ You’ve never systematically studied any methods for using Mental Power. Yet, relying solely on your own Martial Dao Will, you were able to spontaneously guide, gather, and integrate your Mental Power into your Killing Technique the moment you struck. That is very, very rare."
"What does that mean?"
Liang You picked up the thread, his eyes glinting with a peculiar light. "It means that on the path of utilizing Mental Power, you’ve already had an unparalleled, genius-level start!"
"Look,"
He pointed at Ning Jing and the others. "Although they also practiced their Killing Techniques to the Control Realm, that was ultimately the Control Realm for techniques below the fourth level. Now, learning a Fourth-level Killing Technique is almost like starting from scratch for them. They first need to learn how to ’drive’ the technique with Mental Power, then slowly build proficiency, and only then, after a very long time, might they reach the Control Realm again. That process is very, very difficult."
"But you’re different!"
Liang You’s voice rose slightly. "Because the will within your killing moves already contains the nascent form of guiding Mental Power, you already have the most precious foundation! Once you learn the *Basics of Imperial Spiritual Manipulation*, your path to reaching the Control Realm with a Fourth-level Killing Technique will be incomparably smoother and easier than theirs!"