HSSB178: The crowd of geniuses lower their heads
Hearing Yan Zhaoge’s words, Ah Hu could not help but grin, “Young Master, if you said this out loud and those of the Heavenly Thunder Hall heard it, they would probably completely blow their top.”
Not only had he beaten the elite of the Heavenly Thunder Hall’s younger generation, Xie Ziyi to the ground, he also said straight out that their supreme direct lineage martial art, Thunderbolt Combo, was defective.
Not only would Chen Lin and the other younger generation disciples blow off their top, some Heavenly Thunder Hall Martial Grandmasters might also personally come to find trouble for Yan Zhaoge.
Yan Zhaoge shrugged, “For Thunderbolt Combo, even for Martial Grandmasters, if their cultivation lies below a certain level, they would also not be able to frequently use it consecutively, lest they leave behind some hidden injuries in their meridians.”
“As for Martial Scholars like Xie Ziyi who can accomplish this move once, I have to say that they are extraordinary geniuses, but it would still only be a single move.”
“If it were to be used twice consecutively, not having to be beaten by others, he would first collapse himself.”
Ah Hu asked curiously, “Then, the move that Young Master used just now…”
Yan Zhaoge said, “That was a little something I thought up when pondering on the Eye of the Thunder Emperor. At the present moment, it is still in its embryonic form and awaiting completion.”
“The concept within stems from ‘An instant’s production, Finger Flicking Shocking Thunder’.”
Yan Zhaoge raised his right hand a little, “There are many fine details contained within, I’ll slowly explain them to you later on when we’re free.”
“The general principle is that for the circulation of qi, following the first eruption of aura-qi, it does not return to the dantian, instead directly going through a quick circulatory cycle within the meridians of the arm.”
“It is equivalent to temporarily creating a small dantian for temporary use where the force is exerted,” Yan Zhaoge explained, “ The place that I chose just now was the Shenmen meridian of the hands, which is where I established a temporary dantian.”
“This dantian does not store aura-qi within, and instead acts purely as a hub allowing for circulatory cycles of the aura-qi. This way, the aura-qi completes a circulatory cycle, using the method of completing a small cycle to enable a second exertion of force.”
“It does this without being like the Heavenly Thunder Hall’s Thunderbolt Combo, having to go about reversing the flow of qi.”
Ah Hu understood at once, “This way, the damage to and pressure on the meridians would be greatly reduced; as long as the user is strong enough, he would be able to easily unleash a three-hit combo, a four-hit combo, or even a five-hit combo and beyond!”
Yan Zhaoge nodded, “Right, and the longer the chain of combos, the stronger one’s combat power. However, in actual battles, the speed at which qi returns is not the only decisive factor.”
“The factors that influence victory are many, but when the difference in these other factors is not great, the speed at which one can re-use qi would appear very important.”
Ah Hu said, “Young Master, just now, you said that this technique of yours is also still in its initial stages, not having yet reached completion? If it were to reach completion, what would it then be like ah?”
Yan Zhaoge smiled slightly, “It’s merely the first step.”
“Under the heavens, martial principles abound, all possessing their various specialities. However, the great dao is simple. Developing and proceeding further, it all leads to the same thing in the end.”
“In regards to actual combat, it cannot deviate from the pursuit of being faster and stronger. Even while there are numerous variations, containing numerous principles behind them, at the end, they actually all stem from these two things.”
“Strength can rip apart space itself; speed can bring one to travel through time. On a certain level, it is also an exhibition of strength being ‘strong’ and speed being ‘fast’.”
Yan Zhaoge sighed as he continued, “Going even further, there are certain other principles, too advanced to be things that strength and speed can describe, having deviated from them. But going even further, the great dao returns once more to its origin; what you’d find would be yet another higher form of existence.”
“The great dao converges as one, returning to nothingness, while being omnipresent, apathetic of the past and the future.”
Ah Hu was a little lost for words, “…Young Master?”
Yan Zhaoge smiled, “You don’t understand? Actually, there are also many things that I don’t understand, remaining as mere theories on paper. I am also unable to say whether these unproven things are really true or false.”
“However, it is precisely these boundless profundities that draw us in to improve unceasingly and cultivate in martial arts. On one hand, we can fight it out with others to see who is stronger, and on the other, we are actually also understanding the things of this world that are still yet to be known.”
Scratching his big head, Ah Hu chuckled, “This principle, I can understand.”
As Yan Zhaoge and Ah Hu conversed, the others around them now also gradually began to recover their mental faculties, the gazes with which they looked at Yan Zhaoge all incomparably passionate.
Xie Ziyi was in no way someone an average late Xiantian Martial Scholar could compare to.
It could even be said that of all the heroes and geniuses of the six Great Sacred Grounds, amongst the direct lineage martial practitioners, he was also far from someone that any other late Xiantian Martial Scholar could compare to.
Whether it was Turbid Wave Pavilion’s Xie Youchan or Infinite Boundless Mountain’s Liu Shengfeng, they were all not his match.
Saying that he was the strongest Martial Scholar beneath Heavenly Connection was comparing him with figures like Xu Fei, Tang Yonghao and Song Chao.
Of powers besides the six great Sacred Grounds, even their Heavenly Connection Martial Scholars might not be Xie Ziyi’s match.
But such a Heaven’s favoured son, had today been defeated by a mid Xiantian Martial Scholar!
…At this point, everyone was still in a state of chaos, “Just within these few short days of time, Yan Zhaoge stepped into the mid Xiantian Martial Scholar realm? Or was it that when he clashed with Liu Shengfeng previously, he intentionally kept back some of his power, concealing the true level of his cultivation base?”
“But that’s also wrong ah!” Ruan Ping frowned, “From the rumours, he only just stepped into the early Xiantian stage not long ago, and even if he concealed his cultivation then, over half a year ago back at Cloud Portent Mountain, he was still at the late outer aura stage.”
“It is still leaping up from the late outer aura stage to the mid Xiantian stage in just over half a year’s time!”
Ruan Ping felt a bit of a headache coming on, “It couldn’t be that back at Cloud Portent Mountain, he had also been concealing his cultivation?”
The round-faced Zhang Yao beside him frowned, “Just when was Senior Brother Yan’s cultivation level real, and when was it concealed ah?”
“No matter how I calculate, I also feel that it is just so inconceivable ah!”
Glancing closely at Yan Zhaoge, Xie Youchan then said, “No matter how you calculate it, there’s one thing that we can be certain of. The Junior Brother Yan who’s currently barely past the age of twenty, is already a mid Xiantian Martial Scholar.”
At her words, Ruan Ping and Zhang Yao both nodded in unison.
On Jade Sea City’s side, looking towards Song Chao and Ye Zhongzhou, Li Jingwan smiled bitterly as she said, “While we are similarly aged, looking at Senior Brother Yan, Jingwan feels like she is an idiot.”
Ye Zhongzhou waved his hands, “Don’t say that, junior apprentice-sister Li. If you say that, you might as well say that at my age, I have totally been living like a dog.”
He was currently still only in the mid Xiantian Martial Scholar realm.
Looking silently at Yan Zhaoge, Song Chao did not speak for a long time, only saying after some time had passed, “In this world, there are always those extremely few outstanding people, shining brightly within the dense sea of human existence.”
“We shouldn’t delude ourselves, all of us are already part of these extremely few people, but Yan Zhaoge-he is the one of the extreme few of the extremely few.”
Of those of Infinite Boundless Mountain, after looking at Yan Zhaoge for a time, Ji Hanru then sighed, “I am far from able to compare with him.”
Having been defeated by him previously, Ji Hanru had truly stepped up in his efforts,performing valiantly in the face of his humiliation as he wished to find back his face from Yan Zhaoge following some diligent, painstaking cultivation.
Truly befitting of a core, direct disciple and genius-level figure of Infinite Boundless Mountain, he had indeed managed to convert pressure into motivation, breaking through his bottleneck and rising from the early Xiantian stage to the mid Xiantian stage.
However, seeing Yan Zhaoge’s speed of improvement today and that powerful strength at the same cultivation level, Ji Hanru had completely extinguished all thoughts of battling it out with Yan Zhaoge once more.
However, unlike that time half a year ago, the current Ji Hanru was completely free of that feeling of desolation and frustration from having encountered a setback.
It was not that he had lost heart. It was just that the gap between the two having grown to such a great extent, the party left behind in the dust instead no longer held any feelings of jealousy and hate.
Beside him, Zhao Hao’s eyes were shining, his eyes fixed closely on Yan Zhaoge as his expression was grave as it had never been before.