Chapter 71: Creating Techniques
Xiang Yu felt an invisible barrier collapse within him as the surging qi that had started to overwhelm his meridians suddenly calmed, settling peacefully into his dantian. He exhaled deeply, dissipating the excess energy that remained in his system. Feeling the change within him, he quickly checked his system status, confirming that he had indeed broken through to the second layer of the Qi Gathering realm.
Just as he had thought before, it seemed his cooking profession was indeed worth a thousand times more than his cultivation. Even though it was just a minor realm, breaking through just by eating was really incredible. He couldn’t help but feel that he needed to gain more secondary professions.
After he was done refining all the leftover energy, Xiang Yu noted that it was nearly noon and decided to transition to technique cultivation in accordance with his new schedule. Maintaining his meditative posture, he began channeling fire qi into his palm. The familiar warm sensation spread through his hand as the energy concentrated, causing a subtle red glow to emanate from his skin.
After practicing this basic application for some time, he suddenly had a bold idea. He reached into his spatial ring and retrieved the Fire Palm technique manual, examining it with a smile.
"If I understand the fundamental principles correctly," he reasoned, "the technique itself isn’t inherently tied to fire." Since he had studied a palm technique before, he could tell that the technique, in its roots, was just a palm technique, the elemental aspect was merely one component that could potentially be substituted. If he could use the Fire Palm as a base template and replace the elemental aspect, he might gain five techniques from just one.
For most cultivators, such a task would be nearly impossible—requiring extraordinary comprehension abilities and deep understanding of elemental theory. However, with his high-level comprehension combined with the enhancement from his Transcendent Dao Physique, Xiang Yu believed it was within his capabilities.
He began studying the Fire Palm technique with focus, scrutinizing every detail and annotation. His eyes traced the meridian pathways described in the manual, noting how the qi was directed and transformed. He paid particular attention to sections describing the role of the fire element in the technique’s execution, mentally cataloging what aspects would need modification if he substituted a different element.
Theory alone wasn’t sufficient. Xiang Yu conducted numerous practical experiments, attempting to apply water-natured qi using the same circulation pattern designed for fire. Several attempts failed, some even resulting in minor injuries—backflows of unstable energy that damaged his meridians, unexpected energy explosions that burned his palm from the inside. Fortunately, his Transcendent Dao Physique’s enhanced recovery capabilities quickly repaired these self-inflicted wounds, allowing him to continue his experiments without significant delay.
Hours passed as Xiang Yu alternated between theoretical study and practical application. The sun began its descent toward the horizon, painting his bamboo dwelling with orange and red hues. Just as daylight was fading, a breakthrough occurred.
During one attempt, instead of the familiar red glow, his hand emanated a soft blue luminescence. The sensation was different—cool and flowing rather than hot and crackling. He had successfully adapted the technique to channel water qi.
Excitement surged through him as he quickly checked his system status. There it was:
[High-grade Water Palm: Beginner (1/100)]
He had succeeded in extracting a new technique from the original, proving his theory correct.
...
Now that Xiang Yu had successfully created a technique based on a different element, excitement surged through him. After creating the water palm technique, he could now determine which components of the technique were affected by elemental changes and could now swap them out systematically to match the values of the element he was creating a technique for. Now he possessed a genuine template for elemental palm techniques.
Without hesitation, he applied the same principles to the remaining three classical elements, filling in the template with precise adjustments for each. One by one, new notifications appeared in his system:
[High-grade Wood Palm: Beginner (1/100)]
[High-grade Earth Palm: Beginner (1/100)]
[High-grade Metal Palm: Beginner (1/100)]
He briefly considered creating techniques for mutated elements like wind, ice, and thunder, but recognized his understanding of these elements was insufficient to formulate proper techniques yet. Even so, his achievement was remarkable—he now possessed techniques to practice independently, without relying on his martial aunt for more techniques.
With multiple techniques now populating his system, Xiang Yu felt a deep satisfaction. The system’s potential was no longer being squandered. More importantly, the process of analyzing and modifying the original technique had taught him invaluable lessons about technique construction and elemental theory.
"Perhaps I should study more techniques," he thought, gazing at his palm. "I might eventually create techniques from scratch without needing templates." Such an ability would allow him to make full use of his system’s capabilities. Even if his initial creations were mediocre, he could employ the system’s merging function to combine them into something truly powerful—just as he planned to do with the five elemental palm techniques once they reached perfect level.
The prospect of what might result from merging all five perfected elemental techniques intrigued him. "Would it create a divine-level technique?" he wondered.
Setting aside these ambitious thoughts for the future, Xiang Yu focused on immediate practice. He systematically worked through each of his new techniques, cycling through the elements one after another. What had initially been challenging—the constant transformation of his qi between different elemental natures—gradually became easier and easier until it was second nature.
Throughout the night, his palms pulsed with different colored lights as he activated each element in sequence. Rippling blue water energy, then green wood qi that spiraled like vines, earthy brown light, and finally metallic silver and grey lights.
The repeated practice reinforced his control, each cycle becoming more fluid than the last. The hours passed swiftly as Xiang Yu lost himself in perfecting these techniques, refining his control over elemental transformations.
Finally, midnight arrived, and the system reset notification appeared:
[Body Refining: 11th Layer (70/11,000) (+30/11,000)]
[Qi Gathering: 2nd Layer (50/200) (+50/200)]
[Mind: Level 4 (42/4000) (+40/4000)]
[Transcendent Dao Body: Level 1 (5/1,000,000) (+3/1,000,000)]
[Enlightenment: High (167/3000) (+43/3000)]
[Spirit Flame: Abyssal Void Flame: 6th Grade (1265/40,000) (+5/40,000)]
[High-grade Fire Palm: Beginner (20/100)]
[High-grade Water, Wood, Earth, Metal Palm: Beginner (10/100) (+10/100)]
[Cook: 5th Grade (200/500) (+20/500)]
[Experience Points Doubled]
[Cook: 5th Grade (200/500) → 5th Grade (400/500)]
[High-grade Water, Wood, Earth, Metal Palm: Beginner (10/100) → Beginner (20/100)]
[High-grade Fire Palm: Beginner (20/100) → Beginner (40/100)]
[Spirit Flame: Abyssal Void Flame: 6th Grade (1265/40,000) → 6th Grade (2530/40,000)]
[Enlightenment: High (167/3000) → High (334/3000)]
[Transcendent Dao Body: Level 1 (5/1,000,000) → Level 1 (10/1,000,000)]
[Mind: Level 4 (42/4000) → Level 4 (84/4000)]
[Qi Gathering: 2nd Layer (50/200) → 2nd Layer (100/200)]
[Body Refining: 11th Layer (70/11,000) → 11th Layer (140/11,000)]
...
Author’s Corner:
I feel like I should clarify this: No! This does not mean that he can make techniques from scratch, he was able to make these ones because he already had understanding of the palm technique and understood that the element part was just an addition and he could swap it for a different element. (He basically just copy pasted and changed a few things)