Chapter 74: Lightning Element [PART 1]
After Xiang Yu got rid of the attacker’s body, he got back to training. He also made sure to have his qi sense on the lookout so he could make a run for it in case someone even more powerful came. Instead of continuing to practice the elemental palm techniques, Xiang Yu first studied the new Lightning Strike technique.
This was because he wanted to see if he could get some insights on the lightning element by practicing the technique. That way, he would be able to create a sixth elemental palm technique to add to his growing collection.
Studying the Lightning Strike technique wasn’t that hard. Xiang Yu already had some knowledge of the sword, so it was quite easy to pick up the basic movements and energy pathways. The illustrations in the manual showed precise positions for channeling the lightning energy through the blade, which he followed carefully.
He then spent some time circulating his qi, trying to transform his pure qi into the lightning element. Unlike the other elements he had transformed before, the lightning element was really hard to get the hang of. He guessed it was because it was a mutated element, different from the primary five elements.
When he finally succeeded in the transformation, he felt the violent lightning qi flowing through his qi pathways. The qi was quite unstable and was even hurting him when he tried to channel it, causing him to have to refine it even more. His meridians tingled painfully as the energy coursed through them, like countless needles pricking him from within.
After a few more hours of concentrated effort, he finally had the hang of it. He felt the lightning qi flowing softly through his meridians. When it finally spread to his sword, the energy showed its true nature, sparkling and crackling violently along the blade’s edge. He was very pleased with the progress—he could finally control the lightning.
Still, he felt that it was quite dangerous. If he didn’t handle the unstable lightning correctly, it might explode and hurt him from within. This meant that he needed more practice to master it compared to the other techniques. Still, the raw power was really impressive, he could feel that just this single technique could probably deal more damage than all the others combined.
He then summoned his system to see if the technique had been registered:
[High-grade Lightning Strike: Beginner (5/100)]
Seeing as it was registered into the system, he moved on to the fun part. Now that he had learned how to transform his qi into lightning, it was time to create the lightning palm technique. After doing it so many times with the other elements, he was already used to the elemental palm technique template, just replacing a few values. After trying it a few times, he succeeded. He was now able to infuse lightning qi into his palm to attack.
As he observed his glowing blue and silver palm that crackled every now and then, sending small arcs of energy between his fingers, he thought to himself that the lightning element was really destructive. He needed more practice to make sure that it didn’t hurt him when using. If he managed to completely master the element, it would be quite powerful.
[High-grade Lightning Palm: Beginner (5/100)]
...
Xiang Yu continued practicing the elemental palm techniques throughout the night. As for the lightning strike sword technique, Xiang Yu was already quite versed in the sword itself, so the only thing he needed to work on was just the lightning element itself, which he was already working on through the lightning palm technique.
He continued his practice until it was finally reset time:
[Body Refining: 11th Layer (180/11,000) (+40/11,000)]
[Qi Gathering: 2nd Layer (150/200) (+50/200)]
[Mind: Level 4 (124/4000) (+40/4000)]
[Transcendent Dao Body: Level 1 (12/1,000,000) (+2/1,000,000)]
[Enlightenment: High (357/3000) (+23/3000)]
[Spirit Flame: Abyssal Void Flame: 6th Grade (2535/40,000) (+5/40,000)]
[High-grade Lightning Strike & Palm: Beginner (10/100) (+10/100)]
[High-grade Fire Palm: Beginner (50/100) (+10/100)]
[High-grade Water, Wood, Earth, Metal Palm: Beginner (30/100) (+10/100)]
[Cook: 5th Grade (420/500) (+20/500)]
[Experience Points Doubled]
[Cook: 5th Grade (420/500) → 4th Grade (0/600)]
[High-grade Water, Wood, Earth, Metal Palm: Beginner (30/100) → Beginner (60/100)]
[High-grade Fire Palm: Beginner (50/100) → Minor Success (0/200)]
[High-grade Lightning Strike & Palm: Beginner (10/100) → Beginner (20/100)]
[Spirit Flame: Abyssal Void Flame: 6th Grade (2535/40,000) → 6th Grade (5070/40,000)]
[Enlightenment: High (357/3000) → High (714/3000)]
[Transcendent Dao Body: Level 1 (12/1,000,000) → Level 1 (24/1,000,000)]
[Mind: Level 4 (124/4000) → Level 4 (248/4000)]
[Qi Gathering: 2nd Layer (150/200) → 3rd Layer (0/300)]
[Body Refining: 11th Layer (180/11,000) → 11th Layer (360/11,000)]
Instantly, Xiang Yu felt the qi in his body rise for a second before settling down. He had broken through to the third stage of qi gathering.
He then felt a huge wave of insights flowing into his mind as his cooking broke through to the 4th grade. The knowledge poured directly into his consciousness—ingredients he didn’t know about, different ways to manipulate qi and spirit flame, thousands of recipes for 4th grade spirit foods as well as hundreds of recipes for special foods with unique cultivation benefits. Each recipe appeared in his mind, complete with preparation methods and the precise qi manipulation required.
He was very impressed with the insights he had gained and couldn’t wait to try them out in the morning.
He then noticed that his transcendent dao body had actually increased by two points. He guessed that it was probably because he had managed to transform his qi into lightning. Although the increase was small, it was quite impressive that such a stat could increase at all.
He observed that his enlightenment was almost reaching the thousands and it wouldn’t be long before it broke through to the Superior realm. After the high realm was superior, sacred, then divine, following the same grading as techniques. Xiang Yu wondered what realm his junior sister was in.
Speaking of improvements, his abyssal void flame had also improved quite a bit, reaching five thousand points. It wouldn’t be long before it broke through to the fifth grade. He couldn’t wait to see what improvements it would bring.
As for the techniques, they all had improved quite a bit, and the fire palm had even reached the minor success stage.
Satisfied with the progress, he summoned his full system screen to admire the comprehensive view of his growth:
[Name: Xiang Yu]
[Realm: Body: 11th Layer (360/11,000); Spirit: Qi Gathering 3rd Layer (0/300); Mind: Level 4 (248/4000)]
[Species: Human]
[Spiritual Root: Medium-Grade Omni-Element]
[Physique: Transcendent Dao Body: Level 1 (24/1,000,000)]
[Enlightenment: High (714/3000)]
[Battle Instinct: Mortal (100,000/100,000)]
[Spirit Flame: Abyssal Void Flame: 6th Grade (5070/40,000)]
[Professions: Cook: 4th Grade (0/600)]
[Techniques: High-grade Lightning Strike & Palm: Beginner (20/100); High-grade Fire Palm: Minor Success (0/200); High-grade Water, Wood, Earth, Metal Palm: Beginner (60/100)]
[Scriptures: ]
[System Function: Double Exp (Cooldown: 24hrs); Fusion]
Xiang Yu was very satisfied to see that his system panel wasn’t so barren anymore and was filled with techniques, high-level ones no less. The only disappointing thing was his empty scriptures section. He wondered how to get more scriptures but decided to dismiss the thoughts as it was time to cultivate the mind.