Chapter 17: Chapter 17 - Dragon Claw
In the following period, Zhou Yuan engaged in daily channel unblocking attempts with the help of the Thirty-Six Beast Channel Opening Rune. It must be said that although this channel-opening rune was rather dangerous, its effectiveness was astonishingly good.
In a mere few days, Zhou Yuan's fifth meridian channel was opened.
After opening his 5th Meridian Zhou Yuan decided to focus his attention on the Auraflare technique.
Zhou Yuan seated himself and poured Genesis Qi into the scroll. The light was immediately emitted, shining on the air in front of him as words started to flow.
Zhou Yuan focused on the words. They were the introduction and cultivation method for the Auraflare technique.
"Oh, this Auraflare technique is somewhat peculiar." While Zhou Yuan was immersed in the cultivation method of the Auraflare technique, he suddenly heard a cry of surprise. He turned his head, only to find that Yaoyao was standing beside him. Her bright penetrating eyes were glued to the screen of light.
Zhou Yuan nodded in agreement. Having just looked through it, he now knew the theory behind the Auraflare technique. This technique made use of a unique method to continuously compress the Genesis Qi in the meridian channels, concentrating it.
After continuous compression, the Genesis Qi would become highly concentrated, giving it astonishing force and piercing power.
A thoughtful look was revealed in Yaoyao's eyes as she said, "This technique is rather interesting. It looks simple but it takes a very extreme approach of compressing Genesis Qi to the limit."
"The true rank of this Auraflare technique should not be merely low-grade Black tier. However, it is somewhat incomplete."
"This Auraflare technique was given to King Qi by the Great Wu Empire. They may not have given him the complete version."
"Miss Yaoyao, I had an Idea that needed your insights to succeed."
After Zhou Yuan explained his idea to Yaoyao she was dazed for a while but soon she looked at Zhou Yuan with awe.
"Zhou Yuan this idea of yours is very good and may even succeed."
"You plan to take Dragon Tablet hands Concept of power and boldness and take the concept of high-level compression of Genesis Qi, sharpness and penetrating from Auraflare Technique to create a Technique that is unrivaled in both power and sharp offensive ability and resembles a Dragon's Claw, the idea is very good it will more than double your lethality in a close combat situation."
"But although the idea is good, It will take some time to develop it and it should be done slowly so it does not harm you as this technique can also harm yourself if not done correctly".
"That is why I asked for Miss Yaoyao's guidance", Zhou Yuan said, while he was extremely confident, he was not an idiot, this was his first time creating a technique and he had no experience but Yaoyao had great insight into Genesis Qi techniques.
"But first you need to learn the Auraflare Technique, but you should know that the high-level compression of Genesis Qi in the meridian channels will be a huge burden on them. After all, a lapse in concentration might cause you to lose control and damage your meridian channels."
However, Zhou Yuan smiled when he heard this. With regards to the toughness of meridian channels, it was likely extremely difficult to find anyone who could better him amongst those at the same cultivation level. After all, he was born with eight naturally open meridian channels and although they were subsequently sealed, the strong foundations remained.
"Then I'll give this Auraflare technique a go!" It was obvious that Zhou Yuan was extremely interested in the Auraflare technique.
As the saying goes, do what you plan to. After informing Yaoyao, Zhou Yuan sat down in a cross-legged position. With a thought, a suction force was emitted from his channels, pulling strands of Genesis Qi into his body.
As Genesis Qi poured into his channels, Zhou Yuan followed the compression method recorded in the Auraflare technique. He exerted control over each strand of Genesis Qi in his channels, making them slowly revolve.
The compression method was called Spin Refining. One directed Genesis Qi to form a 'whirlpool' that spun at high speed, continuously compressing the Genesis Qi until the 'whirlpool' finally dissipated and a 'concentrated flare' was created.
It seemed easy when described, but doing it was very difficult. After all, such a level of control was not easy to achieve. If too much power was used, the pulling force would grow too strong and hurt the meridian channels.
On the other hand, if too little power was used, the 'concentrated flare' would not be created.
In the beginning, Zhou Yuan failed time and time again, the Genesis Qi whirlpools in his meridian channels dissipating each time. On the bright side, his strong Spirit made him aware of even the smallest details, allowing him to gradually learn from every failure.
Hence, Zhou Yuan was already able to somewhat successfully utilize the Spin Refining method after an entire day.
This went on for 3 more days.
As the glorious sun rose into the sky, its scorching rays shined down upon the seemingly endless Black Forest Mountain Range, covering it in a layer of golden gauze.
In a certain valley, Zhou Yuan was silently seated on a rock. The view within his meridian channels however was completely different from the peacefulness on the outside. Genesis Qi whirlpools spun at high speeds, emitting 'ch ch' noises as a pulling force spread, causing the channels to twitch.
This was only possible due to the toughness of Zhou Yuan's meridian channels. The channels of any other ordinary four-channel practitioner would have been torn by this time.
Hum!
Faint vibration sounds could be heard within his meridian channels.
Meanwhile, the whirlpools spun faster and faster, rapidly increasing the pulling force which in turn caused the piercing pain to intensify.
Zhou Yuan's brows tightly scrunched together, but he did not plan on giving up. Instead, he braced himself and increased the rotation speed of the whirlpools.
Boom!
As the rotation speed rose, the strands of Genesis Qi lingering above it were compressed to the very center, and in the next moment, the whirlpool exploded.
Zhou Yuan's eyes abruptly opened. However, there was no disappointment on his face but instead overflowing joy.
He extended his hand, making two fingers jut out. With a thought, a layer of extremely faint green light slowly emerged from his fingertips.
The faint green light seemed to lengthen and shorten randomly and looked extremely feeble.
Zhou Yuan's fingers suddenly slashed at the rock below him. One would only hear a 'click' sound as Zhou Yuan watched the boulder being cleanly sliced open as if it were tofu, the rock within glossy as a mirror.
"So this is the Auraflare technique? Such frightening sharpness and shocking penetrating power." Zhou Yuan was full of praise. A single attack would likely seriously injure anyone who was less than seven channels and even a seven or eight-channel expert would have no choice but to avoid such an attack.
Zhou Yuan then imagined how much power his soon-to-be-created technique Dragons Claw would have.
"There are two levels to the Auraflare technique, the green flare and the purple flare. What you have currently has just barely reached the doorstep of the green flare level." Yaoyao explained from the side when she saw that Zhou Yuan had succeeded.
Zhou Yuan nodded. He looked at the faint pulsing green light at his fingertips and said, "The destructive power of this Auraflare technique is astonishing indeed but there are some flaws. The Qi concentrating process is troublesome and it uses too much Genesis Qi."
"What we should focus on should be eliminating these flaws and integrating the strong points of both these techniques to create the Dragon Claw Technique."
"You should not be in a hurry to create this technique as it can only show its true power when you reach the Qi Nourishing Stage", Yaoyao commented.
"I know this", Zhou Yuan nodded.
Reaching the Qi Nourishing stage was akin to entering the inner chambers from the main room. Once the Qi Dwelling was open, Genesis Qi could be stored in the body. This would be countless times better than his current pitiful state where he had to draw in strands of unpurified Genesis Qi from his surroundings every time he wanted to use it.
With the support of sufficient Genesis Qi in the body, Black tier Genesis techniques would be able to display their true power.
Still, Zhou Yuan wanted to complete this technique so he decided to spend some more time on this technique, If things go according to his calculation then he should be able to complete the primary form of this technique in a month. It would also take Yaoyao's assistance to improve it over time.
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Time passed in the mountains.
While Zhou Yuan concentrated on his training deep in the mountains, things were not going well for Qi Yue. No matter how they searched, they were unable to find any traces of Luo Hao, let alone the Auraflare technique.
In a certain room, Qi Ling said with a rather ugly expression, "Second young master, we have already extended the scope of our search to many cities but we are still unable to find even the slightest trace of them. It's as if he vanished into thin air."
Cold light flickered in Qi Yue's eyes. It was a long time later before he finally replied, "If they can't be found even with this level of searching, I'm afraid that there might not even be a corpse left of them."
Qi Ling frowned slightly. "You are saying that they have been killed?"
Qi Yue clenched his jaw. "Although I do not know who killed him, I have a feeling that the Auraflare technique is in Zhou Yuan's hands!"
Qi Ling's expression fluctuated. "If that is so, it will be very troublesome."
Ever since the previous incident, Zhou Qing has increased Zhou Yuan's level of protection. Lu Tieshan had also chased away all outsiders in the area Zhou Yuan was in. It was practically impossible to repeat the play they had staged before.
A dark and vicious look appeared in Qi Yue's eyes. After some silence, he coldly said, "Get me Liu Xi."
Qi Ling looked at Qi Yue. Although he did not know what the latter was planning, he still did as instructed.
...
The beautiful rays of the setting sun enveloped Great Zhou City.
In the Great Zhou Institute, Su Youwei had just left the institute after her classes, walking along the street towards the southern part of the city where her home was located. She did not linger for long in the institute recently because Zhou Yuan was pretty much absent.
A young girl's long and slender legs lightly hopped over a ditch. Her ponytail bounced with the vigor of youth, drawing admiring gazes from passersby.
Passing through familiar street after street, her footsteps suddenly stopped after taking a corner as she raised her head and looked to her front.
Liu Xi was leaning against the wall, several figures behind her.
Liu Xi's pretty face was icy as she coldly stared at Su Youwei. The latter's elegant appearance caused tiny embers of jealousy to flit across her eyes as she frostily smiled, "Come walk with me Su Youwei."
"What do you plan on doing?" Su Youwei's eyebrows knitted together slightly.
Liu Xi coldly snorted, "Humph, Zhou Yuan has stolen something from Qi Yue. You will be used to exchange for it."
Su Youwei's pretty face turned a little frosty when she heard this. "What a joke. Do you think that Qi Yue's things would even catch his highness' eyes?"
"Sharp-tongued wench!" Liu Xi shouted, "Catch her!"
The moment her words faded, two figures immediately shot out from behind her. Faint Genesis Qi undulations surrounded their bodies, a testament to their five-channel strength.
Su Youwei did not move as she icily stared at the two individuals who were shooting toward her. It was only when their hands grabbed at her like eagle claws that she suddenly made her move.
Two fingers were thrust forward, jade light swirling around them while formidable Genesis Qi tore through the air like a maelstrom.
Ch ch!
The two fingers landed, causing the two figures to be sent flying backward, fresh blood flowing from their shoulders.
Su Youwei's hands hung by her side while Genesis Qi's light swirled around her body, causing her aura to rise steadily.
Liu Xi stared at Su Youwei, eyes wide open and her jaw clenched so hard she almost shattered her teeth. "You've unblocked your sixth meridian channel?!"
She clearly remembered Su Youwei had only just unblocked her fifth meridian channel slightly over a month ago. How had she so quickly unblocked her sixth channel too?
Su Youwei flatly replied, "Unblocked it ten days ago."
Su Youwei had not slouched off while Zhou Yuan was away from the institute. She received the full efforts of headmaster Chu Tianyang's tutelage. After all, in Chu Tianyang's opinion, compared to the explosive Zhou Yuan, a stable type like Su Youwei was less worrying. Hence, he had done all he could to train her over this period.
Thus, she had not been stagnant while Zhou Yuan was progressing.
Liu Xi's face was steely green with anger, fire practically spitting from her eyes. She had only managed to unblock her sixth meridian channel half a month ago after lengthy amounts of training and a huge expenditure of resources. Yet, Su Youwei was now practically at her heels using only half the time. How could this not make her jealous?
Liu Xi frostily said, "Do you believe that you will be able to leave just because you have unblocked your sixth meridian channel?"
"Liu Ye, go catch her for me. It will be best if you also carve up that little minx's face!"
As Liu Xi's words rang out, a figure slowly walked out from behind. Powerful Genesis Qi spread, displaying the strength of seven channels.
Su Youwei's expression finally became grave when she saw this. However, while she was trying to think of a plan, her heart suddenly shook as two figures shot out from behind and landed at her side.
They seemed to be ordinary men but the Genesis Qi undulations from their bodies had reached the level of Qi Nourishing Stage.
"You are?" Su Youwei was taken aback when she saw the two newcomers.
The two replied with a soft chuckle, "We were sent by his highness Miss Su. His Highness was worried that Qi Yue would let out his anger on you, thus we have been protecting you in secret."
Su Youwei blinked when she heard this. Although she did not say anything, the corners of her mouth subconsciously raised a little while her sour mood due to Liu Xi's appearance took a turn for the better.
The two men lifted their heads, looked at Liu Xi, and said in a flat voice, "Please watch yourself, Miss Liu. Do not become Qi Yue's chess piece."
Liu Xi's face had practically become purple due to the interference, but she knew that she could no longer do anything to Su Youwei.
"That blasted Zhou Yuan!"
Liu Xi furiously cursed. Abandoning the deadlock, she led her men and left with a stomp of her foot.
The two imperial guards turned their heads and said to Su Youwei in a low voice, "Miss Su, let us send you back home."
"I'll be troubling elder brothers." Su Youwei did not reject. She paused for a moment before continuing, "Do you know how his highness is doing? He has been absent for almost two months."
"Don't worry Miss Su, his highness is a crucial point in his training. He will be back for the class ranking exam in half a month."
Su Youwei nodded. She did not know what would be the outcome of Zhou Yuan's training session, but she had heard that Qi Yue had already unblocked his seventh meridian channel. For their A class to take back first place at the year-end class ranking exam, a bitter battle could not be avoided.
Meanwhile in the Black Forest mountain range.
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In a clearing, Zhou Yuan was seen crouching in front of a dead Flame Plate Rhino.
His right hand which was opened in a way that resembled a dragon's claw was flickering with a green light that was sharp and detailed. The Ground had four deep marks on it.
Zhou Yuan remained unmoved on the spot, still in his chopping posture as a bloody mist descended. It sprayed on his face, making it appear enchantingly bizarre, glancing at the Flame Plate Rhino which was precisely divided into 4 parts he could not help but grin.
Finally, he completed this technique, Dragon Claw.
He had created his first-ever technique.
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END
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