Chương 33: Best defense is a good offense

I bowed my head.

I have given Lin Chu's considerations some thought already.

Purple Dragon Claw was a Qi Condensation level Death technique.

This meant that not only would it be able to hit and wound a Qi Condensation level cultivator (giving them something to think about instead of attacking me), but I could theoretically learn to use Death energy from the battlefield to activate it in addition to my Qi.

I thought about asking for a defensive technique, but although it might save me for a while, it will never bring me a victory in a fight.

There was also Fen Kuang's technique I'd like to learn after seeing it, but I could just ask Fen Kuang about it. After his last speech, I was sure he would be generous.

Really, all that unexpected glory that fell upon me was beneficial beyond my original belief!

"Then I will kill the enemy in only one hit. I beg you, Master! Besides, I won't be doing anything else useful until Fen Kuang heals, so I might as well be training, right?"

"I could make you rewrite documents. When things need to be in order, there's always a need for more copies of documents."

"Master… You look colder and crueler than an Ice Cutter, but I know you are too practical to waste a cultivator like me on this when there are so many scribes."

For a moment, Lin Chu said nothing. I could have sworn he was tormenting me with his glare intentionally.

"This is true. Let's go—there's a training ground for soldiers that will fit our needs."

"Oh, right now? Thank you, Master! Thank you a thousand times!"

He led me to a moderately sized training ground, which was mostly empty right now. The few soldiers that were training here quickly gave us space.

Lin Chu pulled a sword from the sheath on his belt and pointed it at the row of straw dummies standing near a wall five meters away.

"I don't have much time to spare on this, so you must learn quickly. This technique requires a sword to use. Watch."

His hand glowed with purple Death Qi, and the Death energy became a visible dark shroud around the sword. When Lin Chu swung it, the sword left a dark purple crescent blade wave that flew at the dummy, cutting it in two and leaving a deep gouge in the stone wall of the house behind it.

"Purple Dragon Claw. The swing of the blade creates a sword wave that flies onward. The swing itself is the deadliest part of the technique, but the wave itself is powerful enough to at least shake shields of the Qi Condensation levels."

I stood, appropriately awed. The destruction, the power… I estimated that without extra Death energy, my Qi will be enough to use a Purple Dragon Claw exactly three times before I will be down to the base reserves that help move my body.

That was the best-case scenario, which assumed that I forced the most effectiveness out of my Qi. Otherwise it'd be good to use it twice.

And before I could learn how to use outside energy for it, I needed to learn how to use the technique itself.

The problem was…

"Master, please do that again, but slower. I didn't catch all that."

Lin Chu stared at me blankly.

"Disciple, quell your arrogance. Were you truly expecting to understand a Qi Condensation technique as easily as you understand Qi Foundation techniques? Incredible."

I bowed.

"Ah… I'm so sorry, Master. My eyes were clouded by excitement!"

Lin Chu huffed and raised his sword again.

"Keep them open, or I will gouge them out myself."

Despite the threats of mutilation, Lin Chu, when he wanted to, could be a wonderful teacher. When Lin Chu showed every gesture and movement of his hand five times slower, explaining every little thing, it was much easier to understand. This technique was several times more complex than Qi Foundation level techniques, but that was a very low bar.

Half an hour later, I was sure enough about my knowledge to try using the Purple Dragon Claw myself.

The technique, although simple at first glance, had echoes of deep, primal knowledge within it, tying everything together.

They were small enough that I could grasp and understand them, and this understanding was like a hole through the wall that hid something unimaginably grand on the other side.

The hole was small and I could only see a small piece of that awe-inspiring mystery, but it still beckoned me.

That feeling made strange questions appear in my head. If things always fell down, then why weren't the sun, the moon, and the stars falling on our heads? Why was the horizon hiding things that moved far enough? Why did peach trees grow peaches and plum trees grew plums?

There was a physical enjoyment in taming Qi and strengthening one's body through cultivation, but this sensation went far beyond. In that moment, I understood I could spend centuries, or even millennia, in order to see more of that Great Truth.

I wanted to.

Then I swung the sword, shaking a harmless cloud of Death energy from it.

A failure. But I could still try once or twice!

"There seems to be an advantage in having additional dantians, after all. You only spent a third of your Qi," Lin Chu mused, watching me. "However, I still don't know how you will turn them into Proto-Cores. Maybe turning only one will be enough for you to advance in cultivation…"

I lowered my sword and looked at him. It looked like he was in a teaching mood, and I decided to exploit this opportunity while it lasted.

"Can you tell me more about Proto-Cores, Master? Lin Tan gave outer disciples lectures about them, but he was very vague about them and the Golden Cores. I only know that a Proto-Core is an evolution of a dantian, and later must evolve into a Golden Core."

Lin Chu nodded. "This all is true. Proto-Cores are the foundation of one's entire cultivation. A cultivator's Proto-Core can have many different abilities, which only grow stronger when it becomes a Golden Core. For example…"