Han Xuhan had figured that out last night. So he remained unperturbed, letting his qi flow in a different route. Moments later, he began to extricate himself from Zhanxian and Tun Shi Tian, one by one, taking quite a bit of time in the process to maintain his cover of false weaknesses.
By the time he reverted back to his original body, Liu Yue's qi cycle was close to completion. And he wasn't the only one to be impressed by the observation.
"Brother Yue's physique is so incredible! He's sure to shine as one of the brightest disciples of our generation."
"In a battle, all he needs is a bit of time to grasp his opponents' weaknesses. If this tournament didn't forsake the traditional duel events, he could've been the champion for our sect by the sheer merit of this physique."
"In every battle, he could've made a significant contribution to the sect by just observing from the sidelines. Imagine how many new cultivation methods our sect could've gathered if he had the opportunity!"
Han Xuhan listened to the regretful discussions of his teammates attentively. It seemed that Liu Yue had revealed this secret of his only recently, under the pressure of winning in the tournament. Su Chen was probably the first person to learn about it. The rest of the disciples of the defense team sounded as amazed as he, an outsider was, even though all of them hailed from the same mountain peak.
By habit, Han Xuhan started to simulate Liu Yue's thoughts and motives in his mind. If he, Han Xuhan, had such a secret, would he reveal it to everyone just because he wanted to make some contribution to the sect in a tournament?
It had to be borne in mind that cultivation techniques were usually vulnerable to reverse construction as long as a powerful, experienced cultivator had the blueprint of the qi cycles in his hand. So someone like Liu Yue was a great threat to the foundation of any sect. If he was allowed to observe their disciples, he could help an outsider copy many cultivation manuals that had been privatized by that sect.
In an unpredictable, almost unstable tournament event like this, there was little reason for Liu Yue to suddenly reveal his secret without any special incentives if he had kept it hidden for seven months. Unless...
Han Xuhan pushed these thoughts aside. He had no enmity with this young man. For now, digging out a new trove of secrets was unnecessary. Instead, he joined the masses in expressing his stupefaction.
"Brother Yue can still make an impact, right? Although we're not dueling anybody directly, we can always put a few of the invasion team members through tests. Those of us with high culitvation need to take the vanguard position and sneak attack the weaker invaders. Brother Yue can stay back and observe their moves. The sect master will definitely appreciate it if we can steal foreign cultivation methods and hand them over to the sect. We can even sell them to the sect! I have some experience in this matter. As long as Brother Yue agrees, I can promise that spirit stones will flood your pockets!"
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For the first time, an input by him made his teammates cheer up. Who didn't want more resources? You could never have enough of it. Han Xuhan's inclusion to the team was thus cemented in their minds. He could almost see a wave of compassion and enthusiasm leaking out of their eyes.
"We'll have to trouble you, then, brother Xuhan," said Zhang Dahai. He had been the most unwilling to accept Xuhan into their team. Now, his smiling face could fit inside a painting of brotherly love.
Su Chen was the only one who looked unsure about this unanimous decision. She cleared her voice and said, "Let's ask what Yue thinks first, everyone. He might not agree so easily."
Right then, Liu Yue opened his eyes wide and began to convulse uncontrollably.
All nine of them jumped in surprise, but a distinction formed inside the team in this process.
Su Chen and Zhang Dahai leapt forward, their palms landing on Liu Yue's back together in harmony, two on his shoulders, two behind his kidneys. Han Xuhan and the remaining six disciples jumped away from the convulsing young man, concerned more about their own safety than his wellbeing.
"He's over-drafting his abilities. It's definitely a backlash!" Su Chen hissed. Her hands rained down slaps after slaps on his back, each imbued with qi, penetrating Liu Yue's upper body meridians. Han Xuhan recognized the technique. He had seen it being used in the healing pavilion, generally applied to control the chaotic qi flows of rookie cultivators when they made major mistakes in guiding qi through their meridians.
"I can deal with backlashes too," Zhang Dahai assured her confidently while his fingers poked at different acupuncture points on Liu Yue's lower body. Compared to Su Chen's gentle insertions, the qi he sent inside Liu Yue's meridians had a more violent aura.
"Two different methods won't fuse well together in his body, Brother Dahai! Stop your qi, let me do it. I have done this for him before," Su Chen insisted, sounding somewhat angry.
"I'll cooperate with your administration. Why are you getting so worked up?" Zhang Dahai snapped back at her.
Han Xuhan did not know if he was giving in to his paranoia, but his suspicion that there was a deeper undercurrent in this team grew.
Su Chen's desire to reject Zhang Dahai was evident on her face. But the young man pretended to not notice her discomfort and continued to send his qi inside Liu Yue's convulsing body.
It took several minutes to bring his seizure to an end. By then, both Su Chen and Zhang Dahai were covered in cold sweat. Nobody had imagined that the backlash of copying that treasure tracing technique could be so drastic.
If even a blessed cultivator like him couldn't cultivate this technique, what about the rest of the sect?
This question was reflected in everyone's eyes. With great trepidation, they watched Liu Yue take out a small, black pill from his pocket and pop it in his mouth.
"...Ahhh, much better now. Don't worry, my physique is very resilient when it comes to backlashes. I'll recover fast," he said, putting much of their concern to rest.
Su Chen and Zhang Dahai stepped back. While everyone was staring at Liu Yue to gauge his condition, Han Xuhan's eyes were tracking every millimeter of Zhang Dahai's face. Mixed with his exhaustion, there was another prominent emotion.
Suspicion. Zhang Dahai was suspicious...of what? Xuhan had his guesses.
Turning to face Xuhan, Liu Yue added, "Your...combined body is truly a marvelous creation, brother Xuhan. I guess this is heaven's way of compensating you for the other shortcomings of your body."
Han Xuhan internally disagreed. But on the outside, he only showed a reserved smile and changed the focus of the conversation.
"What do you think, brother Yue? Can the rest of the disciples cultivate this technique successfully? What does your first impression tell you?"
Liu Yue shook his head, face sour. "It's just as I feared. We'll be fortunate if even one in ten disciples can reach the second layer of the technique by the end of the week. They'll also need proper guidance during the first few sessions while cultivating. This technique is not for the mediocre."
"Let's head out, then. We will hold a session right after the assembly and mark those who show better potential in this technique. The invasion teams of our sect will have to be disbanded. In the new arrangement, each team can have one disciple at most who has the capability to reach the second layer within three to four days."
Su Chen's recommendation faced no opposition. Discussing the details of their plan of action, all ten members of the defense team rushed down the mountain, eager to tackle this seemingly impossible task.