Chapter 60 - Weapon Intent Training
Hei continued his training of Snake Fang, Beast Claw, and Snake Hair, but since these consisted mainly, for now, of enhancing those individual body parts with his mother's unique blends, Hei had time to train in other techniques.
Therefore, there was still left Chameleon Tongue, Spider Bite, and Spider Carapace to be learned. Of these, Chameleon Tongue was the easiest to learn.
The training consisted mainly of exercises in lengthening the tongue and learning to move it with force. Chameleon Tongue was an attack move with which you could only strike by bringing your mouth closer to the part to hit. The execution was similar to Snake Fist, but it had less power. It was more like a move used to create a nuisance or put pressure on the opponent since it was possible to attack without using hands or legs. Under the use of spirit power, it was possible to increase its power to make it even deadly if used well.
But Bao Bei only allowed a slight lengthening of a couple of centimeters. Hei was ultimately a human and, although she was training him to make him more and more like a spirit beast, it wasn’t advisable to overdo the changes. The tongue of human beings was rather short compared to other species, and their mouth wasn’t made to contain a too long tongue, without considering it wasn’t possible to extend it much since the original length was limited.
However, there was the solution - over time, Hei would have more mastery in his spirit power, and he would be able to use it to create a kind of extension of spirit power of his tongue. That way, he wouldn't have any problems with his tongue length and would be able to attack from any distance. The shorter the distance, the better it was.
Besides, the secondary use of Chameleon Tongue was to increase the spit force of the mouth through the tongue. By using this technique, it was possible to throw small objects or one's own saliva at rapid speed. Regarding the latter, although the saliva had no power of attack, in the future, once Hei learned the law of poison, he would be able to make his saliva poisonous and spit it out at high speeds as an attack.
Spider Bite and Spider Carapace were instead the most difficult moves he had to learn so far.
The function of Spider Bite consisted in reproducing in unison in the human body two parts of the body of a spider - the pedipalps and chelicerae. The pedipalps were an appendage similar to their legs placed in front of the mouth laterally; they had the utility of taking food and bringing it to the mouth. The chelicerae were the equivalent in the spiders of what was the jaw in humans.
In essence, Spider Bite consisted of modifying one's spirit power in taking the form of a pair of crescent-shaped appendages that protruded laterally from the throat. The choice of that particular position was so that it could be used at the same time as the other moves usable with the mouth as Chameleon Tongue and Snake Fang.
Spider Carapace, on the other hand, was more straightforward as a type of operation. It consisted only of thickening one’s own spirit power to form multiple layers in the desired part. It imitated spiders' carapace, which was nothing but an exoskeleton used to protect their most delicate inner parts. But although the operation behind it was easy to understand, its execution wasn’t equally simple.
But when two weeks of the four given by the sect leader had passed, Hei decided to take a break, believing that he had begun to understand how the techniques worked. It was time to go and see in more detail how to acquire the weapon intent. Since it was about his weapon, it was necessary to begin learning it before leaving.
Under indications of the sect leader, Hei and Lian arrived at the indicated place. It was one of the training camps provided for the younger generation, but unlike the others, it was supervised by some members of the regulation division. At the center, there was a large formation. It was managed by some members of the formation division of the sect.
As the first and second in the ranking of younger generation inner members, Hei and Lian were made let in without problems. One of the members of the formation division took them over and started explaining to them how it worked.
“This formation is particular from normal ones. It has the shape of a circle, and it is activated thanks to four flags formations in the four cardinal points. The flags formations are nothing but flags with formations engraved on them. By positioning them in precise locations, it is possible to create the formation and keeping its energy consumption low but maintaining efficiency. "
At that point, the member of the formation division indicated four different locations in the training ground. There, four large flags were stabbed on the ground and were fluttering due to the wind. On these, there were multiple symbols inscribed on them.
"The formation flags, compared to other artifacts, are more combat-related. Therefore they don’t have an automatic function through the consumption of spirit stones but require the direct injection of spirit power of the user. In this case, the formation requires at least four people to be activated. Although we are one of the big five sects, creating formations with automatic functions of medium or large dimensions is expensive. Therefore, in order to remedy the costs, it is advisable to use flag formations instead."
Hearing all that information, Hei and Lian nodded their heads closely following. Lian, in particular, was very interested as she was studying formations herself with Xing.
Noting that the two young youths before him weren’t as arrogant as one would expect from the first two in the younger generation's ranking, the member of the formation division continued to explain.
“Normally, a price of contribution points or materials of similar value is required. However, the sect leader informed us of the situation, and therefore you are granted free use of the formation. Due to the limitations of our spirit power, even though the flags reduces consumption, we can keep the formation active just for an hour. Then you will have to wait for us to recover our spirit power or others to replace us. "
"There are no problems. One hour is fine, we have other training sessions planned, and today we have only come to take a first look at the method of learning the weapon intent." Hei replied, reassuring the inner member in front of him.
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"All right, but remember that in an hour, you won't be able to learn the intent of your weapon. Most people fail even after hours and hours of training and end up giving it up. Furthermore, since it is a general training rather than a focused one-armed weapon, you will first have to find the intent of your weapon in the sea of intents poured into the formations. Although it increases the difficulty, at the same time, it accelerates the learning if you can find it. Well, now, I'd say it’s time to start."
Without delaying any further, the four members of the formation division took their places where the four flags were located. At the center were Hei and Lian. They were waiting for the four to finish their preparations and activated the formation.
Quickly, a dome of blue light began to be created by the four flags placed in the ground, engulfing Hei and Lian, who were inside. All around them, there was nothing but a sea of blue light that didn’t leak anything from the outside.
"Spirit power... how is it possible that it is so condensed?" Hei exclaimed, perplexed.
Although from his mother's stories, he knew it was possible to do such a thing, it wasn’t something achievable with the level of Rainbow Island martial artists. Not even the elders would be able to do it, let alone simple inner members.
Lian shook her head at Hei's exclamation and stretched out her hand toward the blue light, but there was no contact of any kind.
"It isn’t so? So is it an illusion?” Hei asked Lian, who knew more about formations.
"Yes and no, it is both an illusion, but at the same time, it is more a distortion of light itself. It's a mixture of both. It was probably set up like this to hide something.” Lian explained as she looked around carefully.
Hei, who understood this concept, decided to move forward cautiously. Being a formation created by the sect for the younger generation, it certainly couldn’t be deadly. However, it wouldn’t have been without danger, and therefore, he activated his spirit power for safety.
When he took a couple of steps, from an indecipherable direction of the dome came a blade of blue aura towards him that struck the protective layer of his spirit power. The attack wasn’t potent, but its speed was very high.
"A blade of spirit power? Although I can't see well in this blue sea, from the sensation, it seems to be a sword-cut or something similar."
To prove his theory, Hei kept moving. With each step, a new blue aura attack rushed towards him at high speed.
'I understood.'
"Lian, did you understand, too, right?"
"Yes, these attacks are probably those contained within the flags. The blue sea serves to hide its origins."
"From the formation division member's words and the feeling of the attacks, each attack comes from a different type of weapon. Consequently, our goal is to find the intent of our weapon and understand it amid all other intents. But we must receive all the attacks without the possibility of dodging them."
Having said that, Hei stopped before continuing.
"Activate your spirit power and start walking around. But try not to stray too far from the center. Given that it is the only enlightened place, it seems logical to think that it is a safe area. It is the first day, so there is no need to exaggerate in understanding it in a single session. We use this time to understand and prepare for the next sessions."
Lian nodded her head at Hei's words and left the safe area. Soon, after a couple of steps, a blue blade came towards her and hit her. Having activated her spirit power, she didn’t suffer much damage.
The two continued like this for about half an hour, although the passage of time was a little challenging to notice inside. Having received repeated attacks all the time, the consumption of their spirit power was great, and they decided to return to the safe zone to rest and cultivate a little, and at the same time, metabolize what they had understood.
Each weapon had its characteristics and strengths and weaknesses. Not even the greatest of the geniuses among the geniuses could have been capable of correctly learning any type of weapon. It was better to concentrate on only one type.
But the strength of a weapon didn’t depend so much on its characteristics. It was instead based on the user's compatibility, the competence in wielding it, and the ability to perceive the flow of battle. Even weapons that seemed useless, used by the right martial artist could turn into deadly weapons and kill anyone in their path.
Although they couldn’t learn every weapon and their intent, it was possible to learn how to defend oneself with your type of weapon and how to deflect the various attacks. What they were trying to do now was just that. Understanding not so much as the secrets of any weapon, but what made their weapons different from others.
The hour passed, and eventually, the formation was dispelled. Even though Hei and Lian weren’t injured, they had consumed vast amounts of spirit power and mental energy in an attempt to understand the peculiarity of their weapon.
The member of the formation division who had spoken with them previously headed towards them.
"So how did it go? Do you want to continue, or you decide to stop for today? "
"No, that's enough for today. It is rather difficult, and instead of continuing stubbornly, we prefer to concentrate on digesting what we have learned." Hei replied with a tired face.
"It seems like a wise choice. Most of those who come, insist on continuing and end up forgetting the little they have learned. With these types of techniques, you don't have to hurry, and you have to follow your own pace. Very well, then I send you off. I hope to see you again tomorrow."
Hei and Lian politely greeted the members of the formation division who had assisted them and left the training ground. Because they had spent only an hour in that place, they had time to jump to the library.
The library was similar to the exchange point, also carefully monitored. It was just that inside, instead of there being goods, there were books.
The books inside were divided by type based on what the technique was used for - cultivation methods, fighting techniques, weapon techniques, and movement techniques. These, in turn, were subdivided into ranks according to the power and utility generated by learning the technique - base, low, medium, high.
High-rank techniques were learnable only by those who had reached the sixth stage since they were mostly techniques that used elemental laws. Therefore, the maximum that Hei and Lian could take was medium rank techniques.
Having already been informed of their particular situation, the person in charge welcomed Hei and Lian with reverence, as they had become by now two important figures in the sect, and had the full support of the sect leader. They weren’t only allowed to take away a book each without paying contribution points, but they could calmly decide without time limits.
Taking advantage of this, Hei and Lian began looking for medium-rank combat techniques. They didn’t need cultivation manuals nor movement techniques as they already possessed them. As for the weapon techniques, they felt that it was better to learn them after having comprehended the intent of their weapons so as to refine their use simultaneously with new techniques.
Their choice ultimately fell to two - Vibrating Fist and Demon Concealment.
The first had a similar procedure to Spider Lance. Still, besides being less powerful, it differed because instead of a piercing blow, the technique consisted of a punch which would focus on vibrating one's spirit power against the opponent. They had chosen that technique so they could have something to attack their opponents without revealing their best cards. Hei was also confident of being able to increase its power by applying the force concentration method used in Spider Lance.
The Demon Concealment, however, while belonging to combat techniques, was neither an attack nor a defense move. But it was a technique of concealment that served to reduce one's presence.
Although Hei was good at hiding himself, this move went so far as to explain even how to slow down his breathing and heart rate to the minimum. Combined with his knowledge of hunting, it would be an unexpectedly deadly weapon.