In terms of cultivation in the Azure Origin World, the cultivation system had two main paths when one entered the Martial Intent Realm.
One was to fuse three different techniques into their third martial intent, stepping into the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. That was the route Ouyang Zhaifeng was taking.
The other was to progress step by step, developing one technique to the extreme. They would experience an increase in strength every time their divine sense was upgraded. Improving gradually, they would also step into the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm.
Those were two completely different ways of training, and neither could be said to be better than the other.
It was easy for cultivators to follow the first method of training as training in three different techniques was much easier. It was much more flexible in the short term. However, the problem came when they had to fuse their techniques to form their third martial intent. It was a bottleneck that stumped many Martial Intent Realm experts.
The second method of training was slightly more difficult in the initial stages. Every small breakthrough was a challenge, and the speed of cultivation was hardly comparable to the first.
However, their final bottleneck to the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm was a lot easier to get through than those who used the first method of training.
That was also the reason many cultivators chose the first way of training. One could risk it all and try breaking through to the Martial Extermination Realm when they were at the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm.
Those who chose the second way were the minority, but their chances of entering the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm were higher.
Comparing the number of cultivators in the Martial Extermination Realm who used either the first or second method, one would discover that they were almost the same in number. Even though those who chose the second method had a much higher chance of breaking through, there were too many who chose the first.
Choosing the second method also didn’t ensure that one would definitely enter the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. A great example would be Shang Ke who failed to break past the final bottleneck before attempting his advance. That also played a huge factor for those who decided to choose the first method of training.
The disparity between those who chose the first and second methods of training was also evident in the Shang Clan. Not many disciples chose to train in the Triple Providence Chapter and the Providence Spear. Instead, they chose to take their own path into the Martial Extermination Realm.
Some of the higher-ups of the Shang Clan also chose to take their own path. Shang Jian chose to train in the way of the sword, pioneering a sword inheritance for the Shang Clan.
Shang Xi chose to comprehend the Triple Providence Chapter, but she didn’t train in the Providence Spear. After all, she was more accomplished in the way of the blade. If she forcefully learned how to use the spear, she would greatly affect her training speed.
Out of the three second-generation members of the Shang Clan present in the clan manor at the moment, only Shang Yang trained in both the Triple Providence Chapter and the Providence Spear. However, he was also a beginner who barely started.
Like Shang Xia, Shang Yang also stepped into the Martial Intent Realm recently. He received the news of the institution running into trouble in the battlefield between the two worlds when he was out, and he rushed back as soon as he could to provide his assistance. Since he was back, he could also receive the clan’s inheritance.
With the teachings of so many seniors, Shang Xia tried to fuse them with his limited knowledge of cultivation in his previous world to gain a better understanding of the ‘Triple Command Realm’ (Martial Intent Realm but in another term)
“What the hell does ‘Heaven, Earth, and Man’ represent? Hmmm, whatever, It sounds like something?I heard in the past about transforming essence to qi, training qi to achieve the divine, and returning from the divine to the void…”
“Ahhh, fuck it, It makes sense and I’ll just understand it this way!” Shang Xia tried to circulate his qi in accordance with his understanding and he quickly found a way to start. His inner qi started to circulate through his meridians.
Due to the transformation in his dantian, the formless ball of chaos seemed to have formed some sort of obstruction where his inner qi was unable to flow through. His inner qi and the formless ball of chaos seemed to be two different entities that didn’t interfere with each other.
As his inner qi ran through his meridians, Shang Xia could feel heaven and earth qi pouring into his body at a terrifying rate. In several breaths of time, the heaven and earth qi around his courtyard had been sucked dry.
Compared to the time he was in the Martial Extremity Realm, he absorbed heaven and earth qi several times faster! His way of absorbing heaven and earth qi could even be considered tyrannical!
That was even considering the fact that the grand formation around the Shang Clan Manor was actively absorbing heaven and earth qi from the surroundings to increase the density of heaven and earth qi in the manor. Even then, he managed to create a space void of any with his absorption speed.
With the absence of heaven and earth qi in his surroundings and the slow rate of recovery, Shang Xia’s cultivation speed was naturally affected
According to his estimation, he should be able to complete one full circulation in two hours. Due to the lack of heaven and earth qi, he was only able to complete it after three long hours.
When he was done with the first round of circulation, he could feel his origin core growing a lot stronger. At the same time, it also gained some spirituality.
The only thing that confused him was the requirement to train in a Martial Intent Realm martial art in order to transform the inner qi already stored in his dantian.
Ever since entering the Martial Intent Realm, the large amount of Yin Yang Essence Qi left in his dantian would only transform when he trained in the Providence Spear!
Even though training in the Providence Spear was easier than the Triple Providence Chapter, he would need to fully comprehend techniques that suited him after understanding the theory behind the Providence Spear!
Luckily for him, his understanding of the Triple Providence Chapter provided him with a direction to pursue when he tried to comprehend his own spear art in the future.