Ling Jiu looked at Ling Xiao with some disdain.
The reason he agreed to let Ling Xiao touch the two town-defining paintings was naturally not without cause.
These two paintings had been left by the Ling Family's ancestors and were said to suppress two extraordinary Cultivation Techniques.
For any martial artist, these two Cultivation Techniques were extremely difficult to practice, but once successful, they would benefit for life.
However, to obtain these two Cultivation Techniques, one must first break the restrictions on the paintings.
Why the Ling Family ancestors did this was not specified, they only mentioned waiting for someone with destiny.
Over hundreds of years, countless people have attempted to extract the two Cultivation Techniques from the paintings, but all have failed in the end.
This included even the now powerful master of the Ling Family.
Of course, Ling Jiu had also tried, as he very much wanted to obtain these two Cultivation Techniques for his son, Ling Chong, to learn.
Unfortunately, he had failed as well.
Because of this, he did not believe Ling Xiao could succeed at all.
However, in the next moment, Ling Jiu's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.
Ling Xiao had barely exerted any effort and easily extracted the two Cultivation Techniques from the paintings.
One was the "Bull Demon Technique" and the other the "Soaring Cloud Step".
After his shock, Ling Jiu quickly revealed a greedy expression.
"Ninth Master, you just said that if I took out these two books, then I could take them away, right?"
Ling Xiao frowned but quickly glanced over the summaries of the two books and copied them into the Mountain and River Map.
Because he knew he couldn't contend with greater power, the books would eventually be taken by Ling Jiu, so he must not suffer a loss himself.
"Didn't you hear me when I told you to give it here?"
Suddenly, Ling Jiu waved his hand, and a strong surge of force directly sent Ling Xiao flying, with the two Cultivation Techniques falling into Ling Jiu's hands.
"Hahahaha, to think that I didn't need to waste any effort to find what comes without searching!"
Ling Jiu laughed maniacally, then he casually grabbed two Cultivation Techniques from the bookshelf and tossed them to Ling Xiao.
"Kid, don't resent it. These two extraordinary Cultivation Techniques aren't meant for you. The two I've picked for you are intermediate-level Cultivation Techniques. Take them back and practice well; you won't be at a loss."
Ling Jiu laughed heartily and couldn't wait to start reading the two extraordinary Cultivation Techniques.
Although Ling Xiao was hit so hard he vomited blood, his heart held some relief.
Because he had already completed the replication of the two Cultivation Techniques.
He would not forget today's enmity.
Ling Jiu, remember this—someday, I, Ling Xiao, will make you suffer a hundred times this humiliation!
Ling Xiao didn't say anything and left with the two Cultivation Techniques Ling Jiu had thrown on the ground, which, incidentally, were the very ones he had not managed to copy before.
No reason to refuse what is free.
"Hahaha, that beggar is also worthy to practice the Ling Family's extraordinary Cultivation Techniques? What a joke!"
Seeing Ling Xiao obediently walk away made Ling Jiu exceedingly pleased. He had glanced at the summaries of the two extraordinary Cultivation Techniques, and they were indeed surprising.
Regrettably, these two Cultivation Techniques had a condition: only martial artists at the Awakening Stage could practice them, meaning one could not practice them beyond the Third Layer of the Martial Veins unless they crippled their own cultivation level.
But who would be so foolish?
He could only bring these Cultivation Techniques back for his son, Ling Chong, to practice.
Ling Xiao left the Book Collection Pavilion rather embarrassed as people pointed and laughed relentlessly along the way.
Because of the incident in the Book Collection Pavilion, the story had been exaggerated and distorted by the descendants of the Ling Family and spread around.
It had turned into Ling Xiao attempting to steal Martial Arts from the Book Collection Pavilion, and being caught red-handed by Ling Jiu, who taught him a lesson.
Ling Xiao was unaware of this, but he also understood that explaining himself was useless at the moment. The only way to prove his innocence was to demonstrate strength that surpassed Ling Jiu's.
He also believed that Ling Jiu wouldn't make a big fuss about it because if the truth came out, it wouldn't reflect well on him either.
After all, the Ling Family wasn't a monolith, and there were certain considerations that even Ling Jiu had to take into account.
Returning home, Ling Xiao went straight to his room and took out the Soaring Cloud Step to study.
Soaring Cloud Step: A growth-type Body Movement Technique. It is currently at the Soaring Cloud Step stage; with each growth, the name of the technique changes, as do the required conditions, but the ultimate pursuit remains the same!
After cultivation, it can enable Martial Artists to become light as a feather, chase the moon through the clouds, and maneuver amidst the mist... If one could reach the highest stage, it is even possible to ride the clouds and jest at the heavens!
This Body Movement Technique can only be cultivated starting from the Awakening Stage. Without a solid foundation, success is unattainable.
Even at the Soaring Cloud Step stage, reaching Great Perfection would allow one to temporarily cross the air in the void and battle amidst the clouds for a certain period!
At this stage, within the Gang Qi Stage, which is below the Martial Meridian Sixth Layer, it is almost an invincible Body Movement Technique.
At this thought, all the pain in Ling Xiao's body vanished, replaced entirely by excitement!
An invincible Body Movement Technique below the Gang Qi Stage!
Doesn't this mean that I don't have to change my Body Movement Technique until I've cultivated to the Martial Meridian Sixth Layer? And this is only the Soaring Cloud Step stage.
This Cultivation Technique can grow!
Temporarily crossing the air in the void, and even battling amidst the clouds for a certain period, this kind of Body Movement Technique... Even though Ling Xiao was not well-informed, as a disciple of the Ling Family, he had never even heard of such a thing.
Regardless, he was sure that there was nothing among the intermediate Body Movement Techniques; as for advanced techniques, he didn't know, but he presumed they were rare. After all, there were high-level practitioners within the Ling Family who cultivated advanced Body Movement Techniques, and none of them seemed capable of battling amidst the clouds.
Truly a remarkable technique!
However, with such an excellent Body Movement Technique, why did the old ancestor of the Ling Family suppress it with a painting instead of allowing the descendants to cultivate it?
With this question in mind, Ling Xiao continued reading, and as expected, when he flipped to the last page, he saw a line of handwritten words.
"Only those with an Awakened Martial Soul can successfully cultivate this extraordinary technique. Ordinary Martial Artists, although they may gain some benefits, can at best only achieve an intermediate level Body Movement Technique, fairly common, and the difficulty of cultivation is so great that it hinders progress. Thus, it was sealed away!"
It seems that this ancestor of the Ling Family must have known about Martial Souls and might have even seen someone with an Awakened Martial Soul!
Could it be that Martial Souls haven't been completely extinct? Is it just that the number of people who can awaken Martial Souls nowadays is too slim, so it's almost like they have disappeared?
Ling Xiao couldn't help but laugh uproariously in his room.
Ling Jiu, oh Ling Jiu, you shamelessly snatched two extraordinary techniques from my hands, only to end up with nothing.
Alright then, let me use this extraordinary technique to teach your son a lesson during the annual competition!
Besides, the method of cultivation for the Soaring Cloud Step is somewhat troublesome.
It requires that one has a certain intermediate level Body Movement Technique at Great Perfection, after which one can commence the first step of the Soaring Cloud Step.
Soaring Cloud Step consists of nine steps to reach ultimate Great Perfection.
In other words, this technique lacks a method of cultivation—it grows by accumulating experience through other Body Movement Techniques.
Upon realizing this, he quickly checked the Bull Demon Technique and discovered something interesting.
The Soaring Cloud Step pursues elegance and speed, representing Body Movement Techniques.
On the other hand, the Bull Demon Technique chases power and dominance, applying it to Martial Skills.
Moreover, the Bull Demon Technique is also a growth-type Martial Arts, but unlike the Soaring Cloud Step which grows through accumulated experience, the Bull Demon Technique grows through Devouring.
It does not Devour True Qi or objects, but rather Devouring cultivation experience.