NOVPUB
Chapter 427: Chapter 423: Divine Skills
Zhang Guanghua left with a gloomy expression.
After he left, Qian Wuque spoke with a hint of apology, "Ancient Martial King, I owed the Zhang Family a small favor in the past. They approached me and I couldn’t decline, so I brought them here. Please forgive me..."
Gu Jinlai glanced at Qian Wuque.
Be it Qian Wuque or Hua Yumian, their relationship was merely based on some interactions during their studies at the Martial Saint Institute, where they established some basic rapport.
To say that their relationship was deep would clearly be impossible.
It was not strange for him to bring the Zhang Family to his residence due to a favor, even though they clearly bore ill will.
"You may go."
Gu Jinlai said curtly, without any further words.
Qian Wuque sighed, gave a cupped fist salute, and took his leave.
He held Gu Jinlai’s swordsmanship in high esteem, that much was certain in his heart.
Yet a Martial King is different from a Heavenly Being.
If a Heavenly Being possesses a powerful Sword Control Technique or Divine Power, they can often turn the tide against stronger foes, but for a Martial King...
The importance of swordsmanship and skills isn’t as significant at this stage.
What really needs to be tempered is one’s own physique and the will of Martial Arts.
...
"Zhang Zhongshan."
Gu Jinlai muttered the name to himself.
He had undoubtedly completely fallen out with the Zhang Family just now, and they would surely seek revenge.
And the strongest among the Zhang Family was Zhang Zhongshan, a Peak Martial King.
Not only had he refined his physique to the utmost limit to reach Derivation Divine Abilities, but he had also solidified his own Martial Arts Will.
Moreover, he had mastered his swordsmanship to Perfection and wielded a Quasi-Dao Artifact specifically tailored for Martial Kings... A Peak Martial King deservedly so.
"With my current strength, unless I use the Eternal Furnace and leverage the transmission characteristic to fight to mutual destruction like last time against Jin Yuhai, I stand no chance against Zhang Zhongshan. However, using the power of the Eternal Furnace will certainly arouse suspicion from Jin Fantian, and for these high beings, mere suspicion is enough. They don’t need to consider evidence at all," he pondered.
Gu Jinlai deliberated for a moment.
It’s highly likely that Zhang Zhongshan will obediently take the money.
But the chance of him making a move against me tonight is equally not small. To be safe... 𝓃𝓸𝓋𝓹𝓾𝓫.𝒸ℴ𝓶
Gu Jinlai took out the Star Shadow and found Jin Sixian, "I have already gathered the money, please have the Thunder Magnetic Elemental Gold delivered to me as soon as possible."
"As soon as possible?"
Jin Sixian was somewhat surprised to receive this message.
While delaying until ten days later would be difficult for her, delivering it quickly wasn’t an issue.
"Valuable resources worth nine billion are often escorted personally by Heavenly Beings. They can break the sky and arrive, and even while being cautious of Devils along the way, they can deliver the items in a day or two. Mr. Gu, if you want it as soon as possible, shall I ask them to set off now?"
"Good."
Gu Jinlai responded.
After instructing Jin Sixian, he stood up, left his courtyard, and went to the Martial Saint Institute.
He planned to spend the next few days at the Martial Saint Institute.
There is always a Martial Saint present in the institute, and even with a hundred times the courage, Zhang Zhongshan wouldn’t dare to cause trouble there.
Upon reaching the Martial Saint Institute, Gu Jinlai thought for a while and then headed to the Library.
His access did not extend to the third and fourth layers to peruse the Martial Saint Inheritance, but the first and second layers were still open to him for free.
Idle as he was, he would not waste time.
The collections in the Martial Saint Institute’s library were not merely books from Wind and Rain City; many Cultivation Methods had been distributed by the Holy Dynasty.
Otherwise, the institute wouldn’t have more than three hundred volumes of inheritances and insights related to Martial Saints.
Gu Jinlai flipped through for a while and found a volume titled "Sanjiu Ascension."
"World Building segments the stages of Heavenly Beings and Martial Kings into Devas Nine Stages. Among them, an ordinary Martial King with a Quasi-Dao Artifact is considered a First Rank, and high-level Martial Kings to Peak Martial Kings are respectively second to fourth Rank. Top Devas Fifth Rank and Peak Heavenly Beings Sixth Rank and then rank increases depend on the Dao Artifacts and Divine Weapons," he read.
Gu Jinlai skimmed through the text.
Starting as a Heavenly Being is equivalent to a third Rank, top Martial King.
Perfection in understanding the Power of Heaven and Earth adds one Rank, solidifying an Undying Will adds one Rank, and developing Divine Powers adds one Rank.
Most Peak Heavenly Beings meet these three criteria, ascending from ordinary Heavenly Beings to Peak Heavenly Beings.
But there are some Heavenly Beings who do not play by the rules.
For instance, a Heavenly Being with two Dao Artifacts for attack and defense adds one Rank, possessing top-grade Dao Artifacts adds another Rank, and possessing Supreme Dao Artifacts or Divine Weapons without spiritual nature adds yet another Rank, jumping from sixth to ninth Rank in an instant.
Of course, Heavenly Beings are rarely granted Supreme Dao Artifacts or Divine Weapons.
Even Princes and Princesses are no exception.
Being granted a Divine Weapon is only possible if one has obtained recognition as the master of that Divine Weapon.
However, attaining recognition from a Divine Weapon inflates one’s combat prowess way beyond the standard, becoming more fitting amongst the rank of Saints.
A true Ninth Rank Heavenly Being is often one who has mastered the Domain to the extreme, consolidated an Undying Will, possesses a top-grade Dao Artifact, and has at least perfected one Divine Power to Cultivation Perfection.
Cultivating Divine Powers is exceedingly difficult.
Even for Heavenly Beings, perfecting a single Divine Power could take a hundred years. If it’s a top-grade Divine Power or a Top Divine Power, it takes even longer.
And Heavenly Beings, unlike Saints, have not extended their lifespan, still limited to a maximum of two hundred years.
Therefore, most Heavenly Beings won’t spend too much time on Divine Powers which do not greatly assist in breaking through realms. Often achieving entry-level or Small Achievement is the limit, and reaching Great Achievement is exceptionally rare, not to mention perfecting a Divine Power.
Only those Saints with life spans of three to four hundred, or even four to five hundred years, turn their focus to cultivating Divine Powers.
"Cultivating Divine Powers is not a problem for me,"
Gu Jinlai remarked as he looked at the description of the Ninth Rank Heavenly Beings in the book.
Developing Divine Powers adds one Rank.
Perfect Divine Power...
Even when some martial prowess divine skills reach Mahayana, they can again ascend by one Rank.
"Having destroyed the Luo Family and crushed the experts of the Sky Silver Tower, I have re-accumulated nineteen rays of Qingguang. If I were a Heavenly Being, I would probably be able to fully master a divine skill instantly, even as a newly advanced Heavenly Being, I’d still be able to unleash power that rivals that of the Top Heavenly Beings."
Gu Jinlai pondered for a moment with some regret.
If he had followed the path of a cultivator, he would have also been outstanding.
Unfortunately, he primarily cultivated as a Heavenly Master.
Undying Will and True Spirit are two different directions, one is Spirit undying, and the other is Co-spirit with all things; the two cannot coexist.
Even after Master Wushi of Qiantian began cultivating as a Heavenly Master, he never showed power beyond that of a Saint, indicating he did not solve this problem either.
Therefore, unless he abandoned the path of the Heavenly Master, cultivating one path, reaching a Heavenly Being would be his limit.
"In Martial Arts cultivation, different Cultivation Techniques can also derive Divine Skills, but such powers are just like those of Innate Divine Beasts, belonging to Innate Divine Abilities, Life-bound Divine Skills. They are more like an innate talent that comes naturally, fundamentally different from the Divine Skills cultivated by the Heavenly Beings. If it were me..."
Gu Jinlai got to this point, suddenly stopped.
"Wait!"
Innate Divine Abilities!?
Life-bound Divine Skills!?
How did cultivators come to be?
In the earliest times, they imitated the breathing and energy circulation of Fierce Beasts and Fierce Beasts to gradually strengthen themselves.
Such as Body Refining, refining the organs, blood exchange Cultivation Techniques used by cultivators, are often those like the Giant Bear Technique, Golden Elephant Skill, Great Strength Demon Bull Fist, Tiger and Leopard Thunder Sound Skill, etc.
Going further, they began to imitate Innate Divine Beasts, learning from the heavens and the earth, Refining the Void to Reality, and cultivating True Qi and Gang Qi.
By the Third Rank, they would amplify their own Divine Thought, through the three stages of Refining God, Divinity Transformation, and Primordial Spirit, completely finishing the cultivation of spirit, Qi, and Divine Thought, and at the Fourth Rank, undergoing a Transformation into Heavenly Beings.
How did the oldest Divine Skills of Heavenly Being cultivation come into existence?
They evolved through observing the powers of Innate Divine Beasts.
In other words...
Heavenly Being Divine Skills and Martial Arts Divine Skills are fundamentally the same.
If one really had to describe it...
Gu Jinlai was reminded of a novel on the Blue Star that described the Qi Sect and Sword Sect.
Martial Arts Divine Powers, evolving and Transfiguring the body to self-generate powers, breaks all laws with brute force, are from the Qi Sect lineage.
Heavenly Being Divine Powers, meanwhile, use Heaven and Earth Power to perfection, with more skill involved, belonging to the Sword Sect lineage.
But essentially, they are both a type of power that humans themselves release.
"If I derived Martial Arts Divine Powers and then released them with the method of Heavenly Being Divine Skills..."
Gu Jinlai’s pupils dilated.
But then, he realized something.
He believed that he was not the only one in the Holy Dynasty aware of this fact.
However, mastering Heavenly Being Divine Skills was extremely difficult, requiring a century’s effort to perfect a single Divine Skill, but how long are the lifespans of Martial Kings, let alone Martial Saints?
Less than a century.
Especially since martial artists accustomed to Martial Arts Divine Powers would find even if they were of the same origin, cultivating Heavenly Being Divine Skills would be hindered by their Martial Arts Divine Powers.
It’s like the Blue Star people trying to sing a familiar song using the melody of another song they just learned.
Full of mistakes.
The difficulty of learning would be countless times higher than starting from scratch.
In such a scenario, even if those Martial Saints knew that releasing Martial Arts Divine Powers with Heavenly Being divine skill techniques would be more powerful, they could only turn a blind eye.
Because the path of Demon God Martial Arts they have taken for a century didn’t provide them with the conditions to achieve all of that.
"Others may not have the conditions, but I do."
The thought excited Gu Jinlai, his mind fluctuating.
He had Qingguang.
The greatest advantage was in cultivating Cultivation Methods, Swordsmanship, Secret Techniques.
Divine Skills were equivalent to an upgraded version of swordsmanship.
In other words, cultivating Heavenly Being Divine Skills for him, was almost effortless.
"Divine Skills! Divine Skills! Divine Skills!"
The sound echoed through Gu Jinlai’s mind like a booming bell.
A never-before-seen new world was gradually unfolding before him.
"I need a Divine Skill!"
He immediately got up and headed for the third floor.
At that moment, a figure appeared silently.
"Is there something you need?"
This was an elderly man with white hair, whose aura, although somewhat weakened, was still at the level of a High-level Martial King.
Clearly, at his peak, he must have been a Top Martial King, even a Peak Martial King.
"I wish to exchange for some Devas Techniques to understand the methods of the Heavenly Beings, so I can have a way to deal with them."
"Devas Techniques, although one level below Martial Saint Inheritance, start at the same exchange value, starting from one billion Contribution Points," informed the elder, looking at Gu Jinlai.
"You must pay one billion Contribution Points to exchange for one."
"One... one billion?"
Gu Jinlai was astonished.
One billion...
He didn’t have it.
A bright future was waiting for him ahead, but the biggest hurdle turned out to be poverty?
