Chapter 146: The True Essence of Combat Techniques

　　Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

　　December. The weather had slowly turned cold.

　　It was still bearable in the South, but certain places in the North were starting to snow.

　　Few days ago, there was even a great blizzard in Shimen in the North.

　　The outside world had thought that the weather was unusual. The North had always been cold hence they did not pay much attention to it.

　　However, Fang Ping and the rest knew that the worsening climate had something to do with the changes going on in the Catacombs.

　　…

　　Dormitory area.

　　Beside the Haven.

　　Fang Ping’s cultivation spot had moved from the training room to the Haven.

　　According to Lu Fengrou, this place was quieter and the air fresher.

　　However, based on Fang Ping’s understanding, it was because his instructor did not like inconvenience. The distance from the dormitory area to the training room was quite far.

　　Beside the lake.

　　The glaive in Fang Ping’s hand was like a shadow. In an abrupt roar, it came slashing down in one fell swoop!

　　Bang!

　　Cracks formed instantaneously on a limestone beside the lake. It shattered into pieces of fragments in a flash.

　　“Huff…”

　　Fang Ping gave a long exhale. The glee was evident in his eyes.

　　Lu Fengrou who was standing aside frowned slightly, “Go back and get some limestones to replace. You were supposed to cultivate. Why are you destroying the environment?”

　　Fang Ping was suddenly embarrassed. Soon, he spoke again in excitement, “Instructor, the limestone is hacked…”

　　“Feeling proud?”

　　“No…”

　　Even though his lips said no, it was obvious that he was slightly arrogant.

　　It had only been three days, and he was already able to employ his first move.

　　“It’s not too late for you to be proud when you can manage to employ seven consecutive moves in one breath!”

　　Lu Fengrou was generous to deal him a blow. She then took a glimpse at the shattered limestone, frowned slightly and said, “The distribution of your strength is very scattered, you can consider yourself to have achieved a small amount of success when you can hack the limestone smoothly into half.”

　　Fang Ping had hacked the limestone into pieces just now. That is called shaking, not hacking!

　　Once he had heard those words, Fang Ping felt helpless suddenly. “Fengzuidao focuses on ferociousness…”

　　“Nonsense. Does being ferocious mean that you do not need to control your strength?”

　　Lu Fengrou chided. As she spoke, she stretched out her hands and took the fengzuidao from Fang Ping’s hands. She pointed it at the ground and waved in a flurry.

　　Fang Ping did not see what happened, nor hear the loud sound that was made when he hacked the limestone just now. Everything ended in silence.

　　Lu Fengrou did not say anything. After waving the glaive around, she tossed it back to Fang Ping.

　　Fang Ping did not care for the glaive. He lowered his head and looked hurriedly.

　　He saw one of the small pieces of limestones that he hacked into fragments earlier had been evenly divided into eight pieces.

　　Fang Ping bent his body hurriedly, picked up a small piece and ran his fingers across it. The surface that was cut appeared to be extremely smooth!

　　“Instructor, this…”

　　“You changed your weapon because you wish to achieve greater outburst of power, using explosiveness to kill your enemy.

　　“However, explosiveness does not equal to brute force!”

　　Lu Fengrou shook her head and said, “If all you know is using brute force when you are fighting with other people, like what I have seen, you would only know how to hack downwards aimlessly!

　　“If you meet someone whose Vitality and combat techniques are not as good as you, then things would be easy.

　　“However, could you only bully these people?

　　“Every time you hack, your energy scatters. You may look domineering and mighty. Shocking the enemy’s purlicue to the point that they crack…

　　“However, is cracking other people’s purlicue your main purpose?”

　　Fang Ping was deep in thought. “Do you mean that my energy is too scattered, where it should be like Puncture Kick, centralizing the energy at one spot…”

　　“You are not entirely helpless!”

　　Lu Fengrou spoke as she walked, “Use the smallest amount of energy, kill the enemy, conserve your energy and Vitality, this is what we as martial artists should do.

　　“Even the most maniacal combat techniques will seek after the smallest price to pay to achieve the greatest lethality!

　　“Manic Explosion may sound wild, in truth, it does not ask for you to be foolishly mad. Go back and take a closer look at the skills for cohesive and coagulate forces.

　　“The main idea of consecutive hacks is the ability to hack off F-class weapons in a blow. Once you have mastered three consecutive hacks, that is when you have accomplished a tiny achievement. ”

　　“Three consecutive hacks can hack off an F-class weapon?”

　　Fang Ping could hardly believe it. Lu Fengrou frowned, “This is middle-ranked combat techniques. It was originally meant for Rank-3 martial artists.

　　“When Rank-3 martial artists have mastered middle-ranked combat techniques, they will not be considered weak when compared to their counterparts.

　　“Manic Explosion is not just something off-the-rack, nor something revised by the School of Production students. It is a masterpiece created with the heart and blood of a Grandmaster!

　　“Certain off-the-rack skills may have made it to the list, many of them are still combat techniques that low-ranked martial artists have adapted with references from predecessors used to create their own cultivation methods.

　　“The D-class alloy weapon that you are holding has the ability to centralize. Under the outburst of three consecutive hacks, hacking off an F-class alloy is definitely not wishful thinking!”

　　After saying that, Lu Fengrou suddenly looked at him strangely. “Don’t tell me that you are thinking of achieving seven consecutive hacks in Rank-1?”

　　“Huh?”

　　“You are not really thinking about that, are you?”

　　“No…”

　　“Whether or not you are thinking about it, put that vain thought of yours away as soon as possible! Middle-ranked combat techniques are designed to cater for Rank-3 martial artists.

　　“Say, a normal Rank-1 martial artist have Vitality between 180-250cal.

　　“A Rank-2 martial artist have Vitality between 250-400cal.

　　“A Rank-3 martial artist is at a stage with a comparatively larger span!

　　“Rank-3 torso-honing. Even though there are only 15 bones in the torso, each bone is enormous, especially when the spine is included!

　　“After torso-honing is completed, the human skeletal system will form a complete circulation. This time, the skull can choose not to join the circulation system.

　　“Therefore, every time the torso is honed, and every time each bone completes the honing process, the indication will be the surging Vitality. Once it can move unimpeded, it will mean that one has achieved the next level!

　　“At Rank-3, a martial artist’s Vitality can go from 400cal up to a maximum of 1000cal. Do you understand what I mean?”

　　Fang Ping was slightly stunned. “Rank-3 martial artists Vitality can go up to thousands?”

　　“It varies for each individual. 1000cal is the maximum, or should we say 999cal is the maximum. It applies to those who have twice-honed their bones as well…”

　　Fang Ping was even shocked now. He responded immediately, “Do you mean that at Rank-3, whether twice-honed or thrice-honed, the Vitality limit is still 999cal?”

　　“Not bad. Of course. As I said, it varies with each individual. At that stage, very few will go and test out their Vitality. Whether anyone had exceeded the limit, if they do not tell, not many would know.”

　　Lu Fengrou explained, then continued, “These are just subtopics. What I mean is, middle-ranked combat techniques are catered to Rank-3 martial artists. Perhaps even peak Rank-2 martial artists.

　　“Why?

　　“Limited Vitality!

　　“In every Manic Explosion move, Vitality outburst must achieve roughly hundreds of cal to achieve ultimate power. Do you think you can do it?

　　“The move you employed just now was less than 20cal Vitality outburst. It can be considered as the shrunken version of Manic Explosion.

　　“Even if you can achieve outburst for seven consecutive hacks, it will just be visually attractive but not the complete version of it.

　　“At your stage, you do not need to seek after too many styles, instead you should dig deeper!

　　“Every time you hack, you can spend hundreds of cal of Vitality. With that, almost all Rank-1 and 2 martial artists will die under your hack, do you understand what I am saying?”

　　Of course, Fang Ping could understand.

　　Typically, when they were in a duel, their Vitality did not only go through one-time spending. Instead, every move and style that they employ would consume their Vitality.

　　Like Fang Ping, when he performed his Puncture Kick with all his strength, the most he would spend was around 10cal Vitality. That was considered a special case.

　　Under normal circumstances, if he achieved outbursts at maximum capacity and performed the Puncture Kick, he would only spend five to six cal Vitality.

　　Therefore, if Fang Ping performed Puncture Kick with Vitality higher than 300cal, he could achieve an outburst of forty to fifty consecutive kicks on the condition that he did not cheat.

　　There was a need to retain normal Vitality supply to the human body. Frailness would occur when Vitality was lower than 100cal.

　　With Vitality sitting at more than 300cal, the amount of Vitality that Fang Ping could spend was only 200cal Vitality or more.

　　Like that hack that he employed just now, the amount that Fang Ping had spent was not small. It was almost 20cal.

　　With that hack, it would not be a problem for him to hack dozens more.

　　He would need to replenish his Vitality to continue hacking.

　　Would spending a Vitality of 20cal and 100cal on Manic Explosion be the same? Obviously not.

　　This was not solely the problem with Vitality. There were limits even for bones, meridians, and the outburst withstood by the skin.

　　“Rank-3 martial artists have high Vitality hence they can cultivate five to seven consecutive hacks.

　　“You can’t. In your case, as I said, it can be possible if the seven consecutive hacks are meant to just be visually attractive. If you employ the real seven consecutive hacks, your Vitality will be depleted instantaneously. Once your Vitality is empty, do you know what will happen to you?”

　　Fang Ping shook his head.

　　“Once Vitality is drained, what do you think could happen? A mummy! Therefore, stop your wishful thinking.

　　“When you can perform a hack and achieve 50cal Vitality outburst of power one day, you may be able to perform three to four consecutive hacks.

　　“Hacking off F-class weapons with an outburst like this is not entirely impossible.”

　　Lu Fengrou had never spoken about these things before. In reality, everyone did not care about it.

　　All of them were Rank-1 martial artists who had not reached that stage yet.

　　Whether it was basic or low-ranked combat techniques, before reaching the limits of a Rank-1 martial artist, your Vitality would not be drained by the intensity of the combat techniques cultivation.

　　Even so, it was still possible in middle-ranked combat techniques.

　　If there were geniuses in Rank-1 who could cultivate Manic Explosion with great success, after spending hundreds of cal Vitality in every hack, hardly anyone could live after three hacks.

　　This time, Fang Ping could understand why there were slightly harsh requirements set in middle-ranked combat techniques cultivation. It was to avoid accidents from happening.

　　“There are two things that you should do now!

　　“Number one, learn how to control your energy. Your energy should not scatter.

　　“Number two, learn how to achieve greater Vitality outburst. With greater Vitality outburst comes greater power. They are directly proportional to each other.

　　“Otherwise, even if you have learned seven consecutive hacks, the power of every hack is only five to six cal, would it even be meaningful?

　　“The moves are dependent on the user. This is what the theory means.”

　　After nodding immediately, Fang Ping asked again, “Instructor, if this is the case, the lethality of the moves is related to the Vitality outburst of every move. Does that mean that a Rank-2 martial artist can kill a Rank-3 martial artist?

　　“If a Rank-3 martial artist is not comparable to a Rank-1 martial artist who can perform a move that achieves hundreds of cal Vitality outburst, then…”

　　Lu Fengrou replied in contempt, “Isn’t it normal? If you drag a Rank-3 martial artist who only has Vitality and kill him in a blow, is that odd?”

　　“Do not judge the ranks solely!

　　“The government is discussing the policy to redetermine the ranks. They are discussing whether to determine the ranks based on outbursts and endurance.”

　　“I see.”

　　Lu Fengrou started talking about another concept, “In the eyes of many actual combat martial artists, a true martial artist is said to be in total control of the body’s Vitality when the outburst of every move can achieve one-tenth Vitality that is currently present.

　　“You have 300cal Vitality, producing lethality of 30cal in the outburst of a move, this is when you have truly mastered the usage of Vitality.

　　“If you can achieve outburst in a move with one-fifth of your current Vitality, we call this kind of move the lethal move.

　　If you can achieve one third or even half, we call it the ultimate move!”

　　“If that’s the case…”

　　Lu Fengrou interrupted before Fang Ping could ask his question. “If you achieve outburst completely, we call it the dead move. Once you have completed the outburst, you will be dead too!”

　　Cough, cough, cough…

　　Fang Ping gave a dry cough. It made so much sense that it was almost impossible to refute.

　　“If you can train Manic Explosion to the point that you can achieve hundreds of cal Vitality outbursts in one move, that means that you have mastered the ultimate move. The theory of the lethal move and the ultimate move has nothing to do with the cultivation methods. Instead, it lies in a person’s ability to control. It is not a representation of cultivation methods, do you understand?”

　　Fang Ping nodded his head once more!

　　This meant that any combat techniques can qualify as the lethal move and the ultimate move. It all depends on your ability to control it.

　　If Fang Ping could train his basic combat techniques to that point, then basic combat techniques would be the ultimate move!

　　After thinking for a while, Fang Ping used the opportunity to ask again, “I have taken a look at the lower three ranks ranking. Do the three lower ranks martial artists who are at the top of the list have their ultimate move?”

　　“Quite unlikely. It is not easy to cultivate an ultimate move successfully. Wang Jinyang that guy has succeeded though. He has given unshakeable confidence to those of the same rank!

　　“First thirty on the list should have their ultimate move.

　　“It is unlikely that the ones after that have it.”

　　Fang Ping’s eyes lit up. “Instructor, if I have successfully cultivated the ultimate move, does it mean that I am invincible among those of the same rank?”

　　“Of course!”

　　Lu Fengrou had no intention to retort him this time. She beamed and said, “Your Vitality has always been higher than others. Ultimate move aside, once you have cultivated the lethal move, achieving 60cal Vitality outburst with every move, then no one in Rank-1 can be your match.

　　“Not just Rank-1, even peak Rank-2, the morons who cannot control their Vitality, can never be your match!”

　　Peak Rank-2. A normal Peak Rank-2 had about 400cal Vitality only. Their inability to control their Vitality meant that their outbursts were incomparable to Fang Ping.

　　There was a high possibility that such peak Rank-2 would be killed by Fang Ping in a duel.

　　This was based on the premise that Fang Ping could achieve total control of his energy and achieve a much stronger outburst of power.

　　“Do not forget to cultivate Cloud Steps as well. Even the strongest outburst can be useless if you cannot chase the enemy.

　　“You may achieve 100cal Vitality in a single move, but if other people have run away, then you will be the one to die. Once your Vitality has been emptied, you are allowing others to trample on you!!”

　　Lu Fengrou may just be teaching based on the usual way things were, but Fang Ping’s eyes lit up once more!

　　Perhaps I could sneak up on people next time?

　　Pretending like I could not catch up with them with my Vitality drained completely. When other people had returned to attack, my Vitality would suddenly replenish, that was when I could kill a bunch of them in a sneak attack!

　　Fang Ping thought that there was a need for him to develop the function of this system in depth.

　　If Fang Ping could master his ability to recover his Vitality quickly, this would not just be something as simple as omitting Vitality Pills.

　　In reality, Fang Ping had used this move to perform sneak attacks on people a few times before.

　　Not only had he mastered the first move of Manic Explosion, Fang Ping felt that he had gained much more. Sometimes he was unable to see the bigger picture. To have someone pointing it out to him was much more powerful than thinking hard about it for a year.

　　“Then there’s the lethal move and ultimate move… If I can cultivate the ultimate move successfully, wouldn’t I be able to hack anyone whether they are Rank-1 or 2?

　　“Unless if they have mastered the same ultimate move. Even so, they will reach their limit after the first outburst and die after the second. If my body can take it, there is no limit to the number of outbursts I can achieve…”

　　The more he thought deeply about it, the more excited Fang Ping became.

　　Lu Fengrou threw him a glance, beamed but said nothing.

　　Fang Ping’s Vitality recovered very quickly. This was something that she knew as well.

　　Telling him these today was to give Fang Ping some motivation, to stimulate him so that he would make use of his advantage.

　　The championship was not the main point.

　　In a championship, very few could defeat Fang Ping. If Fang Ping truly wished to master Saber Techniques, he need not reach the lethal move stage. As long as he could control his energy, not many could surpass him.