23 A Lesson on the Journey (2/2)
”Hey, hey, hey, are you joking? For someone who condenses Qi of Heaven and Earth into a chamberpot, what would he be called? Chamber Master or Pot Master?”
The old man and the lad naturally became familiar with each other after chatting over the passing days, and Ning Que gradually showed his other qualities, like indolence and discourtesy. He was currently biting a Chinese brush that was covered with ink while waving his right arm, expressing his strong doubt.
Putting down the cup, the old cultivator stared at the lad and scolded him. ”It was a custom, do you know what a custom is? It has been that way for thousands of years. Are you really doubtful about it? It just needs to be easy to remember, so save your breath!”
”OK.” Ning Que was under fiasco before the custom covering a time span of over thousands of years. Inside the shaky carriage, he hung his wrists and kept focused. Then he made some notes, with his thick black nip freely moving on the snow-like rice paper.
”About the battle approaches of cultivators, what a Sword Master uses is called Swordsmanship and what a Fu Master applies is named Martial Arts of Fu. I, a Psyche Master, of course use Psyche Skill. For those Grand Cultivators who have entered Knowing Destiny State, it is hard to specifically distinguish their skills. I heard that some elderships in the precedent master's sects cultivated Divine Skill, but I don't know about the details.”
”These names... are insufficient.” Ning Que face was slightly stiff as he chewed the tip of his pen and looked at the old man before saying, vaguely, ”It seems to me that they all could be generally named a Magic Master because all they use is magic.”
The old man, tightly furrowed his eyebrows, and severely said, ”How do you define the word 'magic'?”
Defeated again, Ning Que expressed his innocence by spreading his hands.
”In addition to the cultivators mentioned above, the martial arts warriors are the most common of all cultivators. Their perception of the Qi of Heaven and Earth may be weaker than the other sects of cultivators, but their capacity for fighting is incredibly powerful. When in battle, a martial warrior could fill their whole body with the Qi of Heaven and Earth, and it was just like they had put on a suit of armor from head to feet. Additionally, when in regular training, they would utilize their Qi of Heaven and Earth to stimulate their own flesh and blood, creating a steel-like body.”
”Is that giant man, with a yellowish gloss, at the entrance of the Northern Mountain Road a martial warrior?”
”Yes, but his level is comparatively low. The four great generals in our Tang Empire are the best martial warriors in the world. If an arrow volley could pierce their armor, it would then be blocked by their defending primordial Qi. Even if the defending primordial Qi were pierced, their steel-like body could also prevent them from being severely hurt. In front of these powerful cultivators, your mastery in archery would be useless.”
These remarks naturally reminded Ning Que of two words—Xia Hou. Then he just calmly took down some notes and kept pondering the approaches he could take against these strong cultivators.
”If you choose to get closer to the strong martial warriors during a battle, you'll get killed quickly. Your relationship can be compared to that of a field mouse and a male lion. Even though you are strong you would not be able to shake them off. With a flick of their wrist, they would break your neck.”
”If an arrow is covered by primordial Qi... could it damage a martial warrior?” Ning Que asked seriously, suddenly raising his head.
After a short thought, the old cultivator slowly shook his head and said, ”Few cultivators have tried encasing arrows with the Qi of Heaven and Earth, considering the difference between arrows and swords. In order to make sure of the speed, it had to be very light. Unfortunately, the attached primordial Qi on the arrow would quickly dissipate due to the interference of natural induction and the lack of an engraved Fu. Of course, if someone could figure out the dissipation problem of primordial Qi, the arrow, beyond a doubt, could be a type of formidable long-distance attack weapon.”
After listening, Ning Que looked as if he were thinking of something.
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