24 AVATAR OF THE WAY (1/2)
”Brother is... going to pass down what?” Xiao Wu stared wide-eyed. Then, she seemed to recall something and shook her head smilingly, ”Brother Hao surely enjoys joking around! Once again, you're leaving me dumbfounded! How could brother possibly know the one technique that my clan has guarded for centuries? Let alone you, even my royal fath–ahem, the Clan Master does not know the scripture in its entirety!”
Towards Xiao Wu's skepticism, Cheng Hao only chuckled and nodded nonchalantly, ”Of course I know about it... In fact, what I am going to hand to you is actually an improved version of that legendary secret scripture!” The golden-eyed youth's eyes gleamed, ”For now though, it is time for a second lesson on the art of cultivation!”
”Tell me, little sister... why are Martial Ways considered so special by cultivators from all Planes of Existence?”
Xiao Wu smiled:
Such basic knowledge of course, as the Xiao Clan Young Mistress, I indeed know a lot about it!
Thinking this, she immediately replied without breaking a sweat, ”The roles of Martial Ways aren't limited to aiding cultivators in meditation alone. Sure, the huge help during breakthrough and the increase in cultivation speed is just as important, but the place where Martial Ways truly shine is in battle! The huge pressure it emits on a cultivator's surroundings for example is by itself a powerful support or even offensive skill capable of crossing stages! And that is without taking into account the passive Spiritual Energy recovery rate the user receives from simply wielding it, plus a myriad of other possible abilities that vary depending on the kind of Martial Way...”
As the girl talked, she and the golden-eyed child sat back at the table. There, they poured themselves a second cup of tea. When Xiao Wu was finished with her illustration, Cheng Hao had smiled and then emitted an approving whistle, ”What a perfect textbook answer! And I'm sure that, if I were to inquire further on similar subjects, you'd also excel! You truly did study a lot on cultivation-related matters, I wonder whether I should praise you for your effort, or pity you for being forced to memorize all this kind of stuff...” Xiao Wu's eyes lit up at Cheng Hao's remark and quietly accepted the praise.
”Still, most of those myriad abilities you mentioned require the Martial Way to be summoned at will outside of the wielder's body to work. Not really our case, is it? And yet, I made ourselves basically seal our Martial Ways in our Pseudo Core...” Cheng Hao's whole countenance grew mysterious as he smiled enigmatically, ”Now, knowing that this would greatly impair our Martial's Way abilities... why would I still do it then?”
At that, Xiao Wu's expression changed as she began searching her memories for an answer... without finding any that seemed plausible. Meanwhile, the youth sipped his tea, smiling enigmatically. Leaning back on his chair, he would occasionally glance amusedly at the girl's pondering expression. Finally, Xiao Wu could only sigh helplessly and ask, ”Why would Brother Hao do that? I have no idea, none at all! Can brother please shed some light on this matter?”
Cheng Hao smiled.
”Well, it's not that you are at fault on this... Except for me and a very few others I taught myself, even fewer should know about this technique! And those who do know about it... well, it's very highly unlikely that they would ever really find the need to make use of it. Still it's strange that a Xiao Clan's Young Mistress would be unaware of it: the name of this technique is called... Martial Avatar!”
Seeing Xiao Wu's confused expression, Cheng Hao proceeded to explain, ”The Martial Avatar is a very special and unique characteristic of a Martial Way. It allows cultivators to use a part of their Martial Way's might without actually having to summon it outside of your consciousness!”
”By reaching a high enough cultivation, most cultivators would gain the ability to create objects with Qi. Martial Ways are also mainly composed of Qi, however unlike simple constructs or treasures, the structure of a Martial Way also follows the laws and understanding of the cultivator's Qi! This is the reason simply looking at a Martial Way during meditation can help somewhat aiding one's enlightenment of said Qi... You're basically looking at the laws of that same Qi themselves! What this means however, is that a Martial Way is none other than... a special kind of Qi construct built following certain guidelines!”
The golden eyed youth smiled, ”And if so, if you had access to those guidelines, then why should you not also be able to replicate your Martial Way as a Qi construct? Although the constructs would only retain a very small percentage of the original's might... even the smallest of bonuses is more than enough to lay waste amongst those who do not have a Martial Way or some kind of heaven-defying treasure up their sleeves!”