Chương 80: Dragon-Gifted Heavenly Bones

Su Zhe practiced the Shape-Intent Twelve True Dragon Art. The so-called Twelve Forms were the Dragon Form, Tiger Form, Monkey Form, Horse Form, Tuo Form, Rooster Form, Sparrowhawk Form, Swallow Form, Snake Form, Tai Form, Eagle Form, and Bear Form. With the foundation he had built from the Three Spirit Art, Su Zhe progressed especially quickly in the Tiger Form and Snake Form. The other beast forms were a little slower, but still far beyond ordinary geniuses.

"Not bad. Your comprehension is good." Yushen slowly nodded. She was quite satisfied with this disciple. His aptitude already showed the makings of a true disciple candidate, and his comprehension was even more extraordinary. Once he entered Zhujian Mountain Villa (Sword-Forging Mountain Villa), within three years, he would have a chance to fight for a place among the true disciples.

"The date for the geniuses of Tang Prefecture's eighteen counties has been set."

"Once the New Year passes, on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, after everyone has had their reunion meal, they'll gather at Zhujian Mountain Villa."

"Oh, right. This year is different from previous years. This year, anyone whose aptitude reaches Grade A can go to Zhujian Mountain Villa. It's just that there will still be another assessment inside the villa." Li Shanyun looked exhausted. Over the past few days, she had run all over the eighteen counties of Tang Prefecture, and had finally gotten everything settled.

"Hmph. Those old bastards finally couldn't hold back anymore. Looks like they're planning to cast a wide net and fish for big catches."

"Too bad they don't know there's a true dragon in that net, and this old lady has already claimed him." Yushen clearly knew more of the situation. She gave a cold laugh, utterly disdainful of the other villa masters' actions. When Su Zhe heard Li Shanyun's words, his movements froze for a moment.

"This year… as long as someone is a Grade A genius, they can go to Zhujian Mountain Villa?"

"Then… didn't Wang Shan die for nothing?" Su Zhe didn't know whether to laugh or cry. All of a sudden, he felt that Wang Shan was honestly a little pitiful. If Wang Shan had just endured for a while and waited until Li Shanyun returned, he might very well have lived a long and healthy life. Su Zhe shook his head. Good advice can't save a ghost determined to die. Drop the glass-heart mindset and enjoy a morally questionable life. Better the daoist friend dies than this poor Daoist.

Wang Shan was fated to face this calamity. What did it have to do with Su Zhe? Speaking of which, Wang Shan should even thank him. After all, Su Zhe had sent him early into reincarnation, saving him the trouble of lining up at Naihe Bridge. Su Zhe's thoughts gradually calmed. He was no longer obstructed by external matters.

"The Twelve Shape-Intent Forms are a spirit art. Because of that, their cultivation method is different from treasure arts and mortal arts."

"With the Twelve Shape-Intent Forms, you first cultivate the other eleven forms, then fuse them into one. Using the Flood Dragon Art as a bridge, you step into the Dragon Form."

"The profundity of its spirit lies in the Six Harmonies." Seeing that Su Zhe had already basically mastered the foundational stances and movements of the Twelve Forms, Yushen stood up and began explaining the key points of the Twelve Forms to him.

"The so-called Six Harmonies are divided into the Three External Harmonies and the Three Internal Harmonies."

"External first, internal after."

"The Three External Harmonies refer to the hands harmonizing with the feet, the elbows harmonizing with the knees, and the shoulders harmonizing with the hips. For example, when cultivating the Monkey Form, you visualize your body as that of an ape. Your hands, feet, elbows, knees, shoulders, hips, and every part of your body are no longer human. They are those of an ape." Yushen used the Monkey Form among the Twelve Forms as an example. She raised her hand, urged her force, and practiced the fist technique.

Her figure turned nimble, leaping like a spiritual ape. Her eyes shone brightly, as though carrying a hint of cunning. She moved like lightning. In her flashes, shifts, leaps, and turns, she truly seemed like an ape descending into the world. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. The wind from her fists howled, her momentum extraordinary. Su Zhe observed carefully, his expression slightly dazed.

Yushen's appearance was that of a little girl in her teens, but at this moment, it was as though she had truly shed her human form and transformed into an ape. The most important thing was this: Yushen herself was a martial Yang Spirit Realm powerhouse, one of the strongest experts in Tang Prefecture. But the power she was showing right now absolutely did not surpass the third-rank Inner Force Realm. Yet it was precisely this level of power that made Su Zhe feel an enormous gap between them.

It was martial comprehension! The difference in their understanding of martial arts was huge. For example, if they both used Barbaric Bull Hammer, then even if Su Zhe cultivated it to a deeper level, he would still only be clumsily imitating it. But Yushen was as if she had been born a barbaric bull. The difference between them was vast. Yushen darted and leapt, agile and lively. She was just like an ape in the mountain forest, nimble yet fierce.

After finishing a full set of Monkey Form, Yushen landed in front of Su Zhe and asked,"Understand?" Su Zhe pondered for a moment, then said,"Disciple has gained a little insight. The so-called Three External Harmonies mean discarding the human form and turning oneself into the beast form."

"When a human imitates a beast, there will always be flaws. But when a beast imitates a beast, it is the Great Dao reduced to its simplest form." Yushen already had some understanding of Su Zhe's comprehension. But when she truly heard this answer from him, she still couldn't help being amazed. She nodded and said,"Correct. That is the realm of the Twelve Forms' Three External Harmonies."

"Spirit arts are different from mortal arts and treasure arts. They don't divide things into all that messy minor mastery, middle mastery nonsense."

"Entering the hall is the Three External Harmonies. Reaching the peak is the Three Internal Harmonies." Yushen then began explaining the so-called "Three Internal Harmonies" to Su Zhe. The heart harmonizes with intent, intent harmonizes with qi, and qi harmonizes with strength. These were the Three Internal Harmonies. The Three External Harmonies emphasized forming the shape, while the Three Internal Harmonies were on a higher level. They meant forming the spirit.

One master was willing to teach, and one disciple was willing to learn. Yushen explained things simply and clearly, and Su Zhe understood with the slightest hint. As for Li Shanyun, after hurriedly drinking a cup of tea, she went off again to busy herself with this year's matters regarding Zhujian Mountain Villa's geniuses. After all, although she had a good relationship with Yushen, Yushen was the master of Yushen Manor and had her own lineage.

For a matter like passing down arts, if Yushen had not nodded, Li Shanyun would not have dared stay here on her own. Otherwise, there would be suspicion of stealing teachings. A martial inheritance was the root of a lineage. Privately learning another's ultimate art could be seen as stealing the Great Dao of martial arts. That would be a situation where both sides fought until one was dead.

"So that's how it is. At third-rank Inner Force, continuously nurturing inner force will allow one to step into the peak of the third rank."

"For me, that's only a matter of steady effort over time."

"If I can also nurture inner force from the Flood Dragon Art and Dark Scythe, then with the power of five streams of inner force, I can break through to Meridian Opening and step into the fourth rank. My foundation will also be far deeper than ordinary people's."

"And once I cultivate the eleven forms of the Twelve Forms, excluding the Dragon Form, to the Three External Harmonies level, I can cultivate the Dragon Form's Three External Harmonies."

"Long-term cultivation of this art can alter my physical body and temper my tendons, bones, and skin, greatly strengthening my flesh."

"It will make the fourth-rank Meridian Opening, fifth-rank Five Palaces, and sixth-rank true qi stages much easier. This really is miraculous!" Listening to Yushen's lecture, Su Zhe gained clarity in his heart. His awe toward the profundity of this spirit art deepened by another degree. Once the eleven forms reached the Three External Harmonies, he could cultivate the Dragon Form's Three External Harmonies.

After the Twelve Forms reached the Three External Harmonies, he could cultivate the Dragon Form's Twelve Three Internal Harmonies. Once the Dragon Form reached the Three Internal Harmonies, he could use the many beast-force phantoms inside his body to directly temper his soul at the seventh-rank Yang Spirit Realm, thereby doing what Yushen had done and condensing a Barbaric Dragon Yang Spirit.

And because of the Twelve Shape-Intent Forms, martial artists who cultivated this path would have physical bodies far stronger than ordinary martial artists. Because of that, disciples of Yushen Manor were also called "body-tempering martial artists."

"The Twelve Shape-Intent Forms are good, but their drawbacks are also huge." When Yushen reached this point, her expression turned somewhat indifferent, and she sighed faintly.

"Drawbacks?" Su Zhe did not understand.

"It's very simple. Each beast form is equivalent to one martial art. If someone is merely ordinary, then even if they exhaust their entire life, how many martial arts can they cultivate to the peak?"

"So, for true peerless geniuses, the Twelve Shape-Intent Forms are a supreme treasure art."

"But for ordinary martial artists, they are far too complicated. Learning too much without mastering any of it is like picking up a watermelon and throwing away sesame seeds."

"Put that way, it would actually be better to specialize in one form and become strong that way."

"For example, true sword cultivators train the sword form into their bodies. What they condense is sword blood, what they forge is sword bone, and with one sword, they break ten thousand arts." Yushen spoke with emotion. The Twelve Shape-Intent Forms were extremely difficult. Only true geniuses could achieve anything with them. For this genius, aptitude was one part, and comprehension was another. Neither could be lacking. Su Zhe nodded. It seemed that sword cultivators did exist in this martial world.

It was just that what those sword cultivators trained was a weapon form, different from the beast forms Su Zhe trained.

"Then, Master, what is your aptitude?" Su Zhe asked curiously.

"Above one in ten thousand: Dragon-Gifted Heavenly Bones."

"With this aptitude, I could have firmly secured the position of great villa master. Unfortunately, this old lady kills too heavily, and I don't care for the position of great villa master anyway." Yushen gave a scornful laugh, not caring in the slightest.

"However, aptitude is an external talent that can be seen. Comprehension is something vague and hard to grasp. But comprehension is absolutely crucial."

"This old lady's comprehension is also barely passable." Su Zhe remembered it. According to Yushen's explanation, judging by aptitude, the limit of a one-in-ten-thousand genius was cultivating nine of the Twelve Forms. Above a one-in-ten-thousand genius was Dragon-Gifted Heavenly Bones. Only someone at the level of Dragon-Gifted Heavenly Bones could cultivate all Twelve Forms to the Three External Harmonies. Of course, this was not absolute.

There would always be geniuses in the world whose brilliance was hidden within, who could shed mortality and transform into immortals through extraordinary comprehension. But people like that were simply too hard to find.

"Comprehension, huh?" Su Zhe's heart stirred. For some reason, ever since Su Zhe had used the Creation Immortal Cauldron to absorb the incense power of the Blood-Refining Divine Sovereign, the Creation Immortal Cauldron had remained in his sea of consciousness, constantly emitting five-colored divine light, transforming his sea of consciousness bit by bit. During this period, Su Zhe could clearly feel it— He had become smarter.

Especially when it came to understanding martial arts, his progress was advancing by leaps and bounds each day. Looking back on the past, Su Zhe would even feel a little ashamed at how dull-witted his former self had been…