Chương 134: War God — Chapter 134 - Wang Xian, Come Up and Try

"Primordial Cicada!" The student who spoke carried more than a little pride.

"It's a new beast type that emerged from a relic in Western Shu about half a year ago. I saw one at the Martial Research Institute." A new beast type? That explained it. The students nodded in understanding. New beast types were always sent to the Martial Research Institute for extensive study. Only after the research was mostly complete would the detailed information be posted on the institute's official website.

"Correct." Teacher Shen Lan nodded.

"This beast is called the Primordial Cicada, also known as the Taiko Cicada. It can emit special sound waves and possesses extremely strong concealment abilities."

"It originated from an unmanaged zone in Western Shu."

"Later, when Principal Luo returned from Western Shu, he brought back detailed information about this beast."

"Look here." Shen Lan pointed at the surface of the holographic Primordial Cicada.

"The Primordial Cicada secretes a special mucus that condenses on its outer layer, forming what we call a 'Cicada Shroud.' This layer blocks both energy and mental power."

"The Primordial Cicada relies on this Cicada Shroud for its exceptional concealment."

"Don't let the F-rank fool you. Even a B-rank Beast might not detect it." Gasps rippled through the watching students. What kind of martial protective gear these days could use F-rank materials to resist B-rank Beast perception?

"The Cicada Shroud is seamless, with a honeycomb structure." Shen Lan continued.

"It's the finest material on the Primordial Cicada. Extremely rare. But only by perfectly stripping this layer can you preserve its effects to the fullest extent."

"For us smelters, the first step is obtaining every beast material perfectly without damaging its properties!"

"During this process, you'll also sense the material's characteristics..."

"So then..." Shen Lan looked at the students filling the classroom:"Who wants to try?" Eager hands shot up. Before long, one student walked up. He picked up a holographic dagger and carefully observed the Primordial Cicada's body structure. Then he struck swiftly. And then... The blade pierced straight through the flesh surface. Blood flowed out, instantly staining a large patch of the Cicada Shroud red. The student's face flushed with embarrassment.

"It's fine." Shen Lan waved a hand.

"You're a liberal arts student. This kind of material extraction work wouldn't normally fall to you anyway. But that cut should have let you feel the Cicada Shroud's strength, right?" The student nodded.

"Thin as silk thread. Opens at a touch."

"Exactly. This Cicada Shroud pierces very easily, so you must be extremely careful when harvesting it."

"The foundation of smelting is materials. Mastering the properties of countless materials is what you must learn first!"

"If you encounter a new beast type, observe carefully. Perceive it slowly with your primeval force before making your move."

"Primeval force is our other hand."

"It can perceive all things in the world." Understanding dawned on the student's face. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. The other students nodded along. The second student walked up. A martial arts student with a blade. Having received the teacher's guidance, this student was much smarter. He condensed a faint layer of primeval energy on his palm, forming something like a glove. He didn't act immediately.

Instead, through this layer, he slowly swept his hand over the Primordial Cicada's entire body. University students had strong comprehension. With just a casual pointer from the teacher, they grasped the trick.

"Not bad." Shen Lan praised.

"You haven't reached the third realm yet, so you can't project primeval force outward. But simply attaching it to your palm, like executing a martial technique, lets you perceive the outside world." Only a few dozen seconds passed. The student's eyes snapped open. He picked up the blade and began moving it in swift strokes. This time was clearly much better than the previous attempt. He stripped away a third in one go.

Only when he reached the Primordial Cicada's joints did he accidentally cut through the Cicada Shroud. The watching students exhaled in unison. A wave of regret. One student after another went up to try. This hands-on practice, progressing from simple to complex, was something many students eagerly participated in. Not only was the process interesting, it also revealed shortcomings in their own cultivation. Most students could only strip away about a third.

Once they encountered the more unusual joints, they'd cut through the Cicada Shroud.

"I want to try too!" Dao Sanxiao had watched for a long time. Probably feeling he'd grasped the trick, he smiled confidently and walked onto the stage. Shen Lan glanced at him and nodded. As an expert blade user with third-tier peak fundamental techniques, Dao Sanxiao certainly had better conditions than the other students when it came to blade work. He reached out and simply, gently felt over the Primordial Cicada's body. His gaze focused, as if he'd already grown quite familiar with it.

His hand was steady as stone. The blade traced across the Primordial Cicada's abdomen, then cut open the limb joints, smoothly dissecting away half the Cicada Shroud. The watching students' eyes widened. This was the first person to dissect it so skillfully! Wang Xian nodded as he watched. Dao Sanxiao could be this skilled because he'd also cultivated 'Butcher's Beast Dissection,' and it was already nearing perfection. So with just one touch, he could grasp the Primordial Cicada's body structure so quickly.

However... The kid got a little excited. After dissecting most of the Cicada Shroud, he failed to control his strength well on the last few joints, resulting in a large missing corner. But. The Cicada Shroud's integrity was at least 80 percent. Compared to the previous attempts that had at most 30 to 40 percent completion, this was already the best.

"Decent." Shen Lan nodded.

"The secret skill Butcher's Beast Dissection is very practical for smelters. The cultivation difficulty is just too high, not friendly to liberal arts students... Also, your fundamental techniques are quite well mastered."

"But you still lack refinement. If you could reach the fourth stage of 'Absolute Control,' achieving perfect control over your body and primeval force, you wouldn't have made that mistake at the end. Your completion rate could have reached at least 90 percent."

"The entire Cicada Shroud would have been considered relatively complete." Smelters were, after all, a transcendent profession that relied on martial arts. With martial arts support, professional cultivation was certainly smoother. Dao Sanxiao said:"I feel like with a few more practice sessions, I could also reach over 90." Shen Lan shook her head.

"Primordial Cicadas are very rare right now, and the materials are extremely precious. There aren't many opportunities to let you practice several more times. The holographically simulated Primordial Cicada is already considered relatively easy to dissect."

"A real Primordial Cicada has different body strength and is covered in spirit sha. Perceiving it with primeval force is much more difficult and takes far longer." Dao Sanxiao nodded and returned to his seat. As if thinking of something, he looked toward Wang Xian's position. At that moment, Shen Lan also looked at the remaining students in the class.

"Are there any other students who want to come up and try?" The students who hadn't gone up mostly lacked confidence. After all, they'd already watched quite a few people try. Shen Lan's gaze swept around and landed on Wang Xian:"Wang Xian, you come up and try."

"......" Wang Xian. For him, this kind of operation was relatively simple. So Wang Xian hadn't intended to go up. But since the teacher called on him, Wang Xian wouldn't refuse. In the end, his reputation was too great. Even in an elective course, the teacher couldn't help but give him extra attention. Wang Xian walked onto the stage. The surrounding martial arts students were all new students. None of them didn't recognize him. The liberal arts students had only heard of him. Most didn't recognize him.

Walking onto the stage, Wang Xian made a show of looking it over a few times. Then he picked up the blade, slapped the Primordial Cicada, and sent it into the air. Swish swish swish! Blade light filled the air. Hand up, blade down! The entire Primordial Cicada corpse came apart. From the insect glue to the internal organs, limbs, skeletal frame... Like building blocks, layer by layer it fell, stacked neatly together. WHOOSH! The final Cicada Shroud drifted down like gauze, covering the corpse.

"......" The students.

"......" Shen Lan. Wait. What? The watching students were completely baffled. Even Shen Lan, the teacher, was stunned for several seconds.

"This guy's ancestors were butchers, right?" one student said, shocked.

"Is he really this good?" No need for the teacher to explain. Any student could see just how difficult that was. The dissection style was completely different from the other students. When other students held the blade, they all carefully cut stroke by stroke. But this guy? He directly disassembled it in midair. The entire process took no more than 10 seconds.

"Teacher, done dissecting." Wang Xian pointed at the Cicada Shroud. He'd originally only intended to extract the Cicada Shroud. But now his Butcher's Beast Dissection was even more powerful than before. It was already perfected beyond any further perfection. Once he started, he basically couldn't hold back. Coupled with the fact that he was already very familiar with the Primordial Cicada... He'd directly finished the whole dissection in passing. ➤ Next: The Prime Essence Forging and Compressing Technique…

Doesn't Seem That Hard?