The following morning, Li Yan finished breakfast before making his way toward the Sect Core Hall.
The Sect remained lively.
Although the Annual Competition had ended, discussions had not. Everywhere he walked, disciples greeted him with admiration and respect.
"Senior Brother Li."
"Congratulations, Senior Brother."
"Good morning, Senior Brother Li."
Li Yan acknowledged each greeting with a slight nod, neither hurried nor lingering.
As he approached the mountain path leading to the Sect Core Hall, a familiar voice called from behind. "Li Yan."
He turned. Ji Xin walked toward him, her expression carrying a trace of helpless amusement.
After stopping a few steps away, she looked at him silently before speaking. "So that's why."
Li Yan raised an eyebrow. "Why, what?"
Ji Xin sighed softly. "That's why there was such a difference when our swords crossed." Her gaze lingered on him. "You had already awakened Sword Intent and hid it well."
Li Yan merely smiled. He neither confirmed nor denied her words.
Seeing his reaction, Ji Xin simply shook her head.
"For some reason…" she said with a faint smile, "I don't feel bad about losing anymore."
Li Yan chuckled softly. "That's a good thing."
Ji Xin rolled her eyes. "Easy for the champion to say."
Both of them laughed.
After exchanging a few more casual remarks, they continued toward the Sect Core Hall before parting ways.
Li Yan proceeded directly toward the upper floors.
The lower hall was crowded with disciples from every rank, all waiting to receive the rewards they had earned during the competition.
He did not stop. Instead, he continued upward until he reached the outside of the Sect Leader's chamber. A short while later, the other three champions arrived as well.
Without wasting words, Ji Hong led the four of them toward one of the Sect's most heavily protected locations.
The Ancient Techniques Hall.
The massive stone doors opened slowly.
As the five of them stepped inside, rows of Qi lamps embedded within the walls ignited one after another. Warm light gradually illuminated the entire hall.
The hall stretched across more than three hundred square meters. Its polished white stone floor reflected the gentle glow of the lamps, giving the ancient hall an unexpectedly pristine appearance.
Eight stone pillars stood upon separate platforms throughout the hall. Each pillar radiated an ancient, profound aura.
At the very end of the hall stood a raised circular platform, surrounded by five larger pillars whose presence far surpassed the others.
Even without explanation, anyone who entered could immediately sense that the greatest inheritances lay there.
The four champions observed their surroundings.
Ji Hong turned toward them. "This," he said calmly, "is the Ancient Techniques Hall."
His gaze swept across the chamber. "Everything you see and learn here is forbidden from being disclosed outside this hall."
The four nodded respectfully.
Ji Hong continued. "The hall preserves eight Divine-Tier techniques."
"Only Sect elders who have made outstanding contributions and the champions of the Annual Competition are granted the opportunity to study them."
He raised his hand toward the champions. "Your bracelets have already begun counting. You have twenty-four hours."
The four disciples instinctively glanced toward the bracelets on their wrists.
Time Remaining: 23:59:58
Without another word, Ji Hong stepped aside.
The Brown-Rank champion hurried toward the nearest pillar, unable to hide his excitement. The Yellow-Rank and White-Rank champions moved more cautiously, carefully examining each pillar before making their choice.
Li Yan remained where he stood. His gaze slowly swept across the eight stone pillars. Unlike the others, he already possessed complete copies of every Divine-Tier technique preserved in this hall.
His original plan had been simple: spend a few hours pretending to learn the techniques, then try his luck with comprehending the Inscribed Words in the hall.
Then another thought occurred to him. "Why waste time pretending?"
A faint smile tugged at his lips. "Although I already possessed the complete techniques, I had yet to learn them. A few uninterrupted hours in the Ancient Techniques Hall were more than enough to master the first form of all eight Divine-Tier techniques."
"These techniques would eventually become some of my greatest trump cards after leaving the Shadow Haven Sect."
His decision was made. Li Yan calmly walked toward the nearest stone pillar.
Without hesitation, Li Yan slowly lowered himself into a cross-legged position before the stone pillar that preserved the Thousand Shadow Steps.
Around him, the Ancient Techniques Hall remained silent.
The other three champions had already begun choosing their own pillars. One was studying the glowing inscriptions with furrowed brows, while the others had already closed their eyes and entered deep comprehension.
Ji Hong stood quietly at the edge of the hall, watching over them without interference.
Li Yan gently closed his eyes. His consciousness gradually withdrew from the outside world. The sounds of the hall disappeared.
The flow of time itself seemed to fade. A moment later—his eyes opened again. He stood upon the calm surface of his Spiritual Sea.
Blue water stretched 75 meters in radius beneath his feet, reflecting his image. Gentle ripples spread outward with each step, while the space remained tranquil beyond description.
With a wave of his hand, the sea beneath him stirred.
Eight enormous stone pillars slowly rose from the Spiritual Sea. Each tower was a few meters high. Ancient inscriptions covered their surfaces, radiating faint divine brilliance. These were the eight Divine-Tier techniques he had copied during his previous visit to the Ancient Techniques Hall.
Li Yan looked at them silently.
Then he waved his hand once more. Seven pillars drifted toward the distance before stopping several hundred meters away.
Only one remained before him.
Thousand Shadow Steps.
A Divine-Tier Low-Level movement technique.
Outside the Spiritual Consciousness, it would typically take months—perhaps years—for an ordinary cultivator to master even the first form.
Understanding a Divine technique required repeatedly circulating Qi according to the recorded pathways, adjusting countless subtle details through trial and error until the body gradually grasped the technique's essence.
The process consumed enormous amounts of Qi due to a mismatch between the techniques' tiers and the practitioners' cultivation levels.
Every failed attempt wasted cultivation resources and time spent recovering Qi reserves.
Some mistakes even injured the meridians.
For cultivators whose cultivation was insufficient, forcibly attempting such techniques often ended with severe internal injuries before they ever succeeded.
Li Yan currently belonged to that category.
Although his cultivation had already advanced an entire realm over the past six months, when he analyzed his limits and Qi consumption using Mortal-Tier Mid-Level techniques, his Qi reserves could still not sustain the true execution of a Divine-Tier technique.
Attempting it in reality would exhaust his Qi almost immediately.
Fortunately—he did not intend to practice it in reality.
Within the Spiritual Consciousness, there was no elemental Qi.
No Darkness Qi. No Fire Qi. No Lightning. Not a single elemental Qi among the nine.
Only Spiritual Energy.
That meant he could not truly unleash the technique. Nor could he reproduce its destructive power. Instead, Spiritual Energy allowed him to reconstruct the technique itself.
Every stance, movement, transition, and circulation route had been recorded within the technique.
Using Spiritual Energy as a substitute, he could simulate the entire process repeatedly, allowing his consciousness to grasp the technique's essence without consuming even a strand of Qi.
It was not true cultivation. Nor was it a true execution. It was understanding. And understanding was always the first step toward mastery.
Once that understanding became deeply ingrained in his consciousness, practicing the technique in the real world would become much easier.
Instead of spending months searching for the correct method, he would simply follow a path he already knew.
Li Yan's gaze settled upon the towering pillar. "So…" A faint smile appeared on his face. "Let's begin."
As if in response to his voice, the ancient runes upon the pillar lit up one after another. Countless golden characters flowed from the stone like a river of light.
They gathered before him, weaving together into lines of profound scripture. The first form of this technique was called Shadow Step.
[Description: The Shadow Step is the foundation of the technique. The user channels Darkness Qi through the legs to greatly enhance movement speed, agility, and footwork.
Effects:
- Greatly increases movement speed.
- Improves agility and directional changes.
- Reduces the sound of footsteps, making movement quieter.
- Lowers Qi consumption during continuous movement.]
Then—the surrounding scenery changed. The Spiritual Sea disappeared. Li Yan found himself standing within a vast silver world.
The ancient figure stood several dozen meters away.
Without a word, it began walking.
One step.
Then another.
Its pace was neither hurried nor slow. Yet every step carried an indescribable rhythm.
Li Yan watched quietly. His eyes followed the movement of the feet at first.
Then, his brows slowly furrowed. "Something is wrong…"
He realized he had been observing the wrong thing. The first form's essence lay not in the feet.
His gaze gradually rose. The ankles. The knees. The hips. The waist. The shoulders. Even the slightest movement of the arms.
Nothing moved independently. Every part of the body adjusted simultaneously. When the right foot landed, the waist had already shifted. When the waist turned, the shoulders naturally followed.
The next step had already been prepared before the previous one even finished. There was no pause. No unnecessary adjustment. No wasted balance. Everything flowed together like water.
The demonstration ended. Silence returned. Li Yan closed his eyes. The movements replayed inside his mind.
Again. Again. And again.
Only after the entire sequence became clear did he slowly open his eyes. "This first form isn't about speed."
"It is about movement."
He took a single step forward. Immediately, he stopped. His shoulders adjusted instinctively the moment his foot landed.
Wrong.
He returned to his original position.
Another step.
This time, his hips shifted too early.
Wrong.
Again.
His breathing became uneven.
Wrong.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Within the Spiritual Consciousness, fatigue did not exist. Neither did wasted Qi. Mistakes carried no price beyond understanding. Every incorrect movement simply dissolved before he began again.
Five attempts gradually increased to ten and then to another ten.
Slowly, the unnecessary movements disappeared.
His footsteps became lighter. His balance steadied. His turns became smoother. Most importantly—his body no longer needed to think about each adjustment.
Every movement naturally prepared the next. Only then did the ancient figure move again. This time, Li Yan followed.
The two figures walked across the silver world together.
One in front. One behind. The distance between their movements gradually shrank.
One hundred steps.
One thousand.
Ten thousand.
Until finally—their footsteps became almost identical.
The ancient figure stopped. Li Yan stopped at the same instant. A faint ripple spread across the silver world.
Li Yan remained standing where he was.
A faint smile appeared on his face. "So this is Shadow Step…"
"It isn't about moving faster. It's about wasting nothing."
Once every unnecessary movement disappeared—
Greater speed.
Greater agility.
Quieter footsteps.
Lower Qi consumption.
All of them naturally followed.
He had not yet performed the technique. Nor had he circulated a single strand of Darkness Qi. But he had already grasped the foundation upon which the technique was built.
Only after his physical body practiced these same movements while circulating Darkness Qi would Shadow Step truly become a Divine-Tier movement technique. Until then, what he possessed was something equally valuable—its essence.
Then the silver world gradually faded.
When Li Yan's vision cleared once more, he found himself standing upon the tranquil surface of the Spiritual Sea.
His gaze slowly swept across his surroundings.
Seven towering pillars stood silently above the sea, each radiating a distinct aura that reflected the profound technique preserved within.
His eyes settled upon one of them.
Divine Blade Art.
Compared to the movement technique he had just studied, this would become one of his primary offensive techniques.
With a gentle wave of his hand, the pillar containing Thousand Shadow Steps slowly descended into the Spiritual Sea beneath him. At the same time, the pillar engraved with the Divine Blade Art drifted forward until it came to rest a few steps away.
Li Yan stepped toward it.
The ancient runes carved across the pillar awakened one after another, illuminating the surrounding Spiritual Sea with a soft golden radiance.
A trace of anticipation appeared within his calm eyes.
Among the eight Divine-Tier techniques, this was the one he had most looked forward to studying.
Not only was it one of the two Divine-Tier Mid-Level techniques preserved in the Ancient Techniques Hall, but it was also a neutral technique compatible with all elemental affinities.
Regardless of whether one cultivated Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Lightning, Metal, Nature, Light, or Darkness, the technique naturally adapted to the user's Qi.
Its power never changed. Only its attribute did.