Chapter 23

At this moment, Zhan Chen was on his way to the Martial Arts Pavilion. He was playing with a bronze badge, tossing it into the air from time to time. The badge shone with a fluorescent green luster under the sun. It was very beautiful.

His thoughts couldn't help but travel back to yesterday. The moment of victory, the scene of him standing on the podium, the scene of everyone cheering, the envious eyes of the people around him, Li Qun's unwilling and regretful expression, and Tang Chuan's appreciative eyes. Everything flashed in front of his eyes like a movie. It was still vivid in his mind, and the pride in his heart still rippled for a long time.

At this moment, the glory had passed. He had to move on to the next starting point — the Martial Master Realm and the Inner Gate. The first step was to obtain a martial arts technique that could be used freely in a normal battle.

The Martial Arts Pavilion was the main building of the Golden Elephant Sect's collection of martial arts techniques. It stood on the peak of Yun Cui Peak and was a tall four-story building.

"Finally, I can go in and have a look." Zhan Chen thought as he walked towards the door.

However, he was stopped by the two senior brothers who were guarding the door. One of them said, "Junior brother, please show us your martial arts competition badge."

Zhan Chen waved the bronze badge in his hand at them. After seeing the badge, they let him in.

As soon as he entered the pavilion, he saw an old man with white hair and beard sitting at the front desk. The old man closed his eyes in concentration and faintly emitted an oppressive aura, making people feel deep respect for him.

This kind of feeling was familiar. Zhan Chen was shocked. This must be an elder master who had the same cultivation level as his master Zhao He. Could he be the elder who guarded the Martial Arts Pavilion, Liu Yunchang?

Zhan Chen's guess was right. This person was Liu Yunchang. Not far behind him, there were rows of bookshelves with jade slips placed on them.

Jade slips were a tool that could record martial arts techniques for a long time. Its capacity was at least a hundred times that of a normal book!

"These are all martial arts techniques!" Zhan Chen's eyes flashed and he was about to walk over.

However, he heard a dignified voice say, "Disciple, please show us your badge."

Zhan Chen could only suppress the excitement in his heart and show the token to Elder Liu.

He then said, "The holder of the bronze badge can only exchange for martial arts techniques on the first floor. You are not allowed to go to the second floor!"

Zhan Chen couldn't help but look at the stairs on the second floor. He saw two senior martial masters standing there.

Thus, he bowed to the old man and said, "Sir Elder, I understand." Then, he got up and excitedly walked towards the shelf behind him.

There were all kinds of cultivation technique manuals arranged on the shelves, causing Zhan Chen to enjoy them so much that he forgot to leave. Each jade slip had a brief explanation of the cultivation technique manual, as well as the number of merit points needed to exchange for it.

Zhan Chen casually picked one up and saw that it was a low-grade yellow-level spear art, 'Elite Guard Spear Art'. It required 10,000 merit points to exchange.

He tried to use his Divine Sense to explore the contents of the jade slip, but he was blocked by a strong restriction. Knowing that he couldn't look at the contents, he shook his head and walked away. He picked up another book and looked at it. He felt that this was good and that was good. He really didn't know what to choose.

After looking for a long time, he found a pattern. The martial arts techniques on the first floor were only Golden level lower rank and middle rank. In other words, Golden level upper rank and above martial arts techniques could only be learned after he broke through to Martial Master.

Half a day had passed, but Zhan Chen still couldn't decide what he wanted to exchange for. It was too difficult.

"I can't go on like this. I have to decide on a direction. What do I lack the most?" Zhan Chen couldn't help but think back to his battles with Lan Xing and Li Qun. The two of them had good footwork. At the beginning, he was forced to suffer.

"There are a lot of offensive martial arts techniques. Maybe I will be able to get one. What I need now is a good footwork technique." Zhan Chen finally made his decision and walked towards the footwork technique section.

Footwork techniques required a lot of Merit Points. The cheapest one required 30,000 Merit Points. A Golden level middle rank footwork technique required 100,000 Merit Points. In the end, Zhan Chen had no choice but to choose a Yellow level lower rank footwork technique called "Violent Wind Steps". It required 50,000 Merit Points.

After Zhan Chen chose the cultivation method, he took the jade slip and walked in front of Elder Liu. He said, "Elder, I've chosen this one."

Elder Liu didn't say anything and took out a blank jade slip. He pasted it on top of the "Violent Wind Steps" jade slip. With a slight movement of his hand, a ray of light flashed. The entire contents of the "Violent Wind Steps" were copied into the new jade slip.

Elder Liu passed the jade slip to him and instructed: "Remember, this is a one time use jade slip. You have to memorize all the contents before you can withdraw your Divine Sense. Otherwise, the next time you enter, the technique will no longer exist."

Zhan Chen was stunned. He could only nod his head and receive the technique.

The Golden Elephant Sect's control of techniques was too strict! Moreover, techniques and secret manuals all contained complicated Qi circulation meridians. A low level martial practitioner would not be able to accurately draw them just by relying on memory.

…

In a quiet and uninhabited valley, Zhan Chen sat on the ground and adjusted his state of mind to its peak. Only then did he dare to extend his Divine Sense into the jade slip. He memorized the contents of the "Violent Wind Steps" one by one. After confirming that he could recite it backwards, he withdrew his Divine Sense from the jade slip.

After that, he tried to extend his Divine Sense into the jade slip. As expected, it was empty. Only then did he sigh, knowing that Liu Yunchang's words were not false.

"Violent Wind Steps", as the name suggested, was like a violent wind passing through. It was extremely powerful. Zhan Chen calmed his mind and followed the instructions of the footwork. He operated his meridians and stepped forward step by step.

In the beginning, his footwork was just copying the movements of a cat. The movement of his meridians and footwork were not coordinated. Therefore, it did not show the slightest effect.

Just when he was anxious, a gust of wind suddenly blew in the mountains. It blew the sand and stones on the ground.

Seeing this, Zhan Chen suddenly saw the light. He still had the same old problem. He only grasped the movements of the technique and the movement of his meridians. He did not consider the footwork itself.

He simply stopped and closed his eyes. He felt the feeling of the wind blowing through his body in the valley. At this moment, it was as if there was another figure in his heart. It was running with the wind.

This was the feeling! Zhan Chen suddenly opened his eyes and started running in the wind. In the beginning, he was just running normally. However, his messy footsteps gradually started to follow a pattern. He moved according to the footwork of the "Violent Wind Steps". At the same time, the meridians in his body also cooperated and flowed.

As he ran, the wind stopped. However, Zhan Chen's footsteps became smoother and faster. In the end, his figure turned into a violent wind. It even blew up the dust on the ground.

At this moment, he had a feeling that he had finally succeeded! In order to not forget this feeling, Zhan Chen continuously practiced this set of footwork until his True Qi was exhausted. Then, he lay on the ground to rest.

He thought, "When I use the" Violent Wind Steps ", my speed can increase by almost 30%. Although it's subtlety can't be compared to a middle-grade yellow-ranked footwork, it wins in momentum. The swirling wind and sand can have a certain impact on the surrounding enemies. This technique can be used to fight against many enemies. The effect is remarkable. "