Chapter 21: Nine-Fold Fire Palm

"Oh, you can only choose after the examination," the young prince nodded and said, "The Xiu Chun swords also vary in quality. Take out ten Xiu Chun swords for us to choose from."

The young guard, seeing the young prince speak, did not dare to be negligent and quickly brought out over a dozen Xiu Chun swords, allowing them to choose freely. These Xiu Chun swords looked identical, even the patterns were exactly the same, but those in the know understood that some were forged by master craftsmen, while others were made by apprentices, with significant differences.

The young prince waved at Ding Hao, "Talented Ding, you go first."

In fact, the young prince had some skills in selecting weapons, but he was not in a hurry. He let Ding Hao choose first, and after Ding Hao made his selection, he would show his own skills and humiliate Ding Hao.

Ding Hao thought to himself, "If you let me choose, that's great!"

"Thank you, young prince," Ding Hao grabbed each Xiu Chun sword and examined them carefully, finally settling on one.

"Master Ding Hao, is this the one? Once chosen, it cannot be changed... Alright, here is also a common-grade storage pouch for you to store your weapon and necessary items."

The storage pouch was like a waist bag, worn around the waist. It was the lowest grade of storage pouch, with no lock and no ability to communicate with spiritual energy, providing about one cubic meter of space.

Ding Hao hung the storage pouch and was about to put the Xiu Chun sword in when the young prince said, "Hold on!"

"Why?"

The young prince said, "Juncen will also choose a Xiu Chun sword soon. Let's wait for him to choose, and then see who has the better eye."

Ding Hao thought, "I'll see what trick you're up to," and coldly smiled, "Alright."

At this moment, the young prince raised his hand, took a white bracelet from his own storage pouch, and handed it to Ding Juncen, "Juncen, this is a treasure-hunting bracelet. Wear it on your wrist, and it will give you a better chance."

Ding Juncen put on the treasure-hunting bracelet. As soon as he brought his hand close to any of the curved swords, the bracelet would display different colors of light. Ding Juncen was overjoyed and immediately picked the brightest one, ready to return the bracelet to the young prince.

The young prince, however, said, "Juncen, you should know how to repay kindness. Help talented Ding Hao identify the best one too."

"Yes," Ding Juncen thought with a cold smile, "The young prince is indeed clever, thinking of this way to suppress Ding Hao. That boy has no treasure, so he must have chosen randomly. How could he have picked a good sword?"

But to his surprise, Ding Hao handed the sword over with a smile, "I also want to see how this sword is. Please help me."

Ding Juncen extended his hand, only to find that Ding Hao's sword was much brighter than his! Ding Hao's sword was the best among the dozen.

The guard who was watching over the storage smiled, "Talented Ding Hao indeed has a keen eye. This is the only medium-grade Xiu Chun sword among them."

"This... How is this possible?" Ding Juncen was stunned, and the young prince was speechless, unable to understand how Ding Hao could have chosen the best sword without any treasure.

Ding Hao smiled at them, "Nothing is impossible. Good deeds bring good rewards. Do more good deeds and accumulate virtue."

With that, he took back the Xiu Chun sword and walked towards the library.

Ding Hao had a Star Absorption Stone, which allowed him to clearly feel the different amounts of spiritual energy in each sword. It was laughable that the young prince had given him the first chance to choose.

Looking at his back, the young prince coldly smiled, "The little waste has good luck! It's just a medium-grade Xiu Chun sword. I'll give you a better weapon later!"

Ding Juncen was overjoyed and quickly bowed, "Thank you, young prince." He then asked, "Young prince, what are the tricks for choosing cultivation manuals and martial techniques?"

The young prince said, "There are two types of manuals: Immortal Root cultivation techniques and martial skills. Cultivation techniques aim to enhance your realm, while innate martial skills improve your combat power. Your Ice Immortal Root is suitable for mental cultivation techniques. I have a suitable one for you, so you should choose an ice-based martial skill. After all, the Wu Prefecture Examination is in six months. Focus on cultivating martial skills, and you will see results in the second half of the year, striving to enter the Nine Provinces Academy with me!"

Ding Juncen, grateful for the young prince's guidance, said, "Thank you, young prince!" He then asked, "Young prince, you know a lot. Are you also a super-grade Immortal Root?"

The young prince's face darkened, "A first-grade Immortal Root."

Ding Juncen realized he had said something wrong and quickly corrected himself, "Much higher than mine, very impressive!"

"But still a level below Ding Hao!" The young prince sighed, but then his gaze became sharp, "Ding Juncen, don't think that just because he has a super-grade Immortal Root, you can never surpass him! I want to tell you, we must not be discouraged! A growth-type Immortal Root is not as good as it seems!"

Ding Juncen and the followers behind him all perked up their ears to listen to the young prince.

The young prince coldly smiled, "A growth-type Immortal Root is a super-grade Immortal Root, but its certainty is too low! Do you know that the Nine Provinces Academy has a rule that a super-grade Immortal Root can directly enter the academy without an examination, but why didn't Dean Min take him away?"

"Why?" the crowd asked.

"Because growth-type Immortal Roots are an exception!" The young prince coldly smiled, "There's a saying: ten growths, nine failures. A growth-type Immortal Root needs to undergo multiple awakenings, and the more awakenings, the better. Some people awaken once and then stop growing, becoming a dead Immortal Root, equivalent to an eighth or ninth-grade trash! Many others deviate during growth and end up as medium-grade Immortal Roots of third, fourth, or fifth grade! Those who truly grow to the end and still maintain a super-grade Immortal Root are only one or two in ten thousand!"

"Wow, only one or two in ten thousand!"

Hearing this, the crowd looked at the direction Ding Hao had gone, their envy turning to contempt.

Ding Juncen's face was even more agitated, his eyes cold, "So, he's still a waste after all!"

The young prince added, "But don't be overly optimistic. A growth-type Immortal Root has a strong initial burst."

Ding Juncen nodded, "Young prince, I will work hard and defeat him in the examination, preventing him from entering the Nine Provinces Academy. It will be like collecting interest from him!"

The young prince waved his hand gracefully, "Understood. Let's go choose the manuals."

The library was a small building.

The small building had only two floors. The first floor was for cultivation techniques, and the second floor for various martial skills.

Before entering the small building, a young guard stopped Ding Hao and said, "Master Ding, the city lord asked me to remind you that for a growth-type Immortal Root, growth is key. You must choose an Immortal Root cultivation technique, refine the original dan, and increase your cultivation. This is the right path!"

The city lord, Ling Yunxiao, was truly concerned about him, fearing that he might be young and impulsive, choosing the wrong cultivation technique, so he came to remind him again.

"Thank the city lord for me," Ding Hao bowed and entered the small building.

"Five-Color Dan Transformation Technique, Original Dan Sea Sutra, Inner Dan Condensation True Technique..."

Ding Hao walked around the first floor of the library, holding a token that could only be used once. After using it, he would receive the required manual.

In front of each manual was a number, which changed dynamically. Each time someone used a token, the number in front of the manual would change.

"These manuals are indeed popular. The numbers in front of each one range from hundreds of thousands to millions!"

After a thorough search, Ding Hao did not choose any cultivation techniques on the first floor and headed straight for the second floor.

"Although the city lord is well-intentioned, I am different from others."

"I have my own ideas and my own path. I know how to walk it!"

"Others use cultivation techniques to refine the original dan and enhance their realm. But I don't need that. I have the Star Absorption Technique, which is itself an internal cultivation technique. With the Star Absorption Technique continuously absorbing spiritual energy and refining the original dan, what do I need an Immortal Root cultivation technique for?"

"Therefore, what I need is martial skills!"

"Obtaining martial skills will enhance my combat power, which is truly useful for me!"

With this in mind, Ding Hao resolutely climbed to the second floor.

"Tiger Charge Fist, with the power of a tiger descending from the mountain; Explosive Fist, with explosive power that is astonishing; Snake Glide Step, with the agility of a dragon and the speed of lightning..."

Seeing these martial skills, Ding Hao's eyes immediately lit up!

After cultivating martial skills, his combat power would immediately increase!

Before awakening, he was just an ordinary person, weak and powerless. But now, with his awakened Immortal Root, if he also cultivated martial skills, he would immediately have a certain level of combat power!

"These fists are all good, but the number in front of Tiger Charge Fist is as high as ten million! Thousands of people practice this fist, indicating its popularity, but I don't want to choose it."

Ding Hao's personality always favored unconventional and surprising paths. If everyone practiced Tiger Charge Fist, it would be too common in battle.

"Only by cultivating martial skills that few others use, and that are devious and vicious, can one achieve surprising results!"

With this in mind, Ding Hao specifically looked at martial skills with very low numbers in front of them.

"Turtle Shell Technique, with only a few hundred people practicing it. Why so few?"

Ding Hao picked up the introduction and read it, immediately understanding, "Turtle Shell Technique, a powerful defensive technique, but the initial cultivation requires enduring painful attacks, almost dying and coming back to life, before finally forming a turtle shell. Once cultivated, the back becomes as thick and hard as a turtle's... This technique is good, but who can endure such self-torture? Who would want to have a turtle shell on their back at a young age?"

Ding Hao, of course, did not want to, so he continued forward.

"Dragon Sword Claw! The number in front is only 30!"

Ding Hao curiously examined it and found that to cultivate this martial skill, one must first obtain the claws of a dragon! How many people who have just awakened can obtain dragon claws?

"It seems these 30 people are all rich second-generation." Ding Hao was not a rich second-generation and could not find dragon claws, so he gave up.

"Zero!" Ding Hao's eyes lit up.

He finally found a martial skill that no one had chosen using a token.

Ding Hao almost searched the entire second floor of the library, and this was the only one with a zero in front of it, unique and singular!

"Nine-Fold Fire Palm! Suitable for fire-type Immortal Roots, it can transform all the spiritual energy in the body into fire, concentrating the fire power in the palm. Each palm is powerful, and each palm is stronger than the last. When the fire reaches nine folds, it can release fireballs like an Immortal Master!"