Chapter 34

For the two close friends left by his predecessors, Jiang Chen still had some lingering affection. Moreover, these two people shared a common trait: they were down-to-earth and sincere.

This quality greatly appealed to Jiang Chen. It was also a fundamental difference between Xuan Fatzi and Hupu Yue, and that Yang Zong.

Jiang Chen could see that Xuan Fatzi's martial arts talent was only average. Furthermore, this boy lacked the tenacity and determination of a cultivator.

He might be able to do it for a short time, but to have the resolve to pursue the martial path until the bitter end, Xuan Fatzi was absolutely incapable of it.

Hupu Yue, on the other hand, had a different story. Behind his honest appearance, he harbored a resolute and unwavering martial heart.

With this judgment, Jiang Chen had a general idea in his mind.

He raised his cup, "You two have always regarded me, Jiang Chen, as your big brother. Today, I, this big brother, have a word to say. If you trust me, then no matter if your life goal is to pursue wealth and honor or to pursue the martial path, I can help you achieve it."

"But the prerequisite is that you are my brothers, brothers who will never change."

When Jiang Chen said this, he was very serious. These two were certainly brothers at the moment, but time could change many things. He needed loyalty that would never waver.

"Brother Chen, I, Xuan Fatzi, have only one thing to say. This body of fat meat is all yours. Whenever you get tired of mountain delicacies and sea flavors and want to eat human flesh, just come and cut from me. If you don't trust me, Xuan Fatzi, no one will trust me!" Xuan Fatzi did not even frown.

"Brother Chen, I'm not good with words. But I've always felt that you are a good big brother, a big brother worth following," Hupu Yue also expressed his stance.

"Good, brothers for life." Jiang Chen nodded, "That's enough for today. Remember, after the Hidden Dragon Association Exam, come to me again. I will give you a little surprise."

Regarding these two, Jiang Chen also needed to consider how to give them some help. It should not be too much, but it should have a significant effect.

If it was too much, it would inevitably attract attention and cause unnecessary trouble.

If it was too stingy, the effect would be poor, and giving it would be the same as not giving it.

This required a tailored approach, and he needed to spend some time thinking about it.

As the saying goes, a single palm cannot make a sound. In any world, relying solely on one's own strength, some things would always be beyond one's reach. Cultivating some people was inevitable sooner or later.

After sending off the two close friends, Jiang Chen did not idle. Instead, he immediately entered a closed retreat, going into the cultivation chamber.

The three hours in the Sword Qi Room during the day had given him many insights and a full harvest. The five streams of true qi and the five meridians in his body were constantly polished, impacted, bathed, and attacked by the 32 times concentrated sword qi, until they underwent a transformation...

That battle had unknowingly advanced Jiang Chen to the Sixth Meridian Sword Qi.

This was also the greatest gain from that battle.

"After entering the Sixth Meridian True Qi, I feel my combat power has at least tripled," Jiang Chen sensed the changes in his body. He felt that his vital signs had been further strengthened, and he had undergone a complete transformation since he first arrived in this world.

"The battle with Yan Yiming today also indirectly revealed some of my current issues. Although I won, it was a rather lucky victory," Jiang Chen analyzed the battle, gaining some insights from the gains and losses.

Firstly, Jiang Chen had suffered in martial techniques. The previous Jiang Chen had practiced the family's inherited techniques very loosely. The only one he had practiced with some effort was the all-purpose *Purple Qi from the East* technique. This was only because it was required for the Hidden Dragon Association Exam. Otherwise, he probably wouldn't have practiced it.

Coming to this world, he was still using the *Purple Qi from the East* technique to fight, which clearly indicated that Jiang Chen needed to update his martial techniques.

Jiang Chen learned about the Jiang family's inherited technique, the *Canglang Technique*, a comprehensive technique for both qi cultivation and martial techniques.

The *Canglang Technique* was a mid-grade ordinary technique, with the highest limit being the cultivation of Nine Meridian True Qi.

The accompanying martial techniques were the *Breaking Wave Saber* and the *Sea God Fist*.

This *Canglang Technique* was considered the Jiang family's gatekeeping technique.

"Indeed, it's a relatively poor family," Jiang Chen smiled bitterly. "The technique classification in this world seems to be divided into five major levels: ordinary, spirit, holy, earth, and heaven. Within these five levels, there are four sub-levels: low, mid, high, and supreme. In terms of classification, a mid-grade ordinary technique is the second-to-last level. And this is the family's treasure."

Jiang Chen couldn't help but sigh at the low starting point of his reincarnation.

Of course, any martial technique or technique that could be classified, even the lowest-grade ordinary technique, was a classified martial art.

Most martial artists practiced ordinary martial arts that couldn't even be classified.

What was considered an ordinary martial art in the Eastern Kingdom was actually a very precious martial art.

What made Jiang Chen laugh and cry was that the previous Jiang Chen, from childhood to adulthood, had only just reached the initial stage of the *Canglang Technique*.

"How lazy must this guy have been to only reach this level with the family's gatekeeping technique? Could it be that he never really put his heart into cultivation?"

The initial stage was just the first step. After that, there were the stages of proficiency, mastery, perfection, and even the legendary stage.

The initial stage was just the beginning.

"This *Canglang Technique* can only be cultivated up to the Nine Meridian True Qi. No wonder my father's cultivation stopped at the Nine Meridian True Qi. It seems that the limitations of techniques in this world can indeed turn geniuses into mediocrities."

A family's gatekeeping technique could only be cultivated up to the Nine Meridian True Qi, and beyond that, it reached its limit. This was indeed a tragedy for martial artists.

"High heaven is unattainable, I ride the Canglang waves? Wait..." Jiang Chen recited the first line of the *Canglang Technique*, suddenly feeling a sense of familiarity, "Could I have seen this *Canglang Technique* before?"

But then he thought, the *Canglang Technique* was such a low-level technique, it shouldn't have been able to enter the Tianlang Library. That was the library of the Heavenly Emperor, how could it include such a low-level technique?

However, those two lines were indeed familiar to Jiang Chen.

He searched his memory, and suddenly, a technique called the *Nine Smiles of the Canghai Technique* came to mind.

Nine lifetimes in a dream, one smile dries the sea. High heaven is unattainable, I ride the Canglang waves.

Suddenly, Jiang Chen's memory was flooded with many details about the *Nine Smiles of the Canghai Technique*.

Although the *Nine Smiles of the Canghai Technique* was not a heavenly technique, Jiang Chen remembered it because he was moved by the story of the cultivator who created it.

This person had reincarnated nine times just to see the woman in his dreams. But even after the sea dried up and the rocks crumbled, he could not achieve his goal. In the end, he realized the truth and lamented, "High heaven is unattainable, I ride the Canglang waves."

Although the *Nine Smiles of the Canghai Technique* was not a heavenly technique, it was far more powerful than the *Canglang Technique*.

Its profundity was at least a hundred times greater than the *Canglang Technique*.

Moreover, the *Canglang Technique* was clearly a branch of the *Nine Smiles of the Canghai Technique*. But by the time it developed to the Jiang family, it had become an extremely mediocre technique.

A direct lineage!

"Indeed, there is a higher will. It seems that the *Nine Smiles of the Canghai Technique* has a connection with me, Jiang Chen. I will cultivate it."

Jiang Chen had been searching for a technique but had not found one suitable for this body.

Now, because of the Jiang family's gatekeeping technique, he had discovered the *Nine Smiles of the Canghai Technique*. If this wasn't a predestined connection, what was?

After choosing the technique, Jiang Chen felt much more at ease.

The *Nine Smiles of the Canghai Technique* had many accompanying martial techniques. However, for now, Jiang Chen decided to choose two techniques that were in the same lineage as the *Breaking Wave Saber* and the *Sea God Fist*: the *Canghai Reverse Current Saber* and the *Wilted and Flourishing God Fist*.

Technique, martial techniques, all chosen.

Jiang Chen was in high spirits. The *Purple Qi from the East* technique was someone else's technique, and cultivating it always felt like it lacked a sense of belonging.

The *Nine Smiles of the Canghai Technique*, on the other hand, was an enhanced version of the *Canglang Technique*. It was in the same lineage as the Jiang family and had a high degree of compatibility with Jiang Chen's body. Cultivating it felt much more natural.

As soon as he started the technique, Jiang Chen knew he had made the right choice. The moment the technique circulated in his body, the acupoints and meridians resonated.

Each acupoint emitted a slight, rhythmic pulse, and the meridians swelled and contracted.

"Meridian resonance? Acupoint resonance? This is the highest level of recognition from the body for the technique!" Jiang Chen was overjoyed.

"Indeed, a technique from one's own family is the best." Jiang Chen thought carefully and understood. In martial cultivation, many families valued bloodline inheritance, and many clans emphasized not spreading their techniques. This was a tradition and a form of compatibility between bloodline and technique.

Only what is suitable is the best.

Jiang Chen understood this principle.

"Perhaps my mind is filled with techniques from all the heavens, but none of them are suitable for me at this stage. Ultimately, I am now just a Sixth Meridian True Qi ordinary martial cultivator. My mindset should focus on this life's cultivation, not the experiences of my past life."

The experiences of his past life could bring various opportunities and pave the way for him, making him avoid shortcuts.

But cultivation still relied on this life's body, overcoming obstacles step by step and challenging the peak. This was something no experience could replace.

As the true qi circulated, running the *Canglang True Qi* in his body, Jiang Chen's meridians felt like a dragon playing in the waves of the Canghai, exhilarating.

"The *Canglang True Qi* still lacks a bit of killing intent. It seems that my true qi needs further refinement to truly cultivate the *Canglang True Qi* into a formidable form."

After a night of intense cultivation, Jiang Chen's mastery of the *Canglang True Qi* was clearly much more proficient than when he cultivated the *Purple Qi from the East* technique, several times better.

However, due to the short cultivation time, the *Canglang True Qi* lacked killing intent, and without sufficient dominance, the technique would lose its luster.

"Killing intent cannot be obtained through closed retreats." Jiang Chen thought deeply and sighed, "It seems that when the opportunity matures, I need to go out and train."