Chapter 28

Hearing Zichen's words, Lin Xue playfully blinked her eyes and said, "I suddenly don't want to exchange for a movement technique anymore. I feel that combat skills are more practical."

Zichen's eyes were full of emotion, and he naturally knew what Lin Xue was going to do. He shook his head and said, "I already have a top-tier combat skill, so I don't need any other cultivation method."

Lin Xue giggled, "I didn't say I was giving it to you. This is something I want to cultivate myself."

Zichen felt his eyes becoming blurry and said, "Then you should exchange for a more agile combat skill, not this powerful fist."

Lin Xue stuck out her tongue, and her mood immediately became downcast. She whispered, "You've provoked many people you shouldn't have, and you don't have contribution points or a second-tier combat skill. You'll be at a disadvantage."

"Rest assured, I said I have a top-tier combat skill," Zichen said confidently.

"But everyone knows that it's a useless combat skill that can't be cultivated," Lin Xue said loudly.

"Since it's a combat skill, there's no such thing as one that can't be cultivated. Trust me, I will definitely master Thunder Finger," Zichen's eyes were full of determination and confidence.

"Really?"

Zichen nodded and then said, "Now you should go and exchange for a movement technique."

"Okay," Lin Xue nodded obediently.

This time, Lin Xue carefully examined some movement techniques, trying to find a suitable one. After half an hour of selection, Lin Xue finally decided to exchange for Cloudy Step, which was a higher-level movement technique than Flowing Cloud Step, and more mysterious.

"Zichen, since we're already here, why don't we go to the third floor? That's where the top-tier combat skills are placed," Lin Xue's eyes sparkled as she looked at the third floor.

"Sure, let's go and take a look," Zichen was also very curious about the top-tier combat skills on the third floor.

The two of them went up to the third floor.

The third floor was not very large, only a few dozen square meters, and there were only a few dozen combat skills placed there. However, what first caught their eyes were not the combat skills, but the contribution points required.

The one at the top required two hundred contribution points.

Thunder Finger, two hundred contribution points.

At the moment, the place where Thunder Finger was supposed to be was empty. Next to it was Ethereal Step, which required one hundred contribution points. In addition, there were many other top-tier combat skills, with the least requiring fifty contribution points.

"These top-tier combat skills are arranged for core disciples, who can obtain them for free. However, inner disciples need to exchange with contribution points. Fifty contribution points are equivalent to five hundred years of medicinal herbs, and you need several of them," Lin Xue's words were tinged with bitterness.

"Two hundred contribution points," Zichen was thoroughly shocked as he looked at the marked contribution points for Thunder Finger.

He never expected that a single Thunder Finger would require two hundred contribution points, which was equivalent to one hundred True Qi Pills. This widely recognized useless combat skill, who would exchange for it? Only core disciples could use it for free. If Zichen were to earn contribution points, it would take decades.

This time, Zichen knew he had really gained, having obtained two hundred contribution points for free.

There were not many top-tier combat skills, but they made the two of them dazzled. They could only look, and among them, Ethereal Step particularly caught Zichen and Lin Xue's attention. Unfortunately, neither of them had enough contribution points, so they had to leave.

A Cloudy Step required ten contribution points. After marking it, the old man said it could only be used for one month and must be returned to the Lingwu Sect after that, and it could not be taken out of the sect.

The usage period for top-tier combat skills was three months, for second-tier combat skills it was one month, and for third-tier combat skills, it was only one week.

"Zichen, if you encounter danger, come find me, and I'll help you think of a way," Lin Xue said softly as they were about to leave.

"Okay," Zichen nodded, not refusing this time.

After seeing Lin Xue back to her residence, Zichen left. This time, he would return to refine the remaining True Qi Pills, hoping to make a breakthrough in his strength. However, with only five True Qi Pills, and needing to use most of them to refine his body, the chances of a breakthrough were slim.

"Zichen."

On his way back, a disciple in white suddenly blocked Zichen's path.

"Is there something?" Zichen looked at the stranger with confusion.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Luomu, and you can call me Senior Brother Luomu," Luomu said with a faint smile.

"Is there something?" Zichen still said only one sentence.

"Hehe, nothing major, I just want to borrow a few True Qi Pills from you, Junior Brother. I hope you can give me some face," Luomu said.

"Are you crazy? Do I even know you?" Zichen looked at Luomu as if he were a fool and then turned to leave.

"You've insulted me. I want to challenge you to a duel, or lend me the True Qi Pills," Luomu said.

"Idiot," Zichen walked away, taking large steps. He didn't have enough True Qi Pills for himself, let alone lend them to a stranger.

Saying "borrow" was more like "steal."

Idiots are everywhere, and there were many today.

On his way back, Zichen encountered several "Senior Brothers," all of whom claimed they wanted to borrow True Qi Pills.

Now that Zichen had over ten True Qi Pills, many people knew about it, and thus many wanted to benefit from him.

"Idiot."

Zichen didn't know how many times he said "idiot" before he reached his room. When he left, those who wanted to take advantage of him all looked at him with venomous eyes.

"Hmph, no wonder you can't enter the inner sect, you're so stingy," the "Senior Brothers" all said coldly.

This was just a small episode.

Zichen returned to his room, sat cross-legged, and focused his mind. After calming down, he began to swallow the True Qi Pills, starting another transformation.

One by one, the True Qi Pills disappeared in front of Zichen. His heart beat, transmitting purer energy, and his physique and True Qi underwent some transformation under this energy.

After half a day, all five True Qi Pills were refined, and Zichen's strength stabilized at the late sixth layer. He still had a long way to go to reach the seventh layer of True Qi. His strong physique was also at the late seventh layer, not far from the eighth layer.

In the evening, a servant brought food, and Zichen ate a little before closing the door and preparing to study the top-tier combat skill.

Without True Qi Pills in the short term, Zichen's strength could not make another breakthrough. The only way to improve his combat power was to study the top-tier combat skill.

Thunder Finger.

In front of Zichen was Thunder Finger, not a copy of the combat skill but the original. The three large characters on the cover looked like electric snakes.

Zichen opened the combat skill, and a force of lightning rushed towards him. This was only a fragment, and it only recorded one move.

One Finger Thunder.

Zichen memorized the move and the incantation, having already deduced it multiple times in his mind. The True Qi in his body surged, trying to activate it.

The incantation ran, and a flash of light appeared in Zichen's eyes. He pointed forward quickly.

"Whoosh."

The finger pointed out, and in a blink, the speed was there, but there was no sign of thunder.

First attempt failed.

Zichen was not discouraged. This was a combat skill known as the most powerful useless skill, and everyone agreed. Even if Zichen were a genius, he couldn't master it in one try.

His fingers pointed out repeatedly, and Zichen was trying to find the feeling of turning a finger into thunder. Each time, he failed.

Once, twice, ten times, twenty times, a hundred times.

Night fell, and the stars twinkled in the sky. After several hours of experimentation, all attempts ended in failure.

Zichen sat cross-legged, took a deep breath, and discarded his disappointment, entering a state of mental and physical emptiness.

After a moment, Zichen's breathing steadied, his mind was clear, and his consciousness entered the lightning space.

In front of him, a vortex of lightning swirled, and a lightning youth slowly walked out. The moment Zichen saw him, his eyes clearly showed joy.

The youth was lightning, and lightning was the youth. The moment Zichen saw him, he seemed to see the true essence of Thunder Finger. Then, the cold lightning youth pointed at him.

In an instant, Zichen saw the youth raise his hand, and a bolt of lightning appeared between his fingers. In the flash of lightning, it carried the speed of lightning and flew towards him.

Zichen's eyes were only on the lightning flying towards him.

"Boom."

The lightning exploded in front of him, and Zichen's eyes were filled with silver light. His consciousness dissipated in the lightning space.

The stars outside the window fell, shining on Zichen's calm face. Suddenly, Zichen opened his eyes, and a flash of lightning appeared in his eyes.

"Thunder Finger."

Zichen's eyes sparkled, as if he had gained some understanding of Thunder Finger. As the True Qi surged, a silver light seemed to appear at his fingertips.

That night, Zichen did not rest, practicing Thunder Finger, but the gains were not significant.

The next morning, after a night of cultivation, Zichen finally got up.

"This Thunder Finger is indeed difficult to cultivate. Even though I saw the true essence and have lightning power in my body, I couldn't even get started in one night," Zichen sighed inwardly.

If it was so difficult for him to cultivate, how much harder would it be for others who didn't have the true essence or lightning power? It was reasonable for Thunder Finger to be called a useless combat skill.

After a quick wash and a few bites of the food brought by the servant, the door rang again.

Another unfamiliar senior brother came, claiming to want to borrow True Qi Pills. Zichen found this very frustrating.

The senior brothers came and went, making Zichen very annoyed. He expected that Wang Xiong and others would come to cause trouble, but after half a day, Wang Xiong still hadn't appeared, which surprised Zichen but also made him feel more at ease.

Compared to Wang Xiong, these senior brothers who wanted to borrow things were much easier to deal with.

Wang Xiong didn't appear that day because he was with Luo Men.

The two were discussing how to deal with Zichen.

"Let's use the simplest method. Send him on a mission and then cut him down outside," Luo Men said casually.

"Okay, I'll do it as Senior Brother said. I'll go personally," Wang Xiong nodded after a moment of thought.

To curry favor with Luo Men, Wang Xiong, who was at the peak of the eighth layer of True Qi, was willing to act personally.

By the time Wang Xiong returned, it was already evening. He planned to wait a day and then have someone tell Zichen to go on a mission the next morning.

In the early morning, a senior brother came to Zichen's room and called out, saying there was a mission. However, after calling for a long time, there was no response from inside.

It wasn't until noon, when the servant brought food, that he learned that Zichen had not appeared that morning.

The door was forced open, and the room was empty.

"Damn it, he ran away," the senior brother was furious and reported back to Wang Xiong.