Chapter 28

When Wang Qi opened the food box, he was stunned.

The meal provided by the kitchen consisted of four dishes and a soup, along with a bowl of white rice. The dishes were a mix of meat and vegetables, and the cooking techniques were slightly better than those of a farmer but not particularly sophisticated. The only noteworthy aspect was that the food contained spiritual energy, but this was not due to special ingredients; rather, it was infused by cultivators during the cooking process.

What truly surprised Wang Qi was the seal on the food box.

"Such a simple meal is served in such a high-quality food box. Tsk tsk, it’s both heat-insulating and fresh-keeping. If sold outside, one box would be enough to buy a full Manchu and Han banquet... Oh, there’s no Manchu and Han here, so it would be a banquet for humans and demons?"

Zhen Chanzi said, "This shows that the Immortal Alliance is very dedicated to cultivating disciples."

Due to being hungry all day, Wang Qi quickly finished his dinner. After returning the food box and utensils, he wiped his mouth and walked out of the kitchen.

"Surprisingly delicious," Wang Qi said, burping. "It looked ordinary, but after eating, I feel completely refreshed, as if my whole body is soaking in hot water."

"The spiritual energy in the food seeps into your body through your intestines and stomach, strengthening your physique," Zhen Chanzi explained. "As for the taste, hehe, using spiritual power to control the changes in the ingredients, it would be strange if it didn’t taste good. Did the modern Immortal Dao actually have cultivators dedicated to the art of gourmet food?"

"Even the ancient cultivators had such annoying sects?" Wang Qi asked.

"Not a sect, but I do know of a lineage that specializes in using spiritual beasts and medicines in dishes, which can increase one’s cultivation. It’s essentially a variation of alchemy. They believe the better the dish tastes, the more effective it is."

Blowing in the evening breeze, Wang Qi felt very happy. He walked around the Immortal Academy casually, treating it as a post-meal stroll. Unconsciously, he arrived in front of the Transmission Hall.

Wang Qi's eyes lit up: "I didn’t plan to start learning heart techniques right away. But since I’m here, why not just go in and take a look!"

The entrance of the Transmission Hall led to a large hall. Several light orbs floated in the air, illuminating the hall brightly. The hall wasn’t too large; directly opposite the entrance was a wall, and on the floor, over a hundred cushions were neatly arranged. Around each cushion were talismans to ensure that the disciples on the cushions were not disturbed by noise. On the wall were inscribed the basic heart techniques of various sects.

Wang Qi found a cushion and sat down, observing the heart techniques on the wall.

The first one on the left was the "Flame Suspended Earth Scripture" from Mountain River City. This technique cultivated a thick and powerful spiritual power, with strong combat capabilities. After the first level, it could draw a thread of earth fire into the body, cultivating fire in the dantian to add a dynamic quality to the heavy true essence.

Wang Qi nodded: "Hmm, the theory of continental drift. The foundation of Mountain River City is indeed geology, geography, and other Earth sciences—maybe here it should be called ‘Shen Zhou science’?"

Unfortunately, he wasn’t very interested in Earth sciences in his previous life.

"The Cloudy Mist Sect’s ‘Cloudy Mist Covering the Sun Technique.’ Fluid mechanics and meteorology. Light body and flying. I can imagine the image of Cloudy Mist cultivators. White robes fluttering, light as a swallow, graceful and elegant. In battle, they must be great at flying kites—spit, I mean, manipulating the wind and moon—this style is good!"

Unfortunately, his knowledge of fluid mechanics in his previous life was only at the introductory level. It wouldn’t be hard to outperform middle school students at the Immortal Academy, but once he officially joined a sect, he might easily fall behind other disciples.

Thinking about this, Wang Qi skipped over the techniques of the Thousand Mechanisms Pavilion and the Heavenly Spirit Ridge, directly jumping to the entry-level heart techniques of the Unification Alliance and the Myriad Methods Gate.

"The Burning Heaven Mansion, from the name, it must be thermodynamics," Wang Qi continued reading: "‘Rapid Flame Body Technique,’ a body technique? Are you kidding? Isn’t this place for learning heart techniques?"

Surprised, Wang Qi carefully read the entry-level technique of the Burning Heaven Mansion. After finishing, he slapped his thigh: "It can be like this!"

The "Rapid Flame Body Technique" was not for combat but to replace sitting meditation. The core of this technique was to directly convert the energy from body movements into the heat energy required by the heart technique!

At first glance, this technique seemed no different from others except for its unique practice method. In gaming terms, it added a few points of burning damage. However, this technique was the foundation of all Burning Heaven Mansion spells and could be advanced to any of their supreme techniques, making it a promising choice.

"The Myriad Methods Gate’s ‘Yi Bi Calculation Classic’ is quite interesting. Increase computational power? Doesn’t sound very strong. ‘The method of numbers comes from the circle and square, the circle comes from the square, the square comes from the ruler, the ruler comes from the multiplication of nine by nine...’ ‘Use the ruler to measure height, invert the ruler to measure depth, lay the ruler to measure distance. Form a circle with the ruler, combine the rulers to form a square. The square belongs to the earth, the circle belongs to the sky, the sky is round, the earth is square. The square is the standard, from the square comes the circle...’ ‘Use the hat to write the sky. The sky is blue-black, the earth is yellow-red, the number of the sky is the hat, blue-black on the outside, red-yellow on the inside, to represent the positions of heaven and earth...’"

Reciting the heart technique of the Myriad Methods Gate, Wang Qi had a moment of enlightenment.

This technique contained geometric principles, which he had learned from a young age in his previous life. Looking at the heart technique, he instinctively began to practice!

"Wait!" Wang Qi suddenly came to his senses and said, "I haven’t finished looking at the other techniques yet, I can’t choose rashly!"

Zhen Chanzi interjected, "You kid! Do you know, you were almost enlightened just now!"

Zhen Chanzi’s tone was filled with frustration. His mind was not focused on channeling spiritual power, but his body began to practice on its own, which was a burst of accumulated understanding, greatly beneficial to a cultivator’s comprehension of techniques. Ancient cultivators called this "enlightenment." This state was rare and hard to achieve, yet this kid consciously exited it!

Wang Qi ignored Zhen Chanzi, stroked his chin, and thought, "This technique is based on geometry and supplemented with various algorithms, but it doesn’t feel very conceptual, and the algorithms are quite rudimentary. It’s not a very advanced technique. Next one."

In the center were the techniques of the three major sects of the Unification Alliance.

"The True Power Gate’s ‘Heavenly True Explanation,’ the technique of True Power Elder. Let me see... Oh, it’s indeed a derivative of the three laws of mechanics. No overly magical abilities, but the attribute growth is very comprehensive! And the body technique is flexible, good at using force against force."

"The Thunderbolt Pavilion’s ‘Primordial Magnetic Great Technique’ and ‘Thunder Technique.’ The former is not outstanding in attack or defense but is good at controlling magical weapons and sticking to opponents; the latter can cultivate many powerful offensive spells."

Lightning attributes, one of the common attributes for main characters in cultivation stories, exuding a sense of grandeur and fashion. If considering only the style, the ‘Thunder Technique’ would be a great choice. However, Wang Qi had another concern.

"I wonder if Faraday cages work in this world. Based on known electromagnetic principles, the principle of this device is likely valid!"

A Faraday cage, a common device on Earth, can isolate electromagnetic environments, meaning that staying inside a Faraday cage, even a ten-thousand-volt lightning strike would not harm you.

More importantly, this device is very simple to construct—a good conductor shell is enough! Even with Wang Qi’s limited knowledge of magical weapon forging, he could find several ways to build a Faraday cage inside a magical robe. If Faraday cages were widespread in this world, it could lead to a situation where he spends time casting a powerful lightning spell, only to make someone’s hair stand up!

Wang Qi shook his head, driving this terrifying thought from his mind.

"The Light Hall... optics? There are two techniques. ‘Blazing Sun Wave Qi’ and ‘Heavenly Light Transformation Technique,’ it seems one is based on wave theory and the other on particle theory to explain optics."

"Blazing Sun Wave Qi," one of the entry-level techniques of the Light Hall. Its power is like the sun and fire, cultivating intangible yet substantial spiritual power, capable of bringing the power of the blazing sun with every movement.

"Heavenly Light Transformation Technique," another entry-level technique of the Light Hall. It can transform a ray of light into a solid form, turning it into a weapon or injuring enemies invisibly.

After reading, Wang Qi shook his head. Both wave theory and particle theory are one-sided, and practicing these techniques would likely make it difficult to reach the pinnacle.

After finishing the Light Hall techniques, Wang Qi looked around and frowned. "No techniques from the Ethereal Palace? And these techniques don’t seem very advanced."

Thinking for a moment, he asked Zhen Chanzi, "Old man, what do you think of these techniques?"

Zhen Chanzi said, "I don’t fully understand the meanings behind these techniques, but from my perspective and experience, they are all remarkable techniques."

Wang Qi noticed two small doors on either side of the wall filled with techniques, recalling that Su Junyu had mentioned this. The techniques in the front hall were easy to learn and wouldn’t hinder the transition to other powerful techniques, while the back hall contained the true supreme heart techniques.

Wang Qi passed through the small doors and entered the back hall. Both doors led to a much smaller hall. On either side were several doors leading to different stone chambers, and on the wall opposite the small doors, a technique was inscribed. The back hall also had many cushions on the floor.

Wang Qi sat down and observed the technique on the wall. This time, as soon as he saw the technique, he felt an ancient, vast, and vibrant aura.

The text of the technique was not extensive, mostly consisting of profound diagrams. At the top of the diagrams, the four characters "Heavenly Evolution Diagrams" were clearly written.

"Heavenly Evolution Diagrams," the supreme technique of the Heavenly Spirit Ridge! "Heavenly Evolution Diagrams" is extremely easy to learn, with a lower threshold than most techniques. In contrast, the initial increase in combat power from "Heavenly Evolution Diagrams" is negligible, with no additional bonuses.

However, despite this significant flaw, "Heavenly Evolution Diagrams" is the only technique with a weight value of six in Lu Renjia’s weighted algorithm.

It’s important to note that the weight of internal techniques in combat is not significant, with even the techniques of the Five Great Sects generally having a weight value below three, and ancient techniques often having negative values.

The high evaluation of this technique is entirely due to its ability to evolve.

The system of "Heavenly Evolution Diagrams" is extremely open, allowing anyone to develop it. The techniques developed by different people can vary, and this evolution has no upper limit. With great determination and wisdom, one can become invincible without using spells or magical weapons. The reason it only has a value of six is that the creator of the technique, the Natural Selection God Lord, has only developed it to this extent.

Moreover, because the technique can be modified at will, "Heavenly Evolution Diagrams" can be practiced alongside any other technique!

"A technique derived from evolutionary theory, of course, can evolve," Wang Qi was overjoyed. This technique combines fashion, style, and intellectual superiority, fulfilling all needs!

If there’s no better choice, this one it is!