"Hall Master, did you see it clearly?"
Ling Chen smiled faintly, his gaze falling upon the white-haired elder who looked back in shock.
It took a full ten breaths before the white-haired elder snapped out of his astonishment, staring at Ling Chen with an odd expression, and said, "Fine, go on in."
Ling Chen had actually managed to shatter the light membrane of the Spirit Array before him with the cultivation of only the second level of Qi Condensation realm, and what's more, he seemed to have done it with ease, without even utilizing his full strength.
Re-entering the inner hall, Ling Chen gave a bow to the white-haired elder and smiled, "Thank you so much, Hall Master!"
Although he had burst the light membrane, his true strength was still just within the third level of the Qi Condensation realm. In theory, he was only qualified to choose a low-grade Spiritual Technique. However, thanks to the information gap, he seized the opportunity to obtain a mid-grade Spiritual Technique from the Hall Master, and naturally, he was grateful.
Hmm, getting an advantage and yet not acting spoiled about it.
The white-haired elder rolled his eyes; he had been played by this youngster and gave Ling Chen the opportunity to choose a mid-grade Spiritual Technique.
"Alright, hurry up and go select your Spiritual Technique!"
The white-haired elder was impatient.
Even though his words were not very nice, deep down he was actually quite excited. A prodigy like this had emerged within the family clan, which was indeed gratifying.
"Alright!"
Ling Chen smiled faintly.
"Hold on."
The white-haired elder called to Ling Chen, "What's your name, kid?"
"Ling Chen."
Ling Chen replied with a smile.
"Oh, it's you!"
The white-haired elder took a deep look at Ling Chen, then waved his hand.
After bowing again to the white-haired elder, Ling Chen made his way towards the depths of the inner hall.
Watching Ling Chen's retreating figure, the white-haired elder muttered, "Ah, Tianxing's child has grown so big already? It's just a pity that Tianxing can't see it. And where could that fellow have died? It's bad enough not caring about the family, but does he not even care about his own son?"
With only two hours to spend, Ling Chen could not afford to waste time, so he immediately walked toward the bookshelves and began flipping through the Spiritual Techniques.
Although his physique was special and didn't require Cultivation of Spiritual Techniques, it was still more prudent to check.
"My Spiritual Power is black, which should belong to the Yin and Dark attributes."
Ling Chen browsed through several books before beginning to choose Spiritual Techniques associated with the Yin and Dark attributes. There were only a few such Spiritual Techniques in the family.
Quickly, he settled on a low-grade Spiritual Technique named Moon Devouring Technique.
Of course, he just remembered the name and hadn't even looked carefully at the contents. As long as this Spiritual Technique was enough to conceal the automatic Cultivation of his Night Moon Saint Body, it was sufficient.
Next, Ling Chen arrived at the shelf of Spirit Arts, and immediately felt that there were more people around. Clearly, the cultivators who entered the inner hall were mainly here for the Spirit Arts.
"Thunder Sound Fist!"
Ling Chen casually took a book of Spirit Art from the shelf and began to read.
Even though he had the option to choose a mid-grade Spirit Art, he did not aim too high and decided it was more prudent to take a look at the low-grade Spirit Arts first.
The volume of this Spirit Art was not long, about five or six pages, and Ling Chen quickly flipped through it.
"So this is a Spirit Art?"
Ling Chen felt a whole new world unfolding before his eyes.
Of course, he did not understand the content. Cultivating a Spirit Art was not as simple as just reading; it required a gradual and deep insight into its profound meanings.
Moreover, the contents of the Spirit Art were extremely cumbersome and complicated; it was impossible for an ordinary person to memorize everything in a short time.
This is also why borrowing a Spirit Art was necessary.
After putting down the Thunder Sound Fist, Ling Chen reached for a second Spirit Art, curious to see if all Spirit Arts were this complex.
However, as soon as his hand touched the second book, he froze on the spot.
"What is this?"
At that moment, a transparent figure flashed through his mind. He saw the shadow clenching its right fist tightly, with Spiritual Power flowing along a special trajectory within the body, eventually converging on the right fist, and then, as the fist burst out like lightning, a sound of thunder echoed.
"Thunder Sound Fist?!"
Ling Chen was stunned.
The figure in his mind was actually performing the Thunder Sound Fist he had just seen.
Thunder Sound Fist, punches as fast as lightning, with a sound like startling thunder!
"Pfft, what a slowpoke!"
"Heh, first time here? This is the weakest Spirit Art, and you're this excited?"
"Really inexperienced!"
...
Ling Chen's voice immediately drew the attention of many people, who turned to look at him with disdain.
But Ling Chen didn't have the luxury to care about their reactions. At the moment, all his attention was on the trajectory of the Spiritual Power used by the figure of light in his mind. The figure appeared transparent, making the flow of Black Spiritual Power within it extremely clear.
The clear trajectory of Spiritual Power movement was imprinted in Ling Chen's mind, and he had an inexplicable feeling that this Spirit Art did not seem so difficult to Cultivate...
After Ling Chen memorized it, the figure of light disappeared.
"What's going on?"
Ling Chen was astounded.
The scene in his mind was too bizarre.
He shook his head and immediately took another Spirit Technique at hand, flipping through it once again. This time, he didn't put the Spirit Art down.
However, soon enough, another figure of light appeared in his mind, seemingly practicing a low-grade Spirit Art called Crack Stele Hand.
Then, another trajectory of Spiritual Power was deeply imprinted into his mind.
"No way, is this figure of light really teaching me how to cultivate Spirit Arts?"
Ling Chen was completely dumbfounded.
Isn't it said that Spirit Arts are extremely difficult to cultivate? How come after just one glance, without even memorizing the content, he had remembered the trajectory of Spiritual Power necessary for executing the Spirit Art?
"Could this also be a gift from the Night Moon Saint Body?"
Ling Chen could only attribute this strange situation to his special physique.
Right then, Ling Chen immediately moved to the area with mid-grade Spirit Arts.
He took a mid-grade Spirit Art called Xuan Yin Palm!
As expected, after he read through this Spirit Art, a figure of light appeared again in his mind a few breaths later, and the trajectory of Spiritual Power was once again deeply imprinted.
This time, Ling Chen finally confirmed that he seemed to possess a special ability that allowed him to successfully cultivate Spirit Arts without understanding the content.
Spirit Arts are actually a Magic Skill that enhances the power of Spiritual Power. Why does the same Spiritual Power increase in strength when used through a Spirit Art? The reason is that Spirit Arts employ a special trajectory of Spiritual Power movement to temporarily condense the power, thereby exerting greater might.
And yet, Ling Chen was able to form the trajectory of Spiritual Power in his mind right after reading the Spirit Art, which naturally meant he had successfully cultivated it.
Although he hadn't truly executed the Spirit Art even once, he believed that he had mastered three Spirit Arts: one mid-grade and two low-grade.
Following that, Ling Chen began to frantically study mid-grade Spirit Arts. Two hours weren't long, and he didn't want to waste them. Knowing he could only enter once a month, he certainly wanted to make the most of each opportunity.
In two hours, Ling Chen mastered thirteen Spirit Arts, of which eleven were mid-grade, and two were low-grade.
Ling Chen was somewhat regretful that the highest grade Spirit Arts within the first floor were only mid-grade, and the high-grade Spirit Arts were on the second floor, which he couldn't access. Otherwise, he might even have been able to learn high-grade Spirit Arts.
As time was nearly up, Ling Chen returned to the area with low-grade Spirit Arts. He suddenly thought that although mid-grade Spirit Arts were indeed more powerful, they also consumed more Spiritual Power than low-grade Spirit Arts. With his second-layer Qi Condensation level of Cultivation, he feared he could only execute mid-grade Spirit Arts a few times, which were far less practical than low-grade Spirit Arts.
Soon, Ling Chen picked a low-grade movement technique Spirit Art called Burst Step. Aside from grades, Spirit Arts also have different types, such as Attack Spiritual Techniques, Body Techniques, and even Defensive Spiritual Techniques.
But there was no time left, and Ling Chen could only take this Spirit Art and go to register with the white-haired old man.
"Hmm, young fellow, not bad. Even though you could have chosen a mid-grade Spirit Art, you selected a low-grade one in the end. Hmm, not biting off more than you can chew, I think highly of you!" the white-haired old man first paused, then praised.
"Hall Master, you flatter me!" Ling Chen said with a slight smile.
Little did the Hall Master know that he had already cultivated eleven mid-grade Spirit Arts, and this low-grade one was merely an addition.
"Burst Step? Choosing a movement technique Spirit Art! Hmm, I really must take a fresh look at you! Compared to Attack Spiritual Techniques, movement techniques are indeed more important. However, they are also harder to cultivate. Here's the thing, most disciples have at most two months of cultivation time. As for you, I'll take charge and let you come back to return it in four months."
The smile on the white-haired old man's face grew even more content.
"Thank you very much, Hall Master!" Ling Chen nodded, then took the Spirit Art and ran back to his residence.