Chapter 152: The First Evolution of the True Spiritual Root
The True Spiritual Root, having adapted within Bai Zhenzhen’s belly for so many years, had extended tendrils that acted like a second nervous system, spreading to every part of her body to provide all manner of support and enhancement.
But at this very moment, Bai Zhenzhen felt that all the tendrils extending from the True Spiritual Root had vanished, or rather, had retracted back into the spiritual root itself.
The True Spiritual Root was once again like a seed, yet its connection to her body had not been severed.
On the contrary, Bai Zhenzhen felt that… although the True Spiritual Root now lacked tendrils, its connection with her was even closer.
It was not only connected to her muscles, nerves, organs, and bones, but had even linked to her brain, creating an inexplicable resonance in her mind.
Bodily control, the circulation of power, the magic power circuit… all of this churned in her mind, and Bai Zhenzhen felt her comprehension of various cultivation techniques rapidly increasing.
At the same time, Zhang Yu looked at Bai Zhenzhen and saw that her abdomen had become flat and toned once more.
However, the cyan mark that had just appeared on her lower abdomen was now growing increasingly distinct, resembling a budding cyan lotus exuding a unique charm.
And Bai Zhenzhen, who typically appeared cold and aloof, now radiated a sacred aura that secretly amazed Zhang Yu.
After a short wait, Bai Zhenzhen opened her eyes, a sharp light flashing through them for an instant.
Zhang Yu quickly asked, “How is it?”
Bai Zhenzhen remarked with a sigh, “My True Spiritual Root really has evolved.”
“The True Spiritual Root can now enhance my understanding of martial arts cultivation techniques, allowing me to enter a state of self-forgetfulness.”
“In that state, I feel my understanding of martial arts has advanced even further, and I even have a sense that…”
Bai Zhenzhen thought for a moment before saying with some uncertainty, “…the cultivation techniques I originally practiced have certain flaws that aren’t suited to me, and it seems I might be able to improve them?”
Zhang Yu was startled and said, “You can improve cultivation techniques? You can deduce them?”
Seeing Bai Zhenzhen nod slightly, Zhang Yu asked again, “Doesn’t that mean you can learn cultivation techniques even faster now?”
He reminded her, “You have to remember to tell yourself every day that you must not reveal any techniques you haven’t bought the usage rights for!”
Before Zhang Yu had arrived in Kunxu, Bai Zhenzhen already possessed an incredible talent for martial arts, enhanced by her spiritual root.
She could often master the various basic cultivation techniques taught in high school in a very short time, and she had shown astonishing performance when comprehending the Celestial Paragon’s Martial Demonstration Scroll and the magic power flow chart for the Limitless Cloud Hand from the Magic Power Competition.
Over the past six months, as her spiritual root continued to adapt, her martial arts talent had grown by the day.
For instance, with the Dragonback Mountain Toppler Hand and the Dragon-Elephant Mountain-Shattering Palm that Zhang Yu practiced in front of her, Bai Zhenzhen had learned both of these external arts and reached Level 1 just by watching him repeatedly.
However, because these two techniques did not suit her style and would cost money to purchase the usage rights, she had not pursued them further.
Zhen’s martial arts aptitude is too dangerous, Zhang Yu thought. She learns new techniques at the drop of a hat. Where would we find the money to buy all the usage rights?
The key is that this kind of aptitude is like a passive skill you can’t turn off. She can only hide it by practicing and using new arts less.
But it’s far better than being born a martial arts prodigy…
Ever since he had learned the Dragonback Mountain Toppler Hand on the spot during the martial arts competition, Zhang Yu had searched online for news of similar cases.
After reading about them, he was left with a single thought… tragic, absolutely tragic.
People who were martial arts prodigies from a young age often developed the talent to learn techniques at a glance and master them with a single practice.
And to avoid violating the rules that minors and those not yet in high school could not cultivate, they were often heavily restricted by their parents, forbidden from contact with the internet, television, or news, and even when going out, their parents would only dare take them to places filled entirely with mortals.
Some extreme cases even resulted in them being under house arrest twenty-four hours a day…
It’s troublesome even after entering high school. They’re practically congenital fine magnets, easily set up and tricked into owing massive debts.
Zhang Yu shook his head, grateful that his Feather Book was not so uncontrollable; if he did not want to learn something, he definitely would not, free from the worry of accidentally learning someone else’s martial arts.
Hearing Zhang Yu’s reminder, Bai Zhenzhen seemed to be off in her own world, murmuring, “I know, Yu-boy.”
“It used to be very difficult for me.”
“Especially at school, whenever I saw classmates using martial arts I hadn’t learned, I couldn’t stop myself from learning the external forms of the techniques.”
“Those martial arts were like a spread of prepared dishes, laid out undefended before me, just waiting for me to pick them up…”
“It was always so hard to resist.”
“But now…” A sword art was continuously being deduced in Bai Zhenzhen’s mind. “I’ve found something far more delicious.”
The next evening.
Under the bridge.
By the small river.
Two streaks of sword-light collided, like twin meteors streaking across the night sky again and again, leaving brilliant trails in their wake.
It was Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, practicing the Basic High School Swordplay.
Each held an arm-length branch, and infused with sword qi, the straight branches cut through the air like sharp-edged swords, thrusting toward one another along deadly trajectories.
Since he would be starting his second year in September, Zhang Yu had taken the time today to learn the Basic High School Swordplay required at the end of the first year, pushing it all the way to Level 10 in one go.
The Level 10 effect of this Basic High School Swordplay was also simple: the ability to infuse sword qi.
Through this infusion, even a branch in Zhang Yu’s hand could be temporarily wielded as a sword.
But at this moment, Bai Zhenzhen was also sparring with Zhang Yu using the Basic High School Swordplay. As the branch in her hand danced, her sword qi suddenly erupted with sparks of electricity, forcefully increasing its speed by a third.
As Bai Zhenzhen’s sword-shadows danced, she forced Zhang Yu into a steady retreat until finally, the branches in their hands could no longer withstand the clash of sword qi and shattered simultaneously, dissolving into a cloud of wood splinters.
Zhang Yu asked with curiosity, “You succeeded in your deduction?”
Bai Zhenzhen nodded and, recalling the process of the past day, slowly said, “Yes. After my deduction, the Level 10 effect of the Basic High School Swordplay has changed.”
“Besides the simple infusion of sword qi, it can now also accelerate…”
Bai Zhenzhen casually picked up a blade of grass. As she infused it with sword qi, the once-limp blade instantly stiffened, then traced afterimages through the air in a flash of electrical light.
After a day of experimentation, Bai Zhenzhen had a much clearer understanding of the new function of her evolved True Spiritual Root.
“My technique deduction can only deduce martial arts that I have already mastered to Level 10.”
“The result of the deduction is a change to the martial art’s Level 10 effect, making it more suitable for me.”
“A relatively simple one like the Basic High School Swordplay can be deduced in a day.”
“An expert-grade body tempering cultivation technique like the Thunderclap True Body would probably take three to four days to deduce completely.”
Bai Zhenzhen made a quick calculation; if she were to share the use of the True Spiritual Root with Zhang Yu, taking turns, it would likely take a week.
“But that’s fine. I can cultivate and deduce at the same time, so I won’t have to waste too much extra time.”
Speaking of which, Bai Zhenzhen looked at Zhang Yu and said, “Yu-boy, I have you to thank for the True Spiritual Root evolving so quickly.”
“I can feel that as the True Spiritual Root was adapting to you, it absorbed the Level 10 martial arts you’ve mastered as nourishment, which accelerated its growth.”
Fu Ji sighed with emotion at this moment. “I told you so. Bai Zhenzhen’s evolutionary spiritual root was definitely stimulated by all your techniques. It seems the evolutionary path for this spiritual root is toward martial arts. In the future, as the two of you master more and more martial arts that are absorbed as nourishment, this spiritual root should be able to continue evolving.”
Zhang Yu, however, noticed that Bai Zhenzhen’s eyes were sparkling as she spoke, seemingly full of hope for the future and a keen interest in technique deduction.
The next moment, Bai Zhenzhen flickered behind Zhang Yu like the wind and hugged him, saying with an eagerness to share, “Yu-boy, you should try it too! This technique deduction is really interesting.”
But Zhang Yu glanced at the time and said, “Next time. It’s almost time for tutoring; we have to get to class.”
As he spoke, Zhang Yu’s form had already changed, transforming into his disguise as the dark world tutoring teacher, Ma Yunteng.
“You can try it on the way. It’s seriously super interesting, super useful…”
As Bai Zhenzhen spoke, she had already donned a blonde wig, applied a temporary tattoo, and put on mature makeup, taking on the appearance of a gang member—the dark world tutoring teacher, Le Mulan.
After finishing her transformation, Bai Zhenzhen squatted directly in front of Zhang Yu and said, “Worst case, I’ll carry you to class today. You can try deducing a martial art on the way, how about it?”
Zhang Yu felt that Bai Zhenzhen was like a child trying to show off a beloved toy, insistent that he play with this new gadget of hers.
And since it was a rare opportunity to get a ride from his good brother, Zhang Yu naturally wouldn’t refuse, leaping lightly to hug Bai Zhenzhen from behind.
A moment later, Bai Zhenzhen shot off in a cascade of electric flashes, carrying Zhang Yu on her back as she sped toward the highway.
Zhang Yu focused his senses on the True Spiritual Root, trying to use it to deduce one of his mastered Level 10 techniques, but he felt the progress was incredibly slow.
He murmured, “At this rate, for any given expert-grade technique, and considering I have to take turns with Zhen using the spiritual root, it would probably take me two or three months to successfully deduce it.”
“If it takes that long to deduce a single technique, then I’ll have to choose very carefully.”
At this thought, Zhang Yu mentally reviewed all the techniques he had mastered, finally settling on the Dragon-Elephant Mountain-Shattering Palm.
“My body tempering efficiency is already very high, and as my physical strength continues to increase, the ability to effectively muster and unleash the power within my body will become crucial.”
“Besides, this two-hundred-thousand-credit Dragon-Elephant Mountain-Shattering Palm is the most expensive technique I’ve learned so far…”
With this in mind, Zhang Yu decided to focus his deduction on the Dragon-Elephant Mountain-Shattering Palm.