With Elder Qi's help—who was deeply familiar with the layout of the Technique Pavilion—Tian Shen quickly found the four techniques he needed.
They were:
Spiritual Qi Cultivation Technique – Solar Cultivation Technique.
Movement Technique – Storm Chasing Technique.
Body Strengthening Technique – Body Tempering Technique.
As for swordsmanship...
He didn't choose one himself.
After obtaining the inheritance of the Spirit Sword, the sword intent guided him directly to an inconspicuous sword technique on the first floor.
The name left Tian Shen speechless—
"Basic Sword Technique."
Yes.
Just the basic sword technique—the one every new disciple of the Beast Taming Sect could select. The kind found in nearly every sect on the Profound Sky Continent. Not on the second or third floor, but right there on the ground floor.
This technique was so common, it had practically become invisible.
Even Elder Qi couldn't help but ask, bewildered.
"Tian Shen, you obtained the inheritance of the Spirit Sword, yet you picked this technique? There are several 2-star Techniques here. Why not choose one of them?"
Though Tian Shen was secretly just as baffled, but he trusted the sword intent. Composing himself with solemn attitude, he replied.
"No need. This one is enough. As the saying goes—'The Great Dao is simple.' In the end, all complexity returns to simplicity. If one can truly master the basics… even a basic sword technique can wield tremendous power."
Elder Qi stood stunned.
Not just stunned—he seemed struck by a divine revelation.
"The Great Dao… means simplicity?"
"The Great Dao means simplicity!!"
"I see it now. I've understood!"
With that, Elder Qi burst into loud laughter, like an old madman enlightened on the spot. He dropped into a cross-legged position right where he stood and began cultivating.
Half an hour later, a surge of Spiritual Qi burst forth from him.
His cultivation soared—directly reaching the 9th stage of Qi Refining Realm.
Tian Shen watched quietly, then turned and walked away like a sage vanishing after granting wisdom.
But in truth?
Tian Shen was baffled.
"He's seriously enlightened?! What did he even realize? Why am I not enlightened?"
"This makes no sense!"
Muttering to himself in frustration, Tian Shen made his way to the training square where inner disciples were sparring and cultivating.
As expected, despite the recent attack by a 3-star beast, the square was once again lively.
Attribute bubbles—visible only to Tian Shen—glimmered all over the field.
Sadly, most were just white bubbles.
No surprise.
The inner disciples of the Beast Taming Sect had low cultivation. Even the core disciples were barely scratching the peak of Body Refining Realm—none had stepped into the Qi Refining Realm.
Tian Shen swiftly gathered all the visible bubbles and returned to his old outer sect residence to refine the techniques he had just acquired.
His luck had been decent.
The attribute bubbles provided a generous amount of cultivation experience.
Opening his system panel, Tian Shen first checked the Flaming Sun Technique.
__________
『Martial arts』: Solar Cultivation Technique
『Tier』: Tier-2
『Comprehend stage』: Introduction (300 Exp)
『Effect』: Increases Spiritual Qi by .01 points per day
『Tier upgrade requirement』: 2500 Exp
__________
Tian Shen let out a soft whistle.
"No wonder it's a 2-star technique. It takes 300 experience points just to reach Adapt stage."
That was three times the experience cost of his previous Basic Poison Finger at the same level.
Still, it was well worth it.
As he'd guessed, the Spiritual Qi promoted by this cultivation method directly corresponded to the system's Spiritual Qi attribute.
It's just the Spiritual Qi gained is too low, still, better than nothing.
But when he tried to level it up, a detail caught his attention.
Unlike Martial Technique, only one Spiritual Qi Cultivation Technique can be active at a time.
Even if he learned multiple, only the best one would take effect—whichever raised his Spiritual Qi the most.
But that wasn't a problem.
He only had Solar Cultivation Technique for now. And given the system's mechanics, it could be leveled indefinitely—possibly even upgraded to 9-star someday.
Without hesitation, he started upgrading.
...
"Upgrade!"
300 EXP used.
[Adapt]: Spiritual Qi ×0.1/day.
...
"Upgrade again!"
1,000 EXP used.
[Minor Accomplishment]: Spiritual Qi ×1/day.
...
"One more!"
3,000 EXP used.
[Major Accomplishment]: Spiritual Qi ×10/day.
...
"Again!"
5,000 EXP used.
[Master]: Spiritual Qi ×100/day
After raising Solar Cultivation Technique to Master stage, Tian Shen shifted his focus to Movement Technique.
__________
『Martial arts』: Storm Chasing Technique
『Tier』: Tier-2
『Comprehend stage』: Introduction (200 Exp)
『Tier upgrade requirement』: 2500 Exp
__________
Tian Shen wasn't sure whether Storm Chasing Technique was slightly inferior to Flaming Sun Gong or if the system simply rated martial arts techniques lower than Spiritual Qi Cultivation Technique.
While it took 300 experience points to raise Solar Cultivation Technique from Introduction to Adapt, Storm Chasing Technique required just 200.
A cheaper cost—a welcome surprise!
Riding the high of his earlier upgrades, Tian Shen poured his accumulated cultivation experience into the footwork technique.
In total, it took 3,500 experience points to push Storm Chasing Technique to the Master stage.
__________
『Martial arts』: Storm Chasing Technique
『Tier』: Tier-2
『Comprehend stage』: Master (5,000 Exp)
『Tier upgrade requirement』: 2500 Exp
__________
"Oh?"
Tian Shen's eyes gleamed with excitement as he read the new abilities.
It was powerful and in actual battle, one second was often all it took to claim victory.
Lastly, Tian Shen turned to his third technique—Body Tempering Technique.
This one surprised him.
The experience cost was significantly higher than he'd expected, and even with all his current resources, he couldn't max it out.
He only managed to raise it to Minor Accomplishment—but the result was nothing short of shocking.
__________
『Cultivation arts』: Body Tempering Technique
『Tier』: Tier-2
『Comprehend stage』: Minor Accomplishment (20,000 Exp)
『Tier upgrade requirement』: 5000 Exp
『Effect』: Physique points ×500
__________
"Holy mother of f—!"
This was the only technique so far that directly increased attributes. No flash. No fluff.
Just raw, practical power.
Straightforward.
Brutal.
It gives a total of 500 points of Physique.
It was a solid upgrade that transformed Tian Shen's combat readiness.
...
And with that, Tian Shen's stats had undergone a significant overhaul.
The foundations of his power had been further boosted—and this time, they were solid, efficient, and deadly.