Chapter 3351 — Think It Over
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"Still, the first step is always the hardest. If you mean to set foot on the path of inner-family cultivation without stumbling, this mnemonic of the heart method must be practiced inside the home. That is the ancestral rule. So, Xiaoke, you may begin your practice in a little while!" Yu Dake instructed.
"All right." Yu Xiaoke nodded and began to flip through the mnemonic. As the minutes passed, however, her brows drew into a frown. "Brother, this mnemonic... it doesn't seem to be a heart method for fighting at all. Why does it read like a defensive one?"
"Defensive? What do you mean? Xiaoke, you know as well as I do that I'm a man and could never practice this heart method, and I left home too young to have heard the elders speak of it. So I don't really understand either. What do you mean, defensive?" Yu Dake asked.
"It says here that the Goddess Nuwa's Art of Mending Heaven is in fact a heart method for warding off attacks. For instance, while I am at the Yellow rank, I can withstand the attacks of Yellow-rank experts—though naturally, how long I can hold out depends greatly on my own level of strength." Yu Xiaoke explained. "Say I'm at the early Yellow rank: I could withstand a full-force blow from a peak late Yellow-rank expert, but only a few times and for a short while. If I were at peak late Yellow rank, on the other hand, I could remain immune to my opponent's attacks for a very long stretch!"
"Oh? What sort of heart method is this? It sounds rather useless, doesn't it? Standing there defending—you'd be better off running!" Yu Dake was taken aback. If the mnemonic really was as she described, then for all that it sounded formidable, it was in truth no more than a method for taking a beating: no attacking, just standing there and absorbing blows. What was the point of that?
"It's not quite like that. If the three of us were together, for example, I could shield us all at once." Yu Xiaoke shook her head. "This heart method is probably a support type."
"Oh? It can shield others?" Wei Zhao was startled. If that were true, it was a heart method that defied the heavens—no wonder it was a family heirloom! It might not sound like much, but Wei Zhao knew full well just how extraordinary such a heart method was.
For example, Wei Zhao could now kill a peak late Heaven-rank expert in a single blow—but only by catching them off guard, when they were unprepared. If the two truly fought face to face, the one left dead on the ground would likely be Wei Zhao himself. After all, his level of strength was plain for all to see.
But with Yu Xiaoke and her heart method, everything changed. Yu Xiaoke could simply raise a defense, leaving others unable to touch Wei Zhao, while Wei Zhao struck back at them—and then whoever he hit would surely die.
"Yes, in team combat it should be very useful." Yu Xiaoke had clearly seen the heart method's merits as well—though if one traveled the world alone, it was of little use.
"Xiaoke, go and cultivate! Advance to Heaven rank as quickly as you can, and then you can become my right hand!" Wei Zhao grew excited at the very thought. His own strength had always been his weak spot, and with Yu Xiaoke's help that weakness could be made up for.
"Who wants to be your right hand?" Yu Xiaoke snorted, ignored Wei Zhao, and took the mnemonic off to find a place to cultivate.
Yu Dake gave Wei Zhao an apologetic look, shrugged, and said, "Mr. Lin, I'll talk to Xiaoke and have her help you from now on."
"We'll talk about that later." Wei Zhao smiled indifferently. If Yu Xiaoke wanted to help him, she would first have to become a Heaven-rank expert—and for now, that was still impossible.
Yu Xiaoke was a clever girl. Though she had only just come into contact with inner-family cultivation, with the help of the methods Yu Dake had described, she easily cultivated her true qi. She was still a long way from being a Yellow-rank expert, but at least she had set foot on the path of inner-family cultivation!