Innate Great Emperor

Chapter 13: Three Combat Skills

Ye Jin's body jolted. Like lightning struck him. Hot and cold qi spiraled in his dantian. A pale gold dragon shadow rose from his body.

A message entered his mind sea.

"Innate Divine Art Layer 1 complete. Will +15, Spirit +15, Constitution +25, Agility +10, Strength +10, HP +35, Qi +35. Comprehended internal skill: Inner Healing Curse."

"Inner Healing Curse Level 1: Circulates yin-yang true qi. Rapidly dispels internal bruising. Quickly repairs organ damage."

"...Finally... I did it." Ye Jin collapsed onto the bed. He gasped for breath. Some color returned to his face.

He wiped sweat from his brow. The blanket beneath him was soaked with black, stinking sweat. The smell nearly made him vomit.

"Someone! Heat water! New clothes! Change the bedding!"

Hurried footsteps scrambled outside.

Moments later, a tub of warm water was ready. Ye Jin stripped and sank into it. A pretty maid walked in trembling. She carried clean clothes.

The Innate Divine Art's hellish tempering had purged his impurities. His blood was purified. His skin was now like jade. Like a baby's.

When he looked inward, his bones were white as frost. Luckily, he'd chugged healing potions like water during the sweat loss. He'd kept his vitality.

The sun blazed. The training ground stones were hot enough to burn. Ye Jin stood among dozens of wooden dummies.

His body moved like a tiger. Like a fish. His steps were a whirlwind, floating above the ground. He wove through the dummies at incredible speed.

His fists and feet pounded the wood. Crack! Crack! Deep dents formed on the hard wooden arms and legs.

Only the sound of wind filled the training ground. No human shape could be seen.

His outfit was strange. A jade-green armor on top. A smoke-green jade belt at his waist. A purple jade pendant. Blood-red bracelets on both wrists.

It was gaudy. Impractical for training. Almost laughable. But his movements whipped up fierce air currents. Loud sonic booms followed.

This was the sign of true qi and external arts reaching a high level.

The "Three Sovereigns Tripod Suppressing Fist" and "Flying Fish Swimming Body Steps" were Qingyang Sect's foundational arts. They came from the Tongtian Immortal Sect.

They tempered both true qi and physique. Mid-tier rank one. Revised by generations of Tongtian elders.

Ye Jin believed these arts were special. Even Tongtian disciples had to learn them. That made them extraordinary.

Elder Xiong was upright. Selfless. Ye Jin trusted him more than his own father.

His father had fled when Ye Jin suffered in the dark cell. Left him to rot for a month. That froze Ye Jin's heart.

Even after the judgment, his father hid. Ye Jin had no words left.

Ye Jin trained fist and footwork together. Fully equipped, his training speed increased fivefold.

His broken attribute system had one great use. Any martial arts manual placed in the system space was analyzed. Its strengths, weaknesses, and optimal training methods were calculated.

Internal cultivation needed Spirit, Will, and Constitution. Martial arts needed Constitution, Agility, and Strength.

Before equipment, these two arts exhausted him. His movements were stiff. He couldn't comprehend them.

But with stat-boosting accessories, the bottlenecks vanished. His qi and movements merged. It flowed perfectly.

Thanks to the equipment, he reached Layer 9 in just ten days. Every level increased all five attributes.

"96.54%... 97.88%... 98.12%... 100%!"

Two pale gold lights rose from Ye Jin's body.

"Three Sovereigns Tripod Suppressing Fist 100%. Layer 10 complete! All attributes +10. Comprehended true qi combat skills: Instant Kill Force Lv1, Explosive Charge Force Lv1, Vortex Force Lv1!"

"Flying Fish Swimming Body Steps 100%. Layer 10 complete! Constitution, Agility, Strength +10. Comprehended combat skill: Flying Fish Flash!"

"This mid-tier rank one fist art spawned combat skills at max level... I comprehended combat skills?" Ye Jin was stunned. Then ecstasy surged.

He calmed his mind. He opened the Combat Skills tab.

Combat Skills: Spirit Eye 5, Instant Kill Force 1, Explosive Charge Force 1, Vortex Force 1, Flying Fish Flash 1.

"I can't believe this rank one art spawned three true qi combat skills at max level." Ye Jin was amazed. He sat down and examined the new skills.

On Tianpan Shenzhou, combat skills differed from martial arts. Martial arts trained the body and spirit. Combat skills were killing moves. They evolved from the art. They were the perfect strike of essence, spirit, and qi. Power, technique, and speed combined.

Think of it this way: martial arts were regular soldiers. Combat skills were elite special forces.

All three skills were internal force types. Meant for close combat.

Instant Kill Force was metal-attribute. It focused on speed. The qi was fast, sharp, and piercing. It had powerful cutting and penetration.

Explosive Charge Force was fire-attribute. The qi was like a bomb. On impact, the internal force exploded violently inside the target.

Vortex Force was water-attribute. Like an ocean whirlpool. It drilled and twisted inside the target's body.

Below the descriptions, a line of small text: "These skills are qi techniques. Not limited to specific moves. Can be stacked onto any weapon or normal attack."

Ecstasy surged again.

These three skills seemed common. But they were incredibly practical. They could stack onto any martial art! The internal force effects—hitting through mountains—could be applied to heavy weapons or silver needles!

Right now, they were only Level 1. He could only use them with fists and clubs. To apply them to silver needles, he'd need to reach Level 10.

"Looks like... I'll be busy upgrading these three skills." Ye Jin exhaled. He set a new goal.