Chapter 38: Enlightenment, Intermediate Second Carving Technique

  P.S: The second update is here. I've been asking for support in various ways during the new book period, and unfortunately, it didn't make it to the front page this week. Hopefully, it can surge up next week.

  Entering the library, I first strolled around the first floor and found no secret manuals that I wanted, so I went up to the second floor. The books on the second floor were much more numerous than those on the first floor, with many of the martial arts manuals and techniques being at the Xuan level, although there were also some incomplete Di-level fragments.

  As for the third and fourth floors, the third floor's hidden books are all about low-level martial skills and techniques, which are relatively rare. The fourth floor's hidden books are all about high-level martial skills and techniques, but Yang Lei's permission is not enough to enter, he can only access the first and second floors. However, if Yang Lei's cultivation reaches the level of a Martial King, then he will have permission to enter the third floor. As for the fourth floor, it requires the realm of a Martial Emperor to enter.

  Of course, the management of the first and second floors is also different from that of the third and fourth floors. The books on the first and second floors can be registered and taken away, and they can be returned later. However, the books on the third and fourth floors cannot be taken away, which is a rule of the library.

  Yang Lei's purpose in coming to the Cangshu Building was very clear, which was to find a set of close-range martial skills and another set of mind-calming techniques. Of course, if there were other suitable ones, they would also be acceptable.

  After searching for half a day, I still haven't found a suitable method, and as for the mental technique of calming one's mind and focusing one's energy, I don't have any leads at all.

  "Huh? Muddy Toad Skill, who would have thought there's such a skill method." Yang Lei didn't find the skill method he was looking for, but instead saw a very interesting martial technique.

  It's said that this mudskipper skill is a close-range martial art, and it can be considered as a body method. After mastering it, the execution will be smooth like a mudskipper, leaving the enemy with no room to maneuver. This martial art is considered mid-to-high level among the Xuanjie skills, but Yang Lei didn't think much of it and continued searching.

  The old man guarding the gate in the distance walked in with a broom, saw Yang Lei's faint smile and didn't say anything, starting to sweep the floor on his own.

  "Eagle Claw Skill, it's actually Eagle Claw Skill, this is quite suitable for myself, a close-range skill. If I couldn't find a more suitable one, then I'll just choose this." Yang Lei flipped through it and indeed found that the Eagle Claw Skill was suitable for his current cultivation. In the end, Yang Lei still couldn't find another suitable mental method, so he let out a sigh and walked towards the outside.

  …………

  Eagle Claw Skill is a specialized skill that focuses on training hand strength, with the shape of an eagle's claw, changing and varied, attacking fiercely, each move fatal. When practicing, it emphasizes practicing with tangible objects while entering an intangible state.

  Yang Lian practiced the Iron Shirt, and when he trained in Eagle Claw Skill, it saved him a lot of trouble, because Yang Lian's hands were like steel when they were deployed, and no knife or gun could break them.

  Eagle Claw Kung Fu's moves are strong and ferocious.

  Yang Lei practiced and became more powerful.

  The eagle spreads its wings, the falcon swoops down to eat. This move is coordinated in sequence, with many changes as it unfolds, swift and ferocious, each move puts people on the brink of death.

  Originally, this skill had many shortcomings, but Yang Wei improved it according to his own situation and understanding of Eagle Claw Skill, upgrading the original Xuanjie First Rank Eagle Claw Skill to a higher level, at least comparable to Xuanjie Sixth Rank skills.

  At this time, Yang Yue walked in with a flutter, looking at Yang Lei practicing eagle claw skill, and couldn't help but be surprised for a while.

  "Little brother, how did you learn this martial art? It looks ugly."

  Yang Lei stood up, and as for Yang Yue's words, he was speechless. This martial art is good as long as it can knock down the opponent, regardless of whether it's a black cat or a white cat, as long as it can catch the mouse, it's a good cat. For Yang Lei, whether the movement is beautiful or not is not important, this is not the key point.

  "Second sister, did you come this time to deliver the prescription?" Yang Lei wiped the sweat from his forehead and said.

  "Alright, I've prepared the formula and all the medicinal herbs you need. Here they are." Yang Yue nodded, "Mother should have let you pass by now, right?"

  Yang Lei nodded and a smile appeared on his face: "Thank you, Second Sister."

  "What are you thanking me for? We're all family. You've helped me so much and I haven't even thanked you, is there dissatisfaction in your heart?" Yang Yue said.

  "How dare you."

  "Practice well. Don't be distracted, if there's anything just come find me directly, by the way mother has arranged for two maids to serve you with your daily needs, they should arrive this afternoon, but you're not allowed to misbehave." Yang Yue looked at Yang Lui with a warning tone.

  Serve yourself? Yang Lei heard the words and couldn't help but smile bitterly. This probably wouldn't work, monitoring himself was barely enough, and now he had two more servant girls, making it even less convenient for him to cultivate, he needed to think of a solution, Yang Lei secretly calculated in his heart.

  How can this trouble be resolved, refusal is now obviously impossible, if it could be refused, then before this matter, she would have brought it up with herself at Dongfang Caiyu's place, but she didn't bring it up there and instead had the two maids come here, which means telling herself that she cannot refuse the two maids.

  Since refusal is not an option, there's only one other way: to subdue them. Subdue these two maids and make them completely his own people. However, this isn't an easy task. What kind of person is Dongfang Caiyu? How could he not think of this point?

  Drug control? Mind control? It seems that there is a mind control technique in the Nine Yin Scripture, called Soul Capturing Great Technique or something. Now Yang Lei really wants such a mind control technique to control the two little maids who will be sent to monitor him.

  After some thought, Yang Lei sighed. This was unrealistic. Even if it existed in the system, he couldn't exchange it now because his points value was too low. He only had a little bit of points left, not even enough to exchange for a lottery card.

  Putting aside this annoying thing, I haven't gone to that master's place to learn carving yet today, so I tidied up and headed out.

  Arriving at the carving shop, Zhang Yi was leisurely flipping through a book.

  "Master." Yang Lei called out respectfully.

  "Here, how does it look?" Zhang Yi closed his book and said to Yang Wei.

  "It's basically carved."

  Zhang Yi was somewhat surprised by the words, and he didn't quite believe Yang Lei's words. It had only been a day, after all. Unless he had some foundation to begin with, it was simply impossible. Of course, maybe he just felt good about himself: "Have you tried carving yourself?"

  "En." Yang Lei nodded.

  "Then try carving something, there's a knife over there." Zhang Yi pointed to the nearby box.

  Yang Lei shook his head and said, "No need, I've already prepared the engraving knife myself."

  Yang Wei finished speaking and took out the unnamed engraved knife he had obtained yesterday.

  "Good sword." Zhang Yi's eyes lit up, he could naturally see that the engraving knife in Yang Lei's hand was extraordinary. "I didn't expect you to have such an opportunity, this is a mid-grade spiritual instrument."

  "Let's get started, I'll see how much you've learned."

  Yang Lei nodded and took down a piece of wood, ready to start.

  Sculpture.

  He raised his knife and cut off a part of the wood, then began to carve it bit by bit. This time, Yang Wei was going to carve the first magical beast he had ever encountered, which was a level one Flame Mouse. Yang Wei himself had killed thousands of Flame Mice before, so he was extremely familiar with them.

  One knife, two knives, Yang Wei soon entered a state of being and entered a realm of forgetting oneself.

  On the other side, Zhang Yi's eyes widened in astonishment, his face filled with incredulity. He was well aware of Yang Wei's abilities, and yet, as a mere fifth-stage martial artist who had just begun to learn carving, he had managed to achieve such an impressive feat. It was truly astonishing, for even those who had reached the pinnacle of martial arts, the Wu Huang, might not be able to accomplish this. And his own disciple, Yang Wei, had done it with ease, leaving Zhang Yi utterly amazed.

  While being surprised, he was also extremely delighted. He thought to himself that he had struck gold this time. The boy's talent for carving was exceptionally high, and although his cultivation was weak, he was still very young, only in his early teens. It was already rare to find someone who possessed such cultivation at this age, and it wasn't as if he had been trained under the guidance of a large sect. If he were given ample resources, it wouldn't be a problem for him to become a Martial King.

  An hour later, Yang Lei completed the final blow.

  The flame mouse appeared vividly in Yang Lei's hand. As for this carving, Yang Lei was still very satisfied with it.

  "Master, I've finished." Yang Lei put away his engraving knife and looked at Zhang Yi.

  "Not bad, barely passed." Zhang Yi nodded and said.

  Upon hearing this evaluation, Yang Lei felt slightly dissatisfied in his heart. He thought to himself that he was only barely passing, yet he had just started practicing carving yesterday. In the eyes of this master, he was merely passing, and Yang Lei couldn't help but feel that this master's requirements were a bit too extreme. Yang Lei suspected that the master was only trying to save face because he lost to his disciple.

  Yang Lei was about to speak when Zhang Yi said: "Do you think I'm asking for too much?"

  Yang Lei nodded.

  "High standards are for others, but you're my disciple, so they don't seem high to me. Haven't you noticed the difference between the Flame Mouse you carved and a real Flame Mouse?" Zhang Yi said.

  "The real Flame Mouse is alive, while the one I carved is made of wood and is a lifeless dead thing." Yang Lei replied.

  "Is that so?" Zhang Yi said calmly, "Then look at the difference between the flame mouse I carved and the one you carved." As he spoke, Zhang Yi also cut off a small piece of wood, took out his own carving knife, and quickly began to carve. These movements were done in one breath, as if they should be so naturally, containing the natural way.

  Yang Lei looked carefully.

  Zhang Yi's hand moved faster and faster, one knife flashing past another, and soon Yang Lei felt that he couldn't even see his movements clearly, it was so fast.

  After a few minutes, Zhang Yi made the final cut, and a flame mouse came to life.

  "Look, what's the difference between this flame mouse I carved and the one you carved."

  Yang Lei put the flame mouse he carved and the flame mouse Zhang Yi carved together for comparison.

  Aura, that's what it is, aura. Yang Wei finally understood the difference between his Flame Mouse and Zhang Yi's Flame Mouse. His own Flame Mouse lacked any aura whatsoever, while Zhang Yi's Flame Mouse exuded a sense of true flame spirit and subtle majesty, especially in its eyes. That's what they meant by "the finishing touch".

  "Understood?"

  Yang Lei seemed to have an epiphany, Zhang Yi said.

  Yang Lei nodded: "Thank you, Master."

  "No need to thank me," Zhang Yi said with a shake of his head. "This is your own realization, I just carved a flame mouse, it's all your own effort."

  "Ding! Congratulations, player, you have received guidance from a carving master and your carving skills have risen to intermediate level."

  Upon hearing the system's voice, Yang Lei was overjoyed in his heart. He hadn't expected that his carving skills would level up like this, which was much easier than alchemy and talisman crafting. His heart couldn't help but feel a sense of wonder, thinking to himself that having a master to guide him really made all the difference, as he had leveled up so quickly. It seemed that in the future, he should find several more masters to instruct him.

  "Alright, that's it for today. You come back tomorrow." Zhang Yi was extremely satisfied with this apprentice, but on the surface, he didn't show any emotion.

  As for Zhang Yi being driven away now, Yang Lei had no opinion at all. Who made this guy his own master? Moreover, he was a perverted strongman. Besides, today's trip was also worth it, and the carving technique had been upgraded, which was already the greatest gain. It could be said that compared to his gains in the morning, this was even greater.