I Can See Your Combat Power

Chapter 891: Chapter One Hundred Eighty-Five: Trace of Divine Power

There was once an invincible Phoenix King in the southern skies, who nearly massacred the entire human race of the southern continents. It was only through the collective efforts of various saints that he was vanquished, and the Demon King’s corpse was refined into several treasures. Amongst these, the Nirvana Feathered Robe was revered as the foremost Divine Armor in the south and was held by the Wang Clan as a relic of their foundation.

The Wang Clan of the south had long maintained a close relationship with the Xu Clan of Yuanzhou. When the Xu Clan migrated from the affluent south to the desolate Yuanzhou, many clan members refused to leave their homeland. It was the southern Wang Clan that sheltered these people, and as the Xu Clan prospered in Yuanzhou, their ties deepened with many intermarriages, fostering a friendship that lasted generations.

Therefore, when Old Master Xu heard that Tang Luo harbored intentions to kill Wang Chan, he felt an immediate, visceral opposition and hastily spoke up in his defense, “Moreover, Wang Chan is an expert in arrays, with the flick of ten fingers he can create arrays, coming and going, darting and shifting without leaving a trace. If he dons the Nirvana Feathered Robe with the intention to escape, even a King Realm powerhouse might not be able to stop him. Add to that the Divine Arrays inscribed on the Nirvana Feathered Robe by the Wang Clan, alarming the powerhouses of the southern Wang Clan would only complicate matters further.”

Tang Luo could easily discern the protective tone in Old Master Xu’s voice and said irritably, “I don’t believe he wears the Nirvana Feathered Robe day and night. Going round in circles, you just don’t want to lay a hand on Wang Chan, do you? Then why bother going to Beimang? You said you were uninterested at first, then suddenly you show up, what explanation will you give then?”

“I….” Old Master Xu found himself at a loss for words, yet he couldn’t dispel the worries in his heart. He paced back and forth anxiously, like an ant on a hot pan.

“Stop pacing, breaking the floor tiles won’t solve anything. Let’s not think about Wang Chan for now and talk about something else,” Tang Luo, chin resting on his hand, asked Old Master Xu: “By the way, do you know of any ways to conceal hidden techniques?”

...

“Huh?! What are you planning to do?”

“Just asking. The silver divine patterns of the Undying Battle Body are too conspicuous. The Secret Arts Pavilion has tried many methods but hasn’t been able to cover them all, so they came to me. But my Undying Battle Body is different, with divine patterns within rather than on the surface, so I can’t help them with their problem. I thought I’d ask if you knew of any secret techniques that could do the trick.”

Old Master Xu, stroking his chin, said, “Well… if it’s just about hiding the divine patterns, it’s not entirely impossible. Some secret mantras from the Esoteric Sect like the Vajra Zen Seal, some external body protection techniques used by body cultivators, are able to create a protective shield with spiritual power outside the body. Do you think this could solve the problem of the Undying Battle Body?”

Waving his hand, Tang Luo responded languidly, “If it were just that, the Secret Arts Pavilion would already be doing it. But it’s only a temporary fix, not a cure. If we were to face disciples from some ancient martial sects and the shield broke, the foundations of the Undying Battle Body would still be revealed, and that would be a big problem.”

“You make a good point,” Old Master Xu pondered for a moment and then spread his hands, “Honestly, aside from the sword arts, I haven’t delved deeply into other techniques. I can’t think of a solution off the top of my head. How about I write a letter to my clan and ask them? The Xu Clan has a dedicated institution for researching bloodline divine abilities, with many peculiar techniques and secret arts created by imitating bloodline abilities. Perhaps they may have a solution for this.”

“Hmm, that may be our only option for now,” Tang Luo nodded, as if recalling something, then asked, “By the way, do you know about the ‘Great and Small Wishful Incantation’ spiritual ability?”

“Great and Small Wishful Incantation?” Xu Lao Ying sized up Tang Luo with a peculiar look and said without words, “Cousin, how deep is your obsession with growing taller? You’re already so tall and strong, why would you need the Great and Small Wishful Incantation?”

“Others use the Great and Small Wishful Incantation to grow bigger, but I need to shrink!” Tang Luo said irritably, “You’ve seen my giant’s physique; if I had the defensive strength of the giant’s physique at a normal person’s size, my fourth-grade Undying Xuanwu Battle Body would hardly be breached, but, as you just saw, once my size increases, I become a target for Spirit Arts. It’s not a problem against ordinary warriors, but once I face off against top disciples from the holy lands, this disadvantage is greatly magnified. I can hardly take it anymore.”

Every time the Undying Battle Body got breached, it meant the Divine Arrays etched inside were torn apart, and Tang Luo had to re-imbue Spiritual Power to etch them again. Each time was a significant drain on his Spiritual Power, and as a frugal and thrifty young man, it made him even more eager for the “Great and Small Wishful Incantation.”

“But even if you get the Great and Small Wishful Incantation, it will be difficult to integrate,” Xu Lao Ying thought for a moment and said, “Although the Great and Small Wishful Incantation uses the acupoints on the body’s surface, so it should not conflict with the Undying Battle Body, you are already at the fourth grade of the Undying Body, with sixty percent of your Spiritual Power drawn into the arrays. Do you have enough of the remaining forty percent to complete the Great and Small Wishful Incantation? Furthermore, it’s extremely difficult to execute several secret techniques at the same time, let alone such complex ones like the ‘Great and Small Wishful Incantation’ and the ‘Undying Battle Body.’ Merging them into one, won’t it affect your combat effectiveness?”

What Xu Lao Ying had mentioned, Tang Luo was well aware of, but he still insisted on his judgment, “Even if there is an impact, it’s only temporary. Any reduction in combat effectiveness due to complexity and tediousness can ultimately be mitigated through proficiency. But resolving the flaws of my Undying Battle Body is the urgent priority. Weighing two disadvantages, choose the lesser; between two benefits, choose the more significant. From the current situation, the ‘Great and Small Wishful Incantation’ is very important to my martial path; the sooner I acquire it, the less impact it will have on me.”

“Hmm, you do have a point,” Xu Lao Ying nodded and said, “There are many sacred cultivation lands that have this ancient power, the Great and Small Wishful Incantation, but our Xu Clan specializes in swordplay and doesn’t have this technique. To my knowledge, the forces that currently possess the ‘Great and Small Wishful Incantation’ are roughly these: Longzhou’s Martial Saint Mountain, Zhongzhou’s An Clan, the Wang Clan in the south of heaven, Beimang’s Xuanji Sect, and Chaochang’s Yun Clan.”

“Chaochang’s Yun Clan?” Tang Luo frowned, puzzled, “If Chaochang’s Yun Clan has the Great and Small Wishful Incantation, then why doesn’t the Xu Clan have it?”

“???” Xu Lao Ying looked puzzled and countered, “Why would the Xu Clan have the secret techniques that Chaochang’s Yun Clan has?”

Not wanting to voice Yun Piaopiao’s melodramatic tale of vengeance, after all, at only twenty-five or twenty-six, even if the Xu Clan was indeed behind the demise of the Yun Family, Xu Lao Ying was too young to know these secrets. Tang Luo simply did not pursue the topic further and casually said, “Then it’s nothing. I’ve heard that the treasures of the Yun Clan in Chaochang were acquired by the Xiang Family. It would be difficult to make an exchange before the Xiang Family has fully digested these treasures, so I guess I’ll have to look elsewhere.”

“Cousin~” Xu Lao Ying said with a smile tinged with emotion, “It seems you’ll have to take a trip to Beimang after all!”

Tang Luo said expressionlessly, “Can’t I go to Martial Saint Mountain?”

Xu Lao Ying grinned mischievously, “Martial Saint Mountain certainly has the Great and Small Wishful Incantation, but you just had a run-in with their Saint Child not long ago, and you declined Grandmaster Bu Chun’s invitation. I hear that Qilin Mountain’s Dao Child is still hung up on you, and the position as the lead disciple of Dapeng Mountain remains vacant because of you. I think, it’s best you don’t go asking for trouble.”