Chapter 731: Reward

This was the fundamental basis for their classification. It didn’t mean Heavenly Gang Techniques were inherently stronger than Earthly Fiend Techniques.

‘Well, in terms of starting point, you could say Heavenly Gang is stronger. After all, Heavenly Gang Techniques start at Tier Four Magic Level, while most Earthly Fiend Techniques are Tier One and Tier Two.’

However, when comparing Techniques of the same tier, there was no clear distinction in strength. In Hongmeng, there were no inherently strong or weak Techniques, only strong or weak Cultivators. The degree of development and cultivation determined a Technique’s power.

‘Of course, that statement is a bit of a paradox. For example, the Fire Feather Skill is inherently stronger than the Fireball Technique. But the Fireball Technique is simple to learn, while the Fire Feather Skill is difficult.’

‘If you spent the same amount of mental energy on both, you might reach Mastery with the Fireball Technique while only achieving Entry Level proficiency with the Fire Feather Skill. In that case, their power would be roughly equivalent.’

‘So, comparing the strength of Techniques was, in itself, a muddled paradox.’

‘The so-called “strength” was mostly a comparison between Techniques of the same tier, without considering the effort required to master them.’

······

Zhang Deming flipped two more pages, which were full of missing Escape Skills. The one that made him most envious was…

Heavenly Gang: Rainbow Transformation Technique

Category: Escape Speed Dao

Status: Not Collected

Effect: …

‘Never mind the others; the fact that it was named “Rainbow Transformation”—the pinnacle effect for an Escape Skill in the scriptures—told you just how powerful it was. This was a Lifebound Divine Ability derived from the Three-legged Golden Crow, an Alien Species from the Primordial Chaos.’

‘It was the quintessential representative of the Speed Dao, an existence with unrivaled speed among its peers.’

‘Of course, it was just as famous for its difficulty as for its effects. The minimum requirement was Tier Six, and it even required special Bloodline materials. That’s right, this damn thing was a Bloodline-type Technique!’

As his thoughts raced, Zhang Deming suddenly froze. In the next section of the catalog, for the first time ever, multiple Techniques appeared on a single page. Not just two or three—there were five on the same page!

Earth Evil: Gold Escape

Category: Escape Speed Dao

Status: Readable

Use: Escape, Combat

Effect: One of the Five Elements Escape Techniques. None can be missing!

······

Earth Evil: Wood Escape

Category: Escape Speed Dao

Status: Readable

Use: Escape, Combat

Effect: One of the Five Elements Escape Techniques. None can be missing!

······

Earth Evil: Water Escape

Category: Escape Speed Dao

Status: Readable

Use: Escape, Combat

Effect: One of the Five Elements Escape Techniques. None can be missing!

······

Earth Evil: Fire Escape

Category: Escape Speed Dao

Status: Readable

Use: Escape, Combat

Effect: One of the Five Elements Escape Techniques. None can be missing!

······

Earth Evil: Earth Escape

Category: Escape Speed Dao

Status: Readable

Use: Escape, Combat

Effect: One of the Five Elements Escape Techniques. None can be missing!

······

An entire page filled with five Techniques, and below them was a special note.

Note: The Five Elements Escape Technique is the most comprehensive set within the Speed Dao. While powerful, it is exceptionally difficult to cultivate. Even after achieving the Five Rune Fusion, advancing it remains incredibly hard.

If you choose to cultivate only one, or fail to advance all five skills to Mastery and complete the final Rune Fusion, the effect will only be slightly better than other Escape Skills, yet the difficulty will be several times higher.

Therefore, please consider carefully before choosing this path!

If you must cultivate just one, Earth Escape is the top recommendation, followed by Wood and Water Escape, then Fire Escape, and lastly, Gold Escape.

‘Does this count as one Scripture or five?’

‘If it’s one, I’ve hit the jackpot!’

‘But… I’m probably getting my hopes up.’

Without hesitation, Zhang Deming selected all five Techniques and collected them. This string of major gains left him feeling quite pleased.

He started flipping through the pages again. For a long stretch, everything was listed as “Not Collected.” Things like the Vertical Earth Golden Light Technique and One Qi Transformed into the Three Pristine Ones made him envious, but at the same time, utterly exasperated.

Still, it was understandable. After all, Celestial Spirit was just an Upper Sect, and a lower-ranked one at that. To have such an extensive Daoist Collection was already damn impressive. As he neared the end of the catalog, he froze once more.

Heavenly Gang: Divine Separation and Thought Transformation

Category: Summoning, Heart Spirit Dao

Status: Readable

Use: Summoning, Combat, Survival

Effect: A prerequisite Technique for the Summoning Path’s “Transform into Myriad Things.” It allows one to perform Divine Separation, transforming thoughts to control all things. A single person can command thousands of Daoist Soldiers and Armor.

Note: Cultivating this Skill is extremely difficult. It requires consuming a massive amount of Heart Spirit to gradually achieve the ability to multitask, eventually reaching the stage of transforming into myriad Divine Thoughts. This is the ultimate control Skill of the Summoning Path.

However, this Skill originally stemmed from the Divine Dao. Through later development, it slowly diverged, eventually drifting far from its origins. Even so, it was still significantly implicated when the Divine Dao was forbidden.

For various reasons, its difficulty, already high for a Heavenly Gang or Earthly Fiend Technique, was raised by several more levels. In the current age of Hongmeng, Divine Power Cultivators who practice this Skill have completely vanished.

Even Summoning Cultivators who use troop-type Divine Abilities like Scattering Beans into Soldiers, Blowing Hair into Many, or Paper-Cut People can no longer Minor in this Skill. Instead, they choose other Heart Spirit Skills as a workaround.

Please choose with extreme caution!

······

‘A specialized control Technique for the Summoning Class that lets you split your focus? Of course, since it belongs to both the Heart Spirit and Summoning categories, it’s also a Summoning Skill in its own right!’

Zhang Deming clicked the catalog again and retrieved the Skill. He examined it for a moment, his gaze filled with desire, before stowing it away and continuing to browse.

The rest of the catalog was entirely filled with “Not Collected” entries. Zhang Deming looked at the eight Scriptures he now held, just two short of his limit. After a moment of deliberation, he navigated to the Array Dao section.

His Array Dao Rune was fused with his editing panel, so he couldn’t use a script to automate it, which also meant he couldn’t use Qi Fortune to upgrade it. Moreover, anytime he used the Array Dao, it was equivalent to directly manipulating the editing panel itself.