Ultimate True Lord

"Disciple understands."

Jiang Ming nodded and responded.

Afterwards, the master and apprentice began to practice their skills in actual combat.

In the inner courtyard, some of the formal disciples were quite envious. Master Liu never trained any particular disciple, and even Fang Heng hadn't had many real-world sparring sessions with Master Liu.

Perhaps it was because Fang Heng encountered misfortune.

Liu Longquan cherished the talented disciples in the martial arts school, which is why he thought of sparring with Jiang Ming every now and then to enhance his combat skills.

To prevent Jiang Ming from encountering unexpected situations and ending up like Fang Heng.

……

……

Time flies, and another ten days have passed.

The new home, in the courtyard.

Jiang Ming was practicing a strange footwork technique in the open space, his feet constantly drawing long arcs, like a compass.

He kept walking, leaving white marks on the ground, forming a layered shape like an onion.

"I've finally mastered the last martial art."

Jiang Ming slowly stopped walking and stood quietly.

He took a deep breath, picked up the warm tea from the table next to him, and took a sip. Then, he turned and sat down in the armchair.

His gaze fell on the back of his left hand.

[Technique: Crescent Moon Step]

"This Crescent Moon Step can be cultivated all the way up to the Entangling Force. Unfortunately, this should be the heretical martial art that Master Liu mentioned, which is clearly a deviant approach. There are no visualization diagrams for the later stages, and the further you cultivate, the more likely you are to go astray."

He sighed softly.

But, the next second, a glimmer of inspiration flashed in Jiang Ming's eyes.

"How about we try other martial arts first and see what the enhancement options for this Crescent Moon Step are?"

Once the thought arose in his mind, he couldn't shake it off.

Jiang Ming took a deep breath and placed a beginner-level martial arts manual and the Crescent Moon Step into the slot of the Primal Furnace.

"Buzz..."

The furnace trembled, and the writing appeared.

[The following is the next enhancement for Crescent Moon Step]

Firstly: Increases the speed of practicing the Crescent Moon Step by 70%! (Success rate: 97%)

Secondly: When breaking through all the bottlenecks of the Crescent Moon Step, the difficulty is reduced to 70% of the original! (Success rate: 99%)

Thirdly: The Crescent Moon Step technique can generate a martial arts visualization diagram called "Crescent Moon Without Shadow"! (Success rate: 41%)

Jiang Ming's gaze swept across the options and immediately saw the "Enhance" option, which could boost a skill by a full 70% on the first upgrade. Clearly, the effects of basic enhancements varied greatly depending on the martial art.

The Crescent Moon Step martial art allows for more flexible increases in training speed.

Tsk tsk, Jiang Ming couldn't even imagine. He was already taking an unconventional approach, cultivating martial arts at lightning speed. If he increased that speed by another 70%, what kind of rocket-like speed would that be?

Unfortunately, it's too easy to go astray and become obsessed, so it's still undesirable.

His gaze slid down a few lines before suddenly stopping abruptly.

"Martial Arts Visualization Diagram: A Crescent Moon Without a Shadow!?"

Jiang Ming almost instinctively thought that if he had this visualization diagram, the probability of the Crescent Moon Step going astray would be greatly reduced. Wouldn't that mean this martial art could truly be practiced?

A surge of warmth welled up inside him, and his breathing became slightly rapid.

"With the visualization diagram, isn't the Crescent Moon Step equivalent to a righteous martial art with incredibly fast cultivation speed?! Moreover, I can further enhance its already exaggerated cultivation speed! Double or triple it again!"

Jiang Ming suddenly realized something, as if he had grasped a key to the correct use of the Primal Furnace.

"The Primal Furnace talent, its true suitability isn't for conventional, orthodox martial arts, but rather for this kind of unorthodox martial art—a double-edged sword with both immense flaws and immense advantages!"

"No, it doesn't necessarily have to be an unorthodox martial art. As long as it has both significant flaws and significant advantages, that's what I need!"

"The enhancement of the Primal Furnace can amplify the advantages of this martial art to an extremely exaggerated degree. Then, through further enhancement, its major flaws can be mitigated to some extent..."

His eyes lit up, and he began to think again.

These kinds of unorthodox martial arts generally fall into two categories. Jiang Ming's Crescent Moon Step is the first type. It is extremely fast to learn and relatively easy to break through the barriers, but it lacks a martial arts visualization diagram, making it very easy to suffer from qi deviation and demonic possession.

The second type involves extremely fast cultivation in the early stages, making it easier to break through barriers. However, the later the key stages, the more difficult the barriers become, and a single barrier can keep one stuck for more than ten years.

If he can make good use of the characteristics of these unorthodox martial arts, his cultivation will likely receive unimaginable assistance.

"Furthermore, since I am now a Soft-Force martial artist, practicing the basics of the Crescent Moon Step, including the Hard-Force aspects, will undoubtedly allow me to achieve twice the results with half the effort when cultivating from a higher level to a lower level... This is yet another layer of acceleration!"

Jiang Ming muttered to himself, becoming more and more excited as he thought about it.

"Three layers of acceleration stacked on top of one—the speed is unimaginable..."

Then he realized that he was actually a master of soft strength. Breaking through the martial arts barriers of the Crescent Moon Step was already relatively easy, and Jiang Ming had already reached the level of soft strength. Therefore, the first two barriers of the Crescent Moon Step's martial arts realm would be even easier.

"This is how a primitive furnace should be used!"

"I should practice evil arts!"

He took a deep breath and barely managed to suppress the excitement in his heart.

Jiang Ming sat under the big tree and pondered for a while.

He immediately decided that this time he would increase the cultivation speed of the Crescent Moon Step by 70%. After all, he had just entered the basics of the Crescent Moon Step, and the probability of going into qi deviation was the lowest during the stage from the basics to the Crescent Moon Realm.

Therefore, first increase your cultivation speed, and then add the martial arts visualization diagram "Crescent Moon Without Shadow" a month later, seamlessly connecting the two.

Without the slightest hesitation, Jiang Ming had already completed accumulating the Taotie patterns on the Primal Furnace. With a thought, he directly used his talent.

"Primarily using the Crescent Moon Step."

"Primal Furnace, Enhance!"

Instantly, black and gold flames erupted, transforming into writhing, dancing fire serpents. The densely packed Taotie patterns rapidly lost their color, dimming at an unimaginable speed.

However, it's clear that even after this enhancement, a small fragment of the Taotie pattern remained on the original furnace. This indicates that Jiang Ming's accumulated essence blood wasn't completely used up, and the next time it will be fully replenished, it will take even less time.

After two or three breaths.

"Click!"

The furnace lid was lifted, and a stream of black and gold light emerged.

[The following Crescent Moon Step enhancement options are available]

Firstly: Increases the speed of practicing the Crescent Moon Step by 70%! (Success rate: 97%)

……

"Choose, enhance one!"

As soon as Jiang Ming had a thought, he immediately felt something rapidly merging into his body, bringing a mysterious rhythm.

[Technique: Crescent Moon Step]

Enhancement 1: Increases the speed of practicing the Crescent Moon Step by 70%!

He slowly opened his eyes and looked at his palms.

Without any hesitation, Jiang Ming began practicing the unorthodox martial art, Crescent Moon Step.

Instantly, he felt an unprecedented and terrifying speed of cultivation. Jiang Ming felt as if his legs were encased in two furnaces, burning hot. Every step he took felt like a turbocharger.

Something invisible is driving me forward at breakneck speed.

This feeling is like before, when you were pushing a cart by hand, moving forward slowly on your own two legs. You didn't know how long it would take to reach your destination. But now, the car is equipped with wheels and an engine.

The diesel fuel was smoking and buzzing, and it could speed all the way to the end!

"The Crescent Moon Step has three martial arts realms: Crescent Moon, Half Crescent Moon, and Full Crescent Moon. I wonder how long it would take me to reach the Half Crescent Moon realm, which represents softness, if I started practicing from the beginning?"