Chương 21: Xuezhai's Three Styles

The two remained in an embrace. Grape curled her entire back into Xiao Yao's arms, and said sleepily, "I don't know, but you have a... familiar feeling... that made me fall asleep without realizing it."

Xiao Yao's movements also woke up the girl in his arms!

"What kind of nonsense is this? Don't do this again!" Xiao Yao scolded her, then pulled his arm away and got off the bed.

"Okay! I'll sleep... sleep a little longer..." Grape yawned and continued her sweet dream.

"Kids really have no worries, they sleep so soundly..." Xiao Yao complained before starting his schedule for the day.

After eating a simple meal, Xiao Yao quietly took out two scrolls:

"The Snow Studio Manual": Earth-Rank Beginner Cultivation Technique!

"Snow Studio Three Styles": Earth-Rank Beginner Combat Technique!

The two exist as a set.

"This is a gift I risked my life for..."

"It's impossible to break through the Ice Explosion Technique in the short term unless you have a fortuitous encounter. In that case, the only option is to cultivate this combat skill."

Xiao Yao withdrew his cultivation technique, leaving only the scroll of fighting skills pressed against his brow. In an instant, a stream of information entered his mind.

"Swordsmanship! This fighting technique requires a longsword to be used, otherwise its power is greatly reduced."

He didn't have a sword, but... he did have a ruler.

"Hehe! Oh well, I'll just have to use it as a sword for now. I'll see if I can learn this fighting technique first, and then I'll get a better sword when I get to Maple City."

He held the Xuanzhong Ruler in his hand and used it as a sword to cultivate Earth-rank combat skills. It is estimated that no one throughout history has ever come up with such a unique move.

Swordsmanship emphasizes speed and adaptability, allowing for flexible combat.

The Xuanzhong Ruler is only suitable for wide, sweeping slashes and has nothing to do with the agility of a sword.

"The three forms of the Snow Pavilion Sword Technique require the body to be purged with the Ice Spirit Cold Spring, absorbing the extreme cold and fusing it with the power of the soul, integrating the two into sword intent in order to succeed. Upon reaching a minor mastery, one can conceal one's aura, increase movement speed, and be less likely to be detected by those with ulterior motives, and can also attack the enemy by surprise.

However, the effect will be weakened if one encounters a strong Ice Battle Qi user..."

After learning about the "Three Styles of Snow Studio" fighting techniques, Xiao Yao was amazed!

"Truly exquisite! Its power will certainly not disappoint! Especially the final move: Heart-chilling Snow!"

"Standing still, unleash the sword intent that leaves the body, and strike the enemy from all directions at an extremely fast speed, instantly unleashing all three sword techniques. The sword intent is immune to battle qi attacks; it is purely a contest of soul power. When the sword is sheathed, the soul is severed and the spirit is scattered."

"Mr. Xuezhai? What an extraordinary person! His swordsmanship, capable of both close and long-range attacks, is truly impressive! It's somewhat similar to the 'draw sword slash' from a game in my past life..."

"I don't have the Ice Spirit Cold Spring, but I have the even more powerful Ten Thousand Bone Ice, so that should be fine!"

"It's a pity I don't have a sword... Sigh..."

Xiao Yao was quite fond of this fighting technique. Just imagine how powerful it would be if, after unleashing an extremely powerful sword technique, the enemy would be instantly killed the moment the sword returned to its sheath.

However, this depends on the situation. If the opponent's soul realm is higher than one's or their strength is much greater, then it is impossible to kill them instantly.

Within the same level, this can be considered a very powerful sword technique.

Coupled with its deeply ingrained ice attribute, its power is naturally immense.

If it weren't for the last point—that to unleash the final move, "Heart-chilling Snow," one must reach the Spirit Realm—this fighting technique would be worthy of being ranked as a high-level Earth Rank technique.

"Thinking about it carefully, that makes sense. If such a powerful move could be used at will, wouldn't that make us invincible?"

"Also, the attack power will be reduced when fighting against ice-type aura experts, which is a minor drawback. But in the early stages, even if you can't kill the enemy instantly, it should be fine to injure them, right? If you launch a surprise attack... hehe."

"Let's study it to pass the time!"

What followed was the tedious time of cultivation, which was tough on Grape. She could only pass the time by looking at the scenery. Fortunately, she had a good view from her window and could see outside when she opened it.

That night, Xiao Yao reminded her again not to sleep outside the designated area, but the next day he still found her lying in his arms, which left Xiao Yao speechless.

Time flies by on the journey...

On the fifteenth day at noon, Xiao Yao wielded the enormous Xuan Heavy Ruler, immersed in cultivation.

"The difficulty of the Snow Pavilion Three Styles is much greater than I imagined..."

"He hasn't even mastered the first move: 'Treading Snow Without a Trace'! As for sword intent... he hasn't even scratched the surface!"

He failed to master even one of the three basic Earth-rank combat techniques, "Snow Pavilion Three Styles."

The first move is particularly difficult. It requires completely concealing one's aura, utilizing the properties of ice to reduce friction during movement, maximizing speed, and generating a powerful attack.

The requirements for the next two moves are the same. The three moves can be considered a combo. If you fail to succeed in the first move, don't even think about the next one.

Xiao Yao was frustrated. In the past few days, he had only cultivated the Cold Qi Transmission Body Technique, and had not succeeded in anything else. He had made some progress in concealing his aura, but he could only use the Snow Treading Without a Trace technique occasionally. He was still far from succeeding.

Clang! Clang! Clang!.....

A series of rapid bell sounds rang out! This was the signal that they had arrived at their destination.

As the clouds disappeared, the outline of a city gradually became clear.

"Brother! Look! Maple City! It's so magnificent!" Grape exclaimed in surprise.

Xiao Yao also stopped cultivating and looked out the window.

Several flying mounts had appeared not far from him in the sky, flying in a crisscross pattern and landing one after another.

Maple City is surrounded by thick city walls, and the scene inside the city is even more magnificent. Pavilions and towers with gray-tiled roofs are intricately arranged, forming an endless landscape. Countless people walk around like ants, stopping and starting.

One of the building complexes, which has a distinctly consistent architectural style and occupies a very large area, appears in the center of Maple City.

As they approached the ground, Xiao Yao finally saw the center of the building, where two powerful characters were written on a huge plaque.

"Thousands of years have passed... and the Xiao Clan... still exists here!"

Before long, the flying mount, the Bluebird, flapped its large wings a few times and landed steadily at the post station outside the city.

Finally, after several days of travel, Grape rushed down ahead, constantly turning back to call out to Xiao Yao.

"Brother! Hurry up!"

Xiao Yao shook his head helplessly, slung the Xuanzhong Ruler over his shoulder, and followed.

"This ruler is truly a powerful tool for cultivation!" Xiao Yao felt his steps sink, and the flow of his internal energy slowed down instantly. He would have to constantly increase the output of his internal energy to counteract the pressure from the Xuanzhong Ruler.

This undoubtedly gave him a passive buff. He decided to carry it with him when he was cultivating or traveling, so that his battle qi conversion speed would be slightly faster.

After entering the city, he discovered that Fengcheng was so vast that it stretched as far as the eye could see.

Grape happily strolled through the crowds, glancing at this and buying some snacks.

After wandering around for a while, they stopped in front of a guesthouse that looked pretty good.

The signboard reads "Anjuke" (安居客), and in the lower left corner are two smaller characters: Xiaomen (萧门).

"Anjuke! This must be a property of the Xiao family. We'll stay here for the night!"