Brian White really didn’t think much of this kind of third-rate wuxia protagonist personality. He just chuckled and said, “Fine then, go look for your uncle.” With that, Brian White didn’t say another word and continued practicing his martial arts as usual. He had long since mastered the Thirty-Six Hands of Hunyuan to perfection, but still hadn’t switched to another martial art. In Shu Mountain 2, Brian White already understood the importance of diligent practice—often, a single sword move required thousands upon thousands of repetitions before it could be used with ease and fluency in a contest of swordsmanship. It was precisely this tireless drilling that allowed his sword skills to rank among the top in Shu Mountain 2, sweeping aside countless opponents and slaying innumerable big bosses.

Brian White was especially convinced by the saying “a thousand moves are not as good as mastering one,” and insisted on practicing the Thirty-Six Hands of Hunyuan until it became as instinctive as breathing before he would consider stopping.

The young boy thought Brian White was trying to tempt him into learning martial arts, so he lifted his chin even higher, seeming even more disdainful of Brian White. Naturally, Brian White couldn’t be bothered with him. He practiced the Thirty-Six Hands of Hunyuan seven or eight times, only then feeling a slight sweat all over his body. The vital energy of heaven and earth became increasingly agile in his senses, and with each punch and kick, a faint dragon of energy seemed to coil and dance around him—this was the subtlety of integrating the Chicheng Heart Method into this set of martial arts.

David Stone had studied at the Chicheng Immortal Sect. Although his swordsmanship was lacking, his foundation was extremely solid. The 365 acupoints throughout his body were filled and brimming with true qi, far surpassing cultivators of the same level. So when Brian White took over his body and broke through to the realm of sensing the workings of heaven and earth in one go, he directly surpassed the “Qi Manipulation” stage of the Four Innate Realms and stepped into the “Spirit Communion” realm—a true case of accumulated strength erupting at once.

The fundamental difference between the Qi Manipulation and Spirit Communion realms lies in the control over the vital energy of heaven and earth.

In the Qi Manipulation realm, one can only crudely absorb and expel the vital energy of heaven and earth, at most letting internal energy radiate outward and project force through the air. In the Spirit Communion realm, however, one can merge self-awareness with the vital energy of heaven and earth, manipulating it as easily as moving one’s own limbs—this is also the first threshold for sword control.

After all, Brian White had only just crossed over from the modern world into this xianxia world. Although he had taken over David Stone’s body, he was still unfamiliar with many subtle aspects. So, although he had broken through to the second stage of the Four Innate Realms, his foundation was unstable and his realm fluctuated greatly. Brian White could use the Chicheng Heart Method to activate sword light, but unlike ordinary innate martial artists or Daoist cultivators, he couldn’t remain in this state at all times—it required his full concentration.

Over these days of martial practice, he gradually sensed these subtle differences and slowly stabilized his Spirit Communion realm.

When Brian White—he didn’t even know how many times—practiced the “Heavenly Serpent Swallows the Moon” move from the Thirty-Six Hands of Hunyuan, suddenly a dozen or so acupoints in his body all trembled at once, each emitting a stream of true qi. Following a mysterious route, they circled around and then rushed together into the chest’s shanzhong acupoint, merging into one. Brian White suddenly let out a long, unbroken howl that shook the land in all directions. At the same time, the faint energy dragon coiling around his body suddenly transformed into a straight white line, incomparably intense, like a monstrous python or coiling dragon, bursting through the sky and soaring over half a mile high.

Usually, when Brian White practiced martial arts, there was some commotion, but the Wuxin Temple was spacious enough that it didn’t disturb others. This time, however, the disturbance was a bit much—not only the fellow disciples, but even John Brooks the Patriarch was alarmed. This Chicheng Patriarch frowned slightly, his eyes opening and closing with a hint of anger as he called out, “When did David Stone, that rascal, reach the realm of sensing the workings of heaven and earth, and yet didn’t tell me? Looks like he’s already broken through the Qi Manipulation stage of the Four Innate Realms and stepped into the Spirit Communion level. Well, I suppose his usual diligence has paid off—he’s finally had an explosive breakthrough.”

After saying this, John Brooks pondered for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said, “I suppose this kid is lucky. I’ll give him a chance and see what he can achieve in the future.” With that, the Chicheng Patriarch casually wrote a line of characters in the air, then spat out a breath of true qi that wrapped around the words and sent them flying straight out of the Thunderfire Hall where he was cultivating in seclusion.

William Johnson’s nephew had originally looked down on Brian White, since he’d heard from his own uncle that “David Stone,” the sixteenth junior brother, was dull-witted and, aside from being willing to work hard, was basically useless. But the scene he’d just witnessed—Brian White practicing martial arts and channeling energy into a rainbow—left him deeply shocked. He somewhat regretted his earlier harsh words and was about to strike up a conversation with Brian White to make up for his previous arrogance, when suddenly a streak of white energy flew over.

Chapter 15: “The Chicheng Miscellaneous Applications of the Yang Talisman Classic”

“David Stone, come to the Thunderfire Hall immediately.”

The streak of white energy dispersed in front of Brian White, instantly revealing these eight large characters before gradually fading away. Brian White was slightly startled. After stepping into the sensing realm, he had become extremely sensitive to all kinds of energy fluctuations, and the power contained in this white energy was terrifying to the extreme—far beyond anything he could resist. Although Brian White knew he was worrying for nothing and that this white energy wasn’t here to kill him, the shock in his heart still lingered for a long time. “Just a casual message spell contains such formidable power—if it were used in actual combat, who knows how terrifying it would be. My cheap master really is something else. I wonder when I’ll be able to cultivate such power myself.”