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The name struck a chord of instant recognition in Qin Yi's mind.
Flying Dragon Lurking on the Clouds.
He knew it all too well. In the third chronicle of the Sword and Fairy saga, it was Jing Tian's signature technique. By the time of the first chronicle, it had become the exclusive trademark of Li Xiaoyao.
But to have this be the very first lesson? Qin Yi felt a twitch of confusion.
From his knowledge of the "plot," the essence of this move was simple: theft. It was a glorified pickpocketing trick. Why would a being as powerful as Jing Tian pass down a skill that, on the surface, seemed so trivial?
He was still pondering this when Jing Tian moved.
There was no warning. One moment, the shopkeeper was standing relaxed; the next, his presence exploded outward. He didn't just move; he transformed. His aura shifted into that of a soaring, ancient dragon, and a vast, oppressive pressure crashed down on Qin Yi like a tidal wave.
"This is the Flying Dragon Lurking on the Clouds. Don't blink!"
Jing Tian's voice boomed, snapping Qin Yi's senses to high alert.
What followed was a blur. Qin Yi could vaguely make out the shape of a Roaming Dragon spiraling around him, moving with the fluidity of liquid light. Afterimages saturated the air. Every now and then, a Dragon Claw would materialize from the haze, extending toward him before vanishing just as quickly.
To Qin Yi, it felt as though he were a stationary cloud, helplessly watching a divine beast weave through the sky, head unseen, tail hidden. The movement was impossible to track, the strikes impossible to predict.
The shock hit Qin Yi hard. He finally understood that reality was far more complex, and terrifying, than any game or TV show could portray.
How could anyone consider this merely a theft skill?
It was a flawless fusion of high-level movement and grappling.
If one considered Jing Tian's cultivation level, his opponents were gods and demons. The purpose of the Flying Dragon was to snatch an item from an opponent's person. If you could bypass the defenses of a peerless expert to steal their purse, you could just as easily bypass their defenses to tear out their throat.
It was an indefensible technique.
Qin Yi's eyes burned with intensity. His innate talent flared to life, his mind feverishly recording every nuance of the movement and claw techniques Jing Tian was displaying.
Only when the phantom dragon dissipated and Jing Tian stepped back did the light in Qin Yi's eyes settle. He closed them for a moment, replaying the sequence in the theater of his mind. When he opened them again, he exhaled a long, shaky breath.
"Exquisite," Qin Yi whispered. "A movement technique like a ghost, a claw like a trap. Like a dragon in the clouds, visible, yet untouchable."
"Heh... not bad." Jing Tian grinned mischievously. He raised his left hand, then his right. "But you forgot these."
Qin Yi froze.
In Jing Tian's left hand was Qin Yi's sword. In his right, the gourd of wine.
Qin Yi's pupils constricted. The Azure Edge Sword was strapped to his back; the gourd hung at his waist. With his current level of sensory perception, he could hear a leaf fall a hundred meters away. Yet, he hadn't felt a thing. He hadn't sensed the weight vanish from his back or his hip.
"Flying Dragon Lurking on the Clouds..." Qin Yi murmured the name again, this time with reverence.
If Jing Tian had decided to attack instead of steal, Qin Yi realized he would have been dead three times over before he even knew the fight had started.
It was Mysterious. Breathtaking. Deadly.
"Well? Interested?" Jing Tian asked, tossing the items back. "There are a lot of hidden tricks inside this one."
Qin Yi caught his sword and bowed deeply. "I will be in your care, Shopkeeper Jing."
He had memorized the forms, yes. But the Intent, the artistic conception of the dragon, was something that couldn't be copied. It had to be taught.
"Hahaha, good! Since Zhangqing asked, I won't hold back," Jing Tian laughed. "That brat Li Sansi only managed to learn the surface level from me. You're getting the real deal."
For the next week, between managing his business empire, Jing Tian drilled Qin Yi in the art of the Flying Dragon.
It took a full seven days for Qin Yi to master it. This surprised him; usually, his talent allowed for near-instant mastery. That it took a week spoke volumes about the depth of the technique.
Even now, he was only at the 'Beginner' stage. He lacked the majestic, overwhelming momentum that Jing Tian possessed, that feeling of an unstoppable force hidden within the mist.
"You have the basics down," Jing Tian noted, surprisingly impressed by Qin Yi's speed. "The rest is repetition and enlightenment. You must internalize the concept of the dragon."
Historically, this technique was created by the thief 'Hero' Li Hankong, passed to the demon Jingjing, and then to Jing Tian. But the version Qin Yi was learning was Jing Tian's personal evolution of the art, refined by a former Divine General. In game terms, this was no longer a martial art; it was classified as Senjutsu, an Immortal Technique.
"Next," Jing Tian announced with a grin, "I will teach you the Universe Throw."
Qin Yi's lips quirked upward. He accepted without hesitation.
Universe Throw, Qian Kun Yi Zhi. The name implied that with a single throw, the universe itself was cast out. The earth would shake, mountains would crumble, and the sky would change color.
The only catch? It used money as ammunition.
"This is a copper coin. I took it from you earlier," Jing Tian said shamelessly. "I can't bear to throw my own money away."
He pinched the coin between two fingers. "Watch closely."
Flick.
Ding-ding-dang-dang!
The sound was crisp, but the effect was apocalyptic.
In Qin Yi's vision, the single copper coin seemed to fracture into infinite copies. A mysterious, heavy law of reality clamped down on the area. The space within dozens of meters distorted violently. For a split second, Qin Yi suffered the terrifying illusion that the world was flipping upside down, ready to be ground to dust by the weight of a single coin.
He stood there, stunned. He didn't understand the physics of it, but his instincts from other worlds kicked in.
A single copper coin, thrown with this technique, carried a gravitational and destructive force that rivaled the Chibaku Tensei (Planetary Devastation) of the Hokage world.
"That is the Universe Throw," Jing Tian explained, looking pleased with the destruction. "The more money you use, the greater the power. Though, naturally, there is a limit to how much force the technique can hold."
"Do you like it?"
"I love it," Qin Yi admitted.
He finally understood why Xu Zhangqing had sent him here. These were not standard Mount Shu teachings. These were unique, eccentric, and devastatingly powerful Secret Arts.
Unlike the complex Flying Dragon, the Universe Throw was mechanically simple. It only took Qin Yi four days to master.
"Ten copper coins can collapse the space for several hundred meters," Qin Yi noted with a sigh of awe. It was a skill that literally turned wealth into power.
In the weeks that followed, the training intensified.
Jing Tian taught him the Gilded Wine Ward, the Silver Tongue Incantation, the Spirit Refining Art, and the chaotic Taboo Breaker Style.
Two months flew by. Qin Yi's arsenal had expanded dramatically, his skills becoming more comprehensive and unpredictable.
"I won't teach you the Wind and Cloud Body or the Five Spirits Spells," Jing Tian said one afternoon, his expression turning serious. "Those are Mount Shu's specialties, and you can learn them there."
He looked Qin Yi in the eye.
"Next, I will pass on my strongest skill. My ultimate trump card."
Qin Yi straightened, sensing the shift in atmosphere.
"You must learn this seriously," Jing Tian said, enunciating every word. "The Kingdom-Crushing Silver Shockwave."
(End of chapter)
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New Fanfiction— 1. One Piece—Maxed Out Conqueror's Haki!
2. One Piece—Master Of Devil Fruits