It was a well-known fact that a cultivator could only master one type of intent. Attempting more than that risked disaster—the body could explode, beco crippled, suffer qi deviation, or even endure all three at once. For that reason, cultivators rarely attempted it unless they possessed a unique physique that allowed it, such as Kang Huilang’s or the Golden Nine Revolutions Cicada Physique, which granted eight clones, each with different attributes and talents.
Physiques like those could make it possible to master multiple intents. But even then, Kang Huilang’s case was exceptional. The Golden Nine Revolutions Cicada Physique spread the burden across separate clones. Each clone was essentially a different body, and so the fundantal law of one intent per body still applied. Kang Huilang, however, could learn and host multiple intents within a single body.
That was why, just as Yang Qing was unmatched in battles of attrition, Kang Huilang was, at the sa cultivation base and minor stage, hands down the most powerful combatant in the Order.
As much as it pained him to admit, he too had lost more than a few tis to that yellow-haired gambler. The victories were always pyrrhic, but they were victories nonetheless. At the sa ti, he was also among the very few who had ever forced a draw out of him—and that was back when Kang Huilang had only mastered two intents. Now that he had four, Yang Qing wasn’t sure how a fight between them would play out.
Kang Huilang was the true personification of combat. Even Zhang Qingge, with her prodigious and terrifying combat ability that bordered on monstrous, could only ever force a draw against him—and that was when he had three intents.
Who knew how things would play out against four?
Part of the reason Huilang had delayed his breakthrough to the Palace Realm was because he had been deciding which intent to choose as his fourth. Only after mastering it would he be able to fuse all four together into a unique intent. That unique intent would then beco the foundation with which he cleaved open the doors to the Palace Realm.
Yang Qing still believed his odds of forcing a draw weren’t too bad, even with Kang Huilang now possessing four intents. After all, he too had made many improvents, especially in his deepened understanding of his physique. And while his physique’s pursuit of balance in everything might dull the edge of his attributes against monstrous individuals like Huilang, there were still two things within his physique whose power could rival his opponent’s—if pushed to the extre, and that was Yin and Yang.
Absolute Yang in Yin, Absolute Yin in Yang. That was his ultimate trump card. He had never unleashed it against Kang Huilang, as doing so would leave him completely depleted. Their training bouts, serious as they were, had never been matters of life and death, so such a reckless move wasn’t warranted. Especially one he had no control over once released. Still, Yang Qing felt it could hold its own against Huilang’s trump cards.
A satisfied smirk tugged at his lips as he pictured himself one-shotting Kang Huilang, then mocking him for an entire year over that single beating. The thought was deeply satisfying. But as sweet as it was, he still had his purple grade art to ponder.
This art suited him perfectly, like a second layer of skin. It matched the nature of his physique to a tee in its pursuit of harmonized balance. At tis, Yang Qing even found himself wondering if its creator had shared the sa peerless jade physique as him. Yet he knew that was impossible. Peerless jade physiques were unique to their owners, like fingerprints. There was no chance of two of the sa peerless jade physique ever appearing.
Even knowing that, he couldn’t help but wonder...
The Universal Resonant Light was about understanding and harmonizing with all the energies that made up the world, then using them seamlessly to one’s ends. That was why the purple grade art’s true forte lay in adaptability and versatility. The deeper one’s understanding grew, the more their body, essence, qi, and soul blended with the surroundings as it got continuously transford by that world’s energy.
The deeper the understanding, the deeper the transformation. And the deeper the transformation, the greater the harmony one had with the world. That was why the stealth and camouflage spells tied to this art were the most powerful Yang Qing had ever seen.
Take his present disguise for example. His entire aura was that of a cultivator whose body was steeped in the water elent. Few could see through it, because while it was a disguise, the essence of his qi and nature was not a forgery but an assimilation of the Universal Resonant Qi within him. This allowed him to alter the elental nature of his qi at will, which in turn influenced his essence and even his aura, depending on the quality of water elent he chose. To complete it, the art even provided water-based techniques to match.
If he chose earth instead, the "quality" of earth he pursued would be reflected in the aura and essence of his being. The sa held true for all other elents he had co to understand.
The Universal Resonant Light Art allowed one to blend seamlessly with their surroundings and beco indivisible from them. In turn, this translated into the ability to manipulate the environnt by becoming one with it. His stealth spells and techniques were powerful for that reason, and not only that—they were equally effective in uncovering those relying on stealth themselves. The greater one’s harmony with their surroundings was, the easier it beca to detect even the slightest disturbance within them.
It also had handy utility spells, such as those that enabled one to discern the properties and attributes of things around him—whether it was a spiritual plant, a spiritual rock, a spiritual vein, or even so unknown treasure. Many of Yang Qing’s successful treasure hunts were thanks to this purple-grade art.
Its escape spells were nothing to laugh at either, given their variations. Spying on others was just as easy, and absorbing and utilizing qi ca naturally, which only added to his regeneration. Its healing and restorative abilities were just as impressive, along with other buffing techniques it contained.
The purple-grade art might not have had the most destructive attacks worthy of its grade, but it was without question the most versatile and adaptive when it ca to dealing with sudden and unpredictable circumstances. Whether reacting, surviving, or escaping, it excelled—making it the perfect fit for Yang Qing, as it harmonized not only with the nature of his physique but also with his own nature, which valued survival and adaptability above all else.
Yang Qing imdiately entered silent ditation as a serene presence radiated from his body, seeping into his surroundings. With every breath he took, his presence and that of the world around him rged into one.
Universal Resonant Flower.
A gentle light, filled with a wide array of colors, swirled at the center of his overlapping palms. From it, multicolored strands slowly intertwined, forming a crystalline stalk. The stalk rose upward, sprouting a single petal, which then beca two, then four, then six—until thirty-six of them overlapped one another in perfect harmony.
The petals were just as crystalline as the stalk, yet they carried a soft, fleshy texture that was malleable to the touch, as though one could pinch them and feel them bend or twist to the press of the fingers.
The radiant qi from which the flower was ford continued to flow into it from Yang Qing’s palm, coursing through the stalk and rising into the petals. Gradually, the crystal-clear petals shifted, blossoming into a radiant hue of countless colors.
With every swirl, Yang Qing’s spent qi was replenished, borrowed from all the energies surrounding him—whether from plants, air, soil, rock, or water—and in return, a refined universal qi gently flowed outward from his body, soaking into and subtly enriching his surroundings.
If one listened closely, one could almost feel nature itself rejoicing, as it drew more energy to offer him and, in turn, received the sa back in equal asure, both sides slowly synchronizing into one.
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