https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-173-Heavenly-Shadow-Stele-Third-Update-/13450215/
Chapter 174: Renowned for Insight (Fourth Update)
Chapter 174: Renowned for Insight (Fourth Update)
"Alright."
Li Hao was also somewhat curious about this legendary stone.
Everyone overheard their conversation. As Lu Chunsheng led Li Hao forward, the numerous disciples instinctively made way, their eyes filled with curiosity.
The rules of the Heavenly Shadow Stele are unrelated to cultivation; they primarily test insight.
The young man before them was renowned across the land, with a cultivation speed unmatched in a thousand years. They were eager to see how his insight compared to theirs.
Sometimes, rapid cultivation does not necessarily mean high insight.
After all, below the Heavenly Man Realm, as long as resources are sufficient, one can quickly advance.
If foundational issues are ignored, one can even take large quantities of elixirs and make rapid progress.
However, stepping into the Tianren Realm requires not only insight but also a bit of qi channeling.
Some people gain sudden enlightenment from observing a single falling leaf or scooping up a handful of water.
Others travel the world, challenging various sects, covered in wounds, yet are halted at the Heavenly Gate.
"These hundred Heavenly Shadow Steles record the cultivation techniques and realms of all the disciples of the Heavenly Mechanism Tower over the past thousand years", Lu Chunsheng said with a smile. "When you perform a cultivation technique that surpasses the level of the image left in the stele, the Heavenly Shadow Stele's Dao Resonance will automatically record your technique's level, replacing the previous residual image. This is how the Heavenly Shadow Stele works."
Li Hao nodded; he already knew this.
But hearing about it is different from experiencing it. As he approached the dark stone stele, Li Hao faintly sensed the dense Heavenly and Earthly Energy and the subtle, elusive essence it emitted.
"Each disciple in our tower can only view each stele ten times. If they fail to leave an image after ten attempts, they may not view that stele again", Lu Chunsheng said with a smile. "The number of times a disciple views a stele and whether they can leave an image is a measure of their talent and insight."
"Interesting."
Li Hao said.
Seeing Li Hao's interest, a smile tugged at the corners of Lu Chunsheng's mouth. He knew that geniuses could not resist such a challenge.
"General, with your talent and sword art, I recommend you choose that Heavenly Shadow Stele", Lu Chunsheng pointed to a nearby Heavenly Shadow Stele.
The crowd looked over and began to murmur quietly.
"That's the Heavenly Shadow Stele Master Kong left behind ten years ago."
"The difficulty of that Heavenly Shadow Stele is ranked 82. Is he going to challenge such a difficult one right away?"
"For us, it's difficult, but maybe not for him. I think he'll leave an image in just three tries!"
"Three? That's hard to say. I think five should be about right. After all, he can suppress grandmasters across the land, so his talent and insight are far beyond ours."
The crowd whispered among themselves, all eyes fixed on Li Hao with anticipation.
In the crowd, Tang Zhixi also gazed intently. The 82nd-ranked Heavenly Shadow Stele left by Master Kong was more challenging than the 93rd-ranked one she had just broken.
Could this young man succeed in just three tries?
Her lips pressed together, her eyes fixed on the young man.
"Alright."
Li Hao glanced at it and walked to the Heavenly Shadow Stele. He examined it closely, following Lu Chunsheng's whispered instructions. Li Hao placed his palm on the Heavenly Shadow Stele and released his aura.
Soon, the Heavenly Shadow Stele seemed to come to life, its surface glowing with a radiant light.
At the same time, a figure appeared within the stele, a young man holding a long sword, suddenly slashing forward.
But this young man was just an image, not capable of actual attack. As he slashed and swung, he performed a powerful sword move.
To leave an image on the stele, one must perform the same sword move and do so more skillfully.
If it were any other Sword Art, it wouldn't work. Therefore, countless people have come here to test their Talent Insight.
Soon, the young man finished his demonstration.
Li Hao received a notification from the panel while the young man was halfway through his performance, and the Sword Art he was demonstrating was recorded.
"Here, it can even record Sword Techniques, and they don't seem to be from the Heavenly Mechanism Tower..."
Li Hao's eyes brightened.
Doesn't this mean that these hundreds of Heavenly Shadow Steles are like hundreds of cultivation techniques?!
At this moment, the young man on the Heavenly Shadow Stele finished his demonstration, and his figure faded away.
Li Hao snapped back to reality. He absorbed the information transmitted by the panel, looking at the newly added Moon Embrace Myriad Flower Sword Technique that had been perfected, as well as its True State level, and replayed the sword move the young man had just performed in his mind.
It seemed to be only at the Perfection Level.
This is a High-Grade Sword Technique.
Ten viewings, to comprehend and cultivate it to the Perfection Level, is indeed a severe test of Insight. The difficulty is no less than passing the imperial examination after just one year of study.
Most people memorize the sword moves during their first viewing, then practice repeatedly on their own. After a year or so, they come back to challenge again.
This process is repeated.
Ten viewings may take a decade or more.
"The shadow has disappeared. I wonder if he made it in?"
"Getting in isn't hard. I could do it. If someone can't make it after one viewing, they can't be considered a genius."
"That's true, but Master Kong's Sword Techniques are at the Perfection Level. The higher the realm, the harder it is to see the traces, making it difficult to imitate and cultivate."
The crowd murmured among themselves.
Li Hao looked around for a moment and saw a tree in the distance. He raised his hand and summoned a withered branch.
Then, he flicked the withered branch in his hand, and the Moon Embrace Myriad Flower Sword Technique was unleashed.
It seemed as if a bright moon appeared, enveloped by the light of his sword. The surrounding Sword Qi blossomed like countless sword flowers, each one carrying a sharp Sword Qi, untouchable.
Soon, the sword dance was complete.
The Heavenly Shadow Stele shimmered, and then, from the dark stele, Li Hao's figure, as he practiced the sword, appeared.
The original young man's shadow was overwritten and erased.
Lu Chunsheng was stunned, his pupils slightly contracting.
He knew Li Hao better and had hoped that Li Hao could leave a shadow after two viewings. This way, Li Hao's reputation as a genius would be preserved, and they would get Li Hao's shadow stele. However, he didn't expect that Li Hao would leave a shadow after just one viewing.
Moreover, the Sword Technique Li Hao just performed was accompanied by various phenomena, clearly indicating that it had reached the True Form Level.
From Perfection, skipping Ultimate, straight to True State!
To achieve this with just one viewing?
Lu Chunsheng suddenly felt that he knew too little about this young man, not even a fraction of the iceberg.
He even suspected that Li Hao might have practiced this Sword Art in advance.
Otherwise, even the three young Sword Saints, who could master a High-Grade Sword Technique to the Perfection Level with just one viewing, would be considered astonishing. But compared to Li Hao, they were like fireflies to the moon!
This young man's Sword Dao Talent is even more terrifying than a Sword Saint's!
Lu Chunsheng's thoughts raced, his eyes gleaming.
The other Heavenly Mechanism Tower disciples, however, were left in shock.
They had expected it to take three or five viewings, but they never thought Li Hao would leave a shadow after just one viewing.
Moreover, the level of the Sword Technique he demonstrated was so advanced that it produced phenomena, exceeding the understanding of many. Only a few knew about the True State, the highest level of cultivation techniques!
"True State in one viewing..."
Among the disciples, a few muttered to themselves, their eyes somewhat dazed.
At this moment, Li Hao, holding a withered branch, turned and walked to the edge of the training ground, approaching the 100th Heavenly Shadow Stele, which was at the very end of the sequence.
This ranking was likely determined by the Chief Elder based on the difficulty of the cultivation techniques inscribed on the steles.
Familiar with the process, Li Hao raised his hand and swiped over the stele, quickly activating the stored image.
But this time, the image showed saber techniques.
Seeing this, Li Hao skipped it and moved to the 99th Heavenly Shadow Stele.
Although he could simulate the saber techniques with his Sword Techniques realm and leave an image on the stele, there was no need for that.
The 99th Heavenly Shadow Stele contained fist techniques.
Li Hao smiled and soon the system recorded it.
Once the image disappeared, Li Hao delivered another punch, causing various phenomena to appear.
True Form Level.
His figure was soon imprinted on the Heavenly Shadow Stele.
Li Hao then moved on to other steles.
He activated more than a dozen Heavenly Shadow Steles in succession, including the 93rd, where Tang Zhixi had just left her image.
The woman's image was erased, and in its place was an Upper Grade Sword Technique, which was also at the Perfect level. However, this sword technique was easier for cultivators to master.
As Li Hao demonstrated the True State Sword Art, the image was instantly replaced.
When Li Hao reached the 70th Heavenly Shadow Stele, Lu Chunsheng finally reacted, stunned for a moment before hurriedly asking, "Young General, what are you doing?"
"I'm just trying to see what I can comprehend", Li Hao smiled.
Lu Chunsheng was taken aback, watching as the images on the steles were continuously replaced, with only a few skipped by Li Hao.
He suddenly had a bad feeling.
In the crowd, Tang Zhixi stared blankly at the young man's figure. The image she had left, which she had spent half a year studying and mastering to the Perfect level, was replaced by him with just a glance.
Moreover, the gap between True State and Perfect was vast.
Was this something a human could do?
She also noticed a detail: when she was demonstrating her sword technique, the young man had even looked around, seemingly impatient.
Her mind was buzzing with confusion.
On the training ground, the other disciples of the Heavenly Mechanism Tower felt much the same as Tang Zhixi. Initially, they were shocked, but later, they were all like they had a duck egg stuffed in their mouths, mouths agape and speechless.
Such a terrifying sight was beyond their wildest imagination.
Many of the Heavenly Shadow Steles had their images just starting to appear when Li Hao skipped them, but whenever he stopped to watch, he left an image in one go, and it was always at the True State level!
They would have never dared to dream of such a thing, even after eating their fill and drinking their fill.
It was too exaggerated.
Was this still a human?!
As Li Hao continued, he soon reached the top thirty of the Heavenly Shadow Stele sequence.
Lu Chunsheng was also utterly shocked. He had never seen or even imagined such a horrifying event in his centuries of life.
But soon, he suddenly realized a serious problem and fully snapped back to reality.
Li Hao had left images on so many Heavenly Shadow Steles and pushed all the cultivation techniques to the True Form Level.
Who could possibly continue to leave images in the future?
Ten viewings? True State?
They would be cursed!
Not to mention ten times, even a hundred times would be impossible.
True State, many people had never even heard of such a cultivation technique level.
The young aristocrats only understand the concept of Ultimate, which is already considered the pinnacle of their skills.
True State, even for the most talented individuals, requires decades of dedicated cultivation to achieve.
For those with average talent, it might take centuries to succeed!
“Young General, Young General!”
Lu Chunsheng watched as Li Hao continued to activate the Heavenly Shadow Steles, feeling a sense of unease. If Li Hao were to activate all of these Heavenly Shadow Steles, they would be rendered useless in the future!
These are one of the important legacies of the Heavenly Mechanism Tower, accumulated over a thousand years!
"Hmm?"
Li Hao turned to look at Lu Chunsheng, who had called out to him.
Lu Chunsheng quickly said, "Young General, I know your Insight is unparalleled, but shouldn't we leave some of these Heavenly Shadow Steles intact?"
As he spoke, a hint of awkwardness flashed in his eyes, and he was already deeply regretting his decision.
If he had known this would happen, he should have insisted that Li Hao continue playing the zither.
Earlier, he had thought that Li Hao might leave an image on one of the steles, and indeed, Li Hao did.
But he left far too many!
"Leave some?"
Li Hao frowned, quickly understanding what Lu Chunsheng meant.
Seeing Li Hao frown, Lu Chunsheng hurriedly added, "You can try the first-ranked Heavenly Shadow Stele, the one at the top. Leave your image there, and that would be enough to prove your Insight."
Li Hao felt a bit helpless. He wasn't trying to prove his Insight; he was simply collecting cultivation techniques.
"Alright."
Li Hao agreed. "But I want to activate these to see if I can gather any techniques. Is that okay?"
"Only activating them is fine", Lu Chunsheng replied, relieved that Li Hao had agreed. He quickly nodded in agreement.
With that, Li Hao immediately began activating the Heavenly Shadow Steles again.
Soon, over thirty Heavenly Shadow Steles were activated by Li Hao, and one-third of the cultivation techniques were successfully gathered.
Finally, Li Hao approached the largest Heavenly Shadow Stele, which stood tall on the mountain peak.
The other steles were only two to three zhang tall, but this one was over ten zhang high. Even with the magnificent waterfall beside it, resembling a vast, surging river, the Heavenly Shadow Stele stood out prominently.
Li Hao raised his hand to activate it, and an image of a sword-wielding figure appeared.
Li Hao glanced at it and raised an eyebrow. The figure looked familiar—it was Jian Wudao, the Sword Saint from the Sword Hut.
However, the image showed him in his middle age.
His hair was black and short, unlike the flowing white hair he has now.
But his facial features hadn't changed much; the current Jian Wudao has a rosy complexion and no wrinkles.
"Back then, Jian Wudao came to challenge me and asked me to agree to one of his requests. He wanted to try the Heavenly Shadow Stele. I lost, so I had to agree."
Lu Chunsheng came to Li Hao's side and sighed, "We were both young then. Although he exceeded the age limit, I still allowed him."
"He observed the stele seven times, spending a total of three years to comprehend the Sword Art to its Supreme Level. For over a hundred years, no one has been able to surpass him."
Li Hao's eyes flickered.
To comprehend a Sword Art to its Supreme Level in three years is indeed a sign of extremely high Insight.
No wonder he became a Sword Saint.
Moreover, back then, Jian Wudao was not yet a Sword Saint; he was just in his middle age, and his Sword Dao Realm was far from what it is now.
"Do you want to erase it? I can help."
Li Hao detected a hint of unresolved emotion in Lu Chunsheng's words, suggesting that he had not fully come to terms with the event.
Although Li Hao didn't know the details, it seemed that the experience wasn't a pleasant one.
Lu Chunsheng was taken aback by Li Hao's words:
"You're confident? This is an ancient and incomplete Sword Art. Even just a fragment of it is at the level of a supreme Sword Art!"
"Oh?"
Li Hao's eyes lit up with interest.
(End of Chapter)
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