Dual Cultivation God Returns

Chapter 406 The Components of Strength

Wu Long saw the interest in the eyes of both, and did not tease them any longer.

"I have to preface this discussion with the fact that skills and techniques of people in this closed-off world have dramatically deteriorated and their cultivation foundations are built on inferior techniques and using this inferior Spiritual Qi.

You might have noticed that the first technique I gave everyone was of foundation solidification and internal Spiritual Qi purification, to dispose of the negative effects of cultivating in this environment and with bad cultivation techniques, so it took some time to start progressing forward since you were all fixing what you built up before meeting me. Which is why you all are also generally stronger than people in the same realm as you"

As he pointed out, both Feng Yi and Shen Min could vividly remember the hard time they had fixing their cultivation bases at first, and could also feel the gap between and other cultivators in the same realm as them.

"As I told some of our Dao Family before, I had to bring more of my potential against some of the Bullshit Training Camp mercenaries or Bahshi Assassins when the gap in realms was basically the same just because they practiced more robust techniques and had a more or less intact legacy.

So in this particular case, it gives me an additional advantage of one or two Major Realms in this world but that advantage disappears outside of it. And do not forget that the Core Reformation Ancestors I met already were past their prime and thus not as threatening as someone younger in that realm"

Wu Long slightly wryly smiled as he was dealing with people who had almost everything inferior, did not have the same knowledge or experience, so it was a little dubious to call it an even fight even if the opponents had vastly higher realms.

"Not to mention that such shortening of a gap in realms is also easier done in the Nine Mortal Realms as the gap between realms only gets bigger the higher you go.

Just so you can tell the difference, a gap between the lower Minor Realms of 1st to 3rd level in the Major Realm of Essence Gathering is almost as big as between Foundation Building Realm and Core Formation Realm"

Wu Long then chuckled as Feng Yi and Shen Min gasped since in this world's knowledge that was one of the three biggest gaps between realms along with the gap between the Qi Condensation and Qi Manifestation, and the gap before Mortal Trasncendence.

"So you have to keep in mind that those are the factors that are true only for this world, and the situations you have witnessed"

He reinforced this fact so they understood that his prowess was not as unlimited as it might seem.

"But you still can fight someone three Major Realms above you in the world outside, can't you?"

Shen Min then asked as she looked at his profile with eyes full of anticipation.

"Yes. There are a few reasons for that, some permanent and belonging to the range of my abilities, and others are a bit more leaning toward unusual.

First, there are special types of power, such as my Sword Intent or Spear Intent or their respective Domains. They are usually considered abnormal since they are in theory not restricted by realms and are outside of the boundaries of general prowess among cultivators. This is greatly enhancing my strength in dealing with opponents I should not be able to beat"

As he touched on this topic, both of them, but Shen Min especially showed a slightly covetous look in their eyes.

Though Feng Yi was not invested in Marital Arts as heavily, she still felt a bit of admiration toward such an ethereal and mysterious power.

Shen Min on the other hand was someone who longed to reach a high level in Martial Arts, thus her feeling of desire for something that could be considered a type of excellence in one's mastery of a weapon was far stronger.

"Second is the understanding of Concepts and Laws, which is a little more esoteric, but will come into play when I reach Seven Profound Realms.

Though I am already partially using them, I have to use the medium of the previously mentioned Intent or more specifically Domain to do so"

He then added, as both of them exchanged glances.

"You mean those things Mingyu studies?"

Shen Min raised her eyebrow as she did not expect to hear about the fundamental principles of Dao that Dao Cultivators studied in discussion about strength.

"Indeed"

Wu Long nodded.

"The Concepts and Laws are actually something cultivators can tap into to enhance their strength or use them to their advantage. That just happens to be the domain of power above Nine Mortal Realms"

He then explained as the two became slightly nervous.

"Haha, relax, with Mingyu around you would not have to be as apprehensive about learning about them, and would have a considerable advantage"

He could see their thoughts that clearly reflected in their eyes as Feng Yi in particularly thought 'I'm screwed'.

"Besides, your natural talent is not as bad as mine and even something considered excellent, so you will have an ad edge over people with poor talent, since, the Dao will be on your side and easier to grasp.

As for me, someone whose strength leaned toward comprehension rather than natural talent, I had to be extra zealous in my preparations, as I often used my time in libraries and studies rather than cultivation"

Wu Long chuckled.

"But at some point in time it started giving fruits as I wielded far more power than someone at my cultivation realm should have. And those who far surpassed me in cultivation were eventually no match for me even three, four Major Realms apart"

A smile touched his lips, as his eyes seemed to see distant past. It was a smile of fondness and remembrance.

"And then there is the power of knowledge. You see, in fights above the Nine Mortal Realms, the compatibility of elemental attributes and different types of power, as well as knowing the strengths and weaknesses of every way there is to fight is something that brings you a long way.

There is also versatility in dabbing in almost anything that could give me advantage that allowed me to use that knowledge to the fullest.

Though that cannot bridge the gap between sheer power like the two previous things I mentioned of course, those are only amplifying factors but not direct ones"

He snickered as it was something heavily debated in many circles of the cultivation world.

"But those are basically what always allowed me to fight way above my league. There are of course other minor factors, but those are among the key aspects.

Now, however, those are amplified out of proportion as I never stopped improving, at every turn, thus both those abnormal abilities and Concepts and Laws which I did not lose are something I did not have to the same degree at every turn of my journey. Besides I never said I will stop now either, as there is always room for growth"

He finished explaining, inwardly suppressing his expectations of the Dao Runes, but still unable to fully discount the possiblities that opened up for him now.

"Hmm, but those are the permanent ones, what about the more 'unusual' that you talked about?"

Shen Min sharply looked at him as his smile widened as he looked ahead.

"Very perceptive, hahaha. Well, there is something that I only got now and which cannot really be attributed to me.

I'll tell you a secret, though it's not really one, but I do cheat a little when I fight now compared to my previous life.

That power is not natural or should I say, something I could not possess if I was not reborn, besides its effect would be less apparent the higher in realm I am"

He had a slightly guilty look since it was definitely not something that was achieved of his own strength or ability, even though it required a certain excellence to be able to utilize this advantage.

"You see, my soul is still the same one from my past life so strictly in terms of my soul I have not changed at all.

Therefore... my perception speed is still technically able to grasp movement beyond the means of my body. That is to say I can view the world at the speed I had when I was in my prime"

He wryly smiled as he talked as the two beauties widened their eyes.

"There is of course a catch.

The trick is that my body and especially brain is not used to this strain, so this exhausts my mental capacities and body to a detrimental degree, thus I only use it in situations where I should not even be able to see my opponent due to speed difference.

And there are limitations of how much faster than my body and brain I can go since the strain on the body would be simply too much for it to bear if I go too fast.

And most importantly, it does not give me the ability to move at that speed as my body is simply unable to, and by extension I cannot move around my eyes to see around either.

Think of it like this, if I wanted to, I could watch an attack that I could not physically avoid go toward me"

He then chuckled as not everything was as simple.

"I don't understand, how is that an advantage? If your body cannot move faster then it should not matter whether you see an attack or not, it will hit you. And in addition, if that attack comes from a direction you are not looking at, you would not be able to turn to see it"

Feng Yi slightly exhaled since it did not seem as impressive as the first part of his explanation made it out to be.

"Hmm, if I am right, that is where the way to use this ability comes into play since he can use that heightened speed as observation tool before the opponent moves. Doing the same he does for opponents he can see, detecting the muscle contractions, direction of the line of sight and other such signs to predict the future movement.

It also could come in handy to think of a response, there is a lot you can do even if you receive an injury if you knew in advance you will get it, such as preparation, lack of shock factor, immediate response after getting attacked as that is usually when the attacking party is the most vulnerable and other such minor but surprisingly important things in the heat of the battle where every minute advantage counts"

Shen Min said as she thought about how she could use such an ability and Wu Long nodded with a proud smile.

"Indeed, you are correct. Besides, I did say that my body cannot move at that speed but I did not say anything about Spiritual Qi and Soul Power"

He then made a mischievous smile, prompting both beauties to look at him with a bit of rebuke for being slightly mean.

"First, my spiritual sense moves at the same speed as I think so I can still perceive everything around me as clearly as if I saw it with my eyes. I could also begin using a specific technique or Spiritual Qi manipulation at the same speed.

But the real quirk comes because of my Golden Yang Dragon Body Art. It is not a simple body strengthening technique..."

"Yes, it also strengthens your spear below"

Shen Min nodded with an endearing smile of her own. She has been a beneficiary of this technique quite often after all. Feng Yi's olive green eyes looked as round as plates as she turned to the beauty with heterochromatic eyes.

"...Um... yes, but I meant more than that as well"

Wu Long first almost stopped moving forward and then continued on with a smile.

"It of course is the main technique I strengthen my Yang Root and Yang Qi with, but apart from that and physical body improvement, there are many things I included in it. One of which is a factor in the ability to think faster and utilize my Spiritual Qi.

Since I designed it partially according to the cultivation of the Dragon Race it has one particular unique trait that I was fond of. The resilience to breaking the limits of one's own strength.

You see Dragons are a very proud, but stubborn race, and they would rather shatter against a wall than give up breaking it. This gave birth to a phenomenon, often called Dragon Will, when their emotional state causes them to try do the impossible"

He began his explanation, and both beauties' eyes shined with intense curiosity to this legendary race.

"But in truth it is simply a fancy term for overextending oneself"

And then he splashed cold water with a more down-to-earth explanation.

"They build up so much Spiritual Qi that their own muscles would not allow them to carry at normal times, overusing their own muscle mass and practically explode it with to produce more potential than their body could originally do. This as you may imagine should produce a lot of self-harm.

But Dragons in the end are not humans, or any other race for that matter. This tendency to often produce more output than they can handle somehow just made their bodies more resilient to such damage, thus being more durable than their muscle strength needed them to be at all times so that when they do overexert themselves, they do not suffer the same consequences as humans or other races do, or at the very least not to the same extent.

So I store charges of condensed Spiritual Qi inside my muscle tissues the same way, since my body can handle more stress than I actually produce with my own full strength. Though those can only give short bursts of strength or speed at a time, and I have to recharge them, wasting at least a moment or two, so it cannot be a continuous movement... Hm?"

Wu Long chuckled when he saw the slightly weakened glint of awe in the eyes of two beauties as the rosy veil of a legendary creature was torn off.

"Haha, don't worry, there are many wondrous things that Dragons are, there are just some parts where their existence tends to be exaggerated.

Besides, though I do say Dragon Race, they are not exactly True Dragons of legends. Those... have not been seen as far as I know"

He then decided to keep the naive dreams of the two somehow alive with a nugget of information which was technically true, seeing as even the normally colder Shen Min was disappointed like a kid who was told that a certain man was not real.

And as he expected their eyes instantly reignited with the wonder of the outside world and bedside stories kids hear from young.