“No, no. I really think Teacher Xiang Ning has other plans.” 

“That’s right, Teacher Xiang Ning only knows a few techniques but he’s achieved Peak Mastery in all of them!” 

“Yeah, there’s four of them, too! That’s a historical record.” 

“I feel like Teacher Xiang Ning is going to tell us the secret to leveling up so quickly.” 

“That’s possible. Maybe there’s something in the skills that we didn’t realize?” 

The crowd discussed among themselves, slowly bringing Xiang Ning back into a positive light. Even Qi Jiuming was brainwashed; did the teenager really have a method to quickly master a skill? No, no. That would be impossible. Every skill required time for comprehension and cultivation. Unless his comprehension abilities were amazing, only then would he learn faster. Qi Jiuming wasn’t sure what the secret was! 

Very soon, after receiving Qi Jiuming’s approval, Xiang Ning connected to the Qiling Academy Library and selected ‘Dancing Peacock’. It was a tier four skill and considered medium-level in difficulty, but it wasn’t as simple as it looked. It incorporated one of the ancient martial arts of China—Tai chi! 

Dancing Peacock was a skill taken from Tai chi, but modified into something very powerful that aided both offense and defense. It wasn’t too difficult, so the barrier to entry was low, but ascending to Assimilation, Awakened, or even Peak Mastery was extremely difficult. That was why it was considered tier four. 

Looking at the skill in the selection, Xiang Ning privately marveled at it. It was indeed not a bad skill at all. He was tempted to learn it himself, as he didn’t have any defensive-focused skills and this one combined both offense and defense. It suited his needs very well. The Dancing Peacock skill was a graceful technique that could overpower brute force. It would allow a user to withstand a thousand tons of force, but also give them the strength to slaughter an army! 

“What level have you attained in this skill, my friend?” 

“Teacher Xiang Ning, I cultivated it to the Intermediate tier, but it’s way, way too difficult to reach Assimilation. I can’t seem to find the trick.” 

Xiang Ning nodded. Indeed, there was a bottleneck for many skills at the Assimilation level. Dancing Peacock in particular became much more difficult after the Intermediate tier. 

Ding, 800 Fury Points spent 

Martial skill: Dancing Peacock (Beginner) 

Ding, 2400 Fury Points spent 

Martial skill: Dancing Peacock (Intermediate)

Ding, 4800 Fury Points spent 

Martial Skill: Dancing Peacock (Assimilation) 

When Xiang Ning upgraded the skill to the Assimilation stage, a strange feeling spread across his body. It was very comfortable and natural. It was the first time he could clearly feel how a skill changed his perception of his environment in his senses. Ancient Chinese arts were mysterious indeed. 

“Teacher Xiang Ning?” the boy asked in a low voice, panicking. 

Xiang Ning smiled and shook his head. “Let’s try it out.” 

The staff brought three combat training robots and Xiang Ning said, “Choose one and use your Dancing Peacock on it.” 

“Alright, teacher.” The student steeled himself and went for it. It didn’t matter what happened—even if he didn’t get any useful feedback, he would still say it was effective because this was a hole he had dug for his idol, Teacher Xiang Ning. 

After striking the robot twice, he took the chance to perform the Dancing Peacock. The robot raised a sword made of a special rubber, but the next scene was impressive. He began the Dancing Peacock, which involved a long stride forward and to the side, which caused the robot to trip and fall past him. With one swing of his own sword, the robot collapsed. 

Applause rang out; it was a visually impressive technique. It was such a simple move, too, but it was difficult to reach Assimilation in it. 

“Teacher Xiang Ning.…”

Xiang Ning nodded. “Pay close attention.” Then he entered a stance, stunning the crowd. Everyone had the same thought in their minds, but quickly dismissed it. What they were seeing was impossible, how could someone master something in such a short time without even doing it once before? 

When Xiang Ning lifted his sword, many people were alarmed. Was this a cover? But no matter what, he hadn’t known the skill in advance. Unless he was just that talented…. If he ran it through once in his mind when he saw it in the library, then watched someone perform it once, he should only be a Beginner. How could he teach like that? 

But the fight had begun. Similarly, he made two moves first. The robot brought its sword down, Xiang Ning blocked it with his, and the crowd frowned. Then the exact same impressive sequence was performed, this time much more gracefully than the student before him. He swept his foot across the ground in front of him, which pulled the robot toward him, then swung his sword. It looked like a leaf falling from a tree; the general movement was slow, but the left-to-right fluttering motion was extremely quick. He made quick flashes of movement on a small scale, but the robot had already fallen. 

The crowd was silent. 

Three seconds later, the boy said, “Fuck.” He really wanted to use all sorts of praise to describe Xiang Ning’s talent, but only one word could describe his inner thoughts—he wasn’t normally a vulgar person. If Xiang Ning had displayed a Beginner level attack, it would have made sense. But his movements were smoother than the student’s, and he was even doing the same thing. Yet due to his speed, he took two seconds less than the boy to complete the same maneuver. How terrifying was that? 

The student was so emotional that he almost rushed up to Xiang Ning. He finally comprehended it, his bottleneck had been broken by Xiang Ning's single demonstration. Then he demonstrated it again, but this time it was very similar to Xiang Ning's movements. His improvement was literally visible to the naked eye. 

Many people couldn’t stay in their seats any longer. 

Even Qi Jiuming emotionally shot up from his seat. “He’s a damn genius—no, a monster! He’s a monster! Hahaha, I can’t believe my Qiling Academy could have a student like that, how lucky we are!” His face was fully red. Xiang Ning’s display of talent had increased their perception of his potential. If they had previously thought he may achieve tier nine, right now, if he continued growing, he definitely could hit tier nine, or even pass that barrier!

MC can learn all techniques. Shhh don't ask.