Chapter 1606 Qi Resistance Ball
The day after Meixiu's training, Chu Liuxiang met Kelan at the training grounds.
"As someone who specializes in spiritual attacks, you need to focus on increasing your spiritual energy, spiritual strength, and your control. While increasing your spiritual energy will come naturally through cultivation, in order to increase your spiritual strength and control, you need specific techniques and rigorous training.
Kelan retrieved a black, round metal ball from his spatial ring. At first glance, this metal ball appeared quite ordinary, but it gave out a peculiar aura that made Chu Liuxiang feel anxious.
"This is a Qi Resistance Ball. As its name suggests, it has very high resistance against spiritual energy, even outright repelling it if it's weak enough. Your training will consist of levitating this Qi Resistance Ball until you can hover it above your head and keep it there for an hour. Give it a try."
Chu Liuxiang nodded and proceeded to wrap her spiritual energy around the ball. However, the moment her spiritual energy touched the ball, she immediately lost control, causing it to disperse into the air.
"What?"
Chu Liuxiang's eyes widened with surprise, and she quickly tried again, only to find that the results were the same.
"Not only is your spiritual energy too weak, but your control is also atrocious. The spiritual energy was too flimsy. Watch how I do it." Kelan said before wrapping his spiritual energy around the ball, lifting it into the air with seemingly no effort.
"Can you see the difference?" he asked her.
"Yes... While my spiritual energy is spread apart like a cloud of mist, yours are tightly compressed and wrap around the ball like sheets," Chu Liuxiang explained, highlighting the difference between the way they manipulated their spiritual energy.
Kelan nodded in approval and took out a technique before handing it to her, "This will teach you how to properly control your spiritual energy."
For the next two hours, Chu Liuxiang studied the technique. Once she had memorized it, she tried to pick up the Qi Resistance Ball again.
However, while her control over her spiritual energy had improved, it was still nowhere near being able to touch the ball, much less pick it up.
Chu Liuxiang returned to studying the technique again and Kelan would give her advice here and there.
By the end of the day, while Chu Liuxiang still failed to pick up the ball, she was able to cover it with her spiritual energy without it dispersing.
"You can keep the Qi Resistance Ball to practice on your own time. I want significant improvements by our next session," said Kelan.
It was Lan Yingying's turn the next day.
"Before we begin, I must admit that out of the entire group, it's going to be the trickiest to train you, who specializes in Sacred Fire," Kelan said to her.
"I can't use Sacred Fire, and I am unfamiliar with such techniques. However, I know someone who is, and I have already contacted them for assistance. Until they respond, I will have you focus on strengthening your spiritual energy like Chu Liuxiang."
When she first started, Lan Yingying was unable to touch the ball, just like Chu Liuxiang. However, after a day of training with the Qi Resistance Ball, Lan Yingying managed to levitate the ball an inch off the ground for three seconds.
The next day, it was Xi Meili's turn to train.
"Since your lack of experience is your biggest weakness, that's what we'll be focusing on," Kelan said to her.
The fastest way to gain experience was through practice, so they immediately began sparring with each other.
However, even after sparring for an entire day without any breaks, Xi Meili was not even close to landing a hit on Kelan. It felt like she was fighting a ghost—one that could anticipate all of her movements and perfectly avoid them.
"After spending an entire day analyzing your style, I understand why you're lacking in experience despite having ten thousand years of experience. Your fighting style is outdated." Kelan said at the end of their training.
"O-outdated? How is that even possible?" Xi Meili said.
Typically, in the cultivation world, the older something is, the more valued it tends to be. This is why ancient treasures and techniques are highly sought after.
"Not everything improves with age. In some areas, modern knowledge surpasses the old—your fighting style being one of them."
"..."
Xi Meili was left speechless, unable to refute Kelan's point. The style she had learned was indeed ancient, dating back millions of years to when the Xi Family first entered seclusion. And within such isolation, advancements tend to occur at a much slower pace.
"It's not going to be easy to adjust your fighting style, considering you've spent thousands of years honing it and engraving its movements into your muscle memory. But once you manage to do so, you'll see a significant increase in performance," Kelan explained.
"I will find you a new style that resembles your current style in a few days. We can start your real training next week."
Li Jinxi showed up the next day for her training.
"Frankly, your techniques are impeccable, and I have no criticisms there. However, it's clear that your body is struggling to keep up with your movements," Kelan said.
He continued, "In order to narrow the gap between your abilities and your body's limits, you will focus on tempering your body, much like Meixiu. However, you will need to push even further than her—perhaps two steps further."
"It's going to be painful, but once you've achieved a physique that can handle your abilities, your prowess will skyrocket to unimaginable levels." "Will it be enough to beat Yuan?" Li Jinxi suddenly asked an unexpected question.
"That's…" Kelan was caught off guard by such a question and didn't know how to respond for a moment.
"I'll be honest with you. The chances of catching up to him are near zero, much less defeating him. However, nothing is impossible in this world. With enough luck and dedication, even a cripple can even surpass a god."
"That's good enough for me." Li Jinxi said with an eager smile.
Sometime later, Kelan spent several hours sparring with her before sending her home with a bunch of body-tempering medicine, but they were several times more potent than the ones he gave Meixiu.