Chapter Fifty-Two: Am I a Genius?

"Hidden... perhaps it isn't always necessary to hide it. If my opponent can't recognize that I'm using the Mountain-Shifting Palm, wouldn't that achieve the effect of catching them off guard?" After pondering for a long while, Liu Ji finally murmured softly.

The energy of the Heavenly Gang was far too fierce and domineering. With his current abilities, he was still unable to conceal it within his palm without being noticed by his adversaries. As for why Liu Ming was able to execute the Mountain-Shifting Palm perfectly, perhaps it was due to other reasons... or perhaps that fellow truly was—quite gifted.

With this in mind, Liu Ji took a deep breath and gathered the Heavenly Gang energy in his right hand. Yet as the energy compressed and condensed, he felt intense pain shoot through his palm. His hand trembled as though struck by electricity.

"It seems my body still isn't strong enough!" Feeling the sharp pain in his right hand, Liu Ji thought for a moment, then opened his attributes panel.

Vitality: 101/112
Strength: 115/120
Speed: 93/93
Spirit: 86/91
Constitution: 90/90
Psionic Energy: 1204

After these days of training, his maximum values for vitality, strength, speed, and spirit had all improved. But what troubled him was that even without strenuous exertion, his vitality and spirit still continued to drain. It was a rather frustrating state of affairs.

"Convert psionic energy into constitution," Liu Ji intoned silently. Soon, he saw his maximum constitution rise by one point, yet the pain in his right hand remained unabated. He focused again, converting more psionic energy into constitution.

His hand still ached.

He continued the conversion.

Still, the pain persisted.

Again he transmuted psionic energy—yet the pain would not subside!

So, Liu Ji continued to steadily convert psionic energy into maximum constitution and, at the same time, used psionic energy to replenish all his attributes to their peak states, persisting until the pain in his right hand finally faded. In this way, he expended nearly a hundred points of psionic energy.

Vitality: 101/112
Strength: 115/120
Speed: 93/93
Spirit: 86/91
Constitution: 135/135
Psionic Energy: 1114

"At last, the pain is gone..." A faint smile appeared on Liu Ji's face. The next step was to shroud his hand in the energy of the Heavenly Gang, to confuse his opponent. Soon, one could see the sharp, vigorous energy of the Heavenly Gang swirling around his palm, making it seem like an ordinary attack.

However, he had to split his focus: not only did he need to ensure the energy within his palm remained steady, but he also had to keep the energy swirling around his hand from dispersing. This dual concentration undoubtedly made the mastery of the Mountain-Shifting Palm even more difficult, but fortunately, Liu Ji's mental strength was formidable.

In the next instant, he struck the Xuansteel Cauldron with his palm. With a loud clang, the clear and powerful sound rang out, and a mighty force rebounded, driving him back several steps before he could steady himself. His palm throbbed with pain, but he had no time to care about it. Fixing his gaze, he saw that the spot he had struck bore a few faint marks—better than before.

Still, there was no sunken handprint.

This made Liu Ji realize that the force of his Mountain-Shifting Palm was still too scattered, not concentrated enough, which greatly diminished its power. Only once he could focus the force could he, like Liu Ming, leave a sunken palm print on the unyielding Xuansteel Cauldron.

Thus, for now, the only thing he needed to do was gather his force as much as possible, avoiding any diffusion—only then would he possess a true Mountain-Shifting Palm!

Nevertheless, he believed that day was not far off. After all, his physical strength was more than sufficient, so he had little concern about injury from practicing the Mountain-Shifting Palm. This spared him much trouble and saved time.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

And so, Liu Ji continued to strike the Xuansteel Cauldron again and again, seemingly impervious to pain, the resonant sound echoing without end.

From a distance, Liu Ming called out a warning: "You can't rush the training of the Mountain-Shifting Palm. If you keep practicing like this, not only will you fail to master it, but your hands may suffer serious injury! That will only hinder your progress further!"

Yet Liu Ji, deep in his training, heard none of this. Seeing this, Liu Ming shook his head and sighed. Since the fellow refused to heed advice, it was better to let him suffer a little—perhaps then he would come to understand the hardships of training and avoid becoming arrogant from too much smooth sailing.

Bang!

Lost in such thoughts, Liu Ming was suddenly struck below by a jade pillar, his face darkening instantly as a wave of indescribable pain swept through his body.

...

And so, time flowed swiftly by like a white steed passing a gap; half the sun had already slipped beneath the horizon. The remaining half of the sun sprawled across the edge of the pool, casting its lingering glow and tinting the distant sky a pale red.

"Whew—" Liu Ji stopped, taking a deep breath to settle the boiling blood within him. He looked at his palms: they were flushed scarlet, twitching intermittently with waves of sharp pain.

Sweat beaded his brow; his whole body was drenched, clothes clinging uncomfortably to his skin.

Training the Mountain-Shifting Palm was not especially complicated, but in truth, it was exceptionally difficult. The key challenge was how to keep the opponent unaware he was using the technique, thereby catching them unawares.

For most, to truly master the Mountain-Shifting Palm would take at least a dozen days or even a month of hard work.

At first, Liu Ji thought the same, never considering himself a genius. But it seemed he had underestimated himself...

He glanced at the wall of the Xuansteel Cauldron and saw it was covered with a dense array of faint palm prints. He had, in less than a day, left handprints on the Xuansteel Cauldron!

Even he found it hard to believe.

Looking down at his reddened palms, he seemed lost in thought. After a long while, he murmured, "Could I truly be a great genius?"

Yes, it seemed quite possible.

After all, he had left palm prints on the Xuansteel Cauldron in less than a day—who else in the entire Southern Prince's estate could manage such a feat?

Who else?

With these thoughts, Liu Ji, thoroughly pleased with himself, went to sit in a nearby pavilion. Since he was a genius, perhaps he needn't train so relentlessly. If he kept pushing himself, wouldn't that make him seem too much of a beast, too abnormal? Wouldn't that be unfair to the so-called other geniuses?

After he sat down, Xiaoya hurried over to present him with a fresh, fragrant handkerchief, which he accepted and used to wipe his face rather haphazardly.

It had been several days since Xiaoya's parents passed away. By now, she had recovered her composure.

Watching Liu Ming practice footwork in the Formless Array, Liu Ji called out, "Come have a cup of tea! Look at you, you're exhausted!"

Gasping for breath, Liu Ming replied between pants, "Just... just a little longer. I think I can still hold out..."

Behind him, Xiaoya sighed. "Sigh, Young Master Liu always pushes himself so hard. His perseverance is admirable, but I do worry he'll work himself to death!"

Liu Ji nodded in agreement.

He, too, admired Liu Ming. Whenever Liu Ming had nothing else to do, he would train, as if possessed by an unfathomable obsession with cultivation.

In Liu Ji's eyes, Liu Ming was like a piece of steel, always tempering himself, never resting until he had refined his body to its utmost limits. Such determination earned Liu Ji's respect.

At least in terms of perseverance, Liu Ji admitted he could never overtake Liu Ming, no matter how hard he pushed himself. He was also curious—what drove Liu Ming to such extremes?

No, to call it diligence wasn't enough—it was obsession!

The man was nothing less than a training maniac!

Liu Ji waited for the time it takes an incense stick to burn before Liu Ming, thoroughly exhausted, finally made his way to the pavilion and promptly collapsed to the floor. Rolling over, he lay on his back like a waterfowl, his clothes even wetter than Liu Ji's.

Liu Ji handed Liu Ming a cup of tea. "Must you torment yourself like this? You're run ragged and still refuse to come out of the Formless Array?"

He snorted, "You really have no regard for your own life, do you?"

"Heh." Liu Ming chuckled weakly. "Don't worry, I cherish my life more than anyone. After all, there are still things I haven't accomplished yet..."

Liu Ji was taken aback. "What things?"

...