But it wasn't good.
The spear felt as if it was real, travelling between the void and reality, striking deep into Jiang Chen's soul.
Jiang Chen kept stepping back, very pale. It had only been a few seconds, but he felt as if he had been hit hard. He was gasping for air.
Others were also suffering. A guy pondering upon the creation of fire shrieked and tumbled to the ground as if there were a fire to extinguish, but no one else had seen a single spark.
Such effects plagued everyone. Everyone's suffering differed with the creation they were working on.
In less extreme cases, they knew they were merely suffering in their minds, so they managed to stay calm.
In the worst cases, they were like the guy who was rolling on the ground.
"Damn it. Why didn't the martial arts workshop tell us in advance?" Yuchi Hong vented his anger to the old man sitting in the center of the room with his eyes closed.
The old man didn't hear him, or maybe he had heard but didn't bother to respond. Either way, he didn't answer.
"The pain corresponds to the gap between one's martial arts of creation and the amount contained in the painting. As long as one can absorb the creation contained in the painting, one will be immune to the influence," Jiang Chen suddenly said.
"Oh?"
The old man squinted, surprised. He had been working for the martial arts workshop for very long and had seen many shockingly talented people, but not many were as good as Jiang Chen.
Others tumbled to the realization. They continued focusing on the paintings, regardless of the pain.
Then Jiang Chen took a deep breath. Fully prepared, he looked over to the painting again.
Like just before, the spear flew across the air with devastating power, intending to knock him down.
Jiang Chen gnashed his teeth, bearing the pain, yet it was as if endless wind blades were cutting at his body.
The pain became stronger and stronger, almost shattering him.
Fortunately, when the pain was almost unbearable, the creation of metal gushed out with the pain.
If he couldn't absorb it in time, he would miss it, and the ordeal would be a waste.
It's so difficult! Jiang Chen couldn't help wondering whether the martial arts workshop had done this on purpose or if it was naturally like this.
Sudden enlightenment through such a painful process was too much to ask for.
However, once it was achieved, one would be brand new.
No, it's not like that!
Jiang Chen realized the key. He shouted loudly, "Guys, being an integral part of nature, being an integral part of nature is the key!"
Being an integral part of nature was a status of practice. The creation of nature and martial arts techniques, the result of merging it with martial arts techniques, was known to be a terrifying fighting technique.
But this didn't mean that being an integral part of nature had nothing to do with martial arts of creation.
Once one was an integral part of nature, the pain continued, but one could handle it smoothly.
The other people there were all excellent. Although Jiang Chen didn't mention any details, they understood what he had meant at once.
Someone tried it for themself and found it worked. He shouted out in pleasant surprise, "Great, class leader!"
Jiang Chen didn't have the spare energy to answer him. He was reveling in a sea of the creation of metal.
"Good. Really good." The old man showed his admiration for the first time.
"Damn it."
Yuchi Hong wasn't happy about it. Jiang Chen had shown him up again and again. He felt frustrated, and he hated that feeling the most.
When one understood what Jiang Chen meant, one would think it was easy and reasonable and had the feeling of "why didn't I figure that out?"
Jiang Chen was immersed in his own world. His creation of metal improved from half minor doctrine to complete minor doctrine.
He ended up achieving the half great doctrine, and his pain alleviated, which he felt was due to pity, not luck.
People are greedy. He wasn't an exception.
The biggest change brought about by the improvement in the creation of metal was the advancement of his Ultimate Knife Method.
Knife methods depended on the different combinations of the creation of wind and metal. Jiang Chen had been doing great, but when his creation of metal had improved, he had found there were many things that weren't good enough.
Suddenly, he noticed other people were still working, so he realized he still had enough time.
He came before a painting regarding the creation of wind, but unfortunately, he didn't feel any pain.
It meant his creation of wind couldn't be improved any further.
After all, his creation of wind had achieved the complete great doctrine.
Then he, with disappointment, saw a painting in which a volcano was erupting.
The burning magma was wreaking havoc. In the volcanic crater, there was a fire dragon moving around.
After throwing only a few glances at it, Jiang Chen felt his body temperature soar. It was so hot that he felt like he would soon be burnt into ashes.
He had never studied the creation of fire, so this was normal, but when his body temperature rose, his phoenix blood boiled, too. The high temperature didn't make him suffer. Instead, he felt rather comfortable.
He felt an endless rush of the creation of fire.
Phoenix blood is really great, Jiang Chen thought to himself. Starting from nothing, his creation of fire had developed to the half great doctrine, as if he had picked up a treasure on the street, as easy as that.
By then, the old man suddenly stood up. He glanced around the trainees and said, "Not much time left."
In the next few minutes, the trainees came back to themselves one by one, but some of them were still trying.
When it was time, all of the scrolls rolled up automatically and went back into the secret compartments in the walls.
They were forced to stop, even if they didn't want to. They looked towards the old man, nervous and expectant.
"No one will be eliminated. Take it easy," the old man said.
Many people relaxed. Then they all looked towards Jiang Chen in appreciation.
"Class leader, thanks for your tips."
"Yeah, it was just in time. It was a wise choice to elect you as class leader."
"I can't figure out how you knew that. I was totally panicked under the circumstances."
Jiang Chen smiled as a thanks to those people.
"Huh, that's because you're useless. How difficult could it be to figure out what he said?" Yuchi Hong said in a harsh voice.
His reply irritated nearly everyone.
"You used his tips, too. How could you say something like that?" Tianxu rebuked him.
"Huh, I didn't force him to tell me. Can you prove I followed his instructions instead of figuring it out by myself?" Yuchi Hong said, smiling coldly.
"Simple. Next time, the class leader will only convey his tips through holy awareness and won't speak them out loud. I don't think that genius will care," someone suggested.
Yuchi Hong's expression changed. He wouldn't be as confident if they really did that.
"Okay. Don't say them out loud. I don't care anyway. Besides…"
Yuchi Hong suddenly stared at Jiang Chen and said, "You set yourself against me again and again and harmed the Yuchis' reputation. I'm going to duel with you. We'll start as soon as we leave!"
The others looked at him with strange expressions.
It was him who had been chasing Jiang Chen like a crazy dog, but he had made it sound like it was Jiang Chen who had gone against him intentionally.
"As you wish." Jiang Chen didn't take the challenge seriously.
"You'll regret this," Yuchi Hong said complacently. He wished he could go outside immediately to teach Jiang Chen a lesson.
But it wasn't good.
The spear felt as if it was real, travelling between the void and reality, striking deep into Jiang Chen's soul.
Jiang Chen kept stepping back, very pale. It had only been a few seconds, but he felt as if he had been hit hard. He was gasping for air.
Others were also suffering. A guy pondering upon the creation of fire shrieked and tumbled to the ground as if there were a fire to extinguish, but no one else had seen a single spark.
Such effects plagued everyone. Everyone's suffering differed with the creation they were working on.
In less extreme cases, they knew they were merely suffering in their minds, so they managed to stay calm.
In the worst cases, they were like the guy who was rolling on the ground.
"Damn it. Why didn't the martial arts workshop tell us in advance?" Yuchi Hong vented his anger to the old man sitting in the center of the room with his eyes closed.
The old man didn't hear him, or maybe he had heard but didn't bother to respond. Either way, he didn't answer.
"The pain corresponds to the gap between one's martial arts of creation and the amount contained in the painting. As long as one can absorb the creation contained in the painting, one will be immune to the influence," Jiang Chen suddenly said.
"Oh?"
The old man squinted, surprised. He had been working for the martial arts workshop for very long and had seen many shockingly talented people, but not many were as good as Jiang Chen.
Others tumbled to the realization. They continued focusing on the paintings, regardless of the pain.
Then Jiang Chen took a deep breath. Fully prepared, he looked over to the painting again.
Like just before, the spear flew across the air with devastating power, intending to knock him down.
Jiang Chen gnashed his teeth, bearing the pain, yet it was as if endless wind blades were cutting at his body.
The pain became stronger and stronger, almost shattering him.
Fortunately, when the pain was almost unbearable, the creation of metal gushed out with the pain.
If he couldn't absorb it in time, he would miss it, and the ordeal would be a waste.
It's so difficult! Jiang Chen couldn't help wondering whether the martial arts workshop had done this on purpose or if it was naturally like this.
Sudden enlightenment through such a painful process was too much to ask for.
However, once it was achieved, one would be brand new.
No, it's not like that!
Jiang Chen realized the key. He shouted loudly, "Guys, being an integral part of nature, being an integral part of nature is the key!"
Being an integral part of nature was a status of practice. The creation of nature and martial arts techniques, the result of merging it with martial arts techniques, was known to be a terrifying fighting technique.
But this didn't mean that being an integral part of nature had nothing to do with martial arts of creation.
Once one was an integral part of nature, the pain continued, but one could handle it smoothly.
The other people there were all excellent. Although Jiang Chen didn't mention any details, they understood what he had meant at once.
Someone tried it for themself and found it worked. He shouted out in pleasant surprise, "Great, class leader!"
Jiang Chen didn't have the spare energy to answer him. He was reveling in a sea of the creation of metal.
"Good. Really good." The old man showed his admiration for the first time.
"Damn it."
Yuchi Hong wasn't happy about it. Jiang Chen had shown him up again and again. He felt frustrated, and he hated that feeling the most.
When one understood what Jiang Chen meant, one would think it was easy and reasonable and had the feeling of "why didn't I figure that out?"
Jiang Chen was immersed in his own world. His creation of metal improved from half minor doctrine to complete minor doctrine.
He ended up achieving the half great doctrine, and his pain alleviated, which he felt was due to pity, not luck.
People are greedy. He wasn't an exception.
The biggest change brought about by the improvement in the creation of metal was the advancement of his Ultimate Knife Method.
Knife methods depended on the different combinations of the creation of wind and metal. Jiang Chen had been doing great, but when his creation of metal had improved, he had found there were many things that weren't good enough.
Suddenly, he noticed other people were still working, so he realized he still had enough time.
He came before a painting regarding the creation of wind, but unfortunately, he didn't feel any pain.
It meant his creation of wind couldn't be improved any further.
After all, his creation of wind had achieved the complete great doctrine.
Then he, with disappointment, saw a painting in which a volcano was erupting.
The burning magma was wreaking havoc. In the volcanic crater, there was a fire dragon moving around.
After throwing only a few glances at it, Jiang Chen felt his body temperature soar. It was so hot that he felt like he would soon be burnt into ashes.
He had never studied the creation of fire, so this was normal, but when his body temperature rose, his phoenix blood boiled, too. The high temperature didn't make him suffer. Instead, he felt rather comfortable.
He felt an endless rush of the creation of fire.
Phoenix blood is really great, Jiang Chen thought to himself. Starting from nothing, his creation of fire had developed to the half great doctrine, as if he had picked up a treasure on the street, as easy as that.
By then, the old man suddenly stood up. He glanced around the trainees and said, "Not much time left."
In the next few minutes, the trainees came back to themselves one by one, but some of them were still trying.
When it was time, all of the scrolls rolled up automatically and went back into the secret compartments in the walls.
They were forced to stop, even if they didn't want to. They looked towards the old man, nervous and expectant.
"No one will be eliminated. Take it easy," the old man said.
Many people relaxed. Then they all looked towards Jiang Chen in appreciation.
"Class leader, thanks for your tips."
"Yeah, it was just in time. It was a wise choice to elect you as class leader."
"I can't figure out how you knew that. I was totally panicked under the circumstances."
Jiang Chen smiled as a thanks to those people.
"Huh, that's because you're useless. How difficult could it be to figure out what he said?" Yuchi Hong said in a harsh voice.
His reply irritated nearly everyone.
"You used his tips, too. How could you say something like that?" Tianxu rebuked him.
"Huh, I didn't force him to tell me. Can you prove I followed his instructions instead of figuring it out by myself?" Yuchi Hong said, smiling coldly.
"Simple. Next time, the class leader will only convey his tips through holy awareness and won't speak them out loud. I don't think that genius will care," someone suggested.
Yuchi Hong's expression changed. He wouldn't be as confident if they really did that.
"Okay. Don't say them out loud. I don't care anyway. Besides…"
Yuchi Hong suddenly stared at Jiang Chen and said, "You set yourself against me again and again and harmed the Yuchis' reputation. I'm going to duel with you. We'll start as soon as we leave!"
The others looked at him with strange expressions.
It was him who had been chasing Jiang Chen like a crazy dog, but he had made it sound like it was Jiang Chen who had gone against him intentionally.
"As you wish." Jiang Chen didn't take the challenge seriously.
"You'll regret this," Yuchi Hong said complacently. He wished he could go outside immediately to teach Jiang Chen a lesson.
