MMLZ CH5
“Good!
From now on, I will teach you the Thunder Art, then guide you in the Lightning Thunder Fist. Starting today, you don’t need to handle any duties at the mortuary. Focus solely on your cultivation. I’ll teach you spell-drawing in the evening.”
The fist technique sounded mighty—Lightning Thunder Fist—but the name of the cultivation method felt a bit too plain.
The Lightning Thunder Fist was both a fist technique and a body-tempering method. Uncle Jiu began instructing Xu Yan.
As for the Thunder Art, aside from verbal guidance, there was nothing else. According to Uncle Jiu, he hadn’t practiced it himself and could only offer basic pointers.
When it came to the Lightning Thunder Fist… cough cough!
Uncle Jiu looked a little embarrassed. He had practiced it before, but wasn’t very proficient. In their entire sect, only Shi Jian had truly mastered it.
And since Uncle Jiu didn’t get along well with Shi Jian, he had no way of asking for further guidance.
With two books in hand, Xu Yan returned to his room still confused. Honestly, he hadn’t fully understood what just happened—his head was a mess. Uncle Jiu’s half-baked explanations didn’t help either.
But what could he do when even the master wasn’t confident?
He could only take it one step at a time.
Back in his room, Xu Yan stored the books and decided to sleep first. He planned to study them after waking up and return them once he had memorized everything.
“System.”
Lying in bed, Xu Yan opened the system panel.
He had earned 100 merit points for helping kill the female ghost, but how could merit be used?
[System Interface]
Name: Xu Yan
Maoshan Sect, 20th Generation Disciple
Status: Mortal (Thunder Spirit Body)
Cultivation Technique: Thunder Art (Not Started)
Body Cultivation: Lightning Thunder Fist (Not Started)
Spells: None
Merit Points Remaining: 100
New entries had appeared—besides showing the 100 points, it now listed his Thunder Spirit Body, the cultivation method, and the fist technique. However, all were marked as “Not Started.”
His cultivation realm was still “Mortal” with no improvement.
In most fantasy novels, merit was an incredible thing—it could boost cultivation, enhance the body, and even allow one to ascend to sainthood. So what could it do here?
Xu Yan scratched his head, unsure where to start.
Then, he noticed a small “+” icon next to the Thunder Art and Lightning Thunder Fist.
“Could it be… an upgrade button?”
Curious, Xu Yan tapped the + symbol beside Thunder Art.
“Hisss~~”
All 100 merit points vanished, and the Thunder Art status changed from “Not Started” to “Beginner – First Level.” A tingling current ran through his body.
So that’s how merit points worked!
A technique he couldn’t even start was now activated just by spending merit. The first level of Thunder Art was now deeply engraved in his mind.
Feeling the changes, Xu Yan raised his hand, “Unbelievable…”
“So this is the result of mastering the first level of Thunder Art?”
After the tingling sensation faded, he could feel something new within his body. He couldn’t describe it, but it was definitely there.
“Ugh! What’s that smell?”
Apparently, as a result of unlocking the first level, a layer of black gunk appeared on his skin—like grease, but even more disgusting. Xu Yan almost puked and rushed out to wash up.
“Wow!! Junior Brother, did you fall into a cesspit? That stinks!”
“…”
So this was spiritual energy cleansing impurities. After cleaning up and reorganizing his thoughts, Xu Yan realized what had formed inside his body was spiritual energy, specifically lightning-attributed spiritual energy.
Most cultivators had neutral, non-elemental spiritual energy. But thanks to his Thunder Spirit Body and the Thunder Art, his was lightning-aligned.
In a world where spiritual energy was so thin—a so-called “End of Dharma Era”—it was no wonder cultivators got weaker with each generation.
When Xu Yan woke up later to try cultivating again, he discovered just how hard it was. Despite intense effort, there was no response from the surrounding energy.
No wonder progress was so slow. The spiritual energy was simply too rare.
“You look much more energetic. Good, good. Keep working hard.”
Seeing Xu Yan in high spirits, Uncle Jiu patted his shoulder. “Now I’ll teach you how to make and use talismans. Be careful not to overdo it—they can hurt your health.”
There were many types of talismans. Even Uncle Jiu hadn’t learned them all. Only a few were commonly used, such as:
Soul-Calming Talisman
Corpse-Suppressing Talisman
Evil-Repelling Talisman
Protective Talisman
Fire-Calling Talisman, etc.
Some weaker priests—what Uncle Jiu called “sorcerers”—couldn’t even draw basic talismans properly. Without enough cultivation, their talismans were powerless and served only for theatrics.
After teaching Xu Yan the basics, Uncle Jiu gave him a manual full of talisman knowledge and told him to study it himself—but not to overexert.
He also emphasized learning to make the Purple Thunder Talisman, which Uncle Jiu himself couldn’t draw. His own collection came from his late master and was too precious to use casually.
The Purple Thunder Talisman had immense power—it could summon a bolt of thunder to destroy ghosts or demons instantly.
Ordinary people couldn’t make it—not only were the materials expensive, but it required specific cultivation techniques.
Since Xu Yan practiced the Thunder Art, his success rate would be much higher once he improved.
Basic talismans like Soul-Calming or Corpse-Suppressing could only injure ghosts or zombies. But the Purple Thunder Talisman could reduce them to ashes in a single strike.
[System Interface Updated]
Name: Xu Yan
Maoshan Sect, 20th Generation Disciple
Status: Mortal (Thunder Spirit Body)
Cultivation Technique: Thunder Art (Beginner – First Level)
Body Cultivation: Lightning Thunder Fist (Not Started)
Spells:
- Soul-Calming Talisman (Not Started)
- Corpse-Suppressing Talisman (Not Started)
- Protective Talisman (Not Started)
- Evil-Repelling Talisman (Not Started)
- Purple Thunder Talisman (Not Started)
Merit Points Remaining: 0
So many things marked “Not Started” made Xu Yan’s head ache. Just how many merit points would he need to unlock everything?
Maybe he should focus on manually learning talismans and reserve merit points for upgrading techniques and fists?
With that decision, Xu Yan started practicing… only to realize he had underestimated how hard drawing talismans was.
From afternoon till night, he burned through tons of materials, failing repeatedly. Not a single successful Soul-Calming or Corpse-Suppressing Talisman.
The failure rate was terrifyingly high.
Uncle Jiu watched him struggle from his rattan chair, secretly amused. Every beginner went through the same hardship. If Xu Yan had succeeded on the first try, that would be suspicious.
Take Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai, for instance.
Qiu Sheng, after years of practice, could make simple talismans—but his success rate was pitiful.
Wen Cai… well, he had no talent at all.
Fortunately, basic talisman materials were cheap. Otherwise, it would’ve been impossible to afford such waste.
“Hey hey hey, what’s going on with Junior Brother?”
As night fell and Qiu Sheng returned, he was sent to cook with Wen Cai.
“He’s drawing talismans, can’t you tell?”
Wen Cai rolled his eyes and kept chopping vegetables.
“Sigh~~ Junior Brother is really dedicated. He’s been at it all day without rest.”