Forge a path to success.

Chapter 19 Skillful Hands
Dozens of red stone pillars supported the vast space, and bright lights illuminated the white jade floor tiles. On the walls of the circular hall, reliefs of various birds and beasts were connected to form a huge painting. A jade carving of a white dragon stood in the center of the space, every scale and claw lifelike, like a divine beast guarding the city, or a king surrounded by all beasts.

Chu Hengkong carefully observed his surroundings. He was led to the 31st floor of the headquarters building. The three floors above this floor had been opened up to create a temple hidden within the building. He was certain that this was a temple, not only because of the stone pillars resembling those of an ancient Greek temple and the jade carving of an ancient dragon, but also because of the unique atmosphere that was hard to find elsewhere—majestic and solemn yet calming, as if the gods were present.

"Come on, look this way."

Ji Qiufeng walked to the Dragon God statue, bent down, and reached out his hand. A white snake crawled out from behind the jade carving and slowly coiled around his arm. This white snake was not large, with a slender body. When coiled, it was large enough to sit on the man's palm. Its eyes were azure blue, not eerie but gentle.

"Let me introduce you, this is our team doctor and scholar, the wise Miss Youyou~"

Ji Qiufeng raised his hand as if presenting a treasure, while Ji Huaisu and Jie An beside him made "ooh ooh" sounds in unison. The little snake glared at them fiercely and uttered a quick and clear female voice: "It's not Youyou, it's Youyou! Be serious, the newbies are trying not to laugh!"

Chu Heng coughed twice and said seriously, "Hello, Miss Youyou."

The white snake leisurely flicked its tongue with satisfaction, climbing onto Ji Qiufeng's head as it asked, "That's more like it. Have you ever thought about becoming a craftsman or a magician?"

"No." Chu Hengkong replied without hesitation, "I don't feel at ease."

"Neither mystery nor machinery can be trusted; only the body and skill are the foundation of survival. You're truly a pure flesh-and-blood enthusiast," Youyou commented. "Good, that saves me the trouble of explaining. Ji Qiufeng should have already told you the specific details. I'll confirm one last time: are you sure you want to use this tentacle?"

On the way to the temple, Ji Qiufeng gave him a brief overview of the information about the ascension, which included an important decision.

"'Skillful Hands' is the starting point of the path to advancement, the foundation for every step you take afterward. Once you advance to Skillful Hands, the power of that tentacle will increase, but it will also become a part of your life, and even if it is severed, it cannot be replaced by a new body. From the perspective of an elder rather than a superior, I would suggest that you cut off the tentacle and advance with only one arm."

"If I don't cut off my arm, will I have to use tentacles for the rest of my life?"

"What in this world is certain? If you can reach point four, you can solve this problem completely. But that's a distant goal that most people can only dream of in their lifetime."

"I'll climb up quickly."

In just a few words, a crucial decision concerning his future was made so easily. Losing the tentacles would likely prevent him from using the Silver Eye Book again; losing such an important intelligence channel in this unfamiliar world would only hasten his demise. Not to mention, there were no trustworthy prosthetics in the city. Cutting off the tentacles and replacing them with something even more dubious—who could guarantee that new problems wouldn't arise?

Even if the tentacles are ugly, at least nothing's happened yet, and besides, they're quite useful. Even if they really are some kind of monster's body... at worst, the original owner can just fight them off when they come looking for them.

Therefore, Chu Hengkong answered without hesitation: "I'm sure."

"Wow, that's really something! Let's begin then." Youyou exclaimed, tapping the dragon god statue with its tail. The jade carving silently sank into the ground, its original base forming a hollow circle. Rays of yellow light emerged from the white jade floor, drawing a complex and regular magic circle around the hollow circle.

“You are not yet capable of understanding the principles of the Secret Array. Do not ask or guess. Just do whatever Ji Qiufeng tells you to do. Remember every word he says, understand?” Youyou looked into his eyes.

Chu Hengkong nodded.

“Look closely at this magic circle; it’s called ‘Sealing Formation,’” Ji Qiufeng said gently. As he spoke, the magic circle gradually took shape. First, three circular arrays appeared around the hollow circle, forming a triangle of equal side length. Each array contained a simple symbol, whose meaning he could naturally understand despite never having encountered them before: dust, light, and shadow.

Outside the triangular array, three more concentric rings took shape. The structure of the three rings was several times more complex than that of the inner array. The rings themselves were composed of countless tiny characters, and each layer of the rings was decorated with various abstract symbols, such as the sun, moon, sky, and ocean. When he saw some of the symbols, he suddenly felt a chill in his heart. A sense of crisis, which came from nowhere, gripped his heart, as if he were standing on the edge of endless darkness, and one wrong step would plunge him into an abyss.

"Can you feel it? That's the malice of the world," Ji Qiufeng said. "Malice is everywhere, it's all-pervasive. If you step onto the path of ascension without preparation, it's easy for your mind to be corrupted by it. That's why the sages created the 'Sealing Method' to isolate you from danger. From now on, you must perform the corresponding ritual for each ascension. The ritual location must be in a safe area free from pollution. You must never use a magic array different from the 'Sealing Method,' not even the slightest difference is allowed. You must remember this!"

Ji Qiufeng had never spoken so seriously. Chu Hengkong instinctively realized that this was a rule he had to follow to survive in this world. He suppressed his sense of crisis and memorized every detail of the magic array. After completing the task, he followed Ji Qiufeng's instructions and walked to the hollow circle in the center, placing his hands on it. "Concentrate your mind and silently recite in your heart," Ji Qiufeng's voice drifted, "Skillful Hands."

Skillful hands.

As thought arose, colorless dust drifted into the hollow circle, forming the final symbol of the magic array. It was a large, powerful, and nimble "hand." The hand symbol magnified infinitely in Chu Hengkong's eyes, like an open door drawing him in. Memories and feelings surged excitedly, and countless images from the depths of his mind surged forth simultaneously!
It's children learning to box from pictures in books, teenagers fighting thugs wielding sticks, young men undergoing solitary rigorous training in the mountains, and adult assassins battling enemies between buildings. Fists, kicks, wrestling, punches, knives, guns, sticks, clubs… Bajiquan, Taijiquan, Piguazhang, Chuojiao, Karate, Kendo, Muay Thai, Kalapayat…

Every move and every stance was so familiar and reliable; just looking at the images brought back the feelings of that time. Because the person in each painting was Chu Hengkong himself; it contained all the moves and techniques he had learned since birth. Many fragments were even forgotten by himself, including flashes of inspiration during battles and moves or techniques that changed with his own ideas, all of which were included in this moment.

In the blink of an eye, the scene of martial arts practice and combat shifted to the final image, settling on that silver tentacle. All the past events merged together, transforming into the symbol of "skillful hands." That symbol now appeared incredibly clear, its simple structure seemingly containing endless information, captivating him completely.

Unconsciously, Chu Hengkong reached out to touch it, and the vivid symbol scattered into colorless dust, seeping into his body from his fingertips. In an instant, his vision cleared, and all the past events flashed through his consciousness again, but this time he perceived them in a completely different way.

It can be corrected. It can be improved. This move was still somewhat immature, and that move could be further developed. Chu Hengkong smiled with delight, as if a celestial being had bestowed a mysterious blessing upon him, and everything in the past would be different from now on. An indescribable "comprehension" filled his heart, and a fervent power surged through his limbs. He had never felt so sharp, so agile!

·
To the onlookers, Chu Hengkong simply stood there quietly, without uttering a word. He had been standing there for a full hour, until Jie An couldn't help but mutter, "What's wrong with this kid? Could he... not have gone in?"

“That’s the Secret Array settling accounts,” Ji Huaisu said. “To ascend to the Crafty Hand level, one must meet one of two conditions: either possess an extraordinary limb recognized by the Secret Array, or learn the superb skill of transforming an ordinary body into an extraordinary one. That tentacle meets the first condition, and now the array is calculating its second condition.”

Jie An glared at him: "Stop talking nonsense. Others take at most five minutes to advance to the Skillful Hand level, but he hasn't finished calculating in an hour? How much practice did he actually do?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the yellow light forming the magic circle faded, and Chu Hengkong finally moved. He clenched and unclenched his fist three times, while his tentacles continuously contracted and extended in sync. He jumped a few times in place, took a step forward, and threw a punch into the air!
The punch produced a whooshing sound, exploding loudly within the temple. Chu Hengkong's movements didn't falter; as he threw the punch, his knee strike followed simultaneously, then his left arm lashed out with a downward sweep, his body spinning as he delivered a powerful kick. After this exhilarating combo, he immediately turned to defend, shifting his body to dodge the "counterattack."

He was completely absorbed in the fight, even though there was nothing in front of him. He had no weapon, yet he used swordsmanship; he carried no throwing knives or pebbles, yet he launched several "hidden weapons" into the air. His absorbed state even infected the onlookers, who seemed to see the "enemy" as well, to witness that invisible battle… The enemy was also a man with tentacles, also skilled in various arts, weapons, and hidden weapons. He attacked with ever-changing techniques, while the real Chu Hengkong countered with even more ingenious and superior moves.

He is fighting against his imagined self, and every move he makes surpasses his past self!
Chu Hengkong laughed loudly, a truly joyful laugh. He had clearly been traveling for a day and a night, yet he felt no fatigue whatsoever. His strength was abundant, his inspiration plentiful, and even his strange tentacles had become coordinated. He no longer needed to "adapt" to his new limbs; his two hands were so dexterous and powerful, capable of handling any situation.

As Ji Qiufeng stomped on the floor, a massive boulder as thick as a city wall rose from the ground, blocking Chu Hengkong's path. Just as he was getting into the swing of things, silver tentacles naturally extended, shattering the test stone wall into dust with a single blow!
Chu Hengkong was about to turn around when he stopped. A subtle tremor in the ground alerted him; he realized his senses had also improved, now as acute as when he used his perception pendant. At that moment, the broken boulder sank, and a lifelike wooden dummy took its place. The dummy moved with incredible speed, wielding a long sword and employing a swordsmanship Chu Hengkong had never heard of before. Its swordplay was expansive and powerful, brimming with energy, yet also incorporating unique and cunning moves—truly a master swordsmanship.

Chu Hengkong dodged, his eyes lighting up. He carefully observed the wooden figure's moves, deducing the changes in its swordsmanship. After two rounds of exchange, a smile appeared on his lips. At this moment, the temple's layout shifted again, with various cold weapons emerging from the walls on both sides. Chu Hengkong reached out and grabbed a long sword, then slashed at the wooden figure, his attack trajectory exactly the same as the figure's.

At the same angle and at the same time, the scene was like two people in a mirror image wielding swords at each other, but one side had greater power and speed. In less than three rounds, Chu Hengkong had completely mastered this sword technique. He casually created a move that the wooden dummy could not reach, cutting his opponent's weapon down with a single strike.

He turned around cheerfully and asked with a smile, "Is there any more?"

Even Ji Huaisu was surprised this time: "What kind of logic is this?"

“Particle One, ‘Skillful Hands,’ can comprehensively improve physical fitness, enhance limb-related superpowers, and…” Ji Qiufeng smiled with satisfaction, “possessing the strongest learning ability among all particles!”

He snapped his paper fan shut, making a crisp sound. The ground beneath the temple trembled incessantly, and wooden figures wielding various weapons emerged one after another, forming a long line in front of Chu Hengkong.

"Here are three hundred sets of basic martial arts techniques prepared for the skillful stage." Ji Qiufeng glanced at his watch. "Don't damage the wooden dummy. Learn them before dawn!"

(End of this chapter)