Chapter Thirty-Two: Transmission of the Divine Ability

All around was hazy. Ji Ning and the yellow-haired bear stood atop the mist, the previously twisted spacetime now calm.

"That is!" Ji Ning gazed into the distance. At the far end of this endless mist-filled void stood a towering structure radiating dazzling golden light, like an altar. Looking from afar, one could see layer upon layer of steps leading directly to its summit.

"Why are you still standing there dumbfounded?" The yellow-haired bear grabbed Ji Ning's arm and strode forward, each step covering several li. The distant towering structure grew clearer, the golden light more dazzling, and the boundless pressure made Ji Ning's heart tremble.

A moment later.

Ji Ning arrived at the base of the majestic altar. He looked up at the layers of steps, which seemed to number in the thousands or tens of thousands, leading to the summit.

"Go on." The yellow-haired bear also looked up at the altar's peak. "Walk up the steps one by one and receive the divine ability legacy left by my master."

"Mm." Ji Ning nodded.

Opportunity!

This was an incomparably precious opportunity. This divine ability technique was left by a mighty figure of the Three Realms after Pangu created the world. Once learned, he would surely be able to slay Xu Li the True Person and rescue his father and the others.

"Father, wait for me a little longer." Ji Ning immediately stepped onto the first step.

As his foot landed,

Boom!

It felt as if heaven and earth were splitting apart. Ji Ning's entire soul seemed to roar. At that moment, his right foot on the step made him feel as if he had become one with the legacy altar. Streams of ancient, long-lost information directly transmitted into his soul, merging into his memories.

The legacy had begun!

Ji Ning hadn't expected that stepping onto the first step would immediately start the legacy. Though caught off guard, he soon immersed himself in the ancient information being transmitted.

After a while, he took a second step, and more ancient information flowed in.

Step by step, one after another...

The profound, ancient, and mysterious information was transmitted into Ji Ning's soul in small portions, allowing him to adapt gradually. If all the information of such a truly powerful divine ability technique had flooded his soul at once, even with his strong soul, he would have become an idiot.

"It's begun." The yellow-haired bear at the foot of the altar looked up, watching Ji Ning walk step by step on the altar steps. His eyes were complex—filled with excitement, anticipation, and emotion. "The divine ability technique left by my master finally has a successor."

"Master..."

"Are you still alive?" the yellow-haired bear murmured silently.

In his heart, there was only one true master—the first master. The subsequent four masters, including Ji Ning, were merely successors chosen by the first master. But the second through fourth masters hadn't even obtained the first divine ability, so they couldn't be considered true successors. Now Ji Ning had finally begun to receive this divine ability.

"The master's successor." The yellow-haired bear's heart surged with emotion, his thoughts drifting.

Back then, after leaving the grotto, the first master had drifted away. But the yellow-haired bear knew... the first master had gone to face a great calamity. It was precisely because even the first master had no absolute certainty of surviving that calamity that he created the grotto, unwilling to let his most prized divine ability be lost.

Endless ages passed...

The Three Realms were established, and the three thousand major worlds and countless minor worlds had long since been born. Yet the master never returned to this grotto. This made the yellow-haired bear even more uneasy: Was the master still alive? Though worried, he still followed his master's orders, making finding a successor his most important task.

...

Step by step.

On the towering altar steps, Ji Ning gradually ascended. After who knew how long, he finally reached the summit.

Ji Ning came to his senses. The information of the ancient divine ability technique had been fused into his soul by special means, as if each word was imprinted into his very being. He couldn't forget it even if he wanted to, and others couldn't extract it through soul-searching.

"The divine ability 'Star Picking Hand.'" Ji Ning murmured to himself.

In his mind, clear images appeared.

In the vast, boundless void, a giant hand spanning tens of thousands of li reached through the void, grabbed a star, and crushed it effortlessly.

That hand, tens of thousands of li long, struck down, turning the towering demonic figures roaring in the vast sea into nothingness.

That hand grasped a world, within which a hideous, flame-spewing demon was trapped. With a gentle squeeze, the world shattered, and the demon perished.

...

"Beyond the Three Realms, in the endless void, there are the two supreme stars, the Sun and the Moon, as well as other mighty stars. Those stars are immensely powerful, beyond even the reach of Celestial Immortals. The fragments that fall from them, after traversing the endless void, become precious materials for refining treasures. My master's divine ability, named 'Star Picking,' attests to its boundless might." The yellow-haired bear appeared beside him.

Ji Ning nodded slightly.

Having received the legacy of this divine ability, he understood very well how terrifying it was—its power was beyond imagination. He also understood why the yellow-haired bear had urged him to delay for five years, even if it meant letting his father and family die, so he could learn this divine ability.

But fate had its own plans. Though Ji Ning had insisted on immediately challenging the Divine Ability Hall, he still ended up obtaining this divine ability.

"In the end, you have learned this divine ability." The yellow-haired bear looked at Ji Ning. "If your soul hadn't reached the 'divine sense' level, even after five years, you would only have had a chance at obtaining the first divine ability. I never expected your soul to break through."

"Oh?" Ji Ning was surprised. "Was it so hard to obtain the first divine ability? After my soul broke through, I swept through and killed all the warriors."

The yellow-haired bear glanced at Ji Ning. "Without divine sense, even after five years, would your divine power have been enough to kill so many warriors?"

Ji Ning was startled.

Indeed.

With divine sense, he had controlled nearly a hundred flying swords to sweep through and slaughter the warriors, consuming no divine power. But without divine sense, fighting in close combat would have consumed divine power at an alarming rate. During the latter part of the Divine Ability Hall trial, his divine power had dropped to less than twenty percent, and the warriors only grew stronger.

"Regardless, you succeeded and obtained this divine ability." The yellow-haired bear pointed to a large cushion in the distance. "Go to that cushion and kneel to thank my master."

"Mm." Ji Ning agreed.

The grace of teaching was as vast as heaven.

Ji Ning walked forward, stepped onto the cushion, and knelt down.

As soon as he knelt, a towering figure appeared in the distance before him at the top of the altar platform. He was about a thousand zhang tall, with bronze-colored skin, a bald head, and wore only simple animal skins. His form was almost identical to a human's, but the most striking feature was his single arm!

He had only a right arm, no left arm.

The one-armed towering figure looked down at Ji Ning, a faint hint of joy on his face, and said softly, "The divine ability has been bestowed. When you cross the heavenly tribulation and become a god, you may be considered my disciple, Sanshou Daoist. Do not slacken and disgrace my name." Then, with his right hand, he pointed at Ji Ning.

Whoosh.

Five streams of light flew toward Ji Ning, and then the one-armed towering figure dissipated.

Ji Ning's face lit up with joy. He quickly sat cross-legged. The five-colored light rapidly surged into his body, and gradually, waves of energy emanated from him.

"Master." The yellow-haired bear watched the one-armed towering phantom appear and disappear, murmuring to himself. He knew that the phantom was merely a means left by his master. Whoever obtained the master's divine ability and came to the top of the altar, kneeling on the cushion, would see that phantom appear.

Ji Ning's hands, as he sat cross-legged, began to emit multicolored light, his hands becoming like treasures.

The multicolored light swirled and gradually merged into a chaotic hue.

Whoosh.

Everything fell silent. Ji Ning's hands returned to normal.

Ji Ning opened his eyes and looked down at the palms of his hands. With a thought, a complex circular divine rune appeared on each palm: "The Star Picking Divine Rune! Six Revolutions Star Picking, the first revolution is complete." Then the runes faded, invisible to the naked eye.

Every divine ability requires long years of cultivation; it is not achieved overnight. Even the 'Heavenly Body Expansion' and 'Windwing Evasion' techniques have multiple stages.

The cultivation method for the divine ability 'Star Picking Hand' is called 'Six Revolutions Star Picking.'

At the Zifu stage of divine body cultivation, one can achieve the first revolution.

At the Wanxiang stage, one can achieve the second revolution.

At the Yuanshen stage, one can achieve the third revolution.

...

Each breakthrough in the divine body cultivation realm allows cultivation of the next revolution. This divine ability places a great burden on the divine body; if the divine body is not strong enough, one cannot practice it.

"The divine ability 'Star Picking Hand' you received is the original version." The yellow-haired bear appeared beside him. "Even if you reach the level of the first master, this divine ability will suffice. Your previous 'Windwing Evasion' was merely a simplified version."

"Simplified?" Ji Ning was surprised.

"The divine abilities that ancient gods and demons used to roam the Three Realms are not casually spread." The yellow-haired bear shook his head. "Soon after Pangu created the world, there was an ancient demon, a roc. It created a flying technique—one flap of its wings covered a hundred thousand li. That flying technique was the divine ability 'Garuda Wings.' I suspect that some other mighty being observed the roc's flight, pondered for a long time, and wrote down the 'Windwing Evasion.'"

Ji Ning nodded slightly.

So the divine ability 'Windwing Evasion' was merely a simplification of 'Garuda Wings.'

"If it were the original transmission, in book form, it would take you decades to read through." The yellow-haired bear said. "Even though the master transmitted 'Star Picking Hand' into your soul, it took you months to memorize it. The true original divine ability is not so easily memorized."

"I walked those steps for months?" Ji Ning was shocked.

"In the outside world, only an instant has passed. You need not worry about your father." The yellow-haired bear said.

Ji Ning nodded, then asked solemnly, "May I ask, senior, who exactly is my master, 'Sanshou Daoist'?" The one-armed towering phantom had only called himself Sanshou Daoist; Ji Ning knew nothing else.

...