Chapter 216: Sitting and Discussing Martial Arts

However, these recruitment notices only stated the purpose as traveling together to Jiushan Province. The specific purpose, however, was vague. It was clearly an "if you know, you know" attitude.

"It's only just Anchor Year 10, so there's no rush to go yet," Li Fan mused to himself. "After Anchor Year 11, when the Cloudwater Celestial Palace opens, I'll see if my clone can obtain another cultivation method from Qin Tang. Then I'll send the clone on a trip."

Having made his decision, Li Fan temporarily put the matter out of his mind. Instead, he consulted Jiang Zhengji of the Martial Arts Hall about how to improve his practical combat skills. The reason for this was not just to enhance his actual combat power. More importantly, Li Fan wanted to defeat Zhang Qianmo of the Purple Cloud Sect in the Immortal Meteor Realm as soon as possible, to see if he could then go to other places.

Indeed, Li Fan found that he was trapped in Ningyuan City in the Immortal Meteor Realm. In this life, he had entered the Immortal Meteor Realm three times in total. The temporal node of his login remained the same every time. It was always before following Zhang Qianmo to Ningyuan City to collect the Longevity Fruit.

To escape this situation, Li Fan made three different attempts. The first time, he followed the "plot" and feigned death. Then, while Zhang Qianmo and Song Hesong and others were in a fierce battle and no one was paying attention, he quietly slipped out of Ningyuan City. Unfortunately, he hadn't flown far before Zhang Qianmo caught up. Calling him a "heretic" and "evil cultivator," Zhang Qianmo ultimately killed Li Fan with a bolt of Purple Cloud Divine Lightning.

The second time, Li Fan directly turned against him. He secretly sent a voice message to Song Hesong, coordinating an inside-outside attack on Zhang Qianmo. Zhang Qianmo was severely wounded, but Li Fan and the others were helpless against the Purple Core within him. Zhang Qianmo's strength greatly increased after his nirvana, and he easily killed Li Fan and the others one by one.

The third time, Li Fan simply found an excuse, saying he didn't want to go to Ningyuan City and wished to return to the sect. To his surprise, Zhang Qianmo's expression immediately changed, and he attacked without a word. Li Fan fought him for a long time, but ultimately ended in defeat.

Every time it was like this, it was truly frustrating. However, he was indeed no match for Zhang Qianmo. And within the Myriad Immortal Alliance, methods for improving cultivators' practical combat skills were also strictly confidential. Even with Li Fan's current permission level of Derivation Ten, he still hadn't found any useful results. So Li Fan could only, with a "might as well try" mindset, ask Jiang Zhengji of the Martial Arts Hall.

His answer was also within Li Fan's expectations: "All kinds of secret techniques in the Martial Arts Hall are controlled and cannot be passed on to outsiders. Friend, for this favor, I'm afraid I cannot help you."

It was just a casual inquiry, without much hope, so Li Fan still politely thanked him. Jiang Zhengji, perhaps out of caution or curiosity, sent another message a moment later, asking: "Friend, why do you wish to improve your practical combat skills? As far as I know, aren't you just an array master? Could it be that you have an enemy?"

Li Fan's heart tightened, but he didn't panic, and replied: "No, not really. It's just that I often spar with a friend, but I can never win. I'm just a bit unwilling to accept it. Actually, whether I improve my combat skills or not doesn't really matter; I mainly just want to defeat him once."

A moment later, Jiang Zhengji replied: "Haha, so that's it. The desire to compete and win is common to all. I can understand that. Friend, I can't help you with improving your own practical combat skills. However, if you just want to defeat an opponent, I do have an idea."

Li Fan's spirits lifted: "Please tell me, Friend!"

"Our Martial Arts Hall has applied for a functional zone in the Heavenly Profound Mirror, named 'Sitting in Discussion of the Dao.' By utilizing the Heavenly Profound Mirror's powerful derivation capabilities, and inputting the realm, cultivation methods, divine abilities, secret arts, and so on, of both combatants beforehand, you can simulate their battle process. You don't need to know the specific content of the cultivation methods; you only need to describe their actual performance during combat. Based on the strength of the description, the Heavenly Profound Mirror will generate virtual Dao discussants of varying strengths. After creating your own Dao discussant, you can spar with it by creating a virtual version of yourself. Furthermore, you can battle against other cultivators' Dao discussants. This is what's called 'Sitting in Discussion of the Dao.' Of course, the Heavenly Profound Mirror will also adjust the strength of the created Dao discussants based on actual conditions. Exaggerations, such as a Golden Core cultivator casually cleaving space, are not feasible."

Li Fan listened, and immediately became interested. He couldn't help but ask: "Is this function exclusive to your Martial Arts Hall? If I want to use it, what can I do?"

Jiang Zhengji immediately replied: "Haha, although it's generally not open to outsiders, outsiders can use it if an insider invites them." As he spoke, he sent over a black and white icon. Two figures sat on either side. In the middle was an ancient character for "Dao."

Li Fan touched it with his divine sense. He then received a prompt from the Heavenly Profound Mirror.

"'Sitting in Discussion of the Dao' has been loaded, Inviter: Jiang Zhengji of Myriad Immortal Island. Cultivator Li Fan, you have activated the 'Sitting in Discussion of the Dao' function. You are now gifted one free opportunity to create a Dao discussant, and three opportunities for mutual combat. From now on, you can view and use the 'Sitting in Discussion of the Dao' function at any time."

Li Fan keenly noticed the words "gift" and "free," and immediately understood the hidden agenda. However, Li Fan was now wealthy and powerful, and didn't care about such a small consumption of contribution points. He quietly opened "Sitting in Discussion of the Dao" and began to examine it.

Immediately, a lot of information appeared before his eyes.

"(Dao Integration Realm) Senior Sister Zhao is number one in the world! With one person and one sword, she suppressed the Grand Dao Sect, unconquerable through the ages! If you don't agree, come fight!"

"(Nascent Soul Realm) The Middle-aged Desolate Emperor, unrivaled throughout eternity and in the current era. He has achieved thirty-three consecutive victories; all fellow Daoists are welcome to challenge him!"

"(Nascent Soul Realm) The Middle-aged Heavenly Leaf Emperor possesses unparalleled mental prowess and a Sacred Body. He is not inferior to the Desolate Emperor!"

"(Soul Transformation Realm) At the peak of immortals, proudly dominating the world, where I Lan An am, there is heaven! Newly created Dao discussant, in one word: Invincible!"

"(Dao Integration Realm) Immortal Venerable Yulan welcomes all real Dao discussants to challenge. To Dao discussants from various fictional novels, please don't apply for combat, okay? What's the point of fantasizing all day long? I won't agree to it."

Li Fan read through these messages one by one, and couldn't help but show a strange expression. It turned out that most of the Dao discussants created by cultivators in 'Sitting in Discussion of the Dao' were actually fictional characters from novels. For example, Li Fan also knew about Senior Sister Zhao of the Grand Dao Sect. She was the protagonist from 'Secret History of Ancient Cultivation,' a novel he had once read. This book, written from a first-person perspective, narrated how Senior Sister Zhao, starting as an outer disciple, through various trials, gradually became an inner disciple, a true disciple, a Dao Child, and finally the Sect Master of the Grand Dao Sect. Unexpectedly, this Senior Sister Zhao was quite popular. In this 'Sitting in Discussion of the Dao,' at a glance, dozens of cultivators had chosen her as a prototype to create their Dao discussants.