Chapter 109: Triple Aura, Agility Ability

"Hahaha!"

Ahead, Lu Chunyuan let out a hearty laugh upon hearing Lu Sheng’s words. "To gain insight just by observing my footsteps—it seems your senses have become much sharper since you attained clarity of mind."

"Tell me, what exactly did you perceive? Let me hear it!"

These words drew Lu Sheng out of his astonishment regarding the Divine Pupil of Insight. Looking at Lu Chunyuan, who continued to pace forward, he replied, "Teacher, although your footsteps appear steady, you are not actually treading upon the ground at all."

"That is why you haven't left a single footprint behind."

"Is this the 'light-body' ability of a Martial Sect?"

Martial artists, especially powerful ones, refine their muscles, bones, skin, organs, and marrow to such an extreme degree that while their physique may look no different from an ordinary person's, their weight can be several times greater.

Take Lu Sheng himself: even though he has only completed the refinement of his skin, bones, and organs, he already weighs over three hundred pounds. If he did not consciously control his movements, every step he took would leave deep imprints in the earth.

By comparison, Lu Chunyuan, who has completed the refinement of his blood and marrow, effectively tempering his entire being, would certainly weigh no less than him—perhaps even five or six hundred pounds. That a man of such heft could walk without leaving a trace was naturally a source of wonder for Lu Sheng.

Under the observation of the Divine Pupil of Insight, he could clearly see that with every step Lu Chunyuan took, profound energy (Xuan Qi) was released from beneath his feet. When his foot descended toward the ground, a surge of elemental energy from the earth would rise to support his body—thus, while it appeared as though he were stepping on the ground, he never actually made contact. Consequently, no footprints were left behind.

It was because of this observation that Lu Sheng, recalling how martial artists could ride flying beasts, asked if this was the signature ability of a Martial Sect.

***

Hearing this, Lu Chunyuan chuckled and said, "A Martial Sect does possess the ability to lighten their body, but it is not done this way."

"Come, support me and feel it for yourself!"

With that, Lu Chunyuan beckoned Lu Sheng forward. Lu Sheng reached out to steady him, and as Lu Chunyuan’s entire body lifted slightly off the ground, he said, "You are at the Force-Mastery stage; now, feel how heavy my body is."

At the Force-Mastery stage, one not only gains perfect control over their own strength but also develops an extremely keen sensitivity to weight and pressure. As Lu Sheng held onto Lu Chunyuan while they walked, he sensed the weight: "Five hundred and twenty-eight pounds!"

As a consummate expert of the Martial Sect realm, Lu Chunyuan’s body was fully tempered, and his vitality and spirit were dozens of times that of an ordinary person. Given his slightly stout build, a weight of over five hundred pounds was within Lu Sheng's expectations.

Nodding slightly, Lu Chunyuan said, "Now, I will use the energy cyclone in my lower Dantian to draw upon the elemental energy of heaven and earth, forming a protective field. Feel it again!"

Activating the Divine Pupil of Insight, Lu Sheng immediately saw a field of energy manifesting around Lu Chunyuan’s body. Simultaneously, he felt the weight of Lu Chunyuan’s body in his hands drop by half.

"Two hundred and sixty-four pounds—exactly half of what it was!" Lu Sheng remarked, a glimmer of realization dawning on him.

"Indeed, your perception is excellent," Lu Chunyuan praised. "Each time a Martial Sect expands a layer of their energy field, their body weight is halved by the elemental energy of heaven and earth."

"Now, I will release the Xuan Qi from my middle and upper Dantians to expand the second and third layers of the energy field. Feel it again!"

As Lu Chunyuan expanded the second and third layers, Lu Sheng felt the weight drop further to one hundred and thirty-two pounds, and finally, sixty-six pounds. At this weight, not only could a third-tier flying beast carry him, but even some second-tier flying beasts would be able to bear his weight. It was no wonder some Martial Sect experts could ride second-tier avian beasts.

***

"Each layer of the energy field offsets half of one's body weight."

"This means that an expert at the peak of the Martial Sect realm, who can expand all three cyclones, can reduce their body weight to one-eighth of its original."

"So, this is the light-body ability of a Martial Sect!" Lu Sheng exclaimed, finally understanding.

With a Martial Sect master providing personal instruction, combined with the observation of the Divine Pupil of Insight, Lu Sheng had learned more about the Martial Sect realm in a short time than he had in his entire life. He now understood the root of these abilities. However, he remained puzzled by how the earth’s elemental energy had actively supported Lu Chunyuan’s body earlier.

"Oh? You could even sense the elemental energy of the earth!" Leaving Lu Sheng’s support, Lu Chunyuan looked at him with surprise. "After becoming a Martial Sect and attaining 'Heaven-Human Resonance,' I can easily draw upon the surrounding elemental energy with my internal Xuan Qi whenever I desire."

"Just now, I used my internal Xuan Qi to draw out the earth's elemental energy to support my body." He shook his head with a smile, "I was doing it to commune with nature; the goal was not merely to avoid leaving footprints."

"If you go out into the world, you will find that most Martial Sect experts keep a layer of their energy field active at all times—that is when they are truly concealing their presence."

The world of martial arts is treacherous. Every expert who has fought their way up to the Martial Sect realm maintains basic vigilance. The most common method is to keep an energy field active at all times, which serves both to guard against surprise attacks and to prevent one's own aura from leaking.

Since Lu Chunyuan was in Yujing, within the Martial Academy, and near the residence of a Grandmaster, he did not need to be constantly on guard. Therefore, he chose not to maintain an energy field, opting instead to contact the earth's elemental energy directly to constantly commune with the world.

***

"Communing with the world at all times! Is he constantly in a state of cultivation?"

Thoughtfully, Lu Sheng etched the term "Heaven-Human Resonance" into his mind. Recalling how Lu Chunyuan had emitted Xuan Qi from his feet, he asked, "Teacher, it still takes me a long time for my Xuan Qi to reach the surface of my skin. Is there any way for me to release it prematurely?"

In this world, martial artists typically learn the technique of externalizing Xuan Qi to protect their bodies only after reaching the Great Martial Master stage. There are two reasons for this: first, Great Martial Masters have a vast accumulation of Xuan Qi to support the consumption of such techniques; second, once one Dantian is cultivated to its limit, the Xuan Qi naturally diffuses to the surface, making externalization or protective layering much easier.

Lu Sheng, due to his cultivation of all three Dantians, possessed a total amount of Xuan Qi rivaling that of a typical Great Martial Master. However, because no single Dantian had reached its limit, he remained unable to externalize his energy for protection. Considering that most of his future opponents would be Great Martial Masters, he urgently needed this ability.