Chapter 7

Pan Chao having the personality of a bookworm in this instance was a good thing, because when learning a new technique, if one had a scroll, it was only proper to read the scroll all of the way through several times in order to unlock some of the hidden meanings as well as the overall path one needed to take in order to master said technique. Even an elder of the Pan clan who wanted to learn a new technique, needed to do it this way.

For those under the age of twelve in the Pan clan, were only allowed to focus on their cultivating and strength training in order to build up a proper foundation. Even if one were to reach the Elementary level three in either Qi refinement or Body refinement, they would for the most part not have the chance to learn any martial arts techniques. Commoners were different in this regard, because unless one had a proper teacher, they would not know how strong their foundation was.

"Interesting!" Pan Chao thought to himself as he finished his second time reading through the scroll. Not only was he able to deduct some of the mysteries behind the Grand Palm technique, but for the most part, he understood what was the proper stance and the improper stance. With this information now memorized, Pan Chao felt that he had saved himself many months of trouble as he finally stood up and began.

The Grand Palm technique only showcased how a cultivator had to control their spiritual energy within their body. In Pan Chao's case, he needed to slowly insert the spiritual energy within his body, all into his palm without it unleashing a huge portion of it, and gently placing his palm on a small boulder in order to leave behind a handprint of his palm into it.

This was considered to be an advanced method and only those with above average control of their spiritual energy could work on this. However, even in Pan Chao's case, if this was mastered, a cultivator could use their efficiency to challenge even those several levels above them in cultivation level who used their spiritual energy in a less efficient manner. The Grand Palm technique was perfect for such cultivators, but the difficulty to master this was enormous.

As he concentrated and tried to slowly pour his spiritual energy into his palm, Pan Chao realized just how far off he was in mastering this technique. Every time he poured more spiritual energy into his palm, the energy would burn away as if it was a small fire constantly receiving more air to flare it up.

"Little one, I see that you chose to work on a very advanced technique before you even understood how to pour your spiritual energy into different parts of your body. I would recommend getting used to pouring your spiritual energy all around your body until you are used to it before trying out this technique."

A middle aged man walked over and was close to Pan Chao as a large grin appeared on his face. He seemed to have been a cultivator of the Elementary level six as a Body Refinement expert. With his tall and muscular body, some of the nearby female teenagers could not help but to blush from the sight. This man was in charge of the training area and was named Pan Lin. Although he was not an elder level figure within the Pan clan, he was still very well respected.

After hearing the words of encouragement, Pan Chao could only nod his head as he began circulating the spiritual energy remaining in his body around his body. However, after only three breaths of time, he needed to sit down as his entire body was covered in sweat. "It looks like I am too early to try that technique afterall." he thought to himself as he quickly began drinking some water to revitalize himself.

Pan Lin's facial expression looked like he was still very pleased with Pan Chao as he nodded towards his direction before turning around to assist other youths in their training. Unlike smaller clans, the Pan clan did not have every youth training together like the military because there were so many members but also so many techniques widely available. Usually the more options a cultivator had, the more different they would be compared to their peers.

And so for the remaining eight or so hours of the sun being up, Pan Chao took breaks as he needed to and by the end of the day, he was able to circulate his spiritual energy for a total of four breaths of time, which was considered to be fairly impressive for the younger generation of each power within Crimson Circle.

As the sun began to disappear from the sky with the replacement of the moon, Pan Chao, like the remaining hard working disciples of the Pan clan began to head back to his house. However, an old man was waiting at the exit of the training grounds and it was of course Pan Chao's master, Pan An who was standing there as if his inner peace was something that even a Buddha would covet.

Seeing his disciple finally appearing at the exit, caused the old man's facial expression to slightly change before he walked over to meet with him. "There was a rumor going around that you were working on your martial arts. That is not something that I requested for you to do, so I have no choice but to ask why you chose to do such a thing instead of listening to your master?" Pan An asked Pan Chao with a sorrowful look on his face.

Hearing his master's words and seeing his saddened facial expression caused Pan Chao's heartbeat to skip several times before he opened his mouth to reply as he kowtowed towards Pan An immediately after hearing the question. "Greetings to master, this disciple had broken through into the Elementary level one stage of cultivation and wanted to be sure that my strength was something that I could freely use and control before seeking out master."