C422 Soar!(1)

Flying is the dream of many practitioners, and Woo Zhengyang yearned for the feeling of soaring through the sky. Riding on his willow wood sword, he weaved through the light rain, letting the water wash over his face and body without activating his Body Protecting Astral Qi.

On his first attempt at sword flight, Woo Zhengyang's performance was nothing short of astonishing, all thanks to the golden vortex. While practicing the Sword Manipulating Flight Technique, the golden vortex activated once more. Unlike when he repaired the Skin Origin Hiding Technique, this technique was complete and a martial arts method. The activation of the golden vortex didn't drain Woo Zhengyang's mental energy; instead, it allowed him to fully master the Sword Manipulating Flight Technique.

Because of this mastery, when Dahu and the others appeared, Woo Zhengyang was taken aback, confident he didn't need them to catch him from below. Now that he had control, there was no need for him to pretend to fall; that would be too contrived.

After flying a few laps around Great Leaf Village, Woo Zhengyang returned to the courtyard, sheathed his sword, and landed smoothly, executing everything with remarkable skill. This led Liu Dahu and the others to believe that Woo Zhengyang must have known the Sword Manipulating Flight Technique all along, and had only been unable to fly due to the loss of his willow wood sword.

Woo Zhengyang didn't offer much explanation. Liu Dahu and the others were called away by Sun Li, even Rice was summoned too. Woo Zhengyang returned to his room to rest with his eyes closed.

An hour later, he was back in the courtyard, ready to practice the "Skin Origin Hiding Technique." Unlike energy cultivation, body tempering techniques don't require meditation. In fact, this technique thrives on movement, demanding full exertion.

"Wham..."

A punch cut through the fine drizzle, creating a gap in the rain. As soon as the gap closed, another punch followed. Each strike grew faster, pushing his energy and strength to their limits.

After warming up, Woo Zhengyang engaged his entire body, leaving a blur of motion in the rain. As his speed increased, raindrops barely touched him before being flung away, forming an invisible barrier around him without activating any protective aura.

Eventually, sweat began to pour from his body, mixing with the rain as he moved. With the preparations complete, Woo Zhengyang started channeling the "Skin Origin Hiding Technique."

The skin typically struggles to integrate with the vital energy of the universe, but under certain conditions, using a specialized technique can change this.

This specific condition occurs when a practitioner's body is at its most intense state, with all pores fully open. The special technique involves manipulating the expansion and contraction of these pores to forcibly lock the universe's vital energy into the skin's middle layer.

This is the essence of the "Skin Origin Hiding Technique." By extending from the middle layer of the skin to both sides, it not only prevents the vital energy from dissipating but also doubles the speed at which the skin absorbs it.

Previously, those who practiced the "Skin Origin Hiding Technique" failed to grasp this crucial method. They started from the outside in, and once they reached a certain level of absorption, they found they couldn't go deeper. They would then switch to other techniques, working from the inside out, only to have the hard-earned vital energy slowly squeezed out again.

Woo Zhengyang held high hopes for this highly regarded "Skin Origin Hiding Technique." However, once he began practicing, he realized he had underestimated this top-tier Skin Stage technique.

Vital energy was locked into his pores and forcibly integrated into his skin. Normally, such forced integration wouldn't last long, and the energy would dissipate. But by practicing the "Skin Origin Hiding Technique," the principle of pore closure was utilized. This prevented the scattered vital energy from escaping, allowing it to remain locked within the skin and undergo further integration.

Each time the forced fusion occurred, even if ninety percent was lost, ten percent would still be absorbed by the skin. After countless forced fusions, this vital energy was completely absorbed by the skin.

What's even more amazing is that during each forced fusion, the pores continuously opened and closed, steadily absorbing this vital energy. As the energy continued to fill in, the speed and effectiveness of the fusion increased significantly, creating a positive cycle.

By the end of the day, Woo Zhengyang felt that his skin had undergone a transformation, a condition typically seen only in the mid-stage of the Skin Stage.

In just one day, he unexpectedly advanced from the early to the mid-stage of the Skin Stage. Later, Woo Zhengyang realized that all of this was closely related to the golden vortex.