"Sure, let's do it your way!"
The white-haired elder looked at Ling Chen with a smile in his eyes.
Seeing how confident this kid is, he seems to be quite something!
"Thank you very much, Hall Master!"
Ling Xiao quickly gave a respectful bow.
To verify whether Ling Chen had indeed stolen knowledge of Spirit Arts, the method was simple: pick a lesser Spirit Art, give Ling Chen two hours to cultivate it, and see if he can be successful. If he succeeds, then all suspicion will be removed. If not, further investigation would be necessary.
"No problem."
The white-haired elder waved his hand.
He only agreed because of Ling Chen; had it been someone else, even if the Family Head had come in person, he would not have consented if he wasn't in the mood. A mere lesser Spirit Art was nothing to him.
"Alright, then I apologize for my presumption."
Ling Xiao bowed again and walked toward the Spirit Arts section.
"Hold on."
At this moment, a voice rang out.
Ling Xiao stopped, turned his head, and looked at the person who had spoken.
It was Ling Fei with his arm wrapped in bandages.
"Since I'm the one who reported it, Xiaofa, can I have the task of picking the lesser Spirit Art?"
Ling Fei said with a smile.
Hearing this, the white-haired elder's eyes flickered, staring at Ling Fei before looking away.
Feeling the Spirit Palace Master's gaze, Ling Fei got a fright. Seeing the former look away finally put him at ease.
"That makes sense. Since you're the one who reported it, you can choose the Spirit Art. It's only fair."
Ling Xiao nodded.
"Thank you, Xiaofa."
Ling Fei bowed slightly and then stepped into the lesser Spirit Arts area, quickly picking one.
"Here."
Ling Fei handed the Spirit Art to Ling Xiao.
This Spirit Art was called Crack Stele Hand, one of the harder ones to cultivate among the lesser Spirit Arts.
He had heard from others that very few people could succeed in cultivating it, which is why he volunteered to choose the Spirit Art himself.
Ling Xiao showed the Spirit Art to the white-haired elder before handing it over to Ling Chen, saying, "This is the one. As long as you succeed in cultivating it, this matter of stealing Spirit Arts will be dropped!"
"Alright!"
Ling Chen took it.
Seeing the name of the Spirit Art, he couldn't help but feel amused.
He had originally cultivated thirteen Spirit Arts here, and including the Blast Step Technique he took, that made fourteen in total.
Among these, there were three lesser Spirit Arts.
Besides Blast Step and Thunder Sound Fist, the third one was precisely Crack Stele Hand!
"Ling Chen, you have two hours for your cultivation. You can study it leisurely over there!"
Ling Xiao spoke up.
There were many seats inside the hall for the clan disciples to study Spirit Arts.
Ling Chen simply shook his head and said, "No need to go through so much trouble."
After saying that, he began to flip through the Spirit Art.
This Spirit Art was about eight pages, quite lengthy for a lesser Spirit Art.
Ling Chen's eyes scanned the pages.
"Whoosh."
Three breaths later, Ling Chen turned a page.
"What is he doing?"
Ling Xiao and the others were stunned.
With such speed, are you sure you read it all?
"Whoosh."
While everyone was still dazed, another page was turned.
Ling Chen had finished flipping through the eight pages of the Spirit Art in merely twenty-four breaths.
"Done."
In front of everyone's astonished faces, Ling Chen handed the Spirit Art back to Ling Xiao.
"What?"
Ling Xiao and the others were completely dumbfounded.
Are you sure you're cultivating a Spirit Art? Are you not just reading a novel?
Even the Spirit Palace Master was so shocked that he nearly fell off his chaise lounge.
"Showing off!"
Ling Fei reacted, snorting disdainfully.
With such speed, it's doubted that you understand the profundity of the Spirit Art, perhaps you haven't even memorized it yet?
"Are you sure you're done?"
Ling Xiao asked incredulously.
"Mhm."
Ling Chen nodded indifferently.
Ling Fei snatched the Crack Stele Hand and flipped to the second page, laughing, "What is on the second page, third paragraph?"
Ling Chen blinked and seriously said, "I forgot."
"What?!"
Ling Xiao almost choked to death.
The Spirit Palace Master stumbled and fell onto the lounge chair.
"Haha!"
Ling Fei immediately sneered proudly, "You can't even remember the content, and you tell me you've cultivated it successfully?"
"Young Master, you still have a lot of time, want to have a longer look?"
Ling Wu tugged at Ling Chen's sleeve, whispered.
Learning a Spirit Art by stealth was no joke.
She really didn't want the Young Master to be punished for this.
"Hmph, enough then, since you say you've cultivated it, let's see you demonstrate it!"
Ling Fei immediately said aloud.
He was holding the Crack Stele Hand in his left hand, clearly with no intention of returning it, naturally not wanting Ling Chen to get another glimpse.
Can't even remember the content, how can he speak of cultivation?!
Ling Chen nodded and said, "All right. Where can I demonstrate it?"
"Let's go outside."
Ling Xiao sighed.
Ling Chen was really being too complacent, he couldn't even remember the content, how could he cultivate?
Little did he know that Ling Chen had already successfully cultivated it before, and could perform it even without another glance.
The group of ten arrived at the entrance of the Spirit Hall.
"Watch carefully."
Ling Chen's expression became serious.
"Hmph, I want to see how you're going to step down when you fail to perform it."
Ling Fei took delight in the calamity from the side.
The Spirit Palace Master's mustache twitched with anger, originally he thought Ling Chen truly had a talent in Spirit Arts, but it turned out he was just a reckless and showy fellow.
Before, he had intended to cultivate him well!
Now it seemed he was blind.
Ling Wu, on the other hand, was filled with worry.
If the Young Master failed to perform, he would probably receive a severe punishment!
"Crack Stele Hand!"
Ling Chen shouted explosively, as Spiritual Power inside his body followed a mysterious and intricate trajectory, finally gathering in his right arm and converging onto his right palm.
"Smack!"
Ling Chen's palm heavily slammed onto a large stone.
"Crack!"
A sound came from the stone. Cracks spread out from where Ling Chen's Hand Seal was placed, forming a spiderweb of fissures, and then that massive stone completely shattered.
"It really is the Crack Stele Hand!"
The Spirit Palace Master exclaimed in surprise.
"What, he really mastered the Crack Stele Hand?"
Ling Xiao and the other Law Enforcement Team members also shouted in amazement.
"No, this can't be possible!"
Ling Fei refused to believe it.
"The essence of the Crack Stele Hand lies in the word 'crack', to achieve this one must subtly channel the force inside the stele, bursting it from inside out to create the effect of shattering stone and breaking metal. Thus, the cultivation of Spirit Arts is all about grasping the intent, not the form! Even if you can recite the Spirit Art backwards, without understanding the meaning, you still cannot possibly cultivate it successfully."
At this moment, Ling Chen was spirited and authoritative as he spoke.
"What a great 'the intent not the form'!"
The Spirit Palace Master clapped and laughed heartily.
Ling Chen was truly amazing.
The insight he demonstrated was something that even ordinary cultivators of the Spirit Sea Realm might not achieve.
And Ling Chen not only grasped it but also applied it proficiently.
Upon hearing this, a light of realization seemed to flash in Ling Xiao's eyes.
At this moment, he closed his eyes.
One Spirit Art after another was practiced in his mind.
Previously, when he cultivated Spirit Arts, he was merely imitating the content of the Arts without truly understanding the essence.
Now, he seemed to understand what a Spirit Art really was!
"Young Master Chen, I bow to you!"
Ling Xiao opened his eyes once again and deeply bowed to Ling Chen.
"Not bad!"
The Spirit Palace Master smiled faintly.
Ling Xiao's realization was a sign of good talent in Spirit Arts.
"Xiao Law Enforcement, you're too kind!"
Ling Chen smiled faintly and calmly accepted his bow.