The Great Derivative Art

Han Li listened to the other party’s words without saying anything. His single hand, still shimmering with white light, gripped the other’s primordial soul tightly as he lowered his head to ponder.

After a long moment, Han Li lifted his head and spoke coldly.

“If I had been caught off guard and allowed your primordial soul to invade me just now, I wonder if you would have let me off? Your magical power is far stronger than mine, a mere Foundation Establishment junior Brother. The most likely outcome would have been me being devoured by you.”

The ill intent in Han Li’s words was unmistakable.

“I can tell you a secret! Give you a peerless cultivation art!” Senior Brother Lin, now terrified, hastily transmitted his voice through his soul.

“A secret? A cultivation art? Surely you don’t mean your Thousand Bamboo School’s Great Derivative Art?”

Han Li’s indifferent remark caused the green light on the primordial soul to flicker violently, followed by a stammering, shocked voice.

“How do you know about that? You… you were the one spying yesterday!”

Comprehension finally dawned on Senior Brother Lin.

“Alright. Since you know I’m not completely ignorant of your affairs, you had better tell me everything honestly. You don’t want me to destroy your primordial soul right this instant, do you?” Han Li’s tone was light, but it sent Senior Brother Lin’s soul trembling violently in his grip.

“What is there to say? Didn’t Junior Brother already overhear most of it yesterday?” Senior Brother Lin sighed, his voice faint and distant.

Outside the formation, the Thousand Bamboo School disciples, seeing no response from within the grand formation after passing on their message, grew furious and ordered their puppets to launch a fresh wave of attacks. The area outside the formation grew lively once more, but inside, all remained calm, aside from the sounds and tremors that filtered through.

“Junior Brother, what extraordinary formation is this? To be able to withstand such ferocious attacks… truly unbelievable!” Seeing this, Senior Brother Lin tried to change the subject, feigning astonishment.

“Hmph. Don’t worry about my formation, and don’t try to change the subject. I have no interest whatsoever in the dogs-eating-dogs affairs of your Thousand Bamboo School. What I want to know is whether you know any part of the Great Derivative Art, and what divine abilities one can gain from cultivating it. If you’re trying to stall for time, I will destroy you immediately.” Han Li frowned, and his voice suddenly turned icy cold.

With that, the white light on his hand flared intensely. His fingers tightened slightly, instantly eliciting a miserable cry from Senior Brother Lin’s primordial soul as he repeatedly begged for mercy.

“The Great Derivative Art is a secret technique created by our school’s founding patriarch. It is a profound art specifically for strengthening one’s divine sense and cultivating the art of soul division. It is also the required cultivation art for our Thousand Bamboo School’s use of puppets. Only by cultivating this technique can one attach one’s divine sense to multiple puppets and control them freely. Otherwise, what use would it be to refine many puppets if one cannot control them simultaneously?” Having tasted Han Li’s methods, Senior Brother Lin dared not delay any further and hurriedly spoke in one breath.

“Since it’s a basic cultivation art of the Thousand Bamboo School, why were you scheming to obtain it, and what is this about ‘half a volume’?” Han Li asked expressionlessly, continuing his interrogation.

“There’s no harm in telling you. Although the Great Derivative Art is the foundational art of our Thousand Bamboo School, it is also the school’s very root. It cannot be easily passed on to all members. Therefore, the Great Derivative Art currently practiced by our school’s disciples is merely a simplified version of the first layer of the authentic text. While it is easy to cultivate and master, when fully mastered, its power is far inferior to the authentic first layer. The authentic Great Derivative Art can only be cultivated by the school’s high-ranking members.”

“Those people outside have all cultivated the first two layers of the authentic Great Derivative Art, allowing them to control nearly a hundred mechanical puppets at once. I have cultivated the third layer’s technique, so I can control over three hundred, surpassing them. But the Great Derivative Art beyond the third layer has always been reserved solely for the School Master and the heir to the School Master’s position.”

“Years ago, a rebellion occurred within the Thousand Bamboo School. My father was assassinated by the current School Master, Jin Nantian, who seized the complete Great Derivative Art. At the time, I, as the young master, was handling school affairs outside. Upon hearing the news, I knew I couldn’t oppose him, so I found a substitute to feign my death and fled, eventually hiding here in the State of Yue. Although I didn’t have the complete Great Derivative Art, as the sole son of the School Master, I had learned the techniques of the first four layers in advance. I compiled them into a single volume, the first half of the Great Derivative Art.”

“Originally, I planned to live out my days here. But recently, the Great Derivative Art showed signs of a sudden breakthrough into the third layer, rekindling my desire for revenge. In a moment of poor judgment, I contacted some of my formerly loyal subordinates, hoping they could steal the techniques for the final three layers. I never expected it to end like this. I don’t know if they failed and were captured, or if they simply betrayed me.”

Senior Brother Lin explained in detail, but by the end, his voice was filled with anger and resentment.

Han Li watched coldly as the other’s soul vented its grievances without making any move. Only when the man had calmed down somewhat did he press on unceremoniously.

“What is this secret you mentioned?”

“This…? I wish to first…”

“Ah! Stop! I’ll talk, I’ll talk now!”

Senior Brother Lin hesitated for a moment, as if about to raise a condition. But Han Li didn’t give him the chance to speak. He immediately inflicted another great torment on him, nearly crushing the primordial soul into pieces, forcing the terrified man to change his tune instantly.

“Don’t refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit! It’s best you don’t raise any conditions before I’ve finished hearing everything I want to know.” Han Li’s voice was bone-chillingly cold.

For a moment, Senior Brother Lin was completely intimidated by Han Li’s ruthless methods. He hurriedly spoke, his voice filled with fear.

“Actually, this secret is still related to the Great Derivative Art, and it has long circulated among the high-ranking members of the Thousand Bamboo School. No one knows for sure if it’s true! But my father once secretly told me that this secret had a fifty to sixty percent chance of being real!”

“From some unknown time, a rumor quietly spread among successive high-ranking members of our Thousand Bamboo School: those who cultivate the Great Derivative Art to a high level will find Core Formation much easier than ordinary cultivators, and will more easily break through cultivation bottlenecks. The reason is that the successive School Masters and their heirs have had an astonishingly high success rate in forming their cores.” He paused for a moment before revealing the secret.

“It can increase the chances of reaching Core Formation?” Han Li, who had remained expressionless until now, finally showed a change in his demeanor.

“Yes, Junior Brother! If you would agree to find me a suitable body for re-cultivation, I am willing to first share the techniques of the first four layers with you. Then, you and I can join forces to find a way to obtain the remaining techniques from that traitor Jin. Together, we can form a golden core and enjoy the benefits! Wouldn’t that be wonderful?” He began to use his silver tongue to tempt Han Li once more.

Han Li let out a cold snort, said nothing, and lowered his head to ponder again, causing Senior Brother Lin’s heart to grow increasingly uneasy.

“Only a fifty to sixty percent chance of increasing the probability of Core Formation?” Han Li suddenly looked up, his brow deeply furrowed, muttering to himself.

“Junior Brother, a fifty to sixty percent chance is not small! This is about forming a golden core, after all. You should give it a try!” Seeing this, Senior Brother Lin hastily urged him on. In truth, what his father had told him was not a fifty to sixty percent chance, but only a thirty percent possibility! But now, the probability had conveniently doubled at his lips.

“Is the Great Derivative Art easy to cultivate? Besides increasing divine sense, does it also enhance magical power? Also, may I ask when Senior Brother Lin established his foundation, and how long you have been cultivating the Great Derivative Art?” Han Li suddenly raised an eyebrow and asked coldly.

“The cultivation speed is… passable. It seems to increase one’s magical power by a small amount… As for establishing my foundation, that was over a hundred years ago, when I was just over twenty. I began cultivating the Great Derivative Art right after I established my foundation. Huh? Why does Junior Brother ask all these questions?”

Senior Brother Lin hadn’t expected such a string of questions to be thrown at him. Stunned and caught off guard, he could only hem and haw his way through the first two questions, while answering the last two quite clearly.

Han Li’s expression relaxed slightly, as if he was quite satisfied with the answers. But then, his right hand, still grasping Senior Brother Lin’s soul, suddenly erupted with blinding white light. His five fingers clenched with force! The primordial soul in his hand only had time to let out a single miserable shriek before it dissolved into a mist of starlight, vanishing from the world entirely.

“Unfortunately for you, I detest nothing more than others trying to possess me. It brings back unpleasant memories. Besides, while I am indeed quite interested in the Great Derivative Art, it is a difficult art to cultivate and doesn’t enhance magical power. How could I possibly use it as my primary cultivation art?”

“Consider this: if I haven’t even cultivated my magical power to the peak of Foundation Establishment, what use would it be to cultivate the Great Derivative Art to any profound level? Your aptitude is passable, yet after cultivating this art for nearly a hundred years, you’re only at the peak of the third layer. Your magical power, split in focus, has stagnated at the mid Foundation Establishment stage. It’s not so easy to have your cake and eat it too. As for those successive School Masters who successfully formed their golden cores while managing both, it’s not surprising. To become a School Master, one must be a cultivator of exceptional talent, a once-in-a-million genius. This makes the claim that the Great Derivative Art increases the chance of Core Formation even less credible. I, for one, do not consider myself such a genius. I have no confidence whatsoever in cultivating both the Great Derivative Art and my magical power to advanced levels.”

“And worst of all, you don’t even have the complete text of the Great Derivative Art. You want to drag me into confronting an entire sect. Isn’t that just suicide? Besides, even if I spared you, who could guarantee you wouldn’t hold a grudge and stab me in the back one day?”

“With so many reasons, how could I possibly let you go?”

Han Li looked down at his right hand, which had just ended the life of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and whispered to himself.