William opened his eyes when he heard a muffled grunt. Ren Bo stared at him pleadingly as if he could help with his predicament.

“You should be gagged, Ren Bo,” William said quietly, “You actually have a chance of returning to Xuanjing City with your life this way.”

The trip back to Xuanjing City was only supposed to take an hour tops, but that was far too much time for Ren Bo not to put his foot in his mouth. Less than a minute in, one of the guards had ended up gagging him before tying him to the railing next to William.

It also didn’t help that all of the guards learned Princess Jin was in the Nascent Soul Realm. The fawning that ensued was nauseating as they praised the princess. Mainly about how they always knew she had a great future and how she had always been the genius of Xuanjing City. He would have interjected to try and save Princess Jin from the extreme brown-nosing, but it seemed that she was enjoying it.

It was in the middle of this that Ren Bo decided it was a great time to have one of his outbursts. So yes, he really did think that leaving him gagged and tied up was for the better.

William ignored the muffled protests and closed his eyes again, pretending to be meditating. He had intended to use the time to review the Heaven-tier martial skill he had yet to pick, but after seeing how Princess Jin and Ren Bo were both in their version of a relaxation state, it killed his mood.

He felt that he deserved a little break, too, and instead of reading what martial skills were available to him, he should do something he enjoyed. Besides, knowing his impatience and occasional rashness, there was a chance he might pick a martial skill that seemed impressive at first glance but didn’t meet his long-term needs. The smart choice was to have someone knowledgeable guide him, as he had planned when he received the reward in the secret realm.

Of course, that resolve only lasted a few minutes before he was fed up with listening to the guards try to one-up each other about how special Princess Jin was. There was nothing else to do other than eavesdrop. Besides, when had he ever done the smart thing when it wasn’t absolutely necessary?

William expanded the reward to see the choices.

[View the 5 Heaven-Tier Martial Skills}

[Y/N]

[Accepted]

[WARNING | Heaven-Tier Martial Skills are shown without consideration of any limitation due to the user’s cultivation base]

[Choosing a Heaven-Tier Martial Skill will also give access to the skill’s corresponding Earth-Tier and Human-Tier Martial Skills]

He paused his reading, wanting to smack himself for thinking he would be able to use a Heaven-Tier Skill immediately. Of course, he needed to learn them like everyone else.

Human-Tier Martial Skills were the lowest level that could be found. It wasn’t to say they were all bad. There were Human-Tier skills that needed to be learned before graduation to the corresponding Earth-Tier skill and then to the Heaven-Tier skill.

Those were the good ones.

Of the martial skills William learned from the Jade Healing Sect, they were all the kind that would be considered trash. After he mastered them, that would be it. There was no skill manual or jade token that would teach him the next level so that they would be useful when he had a higher cultivation realm.

The only choice was to create an Earth-Tier skill himself if he really wanted to. Which he didn’t. Not with the basic skills he had learned. It would be a waste of time when it would be far quicker to learn an entirely new skill.

However, the martial skill he created from scratch, or rather, entirely by accident, would be an excellent candidate. If he could multiply his base attributes by five times, even when he was in the Foundation Establishment Realm, it would be a game changer. It would be an even larger trump card than it already was.

Anything that would let him fight with cultivators in a higher major realm would be invaluable.

William continued to read the system messages.

[WARNING | Accepting a Heaven-Tier Martial Skill will incapacitate the user for a variable amount of time]

[Listing Heaven-Tier Martial Skills]

[Name: Divine Dragon Claw]

[Description: A swipe of the hand that summons a dragon claw made of Qi, which can grab and crush enemies from afar. The claw can also be combined with the user’s Dao, creating unique variations that increase the effectiveness of the skill. Overuse of the skill will cause the user to take on draconic traits.]

[Name: Celestial Lotus Palm]

[Description: A palm strike that creates a large lotus flower made of qi, which can envelop and trap targets inside. The lotus flower can also release a fragrance that can calm the mind and heal the body or a poison that can corrode the soul. Using either fragrance or poison will cause the user to experience the reverse of the targets inside the lotus flower.]

[Name: Divine Phoenix Feather]

[Description: A skill that allows the user to transform into a phoenix, which can fly and dodge any attack. The phoenix can also heal any wound and regenerate any lost limb, making the user virtually immortal while the skill is active. The overuse of the skill will attract the attention of the Immortal Phoenix, who will seek to claim your soul for its descendants.]

[Name: Heaven Shattering Fist]

[Description: A punch that unleashes a shockwave of pure Qi, capable of shattering mountains and cracking the sky. The shockwave can travel for hundreds of miles, destroying anything in its path.]

[Name: Nine Suns Palm]

[Description: A palm strike that emits up to nine beams of golden light, each representing one of the nine suns in the ancient legend. The beams can pierce through any defense and burn anything they touch, including the very soul of the targets. A heavy price is exacted after each use of this skill, crippling the user to a state equal to the weakest of their cultivation realm until healed.]

He reread the available skills a few times before quickly coming to accept that there would be no choices made today. Not even he was rash enough to choose any of these with the penalties they had. That didn’t prevent his heart from speeding up in excitement.

The only martial skill without a penalty, Heaven Shattering Fist, seemed like a ridiculously overpowered punch. Not much different from what he was doing now in his fights, only scaled up to the power of a cultivator in the Nascent Soul Realm or whatever was needed to use these Heaven-Tier skills.

That meant that the Heaven Shatters Fist was likely the safe choice between these five and probably the one with the lowest ceiling in terms of power.

William didn’t immediately discard the idea of choosing it, but it certainly put it at a disadvantage. He could only see it being closed if the penalties of the other skills simply weren’t worth the benefits.

Another thing he noticed about the skills was that most of them seemed to be ranged attacks. The thing that he was sorely missing in his repertoire. Sophia hadn’t been lying when she said he would be offered Heaven-Tier skills most compatible with him.

“Wei Liang, get up.”

He opened his eyes to see Princess Jin before him in pristine new clothes while holding folded robes in her arms.

“We’re less than a minute away.”

He looked around and saw that he was the only one unprepared to disembark. Ren Bo was no longer tied up beside him and had acquired plain white robes that covered his new scars. The boy still looked miserable, though.

“Is that for me?” William asked as he pointed at the clothes in her arms.

“It is,” Princess Jin leaned down as she handed them to him, her voice dropped to a whisper, “Make no mention of the Heart or the destruction of the Shard. We must be careful in front of the Lord Protector.”

William didn’t get the chance to reply and was left holding his new clothes. He was already going to do what the princess suggested, but it was good to know they were on the same page.