One more catty, one more attribute point

"You've already told him?" The two separated, and Su Li looked up at Xiaoqing, who nodded slightly.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Su Heng demanded.

"I..."

Su Li was momentarily at a loss, unsure of how to explain.

"No, that's not right!" She thought for a moment, her brows furrowing as she looked at Su Heng with a hint of wariness, "You're the one who should be explaining."

"Since you know about the Demon Suppression Bureau, you should also know about the Wendao Plate," Su Li said, "Why does the Wendao Plate react to you?"

"..." Su Heng thought for a while and then seriously said, "Maybe that thing is broken.

In this world, anything made by humans can have faults, and one shouldn't blindly rely on external devices."

"Impossible!"

Su Li insisted, "Are you joking?"

She reached around her body, searching for the Wendao Plate, and having found it still there, she let out a sigh of relief and took it out from her bosom, powering it up with effort.

"Hmm!?"

Something unbelievable happened.

Su Li's eyes widened as she stared at the Wendao Plate, its central crystal a dull gray, showing no reaction whatsoever.

"How can this be!?" Su Li shook the Wendao Plate vigorously, even pressing it directly against Su Heng's skin, yet it still showed no response.

After a long research.

Su Li still couldn't figure out the reason.

All she could do was to fold her arms across her chest alone, seemingly sulking to herself.

"See, I told you there's something wrong with it," Su Heng spread his hands, a smile appearing on his face.

Although he sounded casual, he was secretly breathing a sigh of relief. After learning about the ability of the Wendao Plate from Xiaoqing and its reaction to him, Su Heng suspected that the cause might be related to the Water Ghost Poison Sack in his body.

So Su Heng secretly unmerged the Water Ghost Poison Sack.

Just as expected.

Just as Su Heng had anticipated, the Wendao Plate no longer reacted as it had before.

"Then how do you explain the martial arts skills you possess?" Su Li asked, having seen with her own eyes the dismembered remains of demons in the secret chamber.

"Naturally, they are the result of my hard cultivation," Su Heng said proudly, his tone even slightly rising.

"Just a fragmented Pure Yang Skill cultivated to this extent!?" Su Li scoffed, disbelieving that something so mystical could occur.

"I have also practiced both the Black Evil Technique and the Red Poison Technique," Su Heng added.

"..." Su Li said, "They don't sound like any respectable cultivation techniques."

"Who cares if they're respectable or not, as long as you can't beat me," Su Heng replied calmly.

"I didn't want to hurt you, I was holding back, do you understand!" Su Li got flustered, quickly making excuses, never wanting to lose the majesty of being the older sister.

"Yes, yes, yes, you were holding back," Su Heng smiled, his mouth curving into a grin.

"Of course, I was."

Su Li lifted her chin slightly, a proud look on her face, though her cheeks were a bit flushed.

"Have you realized something?" Xiaoqing, who had hardly made her presence felt, suddenly spoke up. Su Heng and Su Li both looked at her, making her a bit nervous, but she continued, "If your brother truly cultivated without being influenced by demons, then his talent is truly terrifying."

"My talent is quite ordinary," Su Heng said, pressing his hands together in a humble gesture, "I have reached where I am today simply by devoting the time others spend eating to my cultivation."

In a sense, what he said was indeed true.

Unfortunately,

Su Li and Xiaoqing clearly didn't grasp the real implication, both revealing a "←_←" expression.

"Come on, how about letting your sister test your root bone?" Su Li got off the bed, suddenly interested.

"Root bone, how are you going to test it?"

Su Heng first stepped back, then asked curiously, "I once asked Ning Zhibai about the so-called root bone and discernment when I was learning martial arts from him.

But the guy was pretty average.

He always spoke in mysteries that never got to the point.

Since you come from an official major sect like the Demon Suppression Bureau, surely you have a deeper understanding of these things, right?"

"Before I answer your question, you need to clarify one thing," Su Li slowly rolled up her sleeves, revealing her wrists as pale as the moon.

"What is it?"

"What aspects do you think make a martial artist powerful?"

"Hmm..." Su Heng thought for a moment and replied, "First of all, one's own strength is the most crucial. Next comes technique, and then various external factors such as weapons."

"Although you missed some details, overall, that's quite good," Su Li nodded, pleased, "You are indeed my brother, Su Li."

"You can keep the second half to yourself," Su Heng said.

Su Li pretended not to hear and continued on her own, "Root bone and discernment determine the very strength of a person."

"The so-called root bone is the innate strength of the physical body; discernment relates to the speed at which one cultivates a technique. The two complement each other and are indispensable.

Let me give you a simple example to explain.

If a person, without any training, can lift five hundred pounds, and after diligent cultivation breaks the limits of the human body and steps into the Demon Form realm, his strength doubles, and he can easily lift a thousand pounds over his head.

But if, at the same realm level, another person naturally has extraordinary strength.

Being able to lift a thousand pounds without any cultivation, then after reaching the same realm through cultivation, his strength would be two thousand pounds.

This is the influence of root bone.

As for discernment, it follows the same principle but manifests in the magnitude of strength increase. The higher the discernment, the deeper the understanding of the technique, and even integrating various techniques can result, in greater increases in strength, speed, and so forth."

"I see..."

Su Heng's eyes lit up, and he asked again, "If someone's natural strength is ten times that of an ordinary person, or even more, and in understanding techniques far surpasses the average person, mastering any technique as soon as they learn it or with a single pointer.

Even an ordinary technique in their hands can produce incredible effects. Multiplied together, their power could exceed that of cultivators at the same realm by a hundred times or more, wouldn't they easily be able to kill someone of a higher level with ease, and even a much more advanced martial artist could be struck dead with a single punch!"

"In theory, yes..."

Su Li said with a smile, "But there is a natural limit to human strength, being double that of an ordinary person can be explained by exceptional talent, but ten times more is just not the same species. As for discernment, the higher the realm, the harder it is to improve, and the amplification brought by techniques is also limited."

"Wait a second!!"

As she spoke, Su Li's smile gradually became a bit stiff.

She tilted her head, looked at Su Heng with suspicion, and asked, "The person you just talked about, it's not yourself, is it?"