The Technique Pavilion stood at the center of the Demon Suppression Division. It was a small three-story building with little ground coverage. Rather than being heavily guarded as imagined, it seemed quiet and secluded.
Ye Xiaofan followed Li Yan into the Technique Pavilion. Inside, there was only a drowsy Demon Suppressing Guard propping up his chin in a daze.
"The mid-grade cultivation techniques are on the second floor. Follow me."
"Normally, the Technique Pavilion has plenty of people around. But recently, many villages and towns under Qingyang County's jurisdiction have been plagued by demons and monsters, so ninety percent of the people have gone out on missions."
Seeing Ye Xiaofan's curiosity, Li Yan smiled and explained.
Ye Xiaofan nodded and followed him upstairs.
Hearing the footsteps, Zhang Zhenzhong, who was in charge of registration, sleepily raised his head. When he saw that it was Li Yan, his eyes immediately lit up.
"Captain Li, personally bringing a newcomer here to receive cultivation techniques?"
Although Zhang Zhenzhong was speaking to Li Yan, his gaze remained fixed on Ye Xiaofan.
For a newcomer to come to the second floor meant he was a genius. And since Li Yan, who was responsible for teaching newcomers, had personally brought him here, that meant he was a genius among geniuses.
There was no harm in leaving a good impression.
As long as nothing unexpected happened, such a talented newcomer would surely become one of the Demon Suppression Division's pillars in the future.
"Exactly. This is Ye Xiaofan, the orphaned son of General Ye Tianhe. Guess how long it took him to get started with the Basic Breathing Technique. If you guess correctly, I'll buy you a drink."
Clearly, the two had a good relationship. Li Yan looked at Zhang Zhenzhong with a grin.
"One day?"
Seeing Li Yan's smug expression, Zhang Zhenzhong made a bold guess.
"Hahaha, wrong. It only took the time needed to drink a cup of tea."
"What?"
Zhang Zhenzhong stared at Ye Xiaofan in utter disbelief.
"You're saying that he got started with the Basic Breathing Technique in the time it took to drink a mouthful of water? This, this..."
"That's right."
Li Yan nodded smugly at Zhang Zhenzhong.
"Whew. It seems Qingyang County is about to produce a genius even greater than Commander Zuo."
Zhang Zhenzhong's gaze toward Ye Xiaofan grew even more fervent as he began plotting how to build a good relationship with him.
He truly wanted to rise through the ranks.
He had not even been born during Commander Zuo's era, and when Baihu Xiao emerged, he had not yet joined the Demon Suppression Division.
Now, he could not miss this chance again.
Watching his lifespan on the panel decrease bit by bit, Ye Xiaofan was frantic. He needed to choose a cultivation technique quickly, cultivate it, and detoxify himself.
Just as he was about to speak—
"Hahaha, it seems Little Brother Ye is in quite a hurry."
Seeing how anxious Ye Xiaofan was to choose a cultivation technique, Zhang Zhenzhong laughed and stopped chatting with Li Yan.
He hurriedly pulled three leather-bound booklets from beneath the desk.
One recorded Breathing Techniques, one recorded techniques for using Blood Qi, and one recorded movement techniques.
"Little Brother Ye, these contain introductions to various mid-grade cultivation techniques. Once you've made your choice, I'll fetch them for you."
Ye Xiaofan did not stand on ceremony and immediately began flipping through them.
Tiger Roaring in the Mountains Breathing Technique: primarily cultivated the lungs among the five viscera. The lungs belonged to metal. Upon reaching great mastery, one's Blood Qi would resemble a fierce tiger, supremely hard and supremely yang, amplifying the killing power of Blood Qi.
Surging Waves Breathing Technique: primarily cultivated the kidneys among the five viscera. The kidneys belonged to water. Upon reaching great mastery, one's Blood Qi would be like surging waves and raging billows, each wave rising higher than the last.
Withered Wood Meets Spring Technique: primarily cultivated the liver among the five viscera. The liver belonged to wood. Upon reaching great mastery, the power of one's Blood Qi would brim with vitality and possess detoxifying effects. Upon reaching completion, there was a half-percent chance of cultivating a physique immune to a hundred poisons.
The moment he saw the Withered Wood Meets Spring Technique, Ye Xiaofan's eyes lit up. He immediately decided to cultivate this technique.
He then opened the booklet on Blood Qi techniques and began reading.
Li Yan and Zhang Zhenzhong merely watched quietly as Ye Xiaofan rapidly turned each page.
Wind and Rain Swordplay: nine forms and thirty-six moves, with endless variations. Upon reaching great mastery, the sword momentum would flow without end and possess formidable piercing power.
Void-Breaking Slash: three forms and nine moves. Its saber momentum was broad and open, charging forward with indomitable courage. Upon reaching great mastery, each saber stroke would be accompanied by the sound of thunder.
Mountain-Collapsing Fist: three forms and eighteen moves. It used fist momentum to drive the power of Blood Qi. A punch struck like heaven collapsing and earth splitting; enemies could not block it, mountains could not stop it. Upon reaching great mastery, the sound of its fists would be like violent thunder.
Sword Drawing Technique: without forms or moves, yet a single sword strike could produce endless transformations. One needed to thoroughly comprehend and integrate the strengths of a hundred schools of swordsmanship before achieving anything in its cultivation. The more sword techniques one mastered, the higher its grade became, and the greater the Sword Drawing Technique's power. Its upper limit was unknown.
The phrase "upper limit unknown" alone made Ye Xiaofan decide to cultivate the Sword Drawing Technique.
Swallow's Three Dips in Water: borrowed force to soar and leap, with a body as nimble and swift as a swallow. Upon reaching great mastery, one could borrow force three times and fly horizontally nine zhang.
Wind God Steps: as swift as a hurricane, leaving no trace upon snow. Upon reaching great mastery, one could borrow the wind to cross the air for nine zhang.
"Captain Zhang, I've made my choices."
Ye Xiaofan put down the movement technique booklet and looked at Zhang Zhenzhong.
"Oh? Go ahead."
Zhang Zhenzhong took out a wooden token, picked up a brush, and looked at Ye Xiaofan.
"Withered Wood Meets Spring Technique, Sword Drawing Technique, and Wind God Steps."
When he heard "Sword Drawing Technique," Zhang Zhenzhong paused.
"Little Brother Ye, although the Sword Drawing Technique is only a mid-grade cultivation technique, once cultivated to great mastery, it can rival a top-grade cultivation technique. But cultivating this sword technique requires comprehending other sword arts and merging them together. It is extraordinarily difficult to cultivate. Have you thought this through?"
"I'll choose the Sword Drawing Technique."
As for something that only cost a bit of silver and was difficult to cultivate—such a thing did not exist.
Zhang Zhenzhong and Li Yan exchanged a glance and said no more.
Zhang Zhenzhong recorded the choices. After Ye Xiaofan followed the rules and made a Great Dao Oath not to spread the techniques, Zhang Zhenzhong took three manuals from the bookshelf and handed them to Ye Xiaofan.
"Little Brother Ye, the cultivation techniques cannot be taken out of the Technique Pavilion. For one month, you may come to the Technique Pavilion to study them without spending merit. This token is your proof, so keep it safe and do not lose it."
Ye Xiaofan nodded and accepted the wooden token. "Thank you for the trouble, Captain Zhang."
"Xiaofan, this is a Pill Treasure Pavilion token. You can collect three Blood Qi Pills and a Hundred-Forged Treasure Sword. I'll be leaving first. If you have any questions, come find me anytime."
After seeing Li Yan off, Ye Xiaofan found a secluded compartment and began reading the three cultivation techniques.
With the panel, he only needed to skim through them once.
Time trickled away.
As Ye Xiaofan was reading the Breathing Technique, his entire body suddenly shuddered. All five of his viscera faintly resonated at once, and strands of Blood Qi no thicker than hairs flowed from his heart. He felt warm all over, as though the heavy burden that had long weighed on him had been lifted by half.
Ye Xiaofan hurriedly looked at the panel.
Lifespan: 2 hours (deeply poisoned) (weakly suppressed) Realm: None (0.1/100) Cultivation Technique: Basic Breathing Technique (subtle mastery 0/400)
The Basic Breathing Technique had clearly reached subtle mastery. His lifespan had originally fallen to 1.9 hours, but the instant the Basic Breathing Technique reached subtle mastery, it increased by 0.1 hours and returned to two hours.
"It seems Blood Qi can suppress the toxins in my body. And the quality of the Blood Qi I cultivated is comparable to that produced by a low-grade cultivation technique."
Generally speaking, the first strand of Blood Qi cultivated through a low-grade cultivation technique was only as thick as one hair; a mid-grade cultivation technique produced two hairs' worth, a high-grade cultivation technique three, and a top-grade cultivation technique six. This varied according to individual talent.
A faint smile appeared on Ye Xiaofan's face, and the taut string within him loosened slightly.
For the time being, he could suppress the toxins in his body. This gave him more time to cultivate.
Originally, he had planned to return and cultivate after finishing the Withered Wood Meets Spring Technique.
Now, he decided to finish reading all three cultivation techniques.
An hour later, Ye Xiaofan put down the Sword Drawing Technique.
Three red notifications flashed across the panel.
Withered Wood Meets Spring Technique discovered. Spend 1,000 taels of silver to simplify the cultivation technique?
Wind God Steps discovered. Spend 1,000 taels of silver to simplify the cultivation technique?
Sword Drawing Technique discovered. Spend 1,000 taels of silver to simplify the cultivation technique?
Looking at the panel, the corner of Ye Xiaofan's mouth could not help twitching.
Simplifying a single mid-grade cultivation technique actually required 1,000 taels of silver. That was enough to buy ten Blood Qi Pills, enough for a cultivator below the Body Refinement Fourth Layer to cultivate for three months.
"Fortunately, the compensation from Ye Tianhe, the original owner's father, is 1,000 taels of silver. Otherwise, I truly wouldn't know how to get the money."
"Since I've accepted your family's kindness, once I have enough strength, I will definitely avenge you."
Ye Xiaofan shook his head, casting the distracting thoughts from his mind.
The person who had secretly poisoned him would definitely strike again upon seeing him alive and kicking. He had to become stronger as quickly as possible.
During Ye Xiaofan's time in the Technique Pavilion, news of how he had instantly gotten started with the Basic Breathing Technique spread throughout the entire Demon Suppression Division.
Along the way, people he knew and people he did not know alike constantly greeted him.
Just after Ye Xiaofan collected his Blood Qi Pills and Hundred-Forged Treasure Sword, a Demon Suppressing Guard found him.
"Ye Xiaofan, Deputy Commander Sun wishes to see you. Please come with me."
Deputy Commander Sun was Sun Chenyu's father. A trace of vigilance arose in Ye Xiaofan's heart.
In his memories, this man had once competed with Ye Tianhe for the position of Vice Commander and ultimately won.
He was not some child who understood nothing like the original owner. If Sun Chenyu had constantly targeted him for no reason, he would not believe it even if beaten to death.
"May I ask why Deputy Commander Sun wishes to see me?"
The man shook his head and said nothing more.
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