Multiple Versions of Martial Arts Manuals

None of these four sword techniques was inferior to Chen Fei's Green Mountain Sword; they even surpassed it slightly.

"Fuse!"

The Green Mountain Sword and Gale Sword vanished, replaced by the Extreme Mountain Sword Technique.

"Simplify!"

"Simplifying Extreme Mountain Sword Technique... Simplification successful... Extreme Mountain Sword Technique → Green Mountain Sword!"

Just as Chen Fei had expected, practicing the Green Mountain Sword after simplification could increase its proficiency. Next, it was time to grind experience.

As for the Light Spirit Pill formula, Chen Fei considered it and decided to ask around among the Dark market vendors.

During the day, Chen Fei went to the North City Medical Hall as usual. Now that Sun Shu had run into trouble, Chen Fei had instead become the person with the most authority in the North City Medical Hall. If it had been someone more hungry for power, they would likely have been gathering support and building up their own faction by now.

But Chen Fei had no interest in that whatsoever, because he knew that faction or no faction, as long as the Zhang Family spoke a word, everything could be overturned.

In the end, the Medical Hall belonged to the Zhang Family. What it became was entirely up to them.

Liu Jun stepped forward and eagerly greeted Chen Fei. After thinking for a moment, Chen Fei reassigned Liu Jun to another position. It was a small promotion, with less work and more pay.

Chen Fei still had that much authority.

"Thank you, Manager Chen!"

Liu Jun's face flushed red with excitement as he bowed to Chen Fei. Envious looks came from those around them as well. In their eyes, Liu Jun, as one of the first people to follow Chen Fei, was surely about to soar to great heights.

Chen Fei patted Liu Jun on the shoulder in encouragement, then returned to the Pill Chamber to continue refining Blood Qi Pills.

The Revival Pill's proficiency was already nearing Great Perfection. Chen Fei planned to raise it today, so that he could use his remaining time afterward to grind other martial arts.

Refining at full force, Chen Fei finally revealed a faint smile by evening.

Alchemy: Revival Pill (Great Perfection)

He had the Medical Hall sell all the Blood Qi Pills he refined. After the accumulation of recent days, Chen Fei had deliberately begun displaying Blood Qi Pills at Great Perfection.

One reason was to show off his talent. The other was that Blood Qi Pills were now useless to Chen Fei. As for deliberately taking them to the Dark market to sell...

Blood Qi Pills were not worth much. Selling a single Revival Pill casually could equal the value of many Blood Qi Pills.

As night fell, Chen Fei disguised himself and arrived at the Dark market.

This time, Chen Fei seriously made inquiries. Since he had already learned quite a few of the Dark market's twists and turns, he did manage to uncover a good deal of information.

He had previously believed that the Dark market only sold basic pill formulas. This time, he discovered that higher-grade formulas were actually available, just sold in very small quantities. And they did not simply accept silver; other items also had to be exchanged.

Yet every condition was exceedingly harsh. Even the easiest one required two thousand taels of silver, plus one hundred Light Spirit Pills at half price.

Chen Fei could only marvel at the audacity. These people clearly had no intention of selling. No matter how he looked at such a price, something was off. It felt a little like fishing with bait.

Chen Fei had originally planned to disguise himself as his usual medicine-selling identity and ask around at the medicine stalls. Now, though, there was nothing worth asking. Every one of them clutched their pill formulas as if they were guarding their lifeblood.

With my current level of alchemy, could I reverse-engineer the Light Spirit Pill formula?

Chen Fei stood in the Dark market, his brows tightly furrowed.

Chen Fei had taken Light Spirit Pills before. Some of their ingredients were actually the same as those in Revival Pills. Only some ingredients had been replaced, while the alchemical methods also differed somewhat.

With his Revival Pill at Great Perfection, Chen Fei made a slight deduction regarding the Light Spirit Pill, and many ideas sprang into his mind. But relying on those ideas alone to refine a Light Spirit Pill would be nothing more than a castle in the air.

I'll go take a look at the book stalls.

Chen Fei walked into a dark corner. When he emerged, his face and figure had changed slightly. After passing through a narrow street, he arrived before Chi Defeng's stall.

"Eh, why do you have time to come today? The medicinal ingredients won't be ready that soon." Chi Defeng reclined against a long bench and looked at Chen Fei with some surprise.

After working together for so long, they could be considered acquaintances, and their manner of speaking had become much more casual.

"Do you have a formula for the Light Spirit Pill?" Chen Fei asked.

"Yes, let me look for it."

Chi Defeng rummaged through his stall for a while before finally pulling it from between the pages of a book in the corner. Probably no one ever bought pill formulas here, and the formula now looked rather old and worn.

"There's also a formula for the Floating Pill. Do you want it?"

Chi Defeng somehow pulled out another pill formula and handed it to Chen Fei along with the first.

"That Thunderous Sword Force manual from last time was pretty good, except there were too many errors and omissions. Do you have a more complete version?" Chen Fei merely glanced at the formulas without examining them closely, instead asking about the manual from before.

"You actually noticed something?"

Chi Defeng looked at Chen Fei in surprise. This man had not actually practiced it, had he? He knew the state of his own goods best. All the manuals on his stall had been bought wholesale elsewhere, and calling their contents incoherent nonsense would almost be giving them too much credit.

Most people only bought basic manuals here. As for high-grade techniques, they read them for a laugh, treating them as a way to pass the time when bored. Chi Defeng himself was usually the same, occasionally reading these manuals.

Actually practicing them? Were they tired of living?

"I just thought some of the words inside made quite a bit of sense," Chen Fei said with a smile.

"You'd better take it easy."

As Chi Defeng spoke, he searched through the stall and then handed a martial arts manual to Chen Fei.

Chen Fei lowered his gaze. Thunderous Sword Force Annotation.

The corners of Chen Fei's mouth could not help but curl upward. Who had been so bored as to make an annotated edition?

"Are there other versions?" Chen Fei asked curiously.

"Of course. Thunderous Sword Force is the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect's top beginner technique. Countless people yearn for it with heart and soul. You want other versions too?"

Chi Defeng looked at Chen Fei strangely. This fellow had not really practiced it, had he? And was he now out of his mind, planning to piece together a complete Thunderous Sword Force himself?

"Give me every version you have," Chen Fei said, nodding.

It was impossible for every manual to simplify into specific content, but with enough of them, perhaps there would be an unexpected harvest.

Chi Defeng did not refuse. He searched through the book stall, then even went back inside to search another round, before carrying over more than a dozen manuals and setting them before Chen Fei.

"That should be all of them. If you want them, I'll sell them to you cheaply."

Letting money go unearned was not Chi Defeng's style. Since Chen Fei wanted them, Chi Defeng naturally gave him all of them.

"Alright, thanks!"

Chen Fei stuffed the manuals into his bundle, bargained a little, and set down several taels of silver.

"You can read them, but don't actually practice them." Looking at Chen Fei, Chi Defeng could not help adding a warning.

Chen Fei smiled and waved his hand, turning to leave the Dark market.

A short while later, Chen Fei appeared in his own courtyard and looked at the haul in his bundle. There was a little too much to do. Chen Fei realized that his time seemed to be running short.

He needed to fuse and practice sword techniques, bring the Shocking Suspension Force to Great Perfection, and then consolidate all those versions of Thunderous Sword Force. On top of that, he could not neglect reconstructing the Light Spirit Pill.