Technique Acquired

The street was bustling with activity at this hour.

The mingled aromas of various foods, the cries of vendors, and the playful shouts of children created a scene far removed from the quiet of the evening.

Ling Yun walked through the crowd, feeling a headache coming on as he watched Zhang Mu, who was trailing behind him with a fawning expression.

"Hey, you! Why are you always following me?"

After leaving the Demon Suppression Division, Ling Yun hadn't returned to the Black Tiger Martial Hall, and in fact, he had no intention of going back.

It wasn't resentment for being abandoned by the martial hall, but rather that staying there offered little meaning for his own strength improvement.

Now that he had this opportunity, he decided to leave.

However, what he hadn't expected was that Zhang Mu, for some unknown reason, was clinging to him like a persistent stain, more troublesome than a patch of dog-skin plaster.

Seeing Ling Yun's impatience, Zhang Mu scratched his head sheepishly. "Master Ling, I genuinely want to follow you. Please take me in! I'll do anything you say!"

Ling Yun glanced at him dismissively, about to take action, but then paused.

There was actually something he might need this kid's help with.

Glancing at the uneasy Zhang Mu beside him, Ling Yun said impatiently, "Alright, come with me!"

Zhang Mu's face lit up, and he eagerly scurried after Ling Yun.

He didn't quite know why, but he had a feeling, a sense of destiny, that he had to follow this man.

Inside a certain inn.

"Are these all the martial halls in Cloud City?" Ling Yun asked, looking at a crooked note in front of him, feeling somewhat surprised.

He had expected at least a dozen, but excluding the Black Tiger Martial Hall, there were only six martial halls in total.

Zhang Mu nodded affirmatively beside him. "There's nothing that can be done about it. Master Ling, you probably know that those with ability would definitely go to the Demon Suppression Division. At the very least, they'd spend a little money to get a stable job with the government, which is much better than being a struggling martial artist."

"So, over the years, the martial halls have become increasingly dilapidated, and only these few are left struggling to hold on."

"By the way, Master Ling, why are you collecting information on these martial halls?"

Ling Yun shot him a glance. "Don't ask what you shouldn't."

Zhang Mu gave an awkward smile and quickly shut his mouth, not daring to ask further.

Ling Yun's gaze returned to the note, and he frowned in thought.

The situation for martial artists was even more dire than he had imagined.

But this was normal. Although the threshold for becoming a martial artist wasn't high, it still existed.

For an ordinary person to practice martial arts, if they lacked talent, it would be difficult to even get started.

Even with talent, and the ability to endure the pain of cultivation, it often took years, or even decades, to achieve any results!

This slow progress was enough to make most people despair.

However, for him, these were not concerns he needed to worry too much about.

As long as he could get his hands on the cultivation techniques, he could use Modification Points to brute-force his way through!

His reason for collecting information on these martial halls was naturally to obtain their cultivation techniques and martial arts.

It couldn't be helped. Although martial arts were in decline in Cloud City, the control over cultivation techniques was very strict.

If ordinary people wanted to practice martial arts, they had to join a martial hall first.

Furthermore, joining a martial hall didn't mean they would be taught techniques immediately. There was a long observation period required, partly to assess compatibility with the techniques and partly to prevent people with ulterior motives from stealing the techniques and running off.

This time-consuming method was, naturally, directly ruled out by Ling Yun.

As for killing people to steal their treasures, although the possibility was slim, he didn't want to attract the attention of the Demon Suppression Division again.

Therefore, only one method remained.

As the saying goes, money makes the world go round. No matter how strict the precautions, there would always be those willing to take risks.

Ling Yun's target was precisely these individuals!

Of course, with his unfamiliar face, even if he had money, no one would dare to trade with him.

Therefore, Zhang Mu came in handy.

Ling Yun scanned the list, then pointed to two of them without hesitation. "Zhang Mu, no matter what method you use, get me the martial arts and cultivation techniques from these two places as soon as possible."

"If you complete this to my satisfaction, you can follow me from now on. Otherwise, you can go back to where you came from."

Zhang Mu's face lit up. Although he didn't know why Ling Yun wanted to collect these martial arts, this was undoubtedly an excellent opportunity to prove his worth.

"Copper Skin Martial Hall, Spirit Shadow Martial Hall..."

Zhang Mu muttered the names twice, then patted his chest decisively. "Don't worry, Master Ling. I haven't been wasting my time in Cloud City these past few years. I know all sorts of people, from all walks of life. I guarantee I'll complete the task!"

After speaking, he looked at Ling Yun and scratched his head sheepishly. "Uh... Master Ling, you know, all my savings from before were given to... Heh heh... Heh heh."

Ling Yun naturally understood what he meant and directly tossed him two silver notes. "Handle the money as you see fit. If you run into any trouble, you can tell me directly, but you must get the items to me as soon as possible!"

With a "swish," the two silver notes vanished. Before Zhang Mu could even register what happened, he had already darted out the door. "Don't worry, Master Ling! I'll bring you good news!"

Watching the man's retreating figure, Ling Yun chuckled and shook his head.

As for whether he would run off with the money, Ling Yun didn't say anything, merely slowly closed his eyes.

Time flew by, one hour before sunset.

In a secluded tea house.

"Master Ling, this is the person I told you about. He has what you're looking for," Zhang Mu said, pointing at a mysterious person completely shrouded in a black robe and wearing a mask, introducing him to Ling Yun with a smile.

"Cut the nonsense, did you bring the money!" the mysterious person said impatiently.

Ling Yun frowned slightly but didn't say much, glancing at Zhang Mu beside him.

Zhang Mu, understanding immediately, took out two 500 tael silver notes from his embrace and handed them over.

That's right, the price for one cultivation technique was 500 taels!

This price was enough to support an ordinary family with food and clothing for several years.

Moreover, these cultivation techniques could be resold repeatedly, which made one imagine how vast the profit network behind it was.

However, for Ling Yun, who had just obtained several thousand taels of silver notes from the Deng Family, it was barely acceptable. After all, the most important thing now was to get the cultivation techniques first.

After the mysterious person put away the silver notes, he took out two books from his embrace and threw them on the table.

"I assume you both know the rules. If you dare to reveal this matter..."

He said, then stood up to leave.

However, before he could stand up, Zhang Mu walked forward with a smile, placing his hands on his shoulders.

"Don't be in such a hurry to leave, brother."

"What do you two mean?" the mysterious person's tone turned cold, and a powerful Bloodline Power suddenly erupted from him. He was actually a Force Conduit level martial artist!

Zhang Mu was caught off guard, and his hands were forcefully pushed away.

"You brat, try again!"

Feeling that he had lost face, Zhang Mu immediately surged with Bloodline Power within his body and was about to make another move, but Ling Yun waved his hand to stop him.

Ling Yun casually flipped through the two books on the table, then spoke calmly to the mysterious person in front of him, "At the very least, you should let me confirm the authenticity of the items first, shouldn't you?"

The mysterious person sneered upon hearing this, sizing up Ling Yun from head to toe. "How do you want to confirm it? Do you expect me to watch you practice a few times here?"

"Since the money and goods have been exchanged, I don't have time to waste with you any longer."

"If you babble any more, don't blame me for being impolite to you!"

Half an hour later.

Seeing that the last ray of sunlight was about to disappear, a young man with a crooked mask and a bruised and swollen face said tearfully, "My lords, I'm just a messenger. Please be merciful and let me go."

Looking at the man's disheveled state, Zhang Mu couldn't help but scoff.

"You shut up! If you dare to disturb Master Ling again, you won't be leaving today!" Zhang Mu, like a fox borrowing the tiger's might, was the epitome of a petty person puffed up with pride.

Seeing the man's cowering appearance, Zhang Mu suddenly felt refreshed.

He only realized today how satisfying it felt to latch onto someone powerful!

Ling Yun ignored the two of them and quickly skimmed through the two booklets. His gaze then began to lose focus, appearing to outsiders as if he were spacing out.

But in reality, a transparent panel had already appeared before Ling Yun.

Name: Ling Yun

Martial Arts: Tiger Blade Technique - Fourth Layer (Modifiable), Vajra Body - Uninitiated (Modifiable), Phantom Step - Uninitiated (Modifiable)

Modification Points: 6

It worked!

Seeing the two new cultivation techniques on the panel, Ling Yun couldn't help but feel a surge of joy.

He looked up at the two people who were staring at him expectantly, coughed, and turned to the young man, "By the way, do you have any martial arts similar to internal cultivation techniques? If you do, the price is not an issue!"

"Internal cultivation techniques?" The young man was stunned at first. After thinking carefully, he shook his head, indicating that he didn't have such techniques on hand.

As if afraid he wouldn't be satisfied, he quickly added, "My lord, don't just talk about me. There won't be such things in the entire Cloud City. Perhaps you can only find them in the larger surrounding cities."

Although Ling Yun was a little disappointed, he didn't say much. At least he had a direction.

"Alright, you can go."

He waved his hand, signaling that he could leave.

The young man immediately felt as if he had been granted a great pardon and disappeared in a flash.

Watching the man's retreating figure, Zhang Mu contemptuously curled his lips. If Ling Yun hadn't spoken, he would have even wanted to take back the one thousand taels of silver notes they had paid!

If Ling Yun knew his thoughts, he would have kicked him on the spot.

Thinking so much, why don't you just do it!