Black-grade, Mid-tier: Tablet Smashing Hand

Realizing he still had one hundred thousand taels in Silver Notes on him, Lu Yang simply proposed buying a Black-grade martial art.

Originally, Lu Yang had wanted a higher-level saber technique.

But after looking around, none of them suited his taste.

The advanced version of the Demon Subduing Saber Art—the Nine Forms of Demon Subduing—did suit him quite well.

But as a Black-grade, high-tier saber art, its price was as high as three hundred thousand taels. Lu Yang, at present, still could not afford it.

After thinking it over carefully, Lu Yang chose a Black-grade, mid-tier martial art, Tablet Smashing Hand.

The reason was that this martial art followed a path of uncast, fierce hardness, broad openings and sweeping strikes.

At this stage, paired with the Might of the Rampaging Bull in his arms, it could maximize Lu Yang's own advantages.

In addition, through Xu Ya, Lu Yang learned that this Tablet Smashing Hand was the same as the Demon Subduing Saber Art—it was only an introductory martial art.

After mastering it, he could continue cultivating its advanced Earth-grade martial art, the Great Tablet Smashing Hand.

Martial arts like this, with deep foundations and systematic inheritances, were often the essence left behind after the trials of long years. Their moves had no obvious flaws or shortcomings, and were absolutely worthy of trust.

After squandering all twenty-eight thousand taels in Silver Notes, Lu Yang planned to leave.

Xu Ya suddenly called out to stop him. "In view of the guest's accumulated spending at our association exceeding one hundred thousand taels, our association's Cultivation Chamber may be opened to the guest free of charge for three days. If Young Master has no other matters, you might as well stay for a few days and experience it in the chamber."

Lu Yang's heart stirred when he heard this.

The Qianfeng Merchant Association's Cultivation Chamber was famous throughout all of Black Mountain County.

It was said that if an ordinary martial artist wanted to cultivate inside for a single day, it would cost one thousand taels of silver!

Even those wealthy, overbearing great clans in the county were generally unwilling to cultivate there.

But anyone who had ever stayed inside the Cultivation Chamber praised it to the skies without exception.

Many people, after going once, thought of nothing but going a second time. This alone showed how beneficial that Cultivation Chamber was to martial artists.

The Cultivation Chamber would be opened to him free of charge for three days—that was three thousand taels of silver!

With such a great benefit, Lu Yang naturally would not refuse.

It just so happened that he had bought a new cultivation method and martial art, and needed to find a safe place to enter secluded cultivation for a few days.

Now that he was wanted by public notice from the County Yamen, looking across all of Black Mountain County, there really was no safer place than the Qianfeng Merchant Association.

Even the local County Magistrate would not dare easily offend them under ordinary circumstances.

"Then I'll trouble you!" Lu Yang cupped his fists, thanking her sincerely.

The two walked and chatted along the way, and soon arrived outside the chamber.

As the young woman opened the formation outside the stone door, a refreshing aura rushed toward his face.

Compared to that aura, Lu Yang felt the air he usually breathed was simply filthy beyond endurance.

"This is the place." Xu Ya smiled faintly and said, "Three days from now, I will come to see Young Master out."

"Many thanks."

The stone door slowly closed. Inside the chamber, only Lu Yang remained.

The furnishings in the room were simple, with only a bed and a prayer mat.

With the keen perception the Returning Origin Art had given him, Lu Yang immediately discovered that the aura which made his heart and spirit feel open and refreshed was slowly rising from beneath that prayer mat.

Beneath the prayer mat, there seemed to be a "spring eye" the size of an index finger.

That wondrous aura was gurgling from that small hole into the chamber.

After only a few brief breaths, Lu Yang felt the true qi within his dantian seem to increase by a fraction.

"Could this be the legendary Spiritual Qi?" At this thought, joy rose in Lu Yang's heart.

In his view, the reason the martial path of this world could contend against demons and devils had to be inseparably linked to this rumored Spiritual Qi.

At once, Lu Yang stopped wasting time and sat cross-legged on the prayer mat.

He unfolded the Returning Origin Secret Notes and, according to the contents recorded within, began cultivating.

As the cultivation method circulated, the Spiritual Qi within the chamber followed Lu Yang's breathing and exhalation, strand by strand, wisp by wisp, merging into his meridians.

After cultivating for only a single day, an additional strand of Xiantian True Qi appeared in Lu Yang's body.

One had to know that a single strand of Xiantian True Qi in his body now was comparable to one hundred strands of Primordial True Qi from before.

In other words, if he could have cultivated here while in the Houtian Realm, he could almost have raised his realm by one level every day.

After all, even as a first-level Xiantian cultivator, he currently had only a mere ten strands of Xiantian True Qi in his body.

For ordinary martial artists who cultivated Yellow-grade Cultivation Methods, after their cultivation broke through, the Xiantian True Qi within their bodies numbered only about two or three strands.

If they could cultivate like him, they could break through one level every two or three days.

Of course, Lu Yang also knew that compared to other martial artists, he was still somewhat special.

More than half of the "Spiritual Qi" in the chamber had been absorbed by his strengthened arms.

The efficiency with which ordinary martial artists absorbed Spiritual Qi was probably less than one-third of his own.

Even so, that was an extremely fast cultivation speed.

Counting it carefully, one would have to spend tens of thousands of taels of silver to use the secret chamber to break through a single minor realm.

Even the clan heads of the great families in Black Mountain County probably would not dare be so extravagant on ordinary days.

After three days of cultivation, the number of strands of Xiantian True Qi in Lu Yang's body had already increased to thirteen.

What delighted him even more was that, without him realizing it, the strength in both his arms had grown to around thirty-seven thousand jin.

Even in his normal state, it was enough to contend with the fourth level of the Xiantian Realm!

Lu Yang checked the system.

[Host: Lu Yang]

[Realm: Xiantian First Level (666/2000)]

[Martial Arts: Tablet Smashing Hand (Beginner: 1/100) Demon Subduing Saber Art (Perfection: 310/310) Mountain Splitting Saber Art (Great Perfection: (50/50)]

[Experience Points: 924]

"Ding! Detected that the host's Experience Points meet the conditions to upgrade a martial art. Consume 99 Experience Points to upgrade martial art Tablet Smashing Hand?"

"Upgrade!"

"Ding! Detected that the host's Experience Points meet the conditions to upgrade a martial art. Consume 300 Experience Points to upgrade martial art Tablet Smashing Hand?"

"Upgrade!"

"Ding! Detected that the host's Experience Points meet the conditions to upgrade a martial art. Consume 500 Experience Points to upgrade martial art Tablet Smashing Hand?"

"Upgrade!"

After three consecutive upgrades, the Black-grade, mid-tier martial art Tablet Smashing Hand had finally been raised to the realm of Perfection.

Lu Yang's Experience Points had also been squandered completely, leaving only the final 25 points.

Every move of Tablet Smashing Hand now turned into vivid, lifelike images, continuously practicing and evolving in Lu Yang's mind.

As streaks of red light spread through his body, understanding gradually dawned in Lu Yang's heart.

Almost as if his body followed his thoughts, Lu Yang moved, his motions stirring the air with tigerish force.

From the initial stage of using strength to crush strength, using ferocity to overcome ferocity, he gradually grasped the skillful force of the hand techniques, blending a trace of softness and agility into their fierce power.

As he practiced to greater depths, his breathing, footwork, and the rhythm of his palm strikes gradually fused into one, hardness and softness complementing each other, natural and seamless.

The Black-grade Tablet Smashing Hand had only three moves in total: Tablet Shattering Style, Earth Splitting Style, and the strongest, Thunderclap Style.

Under repeated practice, Lu Yang's Tablet Smashing Hand very quickly became as smooth as drifting clouds and flowing water, effortless and fully at his command.

Just then, a sound came from the stone door of the secret chamber, and several breaths later, it slowly rose.

Xu Ya stood outside the door with a beaming smile, looked at Lu Yang, and said, "Young Master, time is up."