Exchanging Cultivation Techniques

"Yes."

Bi Changsheng admitted it calmly.

Boom!

His words seemed to ignite the emotions of everyone in the Demon Extermination Society's first-floor hall. Although more than half a month had passed since news of Lin'an City spread and the fervor had begun to fade, this was the Demon Extermination Society. The people here paid far more attention to the Yellow Heaven Cult than ordinary folk.

Now, a powerhouse capable of slaying a late True Qi Realm Yellow Heaven Cult elder stood right before them, and everyone found it hard to believe.

"I do not have the authority to handle this matter. It must be reported upward. Please wait a moment, Senior."

The young woman's attitude toward Bi Changsheng was clearly no longer mere professional courtesy; it had become much more respectful.

"Mhm."

Under the burning gazes of the crowd, Bi Changsheng calmly nodded to the young woman. She then hurried upstairs to make her report.

"Grandmaster Ximen, I have long admired your great name."

Before long, the young woman returned from upstairs with a sturdy old man and spoke as they approached Bi Changsheng. Because of Bi Changsheng's feat of killing Chen Pengfei, the world had tacitly assumed that his identity as Ximen Xue belonged to a True Qi Realm cultivator—and an exceptionally powerful one at that.

"This is Grandmaster Dong Yuanwei, president of our Demon Extermination Society's Ningyun City branch."

The young woman following behind the old man introduced him to Bi Changsheng.

When the old man reached the first floor, he stirred up another small commotion. No one had expected Bi Changsheng to warrant a personal welcome from the president of the Demon Extermination Society's branch. Yet when they recalled Ximen Xue's achievements, it seemed only natural.

After all, Ximen Xue was a peerless expert who had slain a late True Qi Realm elder of the Yellow Heaven Cult with a single sword strike, while Dong Yuanwei, president of the Ningyun City Demon Extermination Society branch, was merely at the late True Qi Realm himself.

"Greetings, President Dong."

Upon learning the old man's identity, Bi Changsheng returned the greeting.

"Grandmaster Ximen, your deeds in Lin'an City have filled me with admiration for a long time."

"Come, come, Grandmaster Ximen. Let us go upstairs and speak."

After exchanging courtesies, Dong Yuanwei led Bi Changsheng upstairs to a guest room on the second floor.

After the two went upstairs, the people in the first-floor hall broke into lively discussion. They had not expected to meet two great figures they seldom saw in ordinary times in a single day, one of whom was even the Ximen Xue whose name had recently been spreading like wildfire.

"Grandmaster Ximen, I heard from those downstairs that you wish to claim the reward for the mission concerning Yellow Heaven Cult elder Chen Pengfei?"

Once the two arrived at the guest room and took their seats, Dong Yuanwei began asking Bi Changsheng.

"That is correct. This is Chen Pengfei's identity token and severed head."

With a thought from Bi Changsheng, a faint glimmer flashed from the Storage Ring on his hand, and Chen Pengfei's identity token and severed head appeared on the table.

"That is correct. This is indeed the demonic cult elder Chen Pengfei."

"The Society's bounty for Chen Pengfei is twelve thousand contribution points. Is there anything Grandmaster Ximen wishes to exchange for?"

After calmly verifying the items, Dong Yuanwei spoke to Bi Changsheng. In his view, since Bi Changsheng had specifically brought Chen Pengfei's head to claim the reward, there had to be something in the Demon Extermination Society that Bi Changsheng needed. Otherwise, at their level, there was no need to go through such trouble.

"Yes. I wish to exchange for the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Great Law. I wonder whether these contribution points will be enough."

Since he did not yet know how many contribution points the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Great Law required, Bi Changsheng asked Dong Yuanwei.

"The Heavenly Demon Disintegration Great Law is divided into two levels for exchange within the Society. The first level requires only five thousand contribution points, while the second level can only be applied for from headquarters with True Qi Realm cultivation plus ten thousand contribution points, as stipulated by the Society."

"Grandmaster Ximen, your cultivation level meets the requirement, but you are still short on contribution points."

"Would Grandmaster Ximen like me to lend you three thousand contribution points first? That way, you can directly exchange for both levels of the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Great Law."

After explaining the conditions for exchanging the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Great Law, Dong Yuanwei took the opportunity to make his offer. Three thousand contribution points were not a large amount to him. If he could gain Bi Changsheng's favor through this, it would be a bargain beyond compare.

"Thank you for your kind offer, President Dong, but exchanging for the first level of the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Great Law will be enough for now. It will not be too late to exchange for the second level once I have gathered enough contribution points."

Bi Changsheng politely declined. From what he understood, the first level of the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Great Law had a limit of the True Qi Realm, while his cultivation level was only at the Qi and Blood Realm. Thus, the first level was already sufficient for his use in the near future.

He could wait until later to gather enough contribution points for the second level, sparing himself from owing someone a favor for nothing.

"Very well. We shall follow Grandmaster Ximen's decision. If you ever need help, you may come to me at any time."

After Bi Changsheng declined, Dong Yuanwei did not press the matter.

"President Dong, I would also like to exchange for a sword-art cultivation technique."

Seeing that he still had quite a few contribution points left, Bi Changsheng spoke again. At his current cultivation level, the Thirteen Swords of Qingfeng was gradually becoming unable to bring out his full strength. Since these contribution points were not enough to exchange for the second level of the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Great Law, Bi Changsheng might as well exchange them for a more powerful sword art.

"This is the exchange catalog for cultivation manuals within our Demon Extermination Society. Grandmaster Ximen may look through it and make your selection."

Upon hearing Bi Changsheng's request, Dong Yuanwei handed him an exchange catalog.

After taking the catalog, Bi Changsheng quickly flipped through it, reading closely only when he came across a cultivation technique that interested him.

In the exchange catalog, Bi Changsheng saw the description of the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Great Law. It was roughly the same as what he had learned before: the first level could raise one's cultivation level up to the True Qi Realm, while the second level could raise it up to the Condensing Gang Realm.

Bi Changsheng also saw several Cultivation Techniques in the catalog, though he did not examine them closely.

"I wish to exchange for the Martial Skill portion of the Killing Sword Art."

Before long, Bi Changsheng made his choice. The Killing Sword Art was a cultivation technique that led directly to the Condensing Gang Realm. The complete Killing Sword Art required twenty thousand contribution points to exchange for, five thousand more than the complete Heavenly Demon Disintegration Great Law.

This was because, to most people, the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Great Law was a forbidden art, usable only as a last-ditch trump card when fighting for one's life. Its value was naturally greatly diminished.

The Killing Sword Art, on the other hand, could be split into its cultivation technique and Martial Skill portions for separate exchange. Exchanging for the Martial Skill portion required only six thousand contribution points.

Generally speaking, Martial Skills were best cultivated alongside their corresponding cultivation methods to unleash their greatest power. If a Martial Skill was used without its matching method, its power might be somewhat diminished.

However, Bi Changsheng did not need to worry about this problem. The power he gained through Life-Spending Cultivation was all the purest form of power, capable of being paired with any Martial Skill. Moreover, it could allow Martial Skills to unleash even greater might.

Dong Yuanwei was not surprised by Bi Changsheng's request to exchange only for the Martial Skill portion of the Killing Sword Art. After all, Bi Changsheng was rumored to be a powerful swordsman. It was perfectly understandable for him to exchange for a sword art to study and verify his knowledge.

"Here. This is the cultivation method Grandmaster Ximen wished to exchange for."

"There are rules in the society. Cultivation methods exchanged within the society must not be passed on to outsiders, or you will face the full pursuit of the society."

After the exchange, Bi Changsheng still had one thousand contribution points left on his identity token. Dong Yuanwei quickly fetched the cultivation method Bi Changsheng wanted and handed it to him. Clearly, he had prepared many copies in advance.

"Thank you, President Dong. I naturally know the society's rules."

"Merely fulfilling my duty."

After the two exchanged pleasantries for a while, Dong Yuanwei personally escorted Bi Changsheng out through the gates of the Demon Extermination Society.

"What a masterful concealment technique."

Watching Bi Changsheng's receding figure, Dong Yuanwei stood before the Demon Extermination Society's gates and thought to himself. After spending so much time with Bi Changsheng, he had been utterly unable to sense any trace of martial training from him. He seemed no different from an ordinary man.

"Still, having such a master join our Demon Extermination Society is truly a blessing for the society!"

Dong Yuanwei had no intention of digging into Bi Changsheng's secrets. He was simply delighted that the Demon Extermination Society had gained another master—especially one like Bi Changsheng, who had already clashed with the Yellow Heaven Cult and whose stance was crystal clear.

After all, which of the Demon Extermination Society's direct members did not have irreconcilable enmity with the Yellow Heaven Cult?