Silver Acquired

Dong Qiang's voice was strained and pleading as he spoke:

"You... who are you? I... I'm a formal disciple of the Mad Saber Martial Arts School. If you kill me, my... my master will avenge me."

Zhao Han looked down at him from above and asked, "I'll ask you just one thing: do you know the connection between the Mad Saber Nine Forms and the Mad Saber Three Stacks Wave?"

Dong Qiang's eyes lit up, a flame of survival surging within him. He quickly replied:

"Yes... yes, there is. But if you let me go and take me back to the gate of the Mad Saber Martial Arts School to see my master, I'll tell you."

"Dream on!"

"Smack!"

Zhao Han swung his palm out, slapping Dong Qiang across the face and knocking him unconscious.

"Can't I just find out myself?"

Zhao Han crouched down and began to search the body.

A minute later, Zhao Han examined the loot he'd pulled out.

A handwritten copy of Mad Saber Three Stacks Wave.

A copy of Mad Saber Nine Forms.

Five Taels of Silver.

Two Energy Pills.

Two packets of Soft Muscle Powder.

One ordinary Steel Saber.

"Hmph, not bad for a Skin Refining Warrior. Decent haul."

Zhao Han stashed all the loot except for Mad Saber Three Stacks Wave into his space, then returned to Junior Sister Yu's side.

"This Miss Yu, here's the Mad Saber Three Stacks Wave. If you don't want to die, you'd better tell me the truth."

Zhao Han stared at Junior Sister Yu, slapping the manual against his palm repeatedly to pressure her.

Junior Sister Yu fixed her gaze on the Mad Saber Three Stacks Wave—this was the goal that had brought her to the Mad Saber Martial Arts School, but now it was in someone else's hands.

If only she'd agreed to Dong Qiang's offer earlier, she could have stabbed him in the back later and forced him to hand it over.

The two of them working together could at least put up a fight against this Muscle Refining Realm opponent.

They wouldn't have been separated and picked off one by one.

But it was too late for regrets now.

Junior Sister Yu stared at Zhao Han's only exposed eyes and spoke again, "I have one more condition."

"Women are such a hassle, always with the extra demands." Zhao Han was exasperated.

What kind of position are you in now, making so many requests? Aren't you afraid I'll just cut you down?

"My condition isn't much, and it benefits you too."

"I can tell your voice rises and falls unevenly, like you're forcing it. I think you're a young man pretending to sound middle-aged."

"So what?" Zhao Han was a bit annoyed—she could actually tell that.

"My Yu Family has vast resources. You and I joining forces, strength with strength, wouldn't that be better?"

"I'll give myself to you completely, and provide you with training resources—money, martial arts, pills, you can take whatever you want. We can even study the Mad Saber Three Stacks Wave together."

"When we've both achieved something, you'd just need to help me claim the position of family head. For someone at your Muscle Refining Realm, that shouldn't be hard."

Zhao Han was somewhat surprised after hearing Junior Sister Yu's words.

He hadn't expected that this Junior Sister Yu, who'd seemed a bit brainless earlier, was now talking much more sensibly.

Even more unexpected was that she was still scheming to use him, to borrow his blade and help her seize the family head position.

It seemed that getting beaten had cleared her head a bit and made her grow up fast.

"I'm only interested in martial arts and money." Zhao Han said with a light laugh.

"Then it looks like we can't cooperate. But I can still pay you, and I can tell you the secret of the Mad Saber Nine Forms and the Mad Saber Three Stacks Wave. Once you've memorized it all, I'll buy the Mad Saber Three Stacks Wave from you at a high price. It's a win-win for both of us."

Zhao Han cracked a smile. As long as there was silver, it worked: "Fine. One Hundred Taels of Silver—do you have it?"

Junior Sister Yu was stunned. One Hundred Taels of Silver? That was quite an appetite.

It seemed that a copy of a Classified martial art cost about one hundred taels.

"That's too much. I don't have that much right now, unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Unless you help me become the family head!"

Zhao Han immediately shook his head: "I don't have the time or the interest. How much can you give me right now?"

"Thirty taels!"

"Fine, hand it all over."

Junior Sister Yu obediently took out thirty taels of silver and handed them to Zhao Han.

"Not bad, pretty straightforward."

"Now talk—what's the secret behind the Mad Saber Nine Forms and the Mad Saber Three Stacks Wave?"

Junior Sister Yu had no choice. With the situation pressing down on her, she had to speak up to survive.

A moment later.

"So that's how it is!" Zhao Han nodded, feeling it was nothing special after all.

It turned out that the Mad Saber Nine Forms and the Mad Saber Three Stacks Wave were two of the three arts within the Mad Saber Three Arts.

The final art, Mad Saber Wave Cutter, just so happened to be in the Yu family's hands.

Rumor had it that the Mad Saber Three Arts were low-grade martial arts, capable of reaching the Organ Refining Realm.

Moreover, the three arts were interlinked—cultivating all three in succession would greatly increase one's cultivation speed.

That speed held immense appeal for Junior Sister Yu.

Her talent was merely average. At twenty years old, she had only barely managed to train the Mad Saber Nine Forms and the Yu Family Saber Technique to the third layer.

Many of the formal disciples her age had already reached the fourth layer and were pushing toward the Muscle Refining Realm—people like the Senior Brother, Senior Sister, and Liang Feng. All of them had better talent than her.

As for how Dong Qiang knew all this, it turned out he had been pursuing Junior Sister Yu. Unfortunately, she looked down on his ordinary background.

So Dong Qiang had started with the Yu family's servants and managed to dig up these secrets.

The Mad Saber Martial Arts School did have the complete Mad Saber Three Arts, but unless one became one of the top three disciples, the Mad Saber Three Arts would remain forever out of reach—even the Mad Saber Three Stacks Wave couldn't be practiced.

"Do you have the Mad Saber Wave Cutter on you?" Zhao Han asked.

"I'm only the Third Miss of the Yu family, not the legitimate daughter. The Mad Saber Wave Cutter is with my father. If you can help me become the head of the family, I'll give you the Mad Saber Wave Cutter."

"Do you think I'm an idiot?"

This woman couldn't go three sentences without mentioning the family head position. She was utterly obsessed with becoming the head of the family.

Zhao Han immediately began patting her down, only to find nothing but a copy of the Yu Family Saber Technique, a handkerchief, and some rouge and powder.

Junior Sister Yu, on the other hand, seemed quite willing—she didn't resist or stop him at all.

It was as if, with just one word from Zhao Han, she would willingly offer herself up.

"Remember the silver you owe me." Zhao Han left those words behind and turned to walk away.

This woman was still useful. After all, she came from a wealthy family—there was plenty more oil to squeeze out of her.

As for the Mad Saber Three Arts, Zhao Han would get them himself. Once his strength was sufficient, he could just reach out and take them from whichever family held them.

He could even sit down, release his aura, and someone would hand them over on both knees.

Right now, he had the Shanyin Art and the Mad Saber Three Stacks Wave in hand.

Silver, on the other hand, was in short supply.

The Mad Saber Wave Cutter could wait.

Step by step, steady improvement, building a solid foundation—that was the right path.

With the Simplification System, Zhao Han had no fear of "too many skills, not mastered" or wasting time on cultivation.

"My name is Yu Qiuyue. If you change your mind, bring the Mad Saber Three Stacks Wave to the Yu family and find me. I'll pay you enough silver for it."

Zhao Han didn't look back, walking away in silence. He found another open ground and turned his gaze to the Mad Saber Three Stacks Wave in his hand.

[Scanning...]

Martial Arts: Black Wolf Fist, Snake-Style Deft Hand, Mad Saber Nine Forms, Mad Saber Three Stacks Wave [Unsimplified, Decent]

[Compatible martial arts detected. Would you like to integrate the Mad Saber Nine Forms into the Mad Saber Three Stacks Wave? This will increase progress.]

"So I can even boost progress? That means I don't have to start from scratch?"

"What am I waiting for? Integrate!"

[Integration successful]