Dong Qiang spoke with difficulty, his voice tinged with pleading:
"You—you are? I—I'm an off—official disciple of the Mad Saber Martial Arts School. If you kill me, my—my master will avenge me."
Zhao Han looked down at him and asked, "I'll ask you one thing. Do you know how the Mad Saber Nine Forms are connected to Mad Saber Three Stacks Wave?"
Dong Qiang's eyes lit up, and the flame of hope surged within him. He hurriedly said:
"Yes, yes, I do. But you have to let me go and take me back to the entrance of the Mad Saber Martial Arts School. Once I've seen my master, I'll tell you."
"Keep dreaming!"
Smack!
Zhao Han slapped Dong Qiang across the face, knocking him out cold.
"Can't I just look for it myself!"
Zhao Han crouched down and began searching the corpse.
A minute later, Zhao Han inspected the spoils he'd found.
One handwritten copy of Mad Saber Three Stacks Wave.
One copy of Mad Saber Nine Forms.
Five taels of silver.
Two Energy Pills.
Two packets of Soft Muscle Powder.
One ordinary steel saber.
"Not bad. A Skin Refining Warrior's spoils are worth something, after all."
Zhao Han put everything except Mad Saber Three Stacks Wave into his space, then returned to Junior Sister Yu.
"Miss Yu, I have Mad Saber Three Stacks Wave here. If you don't want to die, you'd better tell me everything."
Zhao Han stared at Junior Sister Yu, repeatedly tapping the manual against his palm to pressure her.
Junior Sister Yu fixed her eyes on Mad Saber Three Stacks Wave. It was the very thing she'd come to the Mad Saber Martial Arts School for, but now it was in someone else's hands.
She should've agreed to Dong Qiang's proposal for the time being. Then she could've stabbed him in the back; he wouldn't have had a choice but to hand it over.
The two of them could have joined forces and at least put up a fight against this Muscle Refining Realm expert.
They wouldn't have been separated and picked off one by one.
But it was too late now.
Junior Sister Yu stared at Zhao Han's exposed eyes and said again, "I have one more condition."
"Women are such a hassle. You've got quite a list of demands," Zhao Han said, exasperated.
Look at the position you're in. You've got all these demands, and you're not afraid I'll cut you down?
"My condition isn't unreasonable, and it'll benefit you, too."
"Your voice keeps rising and falling. It sounds like you're deliberately suppressing it. I'm guessing you're a young man putting on an older man's voice."
"So what?" Zhao Han felt a little vexed. She could even tell that?
"My Yu Family is powerful and wealthy. Wouldn't it be better for us to join forces and make each other stronger?"
"I'll give you all of me, and provide you with resources for martial arts training. You can take whatever you want—money, martial arts, pills. We can even study Mad Saber Three Stacks Wave together."
"Once we've both made something of ourselves, all you'll have to do is help me become the family head. For someone with your Muscle Refining Realm strength, that won't be difficult."
Zhao Han was a little surprised after hearing Junior Sister Yu out.
He hadn't expected the somewhat foolish Junior Sister Yu from earlier to sound so much more sensible now.
More than that, he hadn't expected her to still be trying to use him—to borrow his blade and kill her way to the position of family head.
Looks like getting beaten had cleared her head in an instant. She'd grown up quite a bit.
"I'm only interested in martial arts and money," Zhao Han said with a soft laugh.
"Then it seems we can't work together. But I can give you money and tell you the secret behind the Mad Saber Nine Forms and Mad Saber Three Stacks Wave. Once you've memorized them, I can also pay a hefty sum to buy Mad Saber Three Stacks Wave. We'd both win."
Zhao Han smiled. Money was all he needed. "Fine. One Hundred Taels of Silver. Do you have it?"
Junior Sister Yu froze. One Hundred Taels of Silver? He had a huge appetite.
It seemed that a copy of Classified martial arts cost about one hundred taels of silver.
"That's too much. I don't have that much on me 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!"
"That'll do. Hand it all over."
Junior Sister Yu obediently took out thirty taels of silver and gave them to Zhao Han.
"At least you're sensible."
"Now tell me the secret behind the Mad Saber Nine Forms and Mad Saber Three Stacks Wave."
Junior Sister Yu had no choice. With the situation against her, she could only tell him if she wanted to survive.
After a while.
"So that's how it is!" Zhao Han nodded. It didn't seem all that impressive.
As it turned out, the Mad Saber Nine Forms and Mad Saber Three Stacks Wave were two of the three arts in Mad Saber Three Arts.
The final art, Mad Saber Wave Cutter, was in the hands of the Yu Family.
Mad Saber Three Arts was said to be Low-grade martial arts, capable of taking one all the way to the Organ Refining Realm.
Moreover, the three arts were linked together. Practicing them in succession would greatly increase one's speed of cultivation.
That speed of cultivation held tremendous appeal for Junior Sister Yu.
Her aptitude was merely average. At twenty years old, she'd only just managed to train the Mad Saber Nine Forms and Yu Family Saber Technique to the third layer.
Many formal disciples her age had already reached the fourth layer and were working to break into the Muscle Refining Realm. The Senior Brother, the senior sister, and Liang Feng were just a few of them; they were all more talented than her.
As for how Dong Qiang had found out, it turned out he'd been pursuing Junior Sister Yu, but she looked down on his ordinary background.
So Dong Qiang had started asking around among the Yu Family's servants and actually managed to learn about all this.
The Mad Saber Martial Arts School also had the complete Mad Saber Three Arts, but unless someone became one of its top three disciples, they would never have the chance to learn it. They wouldn't even be allowed to practice Mad Saber Three Stacks Wave.
"Do you have Mad Saber Wave Cutter on you?" Zhao Han asked.
"I'm only the Third Miss Yu, not a legitimate daughter. Mad Saber Wave Cutter is with my father. If you help me become the family head, I can give it to you."
"Do you think I'm stupid?"
This woman couldn't go three sentences without bringing up becoming the family head. She was practically obsessed with it.
Zhao Han immediately started feeling around her from head to toe. In the end, all he found was a copy of Yu Family Saber Technique, along with a handkerchief, rouge, face powder, and other such things.
Junior Sister Yu, for her part, seemed quite willing. She didn't resist or try to stop him at all.
It was as if she would offer herself to him at the slightest word.
"Remember the silver you promised me." Zhao Han left her with that and turned to go.
She could still be useful. After all, she came from a wealthy family, and there was plenty more wealth to squeeze out of her.
As for Mad Saber Three Arts, Zhao Han would get them himself. Once he was strong enough, he could simply reach out and take them from any family.
He could even sit down, let his presence bear down on them, and they'd offer them up with both hands.
He still had Shanyin Art and Mad Saber Three Stacks Wave.
What he really lacked was silver.
There was no rush for Mad Saber Wave Cutter.
Taking things step by step and steadily improving while building a solid foundation was the right way forward.
With the Simplification System, Zhao Han didn't need to worry about biting off more than he could chew or how long it would take to train.
"My name is Yu Qiuyue. If you change your mind, bring Mad Saber Three Stacks Wave to the Yu Family and find me. I'll pay you enough silver."
Zhao Han didn't look back or answer. He left in silence, found another empty patch of ground, and looked at 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 [not simplified, Classified]
"I can even merge it to increase its progress? Doesn't that mean I don't have to start from scratch?"
"What are we waiting for? Merge them!"
[Merge successful]
Before you continue