Huh! This is the Star-Sucking Divine Art!

An expert!

Mu Ye felt a jolt in his heart, his mind subconsciously flashing to characters like the sweeping monk.

He turned around to see an old man with disheveled hair, dressed in a light-colored robe, staring at him with a grin. The old man had chains shackled to all four of his limbs. The chains were thick, the kind meant for prisoners, yet the old man was standing barely a dozen paces away without making a single sound.

He could be a fourth-rank minor grandmaster who has opened nearly five hundred acupoints, or perhaps... even more than five hundred.

Mu Ye did not panic.

He had anticipated this before coming.

After all, this was a dignified noble's estate that commanded a thousand-man army; how could there not be an expert on the premises?

Mu Ye calmly tucked the fruit into his robe, closed the treasure box, and began to walk away as if nothing were amiss.

"?" The old man.

"Does the boy think I don't exist?" the old man said slowly.

"If you wanted to strike, you would have done so already," Mu Ye replied. "Since you didn't, you must intend to let me leave. So, is there a problem?"

"It's late, old man. You should get some rest. Don't stay up late, or you might get dementia."

"..." The old man.

The old man's breath hitched, as if he had been stunned by these words.

Thinking about it carefully, it seemed to make a bit of sense, though not much.

"Hmph!"

The next moment, the old man leaped into the air, striking toward Mu Ye as if teleporting. His iron fist, wrapped in chains, carried a Qi that sliced through the air; its power was felt before the blow even arrived.

Mu Ye moved, choosing not to meet the attack head-on.

The duration of his Light Body Technique was about to expire. The Thief class came with its own innate movement skill; it wasn't a secret martial art, but a natural talent that granted peerless agility.

After dodging once, the old man remained relentless. He whipped his chains, sweeping them horizontally toward Mu Ye like an autumn wind scattering leaves.

Fourth-rank, even if not... he must be close.

Mu Ye thought to himself.

What surprised Mu Ye was that the old man's movement skill was also extremely high. Despite not using any secret martial arts, his speed was not a bit inferior to his own.

One had to realize that he was currently bolstered by the Light Body Technique; under the same rank, it was usually difficult for anyone to even track him.

Seeing the chains incoming and unable to dodge, Mu Ye did not want to use Crimson Flame Fist or Vajra Leg. Although he could easily block the attack with either at full mastery, it would easily expose his identity. As a Thief, how could he reveal himself so easily?

Mu Ye sucked his palm inward, directly casting the Object Manipulation Technique to pull a nearby desk over.

Crack!

The arm-thick chain smashed the desk into splinters.

Mu Ye's Object Manipulation Technique was only at the beginner level; manipulating magical artifacts was still difficult, but for these ordinary objects, as long as they weren't too large or heavy, it was a simple matter.

With the character synchronized with the player, Mu Ye cast it without any delay, feeling quite comfortable with it.

"Huh, the Star-Sucking Divine Art!" the old man exclaimed in surprise. "What relation are you to Marquis Tianwu?"

"..." Mu Ye.

What Star-Sucking Divine Art? This is my Object Manipulation Technique.

[1. Hmph, since you recognize this art, do you still dare to block me? (Arrogant and wild)]

[2. What do you think? (Smiling)]

[3. Get lost if you don't want to die! (Calm and composed)]

[4. ...]

Mu Ye pondered for a moment and chose 2.

He hadn't even heard of this Marquis Tianwu.

The old man's eyes were deep as he stared at the latter:

"I never expected a descendant of Marquis Tianwu to be nothing but a petty thief. If he knew this in the afterlife, I wonder if he would be unable to rest in peace?"

At this moment, the sounds of fighting seemed to have been heard from the floor below, and the rhythmic sound of footsteps began to ring out densely.

Presumably, the guards in the vicinity were beginning to converge toward this location.

Mu Ye remained silent. He knew nothing about Marquis Tianwu; as long as no options were provided, saying even one extra word could easily expose the fact that he knew nothing at all.

An old man is a wily fox; who knew if this old man wasn't just trying to bluff him?

Mu Ye looked at the old man, his heart stirring. While waiting for an opportunity to act, he casually changed the subject:

"I also didn't expect that someone with your skills, senior, would be imprisoned here. Could it be that you were caught after a botched theft, and that's why you're restricted to this place, acting as a doorman for others?"

The old man was stunned.

Taking advantage of that momentary lapse, Mu Ye drifted away in an instant, passing like a breeze, and broke through the window in the blink of an eye.

He had gained quite a lot today and had no time to waste entangled with this old man.

With his skills, as long as he slipped into the darkness, the guards outside would never be able to catch him.

Looking at the pitch-black night sky outside the window, the old man remained silent.

A moment later, a youth dressed in brocade walked over.

"Old man, what's the situation? With you personally keeping watch, how could my dignified Feng Mansion suffer a theft?"

The old man said indifferently:

"The intruder's strength is profound, and they might even be one of Marquis Tianwu's men... Their movement technique is eerie and hard to track, not at all inferior to mine. It is only natural that a theft occurred."

"In this pugilistic world, those below the fourth rank who possess such movement techniques can be counted on one hand."

"Oh?" The youth adjusted his lapels, a smile on his face. "In that case, I can't really blame you. Let me guess, was it the Wind King Leg of my Feng Mansion that was stolen?"

The old man looked at this most outstanding direct descendant of the Feng family with some surprise.

With a supreme technique stolen, the youth showed not a hint of anxiety, as if he had expected it all along.

"Was the Wind Spirit Fruit of my Feng Mansion also stolen?" the youth asked.

The old man nodded slightly.

"How careless!" The youth pretended to sigh at the sky, but the smile on his face grew increasingly strange.

"Your Feng Mansion's supreme technique has been stolen, and in particular, that Wind Spirit Fruit has been taken. Are you not worried?" The old man could tell at a glance that the other party was putting on an act.

"What is there to worry about?" the youth said leisurely. "I only fear they have the life to steal it, but not the life to learn it."

The old man was thoughtful.

"Is there a problem with that Wind Spirit Fruit?" the old man whispered. "Did you do this on purpose?"

"Hahaha..." The youth suddenly stopped smiling. "A month ago, a petty thief named Bai Zhanfeng robbed the Iron Leg Sect. Back then, I had my father take precautions. Now that the grand banquet is imminent, this thief was bound to come to my Feng Mansion."

"To learn the Wind King Leg, one must consume the Wind Spirit Fruit. That Wind Spirit Fruit had long been injected with colorless and odorless Heart-Severing Powder. Once consumed, they will surely die within an hour or three quarters!"

The youth said indifferently, "Wanting to steal my Feng Mansion's supreme Wind King Leg? Even if they really are one of Marquis Tianwu's men, it won't be that easy!"

The old man thought to himself, I never expected Feng Wuque to be so cautious, having set a trap long ago...

"Swift as the wind, invisible to the eye, traceless to the sight, powerful and heavy in force; one leg strike sweeps across the world like a king, unparalleled in slaughter... This Wind King Leg looks a bit more advanced than the Vajra Leg."

Mu Ye changed his clothes and arrived at the medical clinic, taking the opportunity to check on that guy Han Qi.

On the way, because he had observed the Divine Aperture diagram, he had automatically learned this technique.

"This secret art of the Feng Mansion actually allows for opening three hundred apertures in the legs... The Vajra Leg can only open two hundred... If I can successfully master this secret martial art, it will not only strengthen my existing Divine Aperture, but also bring my total number of Divine Apertures to four hundred..."

Wind King Leg is a leg technique famous for its speed and lethality, especially effective when facing multiple enemies.

Mu Ye guessed that this secret martial art might have been invented and practiced by the Feng family in the military back in the day.

It was said that the Xifeng Army of the past spent years raiding the wilderness and launching long-distance attacks on other cities; they were a formidable field army. The first generation head of the Feng family had forged this extraordinary secret martial art on the battlefield.

"To master this leg technique, one must use the Wind Spirit Fruit. After consumption, the legs will feel as if they are being crushed by a powerful gale, making it impossible to move them even an inch. Depending on one's constitution, this symptom can last anywhere from several days to several months."

"Once the effect wears off, the legs become extremely agile and filled with a sensation as light as the wind. The strength, speed, and endurance of the legs will be greatly enhanced. Only then can practicing Wind King Leg yield twice the result with half the effort."

"Otherwise, if you try to practice it directly, you might not even reach the entry level after several years."

Clearly, the requirements for this secret martial art were very high.

"Wind Spirit Fruit... I'm actually quite lucky... There happened to be one in that treasure box..." Mu Ye's heart skipped a beat.

It made sense to keep the resources for practicing Wind King Leg together with the Divine Aperture Secret Martial Art; they were both treasures.

However, purely based on intuition, Mu Ye felt something was wrong, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Thus, Mu Ye chose to exit Real Mode. Now that he had left the Feng Mansion, it was better to save his progress while playing normally.

He would eat this fruit to see the effect; if anything went wrong, he could just reload the save.

If he were in the real world of cultivation, Mu Ye would certainly have to identify whether this thing was poisonous or not first.

But in the game, what did he have to fear?

As it turned out, unfortunately, after eating it, the character displayed a poisoned status, and not long after, he kicked the bucket.

"It seems this Feng family is truly not simple... This fruit is problematic. Could it be a trap specifically set for the Wind King Leg secret martial art? Did they even consider the possibility of it being stolen? It must be that after the theft from the Iron Leg Sect last time, the Feng family became vigilant."

Mu Ye exclaimed in his heart that they were impressive; this was too realistic.

Unfortunately, they didn't expect that he could reload his save.

"I currently have the powerful Lingzhi Body Nourishment buff, and I still have a full half-month. Even without eating this fruit, I can still force myself to practice Wind King Leg."

He put the fruit away. Since it was stolen goods, it wouldn't be easy to sell anyway.

"Benefactor, I have almost recovered..." The night was deep. When Mu Ye arrived at the medical clinic, Han Qi was lying on the bed reading by lamplight. Seeing Mu Ye arrive, he put the book away.

Mu Ye entered the room, closed the doors and windows, and suddenly asked:

"Seeing that you are well-versed in military strategy, you must have a deep understanding of this, right?"