There were tens of thousands of Blood Qi Realm martial arts techniques in the Scripture Pavilion.
They were simply as vast as a boundless sea.
It was fundamentally impossible to thoroughly go through every Blood Qi Realm martial arts technique in a short time.
But Zhang Su was not in a hurry.
He even simply moved into the Scripture Pavilion.
Every day, he browsed through all kinds of martial arts techniques.
The elder of the Scripture Pavilion saw this but did not stop him.
After all, disciples had done things similar to Zhang Su's before, all hoping to find some unique martial arts techniques.
But how could that be so easy?
So long as he did not disrupt the order of the Scripture Pavilion, it was fine.
One day, two days, three days, four days, five days...
For a full five days, Zhang Su remained in the Scripture Pavilion, browsing martial arts techniques.
At last, he had gone through every Blood Qi Realm martial arts technique in the Scripture Pavilion.
Zhang Su took out a list.
On the list were all the martial arts techniques he had recorded with Compatibility Rates above 90%.
He carefully counted them.
The count left even Zhang Su somewhat astonished.
"There are thirteen martial arts techniques that meet the requirements!"
"There are actually so many techniques with Compatibility Rates above 90%?"
Zhang Su was uncertain and suspicious.
Following the list, he went through the martial arts techniques one by one again.
That was right. There were thirteen.
"Of the thirteen martial arts techniques... five are superior techniques, while eight are ordinary techniques."
"A superior technique costs three hundred Contribution Points each, while an ordinary technique costs one hundred Contribution Points each. Exchanging for all thirteen techniques will require two thousand three hundred Contribution Points."
"But I also need to exchange for the Heaven-Swallowing Blood-Nurturing Technique, which costs one thousand Contribution Points. Altogether, that comes to three thousand three hundred Contribution Points."
Zhang Su currently had only three thousand one hundred Contribution Points.
That was after Uncle Guan had come once more and given him five hundred taels of silver.
He was still short two hundred Contribution Points.
Actually, that was not much of a problem.
He only needed to exchange for fewer martial arts techniques.
After all, Zhang Su could not possibly practice so many martial arts techniques at once.
Or he could refrain from exchanging for the Heaven-Swallowing Blood-Nurturing Technique for now and wait until he had enough Compatibility Points.
However, Zhang Su had not forgotten.
If he had enough Compatibility Points, he also wanted to exchange for peerless martial arts techniques. Then, with a peerless cultivation technique and peerless martial arts techniques, contending for a place among the Top Ten Outer Sect Disciples would definitely not be a problem.
The Top Ten Outer Sect Disciples came with far more than honor alone.
There were rewards involved as well.
For example, Blood Replenishing Pills.
The Top Ten Outer Sect Disciples were rewarded with ten Blood Replenishing Pills every month, equivalent to five hundred taels of silver.
Who would not want that?
And there were all sorts of hidden benefits as well.
Among the countless Outer Sect disciples, anyone who reached the Blood Qi Realm Ninth Layer and possessed some talent eyed the positions of the Top Ten Outer Sect Disciples like tigers eyeing their prey.
After giving it some thought, Zhang Su decided that the exchange for the Heaven-Swallowing Blood-Nurturing Technique could be delayed.
He wanted to exchange for the thirteen martial arts techniques first.
Once he had accumulated enough Compatibility Points, he could return and exchange for the Heaven-Swallowing Blood-Nurturing Technique.
Thus, Zhang Su handed the list of the thirteen martial arts techniques he wanted to exchange for to the elder of the Scripture Pavilion.
"Hm?"
"You want to exchange for thirteen martial arts techniques? Five superior techniques and eight ordinary techniques..."
The Scripture Pavilion elder frowned.
Zhang Su had long prepared an explanation, so he respectfully replied, "Reporting to Elder, this disciple wishes to draw inferences from one instance to another, gather the strengths of a hundred schools, and ultimately cultivate top-tier or even peerless martial arts techniques!"
"Gather the strengths of a hundred schools... Very well. My Guiyuan Sect embraces all rivers and streams, and when it comes to disciples' cultivation, we let nature take its course."
The Scripture Pavilion elder immediately exchanged the thirteen martial arts techniques for Zhang Su.
In one stroke, two thousand three hundred Contribution Points were deducted, leaving him with eight hundred Contribution Points.
With the thirteen martial arts techniques in hand, Zhang Su immediately entered one of the Cultivation Rooms in the Scripture Pavilion.
The first thing he needed to do was firmly memorize all thirteen martial arts techniques.
Time passed bit by bit.
A day went by.
Zhang Su had already firmly committed all thirteen martial arts techniques to memory.
Moreover, he tried practicing each of them once.
That practice filled Zhang Su with delight.
After only a few repetitions, these martial arts techniques had basically all reached the Minor Accomplishment Realm!
Not the Initiation Realm, but the Minor Accomplishment Realm!
Those were thirteen martial arts techniques.
All of them had reached the Minor Accomplishment Realm.
It was simply unbelievable.
There were even movement techniques among them.
For example, the Nine Palaces Steps.
It was a superior movement technique.
Once mastered, one's footwork would become extremely agile.
In battle, darting, shifting, and leaping would no longer be a problem.
Reaching the Major Accomplishment Realm with these martial arts techniques definitely would not be a problem.
Perhaps a few days, perhaps a month—they would likely all reach the Major Accomplishment Realm.
As for perfection, that would depend on whether he could seize the right opportunity.
Knock, knock, knock.
At that moment, knocking sounded outside the Cultivation Room where Zhang Su was staying.
Zhang Su was somewhat surprised.
No one was allowed to disturb the Cultivation Rooms of the Scripture Pavilion.
Unless there was some urgent matter.
Zhang Su immediately got up and opened the door to the Cultivation Room.
He found Chu Dachuan standing outside.
"What is it?"
Zhang Su asked.
He knew Chu Dachuan well.
If there were no urgent matter, Chu Dachuan would not have chased all the way to the Scripture Pavilion to interrupt his cultivation.
"Senior Brother, your old servant Uncle Guan has come again. He says there is something he must tell you in person."
"Uncle Guan?"
Zhang Su thought for a moment.
The last time Uncle Guan came to deliver five hundred taels of silver, it had been Chu Dachuan who received him.
Nothing had happened then.
Counting the days, it had indeed been exactly one month since the last time.
Since Uncle Guan insisted on seeing Zhang Su, perhaps there truly was something important.
"All right. I'll go take a look."
Zhang Su immediately rose, returned all thirteen martial arts manuals to the Scripture Pavilion elder, and left the Scripture Pavilion, heading straight for the mountain gate.
Sure enough, outside the mountain gate, Zhang Su saw a slightly stooped figure.
It was none other than Uncle Guan!
"Uncle Guan."
"Second Young Master..."
A trace of delight appeared on Uncle Guan's face as he immediately said, "Second Young Master, this month's five hundred taels of silver have already been deposited into your Identity Token."
"And also..."
Uncle Guan hesitated, seemingly somewhat reluctant to speak.
"Go on. What else is it?"
Uncle Guan took a deep breath and immediately said, "Second Young Master, it concerns Eldest Young Master. The Young Madam has given Eldest Young Master a son. The child's one-month celebration will be on the eighth day of next month, and he will invite many friends to attend the banquet."
"Eldest Young Master wishes for Second Young Master to return home..."
Having said that, Uncle Guan looked at Zhang Su anxiously.
Although Zhang Su had asked him to pass a message to Eldest Young Master last time, making it seem as though their relationship had eased.
In truth, Eldest Young Master and Second Young Master had not seen each other for more than a year.
Whether Zhang Su was willing to return was still hard to say.
"Big Brother has a son?"
Zhang Su was slightly stunned.
But upon thinking it over, his eldest brother had been married for over a year.
It was perfectly normal for him to have a son.
"All right. I will return on the eighth day of next month."
Zhang Su agreed.
It was not a major matter. At most, it would delay him by a few days.
It would not interfere with anything.
Yet upon hearing Zhang Su's answer, Uncle Guan suddenly raised his head, and a trace of delighted surprise appeared in his clouded eyes.
Zhang Su had actually agreed to return?
This was wonderful news.
Uncle Guan had always remained by Eldest Young Master's side.
He knew very well how deeply Eldest Young Master cared for Zhang Su.
"Wonderful! If Second Young Master returns, Eldest Young Master will surely be very happy..."
Uncle Guan was overjoyed.
"Second Young Master, is there anything you need? Once this old servant returns, I will report it to Eldest Young Master."
"Need..."
Zhang Su shook his head.
It was not that he had no needs. On the contrary, his needs were great.
It was simply that having Uncle Guan relay a message would be of no use.
If he truly wanted to make requests, he would have to return personally and explain things face-to-face with his eldest brother.
However, there was no need to rush.
He could speak of it after returning on the eighth day of next month.
"Second Young Master, then this old servant shall take his leave..."
Watching Uncle Guan slowly depart, Zhang Su recalled every little memory he had of his eldest brother.
His eldest brother truly had endured humiliation and borne heavy burdens...
Zhang Su did not dwell on it any longer.
Making his eldest brother no longer endure humiliation and bear heavy burdens was actually very simple.
He needed to become stronger.
He needed a higher status.
Once he advanced into the Inner Sect and became an Inner Sect disciple, his eldest brother would no longer need to endure humiliation and bear heavy burdens.
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