Everyone was instantly stirred up by Li Mingyuan's form of address.
"He really is a deputy pavilion master of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion, Pavilion Master Qin Zhonghai!"
"The Heavenly Secret Pavilion is a major power second only to the Orthodox Great Sect. It has branch pavilions in every county, and holds an exceptionally exalted position in Red Cloud County. No one dares provoke it. Pavilion Master Qin is a man of noble status. Could he have come here today for the Li Family?"
"I'm not sure, but in any case, just seeing Pavilion Master Qin makes this trip worthwhile!"
Lu Ming, who had just stepped down from the platform, heard the crowd's discussion and was secretly astonished.
As soon as Qin Zhonghai arrived, he drew everyone's attention. No one even paid any notice to Lu Ming, who had just finished fighting on the platform.
He had heard vague mention of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion before. It seemed to deal in intelligence, but he hadn't expected its status to be so exalted.
Just as Lu Ming was secretly wondering why Qin Zhonghai had come, he saw Qin Zhonghai walk straight up to him and ask:
"What lightness skill are you training in? Would you mind telling me a little about it?"
Lu Ming was taken aback. He wanted to know what lightness skill Lu Ming had learned? From beginning to end, Lu Ming had only shown off Grass Gliding. As for the Level Ground Blue Cloud Art, he hadn't even gotten started, and he still wasn't practiced enough to use it smoothly.
"Lu Ming, this is Pavilion Master Qin of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion. The Heavenly Secret Pavilion has a tradition of trading one lightness skill for another. If you're willing, I believe Pavilion Master Qin would be happy to make an exchange with you."
Li Mingyuan gave Lu Ming a meaningful look from the side.
This was a great chance to make a connection with the Heavenly Secret Pavilion.
At Li Mingyuan's words, Lu Ming's heart stirred. The Heavenly Secret Pavilion could actually trade lightness skills for lightness skills?
But Grass Gliding had come from Li Youning. Thinking of this, he turned to look at her. Li Youning understood what he meant and quickly nodded.
"Since I gave it to you, you can do whatever you like with it."
Only then did Lu Ming nod. "I'm training in Grass Gliding."
Qin Zhonghai's brows furrowed slightly. Grass Gliding was only a third-rate lightness skill, and the Heavenly Secret Pavilion had a copy of it. Yet none of its practitioners moved with the same effortless grace as Lu Ming. Could he be training in some special, modified version?
He immediately took a manual from his person and handed it to Lu Ming. "I have a second-rate lightness skill here, Water Gliding. Would you be willing to trade?"
Lu Ming's eyes lit up. They really could trade? And a third-rate skill for a second-rate one? Of course he wanted to make the exchange.
He had already mastered Grass Gliding and gained the extra point of Leg Dao experience. The manual was no longer of any use to him, while a new one might give him an additional bonus.
He still didn't know how much of a bonus a second-rate technique could give him. This was the perfect chance to find out.
But before making the exchange, he asked, "If we're trading, I need a lightness skill with a different principle from Grass Gliding."
Qin Zhonghai nodded slightly. "Water Gliding fits the bill."
Without the slightest hesitation, Lu Ming took out the Grass Gliding manual and exchanged it for Water Gliding.
Qin Zhonghai took the manual and leafed through it briefly. He immediately saw that it was nothing more than an ordinary Grass Gliding manual, identical to the one kept in the Heavenly Secret Pavilion.
But he didn't feel that he'd been swindled. Instead, he thought even more highly of Lu Ming.
Lu Ming had trained in an ordinary Grass Gliding manual until he moved with such effortless grace, as if using his lightness skill cost him no effort at all.
That showed Lu Ming had a remarkable talent for lightness skills. Just how remarkable, though, was still hard to say.
"Pavilion Master Qin!"
"Pavilion Master Qin, long time no see."
"How have you been, Pavilion Master Qin?"
Just then, many people hurried over to greet Qin Zhonghai.
The four men at their head were all imposing, each with a commanding presence.
As Lu Ming listened to the people around him, he was secretly taken aback.
Three of the four men were Guo Zhengwei, head escort of the Wei Yuan Escort Agency; Yin Zheng, leader of the Red Snake Gang; and Zhu Lie, the owner of the Blazing Flame Martial Hall.
There was a saying in Red Cloud County: "Two Gangs, Three Halls, Three Great Families." It referred to several first-rate powers in the city. The Three Great Families were the Chen Family, the Shen Family, and the Zhao Family.
The Blazing Flame Martial Hall was one of the Three Halls, and its owner, Zhu Lie, was also a prominent first-rate expert in Red Cloud County.
The Wei Yuan Escort Agency and the Red Snake Gang were a little weaker and weren't among the "Two Gangs, Three Halls, Three Great Families," but Guo Zhengwei and Yin Zheng were still local powerhouses in their own right.
The three people who had appeared on the platform earlier each belonged to one of these three powers.
The fact that the three of them had come so quickly to greet Qin Zhonghai showed that they had been watching nearby and had been very interested in this platform fight.
Lu Ming understood. The Chen and Shen Families had once been on close terms with the Li Family, so they couldn't very well act against it themselves. They had to let these powers take the lead and completely crush the Li Family.
Besides those three, a general in leather armor had also hurried over. He was Han Tieyi, Director of the City Defense Bureau!
With Qin Zhonghai's arrival, the leaders of several powers had come out to welcome him. The gathering of influential figures had the many onlookers buzzing with excitement.
Qin Zhonghai merely smiled faintly and nodded casually in response to the greetings from the four powerhouses.
"You're all busy men, yet we've managed to gather here today. That's a rare thing."
"Heh... With a platform set up here and so many martial artists gathered, I had no choice but to come," Han Tieyi, Director of the City Defense Bureau, said with a faint, rueful smile.
"I've often heard that Pavilion Master Qin has a discerning eye. Since we've met today, could I ask you to take a look at these few underachieving disciples of mine and see if any of them catch your eye?" Zhu Lie, owner of the Blazing Flame Martial Hall, suddenly said.
Several young men and youths stood behind him, all gazing at Qin Zhonghai with admiration.
In martial cultivation, aside from one's own talent, what mattered was nothing more than manuals, famous teachers, and resources.
The Heavenly Secret Pavilion could be called the most powerful organization in the city. It had no shortage of manuals, famous teachers, or precious medicinal tonics for cultivation!
There had once been someone who caught the Heavenly Secret Pavilion's attention while serving in the Military Service Bureau and joined the pavilion. With its help, he had taken first place in the Military Service Bureau.
Afterward, he'd relied on his early advantage to advance step by step, eventually joining an Orthodox Great Sect and rising to the heavens in a single bound.
The Heavenly Secret Pavilion wasn't an Orthodox Great Sect, so it wouldn't stop others from joining one!
That was why, as soon as Qin Zhonghai appeared, Zhu Lie had hurried over with a few of his disciples, hoping to test his luck.
Zhu Lie wasn't the only one. Yin Zheng and Guo Zhengwei were the same. Even Han Tieyi had hurried over with a few soldiers.
Qin Zhonghai glanced over the many disciples the four men had brought. With a smile at the corner of his mouth, he said:
"As the saying goes, a famous teacher produces outstanding students. Your disciples are all exceptional talents. Take Guo Yuan, for example. The second month of military service has only just begun, and he's already at the Flesh Refining stage. His future looks bright."
At these words, Guo Yuan's face flushed red with excitement.
A trace of disappointment surfaced in Guo Zhengwei's eyes. Qin Zhonghai was really just being polite. Saying they were all exceptional talents meant they were more or less the same—and none had caught his eye.
But he quickly composed himself. It was indeed difficult to win Qin Zhonghai's approval.
Guo Yuan had received individual praise from Qin Zhonghai, which was already quite good. He'd done better than the disciples of Yin Zheng and Zhu Lie.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Qin Zhonghai turned and left. As he was getting into his carriage, he glanced at Lu Ming, who no longer stood out among the crowd, his gaze flickering.
There were many disciples of famous masters present, but none could compare to Lu Ming.
He had already forgotten the many disciples brought by the four powerhouses. They were no different from the onlookers. Lu Ming, on the other hand, was like a firefly in the night. He had already made an impression.
Whether Lu Ming was worth recruiting into the Heavenly Secret Pavilion, however, still needed to be observed.
One reason he had traded the second-rate Water Gliding for Lu Ming's third-rate Grass Gliding was to see how long it would take Lu Ming to master Water Gliding, and further assess his talent for lightness skills.
There were still nearly two months left in this year's military service. He wasn't in a hurry.
Before you continue