Heavenly Secret Pavilion's Vice Pavilion Master, Qin Zhonghai

When everyone heard Li Mingyuan's address, the crowd erupted.

"It really is a deputy pavilion master of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion—Pavilion Master Qin Zhonghai!"

"The Heavenly Secret Pavilion, a force second only to the orthodox lineage, with branches in every county. Here in Red Cloud County, their status is utterly transcendent—no one dares provoke them. Pavilion Master Qin holds an exalted position. Could his appearance here today be for the Li Family?"

"Not sure, but no matter what, getting to see Pavilion Master Qin makes this trip worthwhile!"

Listening to the murmuring crowd, Lu Ming, who had stepped down from the arena, was secretly astonished.

The moment Qin Zhonghai arrived, he drew everyone's attention, even Lu Ming, who had just finished his arena match, was completely ignored.

The Heavenly Secret Pavilion—he had vaguely heard of this force before. It seemed to deal in intelligence. He hadn't expected their status to be so lofty.

Just as Lu Ming was privately guessing why Qin Zhonghai had come, he saw the man walk straight up to him and ask:

"What lightness skill do you practice? Could you share a bit?"

Lu Ming was taken aback. He wanted to know what lightness skill he practiced? From start to finish, he had only displayed Grass Gliding. As for the Level Ground Blue Cloud Art, he hadn't even entered its threshold and couldn't use it smoothly.

"Lu Ming, this is Pavilion Master Qin of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion. The Heavenly Secret Pavilion has a tradition of trading lightness skills for lightness skills. If you're willing, I think Pavilion Master Qin would be happy to exchange with you."

Li Mingyuan shot Lu Ming a meaningful look from the side.

This was a golden opportunity to build a connection with the Heavenly Secret Pavilion.

Hearing this, Lu Ming's heart stirred. The Heavenly Secret Pavilion actually allowed trading lightness skills for lightness skills?

But his Grass Gliding had come from Li Youning. Thinking of this, he turned to look at her. Understanding his intent, she quickly nodded at him.

"Since I gave it to you, it's yours to do with as you please."

Only then did Lu Ming nod and say, "I practice Grass Gliding."

Qin Zhonghai's brow furrowed slightly. Grass Gliding was merely a third-rate lightness skill, and the Heavenly Secret Pavilion already had a copy in its collection. Yet none of its practitioners moved with the same lightness and grace as Lu Ming. Could he be practicing a special modified version?

He immediately took out 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 with me?"

Lu Ming's eyes lit up. It really could be traded? And a third-rate for a second-rate? Of course he would trade.

He had already mastered Grass Gliding and gained the extra 1 point of Leg Dao experience. This manual was useless to him now, while a new one might bring additional benefits.

He still didn't know how much of a boost a second-rate technique could give him. This was a good chance to find out.

But before the exchange, he asked, "If we're trading, I need a lightness skill with a different concept from Grass Gliding."

Qin Zhonghai nodded slightly. "Water Gliding fits that."

Hearing this, Lu Ming didn't hesitate. He took out the Grass Gliding manual and exchanged it with Qin Zhonghai for Water Gliding.

Qin Zhonghai took the manual and flipped through it briefly, immediately seeing that it was nothing more than an ordinary Grass Gliding manual, identical to the one stored in the Heavenly Secret Pavilion.

But he didn't feel cheated. Instead, he looked at Lu Ming with newfound respect.

Lu Ming had managed to cultivate that ordinary Grass Gliding manual into something light and graceful, as if using the skill cost him no effort at all.

This showed that Lu Ming had exceptional talent in lightness skills. As for just how exceptional, it was still too early to say.

"Pavilion Master Qin!"

"Pavilion Master Qin, it's been a while."

"Pavilion Master Qin, how have you been lately?"

Just then, many people hurried over to greet Qin Zhonghai.

Four men led the group, each bearing an extraordinary presence and an air of authority.

Listening to the surrounding chatter, Lu Ming was secretly shocked.

Among these four, three were respectively the chief escort of the Wei Yuan Escort Agency, Guo Zhengwei; the leader of the Red Snake Gang, Yin Zheng; and the master of the Blazing Flame Martial Hall, Zhu Lie.

There was a saying in Red Cloud County: "Two Gangs, Three Halls, Three Great Families," referring to the city's top-tier forces. The three great families were the Chen, Shen, and Zhao Families.

The Blazing Flame Martial Hall was one of the "Three Halls," and its master, Zhu Lie, was a first-rate expert in Red Cloud County, a man of prominent status.

The Wei Yuan Escort Agency and the Red Snake Gang were slightly inferior, not included in the "Two Gangs, Three Halls, Three Great Families," but Guo Zhengwei and Yin Zheng were still local powers in their own right.

The three who had appeared on the arena earlier belonged to these three forces respectively.

That these three could rush over so quickly to greet Qin Zhonghai clearly meant they had been watching nearby, paying close attention to the arena match.

Lu Ming understood. The Chen and Shen Families had once been on good terms with the Li Family, so they couldn't act directly. Instead, they had these forces step forward to completely crush the Li Family.

Besides these three, there was also a general in leather armor who had come over. This was the Director of the City Defense Bureau, Han Tieyi!

In an instant, with Qin Zhonghai's arrival, the leaders of several factions came out to greet him. The convergence of powers at this place excited the many onlookers.

To the greetings of the four powerful figures, Qin Zhonghai merely smiled faintly and nodded casually.

"You are all busy people, yet gathered here today—quite a rare sight."

"Heh... with an arena set up here and so many martial artists assembled, I had no choice but to come." The City Defense Bureau Director, Han Tieyi, gave a slight wry smile.

"I've long heard that Pavilion Master Qin has a keen eye. Since we've met today, I'd like to ask Pavilion Master Qin to take a look at these unworthy disciples of mine and see if any catch your interest." The Blazing Flame Martial Hall master, Zhu Lie, suddenly spoke.

Behind him stood several youths and young men, all gazing at Qin Zhonghai with looks of admiration.

Martial arts cultivation, besides competing in innate talent, ultimately comes down to secret manuals, renowned masters, and resources.

And the Heavenly Secret Pavilion could be called the foremost power in the city. Within it, there was no shortage of secret manuals, no shortage of renowned masters, and certainly no shortage of cultivation elixirs!

There had once been a person who, during their military service, caught the eye of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion and joined it. With the Pavilion's help, they seized first place in the Military Service Bureau.

Relying on that early advantage, that person advanced step by step, eventually joining a major orthodox sect and rising to prominence overnight.

The Heavenly Secret Pavilion was not an orthodox sect itself, nor did it prevent others from joining one!

So as soon as Qin Zhonghai appeared, Zhu Lie hurriedly brought several disciples along, intending to try his luck.

It wasn't just Zhu Lie—Yin Zheng and Guo Zhengwei did the same. Even Han Tieyi came rushing over with a few soldiers in tow.

At this moment, Qin Zhonghai swept his gaze over the many disciples the four had brought, a smile tugging at his lips as he said:

"As the saying goes, a renowned master produces outstanding disciples. All of your disciples are exceptional talents. Take this Guo Yuan, for example—barely into the second month of military service, and he's already at the Flesh Refining realm. The future holds promise."

At these words, Guo Yuan's face flushed red with excitement.

But a flicker of disappointment passed through Guo Zhengwei's eyes. Qin Zhonghai was merely speaking politely; calling them all "exceptional talents" meant they were all about the same—none of them caught his interest.

Still, he quickly adjusted his mindset. It truly was difficult to catch Qin Zhonghai's eye.

That Guo Yuan had received individual praise from Qin Zhonghai was already quite good—better than the disciples of Yin Zheng and Zhu Lie.

After exchanging pleasantries, Qin Zhonghai turned and left. As he mounted his carriage, he glanced back at Lu Ming, who was no longer conspicuous among the crowd, his gaze flickering.

Though there were many renowned disciples present, none could compare to Lu Ming.

The many disciples of the four strongmen—he saw them and forgot them, no different from the onlookers. But Lu Ming was like a firefly in the dark night—he had already been remembered.

However, whether Lu Ming was worth the Heavenly Secret Pavilion's recruitment still required further observation.

His exchange of the second-rate light-footed technique Water Gliding for Lu Ming's third-rate Grass Gliding was partly intended to see how long it would take Lu Ming to master Water Gliding, thereby further assessing his talent in light-footed techniques.

With nearly two months left in this year's military service, he was in no hurry.