"Uh... Pavilion Master Qin, although I got the Water Gliding lightness skill manual, I haven't learned it yet."
Lu Ming thought it over and decided to be honest. After all, it would only take a try to find out.
If Qin Zhonghai gave up recruiting him because of that, he could only accept it helplessly, though he would feel some regret.
After all, this was the Heavenly Secret Pavilion. Becoming one of its agents would bring him plenty of benefits.
Without the Heavenly Secret Pavilion's protection, Shen Changfeng, who had just been too wary to act rashly, would immediately bare his claws and fangs at him.
"You haven't learned it?" Qin Zhonghai was taken aback. He clearly hadn't expected that answer.
Lu Ming had obtained a second-rate lightness skill manual, and yet he hadn't learned it?
"Could it be that you've been practicing the third-rate lightness skill, Grass Gliding, all this time?" Qin Zhonghai asked.
Lu Ming shook his head. "I haven't learned Grass Gliding either. Lately, I've mainly been practicing the Cloud-Piercing Finger, a second-rate finger technique taught to me by Master Wei."
Qin Zhonghai fell silent.
The spacious carriage swayed gently as it rolled along, and the atmosphere inside grew somewhat awkward.
Lu Ming said, "Actually, earlier I..."
Qin Zhonghai cut him off. "Let's talk once we reach the Heavenly Secret Pavilion."
With that, he closed his eyes and rested.
Lu Ming had no choice but to swallow his words, feeling a trace of nervousness. It was like preparing for an exam, arriving full of confidence, and then discovering that the test covered a different subject.
Of course, although he felt somewhat unsettled, he didn't panic.
He had the Divine Ability Panel. As long as he didn't die, his future was limitless. If the Heavenly Secret Pavilion didn't take him in, that would be its loss.
It was just that he truly needed a faction like the Heavenly Secret Pavilion to back him up and deal with certain troubles. Otherwise, his hands would be tied.
He had also prepared for the worst. The worst that could happen was that he would return to his previous situation and stay at the Military Service Bureau until the Grand Examination.
Before long, the carriage arrived in front of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion.
Aside from being four stories tall, the Heavenly Secret Pavilion looked utterly ordinary, like any other building.
It was nighttime, but people streamed in and out of the pavilion. Many wore black scarves, seemingly unwilling to let others know they had visited.
Though there were plenty of people, the place wasn't noisy. No one chatted idly; everyone hurried to and fro.
The moment Qin Zhonghai entered, he drew the attention of many.
"Pavilion Master Qin!"
"Pavilion Master Qin is back. Oh? Is this young friend your junior?"
"Could he be Pavilion Master Qin's disciple?"
Many greeted him curiously, looking at Lu Ming as he followed behind Qin Zhonghai.
Qin Zhonghai nodded slightly in acknowledgment.
Lu Ming followed him to the rear courtyard, where there was a small Martial Arts Arena. A weapon rack stood beside it, stocked with all eighteen kinds of weapons—swords, spears, sabers, halberds, and more—as well as training equipment such as plum-blossom stakes.
Night had fallen, and torches around the arena lit the place brightly.
"Pavilion Master Qin." Several people were practicing martial arts in the arena. One who seemed to be their leader stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
Qin Zhonghai nodded. "Carry on. I'm bringing in a newcomer."
"Yes." The man glanced at Lu Ming, then turned and left.
Qin Zhonghai led Lu Ming to the back of the arena, where there was another door.
Beyond it lay a separate practice area. It was empty, seemingly reserved for testing newcomers.
Bang!
Once they were inside, Qin Zhonghai shut the inner door, cutting them off from outside view.
Torchlight flickered within, illuminating the place just as brightly.
"What were you going to say earlier? Go ahead," Qin Zhonghai said, studying Lu Ming.
Lu Ming answered at once. "Yes. What I was going to say was that although I haven't practiced Water Gliding, that's because Master Wei taught me a first-rate lightness skill, the Cloud-Stepping Technique."
Qin Zhonghai's gaze sharpened. "A first-rate lightness skill, the Cloud-Stepping Technique? Have you reached the entry level?"
Lu Ming nodded. "I've reached the entry level."
Qin Zhonghai said, "Could you demonstrate it?"
"Of course."
Lu Ming drew a deep breath and stepped back slightly, taking his place in the middle of the inner arena. Then he began to demonstrate the Cloud-Stepping Technique.
"Each step falls as softly as cotton fluff, each foot lifts as if tugging a kite string..."
Qin Zhonghai watched Lu Ming's demonstration, murmuring under his breath. The more he watched, the brighter his eyes grew.
The Cloud-Stepping Technique was characterized by suddenness, speed, and an indomitable spirit that soared straight into the heavens.
"What a fine lightness skill!"
After watching Lu Ming finish the demonstration, Qin Zhonghai couldn't help praising it. He had heard of this skill long ago, but had never had the chance to see it.
Now that he had found something he admired, he looked at Lu Ming and asked:
"Would you be willing to trade this lightness skill with me?"
Lu Ming's heart stirred. Trade lightness skills?
The Cloud-Stepping Technique was a first-rate lightness skill. If Qin Zhonghai wanted to trade for it, he would have to offer at least another first-rate skill.
If that were the case, wouldn't it make his next evolution of the Leg Dao Divine Ability easier?
After a moment's thought, he said, "I need to ask Master Wei first. After all, he was the one who taught it to me, so I can't trade it away on a whim."
Qin Zhonghai nodded. "That's only right. In that case, let's set the matter aside for now.
"You haven't practiced Water Gliding, but the Cloud-Stepping Technique will do just as well.
"You have a talent for lightness skills, but your Cloud-Stepping Technique hasn't yet reached Minor Completion, so your talent in this area still isn't top-tier.
"With your current talent, you can only serve as an agent in the Heavenly Secret Pavilion's Outer Pavilion, helping us investigate intelligence below Grade C."
Lu Ming said, "Oh? What would it take to truly join the Heavenly Secret Pavilion?"
Qin Zhonghai smiled. "Either you need top-tier talent for lightness skills, or you need to be able to count all the stars in the sky."
The first condition was just as Lu Ming had expected, but when he heard the second, he couldn't help being astonished.
"Count the stars? How could that be possible!"
It was night, and Lu Ming looked up. The sky was packed with stars, one upon another. How could anyone count them all?
Besides, drawing on his past life's experience, he knew that the stars in the sky were actually distant suns scattered across the universe.
There were countless billions of stars in the universe, practically without end. How could anyone count them?
Qin Zhonghai only chuckled. "They can be counted. Why couldn't they? The number of stars in the sky is fixed."
At those words, Lu Ming's pupils contracted, and his heart jolted.
In this world, the number of stars was fixed?
What nonsense!
Lu Ming found it hard to believe. Everything in this world, including the night sky, was much like his previous world. He had assumed that this world, too, was part of a universe.
If the number of stars was fixed, then perhaps that wasn't the case.
Lu Ming cautiously asked, "Why is the number of stars fixed? Aren't they impossible to count?"
"Heaven's secrets must not be revealed," Qin Zhonghai replied.
Heaven's secrets? The Heavenly Secret Pavilion!
Lu Ming suddenly felt that the Heavenly Secret Pavilion was probably even more mysterious than the outside world imagined.
And yet such a mysterious faction wasn't even an Orthodox Great Sect.
Then how powerful was the Orthodox Great Sect behind the Military Service Bureau?
A trace of yearning rose in Lu Ming's heart. If he ever got the chance, he would enter an Orthodox Great Sect and see what wonders it held!
Still, he knew it would be difficult. In all the history of Red Cloud County, few disciples had ever managed to join an Orthodox Great Sect. In an ordinary year, even having one or two people join a Third-Rate Sect was considered a decent result!
And above the Third-Rate Sects were the second-rate and First-Rate Sects. The Orthodox Great Sects stood above them all.
Of course, the reason Third-Rate Sects were also so eagerly sought after was that every Ranked Sect had a quota for joining an Orthodox Great Sect.
So as long as one managed to join a Ranked Sect, even if it was only a Third-Rate Sect, there was still a chance to enter an Orthodox Great Sect.
Lu Ming's current goal was to join a Third-Rate Sect at the very least.
"All right, now I'll tell you about the benefits of becoming an agent of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion." Qin Zhonghai's voice brought Lu Ming back to himself. His spirits lifted, and he looked at Qin Zhonghai expectantly.
Qin Zhonghai continued, "First, there's the cultivation elixir used by our Heavenly Secret Pavilion. Its effects are completely different from the cultivation elixirs used by the other factions in the county seat.
"The Enlightenment Pill! That's what it's called. Its effect is to grant you enlightenment, greatly increasing the efficiency with which you practice martial skills."
Before you continue