"The Grandmaster-level demon has been vanquished; it's time to put the treasure hunt in Westview Prefecture on the agenda!"
Suppressing his excitement, Fang Han considered his plans for the next period of time.
The Grandmaster-level demon has been eliminated. Although the demon problem in Qingyang Prefecture has not been completely quelled, without the Black-Scaled Demon Tiger manipulating things behind the scenes, the remaining demons are just scattered soldiers and can be easily wiped out by the Seven Sects and the county army.
He doesn't need to worry about it.
What he needs to do most now is to increase his strength and quickly acquire combat power comparable to First Grade martial artist.
Then they set off for Westview Prefecture to search for the location marked on the Treasure Map.
"Should we focus all our efforts on improving our Sword Technique, or on improving our physical strength?"
Before today, Fang Han's plan was to focus all his efforts on improving his Sword Technique and breaking through to a Sword Technique as soon as possible, so that he could have combat power comparable to First Grade martial artist.
However, after today, there is another option: to focus all efforts on improving one's physical strength and break through it as soon as possible, so as to possess combat power comparable to First Grade Horizontal Training artist.
Whether it's Sword Technique or physical training, as long as there's a breakthrough, his combat strength will inevitably enter the ranks of First Grade martial artists.
"We should focus on improving our Sword Technique!"
After a moment's consideration, Fang Han decided to stick to the original plan and focus on improving his Sword Technique to achieve strength comparable to First Grade martial artist.
The reason for this consideration is that it is estimated that it will take about a month to break through to the Minor Accomplishment in the external martial arts training.
According to his estimate, with his Sword Art Talent improved by the four Sword-Shaped Grass and a 256-fold Sword Art Talent Amplification, he should be able to break through in Sword Technique in at most half a month.
In order to quickly acquire strength comparable to First Grade martial artist, one would naturally choose Sword Technique that allows for faster breakthroughs.
Having made up his mind, Fang Han stopped thinking about it.
He stood up, stretched his muscles which were a little stiff from sitting for so long, and pushed open the door to the Quiet Room.
It was already late at night outside.
The moonlight, like water, spilled onto the bamboo grove in the courtyard, turning the verdant green into a soft, silvery white.
Five days later.
early morning.
Fang Han in the expanded Cultivation Ground in the backyard, closing his eyes and concentrating.
The morning light slanted in from outside the east wall, bathing the entire Cultivation Ground in a pale gold hue.
The obsidian floor gleamed with a deep, eerie luster under the light, crisscrossed with countless sword marks of varying depths.
With the Cloudsplitter Sword hanging at his waist, he did not rush to draw it, but instead closed his eyes to deduce its power.
The sword techniques of the < Void-Sundering Sword Manual > flowed slowly through his heart.
For the past five days, he has devoted most of his time to practicing Sword Technique.
Every morning, without fail, he cultivates the Azure Profound Art, takes a Heaven Origin Pill, and guides his Internal Qi to circulate throughout his body.
From the morning to the afternoon, I devoted myself entirely to the < Void-Sundering Sword Manual >.
The latter half of the afternoon was dedicated to practicing the < Wind God Step >.
As for the evenings, he would consume jerky made from the flesh of a Grandmaster-level demon and cultivate the < Black Tortoise True Art > in Quiet Room.
The time required to practice Sword Technique was greatly increased, but the effects were equally astonishing.
He could clearly feel that his Sword Technique was getting closer and closer to the bottleneck leading to the Proficiency Realm.
That feeling was like a thin veil, separating him from the vast world of swordsmanship.
It can be broken open with just a gentle poke.
He opened his eyes.
"Clang--"
The Cloudsplitter Sword was drawn from its sheath, its Dark Cyan blade gleaming with a restrained luster in the morning light.
Fang Han thrust out his sword.
This sword strike was not fast; in fact, it was extremely slow. The tip of the sword moved forward inch by inch, as if pushing something invisible and extremely heavy.
But the instant the sword was thrust out—
The faint ripples in the air became clearer than ever before.
The ripples were no longer fleeting, but lingered and did not dissipate, like a real, transparent sword mark made of air, hovering for a long time where the sword's edge had passed.
The moment the sword tip stopped, the transparent sword mark suddenly expanded outwards.
"Laugh--"
A very soft, faint sound.
On the obsidian ground, which is several times harder than steel, a new sword mark appeared out of nowhere.
It is about an inch deep, and the edges are so smooth that they look as if they have been repeatedly polished.
Fang Han sheathed his sword and stood there, gazing at the sword mark, a hint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes.
"Soon."
He muttered to himself.
He could sense that the bottleneck leading to the Proficiency Realm had become so thin as to be almost non-existent.
Maybe tomorrow, maybe the day after.
In short, it won't be long.
He sheathed the Cloudsplitter Sword and turned to walk out of the Cultivation Ground.
When he walked out of the Cultivation Ground in the backyard, Qui Lan was already waiting under the eaves.
"Senior brother."
Qui Lan stepped forward and presented something with both hands.
It was an invitation made with gold foil stamping, and the cover had the four characters "Celebrating the Opening" written in flowing regular script.
In the lower right corner is a small seal with a design of a blooming peony.
"An invitation was just delivered."
Qui Lan said.
Fang Han accepted the invitation, raising an eyebrow slightly.
As the number one on the Prodigy Ranking and also the top-ranked member of the Azure Profound Sect General Ranking, he receives many similar invitations every month, mostly from prominent families and merchant guilds within the county who want to curry favor with him.
He has always refused these kinds of social engagements.
He opened the invitation and his gaze fell on the signature.
There, a familiar name was written in elegant small regular script—
Lan Yuexin.
Fang Han paused slightly.
Qui Lan, observing the situation from the side, tentatively asked, "Senior brother, are we going to refuse as usual?"
Fang Han closed the invitation and remained silent for a moment.
Prepare a congratulatory gift.
He put the invitation in his pocket.
I'll go tomorrow.
Qui Lan was slightly taken aback, then bowed and agreed, but a question arose in her mind.
My senior brother usually spends his days either cultivating or on missions, and rarely accepts these kinds of invitations.
In the past, I would have directly declined such an invitation, so why did I accept it this time?
She secretly guessed that Lan Yuexin probably had a special relationship with her senior brother.
Fang Han offered no explanation.
He put away the invitation, and thinking about the secret deal between the Hundred Treasures Pavilion and Azure Profound Sect, he seemed to be deep in thought.
Azure Profound City is a city located at the foot of the Azure Profound Sect. Most of the industries in the city have intricate connections with the Azure Profound Sect. The fact that Hundred Treasures Pavilion was able to open a branch here is by no means a simple matter of ordinary commercial expansion.
This should be related to the information that Hundred Treasures Pavilion secretly provided Azure Profound Sect with the Nether Pavilion's procurement team outside the county, and it was part of that secret transaction.
The Azure Profound Sect's tacit approval of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion's opening of a branch in Azure Profound City is both a return on the Hundred Treasures Pavilion's initial assistance and a signal to further deepen cooperation between the two parties.
The following morning, on the east street of Azure Profound City.
The entrance to the Azure Profound City branch of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion was already decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers. Two newly cast bronze lions were adorned with red decorations, and an ebony plaque hung above the door, with the three gilded characters " Hundred Treasures Pavilion " shining brightly in the morning light.
The gate was bustling with carriages and horses, and guests came and went in an endless stream.
Many nearby forces sent congratulatory gifts. Some were long-time customers of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, some were merchants in the city who wanted to take the opportunity to build relationships, and many others came because of the mysterious manager behind the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.
Lan Yuexin, dressed in a light blue long dress, stood at the door to greet guests. Her black hair was styled into a flowing cloud bun, with a jade hairpin tucked into her hair.
With a gentle smile on her face, she greeted each guest with composure and poise, showing no sign of panic.
Elder from the Azure Profound Sect, who had come to show his support, also arrived; he was an Elder from the Pill Hall.
He stood before the steps, dressed in a dark blue Elder's robe, with his hands behind his back. After exchanging a few words with Lan Yuexin, he was invited into the Inner Hall.
Soon after, Fang Han also arrived.
Today he wore a clean silver-patterned blue robe, with the Cloudsplitter Sword hanging at his waist. He walked calmly through the bustling crowd to the door.
Lan Yuexin was talking to a merchant Clan Head who had come to offer his congratulations when she caught a glimpse of the figure in the green robe out of the corner of her eye, and her words paused slightly.
She smiled apologetically at the merchant's Clan Head, said "Excuse me," and then turned to greet Fang Han.
" Fang Han, you've arrived."
Her voice carried a more genuine smile than when she greeted others, and her bright eyes lingered on Fang Han's face for a moment.
" Yuexin, how could I not come to celebrate your grand opening?"
Fang Han cupped his hands slightly and took out a brocade box from his sleeve, handing it over.
That was the congratulatory gift he had Qui Lan prepare—a 300-year-old Snow Ginseng. Although it wasn't extremely precious, it was still presentable.
Lan Yuexin took it with both hands, handed it to the Maid behind her, and gestured to the side:
"Please come in, young master."
Fang Han nodded slightly and followed the Maid's guidance into the pavilion.
The moment Fang Han stepped into the Hundred Treasures Pavilion gate, several gazes froze in a private room on the second floor of a restaurant across the street.
There were four people sitting in the private room, all of whom were prominent business Clan Head in Azure Profound City.
The man in the center, about fifty years old, with a slightly dark complexion and a neatly trimmed mustache, was Sun Maocai, the owner of " Benevolence Hall," the largest medicinal herb shop in the city.
To his left sat a well-to-do elderly man in a dark red Brocade Robe, who was Qian Wanjin, the owner of " Goldjade Workshop ";
On the right is a thin, middle-aged scholar, toying with a folding fan in his hand; he is Liu Shiyuan, the owner of the " Wenyuan Pavilion " bookstore.
The wiry-looking man at the back of the table was Feng Tie, the owner of " Iron Edge Arms," the largest weapons shop in the city.
"Boss Sun, since Hundred Treasures Pavilion is opening today, shall we just watch it like this?" Feng Tie spoke first.
"Watching?"
Sun Maocai picked up his teacup and took a small sip, his tone resolute.
" Hundred Treasures Pavilion is one of the top three merchant guilds in the county, and it's doing very well. It's indeed a powerful force. However, Azure Profound City is our territory. How can we allow an outsider to ride roughshod over us?"
"That's right. We'll do as we agreed this afternoon. First, we'll spread some rumors that the medicinal herbs sold at the Hundred Treasures Pavilion are of inferior quality and have falsely labeled vintages."
Qian Wanjin stroked his beard, his gaze dark and gloomy.
"Let my men go to their counter and cause a scene, saying that the gold and jade in her Hundred Treasures Pavilion are of insufficient quality. After a few disturbances, let's see how she can maintain her foothold in Azure Profound City."
"After all, Hundred Treasures Pavilion is one of the top three merchant guilds in the county. Isn't it a bit inappropriate to do this?"
Liu Shiyuan said with some concern.
"In Azure Profound City, who doesn't have connections? Behind the Benevolence Hall stands Elder Tu Baichuan, the head of Shen Courtyard, Goldjade Workshop is served by Elder Yan Lu."
Sun Maocai put down his teacup, a dismissive sneer appearing on his slightly dark face.
"As the saying goes, even a mighty dragon can't suppress a local snake. Although the Hundred Treasures Pavilion has some reputation in the county, once it comes to Azure Profound City, our territory, even a dragon has to coil up before us."
Qian Wanjin was about to nod in agreement when his gaze inadvertently swept across the window and caught sight of the figure in a green robe standing in front of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.
His words came to an abrupt halt.
"What's wrong?"
Sun Maocai followed his gaze and saw a young man exchanging pleasantries with Lan Yuexin at the door.
The young man was dressed in a silver-patterned blue robe, with a Dark Cyan longsword hanging at his waist, and his face was excessively young.
Sun Maocai's pupils contracted sharply.
Although he had never met this person in person, he had seen his portrait.
Fang Han, ranked first on the Prodigy Ranking and the number one True Disciple of the Azure Profound Sect.
The previously composed atmosphere in the private room froze in that instant.
"That's... Fang Han?"
Feng Tie's voice carried a hint of disbelief.
Liu Shiyuan stood up abruptly and leaned close to the window for a closer look.
After confirming the identity of the young man, he slowly sat back down in his chair. His initial unease was replaced by deep apprehension.