Tempering

The next day at noon.

Deep in the mountain forest outside the town.

Chen Guan, with a long saber hanging at his waist, arrived at the Dilapidated Temple to collect a bag of slime.

Afterward, he headed toward the deeper reaches of the forest.

On this journey.

Chen Guan intended to follow his original plan: to hone his combat experience in the deep, ancient woods and, incidentally, encounter some monsters whose cultivation realms might be higher than his own.

This way, if he worked hard in his next life to catch up to them and then killed them, he might be able to inherit their legacy talents.

In fact, were it not for the fact that obtaining talents from the Karma of Killing Tribulation required his average stats to be higher than the opponent's, Chen Guan would have been prepared to leave a note in a letter, revealing the location of Tiger Immortal.

He would have tried to get his grandson to hire some experts from the immortal sects to slay Tiger Immortal.

Furthermore, given that Tiger Immortal could command Chang Ghost, At the very least, he must possess a Yin-attribute spiritual root.

Of course, this was all predicated on whether the Scroll would count an enemy being killed by someone else as a "legacy."

Chen Guan had never tested this.

But if one day the opponent's average stats were lower than his, and he couldn't find them, yet they were killed by someone else, he would at least find out then.

However, before that, Chen Guan did not want to waste the opponent's legacy.

Because, in a roundabout way, that was also his own talent.

The following two days.

Chen Guan steered clear of the forest where Tiger Immortal resided and headed straight toward a mountain range.

He had heard that there was a black market for the martial world there.

Many wandering knights, or bandits who had ransacked homes and wiped out families, liked to take their stolen goods there for private trade.

Even the small portion of secret manuals Chen Guan usually had people collect were unearthed from such places.

Although the goods in these black markets were seven parts fake and three parts real, Since he was traveling, he might as well go and take a look.

Chen Guan had read many secret manuals and considered himself to have a discerning eye; he was unlikely to be swindled.

Especially since, during this journey, he might encounter Xiao Qing in the mountain forests.

Of course, if his luck was bad and he ran into Tiger Immortal again, he would simply close his eyes and give him another "heart gesture."

Currently, Chen Guan was about nine hundred miles away from the black market.

The black market already fell within the territory of Qing City.

Compared to Little Liuzi Town near the border, it was considered slightly more prosperous, and there were more experts to be found.

Chen Guan looked forward to this, yet he remained cautious and vigilant.

Another day passed.

Morning.

In the living room of the Zhao residence in Little Liuzi Town.

"Patriarch Zhao, are you saying... Young Hero Chen still hasn't returned?"

Constable Yan held his teacup, looking at the troubled Patriarch Zhao beside him, and tentatively asked, "He has been gone for three days now. Do you have any idea when your child might return?"

"I do not know, nor can I even estimate."

Facing his child's sudden departure, Patriarch Zhao let out a sigh.

Yet, he never mentioned the letter, instead cupping his hands and saying:

"Constable Yan, as soon as my child returns, I will certainly have someone from the estate notify you immediately."

"Then..." Seeing that he could not pry anything out, Constable Yan set down his teacup, stood up, and took his leave. "I have troubled you, Patriarch Zhao."

As he spoke, he cast his gaze outside the estate.

At that moment, two constables entered from outside, carrying a chest of secret manuals.

Thud—

Once the chest was set down.

Constable Yan cupped his hands toward Patriarch Zhao. "These are the secret manuals that Official Liu of the Martial Bureau had his men copy throughout the night over the past few days. He asked me to deliver them as an apology."

Constable Yan did not know how Official Liu had offended Young Hero Chen.

But since a higher-ranking official could crush those below him, he did not know how to refuse.

With the county magistrate also about to retire, the yamen would absolutely face unknown changes in the future.

Therefore, building a good relationship with a superior in advance might not be a bad thing.

Finally, Young Hero Chen did not kill Official Liu.

Constable Yan, due to the matter of the secret manuals, had met with Chen Guan several times and knew that Young Hero Chen was a good person.

Thus.

Constable Yan felt that this matter should not be too big and could be handled on his behalf.

However, after delivering the compensation gifts.

Constable Yan, in order to distance himself, still added, "I do not know what reason Young Hero Chen has with Official Liu.

But one is my superior, and looking at these secret manuals, they are also things Young Hero Chen needs, so I will boldly deliver them on his behalf.

I wonder if they meet Young Hero Chen's expectations."

Constable Yan was now an old fox, and his usual martial arts world tone was filled with much more smooth social graces.

He not only indicated that he could not refuse Official Liu, but also showed that these were beneficial to Young Hero Chen. If it wasn't a big deal, accepting them would definitely not be a loss.

"Thank you, Constable Yan." Patriarch Zhao knew what was going on and also knew that his child had asked him to contact Official Liu.

Now, this gift-giving could serve as a red thread connecting the two parties.

"Shopkeeper Zhao, no need to see me out..."

Evening.

The Zhao family had many gift-givers these past few days.

At this moment, Patriarch Zhao was seeing his twenty-ninth visitor.

But as Patriarch Zhao just walked out of the living room and was about to have the butler invite the next guest.

Tap-

A faint sound of footsteps seemed very far, yet also very near.

By the time Patriarch Zhao came to his senses, he saw a handsome young man, around twenty years old, appear in front of the living room.

He was holding a letter, left by Chen Guan.

"You..." Patriarch Zhao, seeing this miraculous scene, first felt his chest pocket and found that the letter Chen Guan had left was gone.

"I already know what happened."

The man's eyes were like lightning, quickly scanning the letter.

But although his words were calm, there was an undeniable sense of loss in his brows.

"I am Chen Changhong, the cultivator who has a connection with... with Great Hero Chen."

As Chen Changhong spoke, he ignored Patriarch Zhao's astonishment. "Um... um... Zhao... Senior Zhao, farewell."

With that, Chen Changhong felt embarrassed and left the place as if fleeing.

But in Patriarch Zhao's eyes, he was filled with envy.

"Appearing and disappearing without a trace... truly a celestial being!"

Drip-drip-

Five hundred miles away, at the foot of a mountain.

"The rain in these mountains is really heavy..."

Chen Guan sat cross-legged in a small cave entrance, gazing at the misty drizzle.

This rain had been falling for a day.

It showed no signs of stopping.

"If I had another twenty years of cultivation, I could ignore the rain and travel."

After watching for a while, Chen Guan opened a secret manual from his embrace.

Inside was a cultivation technique, a minor art from the Sunzi Sect, called the "Water-Avoidance Technique."

Once activated, it could form a spiritual energy barrier on land to block out rainwater.

In the sea, it could appropriately push away the seawater surface around oneself.

Thus, this technique was also called the "Water-Avoidance Technique."

However, after looking for a while, Chen Guan found that he had not met the minimum requirement.

Because it required twenty strands of spiritual energy to work together, forming a balance of spiritual energy on the body's surface to successfully avoid water.

"With this body, to achieve twenty years of cultivation?"

Chen Guan glanced at himself. "Difficult.

And I now understand what it means to cultivate like climbing to heaven.

Just like now, I have these secret manuals but cannot cultivate them. Looking at them makes me envious."