"Hm? I need to observe some Human Grade blade techniques?"
Su Yun stopped in his tracks, lost in thought.
Human Grade blade techniques had indeed been difficult for him to obtain before.
But now, he had slain quite a few demonic cultivators and acquired a great many resources.
He had tens of thousands of taels of silver notes alone.
Of course, those demonic cultivators had also carried some manuals, but they weren't suitable for him to cultivate. They were mostly demonic arts.
"With tens of thousands of taels in silver notes, I should be able to buy some Human Grade blade techniques in Wanyang City, right?"
Su Yun wondered to himself.
After booking a room, he went to the largest trading pavilion in the city.
There, he spent every last silver note he had.
In exchange, he successfully acquired more than a dozen Human Grade High Tier blade techniques.
When Su Yun returned to the inn, he found Senior Sister Chen waiting for him in the corridor.
"Junior Brother Su Yun, you're back."
Chen Qingxue looked at Su Yun, then took out a jade box.
"Come and see the gift I prepared for you."
She had said earlier that she wanted to rest in Wanyang City for a while, but she hadn't come simply to sightsee.
In truth, she had wanted to repay Su Yun.
If Su Yun hadn't stepped in just in time and slain Blood-Drinking Spear Fiend with the fearsome power of Great Accomplishment Blade Intent, the trial mission would have ended in failure, even if she had ultimately survived.
Though cold by nature, she was someone who always repaid kindness.
Su Yun walked over, curious.
Chen Qingxue opened the jade box.
As soon as the purple box opened, a rich medicinal fragrance billowed out in every direction.
Su Yun took a gentle breath.
He felt the qi and blood in his body begin to surge.
Somehow, his body seemed to give off a powerful pull, urging him to refine the treasure inside the box.
Su Yun guessed that the treasure inside must be a rare cultivation medicine.
"Junior Brother Su Yun, this is a Tier 3 Jade Spirit Fruit."
"Though it contains tremendous medicinal power, a martial artist can absorb it gently while refining it, so there's no need to worry about damaging your meridians."
"If you refine this spirit fruit, you should be able to raise your cultivation by one level."
"With good luck, you might even advance by two."
Chen Qingxue said with a smile.
"A Tier 3 Jade Spirit Fruit?"
Su Yun was slightly taken aback.
He was a little shocked.
Even Qi Sea Realm martial artists coveted treasures of this caliber.
Whenever one appeared, it often sparked a bloody battle.
In the Mystic Blade Sect, one would likely need hundreds of thousands of Contribution Points to exchange for one.
"Thank you, Senior Sister."
Su Yun didn't stand on ceremony. He thanked her and accepted the jade box.
After chatting for a while, Chen Qingxue left.
Back in his room, Su Yun set the blade technique manuals aside.
Then he opened the jade box.
A wondrous fruit, greenish purple all over, appeared before him.
Its rich medicinal fragrance filled every corner of the room.
"A Tier 3 Jade Spirit Fruit!"
A hint of delight flashed in Su Yun's eyes.
It was arguably the best treasure he had obtained so far.
And unlike other martial artists, he could absorb every bit of the Tier 3 Jade Spirit Fruit's medicinal effects.
Once he finished refining it, his cultivation should rise by at least two levels.
Composing himself, Su Yun picked up the Jade Spirit Fruit and swallowed it in one bite.
Rumble!
In almost an instant, a vast, surging medicinal power erupted inside him.
Though he had been mentally prepared, he was still startled.
It truly lived up to its name as a Tier 3 spirit fruit!
He didn't dwell on it. He settled his mind and began to refine it slowly.
A voice rang out in his mind.
"Breathing Technique detected a large amount of medicinal power. It's excitedly absorbing it, greatly increasing cultivation efficiency!"
Su Yun could feel the qi and blood in his body surging wildly, almost several times stronger than before!
The meridians throughout his body trembled continuously, glowing with a greenish-purple light.
That was because his twelve meridians were constantly absorbing the tremendous medicinal power of the Tier 3 Jade Spirit Fruit.
Time passed slowly.
About two hours later, he had finally absorbed all the medicinal power of the Tier 3 Jade Spirit Fruit.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Su Yun looked inward and seemed to see pale golden blood flowing through his body.
With every movement, his qi and blood roared like great rivers in flood.
By then, his cultivation had advanced to the third tier of the Mystic Profound Realm!
"Next, I should stabilize my cultivation a little."
After a moment's thought, Su Yun sat cross-legged.
He placed his hands on his knees and did his best to calm the surging, violent power of qi and blood inside him.
Gradually, evening approached.
Warm, pale golden light swept across the windowsill.
It fell upon Su Yun's face.
At that moment, he rose and opened his eyes, stretching his body.
Delight showed on his face.
Whoosh!
He casually threw a punch into the air, sending a gust of wind whistling.
His punch carried considerable weight, and its force was sharp and fierce, as if he were punching through flowing water.
The air around him stirred at his slightest movement.
"Advancing two levels in a row is a pretty good improvement."
Su Yun nodded to himself, then couldn't help thinking,
"Once I become an Inner Sect disciple, I can choose a Mysterious Grade High Tier body-refining technique."
With his current physique, cultivating a Mysterious Grade High Tier body-refining technique would bring him twice the results with half the effort. His efficiency would be astonishing.
Once he mastered it, his strength would increase tremendously.
"For now, I can carefully study the Human Grade blade techniques."
Returning to his senses, Su Yun sat in a wooden chair and began flipping through the Human Grade blade techniques he had bought.
He read tirelessly in his room, studying each technique closely and pondering it over and over.
The racket outside and the clamor of shouting voices—
He had forgotten all about them.
"Ding! Extreme Shadow Fiend Blade is studying Human Grade High Tier blade techniques and drawing inspiration from them."
At some point, the hazy darkness of night settled over the room.
Yet Su Yun continued to pore over the manuals, thinking without pause and never stilling his hands.
Only when dawn broke the next morning, and the horizon turned the color of fish bellies, did a notification sound in Su Yun's mind.
"Extreme Shadow Fiend Blade has perfectly absorbed the insights of all blade techniques of the same tier. Inspiration surges, its potential is exhausted, and Blade Momentum has successfully advanced to eighty percent!"
Boom!
In an instant, a flood of insights into blade techniques poured into Su Yun's mind.
Every move and form seemed exquisite, imbued with a unique quality.
After spending some time absorbing all these insights, Su Yun opened his eyes. The pressure emanating from him had grown heavier still.
"Blade Momentum has reached eighty percent. Not bad."
"I didn't waste those tens of thousands of taels."
"Too bad Extreme Shadow Fiend Blade has exhausted all its potential."
Su Yun sighed inwardly.
Still, for a Human Grade High Tier blade technique to raise his Blade Momentum to eighty percent was already quite impressive.
That also showed that Extreme Shadow Fiend Blade was a remarkable Human Grade blade technique, far surpassing techniques of the same tier.
From here on, if he wanted to keep increasing his Blade Momentum quickly, he would have to cultivate better blade techniques.
Composing himself, Su Yun had just pushed open the door when he saw Jiang Feng and the others gathered together, apparently discussing something.
Excited voices could be heard all around them, too.
"Come on! Hurry to Cloud Pavilion! Lin Xuan, the young master of the Lin Family, is challenging a Divine Fist Sect Inner Sect disciple—the young master of the Xu Family, Xu Qingyun!"
"Hm? Where did Lin Xuan get the nerve to challenge Xu Qingyun?"
"Xu Qingyun is exceptionally talented, a genius ranked eighteenth on the Great Yun Hero Ranking. What makes Lin Xuan think he can challenge him?"
"Who knows why? I'm just going to watch the show."
In no time, many martial artists in the inn had headed to Cloud Pavilion.
"That kid Lin Xuan is back?"
Chen Qingxue walked over, looking surprised.
"Senior Sister Chen, who are those two?"
Su Yun asked curiously.
Although he hadn't been cultivating for long, he had heard of the Great Yun Hero Ranking.
The Great Cloud Dynasty was vast, with seventy-two commanderies.
To encourage talented martial artists, the dynasty's higher-ups had established many rankings.
One of them was the Great Yun Hero Ranking.
The ranking had only seventy-two places, and it listed only martial artists of the Mystic Profound Realm.
Anyone on the list received a generous allotment of resources from Cloud Pavilion every month.
Chen Qingxue answered Su Yun's question honestly, without hiding anything.
She quickly explained,
"Lin Xuan and Xu Qingyun are both talented young men from Wanyang City, and both come from prominent families."
"Like us, Xu Qingyun joined the Divine Fist Sect at a young age because of his talent. He's been cultivating for six years and is now at the ninth tier of the Mystic Profound Realm."
"Besides, he grasped Fist Momentum long ago, and his mastery is considerable. Among martial artists of the Mystic Profound Realm, he's considered top-tier."
"As for Xu Yun, he's quite talented too, but he never joined a sect. Instead, he cultivated on his own, quietly and without drawing attention."
"I haven't heard anything about him in a long time. I didn't expect Lin Xuan to return and openly challenge Xu Qingyun."
"His strength must have increased quite a bit."
After hearing this, Su Yun fell into thought.
The Divine Fist Sect!
It was one of the top sects in the Great Cloud Dynasty, with strength comparable to the Mystic Blade Sect.
"Shall we go take a look?"
Chen Qingxue suggested, looking a little eager.
"Let's go. We'll check it out together."
At that moment, Jiang Feng and the other two came over as well, looking quite excited.
"Sure."
Su Yun glanced around at them and nodded.
The next moment,
They left the inn and hurried toward Cloud Pavilion!
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