Heaven Martial Pavilion

Although Sikong Jing was dressed plainly, as the once-invincible Divine General, he possessed an indescribable air of authority.

A clerk from the Heaven Martial Pavilion immediately stepped forward to inquire, "May I ask what you need, young master?"

Standing before him was a delicate and beautiful saleswoman.

Sikong Jing asked indifferently, "What is the highest grade of martial skill available for sale at the Heaven Martial Pavilion in Yunye City? And what is the price?"

The beauty's eyes lit up. It seemed this was a big spender; he had asked for the highest-grade martial skill right off the bat.

"Young master, we have four sets of high-tier Yellow-grade martial skills in stock here in Yunye City."

"The price ranges from fifty to one hundred Gold Crystal Coins."

In the Great Shang Dynasty, the currency consisted of Copper Crystal Plates, Silver Crystal Coins, Gold Crystal Coins, and the highest denomination, Purple Crystal Coins. In the frontier of Yun Province, one hundred Gold Crystal Coins was already a significant sum.

This was equivalent to ten thousand Silver Crystal Coins or one million Copper Crystal Plates.

"If you desire a Profound-grade martial skill or a custom-tailored Yellow-grade one, you would need to pay a deposit, and we would have it transferred from the Heaven Martial Pavilion in Yun Province City," the saleswoman added.

Sikong Jing understood. The Heaven Martial Pavilion was a terrifyingly powerful martial arts merchant within the Great Shang Dynasty.

They had a presence in almost every city of any size, a fact Sikong Jing was naturally well aware of.

However, he changed the subject and said, "Give me three of the lowest-grade Green Jade Slates."

Sikong Jing had not come to purchase martial skills; he had only asked those questions to gauge the basic pricing of martial skills in Yunye City.

"What?"

The saleswoman froze, her expression slowly turning cold.

This man was no young master; he was just a poser asking questions to look important. He was simply wasting her time and energy.

Too lazy to waste another word, the saleswoman turned and walked away.

When she returned, she was carrying three Green Jade Slates and said, "One hundred Copper Crystal Plates."

That was the price for the three Green Jade Slates.

Green Jade Slates were used for recording martial skills. In this world, neither martial skills nor cultivation techniques could be written directly into books; they had to be carved onto jade-based materials to truly convey the intent of the martial arts.

Examples included Green Jade Paper or Green Jade Cylinders, but among them, the Green Jade Slate was the most trash-tier.

The success rate for recording was extremely low, and they could be ruined at any moment.

The Green Jade Slates Sikong Jing was buying were the most inferior kind—the trash of the trash—generally used by beginners for practice or by those looking to cut corners.

At this moment, Sikong Jing replied, "I don't have the money, but you can wait until I successfully record a skill, and I will use the martial skill to pay for them."

When he was exiled, everything he owned had been cleared out, and he certainly wouldn't ask Su Yuexi for money now.

As soon as these words left his mouth, the saleswoman's gaze turned even colder. She snatched the Green Jade Slates back from Sikong Jing's hands and snapped angrily, "If you don't have money, why did you come in? Do you take me for a fool?"

This was just another corner-cutter who thought that recording a martial skill was a guaranteed success and intended to use the result to pay for the slates.

What a joke!

Using the lowest-grade Green Jade Slates, even a master at the Heaven Realm wouldn't succeed once in ten attempts.

Sikong Jing frowned and replied, "I will definitely succeed. You can rest assured."

He had spent two and a half days in his room cultivating, reaching the sixth level of the Bright Realm. He had done so specifically to ensure a high success rate for the recording, and only after reaching the sixth level of the Bright Realm could he record a high-tier Yellow-grade martial skill.

"You think you can succeed with three Green Jade Slates? Who do you think you are, the Great Shang's Invincible Divine General?" The saleswoman didn't believe him at all and pointed toward the door. "Either get out now, or pay up."

The Great Shang's Invincible Divine General? I actually am!

However, Sikong Jing remained silent. In the end, he prepared to turn away; it seemed he would have to go and earn one hundred Copper Crystal Plates first.

"Haha, I never expected to run into such a fool these days. Trying to record a martial skill with three Green Jade Slates—you're killing me with laughter."

Suddenly, a young man waving a folding fan walked toward them, laughing incessantly.

The saleswoman's eyes brightened, and she said with a coy smile, "Oh my, isn't this Young Master Chu? What wind blew you here?"

The young man, Young Master Chu, pinched the saleswoman's bottom and laughed, "I was just bored and out for a stroll. I didn't expect to run into such a self-righteous fool."

The saleswoman allowed the liberties taken by Young Master Chu and pouted coquettishly, "Indeed, a fool has disturbed Young Master Chu's refined mood."

"Not at all, not at all. I'm quite amused..."

Young Master Chu shook his head, then pointed at Sikong Jing with a haughty air. "I'll pay for those three Green Jade Slates. If you can't record a martial skill, you'll kneel on the main street and shout three times that Young Master Chu Bo is invincible. How about that?"

Upon hearing this, the saleswoman immediately scolded Sikong Jing, "Fool, why aren't you kneeling to thank Young Master Chu for his gift of the slates?"

Her expression was that of a fox flaunting its borrowed power.

Sikong Jing looked up calmly, the corners of his mouth curling slightly. "You want to bet with me?"

"A bet?"

Chu Bo widened his eyes and laughed mockingly. "I suppose so, though you aren't really qualified."

"Since it's a bet, what happens if I can record a martial skill?" Sikong Jing asked, squinting.

Taken aback, Chu Bo laughed heartily and replied, "Then I'll kneel on the main street and shout three times that you are invincible. Is that enough?"

Because of Chu Bo's appearance, the other customers in the Heaven Martial Pavilion gathered around. When they heard that Sikong Jing actually intended to record a martial skill using three of the most inferior Green Jade Slates, the entire room erupted in laughter.

Especially upon hearing that he still wanted to win, their laughter shook the heavens; it was simply an impossible feat.

Young Master Chu Bo was merely toying with a fool.

"That won't be necessary. I haven't reached the point of arrogance where I believe myself invincible. You only need to kneel down and say three times in a loud voice that Su Yuexi is the number one beauty in the world." Sikong Jing casually altered the terms of the bet.

Chu Bo did not realize who Su Yuexi was, so he waved his folding fan and said, "Fine, fine, whatever you say."

Sikong Jing paid him no further mind, instead fixing his gaze upon the Green Jade Slate.

Memories of Yellow-grade high-tier martial arts flashed through his mind, yet there were very few he could actually recall.

After all, everything he had cultivated in the past started at the Heaven-grade.

It took a good while before he remembered the first martial art he had seized from a group of bandits when he had just joined the Great Shang army; it was also the first Yellow-grade high-tier martial art he had ever practiced. Without a second thought, he began to carve...

"Look at how serious this fool is; he actually thinks he can succeed."

"Haha, this is just a blockhead obsessed with cultivation. He hasn't been beaten by reality yet, so he thinks he can do anything."

"To put it bluntly, his brain is fried."

The jeers of the onlookers grew louder and louder, all of them treating this as a performance of Chu Bo playing with a simpleton.

Little did they know, Sikong Jing had already become completely self-forgetful. The terrifying true energy of the Emperor-Slaying Prison-Breaking Art flickered at his fingertips as he pressed them into the Green Jade Slate, lines being sketched out by his fingers.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths...

Hum!

The lines from his fingertips were completed in one go. In a mere three breaths, the Green Jade Slate flashed with a jade-colored light!

A moment later, the light faded. The once unremarkable Green Jade Slate now possessed an inexplicable martial aura, and Sikong Jing rose quietly, saying indifferently, "Sorry, I succeeded on the first try!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the mockery ceased, and the entire Heaven Martial Pavilion fell into an indescribable silence.