!
With Zhu Sheng's assurance, Jiang Che no longer had any lingering concerns. He prepared to free up his hands and cause the Cao Gang some trouble.
It couldn't be helped. He was just the sort of person who repaid every grievance, down to the smallest scratch.
Before that, however, there was one more thing he had to do: cultivate a protective technique and strengthen himself.
As for the Body Refining Method in Zhu Sheng's possession, he was somewhat hesitant at the moment.
Because it was no ordinary body refinement technique.
It was the Zhu family's inherited art.
What price would he have to pay to obtain it?
Marry Zhu Qingqing and become the Zhu family's son-in-law!
That was not among his choices.
Savage Bull Strength could still be cultivated to strengthen his inner breath, so he was in no hurry for the time being.
It was not as though the Zhu family's Body Refining Method was the only one under heaven that could be cultivated.
That night.
West of the city, Liu Manor.
This was also a residence Liu Zhi had recently purchased. Having been transferred here, he would likely be unable to move for several years, and he was already preparing to bring his family to live in Yanggu County as well.
Thus, the residence he had chosen was no small one.
It was a grand courtyard with three entrances and three courtyards. Though it could not compare to Zhu Manor, it possessed a charm of its own.
Several servants hired on short notice led Jiang Che into the main hall. Liu Zhi was seated at the place of honor, holding a cup of hot tea as he savored it, looking utterly at ease. Only upon hearing footsteps did he slowly open his eyes.
"Sit."
Jiang Che lightly cupped his fists, then took a seat as instructed.
Waving for the servants to withdraw, Liu Zhi chuckled.
"You came at just the right time. Come, try this tea. It may only be one cup, but outside, not even a tael of silver could buy it."
Jiang Che raised his brows slightly, somewhat surprised.
Liu Zhi could afford tea this expensive?
Though that was what he thought, Jiang Che still very obediently filled a cup for himself, then brought it to his lips and took a light sip.
A faint tea fragrance entered his mouth and slid down his throat. Like a warm current, it swiftly spread through his entire body, making him feel as if his body had grown lighter. His eyes immediately lit up, and he could not help nodding.
"Truly fine tea."
"Haha, naturally. This tea is called Calming Tea, picked from steep cliffs deep in the mountains. It is exceedingly rare, and it is particularly useful to martial artists in cultivation, capable of suppressing restless qi and blood.
"If drunk over a long period, it can even mend hidden injuries within the body."
Liu Zhi laughed heartily as he explained it to Jiang Che.
"My lord certainly knows how to enjoy himself."
"How could I possibly afford to enjoy such fine tea? A friend asked me to do him a favor two years ago and painstakingly gave it to me as a gift. By now, I have nearly finished it all."
Jiang Che lowered his gaze and replied.
"Since my lord likes it, this subordinate will think of a way to procure some more for you in a few days."
"You, you are far too clever. I asked you here tonight to choose a saber technique, not to use this as leverage and make you repay me. At your current stage, you cannot afford such an exorbitant price.
"If you give it to me after you achieve success and fame in the future, then this official will gladly accept it."
"Very well. If this subordinate achieves anything in the future, I will make sure my lord drinks Calming Tea every day."
Seeing that Liu Zhi truly was not hinting at anything, Jiang Che followed along with a joke.
Enough idle chatter. After the two finished a pot of Calming Tea, Liu Zhi knew Jiang Che was impatient. He immediately opened a black cloth bundle on the table, revealing a stack of books of varying thickness.
"These are the various martial skills I have accumulated over the years. Take a look first. Whichever one you feel suits you, take it away and cultivate it."
Jiang Che stared at the books and nodded. Reaching out, he picked up one and began to leaf through it.
"Mountain Quake Fist."
"I obtained this from a martial arts school in my early years."
"Cool Wind Blade Momentum."
"This was spoils of war I obtained while following a commander to suppress bandits."
"Zhao Family Saber Manual."
"This was..."
Each time Jiang Che picked up a book, Liu Zhi explained the origins of the martial skill. There were complete manuals and quite a few incomplete volumes, leaving Jiang Che dazzled by the selection. Yet none of them made his eyes light up.
Because the upper limits of these saber techniques and martial skills were not very high.
"Three Absolute Shocking Fiends."
When he picked up the final saber manual, Jiang Che's gaze turned slightly doubtful. Unlike the varying thicknesses of the other saber manuals and martial skill books, this one... had only a single sheet.
Moreover, its material differed from ordinary paper.
It was a sheet of silver foil as thin as cicada wings.
Rows upon rows of tiny words were densely engraved upon it, without a single illustration.
"This sheet of silver foil differs from the other saber manuals. When I was young, I followed my superior to wipe out a demonic sect and picked it up from a blood pool. I secretly kept it afterward, and it has been with me for almost ten years.
"I can guess that the saber technique recorded on this silver foil is anything but ordinary. Even if it is merely an incomplete volume, it is unquestionably worth a fortune. But... after years of painstaking cultivation, I still failed to grasp its essentials. All I could do was leave it on me to gather dust."
Seeing Jiang Che stare solemnly at the silver foil, Liu Zhi could not help sighing.
Anyone could tell that something inscribed upon silver foil was a treasure.
But no matter how precious it was, what use was it if one could not even get started?
Yet Jiang Che was now considering whether to use the Sacrifice Heavenly Stele to master this incomplete saber technique.
Cultivating it would naturally not be a problem. So long as he could meet the price of the sacrifice, anything could be accomplished.
But what he was considering was whether, with only an incomplete volume, he could exploit a bug in the Sacrifice Heavenly Stele. Could he use the Sacrifice Heavenly Stele's ability to fill in missing pieces to help him cultivate the true Three Absolute Shocking Fiends?
If it worked, then in the future, he could specifically seek out incomplete volumes of all kinds of top-tier cultivation methods and martial skills. He might not even need to pay too great a price, because to martial artists, the value of an incomplete volume and a complete one differed as vastly as heaven and earth.
Jiang Che was not speaking without basis.
In truth, he had long held this suspicion.
When Savage Bull Strength reached great mastery before, the strange phenomena displayed during the sacrifice remained vivid in his memory. Moreover, the Savage Bull Strength he had cultivated differed greatly from what ordinary people and the manual described.
By his guess, while carrying out the sacrifice, the Sacrifice Heavenly Stele had also repaired the missing parts of Savage Bull Strength.
If that was the case, why could it not work this way?
At present, a Body Refining Method after the Inner Breath Realm was one of his greatest difficulties. But if this could be done, that difficulty would be resolved in an instant. He would have no need whatsoever to beg Zhu Sheng to teach him the family's inherited Body Refining Method.
So long as he collected an incomplete Body Refining Method, he could perform a sacrifice.
But... the key was... he had no room for trial and error.
The intent the Sacrifice Heavenly Stele had once conveyed to him was already very clear.
Once he failed to complete a target sacrifice, he would be unable to perform another sacrifice.
It would be equivalent to his golden finger being directly crippled.
Should he gamble?
Jiang Che fell into thought, his expression grave.
On one side were the immense gains of a successful experiment; on the other were the severe consequences he would have to bear.
Was that difficult to choose?
No.
Of course not.
Gamblers never came to a good end.
He could not bear the cost of losing his golden finger.
With the Sacrifice Heavenly Stele, he could steadily and surely raise his strength.
Taking risks was far too inadvisable.
Drawing a deep breath, Jiang Che set down the silver foil and suppressed the greed in his heart.
"I know what you are thinking. You are probably as tempted as I was back then. Are you worried that you can only take one manual from me? Hehehe... I called you here tonight not to make you decide, but to let you choose.
"Even if you take away every one of these saber techniques and martial skills, it would be no problem."
Seeing Jiang Che's hesitant expression, Liu Zhi immediately assumed he had guessed what Jiang Che was thinking and said so.
There was no use in keeping these things. He had merely intended to use them to grant Jiang Che a favor.
This was a genuine debt of a master's guidance.
"Hm?"
Jiang Che's eyes suddenly lit up.
Liu Zhi's words woke him up. It seemed he had fallen into a misunderstanding.
Why did he need to take a risk?
He could avoid it entirely!