"Hahaha, young friend, you truly have a sense of humor." The old man laughed as well.
Having lived for so many years, this was the first time he had encountered an answer like Lu Xingshi's. Anyone else would certainly have offered some opinion of their own. An answer like Lu Xingshi's was rare indeed.
"Not bad." Lu Xingshi curled his lip. Most of the content in the Rumor Report was about this person dueling with swords, that person heading north, or friction between major sects.
As for the front page, it was certainly the Tianshan Sword Debate. It was probably just a group of grandmasters who had founded their own sects, bored out of their wits and preparing to gather for a brawl.
All to determine who was superior.
As the saying went, there was no first in literature, no second in martial arts. Someone was bound to refuse to accept the result.
There was also news about the Bearman Mutant, occupying a tiny section of the paper. It should have counted as local news from Youping County.
The credit had fallen to Gao Li. Lu Xingshi had not claimed it for himself, but the Youping County Magistrate was involved too, which truly opened his eyes.
Looking closely, the article belittled Gao Li both openly and covertly, while making the Youping County Magistrate seem wise, valiant, and godlike by comparison.
He could see it now. This was someone stealing the credit.
They were only taking advantage of Gao Li's injuries and the fact that Que Mi Village had no Rumor Report. Otherwise, they would never have dared to do this.
"Have you read it? If not, you can have this copy." Lu Xingshi said.
To him, this Rumor Report was more like an intelligence tax. He had fallen for it once, and he certainly would not buy it again.
It was only good for fooling the bottom rung of the martial world.
"I have not read it yet. Then I shall not refuse such a gift." The old man was stunned, not expecting Lu Xingshi to say that.
Lu Xingshi stuffed the Rumor Report into the man's arms and said, "Take your time reading it. I still have things to do, so I'll be taking my leave first."
With that, he left directly. They had merely met by chance like duckweed drifting on water; why make things so troublesome?
Seeing how clean and decisive Lu Xingshi was, the old man could not help but smile. "Such temperament, such talent—extraordinary indeed."
His eyes rolled, and he suddenly had the urge to take Lu Xingshi as a disciple.
Naturally, he had seen through the arts Lu Xingshi cultivated. To have already cultivated the Qi Guiding Art, Breathing Exercise, and Primal Chaos Art to perfection at such a young age was simply a rare sight.
Those arts were indeed common goods found everywhere, but that did not mean they were truly easy to cultivate. Such arts were easy to learn but difficult to master, and their returns were low, which was why few people practiced them.
"Still, I must test him first. This boy truly suits my fancy." Lu Xingshi had exceeded his expectations time and again, but the old man did not feel displeased. Instead, he felt that Lu Xingshi possessed extraordinary talent.
As for his attitude, when one liked him, it was called neither servile nor overbearing.
When one disliked him, it naturally became ignorance of etiquette.
Though he had the thought of taking a disciple, he could not possibly speak of it at once. He had to observe Lu Xingshi first, then take him as a disciple at a suitable moment rather than abruptly jumping out.
After leaving, Lu Xingshi began considering whether he should buy some lightness skills next. It did not matter whether he could beat someone, but he absolutely had to be able to run away.
He found a bookstore and began browsing.
There were only a few lightness skills for sale, and they were all common goods. How could anything good possibly be sold here?
"Wrap up these three lightness skills for me." Lu Xingshi quickly made his selections.
"Water Surface Floating," "Grass Surface Flying," and "Vertical Leap Technique"—these three covered a fairly comprehensive range of lightness skills.
Three taels of silver vanished just like that. Lu Xingshi had wanted to buy a Fist and Foot Techniques manual as well, but when he saw that the cheapest started at five taels, the corner of his eye twitched.
Combat-oriented arts really were expensive.
Still, Fist and Foot Techniques also included some arts, movement techniques, and footwork. They were meant for battle, after all, so it was normal for them to cost more.
In the end, Lu Xingshi did not buy one. He truly could not afford it.
He only had this little money on him. Food and drink were not a concern, and besides, he did not want to invite trouble by encountering another incident like displaying his wealth in Floating Goose Town.
After casually flipping through them, he learned them immediately. Then the Game Villagers learned them as well and brought them to perfection.
"My movement speed has suddenly increased." Lu Xingshi was delighted. If he had possessed these three perfected lightness skills back then, not to exaggerate, his trip to Youping County could have been shortened by two-thirds.
That was only their passive increase. Actively using them would make him even faster, though active use consumed Inner Force.
"He learned them just like that? No, they reached perfection!!!" The old man watched Lu Xingshi enter the bookstore and buy three lightness skill manuals. After Lu Xingshi finished flipping through them, his speed suddenly surged by a great deal.
From the way he walked, there were indeed traces of Water Surface Floating, Grass Surface Flying, and Vertical Leap Technique.
After observing for a while longer, the old man confirmed that Lu Xingshi had truly reached perfection the moment he got his hands on them.
"What kind of aptitude is this..." he murmured softly.
He had seen geniuses before, but never one like this. Others at least had to cultivate for a while. Yet this fellow did not even need to cultivate; he went straight to perfection.
Lightness skills differed from internal arts. They were more like techniques, so most required bitter training. These three lightness skills truly belonged to the category of being easy to learn and easy to cultivate.
But that was not a reason for reaching perfection without cultivating them at all.
"I must test him again!" A glint appeared in the old man's eyes.
If Lu Xingshi's aptitude was truly so monstrous, then there was no need for any test. He would take him as a disciple directly. If Lu Xingshi refused, he would take the man away first and talk later.
Walking down the street, Lu Xingshi pondered where he should sleep that night.
An inn was out of the question. He truly had no money.
He only needed to find a place sheltered from the wind and endure the night.
Just as he was thinking, a child stopped him.
"Young hero." As the child spoke, he handed Lu Xingshi an oilcloth-wrapped bundle. "An old gentleman asked me to give this to you. He said it was repayment for your Rumor Report."
"Ah, this... all right. Please thank that old gentleman for me." Lu Xingshi looked around but did not see the man. Still, he accepted it and spoke.
The child left immediately after saying that. Lu Xingshi opened the bundle and saw a secret manual titled "Five Elements Art."
"This manual seems to have quite a different origin."
"In terms of quality, it can leave the Primal Chaos Art ten streets behind."
"So, have I run into one of those plots where a master plays among the mortal world?" Lu Xingshi was stunned. This time, it took him a full ten minutes before he learned the Five Elements Art.
Seeing this, Lu Xingshi understood one thing: it was time to start allocating points to his Three-Dimensional Attributes!
If he could learn it within five minutes, he could still accept it. Ten minutes meant that he himself could no longer keep up with the art's quality. He had to make changes.
After all, those who fell behind would be beaten.
"Ugh, it only has seven levels. It hasn't reached the ten-level perfection. I need to find a place and grind this art to perfection." Lu Xingshi sighed and muttered. The days of instantly reaching max level upon learning an art had left him. He found that truly hard to accept—he had only enjoyed the experience for such a short time before it expired.