Thirteen Sword Strikes of Life-Taking

At noon.

Inside the house.

"Phew..."

Xu Qing slowly concluded his practice and exhaled a breath of stale air. After training for an entire morning, roughly five hours, Eight Extremities Fist had gained twenty-five experience points.

Eight Extremities Fist LV6: 40/320.

"Hmm."

Xu Qing pondered. "At my current pace, I can continuously practice Eight Extremities Fist at home during the day for roughly eight to ten hours, gaining forty to fifty experience points."

"At night."

"I can practice the Serpent Evasion Technique and Azure Hawk Claw Force."

"That way."

"Eight Extremities Fist should level up again in around six or seven days."

At noon.

Xu Qing took out another piece of Tai Sui Spirit Meat and continued cooking it by pan-frying it. Once it was thirty percent done, he swallowed it.

Besides that.

Xu Qing took the opportunity to inspect the gift Zhao Jingyuan had sent. Opening the small sandalwood box, he found five small gold bars resting quietly inside.

One had to know.

In the Great Zhou Martial Kingdom, gold was far more valuable than silver. One tael of gold had purchasing power equal to one hundred taels of silver, and each of the five small gold bars weighed one tael.

Five small gold bars amounted to five taels.

Equivalent to five hundred taels of silver.

It truly was a generous gift.

Besides that.

Adding Yu Hu's apprenticeship fee and the gift Ye Langtian had sent.

Altogether.

The silver in Xu Qing's possession had already reached two thousand taels.

For Xu Qing, this counted as an enormous fortune.

Time flew by.

At dusk.

Xu Qing left his residence and headed to the Azure Hawk Martial Arts School. After arriving, he went directly toward the inner courtyard. As he passed through the outer courtyard—

"Senior Brother Xu."

"Greetings, Senior Brother Xu."

"Senior Brother Xu, you've come."

"..."

Quite a few students wore ingratiating smiles.

"Mm."

Xu Qing merely nodded faintly.

"Senior Brother Xu truly has a broad mind. He really did come from a poor background, unlike those other senior brothers. When we greet them, they act as though they never saw us."

"Exactly! Exactly!"

"When I think about how I disparaged Senior Brother Xu yesterday, while he repaid resentment with kindness—not only holding no grudge, but being so magnanimous—I admire him from the bottom of my heart."

"Isn't that so?"

"I heard that Senior Brother Xu used to be a beggar, yet he completely changed his fate through martial arts. Compared to Senior Brother Xu, we need to work even harder."

All around him.

Quite a few students began to admire Xu Qing.

Indeed.

Such was the human heart.

In his previous life, Xu Qing had started from nothing and climbed step by step until he became a well-known wealthy man in the city. That alone was enough to show his depth and methods.

When it came to winning people's hearts.

Xu Qing was quite skilled at it.

Among these things.

The most important was establishing a positive image of himself.

The other was possessing genuine strength.

In the inner courtyard.

Xu Qing met Instructor Dan. Under Instructor Dan's introduction, Xu Qing first arrived at the Martial Arts Pavilion, intending to select a sword technique here.

First floor of the Martial Arts Pavilion.

"Token."

An elderly man sat in a reclining chair at the entrance with his eyes closed in quiet repose. Sensing Xu Qing's arrival, he stopped him and spoke indifferently.

"Old Man Xu."

Xu Qing clasped his hands in greeting. From Instructor Dan, he had already learned that Old Man Xiao, who guarded the warehouse in the outer courtyard, and Old Man Xu before him, who guarded the Martial Arts Pavilion—

Though the two old men were advanced in years, each was an expert at Transformation Force or above, holding extremely high status within the Azure Hawk Martial Arts School.

Clearly.

This was also part of the Azure Hawk Martial Arts School's foundation.

"Yes."

Xu Qing took out his token.

"Mm."

Old Man Xu nodded. "Go in."

"Thank you, Old Man Xu."

Xu Qing bowed again and entered the first floor of the Martial Arts Pavilion. Row upon row of bookshelves stood within, each marked with labels: fist techniques, leg techniques, movement techniques, sword techniques, saber techniques...

There were countless of them.

After looking around.

Xu Qing walked to the shelf of sword techniques and began picking up the manuals. Yet he discovered that these books could not be recorded by the Omni-Codex.

The reason was simple.

These manuals did not belong to Xu Qing.

"What a pity."

Xu Qing shook his head. "Forget it. With martial arts, trying to swallow too much will only leave one unable to digest it. Although I have the Omni-Codex to help me, my time each day is limited. I should first master one martial art before considering anything else."

Therefore.

After carefully selecting.

Xu Qing settled on a fairly good sword technique.

Its name was: Thirteen Sword Strikes of Life-Taking.

"This is the one."

Xu Qing nodded in satisfaction.

Thirteen Sword Strikes of Life-Taking.

It emphasized speed, precision, and ruthlessness. Every strike contained an incomparably fierce and baleful aura, embodying a sword technique of death and destruction.

At the entrance.

Xu Qing emerged holding Thirteen Sword Strikes of Life-Taking.

"Oh."

Old Man Xu raised an eyebrow, glanced at Xu Qing, and said, "Boy, you have good taste. You actually chose this sword technique."

"Old Man Xu, how many taels of silver does it cost?"

Xu Qing asked.

"One thousand taels."

Old Man Xu replied.

"What?"

Xu Qing's eyes widened. "That expensive?"

"Expensive? It's not bad."

Old Man Xu smiled. "That is because the headmaster has already accepted you as a formal disciple. If it were other registered disciples or the like, it would cost two thousand taels of silver."

"Besides."

"After learning this sword technique, you may only study it yourself. You may not teach it to anyone else."

"There is one more thing."

"Among the five instructors in the Azure Hawk Martial Arts School's inner courtyard, none of them know Thirteen Sword Strikes of Life-Taking, because this sword technique is exceedingly difficult to practice."

"One could say."

"Even if you have the hope of entering the Aura Realm in the future, this sword technique would still be worthy of you."

"Phew..."

Xu Qing drew a deep breath, nodded, and said, "Going by what you've said, Old Man Xu, this sword technique truly isn't expensive."

Thus.

Xu Qing took out the one-thousand-tael banknote Yu Chen had given him that morning.

"Old Man Xu, this is a one-thousand-tael banknote."

Xu Qing said.

"Mm."

Old Man Xu nodded with satisfaction. He reached out and took Xu Qing's original copy, then made a duplicate copy for him and handed it over. "Young man, you're welcome to come again next time."

"..."

Xu Qing was somewhat speechless as he looked at the Martial Arts Pavilion. It was practically a gold-devouring den. He had entered only once, yet spent a full thousand taels of silver.

"A word of warning."

Old Man Xu continued, "Once you have learned Thirteen Sword Strikes of Life-Taking, remember to destroy the duplicate copy. Do not attempt to challenge the Azure Hawk Martial Arts School's rules either, or bear the consequences yourself."

"Yes."

Xu Qing nodded respectfully.

Next.

Xu Qing went to the Resource Hall, where he met Old Man Wang. This Old Man Wang was also a powerhouse above Transformation Force, his status equal to Old Man Xiao's and Old Man Xu's.

If one had to put it another way.

Old Man Xiao, Old Man Xu, and Old Man Wang were like elders of the Azure Hawk Martial Arts School.

Zhang He and Instructor Dan were the martial arts school's instructors.

Xu Qing, Huo Yi, and Ye Langtian were the martial arts school's disciples.

Spirit Essence Powder.

One of the Azure Hawk Martial Arts School's Secret Medicines. It could temper the muscles and bones, heal internal injuries, and even had a slight effect of cleansing the tendons and marrow. It cost five hundred taels of silver per dose.

One dose of Secret Medicine could be used for three days.

This showed.

Just how expensive Secret Medicine was.

Practicing martial arts cost far too much money.

"Phew..."

Xu Qing drew a deep breath and bought one dose of Spirit Essence Powder.

Afterward.

Xu Qing went to the Weapon Hall and spent ten taels of silver on a fairly well-forged Fine Iron Sword, much better than the iron sword he had obtained at the very beginning.

"Time to go back."

Having handled everything, Xu Qing returned to his residence.

Inside the room.

"Record."

Xu Qing's gaze fell upon the duplicate copy of Thirteen Sword Strikes of Life-Taking. With a thought, a fluorescent gleam flashed through the Omni-Codex in his mind.

At the same time.

A white light also flashed over the duplicate copy of Thirteen Sword Strikes of Life-Taking.

Recording complete.

Thirteen Sword Strikes of Life-Taking Level 1: 0/30 (This is an exceptionally exquisite sword technique. There are thirteen strikes in total, and each strike contains one hundred and eight variations. It emphasizes speed, precision, and ruthlessness. Every strike contains an incomparably fierce and baleful aura, embodying a sword technique of death and destruction.)

Buzz! Buzz!

The next moment.

Xu Qing felt as though the diagrams and text in the duplicate copy in his hands had come alive. They transformed into countless tiny figures and poured into his mind through his eyes.

Boom!

In an instant.

Xu Qing's mind shook, and his consciousness seemed to enter a mysterious space. Within that mysterious space, he began practicing one sword move after another.

At this moment.

He could not feel the passage of time.

Buzz!

Only when Xu Qing opened his eyes.

Clang!

Faintly.

The iron sword on Xu Qing's back gave off ringing sword cries, as though it were celebrating something. The Fine Iron Sword showed no reaction at all.

"Thirteen Sword Strikes of Life-Taking."

Clang! Clang! Clang!!!

Xu Qing gave a low shout and swept his right hand out. He did not draw the Iron Sword LV10, but instead pulled out the Fine Iron Sword he had prepared beforehand.

Thus,

Xu Qing began practicing the Thirteen Sword Strikes of Life-Taking inside the room. Sword light flashed in waves, cold gleams and sword shadows intertwining as Xu Qing executed move after move.

"Whew..."

At last,

Half an hour later,

Xu Qing exhaled a breath of stale air. Only then had he finished practicing the Thirteen Sword Strikes of Life-Taking. Practicing a single sword art had actually taken half an hour.

Experience +1

"This Thirteen Sword Strikes of Life-Taking should be the most exquisite martial art I've encountered so far. Though it is merely a sword art, it contains the methods of circulating bright force, dark force, and even force transformation and beyond."

Xu Qing pondered. "Some of the later sword moves can only be performed after reaching force transformation or above. If used by force, not only will their power be lacking, but the body may also be damaged."

"Of course."

"A sword art is ultimately just a sword art—a refined method of fighting, not a method of cultivation. Therefore, one cannot cultivate bright force, dark force, force transformation, and so on through practicing the Thirteen Sword Strikes of Life-Taking..."

"Record."

Xu Qing glanced at the Fine Iron Sword in his hand.

With a thought,

Buzz!

The Omni-Codex flashed with fluorescent light.

Recording complete.

Fine Iron Sword Level 1: 0/15 (An ordinary fine iron sword forged by a blacksmith.)

Likewise,

The Fine Iron Sword gained experience through swinging it.

Each swing added one point.

However,

Xu Qing had no intention of upgrading the Fine Iron Sword. He would need an ordinary iron sword to practice the Thirteen Sword Strikes of Life-Taking in the future. If he upgraded the Fine Iron Sword as well,

Then,

When a level-ten treasured sword left its sheath, after Xu Qing practiced the Thirteen Sword Strikes of Life-Taking once, the entire room would be torn apart.