Striding into the collection hall, Chen Xu could hardly miss the hidden meaning in the hunchbacked old man's words: "Just spend ten minutes picking. Once you're done, leave quickly."
But Chen Xu did not want just one Martial Arts manual. He wanted them all!
He pulled out a book from the edge of the wooden shelf, flipped through it, and as soon as the name of the Martial Arts appeared on the panel, immediately opened the next one.
There were eight Martial Arts manuals in total, and Chen Xu acquired them all in under four minutes.
His gaze swept the surroundings. Most of the items were antiques, calligraphy, and paintings, and Chen Jing had yet to show herself. That meant there was nothing else here worth his time.
"Mr. Chen, have you finished choosing?" The man's gaze fell on Chen Xu's hand, clearly wanting to see which Martial Arts manual he had selected.
Chen Xu casually displayed one of the books, then placed it into the backpack he had left by the door.
He had asked Old Wu for the backpack to carry the deep-blue ore. After all, he could not keep carrying around a rag bundle forever.
"This is your Refining Liquid. Please keep it safe." Uncle Zhuang took the gift box containing the Refining Liquid from an attendant and presented it with both hands.
Taking the gift box, Chen Xu naturally had no interest in returning to the reception room to sit around. He headed toward the red-lacquered gates, intending to leave.
"The master has returned!" someone shouted, and the entire residence immediately became far more lively.
Nie Hongmiao was over sixty, yet there was not a trace of age visible on his skin. The gold insignia on his dark-blue military uniform gleamed brilliantly.
"An Imperial Court official of the fifth rank or higher... his Martial Dao strength probably isn't to be underestimated." Chen Xu's gaze settled on Nie Hongmiao as he made his judgment.
But what did that have to do with him? All he wanted now was to make a haul of Psychic Energy at the Martial Pavilion in Peace Prefecture City.
He had heard that every Deputy Pavilion Master at the commandery level or above received a monthly Refining Liquid allowance from the upper Martial Pavilion. No matter how small the gain, it was still something.
Walking through the eastern district of Peace Prefecture City, Chen Xu clearly felt the gap between it and Jinning Commandery.
More precisely, Jinning Commandery was also part of Peace Prefecture City, an affiliated commandery of the prefectural city.
Generally speaking, prefectural cities were the highest rank among Great Abyss's ordinary cities. The core city of each of Great Abyss's thirteen prefectures was unquestionably the foremost city of that prefecture.
Cities ranked as capitals belonged to no prefecture. There were only three such strategic cities in all of Great Abyss.
Great Abyss's capital, Abyss Capital; Sea Capital, located independently overseas to guard against the Federation; and Culture Capital, which researched cutting-edge technology and gathered Great Abyss's finest talents.
As he walked, a display screen atop a building suddenly switched from advertisements to a news broadcast. The host wore a grave expression.
"We interrupt with an urgent news report: residents in the western district have discovered another female corpse in an alley.
"Initial assessments indicate that she had been dead for several hours. She may have suffered humiliation before her death. This is already the fifth vicious incident this week. We urge all citizens to minimize nighttime outings in the near future.
"The Martial Pavilion and the Military Department have jointly issued a statement. They will certainly apprehend the culprit within three days, bring the murderer to justice, and restore peace to the prefectural city."
The emergency broadcast immediately drew the attention of passersby. Upon hearing that another person had died, they could not help discussing it among themselves.
News that someone had been targeting lone pedestrians at night in Peace Prefecture City had spread long ago. What the common people found most incomprehensible was that, despite the city's formidable defenses, they had not even figured out what the killer looked like.
"Uncle Zuo, the murderer should be a Martial Dao expert." A somewhat youthful-looking underage girl looked at the middle-aged man beside her, who was around forty and dressed entirely in cheap street-market clothes.
Uncle Zuo did not answer. Instead, he asked, "Why do you think that?"
The corpses had all been censored, so he wanted to know how his Holy Maiden had reached that conclusion.
"I saw one of the dead women once when I came out alone. As far as I know, she was one of the coaches at the Great Abyss Women's Martial Arts Academy. I have an excellent memory. As long as I have some impression of someone, I can recognize them from their build and outline."
"Photographic memory?" Chen Xu's gaze fell on the girl. She was petite and not especially stunning at first glance, but the longer one looked at her, the more pleasing she became.
The middle-aged man beside her had slack muscles and looked no different from most ordinary people. Yet Chen Xu felt an inexplicable sense of oppression from him, as though what stood before him was not an ordinary middle-aged man, but a Ferocious Tier beast feigning sleep.
"No wonder this is Peace Prefecture City. Martial Artists who are rarely seen in Jinning Commandery show up not long after I arrive here." Chen Xu stroked his chin in thought, then stopped paying attention to the news and headed toward the Martial Pavilion.
Uncle Zuo noticed a furtive gaze sweep over him. When he looked over, it had already vanished into the bustling crowd.
He lightly patted Xu Qing's shoulder. "All right, it's time for us to go back."
This child's talent was not particularly exceptional, but he had always seen her diligence. As long as she kept it up, under the guidance of a [Martial Momentum] expert like him, reaching the [Martial Form] level within three years would not be difficult.
After entering the [Martial Form] level, with the full support of the Wheel-turning Holy Church, reaching [Martial Momentum] before the age of forty was by no means an impossible dream.
A [Martial Momentum] expert in her thirties could absolutely be called a genius in the Martial Dao World.
If a [Martial Momentum] expert had no hidden injuries and suffered no disasters, their lifespan could reach one hundred and fifty years. She might one day have a chance to glimpse that legendary realm. After all, fewer than a hundred people in today's Martial Dao World had stepped into that realm. They were extraordinary figures standing at the pinnacle of Martial Dao.
Peace Prefecture City Martial Pavilion.
The fifty-story pavilion towered over the most prosperous district of Peace Prefecture City. It had consumed immense manpower and resources and taken nearly four years to complete.
The first thirty floors were open to visitors and the public, while only Martial Pavilion personnel could enter the remaining twenty floors.
After presenting his Martial Pavilion identification, Chen Xu was escorted into a VIP room to await the chief manager of the Peace Prefecture City Martial Pavilion, who would personally receive him.
A Deputy Pavilion Master from a commandery city was not qualified to be greeted by a Deputy Pavilion Master from a prefectural city. Normally, a Martial Pavilion chief manager of the same rank handled the reception.
Less than two minutes later, hurried footsteps sounded outside the door.
"Deputy Pavilion Master Chen, I've heard much about you. My surname is Sha—just call me Manager Sha."
Manager Sha had a beer belly and a broad smile.
Anyone who could hold a management position in the Martial Pavilion had to possess Martial Dao cultivation. Chen Xu estimated that Manager Sha had probably not trained in Martial Dao for a very long time. Could he even retain a tenth of his former strength now?
"Manager Sha, my main reason for coming here is the matter of Qianshui Commandery. Secondly..."
Seeing his expression, how could Manager Sha, who had occupied the chief manager's position for more than a decade, fail to understand? "I'll have someone fetch it immediately—the Imperial Court's reward for newly appointed Martial Pavilion Deputy Pavilion Masters.
"As for the matter of Qianshui Commandery, Deputy Pavilion Master Chen, please do not worry. The moment we received the news, Deputy Pavilion Master Yue was dispatched to oversee the situation. Calculating the time, barring any accidents, he should be arriving in Qianshui Commandery shortly.
"Does Deputy Pavilion Master Chen have any other important matters? If not, I'll host a dinner tonight. I hope Deputy Pavilion Master Chen will honor me with your presence."
If you can't find a book by searching its title, try searching for the author instead. It may simply have been renamed!
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