Although Su Shi'er had not seen much of the world, he was no fool. No matter how brilliantly Zhu Hanwei embellished his words, Su Shi'er merely smiled without speaking.
Only after Zhu Hanwei finished did he say, "I don't know whether these two secret manuals are any good, but they are ultimately for martial artists to cultivate."
"They should not be worth much to immortals, should they?"
The corner of Zhu Hanwei's mouth twitched, and he gave an awkward smile. "I can't say they're completely useless. At least in the early stages, they can still increase one's strength somewhat."
He knew perfectly well that, in the eyes of immortals, such martial arts manuals were not merely worthless—they were not even held in much regard.
Otherwise, he would have sold them long ago.
All this talk was nothing more than an attempt to drive up the price.
"How many Foundation Cultivation Pills do you intend to trade these three books for?" Su Shi'er did not argue with him and asked directly.
"Eight... no, six!" Zhu Hanwei blurted out, then hastily changed his words when he saw Su Shi'er's expression darken.
"Three. If you want them, we trade now." Su Shi'er stared at him twice, set down the three books, and did not spare them another glance.
As far as Su Shi'er was concerned, he could have as many Foundation Cultivation Pills as he wanted.
But he had no intention of doing good deeds. Such a secret could only rot in his own belly.
"Huh? Only three? That's far too little! At least five!" Zhu Hanwei opened his mouth wide, pulling a long face as though he had suffered an enormous loss.
Before his words had even faded, Su Shi'er turned to leave. Zhu Hanwei hurriedly shouted, "Four! Martial Brother, at least give me four!"
"Fine!" This time, Su Shi'er did not insist further.
He did not care in the least where Zhu Hanwei had gotten these books.
To him, as long as they could broaden his knowledge and increase his strength, spending a few Foundation Cultivation Pills was entirely worthwhile.
Very soon, Su Shi'er traded four high-grade Foundation Cultivation Pills for the three books, then exchanged two more for two hundred and forty taels of silver. Afterward, he parted ways with Zhu Hanwei and continued toward the Waste Pill Room.
Zhu Hanwei watched Su Shi'er's departing back and smiled until his eyes narrowed into slits.
"I never thought a few books casually picked up could actually be worth so much."
"With these high-grade Foundation Cultivation Pills, my chances of awakening a Spiritual Root have increased by several more points."
Grinning broadly, he hurriedly put away his things and ran toward his residence.
Waste Pill Room.
As soon as Su Shi'er returned, he began practicing according to the contents of the two martial arts manuals.
These two martial arts were not particularly exquisite, but the methods of exerting force and the combat techniques they contained greatly broadened his horizons.
Compared to that, his former self could only be said to possess a body full of brute strength.
For that reason, he had even specially made several wooden dummies in the courtyard.
In just seven short days, he had mastered both martial arts.
In the courtyard, Su Shi'er stepped on Illusory Step, his body moving with incomparable agility. He drifted and darted with graceful liveliness, impossible to pin down.
From time to time, he swung out his fists and palms, striking one wooden dummy after another.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
When his fists and palms landed, they shed all that graceful agility. Instead, they opened and closed with sweeping force, their power fierce and unyielding.
The wooden dummies shattered at the sound.
Just as another palm was about to strike a wooden dummy, Su Shi'er suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
His hands moved, and the True Yuan within his body surged along with them.
The instant he launched his move, a fist-sized fireball appeared in his palm.
The fireball radiated scorching heat. Before it could be launched, he pressed it into the wooden dummy with a palm strike.
Whoosh—
The next instant, a column of flame shot into the sky. Beneath those flames, the wooden dummy was burned directly to ashes.
Feeling that he had consumed less than one-tenth of his True Yuan, Su Shi'er immediately revealed a delighted expression.
"It actually works?!"
"With this, if I face those Low-Tier Demonic Beasts again, even without traps, I can easily kill them!"
"Since the Fire Control Technique can be combined with these martial arts, what about the Wind Calling Technique?"
His eyes rolled, and Su Shi'er immediately stepped on Illusory Step and charged toward the farthest wooden dummy.
"Wind Calling!"
The instant he raised his leg, a fierce gust blew from behind him.
His body glided through the air for a while. The moment he landed, he directly leaped over the farthest wooden dummy.
"The wind is too strong, but the idea works!"
Su Shi'er beamed as though he had discovered a new continent, and continued practicing with great enthusiasm.
In the blink of an eye, it was time for his appointment with the Pill Pavilion's menial disciple.
That afternoon, two figures appeared halfway up Cuihuan Mountain, where the Waste Pill Room was located.
One of them had a face full of bulging flesh. He was the Pill Pavilion's menial disciple.
The other was a young man of about fifteen or sixteen, handsome and dignified in appearance.
A long sword rested on his back, giving him a somewhat dashing air.
"I really don't know how you've cultivated all these years. You actually couldn't even defeat a disciple who had only entered the sect half a year ago." The Sword-Bearing Youth curled his lips and spoke irritably.
The menial disciple followed at the youth's side, docile as a little chick.
"This really can't be blamed on me! I never expected that brat to be a Qi Refiner, and he attacked the moment we disagreed!"
"I told him that bottle of High-Grade Spirit Pills had been reserved for you, Martial Brother, but he still snatched it away!" The menial disciple wore a mournful face, stirring up trouble the moment he opened his mouth.
"Hmph! I want to see where a newcomer gets the nerve to steal my things!" The Sword-Bearing Youth snorted coldly and glared viciously at the menial disciple.
"But the item was lost from your hands. Shouldn't you give me an explanation as well?!"
The menial disciple shrank his neck and gave an awkward smile. "Rest assured, Martial Brother. Of course I'll take responsibility for this."
"These two Level One Escape Light Talismans took me great effort to gather."
As he spoke, the menial disciple took out two earth-yellow talismans from his robes with a pained expression. They were three inches long and one inch wide.
When the Sword-Bearing Youth saw them, he snatched the talismans away. Only then did he grin, his gaze falling upon the mountain as he quickened his pace.
Very soon, the two arrived outside the Waste Pill Room.
"Martial Brother, I'll knock!"
Seeing the tightly shut door, the menial disciple's eyes lit up. As he spoke, he moved to knock on it.
"Knock? Hmph, no need!"
The Sword-Bearing Youth snorted coldly. A chill flashed through his eyes, and a fist-sized fireball appeared in his hand.
Whoosh!
The fireball tore through the air and exploded against the gate.
Inside the courtyard, Su Shi'er had been reading. The moment he heard footsteps outside, he had already become wary.
But before he could react, the courtyard gate vanished amid the firelight.
Then, two figures walked in.
"You? It seems... you intend to go back on your word?" Su Shi'er raised a brow, his gaze sweeping over the menial disciple before settling on the Sword-Bearing Youth beside him.
Such dense spiritual energy. Qi Refining Stage Level Two?!
The moment he saw the man, Su Shi'er was startled inwardly.
As long as cultivators did not deliberately conceal their aura, their cultivation could generally be seen. Of course, when the gap between realms was too great, those at lower realms could not possibly discern the cultivation of those above them. Conversely, higher-realm cultivators could see through lower-realm cultivators at a glance unless they possessed a special method for concealing their aura.
Before you continue