Sunset Clouds

"After half a month, I've finally paid off the debt for the Water-Cutting Saber Art."

Li Feng let out a slow breath.

Over the past half a month, aside from reporting for duty at the City Guard Office, he had spent his time off practicing bitterly in the courtyard without fail. Thanks to the ample supply of meat for nourishment, he could practice the Water-Cutting Saber Art three times every day, and today he finally paid off the debt for the technique completely.

With a thought, Li Feng summoned the Heavenly Dao Advance Panel once more, and sure enough, the panel had changed:

[Heavenly Dao Advance Panel]

[Advanced Item 1: Archery Mastery (100% completed)]

[Advanced Item 2: "Water-Cutting Saber Art" Consummation (Completed: 100%)]

[Current Available Advances: 1]

[Current Realm: Qi-Blood First Stage]

The debt for the Water-Cutting Saber Art was fully paid off, and the number of available advances had returned to 1.

I wonder if there are any higher realms beyond Consummation?

A flash of inspiration struck Li Feng's mind as he pondered whether he could advance the Water-Cutting Saber Art once again. Perhaps he could advance it into the River-Cutting Saber Art or the Sea-Cutting Saber Art. If so, he would no longer have to worry about martial arts techniques.

"Water-Cutting Saber Art, advance!"

Li Feng attempted to advance the Water-Cutting Saber Art through the Heavenly Dao panel once more. Unfortunately, after a long while, there was still no reaction at all. This indicated that the limit the Heavenly Dao Advance Panel could reach was the absolute limit of what this martial art could achieve; it could not forge a breakthrough out of thin air to evolve into a brand-new technique.

With saber art at Consummation and the birth of Blade Force, is this already the end?

Li Feng furrowed his brow slightly.

Once his saber art stepped into Consummation, he had automatically comprehended Blade Force.

Though he was unclear whether there were higher realms above Blade Force, he had previously heard his sister-in-law mention that presences stronger than Blade Force did indeed exist-he simply couldn't forcefully elevate himself through further advances of the Water-Cutting Saber Art.

Perhaps the Water-Cutting Saber Art was simply too ordinary a technique, its tier restricted to this level. If he wished to step into a higher echelon, he could only seek out deeper, more profound saber manuals for cultivation.

"Since that's the case..."

Li Feng calculated within his heart.

Perhaps he could go to a pawnshop and ask whether they possessed higher-tier saber manuals.

Additionally, he also wanted to understand matters concerning "internal training methods". If he could purchase an internal training method, he could instantly advance it to Consummation and step into the Qi-Blood Second Level realm.

The Regular Constables of the City Guard Office were all at this realm, and they should all practice an internal training method as well.

Earlier, he had looted sixty taels from corpses, and later Butcher Hu's family had returned twenty taels. However, because he had been purchasing a large amount of meat during this period, his silver was consumed quickly; he still had sixty-five taels left on his person, which gave him a bit of confidence.

Having made up his mind, Li Feng faded the panel from view.

When his shift ended that day, Li Feng changed into casual clothes and headed for the central-most district. Located there was the largest pawnshop in the outer city: the Wang Family Pawnshop.

As far as he knew, the Wang family was a prominent lineage in the inner city, possessing considerable strength even there. This Wang Family Pawnshop was a branch opened by the inner city's main establishment, and even as a branch, it was the largest pawnshop in the outer city.

Besides the daily pawning of jewelry or other valuables, this pawnshop also frequently sold martial arts manuals and technique booklets to the outside.

Because the central district was somewhat far from the City Guard Office, Li Feng walked for a long time before arriving.

"Well now, customer, are you here to pawn items for cash, or are you looking to hunt down some wares?"

Just as he stepped across the pawnshop's threshold, the shopkeeper seated behind the counter stood up, smiling warmly as he cupped his hands in greeting toward Li Feng.

Li Feng stepped forward, arriving before the counter, and spoke with a calm expression: "Shopkeeper, I'm looking to pick up some items. Do you happen to have any internal training methods here?"

Hearing this, the smile on the shopkeeper's face grew even warmer. He looked Li Feng up and down, and said courteously:

"Customer, internal training methods have always been rare commodities. Looking across all of Blackrock City, they are extremely scarce treasures. However, you've truly come to the right place today, customer-this shop happens to house a few."

"Please take a seat and rest for a moment, customer. Zhu Zi! Hurry up and come out to serve this customer a bowl of good tea."

"Coming!"

An answer rang out immediately from the back hall, and shortly after, a young fellow hurried out, handed Li Feng a bowl of hot tea, and then retreated back inside.

Li Feng picked up the tea bowl, took a gentle sip, and quietly waited.

Seeing that he was poised and leisurely, the shopkeeper's attitude grew somewhat more polite as he continued: "It's just that I don't know which kind of internal training method you are referring to, customer?"

"Oh? Could it be that there are several types of internal training methods?"

Li Feng felt somewhat perplexed.

At this point, he no longer cared about being treated as a clueless novice by the shopkeeper; after all, he truly was a clueless novice, and since the shopkeeper didn't recognize him, asking some idiotic, common-sense questions was entirely reasonable.

Hearing this, the shopkeeper smiled and said, "As for internal training methods, they are mainly divided into two kinds: body-tempering methods and internal breath methods. As for internal breath methods-let alone a small shop like mine, you probably couldn't buy one even if you went to the inner city. Therefore, the "internal training methods" generally circulated among the common folk refer to body-tempering methods."

"So that's how it is."

Li Feng listened with sudden realization, signaling for the shopkeeper to continue.

Perhaps because he was in a good mood today, the shopkeeper didn't mind wasting a few extra words, and continued explaining to Li Feng: "As for this body-tempering method, it starts with Skin Grinding, moves to Flesh Training, and then Sinew Training and bone training, progressing step by step into the depths. Commonly known as first grind skin, second train flesh, third train sinews, and fourth train bones."

"Each stage involves different tempering methods, and as for the prices, naturally they differ from one another as well."

Hearing this, Li Feng fell into deep thought.

He had originally thought that internal training methods were like the internal cultivation mental techniques found in martial arts novels, but now it seemed they were not. Internal training was divided into training the outer body and training the internal breath, each with different methods, simply collectively referred to as internal training methods.

That was fine too; he couldn't afford anything too expensive anyway, so he might as well start practicing with the most basic Skin Grinding. He just wondered if his current money was enough to buy the most basic Skin Grinding method.

Li Feng asked, "Do you have any skin-polishing methods here?"

The shopkeeper smiled slightly and said, "If the customer were to ask for an internal breath method, the shop naturally wouldn't have any, but we happen to have three methods for the most basic Body Tempering and skin grinding. The cheapest one, the "Iron Sand Skin-Grinding Method", only costs one hundred and thirty taels of silver."

"Pfft!"

Li Feng couldn't help but spit out his tea. He had thought that gathering sixty taels through risking his life made him a wealthy man, only to find out that it wasn't even enough for half of the most basic Skin-Grinding Method.

If the most basic skin-grinding method required one hundred and thirty taels, then the Flesh Training, Sinew Training, and bone training above it must undoubtedly require astronomical sums beyond ordinary imagination. The silver required to practice martial arts was truly exaggerated beyond measure.

"Cough, cough..."

Li Feng gave a couple of light coughs to cover up his previous awkwardness, and with an expressionless face, he said, "Let's put the internal training method aside for now. Since I'm already here, shopkeeper, why don't you bring out some external cultivation mental techniques and let me broaden my horizons?"

The shopkeeper didn't mind, still smiling as he turned and produced a few more booklets.

"Techniques for sabers, swords, fists, and kicks-we have plenty of those here. These ordinary saber manuals generally can be yours for a few dozen taels."

Li Feng casually flipped through a few saber arts while his mind spun rapidly.

Right now, he only had sixty taels on hand, so he definitely couldn't afford an internal training method. However, he could afford to buy multiple different external cultivation saber arts.

If he bought multiple external cultivation mental techniques and utilized the Heavenly Dao Advance Panel to cultivate all of them to Consummation, would the panel undergo an unknown change and fuse them all into one, achieving a realm more formidable than Blade Force?

This idea was extremely enticing, and it wasn't entirely impossible.

However...

Li Feng pondered for a long time, and ultimately chose to give up.

The reason was very simple: he couldn't afford to gamble.

Whether the panel actually possessed a fusion function was entirely his own conjecture.

What if he bought them back, advanced them to Consummation, and nothing changed at all? Wouldn't he have turned into a complete fool then?

Instead, it was better to save his silver for now and wait until he had accumulated enough to buy an internal training method.

"Let's leave it at this for today."

Li Feng took a deep breath, suppressing the restlessness in his heart, turned around, and left the pawnshop.

Pushing open his courtyard gate, the setting sun was slowly sinking into the distant city wall.

The courtyard was quiet and still. Lin Yanqiu was draped in a thin outer garment, standing in the courtyard, her head raised as she gazed blankly at the touch of sunset clouds on the horizon.

Just a few days prior, her external injuries had basically healed, so she had returned home, living right next door to Li Feng.

The evening breeze gently fluttered the stray hairs at her temples. She was so lost in thought that she didn't even notice the commotion of Li Feng pushing the door open...

A sense of bitterness welled up unbidden in Li Feng's heart. He took a deep breath and called out softly, "Sister-in-law, the wind outside is strong. Why are you standing alone in the courtyard daydreaming?"

Hearing his voice, Lin Yanqiu's body gave a violent tremor, snapping back to her senses as if waking from a dream.

She turned her head, instinctively shifting her body slightly to the side to hide her right hand behind her. The desolation on her face had completely vanished, replaced once again by a gentle smile:

"Xiao Feng is back? Just now I was thinking about my past days on duty and got lost in thought for a moment. How did your inquiries go at the pawnshop? Is there any prospect of finding an internal training method?"

"The cheapest one, the "Iron Sand Skin-Grinding Method", still requires one hundred and thirty taels." Li Feng walked forward and replied.

Hearing this exorbitant price, Lin Yanqiu didn't show any astonishment. Instead, she comforted him in soft, gentle tones:

"Although one hundred and thirty taels is a bit much, it's not impossible to scrape together. My bereavement pension has also been issued, totaling fifty taels-take it. Combine it with what you have on hand, and save up a bit more for the rest; you'll be able to afford it eventually."

"The doctor said that due to the severity of my prior internal injuries, even if my right hand heals, I won't be able to practice martial arts ever again. I might as well treat the rest of my life as retiring early to enjoy some peace and comfort. In the future, I'll be relying entirely on you, our future chief constable, to support me."

Li Feng didn't speak. He simply stared quietly at Lin Yanqiu, his chest feeling as though it had been blocked by something.

He knew that his sister-in-law had formerly been a chief constable in the City Guard Office, and possessed the pride of a martial artist deep in her bones. How could she possibly be willing to become an ordinary person?

On the surface, she pretended not to care at all, and even uttered words like "enjoying peace and comfort" to console him-all so he wouldn't blame himself over his inability to heal her injuries.

"Sister-in-law," Li Feng said suddenly.

"What is it?" Lin Yanqiu looked at him in puzzlement.

Li Feng met her eyes, his gaze unprecedentedly earnest: "I'll accept these fifty taels for now, treating it as a loan from you. But rest assured, no matter how much silver it takes, I will definitely find a way to heal your right hand."

Lin Yanqiu froze slightly.

A moment later, she lowered her eyelids, avoiding Li Feng's burning gaze, and spoke softly, "Alright... Sister-in-law believes you."

Though she had agreed with her lips, Li Feng could tell that she merely regarded his words as grandiose, youthful bravado.

Li Feng didn't continue to argue. He simply made a silent vow deep in his heart.

He would definitely save up five hundred taels and buy the Black Jade Bone-Molding Paste.