He Hadn't Sold Me His Family's Secret Arts, Had He?

Pain truly was no problem for Zhao Er. Whether it was the Poison Sand Palm before or the Five Poisons Returning to Origin Body afterward, the pain of cultivating them was more than ordinary people could bear, yet he had gritted his teeth and endured it all.

"As for this one..."

The old man looked at the Eight Methods of the Classic Twin Halberds beside him and continued his introduction:

"This is a twin-halberd art. Although it contains only the most basic moves, it has tremendous room for development, balances offense and defense, and works with both light and heavy halberds. It does, however, take a certain amount of talent to cultivate an art like this."

The Dian family? Could this world have a Dian Wei too?

The moment Zhao Er heard about the Dian family's twin halberds, Dian Wei was the first person who came to mind. He did not voice the thought, though. It was only a name, after all, and this halberd art was still just a basic cultivation manual.

Thinking it over, this twin-halberd art might genuinely be a good manual. The battle records of Dian Wei in Zhao Er's memory alone were enough to suggest that.

Of course... Dian Wei had been born with boundless strength. But if Zhao Er could cultivate the Nine-Turn Golden Armor Art, he might also reach the point of being invincible on foot.

As for talent? With the Settlement Panel, Zhao Er could cultivate even the most difficult arts far faster than ordinary people. Did that count as talent?

"How much?"

That was still what concerned Zhao Er most.

The Nine-Turn Golden Armor Art did not sound like an ordinary cultivation art. Why it was being sold in the Martial Pavilion was none of his business.

As for the Eight Methods of the Classic Twin Halberds, basic martial arts like that should all cost about the same. It could not be too expensive.

"The Nine-Turn Golden Armor Art is sixty taels, and the Eight Methods of the Classic Twin Halberds is ten. Since you have a token, fifty taels for both will do."

The old man held up five fingers in front of Zhao Er, wearing the air of an honest merchant who would cheat neither child nor elder.

"Sixty taels for the Nine-Turn Golden Armor Art?"

Zhao Er was a little startled—not because it was too expensive, but because it was too cheap.

Especially since this was a body-tempering art. If it really was as powerful as the old man claimed, sixty taels was absurdly cheap. He even began to wonder whether the old man was lying, leaving him hesitant about buying it.

"Yes, sixty taels, because only the first three turns of this art are for sale."

Knowing what Zhao Er was thinking, the old man explained with a smile.

"I see. Then the rest of this art..."

This time, Zhao Er no longer thought the old man was lying. If it contained only the first three turns, the price was perfectly reasonable. But what concerned him more was the rest of the art.

If only the first three levels were available, its value would drop far too much.

"County Town is nothing but a little fishpond. It cannot raise a flood dragon. Haven't you noticed? The manuals circulating here cover, at most, the first three realms. It isn't because manuals for the fourth realm and beyond don't exist, but because County Town can hardly nurture martial artists of the fourth realm or higher."

The old man looked at Zhao Er and gave him that answer.

After hearing this and thinking it over, Zhao Er realized it did seem to be true. Both the Five Poisons Art and the Ginseng Spirit Art he had encountered contained cultivation methods only up to the third martial realm.

He had originally thought this was because the arts were low-grade. Now, it seemed that was not the whole reason.

"Don't balk at buying them just because they're expensive. You're a rogue cultivator, so you probably don't know about the Twelfth-Month Grand Examination. The top three in County Town's examination can earn admission to the Prefecture Martial Academy or the Clear Source Sect.

"For you and all the other martial artists in County Town, this examination is a chance for a fish to leap through the Dragon Gate."

"There's still almost half a year until the examination. The town's lineages, martial schools, gangs, and merchants' guilds are all pouring their reserves into training disciples. If you're unwilling to spend now, you'll have to wait three years for the next examination."

"On the martial path, every moment counts..."

Perhaps the old man feared Zhao Er would be unwilling to pay for the manuals, or perhaps he thought Zhao Er was sensible enough. Either way, he told him about the examination outright, trying to spur him on.

"So that's why!"

Hearing this, Zhao Er immediately thought of Zhao Cai's willingness to spend a fortune training Tiger, as well as why the gang's protection fees had risen by twenty percent this year. Perhaps all of it was connected to this so-called grand examination.

"I only have forty-five taels here. Could I just buy the Nine-Turn Golden Armor Art?"

Zhao Er had intended to buy a manual anyway. Now that he had learned this, there was even less chance of him giving up.

Today, he had bought deer hides and antlers for a total of thirty-one taels and five mace of silver, and sold three Golden Silk Nets for fifteen taels. Adding the five taels he had brought with him, that made fifty-one taels and five mace. He had just given the old man five taels and five mace, so if he bought this art now, he would have only one tael left.

"Certainly. And as long as you bring another five taels next time, I'll still sell you this Halberd Art."

Seeing that Zhao Er was willing to pay, the old man readily nodded. He put away the Halberd Art and pushed the Nine-Turn Golden Armor Art toward him.

Zhao Er handed over his bulging money pouch and accepted the manual. Rather than immediately opening it or leaving, he cupped his hands toward the old man.

"May I ask how I should address you, Senior?"

Though elderly, this old man guarded the Martial Pavilion. Presumably, both his strength and his knowledge far surpassed those of ordinary people.

And that was precisely what Zhao Er lacked most at present. He had already handed over the money. If he did not take this opportunity to build a little rapport, wouldn't he have paid for nothing?

"My surname is Dian—Dian Zhang. My favorite drink is the Shaodaozi from the tavern in the south of town."

Dian Zhang seemed to know what Zhao Er was after. Smiling as he counted the large pouch of loose silver Zhao Er had given him, he casually offered his name and even told him his favorite drink.

The meaning was plain: if Zhao Er wanted to ask anything next time, he could bring some liquor along.

"Uh... my respects, Senior Dian! I'll let you get on with your work, then. I'll sit over there for a while."

Hearing Dian Zhang introduce himself, and then thinking of the Eight Methods of the Classic Twin Halberds he had just produced, Zhao Er's smile grew a little strained.

Now he somewhat suspected that Dian Zhang had taken his own family's art out and sold it to him. Even the Nine-Turn Golden Armor Art might be a hereditary art of his family.

Shaking his head, Zhao Er turned and sat down nearby, ready to examine the art. Whether it was the old man's family art did not really matter. After all, Zhao Er was the one getting a bargain.

He opened the manual to inspect it, and sure enough, this art really did bear some similarities to the Five Poisons Art.

However, it did not advance one's realm. It was purely a body-tempering art.

According to the manual, the Nine-Turn Golden Armor Art had nine levels in total. The first three were the Iron Armor Body, Copper Armor Body, and Silver Armor Body.

Cultivating this art required making sandbags filled with various metal powders and granules, then using them to strike the entire body. The practitioner would then employ the art's special circulation method to absorb the metal and temper the flesh.

Upon breaking through to the first level, not only would the practitioner's physical strength soar, but circulating the art would also be like donning a suit of black armor, making ordinary blades and swords hard-pressed to wound them.