Martial Arts Pavilion

"I bid one hundred thousand Copper Coins!"

"I bid one hundred and ten thousand Copper Coins!"

"I bid one hundred and twenty thousand Copper Coins!"

"I bid two hundred and fifty thousand Copper Coins!"

The many disciples were red-faced from the fierce bidding, especially those with Fourth-grade Bloodlines, who bid the most aggressively.

Although Xiao Huohuo wanted to bid, all his money had been spent on the Fire Spirit Sword, so he could only give up.

In the end, Lu Ren's Aperture Opening Pill was won by a disciple with a Fourth-grade Bloodline for three hundred thousand Copper Coins.

With thirty banknotes worth ten thousand Copper Coins each in hand, Lu Ren left in satisfaction.

"Lu Ren!"

Elder Zhu Tie called out to Lu Ren, tossing him a token. "Since you have successfully opened your aperture, take this token to the Martial Arts Pavilion and choose one Human Tier High-grade Martial Skill!"

"Thank you, Elder!"

Taking the token, Lu Ren left the Martial Hall plaza beneath the gazes of the disciples and headed toward the distant Martial Arts Pavilion!

Watching Lu Ren's departing back, all the disciples felt sour once more. Lu Ren was clearly a Scrap Bloodline, yet not only had he been the first to become an entry disciple, he had also been the first to successfully open an aperture and become a martial artist.

They were all martial artists with Fourth-grade or Fifth-grade Bloodlines, yet they had been trampled beneath the feet of a Scrap Bloodline.

Along the way, Lu Ren muttered to himself, "The Martial Dao Fundamentals says that there are seven Spiritual Apertures hidden within the human body. The more apertures one opens, the stronger one becomes!"

"After opening the first Spiritual Aperture, I only need to cultivate Body Tempering Martial Skills and temper my body to open the other apertures. I should choose a martial skill first!"

After the time it took to burn an incense stick, Lu Ren crossed a vast plaza and arrived before a three-story pavilion—the Martial Arts Pavilion.

This Martial Arts Pavilion served the entry disciple area, and its most precious martial skills were only Human Tier High-grade Martial Skills.

To obtain martial skills and cultivation methods of higher grades, one had to go to the Martial Arts Pavilion in the outer sect area.

Lu Ren entered. Rows upon rows of bookshelves held a dazzling assortment of martial skill manuals, opening his eyes wide.

The bookshelves were divided into three sections, labeled Human Tier Low-grade, Human Tier Mid-grade, and Human Tier High-grade.

Just as Lu Ren was about to head for the Human Tier High-grade section, the elder guarding the pavilion reminded him, "Ordinary entry disciples may borrow one Human Tier Low-grade or Mid-grade Martial Skill each month for one month. Human Tier High-grade Martial Skills require contribution points to borrow!"

Lu Ren walked over and took out his token. "Elder, I have successfully opened my aperture!"

Seeing the token, the pavilion elder regarded Lu Ren more highly and said in surprise, "You may borrow one Human Tier High-grade Martial Skill for half a year!"

"Thank you, Elder!"

Lu Ren arrived at the Human Tier High-grade Martial Skill section. As he looked through the martial skill manuals one after another, his whole mind went numb.

Torrential Rain Palm, Thunderous Charge Fist, Void Piercing Finger...

What the hell were these things?

Both palms struck out together, transforming into raindrops and forming the force of a torrential downpour.

When the fist struck, thunder roared. Five fists shot out together, becoming racing thunder with the force of ten thousand bolts.

Channel strength into the finger, turn it into a sharp sword, and form the force of piercing the void. One finger pierced the air.

He understood every word in the manuals, but how was he supposed to cultivate them?

At that moment, Lu Ren could not help recalling the transmigration novels from his previous life, where the protagonist would transmigrate, obtain a God-tier Cultivation Method, and instantly cultivate it successfully.

That was utter nonsense!

Novels really were nothing but lies!

In the end, Lu Ren abandoned the idea of cultivating a Human Tier High-grade Martial Skill. He was a Scrap Bloodline to begin with; cultivating a Human Tier High-grade Martial Skill would likely not be easy.

Even if he stubbornly grinded at it, the losses would outweigh the gains.

With that thought, Lu Ren went to the Human Tier Low-grade Martial Skill section and opened a martial skill manual.

Fierce Tiger Fist!

It actually contained illustrated diagrams. Every posture he needed to assume was drawn clearly, with written notes as well.

This kind of martial skill manual was what suited him for cultivation.

Moreover, Lu Ren believed that no matter how ordinary a martial skill was, if one kept cultivating it, quantitative change could still give rise to qualitative change.

Putting the book back, Lu Ren walked to the old man guarding the pavilion and asked, "Elder, if I do not want to choose a Human Tier High-grade Martial Skill and wish to exchange it for Human Tier Low-grade Martial Skills instead, can I choose several more?"

"What did you say?"

The pavilion elder thought he had misheard.

One had to know that Human Tier High-grade Martial Skills were far more powerful than Human Tier Low-grade Martial Skills.

In other words, among martial artists of the same level, one who cultivated a Human Tier High-grade Martial Skill could easily defeat an opponent who cultivated a Human Tier Low-grade Martial Skill.

Many outer sect disciples went mad completing missions just to exchange for Human Tier High-grade Martial Skills. Once they cultivated one successfully, their combat strength would soar.

Yet this disciple before him actually did not want a Human Tier High-grade Martial Skill and wanted to choose Human Tier Low-grade Martial Skills instead.

Human Tier Low-grade Martial Skills could be borrowed every month, with no threshold whatsoever.

"Are you sure you do not want a Human Tier High-grade Martial Skill?"

the pavilion elder asked.

"I'm sure!"

Lu Ren nodded.

The pavilion elder said, "Then you may borrow three Human Tier Low-grade Martial Skills at once for half a year!"

Lu Ren returned to the Human Tier Low-grade Martial Skill section. After carefully selecting them, he chose three martial skills suited to himself.

The first was an offensive Human Tier Low-grade Martial Skill, Fierce Tiger Fist!

The second was a defensive Human Tier Low-grade Martial Skill, Eight Trigram Palm!

The third was a movement Human Tier Low-grade Martial Skill, Spirit Cat Steps!

Holding the three manuals, Lu Ren went to the pavilion elder to register them.

When the pavilion elder saw Lu Ren's name, he said in surprise, "You are Lu Ren? That Scrap Bloodline disciple?"

Lu Ren had long become famous among the sect elders. It was not because he was a Scrap Bloodline, but because news that Saintess Yun Qingyao had taken a Scrap Bloodline as her disciple had spread yesterday.

It could be said that all the elders of the Qingyun Sect knew there was an entry disciple with a Scrap Bloodline named Lu Ren.

"That's right!"

Lu Ren admitted it somewhat awkwardly.

The pavilion elder frowned and questioned, "Lu Ren, where did you get this token?"

As a Scrap Bloodline, it was fundamentally impossible for him to open an aperture. No matter how many Aperture Opening Pills he took, he could not open one.

Lu Ren said, "Elder Zhu Tie said I received an immortal's blessing and successfully opened my aperture. If you don't believe me, feel for yourself!"

Half-believing and half-doubting, the pavilion elder placed his palm on Lu Ren's abdomen and immediately felt fluctuations of spiritual energy.

"Good heavens, you really opened a Spiritual Aperture!"

A sharp gleam flashed through the pavilion elder's eyes as he praised him.

"No wonder you wanted to exchange a Human Tier High-grade Martial Skill for Human Tier Low-grade Martial Skills!"

The pavilion elder suddenly understood. Stroking his beard, he said, "Return these three martial skill manuals whenever you wish, but do not lend them to anyone else. Otherwise, bear the consequences yourself."

For a Scrap Bloodline, being able to open an aperture was already an immortal's blessing. As for cultivating martial skills, forget half a year—even one or two years would make it difficult to even get started.

But he truly wanted to see whether, given enough time, Lu Ren, this Scrap Bloodline, could cultivate even one martial skill.