"External Training Golden Bell Shield!"
That was right. What he had found was the catalog description of the Golden Bell Shield, a secret art of Shaolin Temple.
When it came to the Golden Bell Shield, there was no one in the martial world who didn't know its name. People usually mentioned the Golden Bell Shield and the Iron Cloth Shirt together as hard-body arts, but the two were on completely different levels.
The Iron Cloth Shirt was only a third-rate martial art, while the Golden Bell Shield was an Acquired martial art, a grandmaster-level art. Several tiers separated them.
There was even a rumor that the Iron Cloth Shirt was a simplified version derived from the Golden Bell Shield by a lay disciple of Shaolin Temple, and that was the account most people believed.
"Shouldn't a divine art like this be absent from the first-rate martial arts catalog?"
Wang Hao laid the catalog open and pointed to the Golden Bell Shield page as he questioned the old man in charge of registration.
"We only have the external training portion of the Golden Bell Shield's first volume here. It's a purely external cultivation method, and even at its limit, it only reaches peak super-first-rate, so it was classified among the first-rate martial arts."
At that point, the old man glanced at Wang Hao's physique and said in surprise, "You cultivated the Iron Cloth Shirt to the pinnacle of mastery? Then choose this Golden Bell Shield. It will follow on from it perfectly."
"Thank you for the advice!"
Wang Hao thanked him, but he didn't choose the Golden Bell Shield immediately. Instead, he continued leafing through the catalog descriptions.
He wanted to memorize all of them so he could make more detailed plans for the future.
After all, since he had decided to join the Blood Robe Tower, he would surely need to come here to exchange for martial arts manuals in the future. Memorizing the catalog now would give him an idea of what was available.
At the same time, he wanted to see whether there was a martial art better suited to him than the External Training Golden Bell Shield. Though the chances were slim, he had to look, didn't he?
With the powerful memory granted by his True Spirit Sword Intent, Wang Hao quickly browsed through the first-rate martial arts catalog. He closed his eyes and recalled what he had just read to strengthen his memory, then, instead of looking at the second-rate martial arts catalog, he turned to the old man.
"May I ask your surname, sir?"
"Chu!"
The old man calmly uttered the single word "Chu." It was his surname.
Wang Hao opened the first-rate martial arts catalog to a certain page and pushed it in front of Elder Chu.
The open page happened to contain a catalog description of a movement martial art called the Lightning Straight-Line Step. It could be executed with internal force or with the strength of a hard-body art; at worst, it would be less agile than when executed with internal force.
"Elder Chu, I choose the External Training Golden Bell Shield as my cultivation method. In addition, I hope to obtain a movement method suited to a hard-body cultivator, and I would be grateful for your guidance. Here are some local specialties I brought from home. Please accept them, Elder Chu!"
As he spoke, Wang Hao untied the bundle on his back and took out a small bottle of Drunken Immortal Brew. He had secretly stashed it away at the Drunken Immortal Tower earlier, naturally intending to use it as a bribe.
He had just smelled a faint whiff of alcohol in this Martial Repository Pavilion, and the smell had come from the old man. He was clearly an old wineworm.
The Drunken Immortal Brew, famous throughout the capital, couldn't have been more suitable for bribing the old man.
This wasn't a trick he had come up with himself. Leader Zhao, Zhao Dachui, had mentioned it casually while chatting with him on the road to the capital. Wang Hao had taken it to heart and made a point of bringing this small bottle of Drunken Immortal Brew out of the Drunken Immortal Tower.
Sure enough, at the sight of the bottle of Drunken Immortal Brew, Elder Chu's perpetually narrowed eyes sprang wide open, and a sharp light flashed in them.
Elder Chu slipped the flask of Drunken Immortal Brew into his sleeve as quick as lightning and murmured calmly to himself, "The previous assessment of 10086's aptitude was mistaken. It may be raised to grade A, and his martial arts access is accordingly raised to first-rate. It has now been obtained by the current 10086."
"Sorry for the trouble, Elder Chu!"
Wang Hao and Elder Chu, one young and one old, smiled at each other. Everything went without saying.
And just like that, the two completed a PY transaction, and both got what they wanted.
"Memorize them within one shichen and return them. You must not damage the manuals themselves!"
Elder Chu went up to the upper floor and soon came back and tossed two manuals to Wang Hao. Then he happily took out the bottle of Drunken Immortal Brew and savored it, his face scrunching up like an old chrysanthemum in bliss.
Wang Hao didn't say anything more. He took the two manuals, sat down cross-legged, and concentrated on memorizing them.
Only after reading them a dozen or so times did he return the two manuals to Elder Chu.
The main reason he read them so many times was that his powerful memory was entirely thanks to the enhancement of his True Spirit Sword Intent. He might be able to remember swordsmanship after a single glance, but he was far weaker in other areas.
To avoid mistakes, he carefully went through them more than ten times, stopping only when he was certain he had memorized them completely.
"Thank you, Elder Chu. I'll be sure to bring more local specialties when I visit you in the future!"
Wang Hao bowed in thanks. After all, this was a big shot far stronger than Zhao Fengxue, someone second only to Dugu Qiubai. It couldn't hurt to get on his good side.
"Kid, don't go cultivating any internal arts. Strive to cultivate your external art to the Grandmaster Realm and generate a wisp of original True Qi from the outside in. That will let you go much further."
Just as Wang Hao was about to step out the door, Elder Chu suddenly offered him that reminder.
"Thank you for the advice, Elder Chu. I will!"
Without turning around, Wang Hao nodded and continued on his way, but he committed those words to heart.
After all, this was guidance from someone second only to a big shot like Dugu Qiubai. He couldn't treat it lightly.
"There aren't many sensible youngsters like him left!"
Elder Chu narrowed his eyes as he watched Wang Hao leave and couldn't help sighing. Thirty years ago, he had committed a grave mistake and caused the Blood Robe Tower enormous losses, so he had been sent to this Martial Repository Pavilion.
On the surface, he was guarding the Martial Repository Pavilion, but in reality, it was merely a disguised form of confinement and house arrest. He could never set foot outside the pavilion for the rest of his life.
He could endure the rest, but his craving for wine was truly hard to bear!
When that brat Zhao Dachui had been around a couple of years ago, he could still secretly bring him a bottle of wine every month. But ever since the brat had fled his marriage two years ago, his supply had dried up.
Even his last bit of stock had run out a month ago, and he had been worrying over it all month!
He hadn't expected such a sensible young fellow to come along today!
This kid was very good. He had a future!
"Sigh! You still have no respect for the rules!"
Suddenly, an old man in blue appeared in the Martial Repository Pavilion. No one knew when he had arrived. He looked at Elder Chu and sighed helplessly.
"How have I broken the rules? You lot lack the eyes to see that he had grade A aptitude. Was I wrong to make up for what you missed? Or do you think I'm not qualified to verify a youngster's aptitude?"
Elder Chu spoke without even looking up from his wine, leaving the old man in blue utterly speechless.
"..."
The old man in blue glanced at the thug, who had already gone cold, and felt like cursing.
You saw he was dead, so there was no one to contradict you, and made it all up, didn't you?
"If there's nothing else, don't disturb my drinking. While you're at it, send someone to clean up."
Elder Chu spoke again, his words making it plain that he wanted his visitor gone. The old man in blue was obviously unwelcome.
"..."
The old man in blue was speechless again, but he said nothing. Shaking his head helplessly, he turned and walked out.
"Tsk! What future can a killer who follows the rules have? That kid is pretty good. Don't let anyone do him in."
Before the old man in blue stepped through the door, Elder Chu's voice came from behind him. He clearly intended to protect Wang Hao from being killed by the underhanded schemes of certain people in the Blood Robe Tower.
"Don't worry. We won't let your wine supply get cut off!"
The old man in blue couldn't help rolling his eyes. How could he fail to hear the meaning behind Elder Chu's words?
It was true that the kid had a promising future. After all, he had swallowed the Great Rejuvenation Pill the old man had risked his life to obtain. How poor could his aptitude be?
But none of that was the point. Fine wine was the key reason the old ghost had spoken up.
Without good enough wine, Elder Chu wouldn't have bothered with the kid, no matter how promising he was.
People were just that realistic!
That brat Zhao Dachui had grown up the same way. Without Elder Chu's protection, given how much trouble he stirred up, he would have been killed long ago, even if his father was an elder of the Blood Robe Tower.
"Pah! What a fool. He can't even recognize such astonishing raw jade. No wonder the Blood Robe Tower has declined in your hands."
After the old man in blue left, Elder Chu suddenly spat, his expression full of disdain. Then his expression changed, and he couldn't help sighing. "Youngsters these days are truly fierce. At such a young age, he has comprehended and accumulated such an immense Sword Intent. The younger generation is formidable indeed!"
As a sword-path expert at the half-step great grandmaster level, he had naturally sensed the vast Sword Intent hidden within Wang Hao at such close range. That was the real reason he was willing to give Wang Hao special treatment.
Otherwise, if a mediocrity had come along, he wouldn't have spared him a second glance, even if he had offered a great vat of Drunken Immortal Brew.
Host: Wang Hao Cultivation: mortal realm first layer Spirit: mortal realm first layer (91/100) Soul: unawakened Corporeal soul: unawakened Mind: unawakened Qi: unawakened Essence: mortal realm first layer (2/100) Fortune Points: 20
As soon as Wang Hao left the Martial Repository Pavilion, a servant waiting outside led him to a small courtyard. This would be his residence from now on.
In no mood to examine the courtyard, Wang Hao hurried into the room, shut the door, and pulled up his status panel to take a look.
Sure enough, it had changed considerably. First, thirty Fortune Points had been spent to awaken his Bloodline Power and Bloodline Divine Ability, leaving him with only twenty.
But the expense was well worth it. Now that his Bloodline Power had awakened, his future cultivation was bound to be a smooth road, especially when it came to external cultivation.
Not to mention the extremely powerful Bloodline Divine Ability, which had directly increased his cultivation speed tenfold.
Besides the Fortune Points spent, his Essence attribute had also risen by one progress point, reaching (2/100). It might have been only one point, but it meant his physical strength had doubled.
In terms of strength alone, his body had originally possessed the strength of one thousand jin, but now it had shot up to nearly two thousand jin. That was no small increase.
"Huh! My True Spirit Sword Intent has gone up by a point too."
Wang Hao suddenly noticed that his True Spirit attribute had also risen by one point, from 90 to 91.
This was a double breakthrough!
"Xiao Mengmeng, isn't this status panel a little too plain? Add the martial arts I know as well. And there's no need to show cultivation realms for the six attributes. The progress in parentheses after them already represents that, so replace the realms with the names of the powers directly."
After looking over his status panel, Wang Hao suddenly spoke.
He had once been a gaming fan and had played quite a few games, so he had seen plenty of status panels. Compared with those in games, his was much more rudimentary.
"Whatever you say, uncle!"
Xiao Mengmeng had no objections and adjusted the status panel in no time.
Host: Wang Hao Cultivation: mortal realm first layer Spirit: True Spirit Sword Intent (91/100) Soul: unawakened Corporeal soul: unawakened Mind: unawakened Qi: unawakened Essence: Bloodline Power (2/100) Fortune Points: 20 Bloodline Divine Ability: Object Storage Cultivation method: Iron Cloth Shirt (pinnacle of mastery · incomplete) Martial skill: Ten Stances of Bloody Battle (Complete Integration / divine mastery)
"That looks much better!"
Wang Hao nodded in satisfaction, then turned his gaze to the cultivation method and martial skill entries.
He understood the Iron Cloth Shirt's pinnacle of mastery. His predecessor's Iron Cloth Shirt had been at the level of Complete Integration at most. With the awakening of his Bloodline Power and his breakthrough during the earlier battle, the Iron Cloth Shirt had risen to the pinnacle of mastery as well.
He also understood the word "incomplete" after it. After all, the Iron Cloth Shirt his predecessor had obtained was incomplete.
The state listed after the Ten Stances of Bloody Battle was somewhat strange, but understandable. He had comprehended the Ten Stances of Bloody Battle thoroughly through the Dao Comprehension Function, but his cultivation and other limitations kept him from bringing out its full power.
At first, he could only bring out power equivalent to the proficient level. Through one bloody battle after another, especially his earlier fight with Zhao Fengxue, it had risen a tier along with his cultivation, reaching the level of Complete Integration.
His current strength had increased by at least threefold from before. It was no small increase.
After looking over his status panel, Wang Hao sat down cross-legged and recalled the Golden Bell Shield and Lightning Straight-Line Step he had just memorized, preparing to comprehend and cultivate them.