This was the first time Ye Xingge had been taught these things by a master, so he followed Zhang Zhiqing on a tour of the exhibition hall, listening attentively along the way.
Zhang Zhiqing put his hands behind his back and sighed softly again:
"However, the path to greatness is endless, and the higher one goes, the more difficult it becomes. Historically, the top two heroes would retire within two cycles of sixty years at most, not because they wanted to, but because they had no choice but to."
"Once their lifespan exceeds its limit, their cultivation will either stagnate or they will die. Those elders no longer have the energy to deal with worldly affairs and can only spend their days in seclusion seeking enlightenment. If they are injured or delayed even slightly, they will be forced to pass away."
"The divine weapons point to a path to heaven, which means gathering Twelve Divine Weapons. If the weapon's master dares not walk this path or is unable to do so, and chooses to retreat into seclusion to cultivate in asceticism and seek a glimmer of hope, then the divine weapon will be disposed of as 'retiring in resentment,' and will choose a new master. This is why the divine weapons are always circulating in the open..."
"I..."
Ye Xingge listened for a long time and truly felt that "a single conversation with you is worth more than ten years of life experience."
But these things were indeed a bit far from him; only those ranked in the Second Rank could access them. Thinking it over, he asked again:
"Does that mean I have to perform meritorious service to obtain the remaining two parts of the cultivation technique?"
Zhang Zhiqing held down the Baby Bunny, who was holding the Elephant King Axe and trying to strike the Immovable Wisdom King Armor, and shook his head, saying:
"A normal person would indeed need to perform meritorious service again, but you are not a normal person, you are the master of divine weapons."
"Throughout history, all divine weapons were first acquired with a single weapon. If a good technique was available, one would practice it; if not, one would devise one; and if one couldn't find one, one would rely on courage and determination to fight." Cultivation is not easy. If a master can offer even a single word of guidance, it is already an immense blessing. Those who rely entirely on a master to break down their knowledge and feed it to them, once their master has passed away and they are among the First Rank, who will they be able to seek instruction from?
"This technique has already given you a start. If you can't figure out how to proceed, then don't even dream of reaching the Great Nine Yang."
"Those who learn from me will live, those who imitate me will die. You will never catch up with Wu Chenglie in your entire life, so how can you claim to be ranked First Rank?"
Ye Xingge understood the meaning—he would let him figure out the rest himself.
Although a celestial-grade cultivation technique like the Great Nine Yang is certainly not easy to figure out, the fact that Heaven-Observing Decree said so indicates that even a normal First Rank could figure it out; it just depends on how quick-witted he is.
"Understood, I'll try it when I get back."
Zhang Zhiqing then held down his granddaughter, who was holding the Dark Green Bow and preparing to shoot an arrow at Ruan Jinyu, and continued:
"Furthermore, Eunuch Fan mentioned the Emperor's birthday celebration today, meaning that before the banquet, he wants you to be among the top three hundred, ranking first among those under twenty years old..."
"Oh?"
Ye Xingge was working towards this goal, and asked curiously:
"I think it's possible, if we can do it..."
Zhang Zhiqing knew this was a sure thing, but for the sake of long-term planning, he still had to Xingge. He stroked his beard and sighed softly, "If you can achieve this, then naturally you'll get one of the ' Martial Emperor Pill ' from the national treasury, along with fifty pieces of sword-nurturing materials. But right now, it seems like an impossible task!"
"Ah?"
Ye Xingge's heart sank again upon seeing Heaven-Observing Decree's solemn expression, and he asked:
Why?
"You killed six people today, five of whom Third Rank. You're currently ranked 358th, almost sixty places behind Wu Chenglie's apprentice." "Huh?"
Ye Xingge straightened up a bit, and said incredulously:
"I killed so many, and I didn't even make it into the top 350?! Are the top Third Rank on the Gold List really that solid?"
Zhang Zhiqing's acting skills are truly superb; his face is full of sighs of "the road ahead is long and arduous."
"How many mediocre people can be ranked on the Gold List? The Fate-Robbing Saber's calculations based on your current innate talent show that your talent and cultivation techniques haven't kept up, so the low increase is understandable."
Ye Xingge increase won't be too high, but this is too low!
The higher the ranking on the Gold List, the more obvious the gap in strength between adjacent people becomes, and the slower the climb to the top.
Therefore, the initial starting point is very important.
If he kills five people who are in the Third Rank, and his ranking rises by more than seventy places, then if he wants to climb another thirty places, he will need to kill no more than five people. With his skills maxed out, killing just one person will give him a chance to achieve his goal.
However, if the ranking only rises by thirty or forty places, the situation is completely different.
He wanted to climb to nearly sixty more places, which meant he'd need to kill at least ten people. Even with his skills maxed out, he'd still need to kill six or seven, increasing the difficulty several times over... There were still three and a half days until the birthday banquet, and six or seven opponents...
What to do with two days left...?
Oh, let Great Beauty beat him up...
Ye Xingge thought for a moment, then nodded slightly:
"I understand. I did underestimate how difficult it is to climb the charts, but there are still a few days left, so it's not like there's no chance."
Zhang Zhiqing's sneak attack on Wu Chenglie, based on the hidden location ranking, was a secret success. Moreover, the more pressure this young man faced, the more motivated he became. This wasn't explicitly stated at the moment, but he nodded in satisfaction.
"Good, very energetic."
"You flatter me Duke Zhang..."
As Ye Xingge was speaking, he noticed that Baby Bunny had picked up the Immortal Rope again, preparing to bungee jump from the window. He quickly went over to her.
"Hey! Lord Shen, this is the third floor..."
Having finished discussing the important matter, Zhang Zhiqing picked up the Azure Dragon Spear, lightly flicked the tip with his finger, and emitted a humming sound like a dragon's roar.
"These are all good items; you can handle most situations with them. However, carrying seven or eight high-grade weapons is ultimately inconvenient and may attract those with ulterior motives..."
Ye Xingge was actually worried about this. He was almost out of options after receiving so much from Gold-Chasing Gentleman. Hearing the voice, he looked towards the glittering showroom and asked for advice:
"May I Duke Zhang, when you traveled back then, how did you manage to carry so many precious treasures with you?"
Zhang Zhiqing met Ye Xingge here for three reasons: first, to show off; second, to have a good time; and third, of course, there were other reasons as well.
At this moment, Zhang Zhiqing put down the Azure Dragon Spear, went to the multi-treasure shelf, and took down a jade box.
The surface of the jade box is decorated with a landscape scroll. When opened, the interior is lined with bright yellow brocade, on which sits a pouch with a wolf's head outlined in gold thread. The craftsmanship is extremely exquisite, and one can tell from the material alone that it is a divine object.
Ye Xingge glanced at it briefly and said in surprise:
"Is this the Mountains and Rivers Pouch?"
Zhang Zhiqing picked up the Mountains and Rivers Pouch and handed it to Ye Xingge:
"I acquired this item by chance during the Jingping era of the previous dynasty. There are only twenty-eight such items in the First Rank world. Each one destroyed must be replaced. It is extremely rare, even for the top-ranking officials of the time. I'll lend it to you for six months, and you can return one item after the new year."
Ye Xingge felt that the "six months" timeframe was an incentive for him to strive for First Rank ranking within six months.
After all, if he couldn't advance in six months, he had plenty of time; he wasn't worthy of such a precious treasure. He then cupped his hands and said:
" Duke Zhang."
Zhang Zhiqing snatched the aphrodisiac pendant from Baby Bunny's hand, put one hand behind his back, and said:
"Don't thank me so soon. If you can't find a second Mountains and Rivers Pouch, just don't treat me like ' Zhang the Skinflint ' six months from now, and I'll be content." "Huh?"
Ye Xingge was still a little confused, thinking that he would not harbor any resentment towards the expert who borrowed such a valuable treasure.
But it didn't take long for him to understand...
Fifteen minutes later.
Ye Xingge walked out of the Heaven-Observing Pavilion and headed towards the Stone Bridge Alley where the Great Beauty Luo was. He held a golden silk pouch in his hand, his eyes filled with complex emotions. The Mountains and Rivers Pouch was a genuine semi-divine weapon, and its magical effect was [ Heaven and Earth in the Sleeve ], which was a storage bag.
Its specific characteristics are roughly as follows:
1: The Mountains and Rivers Pouch does not belong to the Five Elements, but rather "Qian is Yang and Kun is Yin". It has one Yin and one Yang occupying two slots, but the small items can be replaced as needed, which directly changes the quality of combat ability.
2: The pouch contains a foot of space within it, which can be infinitely nurtured and expanded. However, for every hundred pieces of sword-nurturing material, it increases by one foot, making it a bottomless pit. This Mountains and Rivers Pouch, however, is brand new.
The Heaven-Observing Decree had never been used; he was the first to stuff something inside...
3: As long as it's exposed to light, the Gold List Old Demon might not Fate-Robbing Saber, but he'll definitely be interested in this.
At this moment, Ye Xingge walked in the drizzling rain, raising her left hand as if a thought had crossed her mind.
The golden pouch in his palm emitted a white light that gathered and extended in his palm, transforming in the blink of an eye into a pure silver White Tiger dagger.
A small dagger like this can be easily operated from inside a sleeve or behind the back, without worrying about being discovered by outsiders.
But then he pulled out a nine-foot-long Azure Dragon Spear from behind his back...
He hasn't even expanded yet, it's too big to fit!
The Dark Green Bow and the Elephant King Axe are both too long; at least a thousand pieces of sword-nurturing material would be needed to ensure that 90% of the weapons can fit inside.
And this cost could raise ten " A Thread of Sky " swords without the furnace exploding!
The effectiveness of the Mountains and Rivers Pouch certainly justifies such an investment.
But if he invests a huge amount of resources and fails to secure a second item within six months, he'll have to give it back.
Judging from Heaven-Observing Decree's words, he probably won't return the thousand pieces of fabric to him.
If converted according to market prices, the daily rent would be approximately 550,000 yuan.
This is far more than just Zhang the Skinflint...
However, the Heaven-Observing Decree was even lent to them is already quite generous.
As the second-best in the world, the Immovable Wisdom King Armor alone in the showroom cost more than a thousand pieces of material. He is not short of money. Lending it is purely to help him advance to the top First Rank.
It's not difficult to snatch this item at the First Rank, but he couldn't advance even after holding such a divine artifact for half a year. That just means he wasn't working hard enough. No wonder his ancestors were collecting interest.
Although this object is only one foot in diameter, he can turn the Fate-Robbing Saber into a kitchen knife and put two divine weapons inside. However, in order to be ready to fight at any time, the Fate-Robbing Saber must still be hung on his waist.
It can also fit items like the Heaven-Obscuring Arm, Water-Repelling Pearl, Wind-Traveling Talisman, Gold-Melting File, and Immortal Rope, and its combat power has undergone a qualitative change.
Moreover, the Mountains and Rivers Pouch would be coveted by the First Rank First Rank Demon, who would likely possess detection magic treasures such as " Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils."
With the Heaven-Obscuring Arm present, any surveying method can only perceive the "Supreme Daoist Charm".
This explains why he carried the Mountains and Rivers Pouch and why he wore the Heaven-Covering System's famous weapon for so long...
As Ye Xingge pondered this, he unknowingly arrived outside Stone Bridge Alley. Seeing that the lights were still on in the courtyard of the Great Beauty Luo, he gathered his belongings and went inside...