Obtaining the Six Harmonies Saber

"Come on, let's go inside and look at the pills and cultivation techniques," Lu Feng said to Chen Hu, looking away.

The two turned and headed straight for the Pill Pavilion.

Inside the Pill Pavilion, shelves stood in neat rows, and the fragrance of pills filled the air. A youth in a blue-green disciple's uniform stood behind the counter.

Wooden placards on the shelves clearly listed the pills' information:

[Body-Tempering Pill: tier-one pill. Greatly increases physical strength and resistance to blows. Taking it while cultivating external techniques yields twice the result with half the effort. Exchange: 50 merit points each;]

[Meridian-Unblocking Pill: tier-one pill. A key supplementary pill for breaking through from Ming Jin to Nei Jin. It can clear the meridians and nourish Qi and blood. Exchange: 500 merit points each;]

[Jin Origin Pill: tier-two pill. Taking it can help a martial artist break through one minor realm. Its medicinal effects are overbearing. Exchange: 1,000 merit points each;]

Lu Feng looked at the description of the Jin Origin Pill and murmured, "So the Jin Origin Pill is a tier-two pill. No wonder it let Chen Hu break through to late Ming Jin in a single step back then."

"Lu Feng, what did you say?" Chen Hu leaned over, looking puzzled.

"Nothing." Lu Feng shook his head and pointed at the Body-Tempering Pill. "This pill suits you. It can strengthen your foundation. Want to exchange for two?"

"Really? That's great!" Chen Hu's eyes lit up. He immediately took the token from his waist and said to the Pill Pavilion disciple, "Sorry for the trouble, please exchange this for two Body-Tempering Pills!"

The disciple took the token and brushed his fingertip lightly over it. The "100" merit points on the token instantly dropped to zero.

Then he took out a small jade bottle, placed two lustrous white pills inside, and handed it to Chen Hu along with the token. "Here you go."

Chen Hu carefully accepted the jade bottle and tucked it away close to his body. He thanked the disciple repeatedly, his face full of delight.

"Come on, let's go look at the cultivation techniques pavilion too," Lu Feng said.

The two left the Pill Pavilion and went to the cultivation techniques pavilion next door.

The cultivation techniques pavilion was divided into three sections, displaying techniques for the Ming Jin, Nei Jin, and Hua Jin realms respectively. As for higher-level grandmaster techniques, there wasn't a trace of them.

In the Ming Jin section, techniques such as Iron Wire Fist, Wind-Chasing Steps, and Soft Palm were neatly arranged. They required between 500 and 1,000 merit points to exchange.

Lu Feng glanced at them, then looked away-he was already at mid Nei Jin, and Ming Jin techniques had long since ceased to mean much to him.

He went straight to the Nei Jin section, his gaze quickly sweeping over the descriptions on the wooden placards:

[Cold Plum Jin: Nei Jin cultivation technique. Once cultivated to perfection, it can frostbite an enemy's meridians and slow their Qi and blood when unleashed. Sinister, frigid, and overbearing. Exchange: 2,000 merit points;]

[Golden Bell Shield: Nei Jin body-tempering technique. Nei Jin can be infused into the skin, membranes, tendons, and bones. Once cultivated to perfection, it can produce a protective force shield that is difficult for opponents of the same realm to break. Exchange: 5,000 merit points;]

[Nine Layered Wave Slashes: Nei Jin saber technique. Nei Jin can be compressed and layered upon the blade, each slash stronger than the last. At perfection, nine slashes can be delivered in succession, with boundless power. Exchange: 10,000 merit points;]

Every Nei Jin technique tempted Lu Feng. He silently memorized the merit points required for each one, then went with Chen Hu to the armory.

Inside the armory were sabers, swords, spears, and staffs of every kind. Cold light flashed, and a chilling presence filled the air.

Tier-one weapons were suited to Ming Jin martial artists and cost between 500 and 5,000 merit points; tier-two weapons were suited to Nei Jin martial artists and cost anywhere from 5,000 to 50,000 merit points.

Lu Feng touched the long saber in his hand and thought, I'm already a Nei Jin martial artist. It really is time to replace this tier-one long saber.

Just then, he spotted the storage bag exchange area in a corner. A wooden placard read: [Storage bag: ten cubic meters of space, 100 merit points; one hundred cubic meters of space, 10,000 merit points.]

Without hesitation, Lu Feng took out his token and exchanged his points for a ten-cubic-meter storage bag.

The moment his fingertip touched the storage bag, he sensed a faint trace of spatial presence. With a thought, Lu Feng put the long saber in his hand into the bag. It was extremely convenient.

"There are so many great things!" Chen Hu gazed at them with longing and said excitedly, "Once I break through to peak Ming Jin, I'll take on missions to earn merit points and exchange them for techniques and weapons!"

"Mm." Lu Feng nodded and asked, "What are you planning to do next?"

"Go back and cultivate, of course!" Chen Hu said urgently. "I'm going back to take the Body-Tempering Pills right now. I'll try to break through as soon as possible so I can get revenge on Lin Shan! Come find me if you need anything!"

With that, he hurried off toward the residential area.

Lu Feng watched him leave, understanding in his heart-Chen Hu was driven by hatred and an urgency to cultivate, so it was understandable that he was eager to grow stronger.

Instead of returning to his room, he turned and left the Demon-Slaying Bureau, heading into Jinguan City.

He still had twenty taels of gold on him, and had intended to use the time to buy a tier-two long saber that suited him, sparing himself the merit points.

But several hours later, Lu Feng returned to his room with a helpless expression and a brand-new long saber in his hand.

In the secret chamber, he looked at the long saber in his hand and muttered, "I didn't expect pills and weapons to be so expensive in Jinguan City. Looks like I'll have to rely on exchanging merit points for them after all."

He had thought twenty taels of gold would be more than enough to buy a tier-two long saber, but to his surprise, even the cheapest one cost twenty taels of gold, and the expensive ones cost over a thousand.

With no other choice, Lu Feng picked the cheapest tier-two long saber, called the Six Harmonies Saber.

Though it was the cheapest, its material and sharpness were still far beyond those of a tier-one long saber, and it was more than adequate for his mid Nei Jin cultivation.

Meanwhile, in a room at Commandant Zhao's residence.

"What?! Lu Feng actually entered the Demon-Slaying Bureau? And became a demon-slaying guard at Commandant Su's residence?!"

After hearing his subordinate's report, Zhao An's expression changed drastically. He sprang to his feet, sloshing tea from the cup in his hand onto his robes without even noticing.

"My lord?" Seeing this, the subordinate called out cautiously.

"I'm fine. You may go." Zhao An took a deep breath and waved his hand, his voice cold. "Keep gathering information on Lu Feng. If anything happens, report back to me immediately!"

After the subordinate withdrew, Zhao An clenched his fists, a vicious glint flashing in his eyes. "I didn't expect him to join the Demon-Slaying Bureau even after all that! Since I've already offended him beyond repair, I absolutely can't let him grow stronger. I have to get rid of him as soon as possible!"

He pondered for a moment, then a trace of smugness suddenly crossed his face. "There are plenty of people who want to become demon-slaying guards at Commandant Su's residence. Quite a few have their eyes on the available places there. If they find out that Lu Feng, a newcomer, got into Commandant Su's residence without going through an assessment..."

As he spoke, he beckoned over a trusted demon-slaying guard, leaned close to his ear, and gave him a few instructions in a low voice.

After listening, the trusted guard nodded, immediately turned, and left the room.

Early the next morning, Lu Feng had just stepped out of his room when he saw Chen Hu standing dejectedly at the door, his face full of disappointment.