The technique manual made Lu Zhiyuan's head spin. Much of what it said seemed sensible, but when he tried to work out how to practice it, he had no idea where to begin.
Two hours later, he put it down. His only conclusion was that the manual probably contained something genuine, but if he cultivated according to its instructions, cultivation deviation might be the least of his worries.
"Simplifying Startling Thunder Sword Method... Simplification successful... Startling Thunder Sword Method → Startle Formula!"
"There really is something here!"
His eyes brightened. As the contents of Startle Formula appeared in his mind, he became absorbed in them. Another hour passed before he came back to himself.
"It really is part of Startling Thunder Sword Method. I've struck gold."
Lu Zhiyuan grinned. If he could grasp the complete Startling Thunder Sword Method, his cultivation would advance extremely quickly, and his combat techniques would carry lightning power.
Startle Formula had not inherited the lightning power, but it retained the advantage of accelerating cultivation.
Of course, as only one component of Startling Thunder Sword Method, it had a drawback. Careless practice could easily cause injury.
Startle Formula acted like an accelerator. As long as the body could withstand it, blood vitality could circulate extremely fast. The complete Startling Thunder Sword Method contained lightning power that could temper the physique, so there was much less need to worry about blood vitality circulating too quickly.
"Fusion!"
In his mind, the insights from his Perfected proficiency in Windborne Breathing Method began fusing with Startle Formula. The two intermingled. Part of Windborne Breathing Method was removed, and Startle Formula filled the gap.
[Techniques: Startling Windborne Method (Mastered (1127/10000))]
A new technique appeared on the panel. Startle Formula had contributed a great deal to it, but had not transformed it completely. Otherwise, the new technique would not have appeared with its proficiency already at that value.
"Simplify Startling Windborne Method!"
"Simplifying Startling Windborne Method... Simplification successful... Startling Windborne Method → Windborne Breathing Method!"
As he had expected, it was another nested simplification. He performed Windborne Breathing Method and gained +1 proficiency in Startling Windborne Method. He smiled. His problem with cultivation techniques was partly resolved, although the silver he had worked so hard to save was nearly gone again.
Skin Tempering, Flesh Tempering, Bone Tempering, Marrow Tempering, and Organ Tempering were collectively known as the five stages of Body Tempering. Through these five stages, even an ordinary technique like Highpeak Breathing Method could potentially allow a martial artist to cultivate all the way to the Organ Tempering stage.
Of course, that rarely happened. Highpeak Breathing Method was so slow that a practitioner would likely die of old age before getting there. There was a chance, but a very slim one.
Once martial artists reached a certain cultivation stage, finding stronger techniques naturally became one of their goals. Members of great clans and disciples of powerful sects could practice superior techniques from the outset, so they had no need to change them.
Only someone with no backing, like Lu Zhiyuan, needed to look for opportunities to obtain a stronger technique.
"Simplifying a technique after fusion costs much less silver. I suppose that's because I already know much of its content. An entirely new second simplification, like the one for Immortal Points the Way, costs ten times as much silver. Knowledge really is expensive!" Find the original chapter at g.com.
Muttering to himself, he sat cross-legged to cultivate. The night passed in a blink.
The next day, he brewed pills at the clinic as usual. That evening, he changed his build and appeared at the nighttime black market.
This time, he adopted an identity different from all his previous ones. He looked powerfully built, and even with a face covering on, the scar beside his eye was visible.
"Do you buy pills?"
He approached a stall, speaking in a hoarse voice.
Disguise Art truly was extraordinary. With his proficiency at Perfected, he could change his face and voice as he pleased. Slight adjustments to his build were no problem either.
With a face covering and a conical hat on, he could become a thousand different people without worrying that anyone would recognize him.
"Depends on the quality. If they're good, of course I'll buy them."
The stallholder glanced at him, noticed the scar beside his eye, and answered unhurriedly.
"Here."
Lu Zhiyuan tossed him the pill vial. The stallholder caught it and removed the stopper, releasing a faint medicinal fragrance. Brewed with proficiency approaching Perfected, the Herbal Restoration Pills had no visible flaws.
Examined closely, they were even a little better than those sold by the clinics and medicine shops. Without years of accumulated experience, an alchemist could not brew pills of such quality.
Sure enough, the stallholder's eyes brightened as he inspected them. He replaced the stopper and looked up, his voice much warmer.
"Good pills. If they're all this quality, I'll buy as many as you bring."
"You don't need to worry about the quality. You can inspect them every time. Name your price. If it's reasonable, I can keep selling to you." Lu Zhiyuan folded his arms.
"How many can you supply?"
"Ten to twenty pills every three days."
"Hmm. For that quantity, we'll take them at seven silver taels per pill," the stallholder said after a moment's thought. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
"Too low." Lu Zhiyuan shook his head.
"It's already a good price. We still have to sell them on. You've got to leave us some profit," the stallholder insisted.
Lu Zhiyuan said nothing and made as if to take the pill vial from the stall, as though he had no wish to negotiate further.
"Wait, don't rush off. We can still talk about the price." Startled, the stallholder quickly stopped him.
A short while later, Lu Zhiyuan left the black market. They had settled on eight silver taels per pill. He was not entirely satisfied, but it was acceptable. He was taking home far more than his share at Clearwell Clinic, after all.
Brewing pills, cultivating, and building proficiency. His life seemed to have settled down again.
On the fifth day, however, he saw Physician Shi at the clinic.
The physician made several circuits of the clinic. Luo Chenghou appeared, and they exchanged a few words, apparently getting along very well. An hour later, Physician Shi left Northgate Clinic.
Lu Zhiyuan gave nothing away. He knew Tao Yinglan was about to act. The next few days were likely to be troublesome.
After thinking it over, he decided to stay away from the clinic for a few days. He could build proficiency in Startling Windborne Method at home and take the opportunity to explore Stillshade properly.
Since arriving in this world, he had first been occupied with making a living, then with constant cultivation. As a result, he knew little about the city he lived in.
The former owner had been a menial and naturally had had few opportunities either.
Early the next morning, Lu Zhiyuan claimed illness and took leave. Then he went exploring Stillshade.
Eating, drinking, and enjoying himself. The silver he carried now was a fortune to an ordinary person. With money, he could naturally eat and enjoy whatever he wished.
He even visited pleasure houses several times to listen to the music. It was wonderfully relaxing.
Fine wine in restaurants, snacks on the street. Like a bird released from its cage, he found a measure of peace in both body and mind.
"Quite a few things have happened on Mount Stillshade lately. Gathering medicinal ingredients is getting difficult."
At the black market, Meng Jingxiu looked at Lu Zhiyuan, feeling that something about him had changed.
"Even if they're hard to gather, you can't use counterfeit ingredients."
Lu Zhiyuan felt rather helpless. The first delivery had been forty percent fake. For the second, Meng Jingxiu had finally behaved and supplied genuine goods throughout. Yet here they were at the third delivery, and forty percent was fake again.
The difference was that the counterfeiting had improved considerably since last time.