Although Su Twelve had not seen much of the world, he was not stupid. No matter how wildly the other party boasted, he only smiled and said nothing.
After the other finished speaking, he finally opened his mouth and said, “I do not know whether these two secret manuals are formidable or not, but they are, after all, meant for mortal martial artists. To cultivators, they shouldn’t be of much value, right?”
Zhu Hanwei’s mouth twitched. He offered an embarrassed smile. “You can’t say they’re completely useless. At least in the early stages, they can still increase one’s strength somewhat.”
He knew very well that, in the eyes of cultivators, this kind of martial arts secret manual was not merely considered worthless but also looked down upon. Otherwise, he would have sold these things long ago.
Saying so much was nothing more than an attempt to drive up the price.
“How many Essence-Nourishing Pills do you plan to exchange for these three books?” Su Twelve did not argue with him, asking directly.
“Eight… no, six!” As soon as Zhu Hanwei opened his mouth, he saw that Su Twelve’s expression was not quite right, and he hurriedly changed his tune.
“Three. If you agree, we can trade right now!” Su Twelve stared at him for a moment, then put down the three books and refused to look at them again.
To him, he could have as many Essence-Nourishing Pills as he wanted, but he had no intention of being generous. This was the sort of secret he had to keep to himself.
“Huh? Only three? That’s far too few! It has to be five at the very least!” Zhu Hanwei’s mouth gaped wide. His face twisted bitterly, looking as if he had suffered a huge loss.
Just as the words left his mouth, he saw Su Twelve turn around and prepare to leave. He hurriedly shouted, “Four! Senior Brother, at least give me four!”
“Fine.” This time, Su Twelve did not insist further.
He did not care at all how Zhu Hanwei had obtained these books. To him, as long as they could broaden his knowledge and increase his strength, parting with a few Essence-Nourishing Pills was completely worth it.
Soon enough, Su Twelve exchanged four High Grade Essence-Nourishing Pills for the three books, and used another two to exchange for two hundred and forty taels of silver. Then he parted ways with Zhu Hanwei and continued hurrying toward the Waste Pill Room.
Watching Su Twelve’s departing back, Zhu Hanwei smiled so widely that his eyes narrowed into slits.
“I never expected that a few casually acquired books could actually be worth so much. With these High Grade Essence-Nourishing Pills, my chances to Awaken a spirit root have increased quite a bit.”
With a wide grin, he hurriedly put the items away and ran toward his own residence.
Waste Pill Room.
As soon as Su Twelve returned, he began practicing according to the contents of the two martial arts manuals.
These two martial arts could not be considered exceptionally profound, but the methods of exerting force and combat techniques they contained greatly broadened his horizons.
By comparison, his previous self had possessed nothing but empty brute strength.
For this purpose, he even crafted several wooden dummies in the courtyard.
In just seven short days, he practiced these two martial arts until he was completely proficient in them.
From time to time, he swung his fists and palms, striking one dummy after another.
“Bang, bang, bang…”
His footwork was light and nimble, but each punch and palm strike was broad and forceful, with a fierce, unyielding power.
One dummy after another shattered upon impact.
Seeing that another palm was about to strike a dummy, Su Twelve suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
As his hands moved, the True Essence within his body surged along with them.
As he struck, a fist-sized fireball appeared in his palm.
The fireball radiated intense heat. Before it could be launched outward, he pressed it directly against the dummy with his palm.
“Whoosh!”
The next second, a column of flame shot into the sky. Enveloped by the fire, the dummy was instantly burned to ashes.
Sensing that he had consumed less than one-tenth of his True Essence, Su Twelve immediately revealed a look of joy.
“It really works?! In that case, when facing those low-grade Demon Beasts again, even without relying on traps, I can easily slay them!”
“Since the Fire Control Art can be combined with this martial art, what about the Wind Summoning Art?”
His eyes darted around. Su Twelve immediately executed the Shadowless Phantom Step, charging toward the wooden dummy farthest away.
“Wind Summoning!”
The instant he raised his leg, a fierce wind howled from behind him.
His body glided through the air, and the instant he landed, he shot directly past the farthest dummy.
“The wind is too strong, but the idea works!”
Su Twelve’s face was full of smiles. As if he had discovered a new world, he continued practicing with vigorous enthusiasm.
In the blink of an eye, the agreed-upon time with that menial disciple from the Pill Pavilion arrived.
That afternoon, two figures appeared halfway up Cuihuan Mountain, right where the Waste Pill Room was located.
The other was a handsome youth of fifteen or sixteen, a long sword strapped to his back.
“I really don’t know how you’ve cultivated all these years, to the point that you can’t even beat a Novice disciple who has only been in the sect for half a year.” The sword-carrying youth curled his lips, speaking irritably.
The menial disciple followed beside the youth, as obedient as a little chick.
“You really can’t blame me for this! I didn’t expect that kid to be a Qi Condensation Cultivator, nor that he would attack at the slightest disagreement! I already told him that bottle of High Grade Spirit Pills was reserved for you, Senior Brother, but he still snatched it away!” The menial disciple wore a bitter expression, stirring up trouble the moment he opened his mouth.
“Hmph! I’d like to see where a newcomer found the nerve to snatch my things!” The sword-carrying youth snorted coldly, glaring viciously at the menial disciple.
“But the items were lost from your hands. Don’t you owe me an explanation?!”
The menial disciple shrank his neck and gave an embarrassed smile. “Senior Brother, rest assured. I will naturally take responsibility for this matter. These two first-grade Light Escape Talismans were not easy for me to acquire.”
As he spoke, the menial disciple’s face filled with heartache. He pulled two earth-yellow talismans from his robes. Each was three inches long and one inch wide.
Seeing this, the sword-carrying youth snatched the talismans away and grinned. Turning his gaze toward the mountain, he quickened his pace.
Soon enough, the two arrived outside the Waste Pill Room.
“Senior Brother, I will go knock on the door!”
Looking at the tightly locked door, the menial disciple’s eyes lit up. He moved to step forward and knock.
“Knock on the door? Hmph, there’s no need!”
The sword-carrying youth snorted coldly. A cold light flashed through his eyes, and a fist-sized fireball appeared in his hand.
“Whoosh!”
The fireball shot through the air and exploded against the gate.
Inside the courtyard, Su Twelve was reading. Hearing the approaching footsteps outside, he had already grown alert.
However, he hadn’t expected that before he could even react, the courtyard gate would be reduced to nothing within a burst of firelight.
Immediately afterward, two figures walked in.
“It’s you? It seems… you want to go back on your word?” Su Twelve raised his brows. His gaze swept over the menial disciple before landing on the sword-carrying youth beside him.
What dense spiritual power! The second layer of Qi Condensation?!
Seeing that person, Su Twelve was startled.
As long as a cultivator did not deliberately conceal their aura, their cultivation level could generally be seen. Of course, if the gap between their realms was too great, it would be impossible for someone in a lower realm to discern the cultivation of a higher-realm expert. Conversely, when a higher-realm expert looked at a lower-realm cultivator, unless the latter possessed a special method of concealing their aura, their cultivation level would be completely clear at a glance.