181: A skill worth tens of millions of stones!

“Peerless secret manuals, massive amounts of Origin Stones—can I just take them freely?”

Mo Fan’s eyes lit up, and he looked at Xu Wudi excitedly.

“Theoretically, yes,” Xu Wudi said.

“What does ‘theoretically, yes’ mean?” Mo Fan frowned.

That didn’t sound right.

Before Xu Wudi could answer, the black cat wagged its tail and said,

“Meow, it means if you can spread the Po Jun legacy, make it flourish, and become the Supreme Commander of Po Jun, you’ll earn a massive amount of military merits. Then you can exchange for whatever you want.”

“Whether it’s cultivation Origin Stones or peerless secret manuals, you’ll have everything. You can use them however you want, read them however you want.”

Upon hearing this, Mo Fan rolled his eyes.

What a grand promise!

By the time I make Po Jun flourish and become its Supreme Commander, would I still be short on a few Origin Stones?

He came here to freeload peerless secret manuals and Origin Stones, not to listen to someone draw him a pie in the sky!

While thinking, Mo Fan subtly asked, “How do I earn military merits?”

Xu Wudi said solemnly, “By contributing to Po Jun, such as killing enemies, completing missions issued by the legion, and so on, you can earn military merits.”

“The greater your contribution to Po Jun, the more military merits you’ll receive, and naturally, the more resources you can exchange for.”

He paused, glanced at Mo Fan, and continued,

“However, this is a special period, and there are no legion missions for you to do.”

“For you, the only task right now is to rebuild Po Jun outside, gain a certain level of recognition, and ensure the legacy continues.”

“As long as you can complete this task, you’ll receive a massive amount of military merits.”

Hearing this, Mo Fan frowned.

Rebuilding Po Jun and making it flourish—who knew how long that would take.

It was too slow!

As the saying goes, you can’t catch a wolf without sacrificing a cub.

Couldn’t he freeload a little first?

Thinking this, he subtly asked again, “Is there no beginner’s gift pack or anything?”

Xu Wudi was stunned, taking a long moment to understand what a beginner’s gift pack meant, then nodded and said, “There is.”

Mo Fan’s eyes brightened slightly. “What’s in the beginner’s gift pack?”

“Successfully joining Po Jun immediately grants you a basic cultivation technique set and one hundred military merits,” Xu Wudi replied.

“Basic cultivation technique? One hundred military merits?” Mo Fan was dumbfounded.

It sounded very much like a beginner’s gift pack, but wasn’t it a bit too stingy?

However, despite his complaints, Mo Fan still asked, “What level is the basic cultivation technique? What can one hundred military merits be exchanged for?”

After pondering for a moment, Xu Wudi replied, “According to your terminology, the basic cultivation technique should be a second-rate martial art.”

“As for one hundred military merits, you can probably exchange for a bottle of first-grade elixir.”

Mo Fan: “...”

Too stingy!

“Farewell. My abilities are too meager to shoulder such a great responsibility. I hope you find someone more capable!” Mo Fan took a deep breath and turned to leave.

Seeing this, Xu Wudi and the black cat exchanged glances, both stunned and dumbfounded.

Soon, the man and the cat reacted and said in unison, “Wait, we’re not finished yet!”

Mo Fan stopped, turned his head, and looked at the man and the cat.

The black cat wagged its tail, leaped onto Xu Wudi’s shoulder, and quickly said,

“That was the old standard. Now is a special period. As long as you join Po Jun, you’re guaranteed to receive immense benefits!”

“What benefits?” Mo Fan wouldn’t release the hawk until he saw the rabbit.

The black cat turned its head to Xu Wudi.

Xu Wudi knitted his brows, pondered for a long time, a flicker of hesitation crossing his eyes, and slowly said,

“I can temporarily open up authority on behalf of the City Lord. As long as you join Po Jun, you will immediately receive Po Jun’s highest legacy cultivation technique and ten thousand military merits!”

“What level is Po Jun’s highest legacy secret technique?” Mo Fan asked.

“A Earth-tier cultivation technique that can be cultivated to the Void-Shattering Realm,” Xu Wudi said.

“Earth-tier cultivation technique?” Mo Fan was puzzled.

“According to the terminology of your era, an Earth-tier cultivation technique is a peerless secret manual, one level higher than that,” Xu Wudi explained.

“I see.” Mo Fan was thoughtful.

The scriptures collected by Hidden Sword Manor, apart from sword dao books, were mostly strange tales and anecdotes.

There were no specific classifications for martial arts, cultivation techniques, or martial skills.

Therefore, Mo Fan was hearing about cultivation techniques above peerless secret manuals for the first time.

But then again, if there was Earth-tier, did that mean there was also Heaven-tier?

Thinking this, Mo Fan looked at Xu Wudi and asked directly,

“Above Earth-tier, is there an even higher grade?”

Xu Wudi nodded. “Above Earth-tier, there is indeed a higher grade, which is the legendary Heaven-tier.”

Mo Fan was slightly startled, a little astonished. “Earth-tier cultivation techniques can already cultivate to the Void-Shattering Realm. Can Heaven-tier cultivation techniques cultivate to realms beyond Void-Shattering?”

Faced with this question, Xu Wudi was momentarily stunned and fell silent.

Finally, he sighed and said, “According to legends, there are indeed realms beyond Void-Shattering.”

“But even I have never seen a martial artist whose cultivation has broken through the shackles of Void-Shattering.”

“Even Heaven-tier cultivation techniques seem to exist only in legends. Even the City Lord has only heard of them and never seen them with his own eyes.”

“I see—” Mo Fan nodded slightly, lost in thought.

His Golden Body Art surpassed ordinary peerless secret manuals, and naturally far surpassed Earth-tier cultivation techniques, and it might even far surpass Heaven-tier cultivation techniques—

So, what level was the Golden Body Art?

“So, young man, are you interested in joining Po Jun?” The black cat looked at Mo Fan with anticipation.

Mo Fan didn’t answer directly, but continued to ask, “What can ten thousand military merits be exchanged for?”

“Ten thousand bottles of first-grade elixirs,” the black cat replied.

Mo Fan: “...”

A bottle of first-grade elixir was only worth a few spirit stones.

Ten thousand first-grade elixirs were probably worth tens of thousands of spirit stones.

Tens of thousands of spirit stones seemed like a lot.

But for Mo Fan right now, it was merely a drop in the bucket.

Tens of thousands of spirit stones only amounted to tens of thousands of attribute points.

And now, he needed a million attribute points for one upgrade.

Too difficult—

However, very quickly, Mo Fan seemed to think of something, and he was startled, his heart suddenly beating faster.

He suppressed his inner excitement, looked at Xu Wudi, and asked again, “If I use military merits to exchange for cultivation Origin Stones, what’s the price?”

“One military merit can be exchanged for one cultivation Origin Stone,” Xu Wudi said.

“One military merit for one cultivation Origin Stone?” Mo Fan was dumbfounded, suspecting he had misheard.

“That’s right.” Xu Wudi first nodded, then frowned and said, “So, are you going to join Po Jun or not?”

This time, Mo Fan no longer hesitated: “I’m quite interested in Po Jun and willing to join.”

“Good!” Xu Wudi’s facial muscles twitched. He seemed to want to laugh heartily but was controlled by a powerful willpower.

“That’s great! The barracks finally have a new recruit, meow—” The black cat’s figure flashed, leaping from Xu Wudi’s shoulder to Mo Fan’s shoulder.

“Hello, new recruit. I’m Xiao Hei, the butler of the Po Jun Legion, responsible for all miscellaneous tasks. You can come to me if you need anything in the future, meow.”

“Hahaha, hello, Xiao Hei.” Mo Fan responded politely, only feeling that the name Xiao Hei was too perfunctory.

How lazy was the person who named it?

But then again, how did Xiao Hei, being a demon beast, become the butler of the Po Jun Legion?

Sensing the change in Mo Fan’s expression, the black cat immediately guessed what he was thinking, grinned, and explained,

“I was adopted by the City Lord a few days after I was born and have been in Po Jun City ever since. Although I’m a demon beast, I’ve never been to the demon beast territory.”

He paused and continued, “And our era was different from yours.”

“In your era, humans, demons, and monsters are at odds with each other.”

“In our era, the three races lived in harmony and interacted with each other. There were many permanent demon and monster residents in Po Jun City, and some human academies would also recruit a small number of demon and monster students, something about teaching without discrimination.”

Over a thousand years, disciples from Jade Void Academy continuously entered the secret realm for trials. Through these people, the black cat clearly had some understanding of the outside world.

“No wonder.” Mo Fan nodded, his expression enlightened.

“Xiao Hei, take him to complete the enlistment ceremony and introduce Po Jun to him properly,” Xu Wudi said.

“Alright, meow.” The black cat nodded, jumped off Mo Fan’s shoulder, and walked out of the room.

“New recruit, follow this cat—” The black cat turned its head and looked at Mo Fan.

“Okay.” Mo Fan followed the black cat, and at the same time, turned to bid farewell to Xu Wudi, “This subordinate takes his leave.”

“You must say ‘report’ before speaking,” Xu Wudi said expressionlessly.

Mo Fan immediately understood and quickly said, “Report, this subordinate takes his leave!”

“Go, and remember to close the door!” Xu Wudi waved his hand.

With a creak, the door closed, and only Xu Wudi was left in the room again.

It wasn’t until he sensed Mo Fan and the black cat had gone far that Xu Wudi stopped suppressing his inner excitement, trembling all over, his face smiling like blooming flowers.

“This young man is a talent; he meets all the requirements!”

“This is great! The Po Jun legacy won’t be broken! Po Jun won’t be cut off in my hands, Xu Wudi’s hands!”

Xu Wudi was very excited.

In reality, he didn’t need to do anything.

After all, that Po Jun token was left by the City Lord.

The Po Jun token chose Mo Fan.

This meant the City Lord chose Mo Fan.

All Xu Wudi had to do was approve the process and absorb Mo Fan into Po Jun... The enlistment ceremony was very simple.

After completing the procedures, Mo Fan became a new recruit of the Po Jun Legion.

“Can I claim the enlistment gift now?” Mo Fan looked at the black cat.

That was what he cared about.

“Yes, follow this cat.” The black cat turned and headed in a certain direction.

“Coming!” Mo Fan immediately followed.

Soon, the man and the cat arrived in front of a giant warehouse.

Looking at the ancient-style warehouse, which was covered in dense, flowing runic light, Mo Fan fell into contemplation.

From his perspective as a King-level Formation Master,

The Po Jun Legion’s warehouse formation was too heaven-defying.

This was an irreversible formation!

“Irreversible” meant unbreakable!

If you dared to break it, it would explode, destroying the items and taking you with them!

“It seems my previous idea of secretly sneaking into the barracks to steal Origin Stones was a bit too naive—” Mo Fan thought to himself.

Of course, if one’s formation mastery far exceeded the level of the warehouse’s formation, irreversible would become reversible.

Ultimately, it was still a matter of insufficient strength.

“Hiss, King-level formation mastery is still a bit lacking—” Mo Fan sighed.

While Mo Fan was contemplating, the black cat had already walked to the iron door of the warehouse.

A glowing green light swept across, and with a clang, the iron door opened automatically.

“Let’s go, meow.” The black cat turned its head to look at Mo Fan, who was still in a daze.

“Coming!” Mo Fan quickly followed.

Exchange for Origin Stones!

Exchange for a free Earth-tier cultivation technique!

Entering the warehouse, the black cat operated on the identification formation.

Then a milky white light lit up, and after the light disappeared, an exquisitely designed white jade appeared before Mo Fan.

“This is your enlistment gift, the Immortal Heavenly Art, an Earth-tier cultivation technique. Right now, you’re the only one in the barracks who needs it.”

“So you can take it back and study it slowly. Return it once you’ve learned it—” the black cat explained.

“Hiss, Immortal Heavenly Art? What an overbearing name!” Mo Fan gasped.

As expected of the Army Breaker inheritance cultivation technique!

However, now was clearly not the time to learn cultivation techniques.

After briefly using his spiritual power to resonate with the white jade and quickly scanning the introduction to the Immortal Heavenly Art, Mo Fan put the white jade away.

Composing himself, Mo Fan asked in confusion, "Xiao Hei, does this cultivation technique not have any accompanying martial arts?"

When he was looking at the introduction to the Immortal Heavenly Art just now, he always felt like something was missing.

"It does, meow," the black cat replied.

"What is it?" Mo Fan pressed.

"Army Breaker Fist!" the black cat said.

"Army Breaker Fist?" Mo Fan was startled.

"Yes, Army Breaker Fist, the Army Breaker inheritance martial art, an incredibly powerful martial art that can rank among the top five on the world martial arts list. Its might is unparalleled; it can shatter mountains and fill seas with a single punch!" the black cat said proudly.

"Hiss, so strong. Can you teach me?" Mo Fan asked.

"Uh—" The black cat stretched out its pink paw and scratched its head, "No, your initiation gift only includes the Immortal Heavenly Art and ten thousand points. Everything else needs to be exchanged with military merits."

"Then how many military merits does Army Breaker Fist need?" Mo Fan quickly asked.

Mo Fan was quite interested in the Army Breaker Fist.

His Vajra Fist was no longer keeping up with his cultivation level.

The Army Breaker Fist could perfectly replace the Vajra Fist.

"Ten million military merits," the black cat replied.

"How much?" Mo Fan suspected he was hallucinating.

"Ten million military merits. Exchanging for Army Breaker Fist requires ten million military merits."

The black cat shook its head and continued, "The Immortal Heavenly Art and Army Breaker Fist are both supreme secret arts created by the City Lord.

"Under normal circumstances, no more than three people in the Army Breaker camp are qualified to cultivate the Immortal Heavenly Art or Army Breaker Fist."

At this point, the black cat grinned and said, "The Immortal Heavenly Art also requires ten million military merits to exchange, and it also needs the City Lord's qualification review.

"That is to say, even if you have ten million military merits, you might not be able to exchange for the Immortal Heavenly Art. Now do you know how big of a bargain you got?"

"Hiss?!" Mo Fan gasped.

He hadn't expected this beginner's package to be quite something, actually containing a cultivation technique worth ten million military merits!

Ten million military merits! That could be exchanged for ten million Yuan Stones!

How many attribute points was ten million Yuan Stones?

One billion!

Thinking of this, Mo Fan's heart pounded a little faster.

He took a deep breath, suppressed his inner excitement, and asked calmly, "Xiao Hei, can I not have the Immortal Heavenly Art and exchange it for military merits instead?"

Hearing this, Xiao Hei was stunned and asked in confusion, "Why do you want so many military merits? Isn't the Immortal Heavenly Art good?"

"Just tell me if it's possible or not," Mo Fan said.

"Of course not, meow! You fellow, go and cultivate the Immortal Heavenly Art properly!

"This cultivation technique is not simple. If you can cultivate it to the perfect realm, you will be immortal even if heaven and earth perish!

"This is equivalent to a level above the Void Breaking realm, meow!

"By then, even the Great Tribulation of Eras won't be able to harm you!"

"That amazing?" Mo Fan was dumbfounded.

"Of course, but unfortunately, even the City Lord hasn't cultivated it to the perfect realm—" Xiao Hei sighed helplessly, a hint of sadness flashing in its eyes.

"Didn't you say this cultivation technique was created by the City Lord? Why couldn't even he cultivate it to the perfect realm?" Mo Fan asked in confusion.

"Who told you that the person who creates a cultivation technique can necessarily cultivate it to its extreme?" the black cat retorted.

"That's true, huh," Mo Fan realized.

Indeed, that was the logic.

It was like a coach who could train a world swimming champion might actually be a landlubber himself.

"Alright, follow me, meow. I'll take you to choose a dorm, and then you can cultivate the Immortal Heavenly Art properly!" The black cat turned to leave the warehouse.

Seeing this, Mo Fan quickly said, "Wait, have my military merits been credited?"

"They have," the black cat stopped, turned around, and looked at Mo Fan, "What do you want to exchange for?"

"I want to exchange for ten thousand Yuan Stones!" Mo Fan said directly.

"Why do you want so many Yuan Stones?" the black cat asked, puzzled.

"Never mind that, just tell me if I can exchange for them!" Mo Fan said.

"Of course you can," the black cat nodded.

"Then exchange them for me!" Mo Fan said.

"No problem." The black cat once again approached the identification array, extended its pink paw, and quickly operated it.

A moment later, the milky white light flashed again, and a pile of Yuan Stones appeared at Mo Fan's feet.

"Hiss—" Feeling the surging vital energy, Mo Fan gasped, so happy he wanted to laugh out loud.

"Quickly put them away, and follow me to choose a dorm," the black cat reminded him.

"Alright!" Mo Fan nodded, no longer wasting time, and immediately put the Yuan Stones into his system space, following the black cat.

Following behind the black cat, watching its tail sway in the wind, Mo Fan couldn't help but ask, "Xiao Hei, what's with your tail?"

Xiao Hei was quite frank and replied directly, "To be honest, I am actually a Nine-Lives Spirit Cat, with nine lives.

"Unfortunately, to resist the Great Tribulation of Eras, my nine lives were shattered until only half a life remained. Although I barely survived, my cultivation also plummeted to the Primordial Return realm—"

Mo Fan was slightly startled and continued, "Then Commander Xu..."

"Commander Xu was luckier. Although he wasn't invincible in his time and didn't have nine lives,

"Because he cultivated the Immortal Heavenly Art to a very high level, just a hair's breadth from perfection,

"Plus, he himself was somewhat special, so he also muddled through the tribulation, survived with me, and retained more of his cultivation than I did—"

Hearing this, Mo Fan's face was full of doubt: "What about the City Lord? Did he also survive? Is he also in the military camp now?"

"No," the black cat shook its head, "Actually, although the City Lord was strong, much stronger than me and Commander Xu,

"But in terms of his mastery of the Immortal Heavenly Art alone, he was actually quite a bit worse than Commander Xu."

"I see," Mo Fan nodded, a look of regret on his face.

The black cat sighed and continued, "And the state Commander Xu and I are in now doesn't really count as living.

"We can only hide in a dilapidated small space, unable to go out into the world. How can that be considered living?"

Sighing again, the black cat looked up at the hazy sky and continued, "As the outside great world continuously revives, the small space where Army Breaker City exists will gradually be squeezed, eventually only to be destroyed or assimilated by new rules.

"Now Army Breaker City seems to have revived quite a bit, but in reality, it's just a brief resurgence," the black cat said with a complex expression.

"My condolences. The fact that you two could live until this era is already like living an extra lifetime compared to others," Mo Fan comforted.

"Don't worry, I'm quite open-minded.

"Alas, it's a pity that as the only Nine-Lives Spirit Cat in heaven and earth, a divine cat destined to be invincible across all domains,

"I encountered a great tribulation before I even embarked on the path of invincibility. I barely survived, but in the end, it was all in vain, merely delaying my demise."

At this point, the black cat's eyes welled up with tears, and it pouted, complaining, "Alas, cat life is truly unpredictable, like a big sausage wrapping a small sausage—"

Hearing this, Mo Fan was stunned and a little dumbfounded: "Big sausage wrapping a small sausage?"

"What's wrong?" the black cat asked in confusion.

"How do you know that phrase?" Mo Fan was a bit bewildered; this meme was something he had brought from his hometown.

"You mean that? Haha, I heard it from a little girl and thought it was fun, so I remembered it. Don't you think it's very interesting, meow?" the black cat said.

Mo Fan covered his forehead, already roughly guessing what was going on.

Composing himself, he looked at the black cat and continued, "When did you meet that little girl?"

"When?" The black cat thought for a moment, "About half a year ago. That little girl was quite interesting; she actually forced out that immortal substance from the Blazing Flame Valley.

"Commander Xu had been trying to get it out all this time but couldn't, meow ha ha ha meow—"

The black cat laughed joyfully, too lazy to walk, so it jumped onto Mo Fan's shoulder and pointed the way with its paw: "Go this way."

At this moment, Mo Fan's face was already covered in black lines. There was no need to ask anymore; the little girl the black cat spoke of was Mo Yingying.

During their time together, some of the words he casually said were naturally picked up by his daughter.

Besides Mo Yingying, Xu Jing had also learned many of his words.

However, on second thought, judging from the black cat's behavior, the problems in the small space, such as the disappearance of resources, seemed to have little to do with the immortal substance.

With his doubts, Mo Fan asked the black cat about this issue.

"You're talking about the resources and opportunities in the small space? Hehe, those were all intentionally placed by me, meow.

"When they ran out, I'd replenish them a bit, all to attract you guys in.

"Otherwise, how could we find the Army Breaker inheritor?

"As for why I didn't continue to replenish resources? Hehe, now that I've found you, the inheritor, there's no need to waste resources anymore."

Pausing, the black cat seemed to remember something and added,

"Haha, this is all thanks to that white-bearded old man who accidentally fell in here through a teleportation array three or four thousand years ago.

"At that time, the outside great world hadn't revived yet, but the small space unexpectedly revived early. I and Commander Xu were worried about not being able to contact the outside world, and he just showed up.

"I gave him some opportunities, a batch of spatial storage devices, helped him move a few mountains, and emptied the inheritances of several major forces.

"Without him, people wouldn't have continuously entered for the past thousand years, hahaha meow—"

Hearing these words, Mo Fan's face twitched.

He had always wondered how the founder of the Jade Void Academy managed to move so many things out during an era when spiritual energy hadn't revived.

It turned out the black cat was behind it all!

The black cat shook its head and said, "This is also quite good. At least the inheritances of various forces have regained their brilliance. They would be happy to know this in the afterlife, meow?"

"That makes sense," Mo Fan nodded.

Pondering for a moment, Mo Fan asked another crucial question: "Besides Army Breaker City, there should be other small spaces that have survived until now, right?

"Could there be beings like you who have lived until now in other small spaces?"

"Possibly, but the probability is very small," the black cat replied.

"Mm," Mo Fan nodded slightly, lost in thought.

At this moment, a row of buildings appeared before Mo Fan's eyes.

These buildings looked ancient and old, but they were clean and tidy, as if regularly cleaned, and looked very comfortable.

"Stop, we're here. This is your dorm. Choose any room, cultivate well. I usually bask in the sun on the city wall. If you need anything, come find me anytime!"

"Okay, have a safe journey," Mo Fan waved.

Hearing this, the black cat stumbled, almost falling to the ground, and said grumpily, "Don't say such inauspicious things, meow!"

Mo Fan scratched his head.

After the black cat walked away, Mo Fan connected to his system space with his mind and cast an appraisal spell on the pile of Yuan Stones he had just put in.