126: Chapter 126 Hidden Knife

Qingyun Martial Arts Hall.

Young Master Zhao Qingyun sat in his study, a letter spread out on the table before him. There were not many words on the letter, but he had read it over and over again several times. With each reading, his expression grew uglier.

The assassination had failed.

That Masked Man was a secret agent raised by Qingyun Martial Arts Hall for many years, possessing the cultivation of an Early Stage Fourth-Rank Warrior. His fast blade technique was quite famous in the assassination trade of Yunzhou Prefecture.

When Young Master Zhao Qingyun sent him out, he had been certain of success. No matter how good Lin Tian was at fighting, that was only his ability in a direct confrontation.

Assassination was different. Assassination was slitting a throat from behind, cutting a throat while you slept, or poisoning you while you ate. Being strong in a direct fight and being strong at assassination were two different things.

But now the letter stated clearly: the secret agent was dead. The body had been found in the mountain forest, pierced through the heart by a single sword strike, clean and swift.

Young Master Zhao Qingyun crumpled the letter into a ball, his knuckles popping. Was Lin Tian's life really that tough? Five Fourth-Rank Warriors couldn't kill him in an ambush, and sending a secret agent couldn't kill him either?

The door was suddenly pushed open.

A middle-aged man walked in. This man had a tall stature, broad shoulders and a thick back, a square face, thick eyebrows reaching into his temples, and a gaze like a blade.

His footsteps were extremely light when he walked, but every step he took carried a heavy, condensed Aura, like a mountain moving.

The master of Qingyun Martial Arts Hall, Young Master Zhao Qingyun's father, Zhao Zhenshan.

After Zhao Zhenshan walked in, he glanced at Young Master Zhao Qingyun, then looked at the crumpled letter on the table.

His gaze darkened, and he closed the door behind him.

"Qingyun."

Zhao Zhenshan's voice was not loud, but it struck Young Master Zhao Qingyun's heart like an iron hammer: "Who allowed you to act in secret?"

Young Master Zhao Qingyun stood up abruptly, his lips moving as if he wanted to say something, but upon meeting his father's blade-like eyes, he swallowed the words that had reached his lips.

"Do you know what the consequences are for assassinating a Genius Disciple of Qixia Sect?"

Young Master Zhao Qingyun's face turned deathly pale.

Of course he knew.

Qixia Sect was the largest Sect within a thousand miles, filled with countless experts, and was famously protective of its own.

If Qixia Sect found out that it was Qingyun Martial Arts Hall that sent the people, let alone him, Young Master Zhao Qingyun, the entire Qingyun Martial Arts Hall would have to be buried with him.

"Father... I know I was wrong."

Young Master Zhao Qingyun lowered his head, his voice muffled.

Zhao Zhenshan stared at him for a long while before the anger on his face slowly receded.

He walked up to Young Master Zhao Qingyun and patted his shoulder, with a force that was neither too light nor too heavy.

"You are not allowed to make another move."

"I will help you resolve the rest of the matter. The traces will all be cleaned up, and no one will be able to trace it back to you."

Young Master Zhao Qingyun raised his head, a look of relief flashing in his eyes, and he quickly cupped his fists: "Thank you, Father."

Zhao Zhenshan did not say anything more and turned to walk out of the study. The door closed behind him, and his footsteps gradually faded away.

Young Master Zhao Qingyun stood where he was, looking at the closed door, and slowly clenched his fists.

His father was right; the path of assassination was a dead end. If he made another move, not only would he fail to kill Lin Tian, but he would also drag himself and Qingyun Martial Arts Hall into it.

But to just admit defeat like this, he could not swallow this frustration.

If assassination wouldn't work, then he would do it fair and square.

He, Young Master Zhao Qingyun, was also a Fourth-Rank Warrior and a Genius.

As long as he reached the Middle Stage of the Fourth-Rank earlier than Lin Tian, and as long as his strength surpassed Lin Tian's, Liu Yiyi's gaze would naturally turn back to him, and all that praise and adulation would naturally return to him.

Young Master Zhao Qingyun took a deep breath, walked to the training room, and began to sit in meditation to Cultivate.

He had to achieve a Breakthrough. He had to surpass Lin Tian.

Qixia Sect.

The moment Lin Tian stepped into the mountain gate, the string that had been taut in his mind finally relaxed.

Zixia Peak was the same as ever. The mountain road wound along, with lush pine and cypress trees on both sides, and mountain mist lingering halfway up the mountain without dispersing.

Occasionally, one could see a few Sword Cultivators wearing purple Disciple robes walking along the mountain path, swords at their waists, their steps light and swift.

Lin Tian walked up along the mountain road, turned into a secluded path, and after walking for another cup of tea's time, finally arrived at his small courtyard.

The courtyard was not big: one main room, one side room, and a small yard. A thin layer of dust had settled on the stone table in the yard, and a few weeds had grown in the corner of the wall.

It was very quiet.

Lin Tian pushed the door open, put down his things, and first fetched a basin of water to wash his face. As the cool water splashed onto his face, the dust and fatigue of the journey were truly washed away.

He sat cross-legged on a prayer mat, regulated his breathing for an hour, and smoothed out the Qi within his body. Only then did he open his bundle and line up the five medicinal herbs.

Three were the remuneration given by the Liu family, and two were extra gifts of gratitude from the Liu family. The quality of all of them was good, with a rich medicinal fragrance.

Three of them were suitable for his current use and could be prepared into a medicinal soup to assist his Cultivation.

The other two were of a higher grade; it would be a waste for his current cultivation to use them, and their medicinal properties were not quite right, so forcing their use would actually be bad.

It would be better to sell them for money and exchange them for a few more martial arts techniques.

After this trip to the Taiping Mountain Range, Lin Tian felt more and more that he had too few methods at his disposal.

The Xiaguang Sword Technique was good, and the Cloud Shadow Step was also useful, but relying solely on these two abilities, he would still be stretched thin when encountering truly thorny opponents.

When facing five Fourth-Rank Warriors in the canyon, he had taken advantage of their carelessness, erupting with full power right from the start and catching them off guard.

If the opponents had treated him as a peer-level opponent from the start, that battle would never have been so easy.

He needed to master more methods.

Lin Tian wrapped the two unused medicinal herbs in cloth and went to the Sect's marketplace.

The Qixia Sect's marketplace was not small; there were sellers of Medicinal Pills, weapons, and medicinal herbs, as well as buyers of medicinal herbs—it had everything.

Lin Tian found a reputable medicinal herb shop and handed the two medicinal herbs inside.

The shopkeeper was an old man with a goatee, who squinted his eyes for a long while before finally holding up five fingers.

Five thousand taels.

Lin Tian did not haggle and nodded directly. This price was fair, even a little more than he had expected.

Adding the more than ten thousand taels of silver he already had on hand, it totaled over fifteen thousand taels.

It was enough.

Leaving the marketplace, Lin Tian went straight to the Library Pavilion.

The Qixia Sect's Library Pavilion was built halfway up the mountain, a three-story building with flying eaves and bucket arches, possessing an extraordinary Aura.

At the entrance sat a white-haired Elder, eyes closed as if dozing off, but when Lin Tian approached, his eyelids twitched, and a Divine Sense swept over, confirming Lin Tian's identity before returning to his dozing state.

Lin Tian walked into the Library Pavilion and went up the stairs to the second floor.

The second floor stored all Yellow Rank Medium Grade martial arts, priced at around three thousand taels each.

He planned to pick three books this time, just enough to spend the silver he had earned from selling the medicinal herbs.

He walked past rows of bookshelves, his gaze sweeping over the covers of those martial arts Secret Manuals. Fist techniques, palm techniques, blade techniques, sword techniques, movement techniques, hidden weapons, archery... categorized and complete with everything.

Lin Tian did not rush to take them, but instead calculated in his mind what he lacked. For sword techniques, he had the Xiaguang Sword Technique, which was enough for now.

For movement techniques, he had the Cloud Shadow Step, which was also enough.

For Mind-Cultivation Technique, he had the Purple Qi Diagram, no need to change it.

What he lacked were unexpected methods, long-range attack methods, and another option besides the sword when fighting in close quarters.

Once he had thought it through, he began to choose.

For the first book, he chose a hidden weapon Cultivation Technique.

There were several hidden weapon Cultivation Techniques on the bookshelf: throwing darts, flying needles, throwing stones.

Lin Tian flipped through them one by one, finally stopping in front of a thin booklet. Four words were written on the cover—Flying Knife in the Sleeve.

He flipped through a few pages and knew what it was about. This Cultivation Technique specialized in throwing knives, focusing on hiding the throwing knife in the sleeve, catching the opponent off guard, and delivering a fatal blow.

The technique was tricky and the force application was short and sharp, very suitable for suddenly unleashing it during close-quarters combat to catch the opponent off guard.

Yellow Rank Medium Grade, three thousand taels.

Lin Tian took the booklet in his hand and continued walking forward.

For the second book, he chose an archery technique.

Long-range attacks were his biggest weakness at the moment.

When encountering someone shooting cold arrows, he could only rely on movement techniques to dodge, with no way to fight back.

If the opponent was in a high or distant place, he had even less of a way to deal with it.

After picking and choosing, he selected a book, the Meteor Arrow Technique. This archery technique had only one move, but this move was extremely overbearing.

It involved channeling all of one's Internal Energy into the arrow; when shot, it was like a meteor falling to the ground, with immense power and incredible speed. When practiced to a high level, a single arrow could pierce clouds and split rocks.

Yellow Rank Medium Grade, three thousand taels.

For the third book, he chose a palm technique.

Although the sword was useful, there were always times when it was too late to draw it. For example, when someone got close to him, when he couldn't use it in a narrow space, or when the sword was knocked out of his hand.

At these times, a pair of bare palms was the final reliance.

He chose a book, the Great Strength Vajra Palm. This palm technique followed a rigid and fierce path, with vigorous palm power that could split stone monuments and crack rocks.

Although it didn't have many variations, it won in being simple and direct; one palm strike out was solid, real power. Combined with his Internal Energy cultivation, the power would not be bad.

Yellow Rank Medium Grade, three thousand taels.

Three martial arts, nine thousand taels.

Lin Tian took the three booklets to the entrance to register.

The white-haired Elder opened one eye, scanned the three martial arts he had chosen, his gaze lingering on the Flying Knife in the Sleeve and the Meteor Arrow Technique, then looked at the Great Strength Vajra Palm, a strange expression appearing on his face.

None of these three martial arts belonged to Zixia Peak.

The seven branches of Qixia Sect each had their own specialties. Zixia Peak was the territory of Sword Cultivators, and the Disciples all practiced sword techniques and movement techniques.

Although the martial arts of the other six branches were open to all Disciples of the Sect, generally, very few people would choose to study across peaks.

It wasn't that they couldn't learn, but that there was no one to teach them after they learned it.

Without the guidance of an Elder, relying solely on self-exploration, practicing would yield half the result with twice the effort; it was thankless work.

This Disciple had chosen three martial arts from other branches in one go—did he really not know the rules, or did he have some other plan?

The white-haired Elder opened his mouth, wanting to offer a reminder, but seeing Lin Tian's calm expression, looking as if he knew what he was doing, he swallowed the words that had reached his lips.

He shook his head, recorded the names of the three martial arts and Lin Tian's name in the register, then waved his hand to let Lin Tian leave.

Lin Tian paid nine thousand taels of silver, put away the three booklets, and left the Library Pavilion.

Returning to his small courtyard, closing the door, Lin Tian placed the three martial arts on the table and first picked up the Flying Knife in the Sleeve.

Three days later.

In the courtyard, Lin Tian stood three zhang away, facing an old pine tree.

His right hand hung low, his sleeve slightly bulging, hiding a few temporarily whittled bamboo knives inside.

His wrist gave a light flick.

A cold light flew out from his sleeve, so fast that its trajectory was almost impossible to see.

With a "thud," the bamboo knife was nailed into the tree trunk, sinking three parts into the wood, the handle of the knife still trembling slightly.

Lin Tian walked over, looked at the depth the bamboo knife had sunk, then looked at the distance it had deviated from the target center, and nodded.

He silently brought up the proficiency panel in his mind.

Flying Knife in the Sleeve, Entry Level, 1-100.

Meteor Arrow Technique, Entry Level, 1-100.

Great Strength Vajra Palm, Entry Level, 1-100.

The three martial arts had finally reached the Entry Level.

The next steps were simple. Practice it over and over, grind it over and over, and the proficiency would naturally rise. He was too familiar with this.

Half a month.

For a full half month, apart from eating and sleeping, Lin Tian spent all his time on Cultivation.

During the day, he practiced palm techniques and archery, and at night, he practiced throwing knives. The trunk of that old pine tree on Zixia Peak was densely covered with knife holes, several bluestone floor tiles in the courtyard had been smashed by the Great Strength Vajra Palm, and the arrows nailed into the cliff wall behind the mountain could not even be pulled out.

On an evening half a month later, Lin Tian finished his practice and stood still, once again bringing up the proficiency panel.

Name, Lin Tian.

Cultivation, Early Stage Fourth-Rank Warrior.

Martial Arts—

Purple Qi Diagram, Minor Achievement, 300-1000.

Xiaguang Sword Technique, Minor Achievement, 200-1000.

Cloud Shadow Step, Minor Achievement, 375-1000.

Flying Knife in the Sleeve, Proficient, 16-500.

Meteor Arrow Technique, Proficient, 5-500.

Great Strength Vajra Palm, Proficient, 12-500.

All three newly learned martial arts had entered the Proficient Realm.

Lin Tian clenched his fist, feeling the Internal Energy circulating within his body. Compared to half a month ago, his strength had risen by another large margin.

The Xiaguang Sword Technique had pushed forward by more than a hundred points of proficiency in the Minor Achievement Realm, making his sword strikes even more fluid.

The Cloud Shadow Step had also increased by more than a hundred, his movement technique faster than before by a few notches. Coupled with the three new martial arts at his disposal, if he encountered the same situation in the canyon again, he would have much more confidence than before.

But having martial arts alone was not enough.

The Flying Knife in the Sleeve needed real throwing knives, not bamboo knives. The Meteor Arrow Technique needed a good bow, not just using Internal Energy to gesture empty-handed. These all required money.

Lin Tian calculated the silver he had on hand.

He had spent nine thousand taels on martial arts and had twelve thousand taels left. Buying throwing knives and a bow and arrows should be enough, but how much money it would specifically take would depend on the quality.

However, he had more than just this silver on hand.

The things on the bodies of those Black Tiger Gang Fourth-Rank Warriors he had slain in the canyon had all fallen into his hands.

At the time, time was tight; he had only searched through them hurriedly, taking everything he could.

Those people's weapons, Medicinal Pills, and the gold, silver, and jewelry they carried with them were now all in his bundle.

Lin Tian opened the bundle and poured the spoils of war onto the table. A few pieces of broken silver, two Medicinal Pills of unknown grade, a jade thumb ring, a gold chain, and a few jade pendants of good quality.

No silver notes, all solid items. He couldn't be sure exactly how much they were worth.

He needed to find a place to have them appraised and exchanged for cash silver.

It was not very appropriate to handle this matter within the Sect.

Although the shopkeeper of the marketplace's medicinal herb shop also bought things, one look would reveal these were spoils of war stripped from dead people, and it would be inevitable that he would ask a few extra questions. Lin Tian did not want to invite this trouble.

It looked like he had to make another trip to Yunzhou Prefecture.

Yunzhou Prefecture was the largest city within several hundred miles, where merchants gathered, and all kinds of business were conducted. Matters like appraising jewelry and exchanging gold and silver were easiest to handle in Yunzhou Prefecture.

Just as he was thinking, footsteps came from outside the courtyard.

Lin Tian looked up and saw Senior Sister Zheng Xiaoyun walking over from the other end of the path. She was wearing a purple dress, a sword at her waist, her steps light and swift.

Seeing Lin Tian standing in the courtyard, she smiled and spoke from afar.

"Junior Brother Lin, in two days, a few Senior Brothers from our Zixia Peak are going to go together to Yunzhou Prefecture to purchase some things. Are you going?"