King of Creation
Chapter 95: Chapter 95 Caiyi’s Secret
In the end, Ye Zhen chose the "Hundred Stacked True Gang" for the Protective Gang Qi Manual, although the description said it was extremely difficult to cultivate. However, the fact that it could withstand a full-force blow from an existence at the Spirit Summoning Realm once greatly accomplished was just too tempting.
Next, it was time to choose an offensive martial skill.
There were many offensive martial skills that caught Ye Zhen’s interest, but biting off more than one could chew wouldn’t do any good. For now, he could only focus on refining one before considering others.
After some consideration, Ye Zhen resolutely abandoned fist skill techniques and instead turned to sword techniques.
In terms of combat power, fist techniques were on par with sword techniques, but during this time, Ye Zhen, through comparing Thunder Leopard Collapsing Fist and Flying Frost Sword Art, discovered a very sharp issue.
When expending the same amount of True Yuan, the power of sword techniques was slightly greater. To achieve the same power, fist techniques consumed more True Yuan.
It’s simple, sword techniques concentrate all the True Yuan at the tip of the sword, resulting in stronger explosive force and better penetration ability, making it easier to defeat the enemy. Fists were slightly inferior in this regard.
What’s more important, an extra inch of length meant an extra inch of strength!
The sword was like an extension of the arm, allowing one to fend off an enemy from three feet away, which fist techniques did not provide.
Having determined his direction, Ye Zhen focused on searching.
While Ye Zhen was engrossed in selecting secret manuals, the Fifth Elder Hong Banjiang also gathered his several direct disciples together.
"Master, except for Qu Zhanqian, Second Senior Brother, who is not back from his training outside, all the other Senior Brothers are here, waiting outside the gate," reported Hong Banjiang’s Sword Boy from Dingguang Peak.
"Let them all come in!"
Following Hong Banjiang’s voice, three disciples stepped into Hong Banjiang’s Silent Chamber.
The first one was, notably, the True Inheritor Fan Chuyu.
The last one was Zhou Zhi’an, who had fled from the Fish-Dragon Path.
The one in the middle, had Changsun Ran been there, he would have recognized him as Cao Luo, thirteen on the Qiyun Sect’s Heavenly List!
Including the deceased Yue Chengzu and the yet-to-return Qu Zhanqian, these individuals made up the five major disciples of the Fifth Elder Hong Banjiang. Especially Qu Zhanqian, who ranked first on the Heavenly List, was touted to be the future ninth True Inheritor of the Qiyun Sect.
It was also because of having two great disciples like True Inheritor Fan Chuyu and the top Quasi True Inheritor Qu Zhanqian that Fifth Elder Hong Banjiang held considerable authority in the sect.
"Master, Zhiyuan little brother has been badly tricked by Ye Zhen again, not only duped of 240,000 silver, but he was also left too ashamed to meet anyone," Cao Luo, thirteen on the Heavenly List, said indignantly as the disciples just entered the door.
Hearing this, instead of being angry, Hong Banjiang laughed, "Is that how you all behave as Senior Brothers? Chengzu was killed, Leopard has been driven mad by Ye Zhen, and Zhiyuan has been swindled. I, Hong Banjiang, have my disciples fooled to death by a brat like Ye Zhen!"
"Disciples are incompetent!"
Zhou Zhi’an looked ashamed.
"You still have the face to say that, what did I tell you? I ordered you to provoke Ye Zhen onto the Martial Combat Platform and take him out when he’s least expecting it, to avenge your cousin Chengzu! Not only did you fail to do so, but you were also badly tricked by Ye Zhen!
Worthless!
I must have been blind to have taken in a bunch of good-for-nothings like you!"
Grinding his teeth with anger, Fan Chuyu spoke up, "Master, perhaps we could arrange an opportunity for me to replace..."
"That won’t do!"
Hong Banjiang directly interrupted Fan Chuyu, "Your most important goal right now is Caiyi, do you understand? This matter is a thousand times more important than dealing with Ye Zhen. Caiyi is the biggest secret of our Qiyun Sect!"
As he spoke, Hong Banjiang’s other two disciples, Cao Luo and Zhou Zhi’an, simultaneously showed curiosity and listened attentively.
"Forget about it! The secret Caiyi holds, even I only know bits and pieces," Hong Banjiang went on.
"Master, I understand! As for Ye Zhen..."
"Let Cao Luo and Zhiyuan deal with it," Hong Banjiang said.
Upon hearing this, Fan Chuyu’s brows furrowed. "But Ye Zhen’s cultivation is on the tenth rank of the Heavenly List. I fear the two Junior Brothers may not be able to match him."
"Humph, the tenth rank on the Heavenly List?"
Hong Banjiang scoffed, "Someone with the fourth stage of True Essence clearing the fifth challenge under normal circumstances, not to mention Ye Zhen, even Tu Fangye, the top genius of the century, wouldn’t have had the ability to do it.
I estimate that nine out of ten, Ye Zhen gained an advantage by some trickery, or perhaps, Ye Zhen hides some unknown secret!"
Saying so, Hong Banjiang suddenly slapped his thigh and started scolding Zhou Zhi’an, pointing at his nose, "You good-for-nothing, when Ye Zhen came out from the Fish-Dragon Nine Transformations, why didn’t you challenge him?"
"Yes, according to sect rules, higher-ranked disciples on the Heavenly List cannot refuse a challenge from the lower-ranked ones!" exclaimed Cao Luo.
"Then what are you waiting for? In a battle, truth and bluff will be revealed. You two have the qualifications to challenge Ye Zhen. Go now!" Hong Banjiang snorted.
Zhou Zhi’an was somewhat fearful, "Master, after all, Ye Zhen made it through the fifth challenge. That guy plays dirty; I’m scared he will..."
"Waste!"
Despite the rebuke, Hong Banjiang still threw out a jade talisman, "This Spirit Light Amulet fabricated by me can shield you from calamity once within half an hour. Go now!"
As Cao Luo and Zhou Zhi’an hurried out the door, Hong Banjiang’s voice rang out again, "To prevent Ye Zhen from being on guard, Cao Luo, you go challenge Ye Zhen first. With the sect rules in place, he has to accept the challenge.
Right, the moment you get a chance, kill that scoundrel. If anything happens, I’ll cover for you!"
"If you kill Ye Zhen, I will reward you handsomely!"
"Chu Yu, you go too! We need to hurry things up with Caiyi..."
Inside the fourth floor of the Scripture Storage Tower.
Soon, Ye Zhen had chosen a copy of the Winter Plum Swordsmanship.
The reason for choosing this Winter Plum Swordsmanship was simple: the True Qi route of the technique leaned toward yin, and once mastered, the sword light would be especially cold, enhancing the power of the Low Grade Treasure, the Sky Crystal Sword.
Of course, the Winter Plum Swordsmanship itself was formidable for its unorthodox sword paths and power.
In the end, Ye Zhen also chose the Breath Concealment Technique from a special cultivation manual, which could to some extent constrain a martial artist’s aura fluctuations and significantly conceal the essence blood qi around the body.
This was especially useful when stepping into Demon Beast territories, as it could prevent discovery by demon beasts to some extent or avoid attracting powerful demon beasts with the vibrant essence blood qi.
"Old Steward, I’ve chosen these three secret manuals. Please help me get them."
Outside the Scripture Storage Tower, the Old Steward squinted his eyes and glanced over, "You’ve got a good eye for choosing the Winter Plum Swordsmanship; it’s very suitable for your Low Grade Treasure, the Sky Crystal Sword. The Breath Concealment Technique is a very useful secret technique too. But this Hundred Stacked True Qi?" The Old Steward frowned.
"What’s wrong?"
"You lad must have been captivated by the phrase in the description of Hundred Stacked True Qi that says ’once cultivated to great accomplishment, one can withstand a full-force strike from a Spirit Summoning Realm existence’," the Old Steward said.
Ye Zhen nodded.
"To tell you the truth, there are only about twenty disciples who can enter the fourth floor of the Scripture Pavilion. Initially, twelve disciples chose to cultivate the Hundred Stacked True Qi, but among them, eleven returned the manual after about three days and switched to cultivating another Protective Gang Qi manual instead.
The other one, who was somewhat incredulous, endured bitter cultivation for three months and eventually switched to another Protective Gang Qi cultivation as well. Do you know who that disciple was?"
"Who?"
"Changsun Ran, the third-ranked on the Heavenly List who just left not too long ago!"
"Go change for another one," the Old Steward advised.
The Old Steward thought that Ye Zhen would heed his advice, but to his surprise, Ye Zhen shook his head firmly, exasperating the Old Steward so much that he huffed and glared, "I knew it, all of you Inner Sect Disciples are the same! You never listen to this old man’s advice until you have suffered the consequences!"
"Hmph, Hundred Stacked True Qi is 7,000 Sect Contribution Points, Winter Plum Swordsmanship is 6,000 Sect Contribution Points, and Breath Concealment Technique is 3,000 Sect Contribution Points, totaling 16,000." The enraged Sect Old Steward said.
"That much?"
Ye Zhen was a bit surprised. Lower Grade Human Level secret manuals were only five or six hundred Sect Contribution Points, but the Upper Grade Human Level secret manuals had skyrocketed to ten times that amount.
"What’s that? One Upper Grade Human Level secret manual would easily fetch several hundred thousand silver at an auction in the outside world."
"What, not enough?" The Old Steward appeared genuinely concerned for Ye Zhen.
"It’s not a problem if you don’t have enough. Inner Sect Disciples who have entered the top ten of the Heavenly List can borrow up to 10,000 Sect Contribution Points from the sect," the Old Steward reminded him.
Ye Zhen shook his head. With so much silver at his disposal, obtaining Sect Contribution Points to exchange for secret manuals was more than feasible.
Before long, after exchanging 160,000 silver for 16,000 Sect Contribution Points, Ye Zhen successfully acquired the three secret manuals.
If he was going to do it, he might as well go all in!
Ye Zhen promptly ran to the Sect Main Hall and exchanged all the silver he had on him for Sect Contribution Points, converting them into True Essence Pills, and even borrowed 10,000 Sect Contribution Points to do the same.
Everything was aimed at improving his cultivation.
If his cultivation improved, earning silver would also become easier.
Half a quarter-hour later, Ye Zhen joyfully stored over twenty bottles of True Essence Pills into his Storage Bracelet; these pills would be enough for several months of cultivation.
Just as Ye Zhen was stepping out of the Sect Main Hall, two figures hurried along the mountain path towards the Sect Main Hall; Ye Zhen recognized one of them — it was Zhou Zhi’an.
The moment the two rushing figures caught sight of Ye Zhen, one of them shouted ecstatically, "Ye Zhen, I am Cao Luo ranked thirteenth on the Heavenly List, and I am here to challenge you, the tenth on the Heavenly List!"
Hearing Cao Luo’s loud shout, Ye Zhen’s face immediately changed.
It was said that Cao Luo’s cultivation had already stepped into the Spirit Summoning Realm.
Simultaneously, a Sect rule surfaced in Ye Zhen’s mind—when a lower-ranked disciple challenges a higher-ranked disciple on the Heavenly List, the higher-ranked disciple cannot refuse!
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