Chapter 3: Intercepting Qingfeng Sword Technique and Returning the “Tiangang Sword Technique” a Hundredfold

After a while, Zhou Chen, using his identity token, passed through the Sect's Formation Restriction and arrived in front of the Technique Pavilion.

Before his eyes stood an ancient and elegant building, with a massive stone tablet in front of it, on which the three characters “Technique Pavilion” were carved. Spiritual Qi seemed to flow within the strokes.

He stepped into the Technique Pavilion and immediately felt a rich Spiritual Qi wash over him, invigorating his spirit. Zhou Chen only felt a refreshing coolness in his mind.

All the building Materials of the Technique Pavilion were refined from century-old Sandalwood Spirit Wood, which not only prevented dampness and corrosion, but the aura emitted by the Sandalwood Spirit Wood could also calm and clear one's mind.

Beside the entrance on the first floor of the Technique Pavilion, there was a thin, sharp-faced, monkey-like middle-aged man, who was precisely the supervisor of the first floor of the Technique Pavilion.

In front of Zhou Chen, there were several Outer Sect Disciples lining up to enter. These Disciples exuded an aura of Qi, indicating they had just experienced a Breakthrough.

“Stop.”

As Zhou Chen was about to enter, the middle-aged supervisor called out to him.

“One Low-Grade Spirit Stone.”

The supervisor stretched out his hand to Zhou Chen.

Zhou Chen was startled.

“Why didn’t those Disciples in front pay Spirit Stones?”

Looking at the former top Genius of the Outer Sect, the supervisor showed disdain and said coldly,

“They are them, and you are you. You, a Body Refining first-level good-for-nothing who can't Cultivate, still want to Cultivate Cultivation Techniques and battle skills? This is truly a great joke! One Spirit Stone, take it or leave it!”

Zhou Chen looked at him, about to flare up, then paused, and immediately took out his last Spirit Stone and handed it to him.

“Consider yourself sensible, kid. Go in!”

The supervisor raised his voice, triumphantly.

As the saying goes, “It’s easier to deal with a king than a petty official.”

The reason Zhou Chen didn't want to get entangled with him wasn't that he was afraid of the other party, but because Zhou Chen had seen a good Opportunity on this fellow's information panel.

【Recent Opportunity: Tonight, as usual, the Spirit Stones extorted will be hidden under a cyan stone block in the woods behind the Technique Pavilion. While climbing a tree to observe the surroundings, a Mid-Grade Spirit Stone will be unexpectedly discovered in a bird's nest on the tree.】

Spirit Stones on the Tianxuan Continent were similar to gold and silver in his previous life, serving as hard currency for transactions across the continent.

The Spiritual Qi contained within Spirit Stones could be used for Cultivation, setting up Formations, and even assisting in Artifact Refining and Alchemy.

Based on the quality of Spiritual Qi contained within them, Spirit Stones could be divided into Supreme Grade, High Grade, Mid-Grade, and Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

The exchange ratio for each type of Spirit Stone was generally 1:100 as a reference.

In reality, one Mid-Grade Spirit Stone was equivalent to one hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones, but one hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones could not be exchanged for one Mid-Grade Spirit Stone.

This was because Mid-Grade Spirit Stones were scarcer, more portable, and had a lower yield, coupled with the differing quality of Spiritual Qi, leading to a certain premium.

Zhou Chen stepped into the Technique Pavilion and found densely packed bookshelves, filled with various Cultivation Techniques and battle skill Secret Manuals.

These Secret Manuals were precious ancient texts collected by the Wenxian Sect over many years, each Cultivation Technique containing a profound Martial Dao Legacy.

The Technique Pavilion was similar to a library in his previous life, with Cultivation Technique areas divided into two main categories: Cultivation Techniques and battle skills.

Among them, battle skill Cultivation Techniques were further subdivided by different weapons, including blade, sword, spear, staff, fist, whip, leg, and other battle skills.

Zhou Chen walked directly to the fist-type Cultivation Technique area, stopping in front of the Mang Niu Fist Cultivation Technique.

A faint spiritual glow flowed in front of all the Cultivation Techniques, subtly revealing a dangerous aura—this was the Sect's Restriction.

If one forcefully broke the Restriction to take a Cultivation Technique, the Restriction within the Technique Pavilion would instantly activate, killing the person who forcibly took the Cultivation Technique, and the Sect's powerful Cultivators would arrive immediately.

On each floor of the Technique Pavilion, there were many individual compartments for Disciples to comprehend Cultivation Techniques.

First, he placed his Outer Sect Disciple token into the empty slot in front of the Cultivation Technique, then the light screen disappeared, and Zhou Chen took out the Mang Niu Fist from it.

The spirit token recorded the information of the Cultivation Technique Zhou Chen selected, and subsequently, he would no longer need to consume attempts or Sect contribution points when selecting this Cultivation Technique.

Entering the compartment, Zhou Chen opened the Mang Niu Fist, flipped through it, and indeed found a hidden compartment on the cover.

However, the hidden compartment was sealed, which was why no Disciple had found it before.

So Zhou Chen pulled out a stack of papers from the hidden compartment, unfolded them, and it clearly read “Qingfeng Swordplay”.

The paper, of unknown material, was as thin as a cicada's wing, like secular gold foil but with strong韧性.

“Ding! Congratulations to the host for intercepting the Yellow Rank High Grade battle skill ‘Qingfeng Swordplay’, receiving a hundredfold return of the Profound Rank High Grade battle skill ‘Tiangang Swordplay’. Do you wish to claim it immediately?”

“No!”

Zhou Chen's heart was excited.

Profound Rank battle skills generally appeared on the second floor or higher of the Technique Pavilion. Profound Rank battle skills were already considered core Cultivation Techniques of various Sects. Ordinary Loose Cultivators might spend their entire lives and still be unable to learn a single Profound Rank Low Grade battle skill.

And the Zhou Family, where Zhou Chen currently resided, was renowned in Luo City, its vast Family business established by the Zhou Family Old Ancestor with the Profound Rank Low Grade battle skill, “Rushing Thunder Fist.”

This showed how precious a Profound Rank Low Grade battle skill was; even if Zhou Chen had been excellent in the Sect before, he never had the Opportunity to learn a Profound Rank Low Grade battle skill.

And the Opportunity returned this time was actually a Profound Rank High Grade battle skill.

Suppressing the fervor in his heart, Zhou Chen quickly put away the Qingfeng Swordplay, and at the same time, returned the Mang Niu Fist to its original place, preparing to leave the Technique Pavilion.

“Hahahahaha!”

Only to hear bursts of laughter from around.

“Brother Wang, what did I tell you? He definitely wouldn't last even an incense stick, and he came out in half an incense stick. A good-for-nothing is a good-for-nothing.”

A Disciple laughed.

“Exactly, exactly. He was once the number one Outer Sect Disciple, didn't know if that reputation was bribed. Came to the Technique Pavilion to pretend to Cultivate and then ran off.”

Another Disciple echoed.

It turned out to be the Outer Sect Disciples who had entered the Technique Pavilion earlier than Zhou Chen, though most were at Body Refining seventh or eighth level, all former defeated opponents of Zhou Chen.

Zhou Chen glanced at them, ignored them, and intended to leave the Technique Pavilion directly.

With the System's existence, his future was the vast starry sea; these people were no different from ants in his eyes.

Seeing Zhou Chen's lack of reaction, these people laughed even harder.

“No loud noises in the Technique Pavilion! If you make any more noise, get out!”

The sharp-faced, monkey-like supervisor appeared at some point and roared at them.

“Yes, supervisor.”

Those Disciples responded in low voices.

“And you, Zhou Chen, a good-for-nothing should have the awareness of a good-for-nothing. I think you shouldn't waste time coming to the Technique Pavilion anymore!”

The supervisor showed disdain and continued coldly.

“Supervisor, coming to the Technique Pavilion is a right granted by the Sect to all Outer Sect Disciples. It’s not up to you, supervisor, to decide, is it?”

Zhou Chen responded calmly.

“You don't know what's good for you. When you fail the assessment and become a Utility Disciple, you'll see what's coming to you!”

The Technique Pavilion supervisor's face turned ashen, and he flicked his sleeves and left.

Currently, Zhou Chen was still an Outer Sect Disciple. With this status, he dared not openly target Zhou Chen, otherwise, he would face severe punishment from the Sect.

Utility Disciples were different; they not only had to undertake a large amount of Sect chores but also were forced to accept various dangerous tasks. The number of Utility Disciples who died each year was countless.

Although Utility Disciples' lives were as cheap as grass, some Geniuses still had the Opportunity to stand out and become official Wenxian Sect Disciples.

It's good to lean against a big tree for shade.

Cultivation Families within a thousand-mile radius continuously sent Utility Disciples to the Wenxian Sect every year, and many Loose Cultivators fought fiercely for the Utility Disciple slots.

By the time Zhou Chen walked out of the Technique Pavilion, it was already afternoon.

He had just stepped out, preparing to reap the supervisor's Opportunity, when he saw Zhang Xiaoxin walking towards him.

“Zhou Chen, you good-for-nothing, what are you doing here? Still thinking of Cultivating? What a joke!”

Zhang Xiaoxin looked annoyed.

“Of course, I’m here to learn Cultivation Techniques.”

Zhou Chen said, then left without looking back.

“Zhou Chen, you’re looking for death!”

Zhang Xiaoxin was furious. A good-for-nothing dared to speak to him like that. He was about to act up.

Suddenly, he remembered that it was already afternoon and the Technique Pavilion was about to close. So Zhang Xiaoxin gritted his teeth, looking at Zhou Chen's retreating figure, and decided to pick out a Cultivation Technique before thoroughly humiliating him.

At this moment, Zhou Chen had already arrived in the woods behind the Technique Pavilion. The woods were vast, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Fortunately, there was the cyan stone block as a reference, otherwise, Zhou Chen would have had to spend more effort.

Under the cyan stone block, Zhou Chen found a Storage Pouch.

Opening the Storage Pouch, he saw a pile of Spirit Stones, roughly counted, there were about four or five hundred.

Indeed, one does not get rich without ill-gotten gains. Even a small supervisor could embezzle so many Spirit Stones; the entire Wenxian Sect seemed to be gradually decaying.

However, what surprised Zhou Chen was that he didn't receive a System return prompt.

He then understood after a moment's thought. These hundreds of Spirit Stones were originally the Technique Pavilion supervisor's property, not an Opportunity, so no return was triggered.

So Zhou Chen no longer dwelled on it, he surveyed the surroundings and indeed found a bird's nest on a tall tree.

A few dazzling rays of light were faintly reflected in the bird's nest; ordinary people would only take it as common reflection.

Zhou Chen leaped, soaring onto the big tree.

“Ding! Congratulations to the host for intercepting an Opportunity, acquiring one Mid-Grade Spirit Stone, receiving a hundredfold return of one High-Grade Spirit Stone. Do you wish to claim it?”

“Holy crap! I'm rich, it's actually a High-Grade Spirit Stone!” Zhou Chen was stunned.

He had never heard of a High-Grade Spirit Stone in his life, let alone seen one. One High-Grade Spirit Stone was equivalent to ten thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

However, this Opportunity's return was only a hundredfold. It seemed the System determined the return multiplier based on the strength of the Opportunity. As for other functions, he would explore them slowly later.

He vaguely remembered the Sect Elder explaining relevant knowledge: the conditions for forming High-Grade Spirit Stones were extremely harsh, and they only circulated among Cultivators at Foundation Establishment and above. Ordinary low-level Cultivators would at most use Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.

Moreover, after using a High-Grade Spirit Stone, if left for a period, it could continuously absorb Spiritual Qi from the air to replenish its own consumption. Although it wasn't a hundred percent replenishment, it could greatly extend the Spirit Stone's usage period.

High-Grade Spirit Stones were also the best Materials for setting up Formations. The Wenxian Sect's protective Formation was said to be set up with High-Grade Spirit Stones; using them for Cultivation would be a waste of heavenly resources.

“Do not claim for now!”

Zhou Chen knew that if the High-Grade Spirit Stone was exposed, he probably wouldn't survive the night.

He pretended as if nothing had happened, walked to the Sect's courier station, and took a crane back to the Third Pill Refinement Peak.

At this time, Zhang Xiaoxin was very happy because he found a Yellow Rank Medium Grade battle skill, “Mang Niu Fist.”

Originally, other Sect Disciples had seen it first, but Zhang Xiaoxin, relying on his higher Cultivation and having an uncle as a protector in his Family, intimidated that Outer Sect Disciple and thus obtained it.

Looking at the Mang Niu Fist in his hand, he vaguely felt that he was missing something.

He then shook his head, dismissing this ridiculous thought, and slowly began to comprehend it.

Night.

The Technique Pavilion supervisor was in a good mood because he had collected over a dozen Spirit Stones today.

As usual, he took the Spirit Stones to the stone block. As soon as he flipped open the stone block, he found that the original Storage Pouch was gone!

He didn't believe it and used a Spell to dig deeper, but found nothing.

That was all the wealth he had accumulated from guarding the Technique Pavilion for a year, and it was all gone.

“Ah ah ah!!!!”

At this moment, the Technique Pavilion supervisor roared in his heart, his eyes bloodshot, wishing he could kill someone.

“You dog thief, don't let me find out who you are, otherwise, I will skin you alive and tear you into a thousand pieces!”

He noticed a bird's nest on the tall tree in front, from which chirping sounds of young birds emanated.

“Noisy!”

The supervisor casually cast a fireball Spell and quickly left.

The bird's nest was quickly burned, and several charred chick corpses fell from the sky.