Chapter 26
"I still can't ignore the effects of the wine at my current level."
With her mind refocused, she silently guided the lingering intoxication to circulate within her body.
"During this time, you should practice diligently."
"In a while, the sect will hold trials for the newly admitted disciples. Don't embarrass your master, okay?"
After saying this, Shang Wu yawned.
"Trials?"
Li Mo looked puzzled.
Shang Wu wiped the wine residue from the corner of her mouth and explained, "They'll send you all to the Qingyuan Mountain Range to gather some herbs and hunt some exotic beasts."
"For those at the Blood Qi stage, it’s quite a challenge. Some ninth-grade demon beasts can be pretty tough to deal with."
"At that time, you and Xiao Bing'er can look out for each other."
Li Mo nodded, starting to grasp the situation.
It was a common trope in novels.
He felt a bit speechless. "Master, Ying Bing is a disciple of the sect leader. She has much better treatment than I do. Why would she need to look out for me?"
After all, it seemed that the reason his master took him in was because she was interested in Ying Bing.
They had just met, and already she was calling her Xiao Bing'er.
Ying Bing didn’t seem to mind either; it felt like they had known each other for ages.
"Who says I don't care about you?" Shang Wu sniffed, pulling out a small booklet.
"Here, practice with this. It's a mid-level martial art, just right for you at the moment. It's definitely better than the Six Harmonies Fist."
The booklet was titled:
**"Liao Yuan Sword Technique."**
Don’t be fooled by its classification as a mid-level martial art.
In the outside world, it was already something many sects would keep as a treasured secret.
Many smaller sects still regarded lower-tier or even subpar martial arts as treasures.
"Thank you, Master."
"Hmph, you were just complaining about me a moment ago."
With that, Shang Wu waved her hand, clutching her little gourd, and left the Qiushui Pavilion.
At the table, Ying Bing set down her wine cup, her thoughts returning to calm.
As for the sect trials, there was nothing anyone could do to help her.
She needed to obtain a certain inheritance.
Though she didn’t know what inheritance Li Mo had received, it was undoubtedly worlds apart from what she was about to acquire.
After all, no strong cultivator would leave their inheritance in the barren Eastern Wasteland.
What she was about to unlock was different.
It wasn’t left behind by a "human."
---
**Chapter 23: The Reopening of the Stubborn Stone Heavenly Book Seal**
Inside the room.
Li Mo soaked his feet while checking today’s investment returns.
[Congratulations, host! You have successfully invested in a portion of Ice Fire Wine and a portion of roasted exotic beast meat.]
[Investment feedback: One jar of Hundred Flowers Dew Ointment.]
[Investment feedback: One Night Pearl.]
[**Hundred Flowers Dew Ointment**: A high-grade healing medicine made from the first dew of a hundred rare flowers and herbs, containing excellent regenerative properties, effective for treating external injuries.]
[**Night Pearl**: Produced in the Northern Sea, it shines continuously, a must-have for any high-level cultivator's cave.]
...
"This reward should belong to my master."
Li Mo held a round pearl in his hand, about the size of a fist, radiating a soft glow.
He had seen this before.
At the auction house in Ziyang City, a Night Pearl was displayed on the platform.
From the sheen and color, it was clearly inferior to the one he held.
In any case, it was quite valuable.
As for its use, it paled in comparison to the Hundred Flowers Dew Ointment.
Li Mo applied a bit to himself; it felt cool, and the minor injuries from refining his body in the Shenfeng Cave began to heal almost immediately.
[Congratulations, host! You have successfully invested in a portion of Ice Fire Wine and a portion of roasted exotic beast meat.]
[Investment feedback: Twenty years of martial arts insights.]
[Investment feedback: One Xuan Crystal.]
...
"Ice cubes are definitely the way to go," Li Mo couldn’t help but exclaim.
Just treating her to a little wine yielded twenty years of martial arts insights.
This was something that could never be too much.
Clearly, with his master’s evident fondness for wine and meat, the rewards from Ying Bing were still far superior.
This was the terrifying power of the red destiny.
Well, for the sake of rewards, he had to cling tightly to the jade leg of the ice cube.
Was he just holding a leg? No, it was a shining money tree!
[The host still has one reward pending. Would you like to claim it?]
Li Mo suddenly remembered.
He had saved Murong Xiao during the day.
That should count as a significant change in her fate, right?
What good stuff would he get...
Little Li was a bit excited and focused his thoughts.
"Claim."
[Congratulations, host! You have invested in a bottle of Clear Heart Pill, successfully saving Murong Xiao and preventing her from falling into demonic madness.]
[Investment feedback: One Stubborn Stone Heavenly Book Seal.]
[**Stubborn Stone Heavenly Book Seal**: When stamped on any martial art, it can allow for derivation and improvement, thus elevating the martial art's grade, up to the mid-level.]
"Improve martial arts?"
Li Mo was momentarily stunned, nearly dropping the Night Pearl.
In the next moment, a small seal, about the size of a thumb, appeared in his left hand.
The seal was copper-colored, but unlike any brass or bronze he had seen, with tadpole-like characters carved on all four sides, exuding an ancient charm.
"If there's a stone version of the Heavenly Book Seal, then are there copper, silver, and gold versions as well?"
Li Mo pondered.
The highest-level martial art he was currently practicing was the **"Extreme Soldier's Body,"** which belonged to the category of ultimate techniques, while the **"Fire Heart Lotus Technique"** was a mid-level martial art.
Beyond ultimate techniques, there were divine skills.
If he were to obtain a silver or gold version of the Heavenly Book Seal in the future, he could also upgrade the martial arts he had practiced.
Upgrading existing martial arts was definitely more convenient than switching to other techniques.
"I'll think about that later."
Li Mo took out the **"Liao Yuan Sword Technique"** that his master had just given him.
Aside from this mid-level sword technique, he had no other martial arts to upgrade.
He gently pressed the Heavenly Book Seal onto the pages.
Immediately, the tadpole characters began to glow faintly, all 'diving' into the book, moving among the words.
Some characters were rearranged by the little tadpoles, while others were swallowed and new characters were regurgitated.
Li Mo watched in fascination.
About five minutes later, the tadpole characters completely lost their glow and vanished.
The sword technique recorded in the book transformed into:
[**Fire Crane Thousand Feather Sword.**]
"I just gained twenty years of martial arts insights."
"If I add all of that to the other two techniques, it might not even be enough to break through from great success to perfection."
"Let's learn the sword technique first."
Little Li rubbed his hands together, reasoning with himself.
Well, to be honest, he just wanted to learn the sword technique.
Who wouldn’t want to be a dashing swordsman, soaring through the winds and questioning the moon?
Strength was one thing, but being handsome was a lifelong affair.
With dreams in his heart, Li Mo infused all his martial arts insights into the **"Fire Crane Thousand Feather Sword."**
[Twenty years of martial arts insights successfully infused.]
[In the first year, your interest peaked, and you earnestly began studying the **"Fire Crane Thousand Feather Sword,"** successfully grasping the basics.]
[In the fifth year, your enthusiasm for learning the sword technique remained strong, and the practice went smoothly, finally reaching initial proficiency.]
[In the eighth year, you hit a bottleneck, making no progress for a long time, leading to self-doubt.]
[In the twentieth year, after prolonged meditation, you managed to summarize your sword technique experience through diligent practice, barely achieving minor success.]
Li Mo opened his eyes.
In an instant, the vivid and clear experience of twenty years of day and night practice, through all seasons, filled his memory.
He looked at a branch outside the window.
No, this was clearly an unparalleled divine sword!
Snapping off the branch, he gleefully began to swing it, and the branch in his hand emitted a faint, melodious sound like a gentle breeze.
The Liao Yuan Sword Technique emphasized explosive power.
The improved Fire Crane Thousand Feather Sword inherited this advantage and took it to the next level.
Every strike that hit an enemy would leave a lingering force within them, causing red marks to appear on their bodies, resembling burning crane feathers.
When the force accumulated to its peak, it could erupt all at once.
With minor success, he could stack the force up to nine layers.
"When I reach the Inner Breath stage, I can even replace the force with inner breath."
Throwing away the cracked branch, Little Li was quite satisfied.
After calming down, he couldn’t help but ponder.
Twenty years for just minor success?
Was it because martial skills were harder to master than mental techniques or physical training, or was it that he lacked talent in swordsmanship?
"I can always add some martial arts insights to other techniques in the future, and then I'll know."
Li Mo pulled his thoughts back.
Sitting down, he began practicing his mental techniques.
"The speed of opening my meridians needs to be accelerated."
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