Danwu Refining Spirit

Chapter Fourteen: Potential Talent

The Martial Arts Pavilion is a crucial location for the Xiao family, a place that determines the rise and fall of the clan. The pavilion houses only the most precious artifacts.

The Xiao family has been established in Feiyue City for a thousand years, and during that time they have collected countless secret manuals, divine weapons and sharp blades, all of which are hidden in the Martial Fortune Pavilion.

Some of these items were created by the outstanding talents of the Xiao family over the years, but most of them were obtained through coercion, forced purchase, and cunning plunder.

The Tianyun Continent has always been like this. There is no unified administrative machine, nor is there any centralized state. There are only large and small powerful families that have devoured and divided up the territory on the continent.

The law of the jungle prevails here; the strong prey on the weak. Whoever wants a larger sphere of influence has the most cunning and the strongest fist. As long as you are powerful enough or do things discreetly, you can do them without fear of criticism.

Of course, if you lack the strength but meddle in something you shouldn't, then even if you suffer losses, are deceived, or even have your clan wiped out, it's your own fault, and you can't blame anyone else.

As a key location for the clan, the Martial Arts Pavilion also serves as a place for the clan elders to cultivate in seclusion. Since it is a place for cultivation in seclusion, it is naturally not located in the bustling city, but rather in a Xiao family villa outside the city where the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is relatively abundant.

The villa was built against the mountain, located at the foot of Qianlong Mountain, thirty miles southeast of Feiyue City.

The origin of the name "Hidden Dragon" is unknown, but it has existed since ancient times. Dragons, this noble species, exist only in the legends of the Tianyun Continent; no one has ever truly seen one.

As the Xiao family's main sphere of influence in Feiyun City, Qianlong Mountain covers a vast area, containing multiple mines and various medicinal herb fields developed by the Xiao clan. The pills that the Xiao family supplies for their disciples' cultivation come from the alchemy room located in the valley, and most importantly, the various grades of elemental stones produced in the mines.

The Yuan Power within cultivators of the Tianyun Continent is formed from the Yuan Qi of Heaven and Earth, while Yuan Stones are condensed from the purest Yuan Qi of Heaven and Earth. Compared to the time-consuming process of refining Yuan Qi of Heaven and Earth, directly absorbing the essence of Yuan Qi contained in Yuan Stones is much faster and more effective.

The higher the cultivation level of a cultivator, the greater the amount of vital energy required. The amount of vital energy that a cultivator who has reached the Martial Saint realm needs to absorb each day is even more terrifying, and it is no exaggeration to say that it is a massive amount.

Therefore, the struggle for the Yuan Stone veins has always been bloody, and has never stopped since the emergence of the Tianyun Continent.

The Tianyun Continent is vast and boundless, and a distance of thirty miles is truly insignificant. However, mortals have short lifespans and limited physical strength, and mountain roads are difficult to traverse. Transporting these minerals and medicinal plants every day would be too time-consuming and laborious, so a kind of transportation tool called "Cloud Boat" came into being.

Cloud boats are good at flying and are mostly produced by weapon-refining workshops in various places. The larger ones can travel over a mile and carry a huge load, while the smaller ones are only a few feet long and can only carry one person. They are made entirely of metal and are powered by elemental stones.

Xiao Chong is currently sitting in a cloud boat, with the old steward of the Xiao family standing beside him.

"Isn't this just an airplane? It's just that there's no enclosed cabin." Xiao Chong glanced at a member of the Xiao family who was sitting at the front of the boat, intently controlling the cloud boat, and sighed with emotion.

"It's a great idea, but it's only being used as a means of transportation. This kind of waste is heartbreaking. Has no one thought that this thing could also be used for combat?" Xiao Chong's mind was filled with images of countless fighter jets bombing the sky, and he missed his past life immensely.

The thirty-mile journey was over in no time. Xiao Chong followed the old steward off the cloud boat and into the Xiao family's villa.

Two guards stood watch at the entrance of the Martial Arts Pavilion. The old steward didn't say much, but silently handed over a pass token. After inquiring about their purpose, one of the guards led the two to the library where various cultivation techniques were stored.

"He's so young. He's only just passed the body tempering test. Why is he being taught such a secret technique as the Seven Transformations of the Stars?" The middle-aged cultivator guarding the library looked at Xiao Chong and asked the old steward with a puzzled expression.

"It was the clan leader's special instruction." The old steward straightened his slightly hunched back and added, "This morning, the clan leader met with two disciples who had successfully tempered their bodies. He quickly dismissed the other one, but the one in front of us was highly regarded by the clan leader. He kept him in the study for a whole morning and seemed to like him very much."

"Oh?" The middle-aged cultivator was somewhat surprised. He glanced at Xiao Chong a few more times, then turned around and opened a hidden box on the bookshelf, taking out a parchment scroll and handing it to Xiao Chong.

“Since it is the clan leader’s will, although it is somewhat contrary to the rules, I cannot say much.” The middle-aged cultivator said expressionlessly, “But the clan leader only agreed to teach you the first level of the technique, so you can only copy it yourself and cannot take the whole book with you. In addition, you must be careful not to turn the pages at the end while copying, otherwise you will be severely punished.”

"Why does it smell musty? This is so tasteless! A martial arts secret technique recorded on an old sheepskin? Shouldn't it be engraved on a jade slip? Or at least have it edged with gold foil or something?"

Xiao Chong sat at a table nearby, copying the text while secretly looking down on it.

The book was very thin, and the first level of the technique was recorded in only three short pages, which were quickly copied down.

Returning the parchment scroll to the middle-aged cultivator, Xiao Chong thanked him and then said politely, neither arrogant nor humble, "Disciple Xiao Chong, when I came here, the clan leader said that I could choose another cultivation method for the Mind Master. Please make an exception for me."

"It makes sense that he was valued by the clan leader right after successfully tempering his body. Unlike those old fools, who were all complacent and arrogant, truly believing themselves to be geniuses. Little did they know that there are many mediocre people who are brilliant in their youth but mediocre in their old age."

Seeing that Xiao Chong spoke respectfully and calmly, the middle-aged cultivator was very satisfied, and his expression was no longer as cold as before.

Pointing to a pile of books haphazardly stacked in the corner of the room, the middle-aged cultivator nodded and said, "They're all there. Pick one yourself. Anyway, very few people in the clan cultivate, so they're not that precious. It doesn't matter if you take a few more."

Xiao Chong thanked him again, walked straight over, selected a book containing the complete set of cultivation methods from the first to the ninth rank of Mind Master, neatly stacked the scattered books together, and then returned to the middle-aged cultivator.

"The young man is neither arrogant nor impatient, neither lazy nor greedy; he seems like a promising talent."

The middle-aged cultivator held Xiao Chong in even higher regard. Instead of being cold, a slightly stiff smile appeared on his face as he stood up and said, "Come on, let me show you the armory."