Start with everyday skills and grind your way to immortality.

Ultimately, in this price tug-of-war, Chen Qian clung to the word "waste paper" and refused to budge.

With the second-in-command's mentality of "quickly throw away the garbage and make money," prices plummeted.

In the end, it was sold for 180 taels.

Chen Qian carefully put away the black booklet. Although the people around him looked at him as if he were a hopeless sucker, he felt relieved.

The introductory books for the four skills cost less than two hundred taels of silver; it was like finding a bargain on a silver platter.

"Shouldn't you also choose some martial arts manuals?"

While collecting the money, the second shopkeeper pointed to the other side, unwilling to give up, "Practice some martial arts for self-defense, lest you die before you even have a chance to warm up this book."

Chen Qian looked troubled, clutched his noticeably deflated chest, and said with a wry smile:

"I'm short on cash, and I can't bite off more than I can chew. I'll try my luck at the street stalls first; if I can find a few cheap ones, that would be great."

Upon hearing this, the second manager's lips curled into a meaningful, stiff smile, as if he had expected this all along:

"Very well. If you don't go out and roll around in the latrines a couple of times, eat a few... oh no, broaden your horizons a few times, you won't know the fairness of our Duobao Pavilion."

"Please go ahead."

……

Once outside the curio cabinet, the cold, damp air enveloped my entire body once more.

Chen Qian wrapped his black robe tighter and did not rush to leave, but wandered aimlessly among the stalls.

Although he said it was a matter of luck, his attention was highly focused.

The complete collection of "Observing Words and Expressions" and "Auditory Recognition".

He is screening.

In filtering out those treasures that might be overlooked, we are also filtering out the malice lurking in the shadows.

You wouldn't notice it in a place like Duobaoge, a den of extravagance, but once you step into this messy, scattered stall...

[Observing words and expressions] He keenly noticed that there were many greedy eyes secretly sizing him up.

Especially the shopkeeper's urgent shout of "three hundred and fifty taels" at the door.

Clearly, the fact that he possessed a large sum of money was no secret.

"We can't stay any longer, we have to hurry."

Chen Qian kept walking, his eyes sharp as lightning, and finally stopped in front of an inconspicuous stall.

The owner of this stall is rather unusual.

He wore a Guan Gong mask with a red face and long beard, and his figure was as tall and strong as an iron tower. He sat there cross-legged like a wall.

Most surprisingly, in this frigid underground cave, Chen Qian felt a wave of intense heat rushing towards him as soon as he took three steps closer.

That's blood.

The blood and energy are so abundant that they can seep through the body!

Chen Qian was secretly alarmed. Compared to this person, his body temperature, which he had built up with the Blood Vein Ginseng, was nothing.

This is definitely a master martial artist.

The stall was filled with a variety of items, including knives, swords, and several blood-stained booklets.

Chen Qian squatted down, his gaze sweeping over the pile of rubbish, and finally reached out and picked up a blue book whose cover had been torn in half.

"Eight Steps to Catch the Cicada"

This is an extremely practical light-footwork technique that emphasizes explosive power and agility.

This suited him perfectly. Right now, he had no desire for those brutal fistfights and swords; self-preservation was his top priority.

Those killing techniques are not just something you can master by practicing them; they can only be brought into play through real combat experience!

But the footwork is different; you just need to run.

In fact, he had seen even cheaper footwork techniques along the way.

For example, "Flying on the Grass" costs ten taels of silver, or "Glide Step" costs five taels of silver.

But he gave up on them all.

There is no other reason.

The upper limit is too low, or it is so incomplete that only fragments remain.

Although his talent is extraordinary, allowing him to master a skill to perfection, it follows a basic logic.

It can only optimize and improve what already exists, not create something from nothing.

A fragment of a first-rate martial arts technique is far superior to a complete third-rate one.

Chen Qian currently only possesses basic movement skills, like a brute with immense strength but no knowledge of how to generate power.

If he could learn this footwork technique and combine it with his movement skills, he could improve his evasion ability by one level within ten days.

He had just turned two pages.

[Literacy and Character Interpretation Experience Points +1]

A large hand pressed down, preventing him from continuing to look through the pages.

"You can only view the first three pages."

Chen Qian wasn't annoyed, he just frowned.

The book is indeed genuine, but unfortunately, there are obvious tears in the latter half of the pages, and it is estimated that about a third of the key content is missing.

"Boss, how much is this footwork manual?"

Chen Qian waved the tattered manuscript in his hand, his tone indifferent.

The red-faced man didn't even lift his eyelids; his voice, like muffled thunder, came from beneath his mask:

"One hundred taels."

"One hundred taels?"

Chen Qian scoffed and threw the book back onto the stall. "Boss, I'm serious about buying this. Don't try to fool me like I'm a newbie."

"This 'Eight Steps to Catch the Cicada' is so incomplete, are you trying to rip me off for a hundred taels?"

The red-faced man paused for a moment, seemingly aware of the book's flaws, and then said in a low voice:

"Eighty taels. Take it or leave it."

"This was taken from a thief. Although it's an incomplete copy, it's enough to save your life in the martial arts world."

Eighty taels.

Chen Qian considered it for a moment.

For a fragmented martial arts manual, this price is actually too high, bordering on overcharging.

But he did not refuse immediately.

Because his peripheral vision was fixed on the corner of the stall.

The book looked terrible; it was only half full, soaked in water and then dried, with yellowed and brittle paper.

The words "Golden Bell Cover" and a few other characters are faintly visible on the cover.

The Golden Bell Cover!

Moreover, it is the most ancient and simple original fragment without any fancy annotations!

This kind of physical training emphasizes inheritance.

Although it was only half a book, Chen Qian believed that as long as he had half a book of formulas, he could work on it to perfection!

This movement and stillness, this flash and this resistance.

The Eight Steps to Catch the Cicada provided him with the technique to evade.

"The Golden Bell Cover" provides him with a final margin of error; even if he is hit by a single mistake, he will not die on the spot.

High evasion and high defense.

Chen Qian feigned hesitation, tapped his fingers on the "Eight Steps to Catch the Cicada" melody, and sighed.

"Eighty taels is still a bit expensive. After all, this is an incomplete copy."

As he spoke, he seemingly idly fiddled with things on the stall, casually picking up the tattered book used as a hammer rest and flipping through it with disdain:

"What kind of junk is this? The words are all smeared together."

The red-faced man glanced at it and said disdainfully:

"I don't know where I picked this up from, it's probably a manual of hard qigong, but it only has the first two levels of incantations, the rest is all rotten. If you want it, five taels will do."

"Five taels? You dare to ask for five taels of toilet paper that's too stiff even to wipe your butt?"

As if he had heard a joke, Chen Qian casually tossed the book "Golden Bell Cover" onto "Eight Steps to Catch the Cicada".

He stood up, clapped his hands, and looked ready to leave, but said as if it were his last attempt to bargain:

"Alright, enough with the fluff. I'll take this copy of 'Eight Steps to Catch the Cicada'."

"But you have to give me that tattered book as a bonus. I need a kindling, and I can take it back to see if the writing on it is an antique."

"Seventy-five taels for two books, that's fine, if not I'll go look around elsewhere."

The red-faced man peered at Chen Qian through the gap in his mask.

In his eyes, that tattered book on hard qigong was indeed garbage; it had been sitting there for half a year and no one had given it a second glance.

If you can trade this piece of junk for this incomplete grappling manual that's hard to sell, it's definitely a good deal.

"Take it away, take it away."

The ruddy-faced man uttered two words in a deep, muffled voice, and stretched out his large, fan-like hand.

Chen Qian's lips curled slightly upward beneath the mask.

He deftly counted out seventy-five taels of silver notes and placed them in his large hand, then grabbed the two crippled manuals and stuffed them into his pocket.

However, Chen Qian did not leave.

With a flick of his wrist, a five-tael silver coin was slammed onto the stall with two fingers.

The silver gleamed coldly in the candlelight.

"I'd like to use these five taels of silver to buy the boss a few words of gossip."