Chapter 132 - 131: Free Entry and Exit
Chapter 132: Chapter 131: Free Entry and Exit
Refining Valley. The Hall of Rewards and Punishments.
By the time he and Stone Ox emerged from the woods and arrived at Refining Valley, the sky had already grown dark.
As a result, Wu Chen’s tallying of the heads didn’t disturb many people, nor did it attract a large, bustling crowd of onlookers.
He breathed a small sigh of relief.
After hastily finishing his tally, he took his massive amount of Contribution Points and headed straight for the third floor of the Hundred Weapons Pavilion, where he bought out the remaining four storage bags.
He now had a terrifying total of eight storage bags of various sizes.
’This should be enough for the Blood Road trial, right?’
Feeling the pile of bags tucked into his robes, Wu Chen felt much more at ease.
After leaving the Hundred Weapons Pavilion, Wu Chen sat on a stone bench, waiting for Zhuang Bo to return.
That’s right. He had once again sent Zhuang Bo to inquire about exchanging for Martial Arts.
To Wu Chen’s surprise, however, Zhuang Bo returned with two other people in tow.
One was tall and imposing, the other powerfully built.
They were none other than Pang Weifeng, the Sect Leader of Refining Valley, and his son, Pang Lei.
Zhuang Bo leaned in and explained awkwardly in a hushed voice, "The Sect Leader was organizing the Martial Arts manuals, and Third Senior Brother was reporting on today’s operation against the demonic fiends. I was asking the Elder if an exception could be made for you to exchange for Martial Arts, and they happened to overhear..."
Wu Chen nodded, finally understanding why the two had come.
Seeing that they hadn’t come to find fault with him and showed no signs of anger...
He quickly rose, offered a fist-and-palm salute to the imposing figure, and said politely, "Sect Leader."
Then he turned to the other man. "Third Senior Brother."
"There’s no need for formalities."
Pang Weifeng returned the salute just as politely as he stepped forward.
"Young friend, you’ve recently taken the heads of nearly a hundred demonic fiends. From this day forward, you shall be treated as one of our own disciples, free to exchange for Martial Arts in the Arsenal."
His words were tantamount to acknowledging that there were no issues with Wu Chen’s identity and that he was free to use his Contribution Points to acquire Martial Arts.
After all, he had taken the heads of over a hundred demonic fiends, with no fewer than five of them being peak Jade Bone Realm combatants.
If someone were to suggest that the Blood Slaughter Sect would pay such a high price—the lives of its own people as a pledge of allegiance—just to plant a spy in his sect...
...Pang Weifeng honestly wouldn’t believe it.
After all, knowing the Blood Slaughter Sect’s methods, wouldn’t it be better to use those disciples to refine powerful elixirs? Why waste them so extravagantly?
"Thank you, Sect Leader!" Upon hearing this, Wu Chen’s expression remained unchanged as he politely offered another salute, but his heart couldn’t help but start beating much faster.
After all, wasn’t this freedom to come and go exactly what he had been working for these past few days?
The Arsenal, of course.
A flicker of doubt crossed Pang Weifeng’s eyes as he looked at Wu Chen.
He looked at Wu Chen, puzzled, not understanding why the young man was once again asking about exchanging for Martial Arts.
"Young friend, didn’t you just take a Martial Arts manual? Are you dissatisfied with it and wish to exchange it for another?"
Pang Weifeng asked politely.
Wu Chen simply smiled without saying a word.
"Oh?"
A sound of surprised confusion escaped Pang Weifeng’s lips.
His own cultivation realm was not low and his perception was naturally sharp. Furthermore, he wore a Jade Pendant that could sense the Qi and Blood of nearby Martial Artists, allowing him to detect their Martial Arts realm.
He remembered that when they had last met, the young man’s realm had registered as the seventh level of the Jade Bone Realm. How was it now...
Pang Weifeng’s hand, which was holding the Jade Pendant, began to fiddle with it restlessly, his expression turning grave.
The sensing Jade Pendant in his hand was fluctuating—sometimes warm, sometimes hot, and sometimes scalding.
This meant the young man’s realm was constantly shifting between several major realms!
Of course, such a thing was impossible, and it was unlikely the Jade Pendant was malfunctioning. Pang Weifeng instantly figured out the reason and chuckled.
"So, you’ve learned the Breath Concealment Skill! How foolish of me; I let my first impression cloud my judgment!"
"Since you are a Martial Artist of the Organ Refining Realm, young friend, you should of course choose a Martial Art meant for that realm!"
He now assumed the strength Wu Chen had initially displayed was simply the effect of him using the Breath Concealment Skill.
Now, his expression as he faced Wu Chen held a new trace of solemnity.
An Organ Refining Realm expert at only seventeen or eighteen years old... that was on par with the rumored Overlord Body, even one with a diluted bloodline.
His Qi Power could even rival that of his own son, who had been built up with countless precious medicines.
With such talent, it would likely take him three to five years at most to advance to the Blood Coagulation Realm and become a second-rate expert!
A Blood Coagulation Realm expert at twenty years old!
The very thought of it was enough to compel him, the Sect Leader, to treat the matter with the utmost caution.
"Young friend, this way, please!"
Pang Weifeng, the master of a sect, looked at the young Wu Chen with an increasingly amiable gaze.
He made a gesture of invitation, intending to personally lead the way back to the Arsenal.
Fortunately, it was already nighttime, and few disciples were around to witness it; otherwise, who knew what a commotion it would have caused.
"So that guy is actually... in the Organ Refining Realm?"
Pang Lei, who had been standing to the side, wasn’t particularly shocked by Wu Chen’s true realm.
After all, he himself was only a hair’s breadth from the Organ Refining Realm and planned to attempt a breakthrough after the upcoming Spirit Road trial.
Watching Wu Chen’s figure, Pang Lei scratched his head and looked at Zhuang Bo beside him.
"So, losing a fight to an Organ Refining Realm expert... that’s not too shameful, is it?"
"..."
"Once I break through to the Organ Refining Realm, I’ll definitely win back the face I lost!"
"..."
"You don’t believe me?" Seeing Zhuang Bo’s continued silence, Pang Lei was getting antsy.
"..." Zhuang Bo remained silent.
’How could I possibly believe that!’
’You’ll get stronger, but do you think he won’t?’
...
The Arsenal. Third floor.
On the innermost shelf, the number of Martial Arts manuals had dwindled sharply.
There were only a mere five manuals for the Organ Refining Realm.
The five manuals corresponded to the five major organs—heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys—forming a complete system. For anyone else, this would have been sufficient.
But for Wu Chen... ’Bring on another set!’
Wu Chen wasn’t picky. Holding to the attitude of "one more is one more," he feigned listening to the Sect Leader’s explanations before selecting one of the manuals.
He began to flip through it quietly.
He quickly finished reading and followed Pang Weifeng to the Elder on the first floor to collect his pills.
"This Purple Sun Breathing Skill you’ve chosen, young friend, isn’t particularly difficult. It just requires a lot of hard, grinding work."
Acting as a senior, Pang Weifeng patiently explained the key points of this Martial Art to Wu Chen as they walked toward the exit of Refining Valley.
"In addition to daily physical training, you must also rise early each day. As the first rays of dawn appear, you must face the rising sun, breathing in and out to condense the energy within your body."
"When you can circulate it freely and condense it into a force that you can release and retract at will, you will have mastered it."
"Thank you for your guidance, Sect Leader. This junior will be sure to practice diligently every day."
Wu Chen nodded, showing he had taken the advice to heart.
Then, he glanced at his status panel:
[Purple Sun Breathing Skill Entry-level Proficiency +1]
[Purple Sun Breathing Skill Entry-level Proficiency +1]
[Purple Sun Breathing Skill Entry-level...]
[Purple Sun Breathing Skill Entry-level (562/2000)]
Wu Chen grinned. ’It seems I... don’t need to wake up early. And I certainly don’t need to do any ’hard, grinding work’...’
Seeing how humbly Wu Chen spoke, Pang Weifeng’s favorable impression of him grew even stronger.
After all, to become a third-rate expert at seventeen or eighteen, one should have a bone-deep arrogance that defies both heaven and earth.
Give him another ten or twenty years, and it wouldn’t be surprising for him to become a first-rate expert, or perhaps even a supreme existence.
But he had never expected a prodigy like Wu Chen to be so easygoing.
Still, he shook his head with a touch of regret and changed the subject.
"I’m sure you’ve also heard about the Spirit Road trial that the four sects are about to open, young friend?"
"I’ve heard the disciples in the sect mention it," Wu Chen nodded.
Pang Weifeng’s expression grew serious. "I don’t know which great family you hail from, young friend, or your purpose in coming here. However, I absolutely cannot allow you to enter this Spirit Road trial."
He believed Wu Chen hadn’t come here just for a few Martial Arts manuals; his ultimate goal had to be the secret realm ruins under their sects’ control.
After all, who wouldn’t want to explore such a place of opportunity?
But while it was true that the secret realm held opportunities, it was also fraught with danger!
He, as the Sect Leader, could turn a blind eye to outsiders gaining benefits from the secret realm.
But if this young prodigy from an unknown background were to die inside the secret realm, how could he possibly bear the consequences?
Moreover, this very thing had happened before—and not just once or twice.
The elders of those families didn’t dare seek justice from the Blood Slaughter Sect or the Blood Palace; they only dared to show up at the gates of the four major sects, throwing tantrums and demanding compensation...
Pang Weifeng couldn’t help but get a headache every time he thought about it.
"I understand your concerns, Sect Leader."
After a moment’s thought, Wu Chen understood the issues at play.
He smiled. "That is not why I am here. Please rest assured, Sect Leader."
’In any case, I’m certainly not going in through your entrance, but I’ll definitely be coming out through it!’
So he thought.
"That is good to hear."
Hearing this, Pang Weifeng finally breathed a sigh of complete relief.
After all, if the young man had been unreasonable, they would have inevitably, and unknowingly, made an enemy of some powerful family.
Nevertheless, he quickly added politely:
"However, rest assured, young friend. What I said before still stands."
"You are now considered one of our own disciples, free to come and go from Refining Valley as you please. Furthermore, you will face no restrictions when exchanging for Martial Arts in the Arsenal."
Refining Valley was of a considerable size, and together, the four sects could protect the peace in their corner of the world.
But Pang Weifeng also knew that in the face of a true behemoth...
...his entire sect could be annihilated with a flick of a finger. He had no choice but to tread carefully.
The two exchanged a few more pleasantries before arriving at the main gate of Refining Valley.
Wu Chen took his leave with Stone Ox and headed straight for Mountain Mist City.
’To be able to nurture such a young Organ Refining Realm expert, and one with such ruthless killing methods... his background must be beyond my imagination.’
Pang Weifeng watched the receding figure, his heart in turmoil.
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"Battle Buffs Maxed Out, I’m Slaying My Way Through a High-Level Martial Arts World"
Link below.