My Cultivation Techniques Upgrade Automatically

Chapter 204: Chapter 203: Tie Them All Up

’Looks like finding spiritual objects has to be put on the agenda now.’

A flash of white light cut through the mountain forest, and Wu Chen’s figure appeared among the trees.

He looked at the jade tablet in his hand. It was dull and gray, having clearly lost its ability to teleport him back to the Celestial Star Sect. A headache was starting to form.

He missed the days when his realm was lower.

When his realm was low, he had only one worry. Now that it was high, his worries had multiplied.

Before, all he needed were Martial Arts. Now, he needed not only Martial Arts but also Soul-Storage Pearls and spiritual materials.

On a grander scale, he also had to restore the glory of the Celestial Star Sect and forge a new body for his master, so he could have him by his side as a powerful ally on his travels.

’Thinking too much is useless. The main problem is a lack of information sources.’

’Otherwise, no matter what happened or where, I could get the news first, arrive before anyone else, and seize the opportunity...’

’But in the end, all of this is built on having enough strength.’

’Otherwise, the opportunity would just end up in someone else’s hands.’

So, when it came down to it, the simplest and most direct goal was still to find High-Tier Martial Arts.

’High-Tier Martial Arts?’

Wu Chen shook his head, trying to clear the chaotic thoughts from his mind, when something suddenly occurred to him.

’Pulse-Severing Dragon-Capture · Treasure!’

The panel not only showed that this Martial Art was ’Treasure’ grade, but after he finished allocating points, its proficiency was no longer at Perfection but had reached a new, higher state.

Return to True Essence!

Based on this alone, it was clear that this Martial Art could dominate anyone in the same realm below the Dragon Transformation Realm!

’I have to see how it works!’

Wu Chen glanced around and stopped in front of a tree as thick as a bowl.

Back at the Celestial Star Sect, with his master present and having been given the false identity of a non-existent "reincarnator," he had to restrain himself, even though his hands were itching to try it out, to avoid revealing anything in front of his master.

Now that he was away from the Celestial Star Sect, he naturally had no such worries.

Staring at the tree before him, a light flashed in Wu Chen’s eyes, and the scene before him changed.

Beneath the rough bark, invisible streams of qi within the tree’s trunk became visible to him. These faint currents were flowing along specific pathways, reaching every branch and leaf at the top.

And these streams of energy were its very lifeblood.

Wu Chen nodded. He now roughly understood the effect of this Martial Art. He didn’t strike, but instead turned and walked down the mountain.

He already understood how to use this Martial Art, and since he was already in the Leakless Realm, striking a tree as thick as a bowl wouldn’t demonstrate its true power. There was no need to act.

The most pressing matter now was where to find new Martial Arts.

But it seemed useless to be anxious about it.

The Demon Suppression Bureau wouldn’t give you Martial Arts for nothing. You had to work to eat.

Jobs like the one at Qingfeng Manor, where a portion of the payment was given upfront, were extremely rare. You might only encounter one by chance.

Not to mention being lucky enough to get the five Soul-Storage Pearls that the old Manor Lord had accumulated in his early years.

So, the most urgent task at hand was still to find the barbarian spy whose whereabouts were unknown.

However...

Wu Chen had already decided he wasn’t going to continue the search.

After all, this mission was like looking for a needle in a haystack—a complete waste of time.

He planned to wander around outside the city for another two days, making it five days in total—not too long, not too short. Then he would return to the Demon Suppression Bureau, openly admit he wasn’t capable enough, and switch to a mission more suited to him.

For example: killing people.

In any case, Wu Chen couldn’t get bogged down by this mission. Besides, it was a public mission. If there weren’t a hundred Demon Suppression Bureau Captains of all ranks involved, there were at least thirty to fifty.

Each of these Captains would bring a few Demon Suppression Guards, meaning there were at least several hundred people on the case.

If all these people, searching high and low across the mountains, couldn’t find the barbarian spy for so long, what chance did he have?

So, Wu Chen’s trip out of the city this time was purely for show, to make the Linwei Garrison guards less nervous and not so hostile toward him.

As he was thinking, he could already see Zhou Hu standing guard at the foot of the mountain.

Hearing the sound of grass being trampled behind him, the lean man instinctively gripped the saber at his waist, his body tensing as he twisted around to look back.

Only after seeing a familiar figure did he release the handle of his saber.

"Lord Wu!"

Zhou Hu cupped his fist respectfully. "Did you find anything in the mountains?"

Wu Chen had been gone for three days this trip, not even returning at night. Based on this alone, his opinion of Wu Chen had changed considerably.

He knew that in the past, arduous tasks like searching the mountains were always left to the Linwei guards, while these young masters would bring a couple of buxom women and wait merrily at the foot of the mountain for news.

As a result, these young masters might seem to have impressively high realms, but in reality, their bones had long been hollowed out by debauchery. In a real life-or-death fight, their strength would be halved.

But Wu Chen had been gone for three days. Even if he had just found a hollow to hide in, it proved he was different from those young masters whose minds were filled with nothing but wine, women, and wealth. In a real fight, his strength would probably only have to be discounted by thirty percent.

Working under such a person, Zhou Hu’s attitude was naturally different and had improved considerably.

"I didn’t find any trace of the barbarian."

"Let’s wander around some other places. If we still can’t find anything, we won’t waste any more time. I’ll go find Captain Li and switch missions."

Wu Chen didn’t think switching missions was anything to be ashamed of. After all, compared to tracking and trailing, he felt that killing was less difficult.

However, he also noticed that Zhou Hu’s attitude seemed to have changed quite a bit from a few days ago. After a moment’s thought, he understood why.

These men came from martial backgrounds and had wild personalities, but working for the Demon Suppression Guard, they also had a certain worldly smoothness.

But no matter what, they looked down on and despised those high-born, ignorant young masters from the bottom of their hearts.

But if you actually put in the work, even if you achieved nothing, these men would still hold you in higher regard.

"Alright. Lord Wu, please rest for a bit. I’ll go take down the tent."

Since Wu Chen said they were leaving, Zhou Hu, as a Linwei guard, could only obey.

He turned and walked toward the pitched tent.

But the next moment, his footsteps halted, and he abruptly looked up at the distant woods.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!—

Zhou Hu focused his attention. His dark earlobes, tanned from long exposure to the sun, twitched as he heard the faint sound of weapons clashing in the distance.

Although the sound was far away, he could still tell that the fighting between the two sides was extremely fierce.

’Such a fierce fight, here and now... are they fighting to the death?’

’Has the barbarian spy appeared?’

"Lord Wu, I’ll sneak over and check out the situation..."

’If I can sense this commotion, how could Lord Wu possibly miss it?’

Considering that this lord had already been searching the mountains for three days and was likely exhausted, Zhou Hu was about to sneak over to check the situation himself before returning to discuss it with Wu Chen and decide on a course of action.

But before he could finish his sentence, a gentle breeze drifted past him.

Then, Zhou Hu saw a phantom-like figure darting rapidly ahead of him.

Even with his eyesight, he could barely keep up with the figure!

He could only hear an urging voice drifting back to him:

"Hurry and keep up..."

"..."

As Wu Chen’s figure flew forward, he took out the stone from his storage pouch that could sense barbarian bloodlines.

As he closed the distance to the site of the battle, the sensing stone in his palm gradually grew warm.

Wu Chen’s eyes grew increasingly fervent as a result.

Without a doubt, the barbarian spy was at the center of the fight ahead.

’It really took no effort at all to find him!’

Wu Chen truly hadn’t expected that after randomly picking a spot, then hiding out at the Celestial Star Sect for three days, the barbarian that countless Captains from Cangwu City were searching for would be delivered right to his doorstep.

After urging Zhou Hu along, he picked up his speed again and soon arrived at the edge of the battle, where he came to a stop.

He had chosen a spot with higher ground, so he had an unobstructed view of the scene below.

After getting a clear look at the battle, Wu Chen froze on the spot.

He saw that both sides in the fray were dressed in ordinary clothes, and the Barbarian Race spy had no distinguishing features.

In the chaotic melee, he couldn’t tell for a moment which one was the barbarian he was looking for.

After all, the sensing stone only detected a general area; it couldn’t pinpoint an individual.

’I suppose these Captains are searching for the barbarian without wearing their official uniforms or carrying their standard-issue sabers to avoid alerting the target.’

Stroking the hot stone in his palm, Wu Chen sighed deeply.

’But I can’t tell them apart. I really can’t tell them apart!’

He had only joined the Demon Suppression Bureau a few days ago and didn’t know much about its Martial Arts, let alone its signature techniques. Therefore, he couldn’t identify them by their fighting styles.

Besides, in his eyes, everyone had a nose and two eyes; there was nothing different about them. And as a spy, he must have been trained—his accent, knowledge, and understanding of the Great Yun were probably better than that of the average Great Yun citizen.

Wu Chen felt a massive headache coming on.

Fortunately, hurried footsteps approached from behind. Wu Chen glanced at Zhou Hu, who had caught up.

Thinking that this guy had been with the Demon Suppression Bureau for a long time and should be able to distinguish something, he asked:

"Can you tell which group is from the Demon Suppression Bureau and which group is the barbarian spies?"

Hearing this, Zhou Hu looked at the scene, pondered for a moment, and finally shook his head. "My lord, I can’t tell them apart."

"I’m just a Linwei guard. There are plenty of Demon Suppression Guards I don’t recognize."

"I only remember the ones who have visited the Linwei Garrison."

"I have no memory of these people."

"Since neither of us recognizes them..."

Wu Chen nodded and sighed deeply again. "Then we’ll just have to tie them all up!"

"Tie them all up!"

Hearing those casual words, Zhou Hu shuddered.

He looked at the dozen or so people battling in the field, at the rampaging saber winds. These people were at least at the Mid Stage of the Organ Refining Realm!

His voice almost cracked. "Just the two of us?!"

"No. Just me."

Wu Chen shook his head, and before Zhou Hu could react, he leaped, his figure vanishing from the spot.

The next moment, his figure appeared at the edge of the battle.

"Ahem!"

Wu Chen loudly cleared his throat and announced, "Everyone, stop for a moment! I have a question!"