Martial Dao: I Can Enhance My Talents

Chapter 282: Chapter 281: Shen You

’The Hundred Treasures Pavilion... one of the top three merchant guilds in the county. It’s massive, powerful, and the auctions it holds are always of the highest caliber.’

Fang Han’s interest was piqued, and he opened the booklet.

Sure enough, the quality of the auction items inside was a major step up.

A three-hundred-year-old "Blood Lingzhi," capable of greatly enhancing vitality, with miraculous effects for Martial Artists who practice Body Hardening Skills.

Deep Sea Cold Iron, a core material for forging top-level Weapons;

Soul Nourishing Liquid, a type of Spiritual Liquid that, while not quite a Heavenly Material or Earthly Treasure, was still extremely precious and had a better soul-nurturing effect than a Soul Condensing Pill.

The estimated prices for these auction items ranged from hundreds of thousands to a million silver taels.

Fang Han’s gaze swept over them quickly. Although these treasures were invaluable, they still weren’t enough to deplete his funds entirely.

His eyes continued down the page, and in the latter half of the booklet, he saw one of the auction’s grand finale items.

[Vajra Fruit]

A Spirit Fruit from the Vajra Bodhi Tree of the Vajra Temple. It blooms once every thirty years, bears fruit over the next thirty, and takes another thirty years to mature.

It contains immense vitality and Body Tempering Essence, making it a supreme medicinal treasure for Body Hardening.

Starting price: 3,000,000 taels of silver.

"Vajra Fruit!"

Fang Han’s eyes lit up.

He had long heard of this item. It was the very origin of the name for Body-Strengthening Elixirs like the Vajra Pill. The Vajra Pill itself was merely an imitation; the fruit’s medicinal effects were far superior.

The starting price alone was three million taels. If he bid on this fruit, he should be able to convert the ten million in silver notes he held into a tangible asset.

This Vajra Fruit was the perfect target for him to convert his massive sum of silver notes into a physical treasure!

Besides, there was another benefit. A supreme medicinal treasure for Body Hardening like the Vajra Fruit was actually useful to him. It wouldn’t look like he was spending millions on something he had no use for.

’This is the one!’

Fang Han made his decision in an instant.

He glanced at the auction information: it would be held in Jinhuang City, located to the southwest within the county, approximately twelve hundred li from the Qingxuan Sect. The auction was set to begin in just five days!

’Time is a little tight, but if I travel at full speed, I can definitely make it.’

Fang Han hesitated no longer, immediately getting up to prepare.

He wrapped the wooden box in a bundle, hung the Flowing Wind Sword at his side, and grabbed some water and dried rations before heading straight out of his residence.

After a brief word to the maids and attendants in the courtyard—"I’ll be away for several days"—he activated the Wind and Cloud Escape. His figure became like a wisp of green smoke as he swiftly descended the mountain.

He took out a map, determined his direction, and sped toward Jinhuang City.

...

「Two days later, in the afternoon.」

The blazing sun hung high in the sky, baking the official road until it was hot to the touch. The leaves on the trees by the roadside were slightly wilted.

Fang Han had been traveling swiftly and had already entered the southwestern region where Jinhuang City was located.

He was now less than a hundred li from Jinhuang City. At his current speed, he could arrive in two hours at most.

SWOOSH!

He wasn’t traveling at his absolute maximum speed, but maintained a pace that was efficient without being overly taxing.

Pedestrians and carriages were sparse on the official road; he rarely encountered anyone.

A few hundred feet ahead, a figure appeared on the road. They were dressed in tight-fitting black clothes, with a strange, dark flame pattern embroidered on the cuffs and collar.

That conspicuous black uniform was the mark of a Netherworld Pavilion disciple.

’A Netherworld Pavilion disciple?’

Fang Han glanced over but paid it no mind.

Although the Qingxuan Sect and the Netherworld Pavilion were on bad terms, with his current status, he wouldn’t go out of his way to cause trouble for an ordinary disciple of the Pavilion.

It was a tacit understanding in the conflict between the two Sects: one did not attack disciples of a vastly different status.

If the experts from both Sects were to disregard status and attack each other’s ordinary disciples, the likely result would be mutual destruction, allowing the other major sects to reap the benefits.

After all, the Qingxuan Sect and the Netherworld Pavilion weren’t the only two major sects in Qingyang County.

WHOOSH—

Fang Han didn’t slow down. His figure was like the wind as he prepared to sweep past the other person.

However, in the instant he passed the Netherworld Pavilion disciple, a glimpse of the man’s sinister profile caught the corner of his eye.

His forward momentum came to an abrupt halt, and he stopped several yards away.

He slowly turned around, his gaze icy as he looked at the Netherworld Pavilion disciple, who had grown wary due to his sudden appearance and stop.

He had some impression of that face.

After a moment of thought, Fang Han remembered.

Over a year ago, when he was still an ordinary disciple, he had been ambushed by several Netherworld Pavilion disciples while returning from a Sect mission.

After he had turned the tables and killed his pursuers, this very Netherworld Pavilion disciple had appeared.

At the time, Fang Han was no match for the man, who was already a Seventh Grade Martial Artist. He had only managed to escape thanks to his decent Body Technique.

A murderous glint appeared in his eyes. He wouldn’t attack an ordinary Netherworld Pavilion disciple, but one with whom he had a grudge was an exception.

’To think I’d run into a Qingxuan Sect True Disciple...’

Seeing Fang Han—dressed in the robes of a Qingxuan Sect True Disciple, his aura unfathomable—turn back and stare at him with an icy gaze, Shen You’s heart tightened, and his face paled slightly.

The Netherworld Pavilion and the Qingxuan Sect had a terrible relationship. A True Disciple blocking his path could not possibly be a good thing.

He forced himself to remain calm, squeezed out an ugly smile, and cupped his fist in salute, his voice trembling almost imperceptibly:

"Th-this True Disciple of the Qingxuan Sect, may I ask why you are blocking my path? As a True Disciple, surely... you wouldn’t trouble yourself with an ordinary disciple like me, would you?"

He was trying to corner Fang Han with his words, hoping to make him conscious of his status and hesitant to act.

"Do you remember me?"

At his words, a cold arc formed on Fang Han’s lips. His tone was flat, yet it carried a bone-chilling coldness.

Shen You froze, staring intently at Fang Han’s face.

At first, it looked vaguely familiar. Then, as his memories surged, the face of the Qingxuan Sect disciple from over a year ago—the one who had been ambushed, killed several Netherworld Pavilion disciples in return, and still escaped his own pursuit—gradually merged with the cold, hard face before him.

"You-you’re the Qingxuan Sect disciple from a year ago... the one I hunted who got away!"

Shen You’s pupils shrank. The color drained from his face in an instant, and a cold sweat broke out on his forehead. His eyes filled with disbelief and terror.

He could never have imagined that the Sub-Branch disciple he had hunted back then would, in just over a year, become a True Disciple of the Qingxuan Sect!

It was no wonder he hadn’t recognized him at first glance.

Hunting Fang Han back then had been a spur-of-the-moment decision. He didn’t even know Fang Han’s name, so it was only natural he wouldn’t imagine that the person he’d pursued had already become a True Disciple.

’It’s over!’

Immense terror instantly engulfed Shen You’s heart.

He knew that since the other man had recognized him, given their old grudge, there was no possibility of a peaceful resolution.

’Escape!’

The instinct for survival overrode everything else. Without a second thought, Shen You’s Inner Qi erupted from his body.

He summoned every ounce of his strength and bolted desperately toward the dense forest beside the road!

He could only hope that the cover of the trees would offer him a slim chance of survival.

’Trying to escape from me?’

A cold light flashed in Fang Han’s eyes.

If it were an ordinary Netherworld Pavilion disciple, he might not have bothered.

But since there was an old grudge between them, he certainly didn’t mind taking out the trash.

WHOOSH—

Fang Han’s figure blurred. He activated the Wind and Cloud Escape, his speed so great he looked like a distorted streak of green light. Though he started second, he arrived first, instantly appearing behind Shen You.

He didn’t even unsheathe his Flowing Wind Sword. Simply forming a Finger Sword, he channeled immense Inner Qi and sharp Sword Momentum into one finger, stabbing toward the back of Shen You’s heart.

Feeling the tangible killing intent and sharpness behind him, Shen You was scared out of his wits. He managed a desperate twist, swinging his palm toward Fang Han’s finger in an attempt to block.

PFFT!

However, the gap in their strength was too vast.

Fang Han’s Finger Sword easily pierced through Shen You’s Palm Force and struck him in the chest.

The defensive layer of Inner Qi on his body was punctured as easily as paper. A sharp Power penetrated his body, leaving a hole in its wake.

Shen You’s forward momentum froze. The light in his eyes rapidly dimmed, and with a look of ultimate terror and unwillingness, he collapsed limply to the ground, his breathing ceased.

A Late Stage of Seventh Grade disciple from the Netherworld Pavilion hadn’t even been able to withstand a single move from him.

’An ordinary Netherworld Pavilion disciple probably won’t have anything good on him...’

Fang Han’s expression was indifferent. With his current Cultivation at the Late Stage of Fifth Grade, a Late Stage of Seventh Grade Martial Artist was no different from an ordinary person in front of him.

He didn’t think an ordinary Netherworld Pavilion disciple would have anything valuable, but operating on the principle of not letting anything go to waste, he still bent down and began to search Shen You’s body.

However, when he untied the seemingly ordinary pack on Shen You’s back, his movements paused slightly.

Inside, aside from some spare clothes, dried rations, a waterskin, and a few medicine bottles, there was also a wooden box, about a foot square, made of an unusual material and sealed tightly shut.

The box was even locked, but with his current strength, a simple surge of Inner Qi was enough to destroy the lock.

"This...?"

The next moment, Fang Han’s pupils contracted sharply, and for the first time, a look of unconcealable shock appeared on his face.

Inside the wooden box, stacked neatly, were piles of brand-new silver notes!

Moreover, they were all large-denomination notes, each worth ten thousand taels!

A quick glance revealed that there were a staggering four to five hundred notes in the box!

This meant it was a sum of four to five million taels of silver!

’How could an ordinary Netherworld Pavilion disciple... be carrying such a huge sum of money?’

Fang Han’s mind was filled with doubt.

It was too unusual. Such an enormous amount of wealth was far beyond what an ordinary disciple could possess.

Where could Shen You have been going, carrying such a fortune?

Thinking of the nearby Jinhuang City, where the auction was about to be held, a guess formed in Fang Han’s mind. The man was either preparing to attend the auction himself or was delivering the money to someone else.

All sorts of questions flooded his mind, but now was clearly not the time to investigate them.

Fang Han quickly closed the wooden box and packed it away, along with the valuable Elixirs and silver taels from Shen You’s bag.

Afterward, he erased all traces of the fight, picked up Shen You’s body, and darted into the woods beside the road.

With a strike of his palm, he carved a deep pit in the ground and buried Shen You’s corpse.

Once he had finished, he didn’t linger. With a flicker, he continued speeding toward Jinhuang City.

Silence returned to the official road, as if nothing had ever happened.

Only the new, heavy wooden box inside his bundle served as a reminder of the unbelievable haul Fang Han had just acquired.

’Killing a random disciple with an old grudge netted me millions of taels of silver...’

As he sped along, Fang Han’s eyes flickered. He recalled the talk of "luck" that Sect Leader Chen Tianyuan had once mentioned.

’Could it be... this is the blessing of luck from the heavens that comes with being on the Celestial Pride List?’

He let out a slow breath, calming the turmoil in his heart.

Regardless of whether this was due to luck, the most important thing now was to get to Jinhuang City as quickly as possible and successfully bid for the Vajra Fruit.

He picked up his pace, his figure becoming a blurred green shadow on the official road as he rapidly sped into the distance.