Chapter 3: Seizing the Profound-Grade Martial Skill: Thunder Shadow Sword Technique!

A moment later, Shen Mo walked into a pavilion. This was a grand and magnificent pavilion, constructed from centuries-old spiritual wood, ensuring it would not be susceptible to insect damage or rot. At the entrance of the first floor of the Scripture Pavilion stood a middle-aged man with a sinister face. This man was the deacon responsible for guarding the Scripture Pavilion. Of course, he was not some highly esteemed elder or unparalleled expert. He was merely an ordinary deacon at the Qi Condensation stage. In front of Shen Mo, there were two other disciples waiting in line to enter. Both were outer sect disciples, one burly and the other emaciated. The burly disciple had a broad back and a robust build, with a powerful aura of vitality. With a glance, Shen Mo could tell he had at least reached the peak of the Body Tempering Realm. As for the emaciated disciple, his face was sallow, and he was only at the entry level of the Body Tempering Realm. Such outer sect disciples were always the targets of Lei Yong's extortion. When the deacon of the Scripture Pavilion saw the burly disciple, he enthusiastically stood up, "Please come in, come in. If you need anything, just let me know." But when the emaciated disciple tried to enter, the deacon's demeanor changed. He rudely extended his hand, "One lower-grade spirit stone." Spirit stones are the hard currency among cultivators. Spirit stones are classified by purity into supreme-grade, high-grade, mid-grade, and lower-grade. The exchange ratio is roughly one to one hundred. One mid-grade spirit stone can be exchanged for one hundred lower-grade spirit stones. However, one hundred lower-grade spirit stones might not necessarily be exchanged for one mid-grade spirit stone; the price often inflates to about one hundred and six or one hundred and ten. The emaciated disciple was stunned upon hearing this, gritting his teeth, "Why doesn't that senior brother have to pay to enter, but I do?" The deacon of the Scripture Pavilion sneered disdainfully, "How can someone at the entry level of the Body Tempering Realm compare to someone at the peak? Pay up! Otherwise, you won't be entering today!" In the end, the emaciated disciple couldn't stand the confrontation and had to leave in frustration. One lower-grade spirit stone was already a third of his entire wealth; he couldn't give it up so easily. After the emaciated disciple left, it was Shen Mo's turn. The deacon glanced at Shen Mo, "Name?" Shen Mo reported his name. The deacon looked up at him and sneered, "So you're the former number one outer sect disciple. Your foundation is ruined, yet you still want to choose martial skills?" Shen Mo frowned, "Every disciple of the Qingxuan Sect can choose martial skills. Why can't I?" The deacon let out a strange laugh, "Of course you can. Hand over one lower-grade spirit stone, and I'll let you in." Shen Mo was speechless. According to sect rules, disciples could enter and exit the Scripture Pavilion for free, only needing to pay after selecting a technique or martial skill. But where there are rules, there are ways around them. The deacon had limited power, but he could still exploit the weak and collect extra fees. He cleverly avoided targeting the strong, so no one could do anything about him. Not wanting to waste time, Shen Mo took out a lower-grade spirit stone and handed it over. The deacon grinned, "That's the spirit. I like people who know their place. Go on in." He waved his hand, not bothering to argue further with Shen Mo. Shen Mo couldn't help but shake his head. The lower levels had become like this, and the upper levels of the Qingxuan Sect didn't intervene? Or was the entire Qingxuan Sect rotten to the core? Shen Mo glanced at his life panel. The deacon's potential had reached its end; it would take him three years to reach the Foundation Establishment stage, and he would only achieve minor success in that lifetime. However, the deacon had a good opportunity coming up. [Upcoming Opportunity: In three days, during a trip to Qingshan City to seek pleasure, he will encounter a Treasure Seeking Rat but fail to catch it, only picking up three lower-grade spirit stones.] "A Treasure Seeking Rat is a spirit beast particularly fond of shiny treasures, especially spirit stones. Its attack power is weak, but it's incredibly fast. Without special bait, even a peak Qi Condensation stage cultivator can't catch it." Shen Mo noted this opportunity. The bait wasn't hard to make, but it needed to be prepared in advance. In three days, if he brought the bait to that location, he would surely catch the Treasure Seeking Rat and obtain all the spirit stones it carried. He walked briskly, moving among the many bookshelves. The first floor of the Scripture Pavilion housed Yellow-grade techniques and martial skills. On the second floor, there were Profound-grade techniques and martial skills, but only inner sect disciples could go upstairs. The layout was such because Profound-grade techniques and martial skills were rare and precious. The Qingxuan Sect was the largest force within a hundred miles, but it only had three Profound-grade techniques and eight Profound-grade martial skills. Such high-grade texts were naturally reserved for the top-tier genius disciples. Outer sect disciples naturally couldn't access these. Shen Mo slowly advanced, his gaze quickly moving among the various techniques and martial skills, examining each one carefully without missing any. After a moment, he found his target. "Yellow-grade low-tier martial skill, Tiger Roar Fist!" He picked up this seemingly ordinary fist technique and examined it closely. He noticed that the cover of this book was slightly thicker than usual. If he hadn't picked it up and looked carefully, no one would have noticed this detail. Shen Mo pressed firmly and indeed found something unusual beneath the heavy cover. He pulled out two yellowed pages from the inside of the cover. The pages were densely packed with small characters. At the top, there were four prominent characters: "Thunder Shadow Sword Modification." Shen Mo was slightly surprised. He had heard of the Thunder Shadow Sword technique. It was one of the eight Profound-grade martial skills kept in the Qingxuan Sect's vault, known for its great power and extreme speed, classified as a mid-tier Profound-grade technique. However, it was very difficult to cultivate, so even among the inner sect disciples, few practiced it. "This seems to be a new sword technique created by some expert after innovating the Thunder Shadow Sword." Shen Mo was excited and immediately tucked it into his chest. Regardless, this was a Profound-grade martial skill. Even a slight achievement with it would greatly enhance his strength! Shen Mo placed the Tiger Roar Fist back in its original position and turned to leave the Scripture Pavilion. Just as he stepped out, he ran into Lei Yong, who was just coming in. Lei Yong frowned slightly when he saw him, "What are you doing here?" Shen Mo hadn't expected to run into him right after coming out. However, he didn't show any panic and responded calmly, "Many of my martial skills have been neglected, so I came to the Scripture Pavilion to review them. Is there a problem with that?" Lei Yong let out a strange laugh, "Of course not." If they were at the foot of the mountain, and Shen Mo dared to speak to him like this, he would have punched him on the spot. But here, on the mountainside, people were coming and going, including both inner and outer sect disciples. If he directly attacked Shen Mo, it would not look good. Shen Mo continued forward. "Wait." Lei Yong glanced over and suddenly noticed Shen Mo's slightly bulging chest. "Your chest looks a bit puffed up. Are you hiding something?" Lei Yong smirked, grabbing Shen Mo's clothes. His eyes seemed to say, "If you don't show me, I'll check myself." "I need to take on tasks to earn spirit stones. I'll get hungry while working, so I brought a few buns with me. What's the problem?" Shen Mo pulled open his front, took out a bun, and waved it in front of Lei Yong. Lei Yong gave a forced smile, "Fine, of course, it's fine." He withdrew his hand without saying more, "Don't forget the rules. For any task you take on, I get a tenth of the reward." Shen Mo said nothing, cold-faced, and quickly walked away. Lei Yong snorted and stepped into the Scripture Pavilion. The deacon at the entrance recognized Lei Yong and immediately greeted him warmly. Though he was a Qi Condensation stage cultivator, he was already in his forties, with his potential exhausted. But Lei Yong was only eighteen or nineteen years old. As long as he grew normally, his future achievements would certainly surpass his. Moreover, Lei Yong was from a family, with a cousin who was an inner sect disciple. Naturally, he treated Lei Yong with utmost enthusiasm. Lei Yong nodded at him and walked among the bookshelves. His gaze roved over the various techniques and martial skills. But he couldn't find a martial skill that suited him. At some point, he suddenly stopped. His eyes rested on a martial skill called "Tiger Roar Fist." "Eh, there's something odd about this book's cover." Lei Yong picked up the Tiger Roar Fist and immediately felt there might be something hidden inside the cover. But after pressing it, he found it was empty. "Tch, just my imagination." Lei Yong put the Tiger Roar Fist back, not wasting any more time. However, for some reason, he suddenly felt a sense of loss. It was as if something he was supposed to obtain had inexplicably slipped away.