In the dead of night, outside a small inn at the foot of the Tyrant Sect's mountain.
Wei Yi and Li Hanlun were breathlessly running for cover.
To avoid any subsequent investigation by the Black Tiger Society, they refrained from entering through the main door. Instead, they climbed up the eaves and slipped through a window into a prearranged room on the second floor.
"Finally, we can rest. I'm completely exhausted."
Li Hanlun collapsed onto a chair, his body sagging with fatigue.
"Young people really aren't as strong as they think," Wei Yi teased with a smile.
Compared to him, his stamina seemed a little better. At least he wasn't drenched in sweat like Li Hanlun.
Li Hanlun couldn't help but roll his eyes in response.
"Enough with the teasing. Hurry up and take out the goods. Let's see what treasures we've got."
"Don't tell me we spent all that effort only to end up with a bunch of junk."
At this, Li Hanlun's interest piqued once more.
"Don't worry, there's plenty of good stuff in here," Wei Yi reassured him with a grin, setting down the package on the table and carefully unpacking its contents.
Indeed, the number of items was impressive.
There were pills, weapons, gold and silver jewels, along with some bronze artifacts and jade pieces.
And of course, there was the half-manual on martial arts techniques.
"These pills seem to have lost most of their potency," Li Hanlun said as he inspected the medicinal pills, sighing in disappointment.
"Even if their potency has diminished, they're still useful. They can be refined again," Wei Yi replied nonchalantly. "Since they were intended as burial items, they're definitely not ordinary pills."
After such a long time, it was only natural for their effects to fade.
"You know how to refine pills?" Li Hanlun asked, a look of surprise crossing his face.
"I am a proper fourth-grade alchemist," Wei Yi responded with a dismissive glance, his tone laced with arrogance.
"Seriously? A fourth-grade alchemist? Do you even know what that means?" Li Hanlun was clearly skeptical.
Though he'd met fourth-grade alchemists before, they were never as young as Wei Yi.
"Heh, believe it or not, but there's no alchemy facility in the Outer Sect. You'll probably have to wait until you enter the Inner Sect before you can try your hand at it," Wei Yi shrugged casually.
"Pfft, you're acting like it's true. You're really good at pretending," Li Hanlun smirked, rolling his eyes. He then quickly pushed the pills toward Wei Yi and grinned. "Well, since you're so confident, all these pills are yours. When you manage to refine them, feel free to send a few my way."
"Alright then," Wei Yi responded without hesitation, gathering up the pills without further comment.
"These three weapons are decent. Although their spirit has diminished somewhat, they're still quite good. If we sold them, we could easily fetch about two hundred thousand taels of silver."
"As for the gold, silver, jewels, and bronze or jade artifacts, they're all of considerable value."
"But getting rid of them might be a problem. We certainly can't sell them in the Outer Sect's annex; that would attract the Black Tiger Society's attention," Li Hanlun frowned.
"If that's the case, you can handle it," Wei Yi said nonchalantly. "Sell them, and then give me my share of the silver."
With money no longer being a pressing concern, Wei Yi wasn't in a hurry to deal with these items.
Li Hanlun, however, couldn't hide his surprise.
These items were worth at least several hundred thousand taels of silver, and Wei Yi was entrusting all of them to him. This level of trust was completely unexpected.
"Aren't you worried I'll pocket the silver or run off with everything?" Li Hanlun asked, unable to resist.
"Just a few hundred thousand taels of silver. Do you really think my friendship is worth so little? If you do that, it just means you've got terrible judgment and a limited future," Wei Yi replied without looking up, his eyes focused on the half-manual in his hands.
Li Hanlun was left speechless, his lips twitching in amusement.
"You really can't stop showing off, can you?"
He had been joking earlier, of course.
A few hundred thousand taels wasn't a huge sum, and he wasn't so short-sighted as to betray Wei Yi, especially when there was no escaping his reach as long as they were both Tyrant Sect disciples.
"What's with the manual?" Li Hanlun asked, noticing that Wei Yi was now absorbed in studying the half-manual.
"Well, this seems to be a manual on body movement techniques," Wei Yi replied, lifting his gaze and speaking with seriousness. "It's quite profound, and very powerful. If I'm not mistaken, this is a Earth-grade body technique."
Li Hanlun froze, immediately standing up from his chair, his face wide with disbelief.
"Earth-grade martial art… Are you sure you're not joking?" He stammered, clearly taken aback.
It wasn't hard to see why he was so stunned.
Earth-grade martial arts were exceedingly rare within the Great Chu Kingdom.
Even top-tier factions rarely possessed such techniques. Only super elite sects like the Tyrant Sect could have a few in their collection.
And even in such sects, Earth-grade techniques were precious, guarded secrets. Ordinary disciples could never hope to learn them.
"Take a look for yourself." Wei Yi sighed, handing over the half-manual. "Pity it's only half of it."
Li Hanlun wasted no time, eagerly reaching out to take the manual.
At that moment, a series of system prompts echoed in Wei Yi's mind.
Ding! Player Wei Yi has discovered the incomplete Earth-grade medium-level body technique, "Eagle Shape Ghost Shadow Eighteen Moves." Do you wish to learn it?
Wei Yi had originally thought the half-manual couldn't be cultivated, but to his surprise, the game system allowed him to learn it.
This was undoubtedly good news for him.
An Earth-grade medium technique? Only a fool would refuse.
"Yes!"
Ding! Player Wei Yi has learned the incomplete Earth-grade medium-level martial technique "Eagle Shape Ghost Shadow Eighteen Moves." Due to incompleteness, the grade is lowered to a Profound-grade upper level. Current level: LV1.
At the same time, a flood of memories filled his mind…
Not only did he receive the method and key points for cultivating "Eagle Shape Ghost Shadow Eighteen Moves," but also some information about its origin.
After absorbing this new knowledge, Wei Yi discovered that this technique was the signature martial art of the Eagle King, Liu Zong.
Liu Zong was, in many ways, a legendary figure.
Born into poverty and possessing average martial talent, he should never have achieved anything noteworthy.
Yet, against all odds, he became one of the foremost experts in the Great Chu Dynasty.
His reputation was immense, and he had close ties with many of the greatest martial artists of his time. He was a symbol of hope for ordinary martial artists.
Sadly, this legendary figure met an untimely death, with no one ever knowing who had killed him.
"But why was he buried in that unkempt graveyard?" Wei Yi furrowed his brow in confusion.
Just then, another system prompt sounded.
Ding! Player Wei Yi has triggered the quest "Eagle King's Legacy."
Quest Requirements: 1. Master the full version of "Eagle Shape Ghost Shadow Eighteen Moves"; 2. Investigate the true cause of Eagle King Liu Zong's death.
Quest Duration: One year.
Quest Reward: The Eagle King's Gift.