Chapter 117: Third Layer – Draw Cut Art, Xuan Yuan Qu, Fire Cloud Transformation

Chapter 117: Third Layer – Draw Cut Art, Xuan Yuan Qu, Fire Cloud Transformation

Su Chen spent an hour wandering the Black Market with the following results:

Vital Energy Pills: None.

Crescent Blade Art Secret Manuals: Thirteen volumes (all incomplete, varying degrees of damage).

Liver-Refining Secret Manuals: None (not even fragments!).

Spleen-Refining Secret Manuals: None (same as above!).

Some gains, but minimal.

Su Chen sighed in frustration. The Black Market required both luck and sharp judgment. Many so-called "secret manuals" were outright scams.

For instance, he nearly bought two identical Crescent Blade Art manuals. One vendor used a specific cover and title, while another used a different design—but the contents were identical. If Su Chen hadn’t checked each manual before purchasing, he’d have been deceived.

While selecting Crescent Blade Art manuals relied on discernment, finding genuine internal cultivation manuals hinged on sheer luck. Today, luck wasn’t on his side—no vendor here sold such manuals.

He realized he’d been too optimistic. Even fragmented manuals for refining internal organs were rare commodities. No one would casually sell them. Worse, without prior cultivation knowledge, one couldn’t even identify which organ a manual targeted.

Su Chen needed attribute-specific manuals, but even basic Practice-Strength tier techniques were scarce. Most discovered manuals were useless—junk cultivations detected by his Progress Panel.

Dissatisfied, he rented a stall, writing his demands on a signboard:

Wanted:

- Vital Energy Pills, 400 silver notes per pill, cash upfront.

Crescent Blade Art Secret Manuals, quantity unlimited, price negotiable.

- Practice-Strength and above martial arts, quantity unlimited, price negotiable.

Sitting at his stall, he stood out among sellers. Though positioned discreetly, passersby kept glancing his way.

A customer soon appeared. A hooded figure whispered, "Half a Crescent Blade Art manual for 1,000 silver notes. Interested?"

"Let me inspect it first", Su Chen replied coolly.

The man hesitated, then pulled a few pages from his sleeve. Su Chen scanned them.

"700 silver for half a manual", Su Chen said.

"Impossible! Even half is priceless—900!"

"Deal."

Su Chen feigned reluctance, playing the shrewd buyer. This manual wasn’t mass-copied—otherwise, pirated versions would flood the market. The seller’s price was already low; most manuals cost over 1,000 silver.

Transactions completed, Su Chen waited. Though few sold, he acquired four more Crescent Blade Art manuals by market’s end.

More surprisingly, he obtained seven Vital Energy Pills—each seller had limited stock, but collectively, they amounted to seven.

"Unexpected gain", he mused. Only deep pockets could afford buying at double the market price.

Wealth invited danger. Openly purchasing manuals and pills practically screamed "Target Me!" to lurking thieves. Yet, after tailing him briefly, the would-be robbers lost interest. Su Chen, ready for a fight, felt baffled: Why no attack?

Back in Big Feng City, he sorted his acquisitions: eighteen Crescent Blade Art manuals and seven Vital Energy Pills.

"Spent nearly 20,000 silver on manuals alone. Effective, but costly!"

Residual fragments couldn’t enter his Progress Panel. Only complete systems—like Xuan Yuan Qu’s first layer—could be integrated. By dissecting fragments into individual techniques, he could rebuild them into new martial arts via the Progress Panel, enabling Gold-Fueled Enhancement.

He spent an hour reorganizing fragments onto blank paper, compiling fifty distinct moves. Now came the challenge: combining them into cohesive manuals.

"Let’s dismantle them today. Start assembly tomorrow."

Three days yielded nothing. The fourth brought two breakthroughs:

[Xuan Yuan Qu Easy Mode: Swallow 400 times to reach Third Layer.]

[Fire Cloud Transformation Easy Mode: Sit by a fire for 40 minutes to achieve Third Change.]

Su Chen completed both. The Xuan Yuan Qu’s cool energy and Fire Cloud Transformation’s warmth flowed separately, refining his kidneys and heart without conflict. Testing their potency, he resumed refining Crescent Blade Art.

On the seventh day, the Progress Panel responded:

[Martial Arts: …Unnamed Crescent Blade Art (Novice 1%)]

He couldn’t recall how many combinations succeeded, but elation surged. Skipping renaming, he activated Gold-Fueled Enhancement.

An hour later, the system confirmed:

[Draw Cut Art Easy Mode: 300 slashes to reach Third Layer.]

Blades flashed in his courtyard. He swung wildly, channeling frustrations into each strike until silence returned.

Draw Cut Art had advanced to the Third Layer.

"Draw Cut Art, you've become stronger!" Su Chen muttered. "Whether it can kill a Bone Tempering realm martial cultivator in one strike remains uncertain, but back during my fight with Ge An, if I'd possessed this level of Draw Cut Art, he wouldn't have died so disgracefully. I'd have ended him quickly and cleanly."

After testing his abilities in the courtyard, Su Chen sheathed his steel saber, had lunch at a nearby tavern, then made his way to Cai Manor.

"Step aside! No one's allowed in or out!" The guards recognized Su Chen but hadn't blocked him. Now, as he approached Zhu Yan's courtyard during the Rat Hour, another guard suddenly intercepted him.

"Master Ding, this way", a servant girl called out. Cai Xiaoyue's maid had arrived to escort him.

"Miss knew you were coming", the maid explained as they weaved through corridors toward Zhu Yan's quarters. Su Chen nodded, glancing at the guards' unfamiliar uniforms.

Zhu Yan rose immediately upon seeing Su Chen. "Benefactor!" Cai Xiaoyue greeted him warmly.

"I was starting to worry something had happened", Zhu Yan admitted with a relieved smile.

After exchanging greetings, Cai Xiaoyue presented a small box. "Benefactor, these are the Mystic Essence Pills Master Tong requested. Five in total." Su Chen accepted them. "I'll thank Tong Bo for you."

Zhu Yan soon steered the conversation toward medical texts. Though Su Chen had been studying medicine, he'd been absent, leaving Zhu Yan to study alone. Now with his mentor present, Zhu Yan eagerly shared insights from his family's Ancient Medical Manual.

Despite his knowledge gaps, Su Chen's unconventional ideas on toxicology stunned Zhu Yan. The medical prodigy found himself opening new frontiers through their exchange. Cai Xiaoyue silently ensured their tea and snacks never ran out.

By evening, Zhu Yan reluctantly let Su Chen go. "I never imagined you'd grasp these concepts so quickly! You're a natural", Zhu Yan marveled.

Su Chen chuckled modestly. "You mentioned strangers in Cai Manor earlier?"

Cai Xiaoyue's expression darkened. "They're from the Chu Clan. Father allowed them to stay."

Zhu Yan scowled. "Those two women act as if they own the place! And dozens of martial cultivators have vanished since they arrived!"

The conversation was interrupted when a servant rushed in. "They're causing trouble again! They demanded morning dew for their bath—had everyone scrambling all night! Now they're furious the servants couldn't collect enough!"

Zhu Yan slammed his fist. "Unbelievable! This is Cai Manor, not their private estate!"

Cai Xiaoyue led them to the scene. Two elaborately dressed women stood surrounded by attendants. The taller one in yellow was Chuxiaoxiao, the shorter in green Chuyingying.

"You finally arrived", Chuxiaoxiao sneered. "Is this how Hex Union treats guests? Not even proper servants! Your second-tier Big Feng City status is well-earned."

Cai Xiaoyue's jaw tightened as she surveyed the beaten servants. "I see", she said coldly before turning away.

Chuyingying's eyes narrowed toward Su Chen and Zhu Yan watching from a distance. "Sister", she whispered, "my technique reacted again. That saber-wielding man... he's the source."

Chuxiaoxiao's breath quickened. "Both of them feel... exceptional." She signaled a maid. "Get their identities."

Later, studying the reports, Chuxiaoxiao smirked. "Let's test both. Better safe than sorry."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end