Chapter 73: Martial Arts Worth Two Million Cultivation Points per Level

Later that evening, Ji Huo shared a meal with the peddler’s family. The dishes were simple, but there was an extra chicken, making it a lavish feast for a humble household like theirs. He recalled seeing chickens in the courtyard—such a spread was already considered extravagant for common folk.

Even so, the peddler and his wife worried that Ji Huo might not be used to such fare.

He made do for the night, but early the next morning, someone delivered a package and a letter.

Inside the package were a dozen martial arts manuals. Ji Huo didn’t examine them in detail, but judging by their titles and classification, they all seemed of decent quality.

The letter was quite long, spanning several pages, and appeared to be written in Ji Junhong’s own hand. It began with some everyday chatter, then recounted stories of Little Brown Sugar misbehaving at school, and went on to mention that something was amiss in the capital.

Reading further, Ji Huo’s pupils abruptly contracted:

“A few days ago, the Emperor of Liang issued a formal challenge, inviting the old emperor to settle their grievances with a duel atop Mount Tianjue. The appointed date is the sixth day of the seventh month. The old emperor has agreed and is making preparations to depart soon.”

“What the hell is this?!” Ji Huo exclaimed in shock.

Two emperors, abandoning their thrones to settle their scores with a sword duel atop a mountain, as if they were common swordsmen? In this day and age, who still fights one-on-one? Why not bring their fathers and national advisors along? Better yet, mobilize the Feixiong Army to lay siege to Mount Tianjue!

How did a man-to-man duel even become an option?

Had they both lost their minds?

Ji Huo’s lips twitched uncontrollably. Suddenly, he remembered how the White Tiger Army had cleared out all the residents within a hundred-mile radius of Mount Tianjue. Could it be that the old emperor was preparing for this very event?

Mount Tianjue straddled the border between Liang and the Great Zhou, its peaks forming a natural divide. Indeed, it was the perfect place for a duel.

“How deep must this grudge be for them to forsake their thrones for a true man’s battle?” Ji Huo shook his head, bemused.

Suddenly, he recalled the treasure map he had won from the system’s lottery, which also instructed him to be atop Daxing Mountain at the same time. Daxing Mountain lay beside Mount Tianjue, well within the hundred-mile radius...

Could the system be setting him up for something bizarre?

He had checked the map before; the spot where the emperors would fight was still some distance from the peak of Daxing Mountain, so the duel shouldn’t spill over.

That was the only comfort he could find. He glanced at the end of the letter, where it said:

“Second Brother, I’ve procured some manuals for you. One of them only contains the first three levels. See if you can cultivate it; if so, I’ll send you the rest. If not, be sure to destroy it.”

Manuals?

Ji Huo looked at the dozen or so manuals before him, flipped through them, and did indeed find a few pages whose handwriting matched the letter—clearly written by Ji Junhong himself.

The cover bore a single, simple title: “Dragon.”

“What kind of manual is so secretive? Besides, is there any martial art I can’t master?” Ji Huo remarked indifferently, lazily pressing his hand atop the stack without even flipping it open, and called out,

“Learn!”

A system notification chimed:

“Detected martial art %#$#@(blocked), first three levels. Identifying…”

“Identification complete!”

“Warning! Cultivating this martial art requires prerequisites. Host lacks said prerequisites. Forcible learning will incur additional cultivation points!”

Ji Huo raised his brows. This was the first time he’d encountered such a situation—what kind of manual needed extra conditions? Was it truly so advanced? And what was with that garbled text?

“How many cultivation points would it take?” Ji Huo asked.

“Assessing…”

“Each level requires two million cultivation points!”

“Proceed with learning?”

“No, thank you!” Ji Huo replied expressionlessly, crushing the pages into dust with a flick of his palm.

Nonsense!

He’d killed countless people over the past few days and had been on a spree in the canyon, drawing ten times at once each night. His luck in the Nine-Bend Gorge had been phenomenal, occasionally hitting cultivation point jackpots, yet he’d only managed to climb back to a little over a million cultivation points.

And this wretched manual wanted two million per level?!

He’d rather not bother!

Ji Huo had never planned to study the manual on his own, poring over it and cultivating bit by bit. Clearly, since his elder brother questioned whether he could practice it, there were too many restrictions.

If fate didn’t favor him with this martial art, so be it!

He stared at the pile of dust for a few seconds, then muttered forlornly,

“Actually, it’s mainly because I’m broke…”

Poverty is the eternal topic.

If he’d had enough cultivation points, he’d have liked to see just what a martial art costing two million points per level looked like.

Was it worth the price?

“Well then, time for the main event!” Ji Huo pressed his hand on the remaining manuals, eyes shining with anticipation. This quest had dragged on for months; he was eager to see what the reward would be.

“Cultivate!”

As soon as he spoke, his cultivation points plummeted rapidly, stopping only when they dipped just above a million.

“Rivers Converge into the Sea: Master one hundred martial arts to their peak level (100/100).”

“At last, it’s done!”

Ji Huo was nearly moved to tears, rubbing his hands together in excitement. “Let’s see what the reward is! Maybe a Star-Shifting Technique, or a Reverse Demonic Source—at worst, a Saint Demon Primordial Body would suffice!”

He watched as the quest notification vanished from the void, the words swirling and condensing in midair, transforming into a massive… wheel of fortune!

With a “whirr,” a golden banner unfurled on the wheel, emblazoned with large, familiar characters:

“Fair and Honest! A Prize Every Time!”

Ji Huo felt a chill in his heart—a bad premonition welled up inside him.

“Please spin for your quest reward!”

“Wait! Can I delay the spin?” Ji Huo asked hastily.

This wheel looked different from the daily lottery—the patterns were golden and radiant, surrounded by mysterious runes, densely packed segments of varying sizes, each labeled, yet obscured by a mystical mist.

But it was still a lottery!

Ji Huo felt uneasy. Ever since leaving Nine-Bend Gorge, his luck had plummeted; all he’d won lately were bouquets of flowers.

With luck like this, who knew what sort of garbage he’d end up with?

The system gave no response.

Ji Huo tried closing the window; the wheel shrank to the corner of his vision. When he reopened it, the wheel reappeared.

It seemed there was no time limit, so there was no rush. Next time, he’d save some points to test his luck, and only draw when he felt lucky.

He wiped his brow. The anticipation gnawed at him like an itch—this wheel was obviously top-tier, and the prizes inside couldn’t be bad.

But luck was the issue, and he never trusted his own.

“Sigh, first day of missing Xia Ningshang,” Ji Huo sighed.

He packed his things, left a silver ingot on the table, bid farewell to the peddler’s family, and set off for Divine Sword Manor.