When Jiang Yun returned to the Lin Residence, it was already noon, and Lin Yi was still practicing the Wood Ignition Blade Technique. Seeing Jiang Yun's joyful expression, he approached and asked, "Master, did something good happen? Why are you so happy?"
Jiang Yun touched his face and said, "Haha, really? Well, focus on practicing your blade technique. I'll go back to my room. Don't disturb me unless it's important. And I've told you not to call me 'Master'."
"Yes, Master."
Seeing Lin Yi's determination, Jiang Yun didn't say anything further. Once he returned to his room, he eagerly took out the piece of parchment.
The "Nine Li Divine Technique," the name sounded impressive, and the content inside was equally impressive. As the name implied, if the Nine Li Divine Technique was complete, it should be a legendary divine-level cultivation method. However, the reason why the Grand Master referred to it as a lower-grade celestial-level technique was that the parchment only recorded the body-refining method of the first stage.
According to legends, the Nine Li Divine Technique was created by the ancient divine being Chi You. Its strength lay in reaching the ninth Heavenly Layer, where the physical body could become indestructible and achieve godhood.
It was said that when King Chi You of the Nine Li Tribe was defeated, the Emperor split his body into five parts, but his divine soul remained unextinguished. Eventually, the Emperor had to bury each part of his body separately in five different locations, sealing them with divine artifacts.
The remaining fragment of the Nine Li Divine Technique only contained the body-refining aspect. If it fell into the hands of someone from the Lingwu Continent, it might not have much use since the cultivation of techniques usually progressed from body refinement to qi cultivation. If one only possessed the body-refining aspect, they would only be able to cultivate up to the ninth level of the Martial Stage. To advance further, they would need the qi cultivation aspect.
In other words, it was as if Jiang Yun were practicing external martial arts and transitioning to internal cultivation on Earth. However, Jiang Yun was different from the martial artists of the Lingwu Continent. He brought with him a set of martial arts from Earth, so he could simultaneously cultivate both internal and external techniques.
Soon, after Jiang Yun finished reading the Nine Li Divine Technique, his initial ecstatic mood gradually subsided because he discovered that it consumed an enormous amount of spiritual energy.
Even the first level required a significant amount of spiritual energy support, and with Jiang Yun's current strength at the Fourth Layer of Body Martial, he could probably only cultivate up to the third level of the first stage.
Meanwhile, the owner of the Cangzhen Tower entered the Heavenly Martial Tower. Grand Master and Manager Lu greeted him, and the tower owner, who appeared to be around forty years old and full of vitality, asked, "Grand Master, you called me urgently. What's the matter?"
Manager Lu respectfully accompanied the tower owner, not daring to take a breath, while Grand Master appeared much more natural.
Grand Master held the Dragon Claw manuscript that Jiang Yun had brought and said excitedly, "This time, you won't be disappointed. This morning, a young man came here with a Celestial-grade intermediate martial technique, hoping to exchange it for a Celestial-grade cultivation method. Take a look, this is the Celestial-grade martial technique he brought."
The tower owner's curiosity was piqued by Grand Master's mysterious demeanor. He took the manuscript that Grand Master handed over and carefully examined it. The more he read, the more astonished he became, furrowing his brows tightly, mirroring the expression Grand Master had when he saw the Dragon Claw technique.
After about the time it took to brew a cup of tea, the tower owner let out a breath. His eyes fixed on the manuscript of the Dragon Claw technique, he said, "This martial technique has formidable power and can indeed be considered a Celestial-grade intermediate technique. The key point is that the way this technique channels energy is different from almost all other martial techniques."
Grand Master, feeling understood, clapped his hands and said, "Yes, you've also noticed it. This method of channeling energy completely subverts the entire Lingwu Continent's norms. Moreover, this innovative approach has already reached a level reminiscent of a grandmaster."
As Grand Master became more enthusiastic, he pointed at the Dragon Claw manuscript in the tower owner's hand and said, "And look, this martial technique was copied by that kid himself. It's not even the original version. Since he can bring out this Celestial-grade martial technique for exchange, he probably has other Celestial-grade techniques. Otherwise, he wouldn't have brought it out."
The tower owner, upon hearing Grand Master's words, also realized that it was only a manuscript. He became slightly alarmed, thinking about how someone who possessed more than two Celestial-grade martial techniques must have profound strength. Furrowing his brow, he said, "You just said this person is a young man in his twenties."
"Yes, that's right. In that case, it's highly likely that he has a strong background," Grand Master discerned the implications immediately, guessing that a twenty-year-old kid like Jiang Yun couldn't possibly possess two Celestial-grade martial techniques without substantial support.
"Luli, investigate this kid's background," the tower owner instructed Manager Lu after a moment of thought.
"Report to the tower owner, I've already sent people to inquire. This kid is named Li Tao and met the young lady of the Lin family on the outskirts of the city when she returned to Yanjing. They came back to the Lin family together, and now he seems to be the martial arts master of the young master of the Lin family," Manager Lu conveyed the information about Jiang Yun that he had gathered to the tower owner.
"Li Tao? Is that all? Did you find out where he's from, his hometown, anything?" The tower owner seemed dissatisfied with this vague information and spoke in an annoyed tone.
Although the tower owner appeared calm and spoke without any signs of displeasure, Manager Lu was clearly terrified of him. He quickly knelt on both knees and said, "This humble servant is incompetent. I only found out that this Li Tao mentioned to the Lin family servants that he came from a small county in Lingcheng. However, I've already investigated, and there is no person named Li Tao in Lingcheng."
The tower owner looked at Manager Lu, who was kneeling in fear, for a while before saying, "Manager Lu, why are you kneeling? I didn't say I don't believe you. Why kneel?"
Manager Lu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and stood up, saying, "It's all this humble servant's incompetence. I couldn't find any information about Li Tao."
"It's not your fault. Since you couldn't find anything, it's highly likely that this Li Tao is a fake. I just don't know what his motives are for entering the Lin family. Could it be that he has some connection with someone behind the scenes?" The tower owner furrowed his brow, pondering, but still couldn't figure it out.
Unbeknownst to Jiang Yun, he had caught someone's attention. At this moment, he had just finished his cultivation.
"The Jiuli Divine Technique really consumes a lot of spiritual energy. With my physical strength at the fourth level of Body Martial and the spiritual energy from the last Body Refining Pill, I've only cultivated to the second layer of the first stage. If it were an ordinary martial artist, they would probably have reached the fifth level of Body Martial by now," Jiang Yun silently marveled at the amount of spiritual energy required to cultivate the Jiuli Divine Technique.
Overall, Jiang Yun was very happy. The physical strength of the second layer of the first stage of the Jiuli Divine Technique was already comparable to that of an ordinary martial artist at the fifth level of Body Martial. Coupled with Jiang Yun's rapid progress in the Yijin Scripture's internal energy and his profound martial arts skills, he believed that even if he couldn't defeat Xiao Wanshui, he wouldn't be as embarrassed as he was last time. Moreover, the Jiuli Divine Technique had a significant advantage: it didn't have the bottlenecks that ordinary martial artists encountered. In other words, as long as he had enough spiritual energy, Jiang Yun could break through to the third layer of the first stage at any time.
However, these thoughts were just wishful thinking. The cost of these pills was astronomical for Jiang Yun, like an astronomical figure.