At the Moon Shadow Pavilion, a gentle breeze blew through the window as raindrops pattered down from the eaves.
"Miss, we've discovered that the Su family's Third Young Master is only physically weak, with no serious injuries. The Gu family's young miss, however, was severely wounded and has been taken back to the Green Wood Sword Sect for treatment," reported the madam.
"Moreover, because of Su Hao's incident, the Su family has carried out a bloody purge in Fuzhou City. Anyone with even the slightest connection to the Blood Demon Cult has been executed. Their methods are ruthless and tyrannical," she added, her body trembling slightly as she spoke.
"Are our people safe?" Moon Shadow asked softly.
"Yes, they're all fine. I've ordered them to lay low and not investigate anything for now to avoid being caught in the Su family's purge."
"Miss, the Su family has shown that they'd rather kill by mistake than let anyone escape. They don't seem to care about the Blood Demon Cult or other families. Perhaps Young Master Su could help us seek revenge," the madam suggested, looking at Moon Shadow.
"Let's not speak of this matter anymore," Moon Shadow replied coldly. Subconsciously, she didn't want to use Su Hao for anything.
"Then we can only pressure Sima Mingyue to cooperate with us," the madam said gravely. They had leverage over Sima Mingyue, as he had previously planned to attack Su Hao alongside Lan Yue from the Blood Demon Cult.
"Let's leave this matter for now. Are my medicinal herbs ready?" Moon Shadow asked, changing the subject.
"Yes, the herbs are prepared. Old Qi is getting ready to concoct the secret medicine. However, he suggests that you shouldn't break through in Fuzhou City to avoid detection."
"Make arrangements for us to go to our outpost outside the city. I'll break through there," Moon Shadow nodded.
"Have people from the prefecture office keep an eye on Sima Mingyue. I'll talk to him personally after I break through," she added calmly.
"Understood. I'll go make the arrangements now," the madam bowed and left the room.
"Since you're alright, I must attend to my own affairs. After this parting, we may not meet again," Moon Shadow murmured, gazing at the rainy night.
Several days passed, and Su Hao remained in the Su manor, slowly recovering. Feeling the warmth of the sun outside, he decided it was time to go out for a walk.
Though still a bit pale, he was mostly recovered, with his blood essence nearly restored.
Checking his sign-in value and skill points: Sign-in value: 3490 Skill points: 35
"Not bad, I can exchange for 349 skill points. But accumulating sign-in value through daily check-ins is too slow. Completing tasks is much faster," Su Hao mused.
During his check-ins, he had also randomly received 10,000 taels of silver and 3 Bronze Draw Cards, bringing his total to 6 Bronze Draw Cards.
"Four more and I can combine them into another Silver Draw Card," he thought.
After drawing the Blood-Devouring Demon Vine with the Gold Draw Card, he had somewhat lost interest in Bronze Draw Cards.
"I haven't checked in today yet," Su Hao realized and promptly did so.
"Host has completed the fifth consecutive check-in, gaining 160 points. Random reward: Yi Jin Jing First Level Cultivation Card, added to inventory!"
"Hmm, Yi Jin Jing First Level Cultivation Card? I didn't expect to get a cultivation technique, and it's the Yi Jin Jing at that. But what exactly is this 'first level'?" Su Hao wondered.
He quickly opened the item description in his inventory:
[Yi Jin Jing]: A secret manual from the Shaolin Sect of the Ancient Martial World. It can convert external force into internal energy, providing the cultivator with an endless supply of internal power. It can also refine one's blood essence and heal injuries. The First Level Cultivation Card will automatically allow the host to master the first level upon activation.
"This Yi Jin Jing seems powerful, even if it's only the first level. I'll cultivate it right away!" Su Hao decided.
He activated the skill card, and instantly, all the information about the first level of Yi Jin Jing flooded his mind.
As he began cultivating, he felt a surge of true qi or internal energy appear within his body. It immediately started repairing his injured blood essence and meridians, and his complexion gradually improved.
Moreover, his strength, previously at the fourth stage of the Human Realm, quietly broke through to the fifth stage.
"Truly worthy of being Shaolin's supreme skill," Su Hao marveled at his increased strength. He then paused the Yi Jin Jing's circulation, not wanting his family to notice.
Recently, he had been considering how to deal with the Blood Demon Cult. As a major evil sect from the South, the fact that a mere branch leader in the Northwest dared to move against the Weeping Blood Marquis and the Su family showed how formidable the cult must be.
Though confined to the Su manor, he had sent out a ninja to gather information about the situation in Fuzhou City. The Su family's purge following his injury had shocked him, but also made him worried.
Such heavy-handed tactics would surely have angered the Blood Demon Cult. Although they hadn't made any moves yet, they would undoubtedly be watching the Su family like a venomous snake.
Therefore, he needed to use this time to improve his strength, take on more tasks, and draw more trump cards to prepare for the Blood Demon Cult's eventual move, or to help if the Su family faced trouble.
"I should visit the Martial Pavilion and see if there are any sword or saber techniques worth learning," Su Hao decided.
He left his courtyard and headed towards the Martial Pavilion within the Su manor. It was a small building in the inner courtyard that housed various martial arts manuals collected by the Su family, though the family's core technique, the Brahma Raging Flame Technique, was not kept there.
Enjoying the sunshine, Su Hao slowly made his way to the Martial Pavilion. The guards at the entrance immediately opened the doors upon seeing him. Any direct descendant of the Su family could enter the pavilion at will, while other family members needed approval.
Su Hao browsed through the pavilion but couldn't find any extraordinary secret manuals. However, he did come across a technique called the Turtle Breathing Technique, which specialized in concealing one's aura and cultivation level.
Su Hao thought this technique would allow him to rapidly increase his strength without others noticing. He flipped through the manual, intending to take it back for cultivation.
[Would the host like to spend 50 skill points to learn the Turtle Breathing Technique?]
The system's prompt suddenly sounded in Su Hao's ear.
"This works too?" Su Hao was surprised. He had thought he needed to cultivate a technique to the entry level before being able to use skill points to improve it. He hadn't expected to be able to directly learn techniques by spending skill points.
"If that's the case, as long as I have enough skill points, I can learn any technique!" Su Hao's eyes gleamed with excitement.
"Exchange 50 sign-in points for skill points, and then use 50 skill points to learn the Turtle Breathing Technique!" he decided without hesitation. He had plenty of skill points now, and 50 was easily affordable.
Soon after, he felt the essence of the Turtle Breathing Technique appear within his body.
[Technique] Turtle Breathing Technique (Entry Level) (Upgrade to First Level requires 10 skill points. First Level can conceal the host's blood essence and aura up to 2 minor realms.)
[Spend 10 skill points to upgrade Turtle Breathing Technique to First Level?]
Su Hao considered further improving the Yi Jin Jing, but realized that since his strength had already broken through to the fifth stage of the Human Realm, any more increases would be difficult to explain.
So he decided to upgrade the Turtle Breathing Technique to the First Level first, to see if it could truly conceal his cultivation level.