True Martial World - Chapter 207: Picture of the Sun

The black-cloaked man began teaching Qin Haotian and company. With a change in tone, he said, "The Radiant Sun Qi has different grades! The Radiant Sun Qi that I have is the three-legged Golden Crow."

While saying this, the black-cloaked man spread out his arms. His body began to crackle and suddenly, like a burning flame, a terrifying energy exploded from the cloaked man's body.

It was a rising Qi that surged up into the air. It was as if, at that moment, the cloaked man's body had turned into the sun and it was extremely hot!

So powerful!

Yi Yun was shocked. Even while watching a visual array disk, he experienced tremendous pressure bearing down on him. If he was there in person, this feeling would be even more intense!

Yi Yun faintly saw the image of a Golden Crow in the Radiant Sun Qi that was surging behind the black-cloaked man. This Golden Crow had three claws and its wings were spread out, giving off flames!

This was the Golden Crow Radiant Sun Qi?

Yi Yun looked at Qin Haotian and company. He saw that they had all retreated far away. They could not withstand the pressure from the Radiant Sun Qi that the cloaked man emitted.

With a flash, the cloaked man's withdrew his Radiant Sun Qi. It could be said he had complete control over it.

"Terrifying!" Qin Haotian's eyes lit up. This strength was endearing!

"Now, all of you have just begun practicing the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'. To be able to condense Radiant Sun Qi would be impressive! If you have the talent, you can cause the Radiant Sun Qi to turn into an illusionary image. If you can create the valleys, then that will be the Tang Valley Radiant Sun Qi. By reaching this stage, it can be said that your talent is amazing!"

Tang Valley level?

Yi Yun said to himself, "Sunrise from Tang Valley, Roaming across the World!"

The Tang Valley was the legendary place from where the sun rose. The sun would rise from the Tang Valley and move across the sky as it roamed across the world.

Hence the words: Sunrise from Tang Valley, Roaming across the World.

The Tang Valley was the beginning step of the Radiant Sun Qi!

"Everything is difficult in the beginning. The first thing you need to do is remember this picture of the sun. Now, use your Yuan Qi to draw out the picture in your soul. When you can completely draw out the picture of the sun, even with a minimal charm to it, then you would have reached the small success stage of the first volume of the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'."

"To those who completely learn the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique', there will be an eternal picture of the sun within their soul that looks extremely lifelike! This is the foundation to learning the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'!"

Using one's Yuan Qi to draw the picture of the sun?

Qin Haotian and company were absorbed in thought. After some moment of consideration, they closed their eyes and began reproducing the picture of the sun in the first volume of the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'.

Yi Yun slightly sighed. The cloaked man's advice made Yi Yun feel as if he found a breakthrough.

Controlling Yuan Qi…

Yi Yun closed his eyes and with his spiritual energy interfaced with the Purple Crystal. Soon, he started to control the Yuan Qi within his body as if he was using his finger.

To Yi Yun, controlling energy and Yuan Qi was extremely easy.

"Doesn't seem difficult…" Yi Yun began to draw the picture of the sun according to the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'.

First, it was the outline, followed by the sunlight, the flames…

Layer upon layer of images was drawn using Yuan Qi, giving it the feeling of a beautiful watercolor render.

But, Qin Haotian, Li Xiao and the Tai Ah Twin Heroes’ Qiao brothers in the visual array disk had completely different thoughts.

The energy they controlled were sometimes too light and other times too heavy.

Ignoring the control of energy, just think about using a hand to draw. One might have a thought in mind, but what one drew would look different from what one thought. Even commoners would find drawing a straight line without a ruler difficult.

At that moment, Qin Haotian and company had sweat droplets on their forehead and they were frowning.

Drawing the picture of the sun was extremely difficult.

Failure after failure, they tried again.

Failure meant another time!

With these people, spiritual power, controlling Heaven Earth Yuan Qi to kill their enemy was not difficult, but to control the Heaven Earth Yuan Qi to draw, they found it very tiring.

A moment of carelessness could easily disperse the Heaven Earth Yuan Qi they had set up.

Difficult! Too difficult!

Qin Haotian wiped his sweat. However, he knew that this step was extremely important.

In fact, the most important thing in the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' was this 'concept'!

It was not realistic to understand the concept within the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' in one go, but there was the saying, "Read a book a hundred times and its meaning will appear".

Even the most esoteric book could be understood by reading and writing it many times.

The 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' was the same. If one could use one's own body to copy the picture of the sun, and then by copying the 108 words that made up the principles, with each word containing the concepts, one could reach a great state in practicing the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'!

Among Qin Haotian and company, the person who was more relaxed was Luo Huo’er.

As a Desolate Heaven Master, Luo Huo’er's spiritual energy was stronger than Qin Haotian and the rest.

But even so, Luo Huo’er was also wrinkling her tiny nose and her cheeks turned red.

Seconds changed to minutes, Qin Haotian and company were working hard at drawing the picture. However, Yi Yun had almost completed half of the picture.

Till now, Yi Yun had not encountered a situation of losing control over his energy. There were very few spots that were not perfect.

The cloaked man began explaining again. He taught the techniques used to draw the picture and at the same time, he explained the concept of the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'.

"You must use your 'heart' to look at this picture of the sun. The process is very monotonous, but it is the foundation. Once the foundation is well laid out, it will be of great benefit to you in the future when you master the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'!"

"All of you have just begun. If you can finish about 5% of it in your first day, it is considered good. If you complete 10%, you are a talented genius!" The cloaked man encouraged Qin Haotian and company, but at that moment, Yi Yun had completed 60%. He was six times better than the "talented genius" the cloaked man mentioned.

These results were quite ridiculous!

But even so, Yi Yun did not slack off. He was fully focused on drawing the picture. When he reached 65%, Yi Yun finally found it difficult.

Although it was difficult, Yi Yun still felt excited.

He could clearly feel that, as he was trying to draw the picture, the Heaven Earth Yuan Qi in his body was rapidly circulating. The Heaven Purple Yang Ginseng energy he had absorbed was now entering the picture on its own, it was slowly becoming a part of the picture.

The Heaven Purple Yang Ginseng's energy was pure Yang Qi!

It complemented the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'!

In the past, Yi Yun had absorbed plenty of energy from the Wilderness Divine Hall and the herb mountain #60, but without a cultivation technique, Yi Yun's body could not hold on to all of the energy. With the passage of time, the energy Yi Yun absorbed slowly wasted away.

But now, it was different. The picture drawn within Yi Yun's mind was like an energy pool. It could contain all of the energy that Yi Yun had absorbed. And the energy would circulate according to certain laws, causing Yi Yun's cultivation level to strengthen in an intangible way!

Now, Yi Yun had not completely mastered the first volume of the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' yet, but he had already received many benefits from it. How could he not be excited?

When he was nearly 70% close to completion of the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' picture, Yi Yun began to feel his body enter a hungry state.

Yi Yun had not felt like this for a long time.

This was his body's thirst for energy!

As such, it meant that Yi Yun's cultivation level was about to rise again.

"Pure Yang power is most suitable for the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'. If only there was another Heaven Purple Yang Ginseng…" Yi Yun said to himself. He had handed over the Heaven Purple Yang Ginseng, but it was alright, there was still the Wilderness Divine Hall!

After handing over the Heaven Purple Yang Ginseng, Yi Yun had earned 10,000 dragon scale runes and 3 glory points. But after exchanging some of it for the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique', he had spent the whole 10,000 dragon scale runes and he was down to only one glory point.

But, Yi Yun still obtained close to 2000 dragon scale runes from handing over the Blood Yang Flower.

Added on with the two hour Wilderness Divine Hall cultivation time reward from Wang and Baldy Qin each, Yi Yun could enter the Wilderness Divine Hall for more than six hours.

Yi Yun had already decided that when he reached his limit at drawing the picture, he would enter the Wilderness Divine Hall to eat his fill!

As such, Yi Yun had spent the entire night drawing the picture of the sun.

Early in the morning, Yi Yun was exhausted and his eyes were bloodshot.

His picture was 70% complete at this point!

At that moment, Yi Yun had no way of adding more to it.

After meditating for two hours, he adjusted his state back to normal. Following that, he went straight to the Wilderness Divine Hall.

The person guarding the Wilderness Divine Hall was still the white-bearded old man, who exchanged blows with Yi Yun. This old man was dressed in a white robe, and there was a red gem embedded between his eyebrows.

"You came again." The old man was seated on a chair in front of a chessboard. He was playing against himself. Seeing Yi Yun, he casually greeted him, as if he was very familiar with Yi Yun and he did not treat Yi Yun as an outsider.

"Senior, I want to choose a primordial strain that has pure Yang power. Is there such a thing?"

"Pure Yang power?" The old man looked at Yi Yun with a thoughtful glance. He slowly placed the chess piece down. "Hehe, Kid, I heard that out of sheer luck, you managed to pick a primordial herb. How was it? You exchanged it for the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'?"

This old man easily guessed the reason why Yi Yun wanted a pure Yang power.

Uh…

Yi Yun touched his nose. The four words "out of sheer luck" made him speechless. He said, "I had good luck, but I had to use a certain amount of strength…"

The way Yi Yun stressed it made people think he was being young and impetuous. As such, it made people less suspicious.

"Ah! You young ones sure have ambition. You are beginning to learn the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' so early. This stuff isn't easy to learn, don't end up crying if you can't grasp it!"

The old man was improper, but he still answered Yi Yun's question, "If you want to feel pure Yang power, go into Hall 6! It has what you want!"

True Martial World - Chapter 206: Sunrise from Tang Valley

Before Yi Yun had the chance to properly learn the "Tai Ah Sacred Technique", he had many preconceptions of the top cultivation technique of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom. He was guessing what this set of cultivation techniques would be like, and today, he finally had the chance to see what it really was like.

But when Yi Yun saw the first volume of the "Tai Ah Sacred Technique", he was extremely surprised.

The first volume of the "Tai Ah Sacred Technique" only had a few word formulas and some general principles. Other than that, there was only one picture.

This picture was the main focus of the first volume of the "Tai Ah Sacred Technique".

Yi Yun stumbled because his preconceived notion of a cultivation technique was one that was full of text.

The higher the cultivation technique’s level, the more esoteric text there would be which needed one to understand the concept of the text.

But now, a picture was the first volume of a cultivation technique?

This picture was that of the Sun.

When Yi Yun looked at it, he gradually developed a strange feeling. Although this was just a picture of the sun, he felt that it emitted an infinite brilliance, as if it was as bright as the Sun in the sky!

This picture...

Yi Yun took in a light breath. He felt that the person who drew this picture had an unusual technique. He had drawing skills of the highest caliber. Every stroke contained an indescribable concept within it that evaded his understanding.

"No wonder the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' is loaned out at such an expensive price! This jade scroll is extremely precious. There's no way for others to copy this picture of the sun!"

"In the entire Tai Ah Divine City, there are probably only a few jade scroll copies of the first three volumes of the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'. And each jade scroll might have been drawn by a peerless sage in the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's millions of years of existence. If one was not the best among the sages, one would not be able to draw this out. Even a current Elder from the Tai Ah Divine City might not have the ability to do this!"

"And this is only the first three volumes. The other volumes of the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' might even have fewer copies. The price would naturally be more expensive!'

Yi Yun was enlightened. The Tai Ah Divine Kingdom strictly regulated the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' due to two reasons. Firstly, the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' was a cornerstone of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, and was not to be spread out easily. Secondly, it was because there were too few jade scroll records of the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'. Since it was a precious resource, not everyone could be given the chance to cultivate it.

Only the best among the best could learn the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'!

Yi Yun carried on looking. Below the picture of the sun was a paragraph of text. These were the general principles of the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'!

The general principles were in four-word stanzas, with a total of 27 stanzas, making up a total of 108 words!

"Sunrise from Tang Valley, Roaming across the World, Spreading Light Onto World, Brilliant Glorious Magnificent Luster, Ten Suns (arise) from Fusang (a mythological tree or a mysterious land to the East), Who Masters Pure Yang..."

Despite these words being unclear in meaning, there was a mysterious sense of charm reading it. It felt catchy and was smooth to recite.

Yi Yun read it more than ten times in a row. The more he read, the more thoughts he acquired!

He felt as if those words were coming to life. Each word contained within it a spiritual essence. Each stroke was like a sword, with unmatched sharpness!

It was really nicely written!

These words were like the picture of the sun, and just its shape contained an indescribable concept within it that needed time for one to slowly understand.

Even a mortal calligrapher with excellent drawing skills had no way of producing such a charm. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

Although Yi Yun could not understand the concept of the principles and the picture of the sun combined together, but just from reading the principles, Yi Yun felt his blood flow speeding up. It was as if a nice and warm energy was entering his bone marrow.

"Good drawing, good text and good calligraphy!"

Yi Yun could not help but praise it. It was no wonder the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' was the cornerstone skill of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom. When comparing it to the cultivation techniques Yi Yun had previously seen, they were like fireflies in contrast with the bright moon!

Yi Yun voraciously read the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique', and tried understanding the charm within the 108 words.

The 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' was broad and deep. Yi Yun wasn’t able to understand many aspects of it.

Unknowingly, a day passed.

Until sunset, Yi Yun took a long breath. This day had passed so fast!

"The 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' sure is difficult. Just trying to grasp it by myself would get me stuck. I need a teacher..."

Yi Yun muttered to himself.

In the Tai Ah Divine City, there were many powerful people. These people would occasionally open up classes to teach. As long as one paid a specified dragon scale runes, they could attend the class.

If one was extremely rich, one could even get a sage Elder to give one-on-one advice by paying enough glory points.

Of course, the average person was not so extravagant. Obtaining advice from a sage may be good, but to spend glory points on it would make many people think through it carefully.

When Yi Yun returned to the Tai Ah Divine City, it was already dark and there were no lessons taught by strong experts.

But this was alright. Yi Yun went to the Ten Thousand Pagoda and rented a visual array disk from the Ten Thousand Pagoda.

This array disk had recorded the scene of an expert teaching the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' to a few geniuses four years ago in the Tai Ah Divine City.

And these geniuses in the divine city were no ordinary people.

One of them was the current number one on both the Heaven and Earth ranking, Qin Haotian!

Because this lesson was taught in great detail, it was a classic. The students were high in quality, so the lesson's content was made into many visual disk arrays. They were then rented and sold in the Ten Thousand Pagoda.

For four continuous years, this set of disk arrays had great sales. Those who had the chance to learn the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' would certainly not miss it.

Even those who did not have the chance to learn the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' would rent it out of curiosity.

After all, this disk array's rental price was cheap. With nothing to lose, many watched it hoping they might get lucky.

Of course, they gained nothing from that.

After all, the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' was too difficult. Even those with the cultivation technique jade scroll might not master it, not to mention those without the cultivation technique jade scroll. Just from listening to the class made it even more difficult!

"A lesson from four years ago… By watching a disk array, although it's not as good as being there, it wouldn't differ that much."

With this thought in mind, he played around with the disk array in his hands.

The core of the disk array was an exquisite illusion array. It could record the scenes that had previously taken place. With the power of desolate bone relics, it could store the images for a hundred years.

By injecting some Yuan Qi into it, Yi Yun suddenly saw visions from the disk array.

The first thing he saw was a man in a black cloak.

This black cloaked man was thin, and across his face were three parallel lines that formed a startling scar. It was as if he had been scratched by a desolate beast's claws.

"It's him!"

Yi Yun was surprised. This black-cloaked man was none other than the law-enforcer who brought him to see Elder Jian Ge!

"This man is powerful! In the Tai Ah Divine City, besides the Elders, this cloaked man's strength is probably at the top..."

Yi Yun muttered to himself and looked at the students attending the lesson.

There were four males and a female. One of the youths was dressed in linen clothes. His eyebrows were sharp and his eyes bright like the stars. There were two swords crossed across his back.

His whole being was like a sword, and he had a very oppressive aura.

Qin Haotian!

Yi Yun's eyes lit up. He was not familiar with Qin Haotian, but he had heard of Qin Haotian's distinguishing features. His weapon was a pair of swords. One long and one short, both extremely sharp.

This was the Qin Haotian from four years ago. At that time, Qin Haotian was only thirteen-years-old!

Beside Qin Haotian was a youth carrying a bow. He was tall and skinny. His eyes were narrow but sharp.

"Could this be Li Xiao?"

Yi Yun had heard of the name Li Xiao a few days ago. Back then, Yi Yun was in the shooting range to practice his archery skills. He had seen a few normal arrows pierce all the way through the purple tungsten target.

Those arrows were shot by Li Xiao.

When Yi Yun borrowed the disk array, he had seen its introduction. It said that the four males and a female that were attending the lesson were all influential people on the Heaven and Earth rankings. This was no coincidence. Those who had the qualification to learn the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' had to be the best of the best. Besides people like Qin Haotian and Li Xiao, other people had no right to listen to the cloaked man's lectures.

"This girl… she must be Luo Huo’er..."

Yi Yun looked at the only girl among the five people.

Luo Huo’er from four years ago was slim and graceful.

She wore a red dress, and her face was a healthy pink. She had a pair of dimples on her cheeks. Her pair of eyes gave people a spiritual feeling when she smiled.

"Luo Huo’er, Qin Haotian, Li Xiao and the other two must be great people on the Heaven and Earth rankings. They must be a pair of brothers. They are known as the Tai Ah Twin Heroes. As for who is older, I do not know..."

Yi Yun muttered to himself, and at that moment, the cloaked man began teaching.

He used his deep but hoarse voice to recite the principles of the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique', "Sunrise from Tang Valley, Roaming across the World, Spreading Light Onto World, Brilliant Glorious Magnificent Luster..."

The cloaked man's voice was not melodious, but when he read the principles of the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique', there was a special charm in it.

Yi Yun could not help but be spellbound.

The principles written in the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' had a concept, but it could be read in such a special manner?

Just from this, Yi Yun knew that the cloaked-man had learned the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' to a very high level.

Unknowingly, Yi Yun felt as if he was sitting beside Qin Haotian, Luo Huo’er from four years ago, listening to the teachings of the cloaked man.

"The most difficult part of learning the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' is to condense Radiant Sun Qi! Back when the founding emperor of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom was explaining the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique', he said that, only when one can condense Radiant Sun Qi would one be suitable for cultivating the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'. If not, it would be best for you to switch cultivation techniques. The 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' might not be suitable for you."

"Among every five people who learn the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique', there might not even be one who can condense Radiant Sun Qi..."

The black-cloaked man's words startled Yi Yun. Although the ratio of one in five was not too great an exaggeration, one had to recall that those who could learn the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' were the best of the best. Even amongst such people, there was a four out of five chance of failing!

"The few of you are people who I appreciate. You are also the first batch in the second year recruits to learn the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'. My requirement is for all of you is to condense Radiant Sun Qi. Do not disappoint me!"

True Martial World - Chapter 205: Loses underpants

The news that Yi Yun had publicly humiliated the Hongdao Association in the low class cook house quickly spread.

Among the rookies, the Hongdao Association and Yi Yun were respectively an organization and someone they paid close attention to. It was obvious with the Hongdao Association; it always had a high prestige among rookies. Yi Yun had recently had a windfall by picking a primordial herb. He was considered an influential figure among the rookies, so many people paid close attention to him.

For such a person to be at odds with such an organization, it was definitely something worth watching among the first and second year rookies.

They also knew that, after Yi Yun finished his rookie job, he would specifically be 'taken care' of. Yi Yun would probably be in trouble.

The Hongdao Association had absorbed many talents amongst this batch of first year rookies!

They were very fast to act. A month ago, just as the rookies entered the Tai Ah Divine City, the Hongdao Association began to lock onto many targets. Those who were talent-spotted by the Hongdao Association came from the Zhong state's capital's family clans. They already had great reputations before entering the Tai Ah Divine City.

They had names like Capital's Four Bully Lords, Imperial City's Six Young Masters. The Tai Ah Divine Kingdom capital was no doubt a place with the most number of family clans in the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom. Those who could receive such titles were certainly not bad.

Li Hong also came from a family clan in the capital. Also, he had a wide social network and was very reputable. Many young masters gave him face, or it would not be easy for him to establish the Hongdao Association with such prestige amongst the rookies.

To absorb the young masters from the capital into the Hongdao Association, Li Hong had promised them many benefits.

But now, Yi Yun had humiliated the Hongdao Association. This was no doubt also an insult to these young bullies.

These young bullies were not angels. Back in the capital, due to their strong family backgrounds and their own talents, they could be said to be overbearing. They dominated and bullied. Normal people could do nothing against them.

After knowing that Yi Yun had said "go f**k yourself" to Li Hong in the cook house, their feathers were ruffled.

It was made worse when they heard that this kid Yi Yun came from the Cloud Wilderness. His background was worse than some family clan from a remote state. How outrageous could this be?

"This hick that came from the Cloud Wilderness is courting death? He dared to provoke Brother Hong? It's already good that the bunch of us do not mess with others, but to think someone dares mess with us?"

"Fourth brother is right. It has always been us bullying others. Never has someone dared to bully us. Since this kid is sick of living, we will oblige him. When we enter the arena, the few of us will cripple him!"

The various little devils from the capital were all eager. They couldn't wait to press Yi Yun into the ground while crushing his face.

Li Hong turned solemn and said, "Don't underestimate this kid. He seems to have some skill. Although this primordial herb was picked due to it experiencing a calamity, I suspect it wasn't that simple. By exchanging the primordial herb for dragon scale runes, his net worth is great!"

"Hahaha! Dragon scale runes?"

When the little bully lords of the capital heard this, their eyes lit up. "Brother Hong, now that you mention, I remember. Isn't betting allowed in the arena? The few of us haven't gone into the arena ever since coming to the Tai Ah Divine City. We are kind of tight on dragon scale runes. Now, a fat sheep has been served up to our doorstep!"

It was too difficult to earn dragon scale runes for rookies. It was the same for these young masters from the capital.

In the beginning, the Hongdao Association gave them some small benefits, but it was far from adequate, and soon they ran out.

Now, they suddenly remembered that betting was allowed in the arena. Besides, their target Yi Yun was loaded. This was a great opportunity bestowed by Heaven!

If they did not rip Yi Yun off, it would really be their loss.

"Don't worry Brother Hong. We’ll make sure he loses till he loses his underpants."

"The few of us will begin saving dragon scale runes from today. If not, when the day comes, we might not have enough dragon scale runes to kill this kid."

The small bully lords soon came to an agreement.

A Hongdao Association Chief said, "Don't worry. In the event you lack the dragon scale runes, the association will support you. We must make sure the kid loses his underpants!"

"Yes… You guys do as you see fit." Li Hong muttered and nodded with some hesitation.

As such, the Hongdao Association publicized their intentions. They would beat Yi Yun like a dough into noodles at the arena and at the same time, make Yi Yun lose his underpants.

The news spread amongst the first and second year recruits. They had no relations with Yi Yun, so naturally, they were not too worried about Yi Yun.

Yi Yun's luck was too fate-defying. Humans tend to be jealous. Since the cultivators in the Tai Ah Divine City were all competitors to one another, seeing Yi Yun easily earn a large amount of dragon scale runes made them jealous. Now that Yi Yun was quickly going to be in trouble, many felt a sense of schadenfreude.

They wanted to see what Yi Yun's thoughts on this would be, and how he would react.

Many thought that having earned a huge amount of dragon scale runes, Yi Yun had no need to carry on picking herbs. One could only earn tens of dragon scale runes a day picking herbs, what use was that for?

Yi Yun should now be quickly exchanging them for resources, training hard. Even though cramming before the battle was insufficient, at least he wouldn't lose too badly.

But… On the second day, many of them saw Yi Yun carrying his herb basket, as if he was not involved in it. He carefreely went to pick herbs.

It was as if nothing had happened.

Many turned dumbfounded upon seeing this. This was too ridiculous!

"Yi Yun… You are still picking herbs?"

Someone could not help but ask.

Yi Yun looked at the person with an odd look and said in a matter-of-fact manner, "Of course I have to pick herbs. There's still a month left. I plan to break the herb-picking record."

Breaking the record?

When the people heard this, they were dumbfounded.

To many people, the phrase "breaking record" was too distant. Even the lowest record like picking herbs was shocking to hear. They could not react in time.

The people watched Yi Yun enter the teleportation array, and with a flash of light, Yi Yun disappeared.

"This kid actually wants to break the record..."

"That primordial herb seemed to have given him a 10,000 dragon scale runes reward… but to break a record, it wouldn't be simple..."

"He sure is ambitious. With people planning to besiege him, yet he tries to break the record with full composure. Isn't he afraid that he will beaten into a cripple in another month or two? Or… is he confident? But those who came to the Tai Ah Divine City are all talented. He may be able to trump against many in his small world, but he does not know how big the world is, and how strong others can be."

People discussed animately. These people were all proud sons of Heaven from all across the lands. They too thought they were awesome in the past, but soon they knew their place.

There were too many formidable people in the Tai Ah Divine City.

Yi Yun was of course, uninterested in the discussions between these people. At that moment, he had already arrived in the herb mountain #60.

The Heaven Earth Yuan Qi here was extremely rich and it was a good place for cultivation.

Yi Yun stood in a empty ground in the woods. He took out a palm-sized jade scroll. The front of the jade scroll was engraved with a golden dragon and on the back were the words "Tai Ah" in ancient script.

This jade scroll was the first volume of the "Tai Ah Sacred Technique"!

The Tai Ah Divine Kingdom strictly controlled the "Tai Ah Sacred Technique". Those who exchanged for the "Tai Ah Sacred Technique" had to strictly safeguard it. If it was found out that one privately circulated it, both the circulator and the ones who secretly learned it would be punished severely.

Yi Yun slowly inserted his consciousness into the jade scroll. He could feel an ancient aura surge towards him. It was like a mystic door had appeared in front of him before slowly opening, revealing the truth of infinite mysteries.

Yi Yun knew these were the nomological truths.

A cultivation technique like the "Tai Ah Sacred Technique" included within it nomological truths, and this was not something that could be described with words.

Previously when Yi Yun learned the "Dragon Rib Tiger Bone Fist", once he obtained the manual, he could easily make a copy.

But he could not copy the "Tai Ah Sacred Technique". Only when Yi Yun completely learned the "Tai Ah Sacred Technique" could he be able to carve the nomological truths he understood into a jade scroll; hence, creating a copy of the "Tai Ah Sacred Technique" that could be circulated for future generations.

Everyone's understanding of the "Tai Ah Sacred Technique" was different. There were tiny differences in the nomological truths engraved within. So a jade scroll like the "Tai Ah Sacred Technique" had different qualities.

The "Tai Ah Sacred Technique" jade scroll provided by the Tai Ah Divine City was of high quality, making it very expensive. This was only lent to the cultivators for learning. They still had to return it in the future.

If it was lost, there would be serious repercussions!

True Martial World - Chapter 204: I'll be scared

"Kid, you are courting death!"

The people from the Hongdao Association were seething with anger. Yi Yun did not reciprocate them giving him face!

It was because the Hongdao Association appreciated him that they came looking for him. He was a mid-stage Purple Blood rookie, yet Yi Yun turned down their request even when their President personally came. Who did he think he was!

Li Hong's face turned terrifyingly gloomy. He was holding onto a metal cup which had tipped over on the table. With a light press with his fingers, the cup split into pieces. Under his fingers, such a metal, which had not been specially forged, was as weak as paper.

"What did you just say? I did not hear it. Say it again?"

Li Hong smiled at Yi Yun, still with his Maitreya Buddha look. But everyone knew that Li Hong's expression was one of extreme anger.

For Li Hong, an influential figure with large numbers of men under him, even the cultivators who had been in the Tai Ah Divine City for 4-5 years would not dare to offend him.

There were severe repercussions by offending Li Hong!

"You didn't hear it clearly? Say it again? No problem! What I just said was, go f**k yourself..." Yi Yun responded in an articulate manner. For a person who wanted to exploit him, but still pretended to treat him as a brother, how could Yi Yun hold back? They had just formed an organization known as the Hongdao Association, what made them think they were that great?

As for how the Hongdao Association would retaliate, Yi Yun was not worried. The Hongdao Association was an organization that was formed mainly of recruits. People were afraid of it simply because it had a chance of becoming big in the future. But why would Yi Yun be afraid of a future power?

Besides, although the Tai Ah Divine City allowed private battles between cultivators, there were still rules. There were many restrictions for second year soldiers against recruits. Even if recruits were to have private battles amongst themselves, there was a place for that. It could be done privately but not in public. For example, in the streets or in cook houses, fighting was not permitted.

"Did you hear it now?" Yi Yun said in an unclear manner as he took another bite of meat.

Hearing Yi Yun's words, Li Hong's voice began to tremble.

"Good! Very good! You think I cannot do anything to you?"

Li Hong began to crush the metal cup in his hands to smithereens.

But Yi Yun was still unfazed. He was apparently in full control of the situation. He sat at the table and simply carried on eating.

In the cook house, Li Hong did not dare to do anything. If they were to fight here, all the tables and chairs would be destroyed. The punishment for that would be something that Li Hong would not be able to afford.

When everyone saw this, they were shocked. Yi Yun was too domineering. He completely did not treat Li Hong seriously.

Li Hong was fuming, yet he could do nothing.

He gritted his teeth saying, "Kid, you may think that I cannot do anything to you! Perhaps you do not know? In a few days’ time, when you recruits finish your jobs, you rookies have to compete in the arena!"

"Do you know the rules of the rookie competition? The Tai Ah Divine City will use your results over the past few days, the dragon scale runes you’ve earned and your cultivation level to give you an evaluation. You will then have an approximate ranking on the Earth ranking! And all those behind you would have the right to challenge you! By winning against you, they will replace you, taking your spot."

"By earning so many dragon scale runes, it would be hard for you to have a low ranking! When that happens, I will get the new members of the Hongdao Association to take care of you especially! And you will have no way of refusing this challenge!"

Li Hong snickered. The battles in the arena were very intense. The cultivators would simulate them, as if being in a real battle. It was not surprising for someone to become injured there.

If Yi Yun was challenged repeatedly, he might even end up with a few broken limbs. He would then need to spend his dragon scale runes to heal himself. If he did not have enough dragon scale runes, he would end up having to take a loan. It was even likely he would be bedridden for months. That was a very common occurrence!

"Ranking battle?"

Yi Yun raised his eyebrows. Having been in the Tai Ah Divine City for some time, he knew the rules of the arena.

The arena's ranking was also the Earth ranking. Every cultivator in the Tai Ah Divine City had a ranking on the Earth ranking no matter how weak they were.

There was no way of refusing a challenge for people on the Earth ranking.

But to prevent people from frivolously challenging others, there were many restrictions placed on the arena battle.

One of them was betting!

This was why Baldy Qin said that one of the fastest ways of earning dragon scale runes was on the arena! If one was strong, one could earn dragon scale runes quickly in the arena!

In every battle, the challenger and the person being challenged had to lay down a bet.

Depending on their rankings, there was a minimum bet limit.

The higher the rank was, the higher the bet limit. For someone to challenge another ranked much higher than himself, the bet he had to lay down was higher!

As such, there was a very high cost to challenging others. Those who had the confidence would fight, while those without the confidence would end up giving resources to others!

In fact, real arena battles often had stakes exceeding the minimum bet!

The bet amount had to be on mutual agreement.

Sometimes, when two rivals face each other, they would keep raising the stakes till it reached a frightening price!

This sort of battle often happened among people at the top of the rankings. This naturally attracted many spectators.

When Qin Haotian managed to unseat the top ranking person on the Earth ranking, the arena was filled with people. Almost all the ten thousand people or so in the Tai Ah Divine City had come to watch.

Even instructors and law-enforcers came to watch!

"You want to fight with me in the arena?" Yi Yun sniggered. He crushed the bones he was chewing on. A bone the size of a thumb nail was finished by Yi Yun.

Ever since he came to the Tai Ah Divine City, he had not had a real, proper match. Back when he was training hard in the Wilderness Divine Hall, his cultivation level had increased. Ever since he absorbed the Heaven Purple Yang Ginseng, his physical strength had greatly increased!

Now, he had even exchanged for the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'. The 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' was a top compendium that included cultivation techniques, fighting skills and movement skills.

If a saber was not taken out to kill, it would be left to rust.

If one did not use a top cultivation technique in battle, the cultivation effect would be greatly reduced.

Yi Yun had already been contemplating to try his hand in the arena in the coming days. He never expected that people would come forward to be his training partner.

And these bunch of training partners did not need payments, they might even give him dragon scale runes too.

There was no way Yi Yun was refusing such a good thing.

"A group of people challenging me? Isn't that too shameful… I'll be scared." Yi Yun gave a look of helplessness.

"Heh! Now you know fear? Too late!" A man behind Li Hong said with a grin, "Now even if you were to kowtow to Brother Hong, it would be useless. You will end up being beaten till your bones break and will then have to spend all of your fortune on medicines!"

When this man said it, the others behind Li Hong began to laugh heartily.

"Just because of herb-picking, you got some dog-shit luck in picking a half-dead primordial herb, you think you are capable? Strength is what matters in the Tai Ah Divine City. There's no f**king use if you are good at picking herbs! By offending our Hongdao Association, don't expect to survive the next six years in the Tai Ah Divine City!"

"You hick from the Cloud Wilderness, when you enter the arena, I'll let you know the power of the geniuses from the imperial capital's families!"

Seeing that they had oppressed Yi Yun, Li Hong's men were all very happy. Some of them came from the Zhong state's imperial capital's families. They were born with a sense of superiority and looked down on other family clans in other states, not to mention a person from the Cloud Wilderness.

Previously, when Yi Yun was being arrogant in front of them, they had wanted to give Yi Yun a good beating. Now that they had oppressed Yi Yun, how could they not add a few more slanders?

But… Li Hong frowned. He felt that Yi Yun was not being truthful. It seemed like he was completely unafraid...

This kid was not timid at all!

"Things don't change. Kid, just you wait!"

After saying these words, Li Hong led his followers away.

Zhou Kui was left standing there like a dummy. He did not know what to say.

He had originally thought Li Hong wanted to absorb Yi Yun into the Hongdao Association, yet this unexpected result happened...

As for the other cultivators in the cook house, they were all shocked. Most of them were rookies and they did not dare to offend a strong power like the Hongdao Association. They saw Yi Yun get persecuted by the Hongdao Association in a blink of an eye. There were even pledges of beating Yi Yun up so severely in the arena that he would go bankrupt from eating medicine.

How was Yi Yun going to survive in the future?

Many looked at Yi Yun with pity. Li Hong was a second year soldier. He was going to be in the Tai Ah Divine City for another five years!

"Yi… Yi Yun… I did not expect… it would end up like that." Zhou Kui swallowed a mouthful of saliva and muttered. Although he had always been competing with Yi Yun, they were not life-and-death rivals, he did not wish for this upon Yi Yun.

After all, he was just thirteen years old, and Zhou Kui had always been one-minded. Even in a dispute, he did not really want to cause death on the other.

Zhou Kui felt that he had caused harm to Yi Yun by bringing Li Hong and gang.

Yi Yun was very open-minded. He smiled and picked up the meat on his table and carried on eating. He said unclearly, "Small matter. Don't mind it. Do you want to eat? This meat tastes great."

"Uh..." Zhou Kui was speechless. Yi Yun could still eat his meat at that moment!

True Martial World - Chapter 203: You teased me, I teased you

As Yi Yun ate, he paid attention to the group of people through the corner of his eyes.

The plump youth rubbed his chin while walking to the table before Yi Yun. He sat down, but his men did not sit. They stood apart on all four corners, like door-gods.

This attracted the attention of many as people looked over. Some recognized who the plump youth was.

"Isn't he the Hongdao Association's president, Li Hong?"

"He stays in the central divine tower, why would he come to a low-class cook house?"

The Hongdao Association was one of the organizations many people paid close attention to amongst the recruits in the Tai Ah Divine City. Li Hong was considered as an influential person in the Tai Ah Divine City.

To be recognized by so many the moment he sat down, Li Hong felt very satisfied.

"You are Yi Yun, right?"

Li Hong looked at Yi Yun and used a nod as a greeting. "It's you who… picked the primordial herb?"

Many people knew that someone had picked a primordial herb and had been summoned by the Divine City's Elder. But they did not know that it was Yi Yun, who was currently eating his meal at a low-class cook house.

Upon hearing Li Hong's words, they became shocked. Soon, more and more people started paying attention to what was happened at the table.

One was an influential person in the Tai Ah Divine City, the other was a recruit who many followed with interest for having picked a primordial herb.

What were they going to talk about?

Yi Yun wiped his mouth and glanced at Li Hong. Li Hong was smiling affably. With his eyes squinting, it made him look like Maitreya Buddha.

Yi Yun had heard a bit about the Hongdao Association. It was one of the most influential organizations among the recruits. Many recruits wanted to board this cruise liner, hoping that when the Hongdao Association developed itself into one of the strongest factions in the Tai Ah Divine City in a few years, it would also inflate their own status.

Li Hong was strong, but he was not at some fate-defying level. The Hongdao Association set up by him, had a certain limit to its abilities.

It was not easy to prop up this organization.

"It's me, " Yi Yun nodded his head.

Li Hong said, "Let me introduce myself. I am Li Hong, the President of the Hongdao Association. I will just cut to the chase. I wish to take you into the Hongdao Association. I have prepared the position of Chief for you!"

When Li Hong said those words, many people who were paying attention to the ongoings were surprised.

Chief?

In the Hongdao Association, besides the President and Vice-President, there was the position of Chief. A Chief was a relatively senior position.

Yi Yun looked at Li Hong with a surprise. He had indeed become famous in the past few days, but it was not earned through his strength. It was earned through picking a primordial herb.

His cultivation level was only in the mid-stages in the Purple Blood. It was very common, and he was just a first-year recruit, yet Li Hong wanted to make him a Chief? How would the men under him be convinced?

"I heard that you encountered a primordial herb while it was experiencing a calamity, and that it happened to experience failure. That was how you picked the herb?" Li Hong poured a glass of water for himself while speaking in a nonchalant manner.

For a Purple Blood realm warrior to capture a primordial herb, it was like a fantasy. But Li Hong had obtained detailed information and knew that Yi Yun was just lucky to encounter the Heaven Purple Yang Ginseng that had failed a calamity. As such, it was not surprising for him to capture the Heaven Purple Yang Ginseng.

This luck was very enviable.

But good luck was useless. Li Hong knew that Yi Yun was only at the mid-stages of Purple Blood. His cultivation talent was just average. It was very difficult for such a person to stand out in the Tai Ah Divine City.

Yi Yun did not respond to Li Hong's question, but it was considered a tacit affirmation. It was best if people thought it was due to his good luck that he picked the primordial herb. It saved him trouble from explaining.

"Brother Yi, I heard you aren't from an affluent family? Your cultivation talent is also not at the top?"

Li Hong suddenly changed the topic and began asking about Yi Yun's background.

Yi Yun gave Li Hong an unexpected glance, "What's the matter?"

"Ha! Brother Yi, this old brother didn't mean to look down on you. You were born from the Cloud Wilderness, but to come this far, you must have had some spectacular adventures. Your cultivation level is at the mid-stages of Purple Blood, right? If I must say, what you should be concerned with is to purchase large amounts of resources to increase your cultivation level."

Li Hong patted Yi Yun on the shoulder, with a look that seemed to understand Yi Yun well. Actually, much of the information on Yi Yun was provided to him by Zhou Kui.

"Oh… And then?" Yi Yun suddenly realized that there was something in between the lines of Li Hong's words.

"Ha! By handing in the primordial herb, you must have gotten a few glory points? The main purpose of those glory points is to buy the most luxurious cultivation resources in the Divine City. But to use it as a mid-stage Purple Blood, it will be quite a waste. What you should be buying is high grade desolate bone relics and cultivation time in the Wilderness Divine Hall. And these things require a massive amount of dragon scale runes!"

"So… this old brother recommends you to exchange the glory points for dragon scale runes. That would be for the best!" Li Hong spoke in earnest, as if he was full of consideration for Yi Yun.

"Oh?" Yi Yun suddenly laughed, "I see, then how can I exchange them for dragon scale runes?"

"You can leave this to me. In the future, when you become a Chief of the Hongdao Association, you can easily exchange for dragon scale runes. Actually, I can exchange it for you. As you, my brother, are a recruit, it will not be easy in the beginning. How about this, I have 30,000 dragon scale runes here. You can use this first!"

Li Hong waved his fat hand, appearing extremely forthright.

Yi Yun stroked his chin and squinted, "What you mean is that you want to use 30,000 dragon scale runes to exchange for my one glory point?"

"Haha, you are regarding me as an outsider. In the future when you enter my Hongdao Association, you will be a brother. There's no need to be petty among brothers. You have use for dragon scale runes now. Just take it and use it. As for glory points, I happen to be missing a glory point for an item I want. When you need to use glory points in the future, I'll give it to you!"

Li Hong said with a confident expression.

Yi Yun gave a flattering smile, but all he was thinking was, "go f**k yourself".

He was originally curious, why would Li Hong suddenly come here to make him a Chief? It was to cheat him of his glory points!

To exchange 30,000 dragon scale runes for a glory point, he sure did his calculations!

The Tai Ah Divine City did not restrict the betting or trade of glory points, but in fact, no one would ever exchange glory points for dragon scale runes. Even 100,000 dragon scale runes would not be enough!

This was because whoever had the ability to earn glory points had no shortage of dragon scale runes. For a recruit like Yi Yun, he was an exception, having earned 3 glory points without many dragon scale runes accumulated.

This was why Li Hong was eyeing Yi Yun.

He had treated Yi Yun as a clueless rookie. He thought with the title of Chief, Yi Yun would be so overjoyed that he would just follow him as one of his men.

But it had to be said, any typical twelve-year-old child might be cheated by Li Hong's promise of the Hongdao Association's title of Chief.

The Chief of the Hongdao Association was an impressive title to many children!

If Yi Yun were to nod to the deal, and be cheated by Li Hong, the divine city would not do anything even if he tried to redress the situation.

The Tai Ah Divine City rationale was that trades were done voluntary. If one was cheated, they had to swallow their loss.

This was the cruel world of warriors.

By accepting these group of youths, the Tai Ah Divine City not only taught them cultivation techniques and battle skills, it also taught them about life.

In the Tai Ah Divine City, everyone was battling for resources. They were rivals to each other. There would always be some form of deception, flattery and backstabbing!

Those with one-track minds would only hurt themselves in the Tai Ah Divine City.

If the divine city were to redress the situation, those who had suffered would not mature. In the future when they entered the real vast wilderness world, entering mystic realms, what they would be cheated would not only be some dragon scale runes, it might even be their lives.

One needed to know how to live before one could become a warrior.

This was something taught to the recruits by the Tai Ah Divine City in an intangible manner.

"How is it? Brother Yi?" Li Hong kept seeing Yi Yun laughing sillily, but he did not know what this rookie was thinking.

"I see, so when I become a Chief, how many men will be under me?" Yi Yun gave a look of anticipation. At the same time, he took a big piece of meat and began chewing.

"Hahaha! Easy." Seeing Yi Yun 'hooked', Li Hong began to ease, "I will especially set up a hall for you, giving you a dozen brothers that would listen to your command! Hey, you few… why don't you follow Brother Yi in the future!"

Li Hong said while looking at his men behind him.

These men began laughing, "Sure. In the future Brother Yi is our hall Chief, we will all obey Brother Yi!"

These people had deep smiles on their faces. But these smiles appeared like they were laughing at a retard in Yi Yun's eyes.

On the sidelines, Zhou Kui was full of envy upon hearing this.

How could the gap between people be this large? Yi Yun was just a recruit like him a few days ago. But in a few days, he was the Chief of the Hongdao Association.

This was the Hongdao Association, a huge organization that would skyrocket in the future. Now, Yi Yun had a dozen men, and some of them were even second year soldiers. In the future, he could obtain a hundred responses to a single call!

Zhou Kui felt that Yi Yun was very inspiring.

But...

Why was Yi Yun eating again. He was still eating meat while having an important discussion… This made him really speechless...

"How about it?" Li Hong 'untiringly' spoke to Yi Yun in a guiding manner. Seeing Yi Yun chewing, he slightly frowned. This kid sure does not know how to appreciate things, eating when I'm speaking to him.

Or, he was just a glutton and an idiot that did not understand any basic etiquette.

Yi Yun smiled brightly. As he chewed on his meat, he mumbled with a mouth full of food, "About being Chief..."

"Right, or else what do you think I'm talking about?" Li Hong began to believe that Yi Yun was really an idiot. Not only did he not understand etiquette, his response was also slow.

"For that… I'll give you two words."

"What?" Li Hong asked. The men behind him also stretched their neck, waiting to hear it.

Yi Yun chewed a few more times before swallowing the meat in his mouth with difficulty, "The two words are… go f**k yourself! Oh… Sorry, that was three words."

As Yi Yun spoke, bits of meat flew, and a few meat pieces unfortunately sprayed on Li Hong's face.

Li Hong froze. Yet after a second, his face turned black!

His slightly plump face turned extremely grim.

As for Zhou Kui who was behind Li Hong, he was totally dumbfounded. A goose egg could easily stuff his agape mouth.

What was Yi Yun doing!?

"Kid, are you teasing me!?"

Li Hong erupted! The cups and flasks on the table crashed to the ground from his tremors.

Everyone in the cook house was attracted by what happened. They were flabbergasted by Yi Yun.

Yi Yun wiped the oil off his hands in an unfazed manner, "You're right that I'm teasing you, but… You teased me, I teased you. It's tit-for-tat. Now we don't owe each other!"

True Martial World - Chapter 202: Rise to Fame

Being a blacksmith for the past one month, Zhou Kui's muscles had turned bronze in color by the heat. His sweat made him look shiny.

After making more than a thousand strikes in one breath, Zhou Kui finally took a break to regulate his breathing.

The other people in the smithy also stopped. They took this time to wipe their sweat and drink some water, or eat a beast relic.

After all, forging metal was extremely tiring.

"Damn, I finally forged a good piece of metal."

Zhou Kui looked at the hot-red metal on the anvil with glee.

"Ha, Brother Kui, you are getting better at using the Hurricane Hammer skill!"

A member from the Xuanwu Army said with a laugh.

"I guess so."

Zhou Kui shook his head. This Hurricane Hammer skill was a hammer skill provided by the blacksmith job for free. It did not have any attacking power, but using it on metal would allow a cultivator to have perfect control of every inch of his body, giving it the best effect for training.

Although this hammer skill was free, Zhou Kui knew that if he were to completely cultivate it, it would be extremely terrifying.

18,000 years ago, there was a man who used this Hurricane Hammer skill to break the record of the blacksmith job.

In sixty days, he had forged all sorts of steel, good metals that totaled 48,000 dragon scale runes!

What was the concept of 48,000 dragon scale runes? Zhou Kui did not know in the beginning. When he first came to the blacksmith office, he was filled with ambition. He felt that even if he couldn't break the record, he would still be outstanding. That person may have obtained 48,000, but it wouldn't be difficult for Zhou Kui himself to make about 20,000-30,000 dragon scale runes.

The result over the next few days dumbfounded Zhou Kui!

In the first three days, Zhou Kui used all his strength, and never made more than 25 dragon scale runes a day!

From the fourth day, Zhou Kui finally managed to somewhat master the Hurricane Hammer skill, and his daily income went above 30 dragon scale runes. Following that, his income hovered around 40-50.

Zhou Kui's best daily earnings to date was only 52 dragon scale runes.

But that person who left the record?

To obtain 48,000 dragon scale runes in two months, that was an average of 800 dragon scale runes a day!

Zhou Kui wanted to cry. He had given his all to earn dragon scale runes, but the most he ever made was less than a tenth of that person. How could this be possible?

"Brother Kui, are you thinking about that guy's record? I'd say that the guy has some desolate beast bloodline and is not a normal person. If not, the standards 18,000 years ago were different from how it is now. It must have been easier to earnings dragon scale runes back then! To earn 48,000 dragon scale runes in sixty days, I cannot believe it!"

A Xuanwu Army member said stubbornly.

But at that moment, not far away, a young blacksmith who was also resting interjected, "You are belittling the world's heroes! Just a few days ago, someone in the Tai Ah Divine City managed to earn 10,000 dragon scale runes in a month by picking herbs. He even obtained glory points! For someone to forge metal for two months 18,000 years ago, earning 48,000 dragon scale runes isn't impossible."

This youth's words stunned Zhou Kui and company, but someone laughed, "How could picking herbs make 10,000 dragon scale runes in a month. Don't speak bullshit."

Zhou Kui and company could not believe, but the youth disdainfully said, "You guys don't know about the matter yet? I heard it from several expert friends who permanently live in the central divine tower. It's 100% true! The cultivator could get such a high reward from picking herbs because he picked a primordial herb! He was even specifically summoned by the Divine City's Elder!"

"Picked a primordial herb?" Zhou Kui gave a "stop teasing me" look. "Your joke is pointless! To think you even said a primordial herb. Is that something people like us can pick? To think you even said the Divine City's Elder summoned him. The Elder is a sage, is a sage someone we can come into contact with… EH!?"

When Zhou Kui reached that point in his sentence, his voice abruptly got cut off, as he began to experience shock..

He looked at his boys, but saw his boys looking at him with odd looks.

In fact, among them, Zhou Kui was the last one who came to the conclusion.

He swallowed mouthfuls of saliva and looked at the youth who was speaking from before. Zhou Kui stammered, "You… said previously… that… that he was summoned by the Elder?"

"Yes, it happened yesterday! A friend in the central divine tower told me himself. How could it be wrong?" The youth said lightly.

Zhou Kui and company stared. Picking herbs, summoned by the Elder...

Of course, they had guessed who the person who picked the primordial herb was.

"It can't be! Yi Yun, he… he actually picked a primordial herb!?"

"What a joke!"

Zhou Kui and his boys had intense reactions. One of the boys even jumped up as high as three feet from a stone bench.

They had previously seen the law-enforcers bring Yi Yun to see the Elder, but they had no idea what the reason was.

Today, they finally knew that it was because he had picked a primordial herb.

But.. How was that possible!?

How could a Purple Blood realm warrior manage to pick a herb of that level?

"Oh? That young guy is called Yi Yun?" At that moment, another young blacksmith stood up, "You guys know him?"

"Uh?" Seeing this young man suddenly stand up, Zhou Kui stumbled. This youth had left a deep impression on him.

This person was not very tall and looked thin. But he made more than a hundred dragon scale runes a day by striking metal!

Of course, he was not a rookie. He had been in the Divine Wilderness campgrounds for a year. He was in his second year of military service.

As a recruit in his first year, Zhou Kui was awed by these veteran soldiers.

This was due to their strength.

"Let me introduce myself. I'm Ah Jun. Our Hongdao Association's President is very interested after hearing about this youth. He wants to pull him into the association."

Hongdao Association!

Zhou Kui had heard of this small association.

Many of the people in the smithy were from the Hongdao Association!

The Hongdao Association's President was named Li Hong. His ranking on the Heaven ranking was 1030 and his Earth ranking was 1100.

This ranking may sound bad, but Li Hong had just entered the Divine Wilderness camp last year.

Adding the previous month, Li Hong had been in the Divine Wilderness camp for 13 months. To be ranked 1030 made him terrifying!

After all, it was extremely rare for someone to enter the top 1000 ranks in a year. This extraordinary genius was sufficient to alarm the Divine Kingdom's various super factions.

Li Hong was just a step shy from this.

Li Hong was very ambitious. By setting up the Hongdao Association, he only took in people who had been in the Divine Wilderness camp for less than a year.

The Hongdao Association was not strong yet. However, through the passage of time, by the time Li Hong had spent 3-4 years cultivating in the Tai Ah Divine City, they would become veteran cultivators. As such, this association would end up being one of the strongest associations in the Tai Ah Divine City!

Currently, many of the best first and second year recruits had been absorbed into the Hongdao Association.

It was unexpected that they had Yi Yun in their radar.

Zhou Kui did not feel happy about it. He had been forging metal with these Hongdao Association people for a month, but they had never even looked him in the eye.

And they had finally spoken to him, but it was because they were looking for Yi Yun!

Zhou Kui was pissed, but he did not dare to antagonize the Hongdao Association. If he were to offend an association that would end up being a large one in four years time, his life in the Tai Ah Divine City would become very unpleasant.

"Alright… He picks herbs in the day. He should be back home at night. I know where he stays..."

Zhou Kui grudgingly said. He felt as if he had swallowed a fly.

It was really exasperating comparing.

"Ha, thanks!"

The youth named Ah Jun smiled. Not only was their Hongdao Association looking for Yi Yun to be a member, they had some other important matters to discuss with him.

...

In the evening, the Sun began setting in the west. The majestic Tai Ah Divine City reflected the sunset and was covered in a layer of red and gold.

In the Tai Ah Divine City's low-class dining hall, cultivators were scurrying in from all directions to receive their meals.

The Tai Ah Divine City provided delicious food and it was filling because of the desolate beast meat.

The cultivators in the Tai Ah Divine City who went out on expeditions would return daily from the Divine Wilderness, bringing the desolate beasts they hunted to exchange for dragon scale runes. The most precious materials and bones were taken away for processing, while the worthless meat was distributed as food.

In the Cloud Wilderness tribes, where desolate beast meat was rare, it was high grade food. In the Tai Ah Divine city however, it was the lowest grade of food.

The cook house in the Tai Ah Divine City had a very special pot for cooking their desolate beast meat. This pot was a treasure and was called the Tai He Precious Cauldron!

The head chef who operated the Tai He Precious Cauldron was a Human Lord who was seldom seen, but had an extreme love for delicacies.

This Tai He Precious Cauldron was the Human Lord's precious treasure.

The Tai He Precious Cauldron had a world within it. It could hold a small mountain worth of food. Even if normal pork, beef or mutton were thrown in, the head chef could use the Tai He Precious Cauldron to cook an extremely tasty meal. It was imbued with Heaven Earth Yuan Qi. It could prolong the lives of ordinary people if they ate it often.

It goes without saying that the ingredients used by the Tai Ah Divine City was not pork, beef or mutton, but desolate beast meat. So even the low-class food was not at all inferior!

The first time Yi Yun came to the Tai Ah Divine City's cook house, he had enjoyed his meal.

Although at this stage, he could just absorb bone relics to replace his meals, Yi Yun would still come to the cook house from time to time to tuck into the food.

Eating fierce beast relics daily made him crave something substantial.

Since he learned the Elephant Swallowing Technique, Yi Yun's appetite was unusually good. He could eat a big plate of desolate beast meat, a few plates of spiritual vegetables and finishing it off with a bowl of animal bone soup. It was very pleasant.

Today, Yi Yun returned to his residence early, so he did not miss the opportunity to have a feast.

As Yi Yun was biting into a big piece of meat, he saw a group of people enter the cook house from the corner of his eyes.

This group of people were clearly not here to eat. Upon entering the cook house, they searched all over, and very quickly they found their target. They walked over to Yi Yun with a smile.

"Huh? They were looking for me?"

Yi Yun was slightly stunned as he carried on biting into the meat. He noticed that the person leading the group of people was Zhou Kui.

Zhou Kui was behind a youth that was mildly plump, as if he was afraid of this youth.

The plump youth was fair and had curly hair. In his arms, was a young lady. This young lady seemed like a cultivator of the Divine Wilderness camp.

"Oh? He is Yi Yun?" The plump youth asked Zhou Kui.

Zhou Kui nodded, "Yes, that is the person you are looking for!"

True Martial World - Chapter 201: Divine Fate Bone Charm

"Oh? You want to take a look at the first-ranked top-class rewards?" Elder Jian Ge looked at Yi Yun with surprise and soon smiled.

He did not hand the first-ranked jade scroll to Yi Yun and instead asked with interest, "Little rascal, what are your goals for the future? Or what future level do you want to train to?"

Future level?

Yi Yun was slightly stunned and shook his head subconsciously. He had never thought of his future cultivation goals.

"Oh?" Elder Jian Ge frowned slightly upon seeing this, "No goals?"

Yi Yun thought a bit before answering , "It isn't that I have no goals. It is just that this junior does not know how far he can go. Whatever level this junior sees, he will aim for that level."

Yi Yun knew that in this world, sages were awesome, but sages were not the end of martial arts. Above sages, there were great emperors.

What was above a great emperor? Yi Yun did not know.

The path of martial arts was like mountain-climbing. The higher one went, the further one could see. Of course, a sage was like a legendary level for the current Yi Yun. Yi Yun would not say it as it sounded ridiculous.

The Purple Crystal was an impressive divine item. Yi Yun knew that even with his weak senses, the primordial herb had nowhere of hiding in front of the Purple Crystal. Even a human Sage who used all of his perception on Yi Yun's body could not discover any trace of the Purple Crystal.

The ability shown by the Purple Crystal had exceeded the level of sages.

By possessing such a treasure, how could his goal only be a sage?

Elder Jian Ge still did not know how ambitious Yi Yun was. But what Yi Yun said had made Elder Jian Ge very satisfied.

He knew that Yi Yun's talent was lacking in several aspects, but these were unimportant. A warrior had to have a goal, whether it was achievable or not.

When Elder Jian Ge was still young, he had made his goal to become a sage. Back then, many people were saying he was an idiot with big dreams. How could a sage, that only appeared in the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom once in 500 years, turn out to be him?

Many people had ridiculed him for overestimating himself; however, the people who ridiculed him had all slowly died of old age, turning to bones.

As for Elder Jian Ge, he slowly went from Human Lord to the pinnacle of Human Lords, before becoming a human Sage.

Having an ambitious dream was not laughable; what was laughable were the people who had no dreams but mocked those who had them.

"This is the first-ranked top-class jade scroll. You can look through this. There is a huge gap between you and your dreams!"

Saying this, Elder Jian Ge threw a jade scroll to Yi Yun.

This jade scroll was golden in color and looked much smaller than the previous one.

Yi Yun sank his senses within...

But after seeing one item, his eyes could no longer move away from it.

There was such a divine item in this world?

"Divine Fate Bone Charm, 32 glory points, 50,000 dragon scale runes!"

Just the price made Yi Yun take a gasp of air! It was too expensive!

By handing over the Heaven Purple Yang Ginseng, he had only gained 3 glory points. However, Elder Jian Ge had previously said that it was only worth a third of its original price due to the severe damage of the Heaven Purple Yang Ginseng.

If so, the glory points obtained from handing over an intact piece of Heaven Purple Yang Ginseng would likely be 9 glory points.

But the Divine Fate Bone Charm's price was nearly four times that of the Heaven Purple Yang Ginseng!

Besides that, it also needed 50,000 dragon scale runes!

For such a precious item, it only had one sentence for its description:

"The Divine Fate Bone Charm transforms a person's physical fitness, increasing the person's affinity with Heaven Earth Yuan Qi, improving their martial arts talent."

Improving one’s martial arts talent...

Just the last description made Yi Yun yearn for it!

Yi Yun was surprised that there was such a herb in this world!

Yi Yun's perceptivity was not bad. Having lived two lives, his soul's power was extremely strong. He was not short of elixirs and bone relics for cultivation.

Although he did not have a cultivation technique, he could find them and collect them himself.

The only thing Yi Yun was helpless against was his martial arts talent.

Having tunneled into this world, into a vast wilderness' youth's body, his talent was extremely common.

Yi Yun did not know how much talent the Divine Fate Bone Charm could increase, but he believed that the price quoted by the Tai Ah Divine City was fair. Since it was labeled as 32 glory points and 50,000 dragon scale runes, it was likely worth that much.

"Oh? Has something caught your fancy?"

Elder Jian Ge noticed Yi Yun's change in expression.

"This junior would like to ask the senior. The Divine Fate Bone Charm described in the first-ranked top class jade scroll… is there any cultivation level restrictions?"

"Divine Fate Bone Charm? Haha!" Elder Jian Ge laughed. "So that's what caught your fancy! There is no cultivation level restriction for the Divine Fate Bone Charm. It's sufficient with your Purple Blood realm. This Divine Fate Bone Charm is an impressive item. It is a special desolate bone relic refined from a primordial desolate beast, but… it's not refined from our Tai Ah Divine Kingdom… To be exact, the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's Desolate Heaven Masters cannot refine a bone relic of this level."

"Oh?" Yi Yun felt awed, "Even the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's Desolate Heaven Masters cannot refine it?"

"Yes, the Desolate Heaven technique is extensive and profound. There are only a handful of sage-ranked Desolate Heaven Masters in the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, but they don't have the knowledge for refining the Divine Fate Bone Charm."

When Elder Jian Ge finished saying that, he gave a long sigh, "This world is very large. Outside of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, there are many other Divine Kingdoms too. There are even some deep-heritage sacred-level family clans and sacred-level sects! This Divine Fate Bone Charm was refined from a sacred-level family clan. The connection between the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom and that family clan goes deep.

Elder Jian Ge's brief description was shocking information to Yi Yun.

Sacred-level family clans! Sacred-level sects!

Those super powers which had an unknown years of heritage, what would they look like?

For some unknown reason, Yi Yun suddenly thought of Lin Xintong.

What was the Lin family that Lin Xintong came from like? Was the Lin family within the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom? Or was it outside of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, in the vast lands outside, somewhere on the broad planet?

But there was no point in thinking about all of these vast and ambitious items. His main goal was to obtain one Divine Fate Bone Charm.

"Hehe, kid, you sure don't lack in ambition! The price of an item like the Divine Fate Bone Charm would scare a lot of people! But, taking the Divine Fate Bone Charm once is when it has the most beneficial effect. The more you eat, the lesser the effects. Also, the better talent a person has, the less effective it is."

Hearing Elder Jian Ge's explanation, Yi Yun finally understood.

Those who had amazing talent would not gain much from taking the Divine Fate Bone Charm.

With Yi Yun's current rate of accumulating glory points, it would clearly not be easy to exchange for the Divine Fate Bone Charm. Items like primordial herbs could only be caught once. It was not that he couldn't capture another one, but if he were to capture another one, he did not dare to hand it over.

Then it seemed like the only way to accumulate glory points was to break the records of the ancestors, especially those hard records that were left behind on Sage Avenue!

These records would be Yi Yun's goals!

"Elder Jian Ge, this junior will exchange for the first three volumes of the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'!"

Yi Yun announced his decision. He had to go one step at a time. To break the records on Sacred Avenue, Yi Yun needed to master the "Tai Ah Sacred Technique" well, allowing his strength to increase.

That afternoon, Yi Yun bade Elder Jian Ge farewell and returned to his residence. He began planning his next 6 months of training.

But at that moment, without Yi Yun knowing about it, the news that he had picked a primordial herb and received glory points had spread in the Tai Ah Divine City like wildfire!

The warriors in the Tai Ah Divine City were all obsessed with cultivation. They were either meditating or fighting, besides that, they would be out hunting desolate beasts.

They seldom followed the gossip on the grapevine as they lacked interest in it.

But for news that were spread, they were huge events! Soon, the news spread even further. Even the top ranking figures on the Tai Ah Divine City's roll of honor got to know about it.

At that moment, in the Tai Ah Divine City's smithy, Zhou Kui was bare to the waist, revealing his strong muscles. With a human-sized forging hammer, he was busy forging metal.

Beside Zhou Kui were a few Xuanwu Army members. Like Zhou Kui, they were all burly. None of them looked like they were thirteen years old.

"Hey! Ha! Hey! Ha!"

They shouted with a rhythm. They took turns hammering a piece of special metal that needed to be hit a million times. It was very rhythmical.