Chapter 10

In the main hall of the inner courtyard, a middle-aged man dressed in a blue silk robe sat in the seat of honor. This middle-aged man had a blue hairpin in his hair, with a strand of white hair hanging down on each side of his temples. His slightly gaunt cheeks gave him a sense of having experienced much hardship but also a strong sense of determination.

At this moment, the senior brother who had taught Zhang Fang martial arts was reporting to the middle-aged man, who held a cup of tea and seemed to be ignoring him, never once raising his head to look at Zhang Fang.

Zhang Fang didn't really mind. He stood in the hall, still studying the secondary attributes and martial arts. After all, he wasn't in any immediate danger. However, the "minor subcutaneous bleeding" condition definitely needed to be resolved. He had no money to see a doctor, and he was reluctant to spend points on increasing his constitution because he was considering that the Luo Ying Heart Sutra was just the lowest-level internal martial art. Yet, even at the initial level, it provided significant boosts to secondary attributes. The ratio of potential points to strength, agility, and constitution was 1:1, while the ratio for energy was 1:100. Comparing the two, it was clearly more cost-effective to use potential points to break through the Luo Ying Heart Sutra. However, looking at his remaining 28 potential points, he was somewhat reluctant.

Just as Zhang Fang was in a dilemma, the senior brother finally finished speaking. The middle-aged man put down his tea, lowered his eyelids, and said indifferently, "Gao Shou!"

Zhang Fang was still in his dilemma and didn't have the time to pay attention to these NPCs. The senior brother became anxious and pulled Zhang Fang, saying, "Master is calling you."

"Oh!" Zhang Fang finally came to his senses and said to the middle-aged man, "Disciple is here."

The middle-aged man looked at Zhang Fang with a piercing gaze and said, "Are you willing to sincerely join our Zhenyuan Escort Agency?"

"Isn't that obvious? I'm counting on the agency to take on some tasks and earn money to pursue a life profession!" Zhang Fang thought to himself, but he didn't dare say it out loud. After all, he wasn't that foolish. He had played many open-world games and knew that learning the Luo Ying Heart Sutra so quickly might have triggered some quest. So he bowed his head and said, "Disciple sincerely wishes to join the Zhenyuan Escort Agency and is willing to risk life and limb for the agency, facing any danger without hesitation."

Anyone can say nice words, and they don't come with responsibility. Zhang Fang didn't know if the middle-aged man was an intelligent digital life form like the constable, but if he was, saying some nice words to boost his favorability would be important.

However, the middle-aged man wasn't so easily fooled. He glanced at Zhang Fang indifferently and said, "I hope you're telling the truth."

The middle-aged man paused and continued, "Your senior brother Luo said that you managed to grasp the Luo Ying Heart Sutra in a short time, which is quite remarkable. However, although the Luo Ying Heart Sutra is one of the three major techniques of our Zhenyuan Escort Agency, it is the most basic. Your current performance alone is not enough to attract the attention of the elders.

"Here's what I'll do. Now that you have grasped the Luo Ying Heart Sutra, you are officially part of our Zhenyuan Escort Agency. Senior Brother Luo will take you to complete the procedures to become an outer disciple. Once you become an outer disciple of our Zhenyuan Escort Agency, if you can advance the Luo Ying Heart Sutra to the first level of mastery within seven days and complete two human-level commissions, I can provide you with additional cultivation resources. If you continue to work hard, you might even become my personal disciple."

Zhang Fang's eyes lit up at this. He hadn't yet realized the benefits of becoming a personal disciple of this NPC, but the additional cultivation resources made him start to dream.

"Give me some, preferably a few taels of gold. That way, I can learn all the life professions," Zhang Fang began to fantasize, completely forgetting to respond to the middle-aged man.

Senior Brother Luo, seeing Zhang Fang's state, pulled him again and said, "Master is showing you favor, you should quickly thank him."

Zhang Fang finally reacted, smiled awkwardly, and said, "Disciple thanks Master for your favor."

The middle-aged man didn't mind and waved his hand, saying, "You can't call me Master yet. Call me Chief Escort."

"Yes, Chief Escort."

"Luoyun, take him down."

The middle-aged man waved his hand, and Senior Brother Luo led Zhang Fang out of the main hall, heading toward the west side of the inner courtyard. As they walked, Senior Brother Luo said to Zhang Fang, "Junior Brother, once you complete the procedures, you will be a formal disciple of our Zhenyuan Escort Agency. Although you are just an outer disciple, if you travel in Sichuan, you only need to reveal your identity, and the heroes of the martial world will give you some respect."

Zhang Fang nodded and casually responded to Senior Brother Luo. In his heart, he couldn't contain his excitement. He tapped the Luo Ying Heart Sutra, and a golden light flashed from his body. Looking at the martial arts template, he saw that the Luo Ying Heart Sutra had advanced to the first level of mastery.

Luo Ying Heart Sutra, First Level of Mastery:

Strength +5 → +8

Agility +9 → +14

Constitution +6 → +9

Internal Energy +50 → +75

Internal Energy Recovery Speed 5/min → 8/min

Seeing the changes in the Luo Ying Heart Sutra, Zhang Fang's face lit up with joy. He hadn't expected that even the lowest-level internal martial art could increase his attributes by half with just a small advancement. Now, his secondary attributes showed that his strength had become 9, with an attack of 27 and defense of 27. Although agility didn't have a direct numerical boost, Zhang Fang felt much lighter and more agile. His constitution had become 10, and his health points had increased to 1200, with his stamina points increasing to 700. Most importantly, the "minor subcutaneous bleeding" condition had completely disappeared, which greatly relieved him.

Zhang Fang suddenly realized that in this vast martial world, martial arts were paramount. The Luo Ying Heart Sutra, even at the lowest level, provided such significant boosts, and higher-level martial arts would be even more powerful.

Now that the Luo Ying Heart Sutra was at the first level of mastery, it was just one small advancement away from meeting the Chief Escort's requirements. For a human-level lower-grade martial art, the small advancements were: initial level → first level of mastery → first level of perfection. Once he reached the first level of perfection, he could break through to a higher level.

Thinking of the resources promised by the Chief Escort, Zhang Fang's heart burned with excitement. He looked at the description of the Luo Ying Heart Sutra.

"Player's current bone root is 0. To advance the Luo Ying Heart Sutra to the next level - first level of perfection - requires 6426 hours. Entering a rigorous cultivation state can double the speed of cultivation.

Hint: The player can spend 3 potential points to directly advance the Luo Ying Heart Sutra to the next level."

Zhang Fang was speechless at the number "6426," but it made sense. Since a small advancement in the Luo Ying Heart Sutra could increase attributes by half, the time required for cultivation would naturally be longer.

Zhang Fang's bone root was 0, and he had 26 potential points left. Even if he spent half of them, it would be impossible to advance the Luo Ying Heart Sutra to the first level of perfection in a few days. The only option was to use potential points to advance directly.

With this in mind, Zhang Fang gritted his teeth, reached out, and tapped the Luo Ying Heart Sutra again. Another golden light flashed, and the Luo Ying Heart Sutra changed once more.

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