Chapter 30

Update time: April 9, 2013

"Are you unaware of cultivating a martial soul?" Han Bingning looked at Tang Tian.

Tang Tian shook his head, looking puzzled: "No, I don't know."

Han Bingning's eyes flickered: "After you reach the fourth rank, you will develop a martial soul, which contains your insights into various martial techniques. We imprint part of the martial soul onto cards, which are now known as Soul General Cards."

Tang Tian suddenly understood: "No wonder only those above the fourth rank can make Soul General Cards."

"That's right," Han Bingning nodded. "Each Soul General Card requires an imprint of a martial soul. This weakens a person's martial soul, so cultivating and strengthening the martial soul is essential for every martial artist. The soul core is used for this purpose. The martial soul has many functions, and the more solid it is, the less you will be affected by your surroundings."

"It sounds very powerful," Tang Tian nodded, half understanding.

Han Bingning didn't know how to continue and decided to change the topic: "Do you want money, or would you like to exchange it for something else?"

"Something else?" Tang Tian immediately became interested: "What kind of good things can I get?"

"If it's for cultivation, like Star Stones, which can increase the speed of your true energy cultivation. However, it's not recommended for those below the fourth rank. Using Star Stones too early can weaken your foundation and harm your future," the shopkeeper quickly explained. "If it's a weapon, the Aries constellation produces the Standard Aries Sword, and the Sagittarius constellation produces the Little Archer Bow, both of which are excellent."

"I have a weapon," Tang Tian shook his head, rummaging through his backpack.

"Black Iron Gauntlets from the Furnace Constellation!" The shopkeeper's eyes lit up. "Great weapon! The Black Iron series from the Furnace Constellation is a rare treasure, with limited annual production, making it hard to find. I didn't expect you to have such a connection."

"Is it that powerful?" Tang Tian's eyes sparkled.

"Yes, very good," the shopkeeper nodded repeatedly. "Although the Furnace Constellation is a small constellation compared to Aries and Sagittarius, it is renowned for producing high-quality weapons. The true Furnace weapons are divided into four series: Black Iron, Bronze, Silver, and Gold. The Black Iron series is known for its durability and impressive defense. Strictly speaking, the four series of Furnace weapons already fall into the category of Star Secret Treasures, which are quite valuable."

Tang Tian was overjoyed.

"You have the Black Iron Gauntlets from the Furnace Constellation, so you probably won't be interested in ordinary items," the shopkeeper smiled. "But I do have an interesting Star Secret Treasure here."

"What is it?" Tang Tian asked eagerly.

"The Aquarius Constellation's [Aquarius Martial Cabinet]." The shopkeeper took out a necklace with a small water bottle hanging from it, the bottle crystal clear and shimmering with a beautiful, warm glow.

"The Aquarius Martial Cabinet can hold six weapons and some miscellaneous items, but its capacity is limited. This is an entry-level Star Secret Treasure from the Aquarius Constellation, commonly known as the [Little Martial Bottle]." The shopkeeper spoke smoothly. "With it, you can say goodbye to your backpack and travel more conveniently. If you're a versatile martial artist, you should definitely have such a weapon cabinet. It can't be stolen or lost, and with a thought, your weapon will fly into your hand. Any ambitious young man should have an [Aquarius Martial Cabinet]!"

"More importantly!" The shopkeeper held up a finger. "Your items are just enough to exchange for one."

Tang Tian extended his palm without hesitation: "I'll take this!"

The small water bottle landed in his palm. When Tang Tian channeled his true energy into the bottle, it immediately transformed into a beam of light and entered his body.

Tang Tian immediately felt something new inside him.

Sure enough, it was as if there was a weapon cabinet in the void, and he could open the cabinet door at will.

He tried putting the Black Iron Gauntlets into the weapon cabinet, and with a thought, the gauntlets disappeared from his hand.

Tang Tian immediately perked up!

Interesting!

The Black Iron Gauntlets kept disappearing and reappearing in his hand, and he played with them happily, like a child.

Han Bingning covered her face, unable to bear the sight. She suddenly regretted bringing this treasure to her family's shop.

After playing enough, Tang Tian put the Black Iron Gauntlets from Big Brother Stone into the Aquarius Martial Cabinet, clenched his fist, and made an ambitious expression: "Wow, Tang Tian, you're really strong!"

Han Bingning's expression froze, and she now regretted it.

"Hey, Han girl, let's go! The young man is going to cultivate!"

Tang Tian waved his hand, feeling satisfied, and left without a trace.

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As usual, Han Bingning returned home.

Her mind was still replaying the events of the past few days, and the more she thought about it, the more she found things hard to understand.

Han Bingning's parents exchanged a glance. The woman's face was full of worry, and their already anxious hearts became even more worried.

Han Bingning's father cleared his throat: "Bingning, I heard you made a new friend today?"

Han Bingning snapped out of her thoughts and subconsciously responded: "Yeah, quite an interesting person."

Quite interesting...

Han Bingning's parents exchanged another glance, and their worry spread from their eyes to their faces. Interesting? When had their daughter ever praised someone as interesting? In all the years she had been in school, she had never praised any boy in front of them!

A first!

The first time!

There's a problem!

"Daughter!" Han Bingning's mother couldn't help but say, "I know you like Shangguan Qianhui, but don't like her man too!"

Han Bingning's expression froze, and she frowned: "How could I like him?"

A man like that, rude, scatterbrained, and always looking confused—how could she like him?

Han Bingning's father glared: "Shangguan Qianhui? What about Shangguan Qianhui? Our Bingning is no less than Shangguan Qianhui! We can compete!"

Han Bingning didn't know what to say and looked at her parents speechlessly.

She had always been at a loss with her parents, so she said, "I'm going to practice my sword."

Behind her, Han Bingning's parents began to discuss intensely.

"Compete? Why are you talking about competing? How can someone like Tang Tian match our daughter?"

"Short-sighted! How many people can hunt a fourth-rank mid-stage Black Iron Rhino? Now it seems Shangguan Qianhui is impressive! Think about it, recognizing Tang Tian's potential so early, that's not easy!"

"Even so..."

"Haven't you realized? Who else has our daughter praised? With her cold and icy personality, it's rare for her to like someone. Don't you encourage her? Do you want her to never marry? Think about it, she's a hard-won daughter!"

"Reasonable! Reasonable! Old man, you have a far-sighted view!" Han Bingning's mother suddenly understood, slapping her thighs. "No, we need to find an opportunity to investigate... ..."

"Don't rush!" Han Bingning's father's eyes sparkled with wisdom. "We shouldn't alarm her. Our daughter is shy, and if we keep talking about it, she won't be able to handle it..."

...

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Tang Tian returned to the Green Swamp Bamboo Sea and began to practice his clumsy lightness skill. He still didn't know how he had defeated the Black Iron Rhino last time. The scabs on his body covered almost his entire body, and if it weren't for Little Nannan's Bamboo Bee King Gel, he would probably be on his last breath.

Such a victory should happen less often.

A glorious victory is what a god-like man deserves!

"Big Brother!"

Little Nannan's cheerful voice echoed from the bamboo forest, and a chubby figure, using the elasticity of the bamboo, bounced around like a small meatball, moving at incredible speed.

With a whoosh, Little Nannan used the bamboo's elasticity to swing high in the air, flying toward Tang Tian.

Tang Tian looked up, puzzled, hmm, something seems off.

The parabola passed over his head without stopping.

"Ah, Big Brother, catch me!"

Tang Tian was startled, kicked his right leg, and ran forward with all his might, eyes wide, cheeks puffed out, using all his strength.

At the last step, Tang Tian stomped the ground, lunged forward, and with a dive, barely caught Little Nannan.

"Big Brother is so strong!" Little Nannan clapped her chubby hands happily.

Tang Tian, still shaken, glared and shouted, "Strong my ass!"

Little Nannan pouted, her eyes welling up with tears: "Nannan just learned the lightness skill..."

Tang Tian, seeing the situation, put on a smiling face: "Oh, I see, no wonder the young lady's graceful flight through the sky is so beautiful!"

"Really? Really?" Little Nannan's face lit up, and the tears vanished.

"Completely from the heart!"

"What does 'from the heart' mean?"

...

Every day, Tang Tian sweated profusely, while not far away, Nannan happily ate snacks. Dried meat, candied fruit, nuts—her small pockets seemed endless.

After a few days, the scabs on Tang Tian's body completely fell off, revealing new skin without any scars.

Although he couldn't recall the fierce battle, Tang Tian soon discovered that the Crane Body inside him had become more solid. Although his true energy hadn't increased much, the strengthened Crane Body allowed him to control his true energy more freely, like a surging tide.

His true energy control became more intuitive.

Finally, he mastered the [Empty Wooden Post] and began to practice the [Eight Steps of the Cicada].

The [Eight Steps of the Cicada] is a third-rank lightness skill, involving more techniques for true energy control. Among third-rank lightness skills, the [Eight Steps of the Cicada] ranks in the top three for explosive power.

The explosive power within eight steps is astonishing.

However, the drawback is significant true energy consumption, making it unsuitable for long journeys. It is a typical combat-oriented lightness skill.

What Tang Tian didn't expect was that while the [Empty Wooden Post] almost made him want to vomit blood, he quickly mastered the [Eight Steps of the Cicada]. After a while, he realized that the [Eight Steps of the Cicada] primarily tests true energy control.

But this was not a problem for the Crane Body.

What surprised Tang Tian even more was that when the Crane Body exerted force, the true energy surged like a tide, and after eight consecutive steps, his true energy showed no signs of exhaustion.

The Crane Qi Technique is indeed a true Crane School technique.

Old Wei still has some private goods!

Tang Tian was full of ambition.