Hongtian City.
Zhu Family.
After handling some family business, Gavin Zhu suddenly felt as if he had overlooked something.
Soon, he remembered that last night Victor Zhu had led a team to kill that bastard, but up until now, no one had come to report the result to him.
So, he called for the house steward.
"Has Sixth Lord returned yet?"
Gavin Zhu asked. Victor Zhu came from a side branch of the Zhu Family, but thanks to his outstanding martial talent, Gavin had entrusted him with important responsibilities. Ranked sixth among his brothers, he was known as 'Sixth Lord.'
"He hasn't returned yet," the steward replied honestly.
Hearing this, Gavin Zhu's brows furrowed slightly. He wondered if something had gone wrong, but felt that was unlikely, since Victor Zhu was a Sigilforge Realm expert and had also mastered the Heaven-Tyrant Palm.
Heaven-Tyrant Palm was one of the Zhu Family's three great secret martial arts. Not even the main branch martial artists had mastered it, but Victor Zhu from the side branch had succeeded. His combat strength was terrifying, overwhelming all other Sigilforge martial artists in the Zhu Family.
So even if Myriad Flower Valley sent out Sigilforge experts, they still wouldn’t be able to stop him from killing.
As for Sun-Soul experts, Myriad Flower Valley does have them, but they absolutely wouldn’t act lightly.
"You may go now. If Sixth Lord returns, have him come see me immediately!" Gavin Zhu waved the steward away, but he still felt a vague sense of unease.
In the blink of an eye, it was evening.
But Victor Zhu still hadn’t returned. Gavin Zhu’s unease grew stronger, so he directly sent out two Sigilforge martial artists to Maplecloud City to investigate.
Sigilforge martial artists are extremely fast.
Within half an hour, they arrived at Maplecloud City and used spiritual sense to search for Victor Zhu’s whereabouts.
Soon, the two found the room where Ian Song had previously stayed.
But Ian had checked out and left earlier that afternoon.
After searching the room, both men’s faces instantly darkened. They exchanged glances, seeing shock in each other’s eyes.
A faint scent of blood lingered in the room. With their spiritual sense, they could tell it came from three people—Victor Zhu and his two Core Formation subordinates.
This meant that the three of them were likely already dead.
"Old Sixth Victor Zhu is said to be invincible in the Sigilforge Realm. Logically, no one should be able to kill him, but now it looks like he’s in real trouble!"
"Grab the inn staff and interrogate them!"
An hour later.
The two Sigilforge martial artists returned to the Zhu Family simultaneously.
"Where’s Victor Zhu?"
Gavin Zhu asked in a low voice.
"Patriarch, Old Sixth Victor Zhu was probably killed!" one of the Sigilforge martial artists said hesitantly.
"Impossible!"
Gavin Zhu exclaimed in shock, utterly refusing to believe it.
............
After hearing the news about the Scarlet Flame Sect, Ian Song took Chloe Snow and headed there, spending the night at an inn in a small town called Ebonwood.
Once Chloe was resting, the masked girl barged in uninvited.
"Where are you planning to go?"
"The technique I'm cultivating is trash. I'm planning to go to the Scarlet Flame Sect and find a master." This time, Ian didn't bicker and answered honestly.
The masked girl sneered, "Are you an idiot? Even if you join the Scarlet Flame Sect, there's no way you'll learn any advanced techniques!"
"Why?" Ian frowned and asked instinctively.
"You really don't know?" The masked girl asked, sounding odd.
"Know what?"
The masked girl continued, "Forget it, I'll just tell you directly. Martial sects only choose true disciples from the descendants of previous generations of true disciples, to keep the sect pure and prevent their techniques from leaking out.
Only true disciples can learn advanced techniques. The rest, even if they join the sect, can only become outer disciples and have no right to touch the core manuals. So, you wanting to learn advanced techniques at the Scarlet Flame Sect is simply impossible!"
"Isn't there any exception?" Ian Song asked.
"Almost never!" The masked girl shook her head.
"Damn it!"
Ian couldn't help but curse. He hadn't expected sects in this world to be so messed up. It seemed he'd have to go to a big city to buy a technique.
A map of the Mystic Sun Domain appeared in his mind, and he finally decided to head northwest to White Dragon City.
White Dragon City was more than ten times bigger than Maplecloud City, so there should be advanced techniques for sale.
"Are you planning to buy an advanced technique?" the masked girl asked again.
"Is that not allowed either?"
The masked girl said, "You'd better give up. First off, there are no King-Grade Techniques for sale on the market. Even if there are, you'd only see them at auctions, and the prices are sky-high. More importantly, those manuals all have flaws—otherwise, they wouldn't be up for auction at all!"
"Seriously? So I can't even buy one? Are you trying to force me to steal them?"
Suddenly, Ian had an idea. His gaze landed on the masked girl, faintly heated.
"What are you thinking? Don't tell me you're after my techniques!" The masked girl's expression froze, staring warily at Ian.
"That's right. Why don't you sell me your technique?" Ian said with a half-smile.
"No way!"
The masked girl became even more guarded. "First of all, Myriad Flower Valley techniques aren't suitable for men. Even if I gave you one, you wouldn't dare train with it. If you did, our sect would hunt you to the death!"
"Just kidding, don't get nervous. We're friends, aren't we? I wouldn't go after your techniques." Ian smiled, though inwardly he was speechless. Damn, maybe I'll just start cultivating all over again.
Ding! Side mission: Within three months, collect at least ten King-Grade or higher techniques. Success: one Emperor-Grade Technique. Failure: ten days of unconsciousness!
At the sudden cold voice in his mind, Ian froze. When did the system start issuing side missions? Judging from this task, this damn system is determined not to let him start over as a cultivator.
The night passed in silence.
Ian Song continued on toward the Scarlet Flame Sect with Chloe Snow.
The masked girl appeared openly and shouted at Ian, "Hey, what's wrong with you? I already told you, you won't learn any advanced techniques at the Scarlet Flame Sect. Why are you still going?"
"I have my own plans!"
Ian said mysteriously.
Suddenly, the masked girl seemed to think of something and stared at Ian strangely. "Don't tell me you're planning to steal the Scarlet Flame Sect's techniques?"
In her opinion, although this guy's cultivation wasn't high, his mastery of formations was extraordinary. If he trapped the true disciples of the Scarlet Flame Sect in an array, he might be able to force them to hand over their techniques.
"You really think big!" Ian Song feigned surprise as he stared at her. "The Scarlet Flame Sect has Sun-Soul experts guarding it. How could I dare steal their techniques!"
"You'd better not have any such plans, or you'll become the enemy of every sect in the world!" the masked girl warned solemnly.