Leaving the Lucky Fortune Casino, Mu Feng stood by the roadside, full of helplessness. It was deep in the night, and there wasn't a single taxi in sight. He actually understood that most taxi drivers were unwilling to pick up business from the casino. Moreover, at the casino, transportation for guests was either handled by private cars or guests drove their own luxury cars. As for someone like Mu Feng, who was short on cash, it was only thanks to Liu Fei's intervention that a casino-specific car was arranged to take him to the Mercenary Association.
Speaking of the Lucky Fortune Casino, it was truly black-hearted. Liu Fei only had eyes for money. Take Yellow-tier low stage martial arts, for example. Although not cheap on the market, here, they were sold for over a hundred thousand. And the Ferocious Tiger Strength martial art that Mu Feng desperately wanted wasn't even available here.
However, Mu Feng didn't expect to rely on them entirely. It would be good if they had it, but if not, he had his own ways of obtaining it.
After much deliberation, Mu Feng gritted his teeth and spent 200,000 to purchase an Embroidered Copy of a Yellow-tier high stage movement technique – 'Spirit Snake Steps'. Although it was an embroidered copy, Liu Fei had solemnly guaranteed that the content was absolutely complete and without any omissions. After all, the Lucky Fortune Casino's reputation was at stake, so they wouldn't likely deceive customers.
This martial art had an extraordinary origin, originally from the ancient martial sect 'Jialan Temple'. Since the decline of that sect, many of its true teachings had been scattered and lost. It was said that the 'Spirit Snake Steps' movement technique was an exquisite skill developed by a senior from 'Jialan Temple' after prolonged observation of spirit snakes.
It possessed many astonishingly exquisite aspects for short-distance evasions, dodges, and cutting into the enemy's defense line. Furthermore, once this movement technique was cultivated to the perfect stage, one would have the opportunity to delve deeper into 'Jialan Temple's' ultimate skill – the Profound-tier high stage movement technique 'Astonishing Dragon Travel'.
Of course, all of this was still a distant dream for Mu Feng at the moment; he was nowhere near that stage. His only thought at the time was to buy the best and most expensive to achieve a qualitative leap in his strength.
Additionally, Mu Feng wasn't very satisfied with the sabre techniques Liu Fei recommended. They were all Yellow-tier low stage. In her words, these techniques had questionable origins. Truly high-tier martial arts were tightly controlled by the Martial Artist Guild, universities, or the Ten Great Ancient Martial Families. Very few trickled down to the public, and when they did, they commanded exorbitant prices. Various forces often clashed fiercely over these high-tier martial arts.
Among the techniques offered at the Lucky Fortune Casino, the one that most interested Mu Feng was the Yellow-tier high stage 'True Demon Technique'. It was said to be a simplified version of the ultimate skill from the ancient martial sect 'Heavenly Demon Sect'. Its characteristics were very distinct: the initial cultivation speed was incredibly fast, and realm progression felt like riding a rocket. However, it came with significant drawbacks. The practitioner's realm would be unstable, breakthroughs in the later stages would be as difficult as climbing to heaven, and their temper and personality would become increasingly volatile as their cultivation increased.
Mu Feng knew he had the Simulation Training Room provided by the system, which already saved him a massive amount of time in cultivation. Therefore, there was no need for him to practice such an extreme martial art. Afterward, he specifically checked online and found that although the 'Heavenly Demon Sect' had been eradicated by the ancient martial sects, the Ten Great Ancient Martial Families, and the Federation working together, as the saying goes, a centipede remains stiff even when dead. These ancient martial families and sects always had contingency plans. Like the 'Heavenly Demon Sect', no one knew how many descendants were still on Blue Star. And judging by the characteristics of their martial arts alone, it was enough to attract many martial artists to their cause.
For the past century, the 'Heavenly Demon Sect' seemed to show signs of resurgence. The ancient martial sects, the Ten Great Ancient Martial Families, and the Federation naturally would not stand idly by and increased their efforts to crack down on the remaining forces of the 'Heavenly Demon Sect'.
Aside from martial arts, Mu Feng also selected an auxiliary technique – 'Eagle Eye Technique'. This could be considered a Yellow-tier low stage auxiliary technique. At the Mercenary Association, he had heard that when hunting in secret realms, it was best to use bow and arrow type weapons. However, the association lacked a dedicated technique for improving eyesight. This 'Eagle Eye Technique' perfectly filled that gap. In the future, when hunting alone, relying on 'Listen to Sound to Discern Position' and 'Eagle Eye Technique', he could track prey more effectively.
Although it was only Yellow-tier low stage, the 'Eagle Eye Technique' still cost 100,000 Blue Star Coins. Coupled with the purchase of two C-grade blood energy potions and a piece of Level 2 Spirit Beast Meat, after all the expenses, less than 200,000 Blue Star Coins remained in his account.
At the entrance of the Lucky Fortune Casino, looking at Liu Fei's enchanting yet shrewdly calculating smile, Mu Feng felt a wave of disgust. No wonder they say casinos are money pits. His meager funds really couldn't withstand spending here. Although the items were genuine, the prices were more than fifty percent higher than the market outside, and the key was that many items were available in name only.
Since he had been sent back to the Mercenary Association, Mu Feng directly returned to the dormitory building. The entire day had been quite fulfilling, with a qualitative leap in his strength after consolidation. Upon returning to his dorm, after carefully reading through the 'Spirit Snake Steps' and 'Eagle Eye Technique' manuals, he eagerly opened his personal stats panel:
Host: Mu Feng
Lifespan: 100
Blood Energy: 6.95 [8.2]
Speed: 15.5m/s
Strength: 750kg [910kg]
Martial Arts
Basic Fist Technique: Mortal-tier (56/100) Entering the Hall and Room
Basic Sabre Technique: Mortal-tier (51/100) Mastered
Spirit Snake Steps: Yellow-tier middle stage (1/100) Not yet entered
Basic Spear Technique: Mortal-tier (2/100) Mastered
Evergreen Technique: Mortal-tier (12/100) [25/100] Entering the Hall and Room
Ferocious Tiger Strength: Mortal-tier (89/100) [100/100] Minor Accomplishment
Special Skills
Listen to Sound to Discern Position: 57/100 Entering the Hall and Room
Eagle Eye Technique: 1/100 Not yet entered
Martial Skills
Tablet Splitting Hand: 30/100 (Penetrating Attack) Activated
Focus: 80/100 Immunity to 60% external interference, enhances concentration
Half-inch Saber Aura: (Increases armor penetration by 20%) Not activated, Mastered and perfect stage or above, Blood Energy 10 or above to activate
Extreme Speed: (Speed increased by 10%, burst increased by 25%) Not activated, Mastered and perfect stage, Blood Energy 9 or above to activate
Army Breaker: (Piercing attack) Not activated, Mastered and perfect stage, Blood Energy 9.5 or above to activate
The newly acquired martial arts had been recorded by the system, and 'Spirit Snake Steps' had replaced the original Basic Movement Technique, though the special skills of Basic Movement Technique were retained. Simultaneously, the progress bar for 'Eagle Eye Technique' had appeared. After mastering Basic Spear Technique, the special skill 'Army Breaker' had also moved to the Martial Skills column. However, the activation conditions were still quite distant for Mu Feng. Each special skill required a blood energy value of 9 or above. He diligently cultivated the Evergreen Technique every day, but its effects remained unknown. After reaching the perfect stage, Evergreen Technique no longer increased blood energy value, but Mu Feng could still faintly sense continuous changes in his body.
As for the effects of Ferocious Tiger Strength, they seemed to far exceed expectations. According to information found online, after entering the Minor Accomplishment stage of Ferocious Tiger Strength, it increased blood energy by 1-2 points per stage. After reaching Minor Accomplishment, it could increase blood energy by 3 points. Looking at his current blood energy value of only 6.95, as long as he consolidated his realm, it could increase to above 8. This was a qualitative leap! Even the strongest in the elite class at Fengyun High School currently had a blood energy index of only 8.3.
If he consolidated his cultivation, wouldn't he be able to catch up to those school elites? Moreover, Mu Feng discovered that his striking power index seemed to be about 10% higher than the normal value of the blood energy index. Was this the effect of Ferocious Tiger Strength? Wasn't it said that Ferocious Tiger Strength, when cultivated to Minor Accomplishment, could purify blood energy concentration? If so, what was he waiting for?
With two C-grade blood energy potions and a piece of Level 2 Spirit Beast Meat, coupled with consolidating his cultivation and fully practicing Ferocious Tiger Strength, Mu Feng directly achieved Minor Accomplishment that night. For the next two days, he entered the Simulation Training Room every morning, spending all his spare time cultivating Ferocious Tiger Strength.
Two days later, Mu Feng's own blood energy index had leaped to the 8.4 stage, and the hidden blood energy value requiring consolidation reached a height of 9.7. If he hadn't remembered that he was scheduled to use the school's gravity room with Qin Shiyin that afternoon, he wouldn't have wanted to leave. After all, the temptation of increased strength was too great.
However, he had a date, and it would be bad manners to break it. Otherwise, he'd lose face.
At noon, after finishing lunch, Mu Feng tidied his belongings and headed out with his schoolbag. He had arranged to meet Qin Shiyin at one o'clock in the afternoon, so arriving at the school now was just right.
He arrived at the school exactly ten minutes before one o'clock. A luxury car was parked at the school gate, the same one he had seen before. The car door opened, and Cui Zihao stepped out, but Qin Shiyin was nowhere to be seen.
Mu Feng was wondering if he had been stood up when he suddenly heard Cui Zihao shout, "It’s this kid. Each of you break one of his ribs."