Su Shi'er wasn't very experienced, but he wasn't foolish either. No matter how eloquently Zhu Hanwei spoke, Su Shi'er just smiled without saying a word.

After Zhu Hanwei finished, Su Shi'er finally spoke, "I don't know how powerful these two manuals are, but they're meant for martial artists. For cultivators, they probably don't hold much value."

Zhu Hanwei's mouth twitched, and he forced a smile. "It's not entirely useless. At least in the early stages, it can still boost some strength."

He knew very well that in the eyes of cultivators, these martial arts manuals were not only insignificant but also looked down upon. Otherwise, he would have sold them long ago.

All this talk was just a way to raise the price.

"How many Foundation Pills do you want for these three books?" Su Shi'er didn't argue with him and asked directly.

"Eight... no, six!" Zhu Hanwei started to say, but seeing Su Shi'er's expression change, he quickly corrected himself.

"Three. If you want them, let's trade now!" Su Shi'er looked at him for a moment, then put down the three books without another glance.

For him, Foundation Pills were plentiful, but he had no intention of doing charity. Such secrets were best kept to himself.

"Only three? That's too few. At least five!" Zhu Hanwei's mouth dropped open, looking as if he had suffered a great loss.

As soon as he finished speaking, seeing Su Shi'er about to leave, he hurriedly shouted, "Four! Senior Brother, at least give me four!"

"Fine!" This time, Su Shi'er didn't insist further.

He didn't care how Zhu Hanwei got these books. For him, as long as they could broaden his knowledge and enhance his strength, spending a few Foundation Pills was entirely worth it.

Quickly, Su Shi'er exchanged four high-grade Foundation Pills for the three books and another two for 240 taels of silver, then parted ways with Zhu Hanwei and continued towards the Discarded Pill Room.

Watching Su Shi'er leave, Zhu Hanwei squinted his eyes with a smile.

"Who would've thought that a few random books could be worth so much? With these high-grade Foundation Pills, my chances of awakening my Spirit Root have increased."

Grinning, he quickly put away his things and ran towards his residence.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

In the Discarded Pill Room, as soon as Su Shi'er returned, he began practicing the contents of the two martial arts manuals.

These two skills weren't particularly profound, but the techniques for exerting force and combat skills within them greatly expanded his knowledge.

In comparison, his previous self could only be described as having brute strength.

For this, he even made several wooden dummies in the courtyard.

In just seven days, he mastered these two skills.

In the courtyard, Su Shi'er moved with incredible agility, his steps light and unpredictable.

Occasionally, he would strike with his fists and palms, hitting the dummies.

"Bang, bang, bang..."

When his fists and palms landed, they shifted from being light and agile to powerful and forceful.

Each dummy shattered upon impact.

As another palm was about to strike a dummy, Su Shi'er had a sudden idea.

His hands moved, and the True Essence within him surged.

At the moment of attack, a fist-sized fireball appeared in his palm.

The fireball emitted intense heat, and before it could be launched, it was pressed onto the dummy.

"Whoosh~"

The next second, a burst of flame shot up. The dummy was incinerated under the flames.

Feeling that only a tenth of his True Essence was consumed, Su Shi'er beamed with joy.

"It actually works! With this, I can easily defeat low-level demonic beasts without relying on traps!"

"If Fire Control can be combined with this skill, what about Wind Summoning?"

With a twinkle in his eye, Su Shi'er immediately used his phantom steps, rushing towards the furthest wooden dummy.

"Wind Summoning!"

As he lifted his leg, a gust of wind blew from behind him.

His body glided through the air, and as he landed, he directly bypassed the furthest dummy.

"The wind is too strong, but the idea works!"

Su Shi'er smiled broadly, as if discovering a new continent, and continued practicing with enthusiasm.

In the blink of an eye, it was time for his appointment with the servant disciple from the Pill Pavilion.

That afternoon, on the mid-slope of Cuihuan Mountain where the Discarded Pill Room was located, two figures appeared.

One of them, with a face full of flesh, was the servant disciple from the Pill Pavilion.

The other, a young man of about fifteen or sixteen, looked dignified and carried a long sword on his back, appearing somewhat handsome.

"I really don't know how you've been cultivating all these years, unable to even defeat a disciple who's only been here for half a year." The sword-bearing youth pouted, speaking with irritation.

The servant disciple followed beside the youth, obedient like a chick.

"It's really not my fault! I didn't expect that kid to be a Qi Refining cultivator and would attack without a word! I even told him that the bottle of high-grade Spirit Pills was reserved for you, Senior Brother, but he still took it!" The servant disciple complained, trying to stir up trouble.

"Hmph! I want to see where a newcomer gets the nerve to take my things!" The sword-bearing youth snorted coldly, glaring at the servant disciple.

"But since the item was lost from your hands, don't you owe me an explanation?"

The servant disciple shrank his neck, forcing a smile. "Don't worry, Senior Brother. I'll take responsibility for this. These two first-level escape talismans were hard for me to collect."

Saying this, the servant disciple reluctantly took out two earth-yellow talismans, each three inches long and one inch wide, from his pocket.

Seeing this, the sword-bearing youth snatched the talismans and finally smiled, his gaze falling on the mountain as he quickened his pace.

Soon, the two arrived outside the Discarded Pill Room.

"Senior Brother, I'll knock on the door!"

Seeing the locked door, the servant disciple's eyes lit up, and he was about to step forward to knock.

"Knock? Hmph, no need!"

The sword-bearing youth snorted coldly, a flash of cold light in his eyes, and a fist-sized fireball appeared in his hand.

"Whoosh!"

The fireball shot through the air, exploding on the door.

Inside the courtyard, Su Shi'er was reading when he heard footsteps outside and became alert.

Unexpectedly, before he could react, he saw the courtyard door vanish in a burst of flames.

Then, two figures walked in.

"It's you? So... you're going back on your word?" Su Shi'er raised an eyebrow, his gaze sweeping over the servant disciple and landing on the sword-bearing youth beside him.

Such dense spiritual power, Qi Refining stage two?!

Seeing the person, Su Shi'er was startled.

A cultivator's level could generally be discerned unless they deliberately concealed their aura. Of course, if the realm difference was too great, a lower realm couldn't discern a higher realm's cultivation. Conversely, a higher realm could easily see through a lower realm unless special aura-concealing techniques were used.