A manual on a fifth-grade martial art could mean a lot for an ordinary sect. With such a manual, the
sect could properly level up their strength.
Most of the great sects credited their fame to their large collections of high-grade martial arts manuals.
The power of the disciples cultivated with low-grade manuals was a far cry from that of those who
studied high-grade ones in large sects.
That was also the reason why the great sects survived thousands of years and were still thriving.
That means the books on fifth-grade martial arts were quite valuable.
Take for example the booklet of the Wind-commanding Skill that Austin was holding. If it was ever put
in an auction, the bids would certainly go way more than 1, 500 vital energy crystals. It was certain that
ordinary sects would be willing to shell out up to several million vital energy crystals just to have it.
After all, there would always be a way to earn more vital energy crystals, but the chances of getting
manual on a fifth-grade martial art were rare.
The eerie sight of Rafat fluttering like a dead leaf from last night suddenly crossed Austin's mind again.
And after going through a few pages of the books, he realized that weird moving technique Rafat used
must be the Wind-commanding Skill.
As he recalled Rafat's swift and mystical movements, Austin became a little intrigued.
'This Wind-Commanding Skill is indeed a treasure!
All I've practiced were Sun Sect's second-grade moving techniques like the Fish Swimming Pace.
Those are common techniques most outer disciples must know.
I have mastered the Fish Swimming Pace to perfection with a great deal of hard work.
But those first or second-grade methods were nothing in comparison to this five-grade technique.
I need to learn this Wind-Commanding Skill!'
Thrilled by his new discovery, Austin picked up another booklet.
The cover bore the title "Yin and Yang Diabolical Cultivation Method".
There was even a sketch on the cover.
It depicted a naked strong man sitting cross-legged surrounded by several plump women who were
also unclothed as if they were having a certain weird dance.
There were a few lines representing the diabolic energy on the cover making picture quite vivid.
At first glance on the cover, it dawned on Austin that Yin and Yang Diabolical Cultivation Method might
be the method that Rafat used to practice.
He reckoned that it must be an evil method.
No wonder Rafat had a hideous aura all over him that proved that he used to practice that diabolic
cultivation method.
It was a fifth-grade martial art as well.
Austin gasped at this new realization. 'Why did Rafat have two fifth-grade martial arts manuals in his
Space Ring?'
Little did Austin know that Rafat had barged into an ancient relic a few years ago by accident.
He was, after all, a disciple of an inconspicuous sect.
When he discovered the relic by sheer luck, he found two secret manuals and a good fortune.
One of the manuals was this Yin and Yang Diabolical Cultivation Method which was deemed as
crooked martial arts technique.
Unlike many mainstream methods, this one could produce the desired result with a very short time.
Once a practitioner began to learn it, he would progress way faster than when he studied those energy-
oriented orthodox methods.
Being a wicked man, when Rafat set his eyes on it, he seized it as heaven-sent.
And with the fortune he found in the relic, he put off his other jobs and started practicing the method
industriously.
After four years, he already reached the ninth level of the Energy Gathering Realm at an unbelievable
speed.
Rafat was preparing for entering the Earth Realm. He was tempted for a quick breakthrough so he
came up with a plot to target a female grunt disciple of Sun Sect.
So, in that fateful night, Rafat sneaked into Sun Sect and kidnapped Denali to use her as his cultivating
furnace.
He couldn't target any inner or outer female disciples because that would draw the attention of the
leaders of Sun Sect. Hence, he had to settle for a grunt disciple.
It was convenient for him to target the grunt disciples because no one would pay attention to them
regardless of which sect they were in.
After all, the grunt disciples were a bunch of poor kids that everyone ignored.
No one from the sects would notice their disappearance or would even care if one of them got killed.
Austin, on the other hand, had no interest in this shady cultivation method.
Although he was impressed that it was at such a high grade, he eventually decided not to set foot into
this dangerous water. He shoved it into the Space Ring without hesitation.
Now, he was left with only a dagger and two jade bottles in bright green.
The pitch-black dagger looked quite peculiar with its somehow dull blade.
When Austin lifted it from the table, he was surprised to see his wrist give out under its weight.
Despite its normal size, it was unusually heavy, and Austin needed to exert all effort just to hold the
dagger with one hand.
Austin examined the dagger for a while.
Apart from its unexpectedly heavy weight, he could find nothing strange about it. Though he could feel
something strange, he decided to study it later when he had time, so he reluctantly put it back in the
Space Ring.
Then, he turned to the remaining two bottles on the table.
Austin rapidly unscrewed one of them and found that it was full of the Energy-boosting Elixirs.
There were a total of 10 Energy-boosting Elixirs in the said bottle. Austin almost jumped with joy. He
finally found a fortune in Rafat's Space Ring!
The Energy-boosting Elixir was a medicine used exclusively by those in the Energy Gathering Realm to
help them level up big time.
If one took an Energy-boosting Elixir before he challenged a higher level, the odds of him breaking
through that level would double.
If he originally had a fifty percent chance, taking the elixir would nearly guarantee him a successful
breakthrough.
However, the Energy-boosting Elixir was quite expensive and only a limited amount was available in
Sun Sect.
Only those disciples who were extraordinarily talented and enjoyed a special treatment of the sect
could have some.
Austin had pulled through tons of hardships and completed the tasks that the sect assigned him before
he became the top of the outer disciples.
Throughout the whole process, he obtained only two Energy-boosting Elixirs.
But now, ten precious elixirs were in his hands and it felt like a dream.
Austin gingerly placed the Energy-boosting Elixirs bottle in a corner of the Space Ring.
After securing the first bottle, he then opened the other one only to find two golden elixirs inside it.
For a moment, Austin stared blankly at the two elixirs. He felt that he had seen one like that before but
could not remember when or where and what it was.
But after a thoughtful study of the elixirs, Austin's eyes suddenly widened with disbelief.
He felt his breathing becoming heavy and even his heart started pounding uncontrollably in his chest.
He finally figured out what those two golden elixirs were!
'This could be my lucky day!'
For the past minutes, Rafat's Space Ring had given Austin too much to take in. But now was more
utterly overwhelming than the previous loots.
The last bottle was filled with Energy-prevailing Elixirs!
Those elixirs could be used when a practitioner wanted to move from the ninth level of the Energy
Gathering Realm to the Earth Realm.
That could be a breakthrough between two different realms.
Compared to the breakthrough between different levels within one realm, to level up from a lower realm
to a higher one is at least ten times more challenging to achieve.
But with the help of the Energy-prevailing Elixir, one could overcome the challenge to reach a higher
realm.
Back then, Austin had reached the ninth level of the Energy Gathering Realm and he was trying to
enter the Earth Realm.
But despite Austin's high learning agility, it was still quite difficult for him to cross from one realm to
another.
Austin's countless attempts got him nowhere so far.
If he could get hold of an Energy-prevailing Elixir, he would be quite hopeful to make a breakthrough.
But at that time, getting the elixir was just wishful thinking.
He never mentioned it to anyone because he was clear that only the key disciples in Sun Sect had
access to the precious Energy-prevailing Elixirs.
Even the inner disciples had no opportunity to get one. That was why, as an outer disciple, Austin could
only dream of having such elixir.
Austin was the top outer disciples, but he was not a key member of Sun Sect.
Although he had drawn some attention from the sect heads, he was still far from being able to enjoy the
priceless Energy-prevailing Elixir that was provided exclusively to core disciples.
The only time he caught a glance at that elixir was when the teaching steward was holding one. And
since then, he had never forgotten what the elixir looked like.
When he recognized the elixir in his hands, Austin instantly knew that he could now challenge the Earth
Realm with only half the effort.
With that thought, Austin carefully deposited the two Energy-prevailing Elixirs into the Space Ring
despite his excitement.
Then, he exhaled in relief and thought, 'It turned out that the overnight hard work was worth it after all!'
He had attained two secret manuals that he could practice, two bottles of expensive elixirs, and an odd
dagger which he had no idea how to use.
As to the Yin and Yang Diabolical Cultivation Method, he decided that there was no use for such
method, so he completely ignored it.
After packing everything up, Austin fondled the Space Ring on his finger.
He liked the feel of the ring on his finger, but then pulled it off and dropped it into one of his pockets.
Considering that he was still a grunt disciple, having a Space Ring was very unlikely of him.
If he wore it blatantly, he would attract some covetous eyes.
Having lived two different worlds, Austin understood that it was better not to flaunt his considerable
wealth.
Therefore, he chose to put away the Space Ring.
With the ring out of his sight, he finally managed to regain his composure.
He then sat down in silence to study an object in his hands.
It was the ring-like jade pendant that had been dangling on his chest.
Last night when he battled with Rafat, it was the jade pendant that protected him from the last blow his
opponent launched.
Austin examined the pendant's every corner.
After studying all its sides, he held it up under the sun and appraised carefully.
But he failed to detect anything special about the jade pendant. It looked just ordinary from every angle
he looked at it.
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