5

Time goes back to a few moments ago.

Qin Hao, a direct disciple of the thirtieth peak was sitting on a cart that a giant beast was pulling. Beside him was the figure of a rather young woman who seemed to be in her mid-twenties. The two of them didn't speak much, but Qin Hao's eyes were inevitably attracted to her. Even though he didn't make it obvious, he occasionally stole a glance or two.

The woman on the other hand wasn't unaware of this. While feeling annoyed, she was secretly proud in her heart. 

"How long till we reach our destination?" Unable to sit in this uncomforting silence, she couldn't help but ask this question. 

"Soon." Qin Hao let out a smile before taking out a small notebook and checking it. "This is a newly appointed person who joined the sect three months ago. He has been handed a hundred yellow orchid plants."

"Hmph. Why does the sect even let these useless people join?" She couldn't help but complain. "These people don't have any talent. Even if they practice their whole life, they can't condense the fourth stair. What even is the need for people like these?"

The more she spoke, the more annoyed she got. Qin Hao on the other hand just smiled bitterly at her question. He didn't reprimand her as the woman beside him was Li Hua, one of the most talented people in the sect.

"Junior sister Li, not everyone is as talented as you who can condense their sixth step before the age of thirty." When he thought about how the woman beside him had condensed the sixth step in her mid-twenties, he couldn't help but let out a sigh. Other than lamenting fate, he couldn't do anything else.

"You are right." Surprisingly Li Hua agreed with him this time. Gazing into the distance, she couldn't help but mutter, "Other than senior brother Sun Kai, there really isn't anyone else."

Listening to her words, Qin Hao could clearly feel her infatuation. But other than letting out a sigh of helplessness, he couldn't do anything else.

It wasn't long before the two of them finally arrived at their destination. In front of them was a small hut with a stream beside it and behind it was a lush green forest. Even though the scenery was beautiful, the two of them didn't pay any attention to it.

On the contrary, Qin Hao jumped out of his cart and looked at the young boy in front of him before checking the notebook once again.

"Are you Lin Kai?"

"Umm!?" Lin Kai's gaze wasn't focused on the man but on the blue beast in front of him. This was the first time he saw such a majestic animal.

After admiring it for a moment, he focused back on the man before nodding in response. "You are?"

"We are here to collect tax. Go and bring Bring seventy yellow orchids." Qin Hao didn't bother introducing himself but directly stated his purpose.

"Oh!" It was only now that Lin Kai remembered the matter of paying taxes. He had initially forgotten about it. If not for the timely arrival of these two, he might have sold his entire harvest.

Walking inside his room, he carried the bag outside before taking out seventy yellow orchids. Though there wasn't an expression on his face, inside he was cursing at these profiteers for swallowing seventy percent of his harvest.

After counting seventy yellow orchids, Qin Hao didn't waste any more of his time there and made his way toward the next destination.

"Hmph. Why do we have to waste our precious time collecting these crops? Can't they just send someone else for this job?"

The moment they left Lin Kai's farm, Li Hua couldn't help but complain. She still couldn't believe that someone as talented as her was appointed the duty of collecting taxes. Right now, she just wanted to practice and condense the seventh step. For her, every second was precious.

Qin Hao didn't answer this question of hers. She has asked this very same question five times already. He just let out a chuckle and made his way towards the next farm.

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"Only thirty remaining." After the departure of the two, Lin Kai looked at the pitiful number of yellow orchids in his hand before letting out a sigh. Till now, he was hoping to earn some money after selling them. But this incident left him uncertain about his future path.

"Forget it." Shaking his head, he threw out the distracting thoughts and made his way towards the nearest market.

It took him more than two hours and a lot of twists and turns before he finally reached his destination. But the moment Lin Kai arrived there, he was dumbfounded.

In front of him on an open ground was a total of three wooden buildings along with four rows of people sitting on the ground with their stalls. Looking at the numerous items placed on the ground, Lin Kai wanted to take another look but gave up after realizing that he had no money.

"This is the market!?" With a frown, he looked at the dilapidated place that could at most be called a gathering instead of a proper market.

There were no restaurants, and no hawkers selling any food or drinks. The only three buildings there consisted of a miscellaneous shop that buys and sells numerous items, a hall that manages the farms and the people working there, and the last sutra hall that sells secret techniques and arts.

Making his way to the miscellaneous shop, Lin Kai took out thirty yellow orchids and placed them on the counter.

The man there looked at Lin Kai first before looking at the orchids and finally took out three nail-sized translucent stones before placing them down.

"One spirit shard for ten yellow orchids. This is the best deal you will get. Or you can sell it outside. Who knows, you might get lucky and get an extra piece of spirit shard."

Lin Kai just shrugged, picked up the spirit shards, and walked out of there. At the moment, he didn't have any knowledge about the currency of this world and there wasn't anyone gracious enough to teach him. As for the matter of finding out about it himself... He wasn't particularly interested.

Walking out of the shop, he made his way directly to the Sutra Hall. With such an incredible panel, it would be a shame not to practice more techniques.

Standing in front of the Sutra Hall, the first thing that caught his attention was the small size of the shop. Compared to the other two buildings, the Sutra Hall was relatively small. An old man was sitting there with a leather book in his hand. Even though there was a constant flow of people in this small market, there wasn't anyone entering or exiting the Sutra Hall.

With some hesitation, Lin Kai walked up to the shop and stood in front of the old man while looking at the shelves of books behind him. He couldn't see the names of the books, but judging by the thin layer of dirt, he could guess this place wasn't exactly popular.

Even the old man seemingly ignored his arrival while concentrating on the book in his hand.

In the end, it was Lin Kai who spoke first.

"Do you have any secret techniques or martial arts?"

It was only now that the old man raised his head and looked at the young boy in front of him before scoffing.

"Heh... Every other idiot comes here and asks the most obvious question of all." Shaking his head, he let out a snort. "What do you think this place is for?"

Lin Kai raised his brows at this reply but he didn't take it to heart. After thinking for a moment, he asked again.

"Do you have any techniques or martial arts that can improve lifespan?"

This was what he wanted to know the most. Even though he could increase his life for ten years after every breakthrough, Lin Kai still felt like it wasn't enough. He didn't know the true capabilities of the panel. He didn't know whether there would be the so-called bottlenecks for him too or not. It would be a piece of great news if he didn't, but in case he had it, then it would be difficult to say how much time of his pitiful life he would have to spend on it.

The old man sitting behind the counter wasn't expecting such a question from a young boy like him. Usually, the only people who come to ask for such martial arts and techniques are the old people who don't have much time to live.

For a young boy who was in his teens, it was a surprising request. But at the same time, it made him appreciate the boy in front of him. The boy in front of him knew that his talent was limited, so instead of wasting his time on cultivation, he wanted to practice techniques that could increase his lifespan.

"I do have." It was only after a while did he answered Lin Kai's question. Turning around, he fiddled amongst the numerous books on the shelves before picking out two books and placing them on the counter.

"The first one is called 'Bitter Earth' that has ten layers. It is said that each layer could double your lifespan."

"So awesome?" As soon as Lin Kai heard that he couldn't help but gasp. If one could practice this technique to the pinnacle, doesn't it mean that one could possibly live forever? The more he thought about it, the brighter his eyes got. But soon, he frowned.

Such a powerful technique... Why was it here? Shouldn't this be in the sect's treasury? Surely, the sword sect which would take seventy percent of their harvest wasn't generous enough to distribute such a technique.

"Hahaha... So you do have some brains." Just when Lin Kai was wondering, the laughter of the old man echoed throughout the shop.

"I know, you must think that there is something wrong with this technique, but I can assure you that there is none." With a brief pause, he gently wiped the dust off the book as his eyes were seemingly lost.

"It's just that.. this technique requires the blood of an Earthern Bluebird. But the only problem is...

Earthern Bluebirds are extinct."

"HUUH!?" Lin Kai who was dreaming about living for tens of thousands of years of life was stunned by the latter words of the old man. He was expecting some strict requirements or some hidden dangers of the technique. What he wasn't expecting was the so-called animal to be extinct.

"No wonder..." Thinking about how this technique was thrown here he couldn't help but mutter.

"What about the second book?" It was at this time that he focused on the second book placed in front of him.