The Great Heist

"What do you want?" the skinny woman asked Elder Bao harshly, her disdainful eyes sweeping over the tattered burlap robes he wore. All the politeness and ear-to-ear smile she had shown to the wealthy customer who had just left had vanished in the blink of an eye.

Elder Bao stared at her with a cold gaze before throwing a heavy bag of coins on the counter. The metallic clinking echoed throughout the shop.

The woman instinctively stepped back, her heart racing as she thought he might attack her. However, upon catching the gleam of silver coins, her demeanor changed like the direction of the wind. Her body straightened, and a flattering smile appeared on her face.

"How can I help you, dear customer?" she asked sweetly, her attitude shifting in an instant.

"I want three high-quality robes," Elder Bao said in a firm and authoritative tone. "One should be black with golden details and dragon patterns. The other two should be indigo with cloud patterns. Use your best materials and effort. This is the down payment. The rest will be paid upon delivery. The better the service, the greater the reward."

Elder Bao's voice carried such authority that the woman felt a chill run down her spine.

"O-okay, sir! Don't worry!" she replied hastily, bowing in a forced reverence.

"Hm. Good." Elder Bao nodded, and in the blink of an eye, he disappeared from the shop like a shadow.

The woman barely had time to blink, and the man had already vanished from her sight. Her heart nearly stopped, and she hurried off, trembling, to begin the work, praying not to make any mistakes and anger that powerful man.

Meanwhile, on the roof of a nearby building, the three avatars gathered once more.

"Lie Zheng, Bao Hui," Tian Zhu began, his voice firm. "Go and search for all the martial arts manuals in the city. Take them out and hide them somewhere safe. Then, prepare food and money. These martial arts families are despicable. Along the way, we saw how they oppress the people, so we'll steal from the rich and give to the poor—namely, ourselves. I'll head to the city lord's mansion to look for the cultivation inheritance."

The three of them parted ways and vanished at the same moment, as if they had never been there.

Three hours later, they met outside the city with confused expressions.

'I thought it would be difficult... Or at least a little challenging. But no one saw us enter or leave. The city's alarms didn't even go off.' Long Aotian reflected, surprised and slightly disappointed.

'Maybe it has something to do with me knocking everyone out before taking the stuff…' He thought, scratching his chin as he leaned back on the bed at the inn where he was staying.

'Anyway, let's take everything to that abandoned sect. No one goes there, which will give me space to use the avatars to deduce martial arts.'

Soon, under the movement of one monk in the Foundation Establishment stage and two in the Qi Refinement stage, a mountain of books and valuable items was transferred to the ruins of the Tianzhen Sect.

"Let's see... Mountain-Crushing Fist Manual... Skin Refinement?" Tian Zhu grumbled, rolling his eyes. "This probably wouldn't even crush a small rock."

While Tian Zhu examined another manual, the two elders, Lie Zheng and Bao Hui, began practicing the exercises from the first one.

"Hm... Looks like I've figured out a few things. I just need to confirm them." Tian Zhu murmured as he received the insights from the avatars. Soon, various understandings emerged in his mind.

'The sect leader avatar has much faster perception and comprehension than me or the other elders. Similarly, thoughts on interrogation and intimidation flow naturally through Elder Lie,' Aotian pondered.

'Meanwhile, Elder Bao generates clearer thoughts about negotiation and how to extract maximum value. Through him, I realized that the best approach with the seamstress would be a cold attitude and a subtle display of power and authority. A direct threat or kindness wouldn't have had the same impact.'

Aotian stood up and walked to the window. The streets below were becoming deserted as night fell.

'I'll compile a higher-quality martial arts manual before I start training.'

…

..

.

The next day, Aotian woke up early. He went down to the inn's dining area, where a sour smell of reheated food greeted him. The meal was quick and tasteless, leaving a bitter taste not only in his mouth but also in his spirit. He returned to his room shortly after.

'I earned a total of 845 from the skull, spent 10 at the gate, and 25 at the inn per day, including meals. That leaves me with 810 bronze coins. In other words, I can stay here for a month at most... and this place is one of the cheapest.' Aotian reflected, a grim expression crossing his face.

The food might not have been so bad for the poor of this world, but for Aotian, it was severely lacking in flavor and seasoning. Every bite made him question the origin of the meat. 'I hope I'm not eating anything... suspicious.'

The room wasn't any better. The bed was as hard as stone and emitted a musty smell, as if it had never seen sunlight. Small insects crawled along the walls, unsettling Aotian more than he cared to admit.

'Haah... I need to stop complaining. I have food and a roof over my head... for now. If I don't gain power in a month, I'll be on the streets begging for food.' He clenched his fists, determination burning in his eyes. 'I can't allow that.'

Aotian closed his eyes and began to concentrate on synthesizing the techniques with the help of the avatars.

Of course, he could let the avatars do it alone while he rested, but right now, everything outside was too dangerous. Every minute wasted was a step closer to failure.

'The more minds I put to this, the faster I'll reach the power I need.'

Determined to speed up the process, he combined his mind with the sect leader's avatar to compile the exercises, while the avatars of the two elders practiced the martial arts.

Elder Bao's avatar was in the middle of a sequence of martial katas when he slowly stopped his movements, raising his fists before his eyes.

"I think I've mastered the skin training manual. But I don't feel any increase in strength... probably because my level in Elder Bao's avatar is already far above that of an innate master. However, my movements are more fluid. It must be because I knew nothing about martial arts before." Aotian, as Elder Bao, scratched his chin, thoughtful.

Elder Lie was still in the middle of the katas of a more advanced exercise, bone refinement. It seemed that Elder Lie's martial talent surpassed Elder Bao's, as he had completed the skin refinement 40 minutes earlier.

Perhaps Elder Bao would have taken even longer if it weren't for the shared insights from Lie, who was one step ahead.

The sect leader opened his eyes and picked up an exercise manual that was beside him, tossing it towards Elder Bao.

Bao calmly raised his hand, catching the book mid-air with ease. His eyes examined the worn cover.

It was an old book, with a hole running from one side to the other as if it had been pierced by something sharp. Upon opening it, dark bloodstains spread across the pages where the cut had passed.

As Elder Bao examined the book, words began to form before his eyes:

[Luo Mountain Swordsman Manual: Innate-Level Exercise Book.

Status: Damaged.]

He continued to scrutinize the book meticulously, and the more he did, the more words emerged in his mind:

[Luo Mountain Swordsman Manual: Innate-Level Exercise Book.

Status: Damaged by an arrow.

Description: Manual of the famous swordsman of Luo Mountain. Lost by one of his descendants, who was mortally struck by an arrow that pierced his chest.

Note: When fully trained, it can generate sparse mid-level five-element roots.]

'Hmmm... Despite being damaged, this is the best innate level manual I've found so far. The others only generate low-level sparse five-element roots.' Aotian reflected, his eyes glinting with interest.

Thanks to Elder Bao's position ability, he could analyze treasures with ease. The longer he spent studying an item, the more information appeared.

If the item's origin was far superior to the elder's level, it would take longer to decipher it. However, this speed could improve with cultivation growth and the sect's level advancement.

[Name: Bǎo Huì (Meaning: Treasure and Cunning)

Position: Elder of the Treasure Pavilion

Cultivation: 1st level of Qi Refinement (1 great realm above the host)

Position Ability: Treasure Identification.

Position Bonus: Deceptive Voice (Persuasion power increased by 1.5x)]