Chapter 29: Secret Deal

Han Li grabbed the rope attached to a wooden bucket and tossed it into the pond. With a pull, he hauled up a full bucket of spring water. Effortlessly lifting it overhead, he tipped the bucket, drenching himself from head to toe.

"So refreshing!"

"Ah, that's the best!"

Han Li and another youth exclaimed in unison.

It was no surprise—the sweltering summer heat had left them drenched in sweat. Now, shirtless and doused in icy mountain water, every pore sang with relief.

"Hmph! Junior Han, you really know how to find hidden gems. Even this secluded pond?" The cold-faced youth finally spoke.

"It's nothing. I've found harder-to-reach spots, but none with water this cool," the other youth replied, unabashedly accepting the praise.

Over the past six months, Li Feiyu and Han Li had grown close, becoming genuine confidants. Li Feiyu particularly favored this hidden basin surrounded by cliffs, accessible only through a narrow cave that required crawling. The exit? A hollow in an ancient locust tree clinging to the cliffside.

Best of all, the pond offered respite from the relentless heat. After training, a few buckets of cold water revitalized them.

Drying off, Han Li glanced at the sun and said, "The Fierce Python Strength you taught me is too brute-force. Do you have something lighter?"

Li Feiyu rolled his eyes. "You think the Seven Kill Hall is my personal library? I can only learn a fraction of its techniques. My style leans toward yang energy—of course I'd pick aggressive moves."

"But Senior Li, you're the top disciple! How could you compare to ordinary Seven Kill Hall members?" Han Li flattered shamelessly.

Li Feiyu smirked. "Our genius Han actually knows how to butter someone up?"

"What genius? You defeat me in three moves every time."

"Only because I use true qi to overpower your skill. Without it, you'd outlast me in a hundred exchanges."

"Who spars without true qi? You're too modest."

"Modest? You've never formally trained, yet you grasp techniques faster than anyone. If not a genius, what are you? Though that useless mantra you cling to—why waste time on it?"

Han Li inwardly sighed. *You think I want to? I'm trapped now.*

"Junior Han, listen—dump that mantra. Train properly with me. In two years, we'll dominate the Seven Mystics Sect!" Li Feiyu urged earnestly.

Touched but unmoved, Han Li deflected. "Is there a Seven Kill Hall technique that doesn't require true qi?"

Li Feiyu pondered. "There's one… a strange sword art. No true qi needed. But—"

"But?" Han Li leaned forward, eager.

"It's been in the hall for a century. No one's mastered it, not even its creator. It's called the Blinking Sword Technique. Bizarre name, right?"

The youth was Han Li; the other, Li Feiyu, had come for medicine.

After first receiving Han Li's painkillers, Li Feiyu found them remarkably effective against the agony of the Marrow-Draining Pills. Soon, he couldn't endure the pain without them, exhausting a year's supply in months.

Desperate, Li Feiyu sought Han Li again.

Han Li, eager to strengthen himself, proposed a trade: medicine for Seven Kill Hall techniques.

Li Feiyu, with little time left to live, agreed without hesitation.

To avoid detection, they met in remote corners of the Rainbow Mountains. Over months, they exchanged drugs for martial secrets—a pact both found mutually beneficial.