Why do I have so many masters?

During the following days, thanks to the reminder from Mu Shanxue, Wang Anfeng stayed inside the Academy, reading books and cultivating his qi during the day, and at night, after cleaning the steps of the Wind Character Tower, he would return to the Shaolin Temple to practice boxing, swordsmanship, and light body techniques. Like this, more than ten days flew by in the blink of an eye.

Meanwhile, in Fufeng County, although the Fire Refining Sect added the "Cangyuan Sword" to the list of famous weapons of Fufeng, it did not cause much of a stir. Although many were tempted, once they saw the sword was in the possession of the keeper of the library, they buried the thought deep in their hearts.

It wasn't that these martial artists were law-abiding citizens, but the tantalizing prize of fifty thousand silver coins could hardly appeal to a Seventh Rank Martial Artist, capable of nearly flying, vastly beneath their notice, let alone martial artists who weren't fools. Who would take risks if not driven by a desperate situation?

Moreover, the library keeper, according to the Constellation Ranking List, had exceptional swordsmanship, able to compete with an Eighth Rank Martial Artist. Although he had been quite quiet recently and hadn't had any notable achievements to speak of, leading to a slight drop in his ranking,

his martial arts skills certainly would not have regressed.

From the perspective of a young hero, this period of laying low would likely lead to a leap in his martial arts skills, certainly not on par with the skills he was known for when he made his name.

If one could not secure a quick victory over him and instead drew the attention of the patrol officers, it would cause a great annoyance, especially because it was rumored in Jianghu that he was quite close to the Fufeng patrol officers. Whenever asked, they would all refer to him as the library keeper, unwilling to address him by his surname, their words filled with respect.

Although the complicated relationship between Jianghu and the imperial court meant that the Great Qin patrol officers could not intervene directly in skirmishes between Jianghu figures, if the troublemakers were accused of disturbing the peace, the officers could heavily fine them. Before the Qin saber, they would have no choice but to pay up, making it a losing deal, like trying to steal a chicken only to lose the rice used to lure it.

Only those in dire straits would resort to such measures.

............

Fufeng County City · Welcome Guests Inn.

Liang Jingxuan slapped the table and said viciously,

"I'm taking this deal!"

The fat man beside him chuckled and said,

"Then take care."

Liang Jingxuan glared at him fiercely and asked,

"What do you mean by that?"

The fat man's expression remained unchanged, still smiling as he said,

"What do I mean? I mean exactly what I said."

"Although we are people of Jianghu, if you rush into the Academy with a knife, even if they can't kill you, it's not impossible for them to lock you up for a few months on charges of disturbing the peace."

"It's said that the prison prepared by the Fa school for Jianghu people is such that even the toughest men would emerge with trembling legs, leading them to live a quiet, law-abiding life for the rest of their days, afraid to ever touch Qin law again, let alone you and me."

After a slight pause, the fat man continued to persuade,

"Besides, with your level of martial arts, if you could escape alive from the library keeper's sword, that would be lucky beyond belief. How can you desire more after that?"

"Pondering for half a month and yet making such a decision, I don't know what to say to you."

"Remember, excessive greed leads to poverty in the end."

Liang Jingxuan scoffed and retorted,

"Of course, I know I can't beat him."

"But don't forget, the Fire Refining Sect is a major faction in Jianghu, not a bunch of lunatics. They are obsessed with swords, not bloodthirsty demons; they only want the sword, not the library keeper's life."

The fat man's expression briefly showed surprise, and his half-closed eyes suddenly opened as he said,

"You mean to say..." Enjoy exclusive adventures from My Virtual Library Empire

Liang Jingxuan answered,

"The Fufeng Academy, despite its reputation, is no dragon's den or tiger's lair."

"I will sneak into the library keeper's room and steal his personal sword. After exchanging it for silver and fleeing the next day, it's certainly not impossible. Fifty thousand silver coins may not interest a Seventh Rank expert, but to you and me, it's a fortune. Even split in half, it's enough to live a carefree life in an ordinary county city."

"After completing this deal, we can wash our hands clean of it."

"Then we can marry three or five wives, buy some property in the county city, from then on forget about Jianghu, and live a carefree life outside the world. Wouldn't it be delightful?"

At these words, the fat man showed an expression of hesitation and temptation. Liang Jingxuan slammed his palm down heavily on the table, making a muffled sound, raised his voice, and exclaimed,

"That library keeper is only skilled in swordsmanship; his light body technique is merely average. Aren't you and I living off our light body techniques? Why should we be inferior to him in movement technique?!"

"Are you in on this deal or not?!"

The fat man's face shifted between shades of doubt, but after a moment of struggle, he clenched his teeth and said:

"The brave may die of it, and the timid may starve; this time, I'll follow your lead."

"It's settled then!"

Liang Jingxuan laughed heartily and exclaimed:

"Indeed, you are my good brother."

"Rest assured, I will not let you down."

............

Inside Shaolin Temple.

The gates of Copper Man Lane flung wide open, and Wang Anfeng, holding a wooden sword, walked out, a slight frown on his brow as he pondered the gains and losses of the recent exchange.

His martial arts foundation lay in the Golden Bell Shield; his palm strikes were the Prajna Palm, and his finger technique was the Pointing Star Finger taught by Wu Changqing. Previously, his qinggong was mediocre; he could only rely on brute force and direct confrontation to parry his opponents' moves. Now that he had acquired the stealthy movement of the Divine Thieves Sect, his fighting style had become more versatile and unpredictable.

Only his swordsmanship remained unchanged, still the seventy-two moves inherited from Mr. Ying that he had long practiced. Though he had grown proficient in these sword moves, he found himself at a plateau, unable to take another step forward and was therefore quite distressed, unsure of where the problem lay.

As he walked out, still immersed in thought, a vigorous Qi suddenly shot towards him, fierce and cutting like a slashing long knife, its momentum outstanding. Having just emerged from a difficult battle, he instinctively drew his sword, retreating with the motion.

Once the intensity of the vigorous Qi had slightly waned, he suddenly lunged forward like a cloud reversing direction, his longsword swinging in consecutive moves to land on the vigorous Qi, forcefully dissipating it.

Just as he let out a sigh of relief, a green bamboo staff suddenly thrust from an angle, stabbing and withdrawing unpredictably, like slashes from a saber or sweeps from a heavy spear. The continuous assault was relentless, trapping Wang Anfeng in place, where he could only defend himself using his swordsmanship.

Under the heavy pressure, his swordsmanship was displayed to its fullest potential, neutralizing the varied onslaught, while the recoil forced him to retreat until his back was against the gate of Copper Man Lane. Only when the relentless afterimages disappeared did Wang Anfeng catch his breath, looking up to see a figure in a green robe, holding the green bamboo staff, standing calmly before him.

The youth regulated his inner breath, sheathed his weapon, and took two steps forward to offer a salute, saying:

"The junior pays his respects to the senior."

The scholar nodded slightly and remarked:

"Your swordsmanship is passable."

Wang Anfeng respectfully replied:

"All thanks to the senior's excellent guidance."

Mr. Ying nodded and gently tapped the ground with the bamboo staff, contemplating for a moment before casually saying:@@novelbin@@

"I once said that you must master the Jade Steps' Thirty-six Palatial Steps, the Twenty-eight Layered Pupil Technique, the twenty-eight methods of Sword Qi, the Spiritual Qi and Blood Technique, the Zhou Tian method, the Twelve Linked Fortresses Technique, and the succinct explanations of three verticals and six reveals before you can be considered a true swordsman. Do you remember?"

Wang Anfeng nodded and replied:

"I remember."

The scholar glanced at him and said indifferently:

"Good that you do."

He lifted the bamboo staff and, with a downward gesture, pointed at the youth's eyes, wrists, and feet, saying:

"You have mastered the entire set of movement techniques for sword fighting, and you have also reached the Third Layer of the Twenty-eight Layered Pupil Technique. Although your progress is still ordinary, you can use it in combat well enough. As for the Spiritual Qi and Blood Technique and the Zhou Tian method, you need to wait until you reach the Seventh Rank to cultivate them."

"But your swordsmanship has come to a halt."

At those words, Wang Anfeng felt a jolt in his heart. The emotionless face of the scholar before him revealed nothing, but he already understood his teacher's temperament and promptly clasped his fists in a salute, saying:

"Please teach me, Master."

The scholar seemed reluctant but gave a slight nod of acknowledgment.

Meanwhile, outside Fufeng Academy.

A fat man and a skinny man sneakily approached the wall, looked around, and then vaulted over it.

PS: Second update...