25: Chapter 25 Grandmaster Techniques

[You think to yourself: "Getting used to it is fine."]

[Over the next half month, you scoured every channel in Chengan Prefecture where you could possibly gather information.]

[Teahouses, martial arts Schools, escort agencies, inns where Loose Cultivators gather—wherever there might be news of a Grandmaster Cultivation Technique, you went.]

[The result was singular: you had thought too simply of Grandmaster Cultivation Techniques.]

[Although Innate Cultivation Techniques are precious, they still circulate within the Jianghu. By spending a large sum of money, pulling strings, or finding an Innate expert willing to teach, there is always a way to obtain one.]

[Grandmaster Cultivation Techniques are different.]

[They are the bedrock upon which the major Families and Martial Dao Sects stand. Every Grandmaster Cultivation Technique is regarded as a core Legacy; practitioners must be registered, the content of the techniques is strictly prohibited from being leaked, and violators are executed on the spot.]

[To obtain a Grandmaster Cultivation Technique, there are only two paths.]

[The first: become one of them. Pass layer upon layer of assessments, sign a contract, and pledge loyalty to that faction from then on—for a minimum of ten years, or a lifetime at most.]

[The second: join their Family.]

[You visited three.]

[The first was the Chen Family, a prominent Family local to Chengan Prefecture. After you reported your cultivation at Xiantian Peak and they verified it, their attitude shifted from cold to enthusiastic. The steward smiled until his eyes narrowed into slits, personally pouring you tea.]

["Miss Lin, Xiantian Peak at such an age—truly one in a million."]

[You asked directly: "Grandmaster Cultivation Technique, what are the conditions?"]

[The steward paused, his smile unwavering: "The conditions are very simple. Chen Yushu, the legitimate son of our Chen Family's third branch, is twenty-seven this year, at the Middle Stage of Innate, and not yet married. If Miss Lin is willing to marry into the Chen Family, the Grandmaster Cultivation Technique will naturally be presented with both hands, along with Spirit Medicine, supplements, and training grounds—everything provided."]

[You were silent for two breaths: "That's it?"]

["That's it," the steward smiled. "Compared to the assessments and contracts required for men to join, we are showing full sincerity towards women."]

[The second was the Qingya Sect, stationed outside Chengan Prefecture. Their conditions were even more "generous"—you could choose any unmarried Disciple in the sect to marry, select any Grandmaster Cultivation Technique, and receive three times the training resources of an ordinary Disciple.]

[The Elder in charge of receiving you even brought out a booklet featuring portraits and profiles of over a dozen young men, asking you to choose on the spot.]

["This is our sect's Senior Brother, Late Stage of Innate, a man of handsome appearance—"]

[You closed the booklet.]

[The third was the Huang Family Chamber of Commerce, which had come from out of town to set up a branch in Chengan Prefecture. They were more direct—the technique could be given, but it required you to marry into the Huang Family's main branch and give birth to at least one heir within five years.]

["The Huang Family's Bloodline Legacy places great importance on the mother's Aptitude." When the other party said this, their gaze swept over you. "With Miss Lin's constitution, if you could give birth to a Qilin child for the Huang Family, it would be a blessing for the entire clan."]

[You sat in that chair, tapping your fingers on the armrest one by one.]

[Grandmaster Cultivation Technique, training resources, status, and benefits—they were indeed generous. It was countless times simpler than the layers of assessments and harsh contracts that those male counterparts had to pass.]

[But all the conditions boiled down to two words.]

["Get married."]

[You stood up and left.]

[Returning to the inn, Xiao Wang was lying in the courtyard gnawing on a bone. Seeing you return, it dropped the bone and nudged your hand.]

[You stroked its tiger head, staring at the crooked tree in the courtyard, saying nothing.]

[You could certainly sign—this was just a simulation. Sign, get the technique, achieve a Breakthrough to Grandmaster, and take all the cultivation and memories with you when it settles; you wouldn't lose anything.]

[But you just couldn't bring yourself to sign.]

[It wasn't because of pretension, nor was it because of haughtiness.]

[It was because you had lived for over twenty years in your previous life, and in this life, plus two rounds of simulations, you had lived for nearly fifty more. Seventy years of life had taught you one thing.]

[Things given by others are never truly your own.]

[Of course, the most important thing is, what is the difference between this and selling your ass!]

[Even if I were to sell, I would have to be the most expensive one! Do I lack your measly Grandmaster Cultivation Technique! An Immortal Cultivation Technique would be more like it.]

Outside the mirror, Lin Shuangwan's mouth twitched.

"...No, what is the me in the simulation saying?" She whispered, "Could it be that I will have no integrity in the future?"

Thinking of this, she quickly shook her head, coughed twice, and said seriously: "Impossible, this is not me, absolutely not."

The simulation screen continued to flow.

[You sat in the inn for three days, going over every channel in Chengan Prefecture you could think of, and the more you thought, the more irritable you became.]

["Have you heard? The Martial Arts Tournament finals are starting in two months."]

["Nonsense, who doesn't know? Each prefecture holds preliminary selections first, and the top five go to Martial Arts Peak to participate in the finals."]

["The rewards this year are said to be even more generous than in previous years. The top ten in the finals can directly make demands—Cultivation Techniques, medicinal materials, even joining a top-tier School is fine."]

[Your hand holding the teacup paused.]

[Your chopsticks stopped.]

[Martial Arts Tournament. Co-hosted by all the top-tier Schools of Great Qing, any Martial Artist under the age of thirty can participate. First, preliminary selections are held in each prefecture, and the top five from each prefecture can go to Martial Arts Peak to participate in the finals. Those who achieve excellent results in the finals can not only receive generous rewards but can also choose to join any of the hosting Schools.]

[And the top ten ranked Martial Artists can make one reasonable request to the tournament organizers.]

[Cultivation Techniques, medicinal materials, secret manuals—as long as it is not excessive, the tournament will satisfy it.]

[You put down your chopsticks, your eyes brightening.]

[Isn't this tailor-made for you?]

[You are at Xiantian Peak, multiple Martial Skills at Perfection, your self-created sword technique is exquisite and peerless, and under thirty? You are only twenty-five this year; who could be your opponent in this Martial Arts Tournament?]

[You just wanted to shout out loud in your heart—who else!]

[Even if you don't join a School, asking for a Grandmaster Cultivation Technique shouldn't be a problem, right?]

[You checked out of the inn that very day and headed straight for the prefecture capital with Xiao Wang.]

[The prefecture capital of Linzhou, to which Chengan Prefecture belongs, is located in Yunyang City, eight hundred li away. You travel fast, and Xiao Wang is even faster; ten days later, the outline of Yunyang City appeared at the edge of your vision.]

[Looking from afar, you knew that this place was not on the same level as the small cities you had stayed in before.]

[The city walls were five zhang high, built of bluestone, with an armored soldier standing with a halberd every ten paces along the ramparts. The city gate stood wide open, wide enough for four carriages to pass side-by-side. The flow of people entering and exiting was like a weave, carriages rattled, and the shouting could be heard from half a li away.]

[You stood on the official road, closed your eyes, and sensed it.]

[The two old Daoist priests in gray robes at the city gate had auras restrained like an abyss, their steps as steady as a mountain.]

[Grandmasters.]

[Two of them.]

[You opened your eyes, the corners of your mouth curling slightly. As expected of a prefecture capital, you could even run into Grandmasters on the street.]

[You obediently took Xiao Wang and lined up to enter the city; after all, you were the most law-abiding person on a daily basis.]

[The commoners in line ahead of you turned to look, their pupils shrinking suddenly. They quickly squeezed forward three steps, and the people behind also rapidly widened the distance, instantly creating a vacuum zone around you.]