Zhuang Xin stared wide-eyed, her gaze fixed on Jingming's round, plump face.
"Cut it out. I don't believe you."
"With the way you squeeze every last drop of profit, do you really expect me to believe you'd suddenly grow a conscience and give us that many points?"
"Carving meat off a crane's leg, scraping oil from a mosquito's belly."
"You, being this kind-hearted? One manual for five thousand points?"
"Don't think I don't know—last time, that sword cultivation fragment from Yue Ze, you only gave a thousand!"
"Speak. What are you really after?!"
Jingming coughed twice, an awkward look briefly flashing across his face before vanishing.
"Don't listen to nonsense. Yue Ze's was a fragment—this one isn't the same."
"This one of yours is the real deal. Proper and orthodox."
Zhuang Xin curled her lips.
"Old man, don't tell me you didn't notice that the manual's already been tainted."
Jingming frowned slightly, as if a bit embarrassed.
"Enough chatter. Just tell me—do you want it or not?"
"The manual's five thousand. Add the rest together, that's fourteen hundred and fifty. Total: six thousand four hundred and fifty. Take it or leave it—otherwise, take your stuff and go!"
Zhuang Xin instantly switched expressions, beaming brightly.
"Of course we want it."
She pressed up against Ma Jun's arm and said cheerfully, "Sir Ma, we really struck it rich this time."
"Six thousand four hundred and fifty points—most people wouldn't earn that in five or six years."
"You really should reward me properly."
Her eyes were alluring, full of teasing charm.
But Ma Jun kept his gaze on Jingming.
This old Daoist… really did seem suspicious.
He had read that manual himself—it was just an ordinary blue-grade cultivation manual, and it had already been tainted.
At first, Ma Jun suspected it might be hiding some secret.
But after thinking it through, he understood—the game system had already given it an appraisal.
If it were really that valuable, it would've been purple-grade.
Judging by the usual item grading, that manual definitely wasn't worth five thousand points.
Its real value was probably around a thousand.
So why was this old Daoist giving them so many points for no reason?
Ma Jun temporarily buried this doubt in his heart.
Just as Zhuang Xin said—something gained for free, why refuse it?
Even if there were hidden dangers, Ma Jun had the system to judge item attributes, and he could always back out.
There was nothing to fear.
"Daoist Jingming, I'd like to see what the points can be exchanged for," Ma Jun said.
Jingming's smile grew noticeably warmer.
"Alright, alright. Come with me."
He slowly stood up. His expensive Daoist robe was stretched tight over his body.
"I'll take you to the vault. You can take your time choosing."
Zhuang Xin immediately started making a fuss again.
"Wow, old man, you're acting strange today!"
"What, did you find yourself a young mistress and you're in a great mood—actually taking us to the vault?"
"Normally you'd just toss us a catalogue and send us away."
"Don't tell me you've taken a liking to Sir Ma's outstanding character and want to recruit talent?"
Jingming chuckled twice without denying it.
Ma Jun didn't think this had anything to do with his so-called special attribute.
If Jingming were a woman, maybe.
But Jingming was a man—his special attribute was basically useless here.
Soon, under Jingming's lead, the three of them arrived at the Aberrant Association's vault.
Hanging on the vault's massive doors was a six-petaled lotus lock.
Jingming took out a strangely shaped key and worked the lock for two full minutes before opening it.
"Sir Ma, please come in."
Jingming stepped aside.
The moment the three of them entered, warm yellow lights lit up inside the vault.
The lighting was soft and gentle, not glaring at all, giving an inexplicable sense of calm.
Ma Jun looked inside and his heart skipped a beat.
So many items!
Neatly arranged on rows of white jade shelves were countless bottles and jars, along with all kinds of wooden boxes.
Just the white jade shelves alone—there had to be at least a hundred.
As for the artifacts stored on them—there had to be tens of thousands!
Ma Jun almost regretted it.
With so much stuff, how long would it take to choose?
Wouldn't it be better to just flip through a catalogue?
Jingming's gentle voice rang out.
"Sir Ma, do you have any particular type in mind? I might be able to make some recommendations."
There was even a shopping guide?
Ma Jun felt slightly astonished—this president's service was almost too considerate.
He thought for a moment. Other items weren't urgent.
He already had equipment and weapons for now.
What he truly lacked were cultivation techniques—especially internal cultivation methods.
"Daoist Jingming, could you recommend some internal cultivation techniques?"
Jingming nodded. "Alright. Follow me."
Ma Jun followed Jingming deeper into the vault.
Zhuang Xin sighed emotionally from time to time.
"Our Aberrant Association has really grown this strong, huh?"
"I remember when I first joined, more than ten years ago—the vault barely had anything in it, so poor…"
"…so poor it hurt."
Jingming ignored her and spoke directly to Ma Jun.
"This is the place, Sir Ma. Everything stored here is a high-tier internal cultivation method of the Association. Take your time and choose."
"Thank you, Daoist," Ma Jun replied.
He felt Jingming's service attitude was almost too considerate.
They were both Daoists, yet Liu Changsheng couldn't even compare—no wonder Jingming was the president.
Unable to wait, Ma Jun cast his gaze toward the techniques.
On shelves made of white Han jade sat rows of rosewood boxes.
Inside each box was a thread-bound ancient book.
There were dozens of them.
Ma Jun skimmed through them roughly—and was shocked to find that every single one was blue-grade or above!
He couldn't help but feel a bit stunned.
The Aberrant Association was far richer than he'd imagined.
This Harbor Island instance truly hid dragons and crouching tigers.
He casually picked one up.
[Five Thunder Orthodox Canon · First Layer (Blue)] — Internal Cultivation Technique]
[Requirements: Physique 9, Spirit 9 (or combined base attributes ≥ 25)]
[Foundation technique of the Divine Thunder Sect, recording the fundamentals of the Five Thunder Orthodox Law]
Five Thunder Orthodox Canon?
It sounded impressive. The Five Thunder Orthodox Law was the Divine Thunder Sect's core inheritance.
If mastered, one could summon lightning at will—undeniably cool.
Just grabbing a random one already gave this level of quality?
Ma Jun couldn't help feeling excited.
He flipped through book after book, growing more delighted the more he read.
The techniques here weren't limited to Daoist methods—they covered a vast range and even included Buddhist cultivation arts.
Golden Light Mantras, Eight Trigrams Numerology, Qimen Dunjia.
Body refinement, corpse chasing.
House-protecting immortals, spirit-medium techniques.
Meditation, Five Eyes and Six Divine Powers.
It was dazzling to the point of overload.
Soon, Ma Jun had finished browsing the lower three tiers.
Everything here was blue-grade, with a few purple-grade manuals mixed in.
Just as he tried to continue upward, Jingming stopped him with a smile.
"Sir Ma, you must act within your limits. With your current cultivation, the ones above aren't suitable for you."
"If you force yourself to view them, you may instead damage your mind and spirit."
Ma Jun paused.
Jingming's tone was sincere—he really was thinking of Ma Jun's well-being.
Once it reached purple-grade techniques, the attribute requirements rose sharply.
For example:
[Nine Palaces Flying Star Secret Manual (Purple)] — Internal Cultivation Technique]
[Requirements: Agility 15, Spirit 16 (or combined base attributes ≥ 35)]
[Qi-Principle Sect stabilizing technique, recording Nine Palaces Flying Star Feng Shui secrets]
This single purple manual required 15 Agility and 16 Spirit.
These requirements did not include equipment bonuses—only base attributes.
If Ma Jun removed all gear, his Spirit was only 7.
Forget purple—even blue manuals were still one point out of reach.
Judging by Jingming's attitude, the very top tier likely exceeded purple.
There might even be orange legendary-grade techniques!
Ma Jun's heart began pounding.
Orange-grade techniques weren't even visible in the trading hall!
He really wanted to see one.
"Daoist, I'm just taking a look. I won't force myself to practice," Ma Jun said.
Jingming thought for a moment. "Alright. Just a look, then."
Zhuang Xin was even more speechless.
"Old man, why are you being this easygoing today?"
On the topmost shelf, there were only three boxes.
With permission granted, Ma Jun quickly opened them.
The first two were still purple-grade techniques—though their requirements were even higher than the ones below.
When he reached the third box, his heart jolted!
On the interface illustration, that dazzling orange glow nearly blinded him.
[Spirit-Linked Sword Codex · Complete (Orange)] — Internal Cultivation Technique]
[Requirements: Spirit 24, Charisma 25 (or combined base attributes ≥ 55)]
[Heaven-and-Earth Limitless Sword Dao, recording one of the Thirty-Six Sword Paths — the complete Flying Sword Art]
Flying swords!
Ma Jun felt a surge of excitement.
Riding a sword through the wind, slaying demons beneath the heavens—
who could resist flying swords?
There might be countless paths to power, but there was only one path to being truly cool.
He had to admit—his heart was moved.
The Aberrant Association's only legendary-grade technique could actually cultivate Flying Sword Arts.
Unfortunately, the requirements were downright monstrous.
Spirit 24.
Charisma 25.
For an ordinary person, even after counting level-up stat gains, this would take reaching level thirty or forty to use.
Even with Ma Jun's leveling speed, who knew how many instances that would take?
And it was obvious—this manual wouldn't be cheap.
His few thousand points were nowhere near enough.
Seeing how unwilling Ma Jun was to put the book down, Jingming smiled gently.
"This sword codex truly is a fine item."
"But for you, it's far too early."
"Legend says that an aberrant of the older generation—Yan Chixia—trained with this very manual."
"It demands extremely high comprehension."
"For ordinary people, even a lifetime of bitter study wouldn't be enough to enter its doors."
As Jingming spoke, Ma Jun subconsciously glanced at his own attributes.
Then he froze.
Something wasn't right.
His Spirit was indeed only 7.
But his Charisma… was a string of question marks.
Even the system didn't know how high it was!
Then he looked again at the requirements:
Spirit 24, Charisma 25 (or combined base attributes ≥ 55).
Combined base attributes!
Ma Jun's heart started racing.
What if… he tried using it?
It wouldn't cost him anything anyway!
His hand slid across the codex.
With a sudden resolve, he chose Use.
Jingming was still gently advising him.
"The comprehension required for this manual is something I've never seen before."
"Rather than wasting time on it, it's better to progress step by step."
"Sir Ma, why don't we choose another one instead—say, the Five Thunder Orthodox Canon… hm?"
Before his words could finish—
A white flash suddenly streaked across Ma Jun's body!
Formless sword qi surged straight into the sky!
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