As they were both returning to the True Inheritance Courtyard, Fang Han and Yun Muyao walked side by side.

Ancient trees towered on both sides of the mountain path. The evening breeze swept by, stirring up a few fallen leaves that spun down between their robes.

"Junior Brother Fang, on this mission, you killed two Late Stage Fourth Grade Stewards from the Netherworld Pavilion. That level of strength has already far surpassed the 81st rank on the Celestial Pride List."

"It seems your rank on the Celestial Pride List will see a huge jump next month."

Yun Muyao’s robes fluttered lightly. Above her veil, her bright eyes appeared even colder in the twilight. She glanced sideways at Fang Han, her voice elegant and subdued.

"Senior Sister Yun, you flatter me. If you hadn’t arrived in time on this mission, I’m afraid I would have been in grave danger. Compared to top-twenty powerhouses on the Celestial Pride List like Meng Xian and yourself, the gap is still immense."

Fang Han said humbly.

"You’re quite humble. But there’s no need to belittle yourself. With your talent, it’s only a matter of time before you surpass us."

Hearing this, the corners of Yun Muyao’s lips seemed to lift slightly beneath her veil, revealing the faintest hint of a smile.

She paused, her gaze drifting toward the distant peaks shrouded in twilight, her tone tinged with a hint of teasing.

"After all, I am a few years older than you. If you surpass me too quickly, it would be quite embarrassing for me as your Senior Sister."

"When you fought Meng Xian, Senior Sister, I observed that your Inner Qi is powerful and seems to have reached the Late-Stage Fourth Grade Limit. Are you about to break through to the Third Grade?"

Fang Han asked, sensing the friendliness in Yun Muyao’s words.

Yun Muyao shook her head gently and paused her steps.

"It’s not that easy. Breaking through from the Middle to High Grades to the Upper Three Grades is far more difficult than any previous breakthrough. Many Martial Artists get stuck at this threshold, unable to advance for the rest of their lives."

She turned, her cool eyes fixed on Fang Han.

"Although I’ve reached the Late-Stage Fourth Grade Limit and can feel that barrier, actually breaking through is not something that can be done in a short time. Maybe half a year, maybe a year, or even longer. No one can say for sure."

"On the current Celestial Pride List, has anyone broken through to the Upper Three Grades?"

Fang Han nodded thoughtfully and asked with some curiosity.

"As far as I know, a few have indeed succeeded. The first-ranked Yue Lingtian, the second-ranked Liu Bai, and the third-ranked Mad Saber have all broken through into the Third Grade Realm."

Yun Muyao resumed walking, her voice drifting back on the wind.

"Those three are monsters among monsters. After this breakthrough, their strength will be even more unfathomable."

She paused before adding.

"Aside from those three, we can’t rule out the possibility that other geniuses have also broken through but have chosen to hide their strength as a trump card, not revealing it to the public."

Chatting along the way, the two arrived at the True Inheritance Courtyard before they knew it.

Yun Muyao stopped at a fork in the road and nodded slightly. "Junior Brother Fang, we part ways here."

"Take care, Senior Sister." Fang Han cupped his fists.

Watching Yun Muyao’s figure disappear into the twilight, Fang Han turned and walked toward his own courtyard, Number 35.

At the gate, the attendant on duty saw him return and hurriedly bowed, his eyes filled with reverence.

"Senior Brother, you’re back."

As his attendants, their fortunes were tied to his.

And with Fang Han’s current prestige in the Qingxuan Sect, they naturally enjoyed preferential treatment within the Sect.

Their monthly stipend was in the highest tier among the servant disciples. Although they were servant disciples, their status was no worse than that of ordinary disciples—in fact, it was even slightly better.

Naturally, they were extremely reverent toward Fang Han, who had given them all of this.

Fang Han nodded slightly and said in a low voice, "I’m entering seclusion for cultivation. No one is to disturb me during this time."

"Yes, Senior Brother."

Entering the courtyard, Fang Han walked straight to the Quiet Chamber.

He closed the door behind him and walked to what looked like an ordinary blue brick in the corner, pressing lightly on the seam between the bricks.

With a soft CLICK, a blue brick recessed inward, revealing a hidden compartment.

Inside the compartment, a sandalwood box about a foot square sat quietly.

Fang Han took out the box, placed it on the low table in front of the meditation cushion, and lifted the lid.

Inside the box were neat stacks of silver notes, each a large denomination, emitting the faint scent of ink.

Fang Han took out the silver notes obtained from eliminating Gong Xing and the Gong Family, placed them inside, and sat on the cushion, carefully counting them one by one.

His fingers slid across the notes, making a soft rustling sound. A moment later, he finished counting.

"15,370,000 silver taels."

Seeing this outrageous figure, even Fang Han himself was surprised.

Without even realizing it, he had accumulated a fortune of over ten million, a full fifteen million at that.

This sum of money was probably several times the total assets of the Fang Family.

If he chose to become a rich idler now, he wouldn’t be able to spend it all in ten lifetimes.

’The fastest way to make money is indeed murder and arson—a business with no overhead!’

Fang Han closed the wooden box again, his fingers gently tracing the edge of the lid.

Most of these silver notes came from looting corpses after a kill. The speed at which one could make money from killing and looting far surpassed any normal means.

The old saying, "Murder and arson line your pockets with gold," seemed particularly true at this moment.

’First, I need to recover my depleted Inner Qi.’

After returning the wooden box to the hidden compartment and resetting the mechanism, Fang Han took out the Jade Bottle containing the True Spirit Pills.

He uncorked the bottle, poured out two glossy, longan-sized True Spirit Pills, and put them in his mouth.

The Elixirs melted the moment they entered his mouth, transforming into two streams of pure, gentle Medicinal Power that surged into his limbs and bones.

He circulated the Profound Wind Technique, continuously refining and absorbing the Medicinal Power to replenish the Inner Qi he had expended while traveling.

The Quiet Chamber was silent, filled only with the sound of Fang Han’s long, steady breathing.

A little over two hours later, Fang Han slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of turbid air.

The Inner Qi he had used up while traveling was fully restored, but a faint pain lingered in his lungs.

’It’ll probably take a few more days for this injury to heal!’

Fang Han’s brow furrowed, and he subconsciously pressed his left hand to his chest.

The injury to his lungs was caused by a palm strike from Meng Xian. Although he had already taken a Jade Dew Pill to treat it, internal injuries were always the most difficult to heal. It would likely take several more days of recuperation to fully recover.

’One thing’s for sure, the Netherworld Pavilion has me in their sights!’

Recalling the words of Meng Xian, the 17th-ranked on the Celestial Pride List, Fang Han’s expression darkened.

Although Gong Xing was one of the less regarded True Inheritors of the Netherworld Pavilion, he was a True Inheritor nonetheless.

After killing Gong Xing, the Netherworld Pavilion had clearly set its sights on him.

The Elders of the Netherworld Pavilion wouldn’t personally act against a junior due to established rules, but the terrifyingly strong True Disciples at the top of the Celestial Pride List, being his peers, were not bound by such restrictions.

Meng Xian was just the beginning.

In the future, other high-ranking Celestial Pride True Inheritors from the Netherworld Pavilion would surely come after him.

This made him feel an undeniable pressure.

However, he didn’t regret it. Even without the Gong Xing incident, as he became more prominent on the Celestial Pride List, he would have inevitably been targeted by the Netherworld Pavilion, which had a hostile relationship with the Qingxuan Sect.

Being targeted was inevitable.

What mattered was his own strength. As long as he was strong enough to shatter any attempts to target him, the Netherworld Pavilion’s schemes would be useless.

Suppressing the unease from being targeted by the Netherworld Pavilion, Fang Han turned his thoughts to the rewards from this mission.

’This emergency rescue mission was dangerous, but the rewards were unprecedentedly generous.’

The reward of one Small Merit brought his total number of Small Merits to two.

With just one more Small Merit, he could exchange them with the Sect for a Grandmaster Level Technique.

A Grandmaster Level Technique, in any Sect, was considered a foundational, sect-defining Martial Art. Its preciousness was self-evident.

From this, it was easy to see just how valuable the reward of "one Small Merit" was.

And the right to freely cultivate the Xuanwu True Skill was undoubtedly the most precious part of this reward.

It took three Small Merits to exchange for a Grandmaster Level Technique, yet this reward had directly granted him a Grandmaster Level Body Hardening Technique.

Although he had only ever cultivated Swordsmanship and Body Techniques before, and never a Body Hardening Technique, it didn’t mean this Grandmaster Level Body Hardening Technique was useless to him.

’A Body Hardening Technique is related to the Essence Pass, one of the Three Gates of Essence, Qi, and Spirit...’

With Fang Han’s current status, he was no longer completely ignorant about the Grandmaster Realm, which lay beyond the First Grade.

As far as he knew, to break through to the Grandmaster Realm, one had to pass the Three Gates of Essence, Qi, and Spirit. The "Essence Pass" referred to the tempering of the physical body.

If he wanted to reach for the Grandmaster Realm in the future, cultivating a Body Hardening Technique was an essential path.

Receiving the Xuanwu True Skill as a reward was not just useful to him; it was critically important.

It meant that in the future, he wouldn’t have to spend contribution points to exchange for a Grandmaster Level Body Hardening Technique, saving him three Small Merits—or, in other words, one Great Merit.

’I’ll have to move the plan up a bit.’

Fang Han had originally planned to start practicing a Body Hardening Technique only after his Cultivation entered the Upper Three Grades.

Now that he had obtained a Grandmaster Level Body Hardening Technique ahead of schedule, his cultivation plan naturally had to be moved up.

As for sticking to the original plan and waiting until the Upper Three Grades to start, letting a Grandmaster Level Body Hardening Technique sit on the shelf—nothing could be more wasteful.

’However, before cultivating the Body Hardening Technique, I first have to decide on a method.’

Fang Han recalled what he knew about Body Hardening Techniques.

The cultivation of Body Hardening Techniques was quite similar to that of Martial Techniques, and there were generally two methods.

The first method was to proceed step-by-step, starting with a Low Grade Body Hardening Technique and progressively switching to Middle Grade, Top Grade, and top-level ones before finally touching upon the Grandmaster Level.

This method went from simple to profound and was relatively easy to start, with lower requirements for talent. The drawback was that it required switching techniques multiple times and was very time-consuming.

The other method was to directly cultivate a Grandmaster Level Technique.

The advantage was getting it done in one step. If one could succeed, the time spent would theoretically be the shortest.

The disadvantage was that it was extremely difficult to get started, with harsh requirements for talent. Those with insufficient talent would struggle to even cross the threshold and might end up wasting their time.

’I’ll choose the second method.’

After a moment of contemplation, Fang Han had made his decision.

He chose the latter: to directly cultivate the Grandmaster Level Xuanwu True Skill.

For an ordinary Martial Artist or even a typical genius, the step-by-step approach was the most suitable and safest method.

But for him, who possessed the Talent Amplification panel, talent was never something he needed to worry about.

Directly cultivating the Grandmaster Level Xuanwu True Skill was the most time-efficient and suitable method for him.

A few days later, Fang Han’s internal injuries had completely healed.

Thinking that the Sect’s transcription of the Xuanwu True Skill should be complete by now, Fang Han left his residence and headed for the Library Pavilion.