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墨書 Inktalez
Xu Feng felt as if he had been struck on the head with a stick; it seemed that the originally more than four hundred people in Tiger's Den were now reduced to less than half.
Yuan Yongyi ignored him, clearly understanding Xu Feng's thoughts from his expression. With so many people coming and going in Pingyang Valley, it was common for newcomers to feel this way.
Yuan Yongyi took out a Martial Arts Manual and handed it to Xu Feng, saying, "This is our Seven Star Tiger Hunting Formation from Pingyang Valley. Originally, it required twenty-one people in seven groups, but since we don't have enough people now, each position will temporarily be filled by one person. Take a look at it tonight, and we'll practice together tomorrow morning." This was the first item Xu Feng received upon entering Pingyang Valley.
After Yuan Yongyi left, six team members followed suit, leaving only a cultivator named Hong Feng behind. Hong Feng's cave was adjacent to Xu Feng's, just twenty meters apart. The two exchanged pleasantries and headed toward their caves together.
Hong Feng asked, "Where are you from, Huang Daoyou? What made you come to Pingyang Valley?"
Xu Feng replied, "I am from Tang Kingdom. When I heard that Pingyang Valley was recruiting disciples, I came to try my luck. However, it seems my luck isn't very good." Xu Feng wore a bitter expression.
Hong Feng laughed and said, "Huang Daoyou, we cultivators don't lead particularly peaceful lives either. Pingyang Valley is quite dangerous, but there are also opportunities. I think your luck is not bad; you'll be able to fill my position in the formation since I'm injured."
Xu Feng looked Hong Feng up and down but couldn't tell where he was injured. He said, "Hong Daoyou, your martial arts skills are impressive. As a novice like me, I fear I might affect the formation's power. I'll just handle the menial tasks; let me do any heavy lifting." Xu Feng realized that the Seven Star Tiger Hunting Formation was merely a standard combined attack formation with limited utility; it could easily become a primary target for opponents' attacks, leading to quicker demise.
Hong Feng sighed and said, "Actually, whether or not you take up a position in the formation doesn't matter much. It can be somewhat useful against individual strong opponents, but it's ineffective in group battles. The Xiaoyao Sect isn't foolish enough to let you surround them and attack."
Xu Feng then asked him about the grievances between Pingyang Valley and Xiaoyao Sect. It turned out that over the past century, Xiaoyao Sect had acquired some treasure that significantly boosted their strength and influence. They became restless and gradually expanded their territory into areas that originally belonged to Pingyang Valley, leading to disputes.
On the surface, this seemed to be the situation; however, only the core members of both factions truly knew what was happening.
Yuan Yongyi's team originally consisted of twenty-five members. Since the outbreak of battles with Xiaoyao Sect, several had died on each mission. Over time, only these seven remained, and Hong Feng was injured as well—effectively making him half a patient. Xu Feng was the thirteenth newcomer of the Ninth team. The conflict between Pingyang Valley and Xiaoyao Sect had been ongoing for over three months now, with countless cultivators lost; at least a hundred Late Stage Golden Core cultivators had perished.
Xu Feng then learned that Pingyang Valley had been recruiting disciples for quite some time now; they almost held recruitment every three months due to the high turnover of cultivators in Qingyang City. Everyone wanted to try their luck here, so there was no shortage of recruits. One enticing rule for external combat cultivators at Pingyang Valley was that all battle spoils belonged entirely to the individual. This was akin to issuing a license to kill—if anything went wrong, Pingyang Valley would take responsibility while any benefits would go directly into one's own pocket.
This life-and-death game presented an irresistible temptation for cultivators. Many who had reached bottlenecks without hope of breakthroughs or those facing imminent death with no prospects for advancement found themselves drawn in—people from all walks of life mixed together since heroes do not question their origins.
Of course, the Xiaoyao Sect also did not come out unscathed; however, their strength surpasses that of Pingyang Valley, and with a solid foundation, they can bear these losses.
The twenty vice leaders of Tiger's Den are all Yuan Ying Cultivators. Over the past three months, six vice leaders have been lost one after another. For each death, one person is drawn from the Tiger Slayer Guard to fill the position. Yuan Yongyi is a Mid-Stage Nascent Soul Cultivator, making him one of the stronger vice leaders among the twenty. He has narrowly escaped death several times and managed to survive, but he is currently in a bad mood and wants to transfer out of Tiger's Den.
Being under a vice leader who is not fully committed to leading, the situation is predictable. The Ninth team led by Yuan Yongyi has suffered the most casualties in Tiger's Den. Xu Feng joining this group feels like being placed in a death group if it were the World Cup.
Hong Feng introduced a pile of information, and when they reached the entrance of the Cave, he suddenly asked, "Huang Daoyou, do you have any handy magical artifacts? A Medium-Grade Magical Artifact, perhaps?"
Xu Feng dared not take out the Fire Dragon Whip; it is a famous artifact of Nine Dragon Pool and could easily be recognized. The Superior Magical Artifact is his trump card for survival and should not be known to others. He replied, "I use an Inferior Sword; I don't have a Medium-Grade Magical Artifact."
A Medium-Grade Magical Artifact is considered quite good in Zheguo. Golden Core Stage Cultivators mostly use Inferior Magical Artifacts, so having a Medium-Grade Magical Artifact is impressive. Xiang Ge, as an important figure in Nine Dragon Pool, only possesses a Medium Quality Split Sword.
"Look at you, you're outdated," Hong Feng lamented with a hint of reproach and said softly, "Last month our group killed a Yuan Ying Cultivator from Xiaoyao Sect. I received a Medium-Grade Magical Artifact as my share. I intended to keep it for myself, but since I'm injured and can't use it for now, I see that you're new here and might easily fall victim to Xiaoyao Sect's schemes. How about I sell you this Medium-Grade Magical Artifact? It's eighty percent new and costs four hundred thousand; you won't regret it." With that, Hong Feng took out a two-handed broad sword.
After chatting for a while, it turned out he was trying to sell Xu Feng a magical artifact.
This sword is wide at the front and narrow at the back with a rugged design that suits Xu Feng's taste. However, it is clearly also Black Market Goods; if someone from Xiaoyao Sect sees it later on, trouble will surely follow.
"Alright then, I'll take this sword," Xu Feng decided firmly. This sword would only be used in Pingyang Valley anyway; since they are enemies with Xiaoyao Sect, he isn't worried about taking it out. For now, he doesn't have any suitable magical artifacts on hand and will use this one until he leaves Pingyang Valley before selling it off while pretending to be friendly with Xiaoyao Sect.
Another reason is that since he just arrived at Pingyang Valley, he doesn't want to ruin his relationship with Hong Feng; he may need his help in the future.
Seeing Xu Feng so readily agree to buy it, Hong Feng happily said, "Huang Daoyou truly has good taste; this sword is of decent quality. If I weren't short on money right now, I would definitely keep it for myself."
Spending four hundred thousand spirit stones on a second-hand item, Xu Feng paid the spirit stones and said, "I will need your assistance in the future; please guide me."
"Alright, there's a brother of mine in the group. I'll greet him, so don't worry. If we really encounter someone from the Xiaoyao Sect outside, just follow my brother, and you'll be fine. I'll introduce you to him; his name is Liu Kuai."
After completing the transaction, Hong Feng was very pleased. He had fought over a dozen battles in Pingyang Valley and finally sold a magical artifact, earning four hundred thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones. Although he had sustained injuries himself, he felt much luckier than those cultivators who had died in battle.
The two exchanged pleasantries and returned to their Cave. Xu Feng took out his broad sword and began to refine it that night.
The next day, Yuan Yongyi called the team members together to start practicing the formation. This formation was quite simple, consisting of seven positions with seven different attack methods that complemented each other, eliminating all blind spots and leaving no room for the opponent to hide. Each team member only needed to learn the action route for their position and the timing of their attacks.
Before the practice even started, Hong Feng complained about being tired and showed Yuan Yongyi his injuries, stating that he could no longer fulfill his role in the Seven Star Tiger Hunting Formation. Yuan Yongyi then assigned Xu Feng to take Hong Feng's place.
The new batch of disciples recruited by Pingyang Valley did not receive "salaries," so it was not appropriate to demand too much from these outsiders. They were simply expected to follow orders when tasks were assigned. These disciples would actively volunteer for missions to gain benefits for themselves and would not withdraw from combat due to minor injuries. Although Hong Feng stepped back from the combined attack formation, he did not retire from combat and would still accompany Yuan Yongyi into battle.
Xu Feng took over Hong Feng's position as the "Jī" position in the Seven Star Formation, which was a main attacking role. Compared to the rear positions of Yuheng, Kaiyang, and Yaoguang, the likelihood of injury was higher; Hong Feng had been injured while occupying this position.
After nearly an hour of practice, Xu Feng had already grasped the key points of offense and defense for the "Jī" position and also gained a certain understanding of the other six members, leading to better coordination among the team.
Yuan Yongyi asked Xu Feng several questions regarding the formation, and Xu Feng answered them one by one without error. Seeing that Xu Feng had basically mastered it, Yuan Yongyi announced that they would disband and reconvene tomorrow for positional practice. A mature combined attack formation requires team members to be capable of fulfilling multiple roles to prevent losses; since this formation was relatively simple, the requirements were not too high.
After disbanding, Hong Feng indeed called his brother Liu Kuai over. The three of them chatted and laughed together, strengthening their bond a little more. Liu Kuai and Hong Feng had entered Pingyang Valley together; they did not know each other before but had saved each other during battles against the Xiaoyao Sect, establishing a solid friendship.
Back in the Cave, Xu Feng began practicing his Combat Techniques.
Since entering the Late Stage of Golden Core, Xu Feng could now cultivate the final layers of several Cultivation Methods he had been practicing. However, close-combat techniques were not favored in battles among high-level cultivators; thus, Xu Feng had practiced them less frequently. Now that he had time, he decided to dig out all the Combat Techniques he hadn't practiced before and learned them thoroughly.
With a solid foundation, learning Combat Techniques became smooth sailing for him.
The final layer of Dragon's Fury is Dragon's Wound, which inflicts injury with every strike and possesses immense power. When combined with Blazing Blade, it becomes unstoppable.
The Water Element Technique of Weak Water Three Thousand allows Xu Feng to complete the Mianren Realm, making his body as soft as if it had no bones, leaving opponents with no points of attack. The Great Achievement of the Cultivation Method can reduce an opponent's attack damage by thirty percent, enabling him to overcome strength with softness.
The final layer of the Wood Element is the Flowerwood Realm, where wood represents defense and flowers represent offense. The comprehensive offensive and defensive capabilities of the Flowerwood Realm surpass those of the Earth Element.
The last Combat Technique of Earth King Shock is Earth King's Procession.
Jinxi's ultimate technique has evolved from Ten Steps Kill and One Step Kill into the final Step-by-Step Kill.
Xu Feng has advanced in both Wood and Fire elements, so the true Great Achievement in Combat Techniques lies in the Wood Element's Tie Mu Hua Dao and the Dragon's Fury of Fire Element. The other three elements can be cultivated but are still a step away from Great Achievement.
After completing the Wood Element Combat Techniques, five units of time have passed. During this time, Xu Feng's Seven Star Tiger Hunting Formation has reached the Yuheng position, only two positions away from Kaiyang and Yao Guang. Meanwhile, two newcomers have joined Group Nine, bringing the total to ten members.
Sixth, Yuan Yongyi has stopped practicing formations and called all ten members to the field with a stern expression.
Hong Feng whispered to Xu Feng, "We're going out to fight again..."
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