A day passed.

"Screech!..."

Deep in cultivation, Xu Taiping's eyes snapped open at the sharp cry of a spiritual bird echoing from the courtyard gate.

That must be Uncle Eagle here to deliver my money.

He rolled off his bed in one swift, fluid motion.

Arriving at the gate, he found the familiar white-headed eagle from the day before waiting for him.

Thud!

True to form, the massive eagle wasted no words. It unceremoniously dropped a heavy coin pouch at Xu Taiping’s feet and spoke in a crisp, detached tone.

"The harvest fetched a total of ninety-seven merit coins. After deducting my three-coin fee, ninety-four remain. Count them."

"No need to count. Thank you, Uncle Eagle."

Xu Taiping cupped his hands in a respectful salute.

The spiritual birds of Yunlu Mountain were all bound by blood pacts to the Qingxuan Sect; they were far above petty theft.

This display of absolute trust softened the sharp glint in the white-headed eagle's eyes.

"If you require assistance, sound your flute. I am currently overseeing this territory."

The eagle stated flatly.

"Then I will be in your care, Uncle Eagle."

Xu Taiping nodded.

"Hmm? Why does your courtyard reek of a Demon Beast?"

Just as it prepared to take flight, the eagle snapped its head back, its piercing gaze locking onto the yard behind Xu Taiping with deep suspicion.

He can actually sense the demon wolf's lingering aura from out here?

Xu Taiping hid his surprise.

Having no reason to hide the truth, he frankly recounted the harrowing ambush from the previous evening.

"A demon wolf on Yanglu Mountain? Impossible."

The white-headed eagle ruffled its feathers, clearly baffled by the revelation.

"You possess formidable luck, youngster. However, it would be wise to avoid Yanglu Mountain for the foreseeable future. I shall report this anomaly to the West Wind Pavilion."

The majestic bird seemed disinclined to investigate further itself.

"That sets my mind at ease."

Xu Taiping nodded with profound gratitude.

Having the Sect's enforcers investigate the mountain was the best possible outcome; his meager cultivation was nowhere near sufficient to hunt actual demonic creatures.

"Incidentally, do you intend to sell the carcass?"

The eagle suddenly asked.

"Sell it? Absolutely!"

Xu Taiping agreed without a second thought.

"Sell it to me, then. My youngest fledgeling is currently preparing for a cultivation breakthrough. While that wolf's grade is pitifully low, its flesh is more than enough to nourish the blood and qi of our spiritual avian lineage."

The eagle offered.

"If you have use for it, Uncle Eagle, simply take it."

Xu Taiping offered generously.

Forging a solid relationship with this powerful spiritual bird was worth far more to him than a mangled corpse.

"Do you take me for a bandit? I will not steal from a fledgeling, especially the spoils of a life-and-death struggle."

The eagle shot him a haughty, sidelong glance, though its internal estimation of the youth rose considerably.

"Let us strike a bargain. If you hauled that carcass to the market yourself, it would fetch ten merit coins at best. I will offer you twenty. Do we have an accord, youngster?"

The eagle proposed.

Upon hearing the price, Xu Taiping spun on his heel, dashed into the courtyard, and hauled the heavy demon wolf carcass out to the gate.

"It's all yours, Uncle Eagle."

He dropped the massive beast at the eagle's talons.

"Catch, youngster."

The eagle let out a sharp, approving trill. With a casual flick of its wing, twenty gleaming merit coins sailed through the air, landing perfectly in Xu Taiping's palm.

"Furthermore, the former Sect Master bestowed upon me the title Bai Hong. You may address me as Uncle Bai."

Bai Hong clamped his iron-like talons into the wolf's spine. With a thunderous beat of his wings, the massive bird launched into the sky, carrying the heavy beast as effortlessly as a twig.

"Given a name by the Sect Master himself..."

Xu Taiping murmured in awe, staring at the receding speck in the clouds.

An unexpected windfall of twenty extra merit coins! Now I can definitely afford a superior martial skill and a decent weapon.

Clutching the heavy coin pouch in his left hand and the twenty loose coins in his right, the grim weight of survival momentarily lifted. Showing a rare flash of his actual age, he practically skipped back into the Green Bamboo Residence.

...

Returning to his bedroom.

Xu Taiping immediately slotted a merit coin into the bronze mirror.

"Xu Taiping of the Green Bamboo Residence, for what purpose do you summon me today?"

The ethereal, echoing voice of the mirror spirit resonated within the room.

"Lord Profound Mirror, I wish to select a martial skill and a weapon. Do you have any recommendations?"

Even knowing the spirit was merely an unfeeling artifact, Xu Taiping maintained the utmost respect.

"Rogue Cultivator disciples of the outer Sect are restricted to the armory of the West Wind Pavilion. The bronze mirror has already manifested the catalog of available techniques and armaments. Make your selection."

The mirror spirit’s voice remained as cold and hollow as deep water.

"Thank you, Lord Profound Mirror."

Xu Taiping bowed slightly, then eagerly leaned over the table to browse the glowing text on the mirror’s surface.

I remember Perfected Lord Ziyang mentioning during his sermon that bare-handed combat—fist and palm techniques—are the most compatible with the Fading Glow Art. They perfectly utilize the vast True Qi reserves cultivated by the technique. Once Fading Glow True Qi is channeled, every punch and palm strike hits with the devastating force of a fully swung weapon.

Guided by the Perfected Lord’s wisdom, Xu Taiping bypassed the weapon techniques and honed in exclusively on the fist and palm manuals illuminating the glass.

After careful deliberation, his eyes locked onto a manual titled: Green Bull Fist.

According to the scroll's description, once mastered and augmented with internal True Qi, every strike of the Green Bull Fist possessed enough concussive force to shatter mountain boulders.

Furthermore, the technique boasted two killing strikes.

The first was Bull Horn Shatters Mountain. Driven by maximum True Qi, the cultivator's fist would mimic the unstoppable charge of a colossal green bull, unleashing eight times the kinetic power of a standard strike.

The second was Galloping Bull Breaks Formation. Upon activation, the cultivator's momentum would snowball like a stampeding herd. Each consecutive punch compounded in sheer destructive force, chaining endlessly until the user's Qi was utterly drained.

In all aspects, the Green Bull Fist was a perfect match for Xu Taiping's current physique, beautifully complementing the rapid True Qi recovery rate of his Fading Glow Art.

Naturally, the West Wind Pavilion held far superior and more refined hand-to-hand arts. Unfortunately, those premium manuals easily commanded prices north of a hundred merit coins. The Green Bull Fist, however, was a steal at a mere thirty.

As a transitional martial art meant purely to keep him alive through his early cultivation, it was flawless.

With his remaining wealth, Xu Taiping spent another ten merit coins on an archery manual known as the Piercing Willow Arrow.

It was a decidedly mundane technique. The manual solely detailed the circulation methods required to channel True Qi into the eyes for absolute focus, and the pathways needed to weave Qi into the shaft of an arrow to exponentially amplify its piercing power.

In essence, it merely elevated mortal archery to the absolute baseline of a cultivator's standard.

Yet, to Xu Taiping, acquiring such specialized knowledge for a measly ten coins was the bargain of a lifetime.

Had he known how to thread his True Qi into his arrows just one day prior, he could have sniped that demon wolf dead in its tracks without ever relying on the forest's traps.