Universe Infinite Canteen

Chu Qianyuan finished speaking and looked towards Ma Lu, "Junior brother, this is our first meeting, so as your senior brother, let me give you a meeting gift."

"Senior brother, you needn't be so polite." Ma Lu said this, yet he eagerly looked at Chu Qianyuan.

Such a level of expert must surely possess many fine things.

Of course, what Ma Lu wanted most was money.

After all, his Collection Bag had only gathered three hundred catties of secret medicine, still seven hundred catties short.

"No, this isn't about being polite," Chu Qianyuan insisted. "I've previously acted against you, and I would feel guilty if you didn't accept this gift."

He thought for a moment, then said, "Junior brother, I see you are using the Minor Eternal Spring Technique for your internal cultivation methods, and have reached Great Perfection, unable to advance further.

"The Minor Eternal Spring Technique in the Jianghu is only considered a low-grade inner strength, besides being mild and balanced, it has no other merit and cannot unleash the full power of the Innate Pure Yang Palm, as you must have noticed.

"If master were still alive, seeing you have reached such a level with the Innate Pure Yang Palm would certainly please him greatly, and he would also impart the Dragon Capture Skill to you. Now that master is gone, I as your senior brother will pass the Dragon Capture Skill on his behalf."

"Ah?" Ma Lu was stunned.

"The Dragon Capture Skill, like the Innate Pure Yang Palm you practice, is also one of the Beggars' Sect's Three Great Divine Skills," Chu Qianyuan explained slowly, "and it perfectly complements the Innate Pure Yang Palm. I will now tell you the mantra, listen carefully…"

"Eh, wait… wait a moment, senior brother."

Although the scene before him was a classic development in martial arts novels and movies—by chance, the protagonist is taught a divine technique by an expert—

The problem was that Ma Lu wasn't the typical protagonist of martial arts novels; he didn't practice martial arts, and all his skills were acquired by searching corpses.

Thus, the coveted Martial Arts Secret Manuals of the Jianghu were of no use to him.

Ma Lu wanted Chu Qianyuan to change the gift, so he said, "Um… senior brother, are you really okay with passing such a precious divine technique to me just like that?"

"Indeed," Chu Qianyuan nodded, "The Beggars' Sect has very strict rules; only elders with seven bags or more and those who have made significant contributions to our sect are qualified to practice it."

"Then I…"

"We are both disciples of Master Deng and are not subject to this restriction. Besides, you have already learned the Innate Pure Yang Palm, which only historical gang leaders could practice, so the Dragon Capture Skill is nothing in comparison."

"This…" Ma Lu, thinking quickly, added, "Senior brother, my family is humble, and I've already exhausted our resources just learning half the Innate Pure Yang Palm; I really can't afford to practice the Dragon Capture Skill."

Chu Qianyuan slapped his forehead, "That's my mistake, I forgot about that. In that case, wait a moment and follow me to the storage, and I'll also fetch the elixirs you need for your cultivation…"

"I tend to use a lot while practicing my skills."

"That's not a problem…" Chu Qianyuan waved his hand, "The Beggars' Sect is plentiful in resources; could you really bankrupt us on your own?"

"Then, senior brother… can I opt for the secret medicine instead of elixirs?"

"Hmm, why? Aren't elixirs more convenient?"

"I still have other martial arts I want to practice," Ma Lu added. "Switching to secret medicine gives me more freedom."

"That works." Chu Qianyuan was very generous. His impression of Ma Lu improved further.

Few people can remain indifferent in the face of Divine Technique Manuals. Ma Lu's repeated refusals made the story of him exchanging half the Innate Pure Yang Palm for a roast chicken seem all the more credible.

Perhaps the master initially saw the simplicity and innocence in him, which is why he entrusted the Beggars' Sect's divine skills to him.

As for Ma Lu asking for the secret medicine later, Chu Qianyuan didn't take it to heart, just as he said, secret medicine might be a highly sought-after item for ordinary people in Jianghu, but the Beggars' Sect, being the largest sect in the world, wouldn't be lacking it.

"Good."

Ma Lu stopped declining. Although it took a roundabout way, as long as he could get the secret medicine in the end, that was all that mattered, especially since the medicine necessary for practicing the Dragon Capture Skill was certainly not the cheap stuff he bought at the Hundred Herbs Sect.

Ma Lu was already rubbing his hands in anticipation, planning to make a big haul from the Beggars' Sect's storehouse.

However, there was something he needed to do beforehand, which was to listen to Chu Qianyuan teach him the mantra for cultivating the Dragon Capture Skill.

Ma Lu originally planned to just pretend to listen and muddle through, but unexpectedly, Chu Qianyuan taught him with great seriousness. He would make Ma Lu repeat after him and only continue after Ma Lu had repeated it correctly.

This suddenly reminded Ma Lu of the fear dominated by "Carefree Travel" during his high school days.

Fortunately, the Dragon Capture Skill had 300 fewer words than "Carefree Travel," but even memorizing these 500 words was a pain for Ma Lu.

The main problem was that the text was filled with specialized terminologies like meridians and acupoints, which made it very painful for Ma Lu to memorize, and even more so because memorizing it was useless since it wasn't part of a college entrance exam.

Yet, if he didn't memorize the Dragon Capture Skill, he wouldn't be able to get the Beggars' Sect's secret medicine, so he could only grit his teeth and persevere.

By the time he had memorized the entire script, Ma Lu was drenched in sweat, and it was almost dawn.

Looking at Ma Lu, who had bloodshot eyes and was breathing heavily, Chu Qianyuan hesitated and then said, "Why don't you rest today, little junior brother? We can go get the medicine tomorrow."

"No! It has to be today!" Ma Lu said through clenched teeth.

After all the suffering, he couldn't let it go to waste, and the next time he could come again would be a week later.

Who knows what could happen in a week, and as for the rewards of recitation, it was best to claim them as early as possible.

Hearing this, Chu Qianyuan didn't insist further. After making Ma Lu recite the Dragon Capture Skill twice more to ensure there were no omissions, he led Ma Lu back to the city and arrived at the Beggars' Sect's storehouse in Yuchang County.
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The disciples guarding the gate all recognized Chu Qianyuan and showed him great respect, but they were somewhat curious about Ma Lu and Gu Qingyi, the two outsiders.

Chu Qianyuan had planned to introduce Ma Lu to those Beggars' Sect disciples, but on the way there, Ma Lu had dissuaded him.

Ma Lu's excuse was simple, stating that he still had an investigation to conduct and needed to recover the Lotus Bowl for Yuan Xiaoyun, so it was inconvenient to reveal his identity for the time being.

The waters of the Beggars' Sect seemed deep, and he had only planned to take a few profits before making a getaway without getting too involved.

Chu Qianyuan summoned the storehouse manager, who brought out the ledger for the secret medicine, placed it in front of Ma Lu, and then circled several medicinal ingredients.

"This one, this one, and this one, and this one... these are all the ones you need."

Ma Lu glanced over and saw that half of the secret medicine circled by Chu Qianyuan were ones he had never seen at the Hundred Herbs Sect, and among those he had seen, three ingredients were of 3-stars or above, making him very pleased. He looked up and asked,

"Are these enough?"

"Rest assured, they're plentiful," Chu Qianyuan assured him, patting his chest.

"Then let's take 100 catties of each."

The manager of the storehouse, who had been cheerfully sipping tea while watching the two select medicines, sprayed out a mouthful of tea upon hearing this.

If it weren't for the fact that Ma Lu was brought by Chu Qianyuan, he would probably have jumped up from his chair and pointed at Ma Lu's nose, shouting, "Why don't you just rob us?!"

Chu Qianyuan also felt a bit embarrassed, especially considering he had just assured Ma Lu that there was enough, but the amount his little junior brother was asking for was indeed a bit too much.