Urban God-level Youth
Chapter 923 - 923: Exchanging Cultivation Technique

After finishing reading these three books, Qin Hao gained a general understanding of this world.

This world is called the Hidden Dragon Continent, a vast land where numerous races stand, marked by an exceptionally powerful cultivation civilization and a world where the strong are revered.

Countless empires, kingdoms, and sects are established across the Hidden Dragon Continent, yet Qin Hao did not see the names of Butian Sect or Xingyue Palace.

There are also many hidden forces on this continent, but whether these two sects are among them, he remains uncertain.

Thinking of these things, Qin Hao sighed, his eyes somewhat dazed and dim, Long'er, Feng'er, where are you???

At that moment, a voice suddenly resounded in Qin Hao's mind: "Detecting a change in the host environment, the system will undergo a forced upgrade, and the upgrade will consume one trillion achievement points."

"The system is upgrading, expected to take ten hours, please wait..."

Upon hearing this voice, Qin Hao's face lit up with joy; will the updated system shop feature cultivation methods this time?

He rose and left the courtyard room, headed to the first floor, ordered some food, and began to eat dinner. The first floor was bustling, with all sorts of conversations.

There were many tidbits of information to be heard here.

While eating, Qin Hao listened to the chatter, gleaning quite a few useful messages. Nanxing City had five major cultivation families, with the Pang Family being one of them.

The five major cultivation families were very powerful in Nanxing City, with no one daring to provoke them, and the strongest among them was the City Lord's Zhou Family.

Located near the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range, Nanxing City was mixed with all kinds of people, including quite a few low-profile experts.

After listening for a long time, Qin Hao felt there were no useful messages left and returned to the backyard after paying the bill.

This inn was adjacent to a river, opposite a brothel, from which the silver-bell laughter of women often emanated. Due to the high foot traffic here, the brothel's business was booming.

Instead of returning to his room, Qin Hao sat in the garden between the inn and guest rooms.

Sitting on the stone bench, Qin Hao looked at the bright moon in the night sky, nostalgia welling up inside him.

Soon after, footsteps sounded and a voice followed: "Young Master, quite a coincidence, we meet again."

Turning towards the voice, Qin Hao saw they were acquaintances from the encounter in the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range: "Is there something you need?"

With a smile, Ning Ziyuan said to Qin Hao: "Why keep people at a distance, Young Master? I'm not one of those cruel-hearted individuals."

Qin Hao pursed his lips inwardly, wondering if she was such a person, who could tell.

Initially, he hadn't realized Cheng Zhong was that kind of person; in the end, he hid the deepest and seemingly most harmless, often turning out to be the most venomous.

Ignoring her, Qin Hao continued to gaze at the bright moon in the starry sky.

Disregarding his silence, Ning Ziyuan sat on the stone bench opposite him, with Ning Chengjie following suit and the two elderly men remaining standing.

She sized up Qin Hao with curious eyes: "May I ask your surname, Young Master? I am called Ning Ziyuan, and this is my brother, Ning Chengjie."

"I am Qin Hao."

"So it's Mr. Qin. I'm curious, where is your hometown, Mr. Qin?" Ning Ziyuan asked.

Qin Hao: "The Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range."

Ning Ziyuan paused: "Your hometown is in the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range, Mr. Qin?"

"Yes, a small village tribe," Qin Hao nodded.

Ning Ziyuan shifted the topic: "Are you moon-gazing, Mr. Qin? Missing family?"

Qin Hao slightly nodded: "A bit."

"This shop is owned by my family, Mr. Qin. If you need anything, feel free to ask; I won't disturb your moon-gazing any longer," Ning Ziyuan stated as she stood and left.

Upon leaving, Ning Chengjie asked, somewhat confused: "Sister, why bother with him? With his indifferent attitude, if this were the Ten Thousand Demon Sacred Mountain, I'd have knocked him down already."

Ning Ziyuan glanced at him: "He has only the strength of Qi Refinement stage three or four, yet he can instantly defeat a master of Qi Refinement stage seven. Even if it were you, would you be able to achieve that?"

Ning Chengjie was momentarily speechless; though from the Ten Thousand Demon Sacred Mountain, with the strength of Qi Refinement stage three or four defeating a cultivator of stage seven, he indeed couldn't manage it.

Had it been just one or two minor stages higher, he might feel confident, but this was three or four...

Ning Ziyuan continued: "Also, stop mentioning the Ten Thousand Demon Sacred Mountain; do you want everyone to know we're from there?"

...

After a while in the garden, Qin Hao returned to the room to rest.

Upon waking the next day, the system had already been updated.

He quickly opened the system to check, and the virtue shop had been activated, featuring several categories: cultivation techniques, divine skills, formations, alchemy, puppets, etc., with detailed segmentation.

Qin Hao first opened the cultivation techniques category, where dozens of techniques were available. Four techniques were the most expensive and best, requiring ninety-nine thousand virtue points to exchange.

First was the Nine Revolutions Immortal Skill; second was the Eight Desolate Slaying God Skill; third was the Chaos Battle God Skill; fourth was the Immortal Burying Skill.

He briefly reviewed the descriptions of these four techniques, contemplated for a moment, and ultimately chose the Immortal Burying Skill, which he favored.

Currently holding over a hundred thousand virtue points, Qin Hao exchanged for the Immortal Burying Skill, holding off on other exchanges for the time being.

Having exchanged the technique, he eagerly began to read and then commenced practice according to the introduction in the Immortal Burying Skill.

Due to the cultivation sacrifices, within less than a day, he reached the Qi Refinement stage four.

The spiritual energy in this world was exceedingly dense, ideal for cultivation. Within just three days, Qin Hao had cultivated to Qi Refinement stage six, although he could clearly sense the progression in realm had slowed somewhat.

That day, he reopened the virtue shop in the system, intent on exchanging divine skill secrets.

In the divine skills section were also numerous heaven-defying grade divine skills, but choosing divine skills wasn't about picking the best or most expensive but selecting those most suitable for his current stage.

Even if he exchanged the strongest divine skill, lacking the strength, it couldn't be utilized effectively.

After considering for some time, Qin Hao decided on exchanging for a set of divine power sword skills named the Ten Thousand Thunder Sword Skill, a fiercely attacking swordsmanship. Post-exchange, he began learning.

After two days passed, Qin Hao emerged from the room. He had gone over the divine skills repeatedly, yet as he hadn't practiced in real combat yet, staying in the room for cultivation was no longer useful.

He approached the inn's front desk, asking the owner, "Boss, how many days of room charges do I owe?"

"Young Master, our lady instructed that your room charges are waived," the owner replied promptly.

Qin Hao paused: "Where's your lady?"

"The lady has left, asking for me to tell the Young Master this message: Until we meet again."

Qin Hao nodded slightly: "Please thank your lady for me."

"You're welcome, Young Master."

Qin Hao walked out of the inn, wandering aimlessly and pondering his next actions: enhancing strength, searching for Xiao Long and Xiaofeng.

This place was the edge of the Hidden Dragon Continent; only the central area was the most thriving and powerful. Reaching there would provide more information.

But only those with strength are qualified, and rescuing Xiao Long and Xiaofeng also necessitates strong power, at least enough to surpass those who once captured Xiao Long and Xiaofeng.

Unknowingly, Qin Hao crossed the bridge, arriving at the other side of the river.

"Young Master, care to come in and have a little fun?" a beautiful woman swaying flirtatiously invited from the brothel door.

At that moment, the wooden window on the second floor suddenly shattered, and a figure fell from above. Qin Hao hesitated briefly but reached out to catch him.

The person dressed as a scholar, blood spilling from his mouth, looked gratefully at Qin Hao: "Thank you, Young Master, for your aid."

Pang Yang's figure appeared on the second floor, disdainfully looking at the man: "Daring to compete with this Young Master for Miss Xian'er, courting death, go back down and keep beating him."