When Zhang Xiaohua had received the Bishui Sword from Sect Master Si Yakong of the Artifact Forging Sect that day, he had also examined the Bishui Sword with his Divine Sense, but he had not inspected the sheath still in Si Yakong’s hand. Now, as he spread out his Divine Sense and took only a slight look, he immediately noticed something strange within it.

The strange thing about the sheath was not that it emitted fluctuations of Yuan Qi that drew Zhang Xiaohua’s attention, but rather that when his Divine Sense swept across it, he discovered an extremely well-hidden compartment at the bottom of the sheath. This compartment was exceedingly tiny, concealed within the sheath itself, such that even careful observation with the naked eye would not reveal it.

Since the compartment was hidden so secretly, and the sheath itself was extremely ancient and unadorned, the thing inside was presumably extraordinary as well. Zhang Xiaohua picked up the Bishui Sword and poured True Qi into it, immediately forcing out a sword light an inch long. Then he raised the sheath and, with utmost care, cut a tiny slit into it with the sword light. From within the slit, the corner of a silk cloth was revealed. Zhang Xiaohua hooked it out with the nail of his little finger, only to discover that it was actually a large piece of silk containing a sword manual filled with drawings of little figures wielding swords in various poses!

Zhang Xiaohua frowned and thought to himself: “Could my luck really be this good? Just a moment ago, I was thinking that it would be nice if there were a matching sword manual, and now I actually find a genuine sword manual hidden inside the sheath? That can’t be possible, right?”

Sure enough, when he examined it carefully, the sword manual depicted a long sword, not a short sword like the Bishui Sword. It seemed this manual was not specifically meant for the Bishui Sword. Of course, if Zhang Xiaohua fully extended the sword light, its length would not differ much from an ordinary longsword, but Zhang Xiaohua would never assume this was a sword art designed specifically for sword light.

Although this sword art might not necessarily suit the Bishui Sword, did Zhang Xiaohua not still have the Prajna Heavy Sword? Moreover, Zhang Xiaohua himself did not possess a complete sword manual. Therefore, he still carefully read through it from beginning to end. However, as he read, his brows gradually knit together. His martial cultivation had already reached a rather high level. Though he might never have truly studied swordsmanship before, once one principle was understood, ten thousand principles could be inferred. After finishing all eighty-one sword forms, he always felt there was something strange about them, yet for the moment, he could not determine exactly what it was. Just as Zhang Xiaohua was preparing to examine it more carefully, he heard someone calling from outside.

Slapping his forehead, Zhang Xiaohua burst into laughter. Business had arrived.

Putting away the silk cloth, Zhang Xiaohua walked out of the room. From outside the courtyard came Bai Huan’s voice calling out to him. Hearing Zhang Xiaohua respond, Bai Huan quickly walked into the courtyard. In his hands were several sheets of paper densely covered with tiny writing, and his eyes looked somewhat red. Upon seeing Zhang Xiaohua, he smiled and said: “Junior Brother Ren, you’ve truly made a fortune this time. Earlier, when I saw you win three consecutive matches in the gambling arena, I was already envious. But last night, when Boss Chen brought me the betting records and asked me to help sort them out for you, only then did I truly understand what it means to make people green with envy.”

Then he shook the papers in his hand and said: “These are worth far more medicinal pills than what Junior Brother Ren earned from winning those three gambling matches. Junior Brother Ren really was clever enough to place that bet. Why didn’t I follow you and place one too?”

Before placing the bet, Zhang Xiaohua had already roughly understood the situation, yet even he had not expected that he alone would bet on the Herb Division winning. If only a few more people had done the same, not many, just ten or so, then the winnings would not have appeared so eye-catching. But Zhang Xiaohua’s fortune was flourishing, and it just so happened that he alone had guessed correctly.

Zhang Xiaohua coughed twice and put on a profound and unfathomable expression as he smiled and said: “Senior Brother Bai worries too much. I’ll still have to trouble Senior Brother Bai greatly over the next few days. Once everything settles down, this little brother will definitely offer a generous reward.”

Bai Huan hurriedly smiled apologetically and said: “Junior Brother Ren will become Tianmu Peak’s great wealthy master in the future. As your senior brother, I’ll still have to rely on Junior Brother quite a bit, so please don’t be so courteous.”

Then he took out a tiny jade box from his robes and handed it over, saying: “Junior Brother Ren, this is the medicinal herb I’ve treasured away. Please take a look and see whether it catches your eye.”

Zhang Xiaohua accepted the jade box. It was long and narrow, almost like a thick stick. Casually opening it, he found inside a pale blue medicinal herb. Its leaves were triangular in shape, and at the top were some yellowed tiny flowers. The flowers had long since dried up, yet they still emitted a faint, delicate fragrance. Although the scent was extremely light, once it entered the nose, it was almost enough to intoxicate the heart itself with fragrance. Upon seeing it, Zhang Xiaohua frowned slightly, yet a trace of delight flashed through his eyes. This medicinal herb indeed looked familiar. Though he had never personally seen it before, ever since obtaining the pill formula for the Bone-Consolidating Pill, he had thoroughly flipped through the [Herbal Encyclopedia] and carefully studied the several main medicinal ingredients recorded within the formula. Was this not precisely the “Fragrant Soul Wood” used in the Bone-Consolidating Pill?

In just these short few days, he had actually managed to gather all three main medicinal ingredients needed to refine the Bone-Consolidating Pill. This… this Incense-Spreading Sect truly was… a treasure land!

Seeing Zhang Xiaohua frown, Bai Huan’s heart immediately skipped a beat, and he nervously said: “Junior Brother Ren, if this still isn’t enough for one Small Bone-Consolidating Pill, I also have a few ordinary medicinal herbs around twenty years old. If they are suitable, please take a look as well.”

“Oh?” Zhang Xiaohua smiled upon hearing this. “I didn’t expect Senior Brother Bai to have hidden treasures on him too.”

Bai Huan chuckled and said: “We disciples of the Herb Division may lack medicinal pills, but medicinal herbs are never scarce. Who among us doesn’t have some herbs with twenty years of medicinal age? Even the disciples of the Pill Division have won quite a few from us over the past few years. Oh, right, Junior Brother Ren, when dealing with those Pill Division disciples this time, you should be a bit ruthless and help the brothers of our Herb Division vent some anger.”

Zhang Xiaohua burst into laughter and patted Bai Huan on the shoulder. “That suits my intentions perfectly! Alright, Senior Brother Bai, take out all the medicinal herbs you have on you. This is my first time opening for business, so I’ll definitely give you a satisfactory price!”

Bai Huan smiled awkwardly and indeed took several more jade boxes from his robes and handed them over. Zhang Xiaohua opened and inspected them one by one. Though they were not exceptionally high-grade goods, they were still medicinal herbs with over twenty years of medicinal age, something rarely seen in the Jianghu. Zhang Xiaohua did not stand on ceremony and accepted them all. Then he took out a jade bottle from his robes and handed it to Bai Huan, saying: “Senior Brother Bai, there are three Small Bone-Consolidating Pills here. I wonder if they are satisfactory? If not, this little brother temporarily has nothing better. Once they deliver the medicinal pills later, I can exchange them for more.”

The moment Bai Huan heard the words “three Small Bone-Consolidating Pills”, he could no longer suppress his joy. He snatched the jade bottle away in one motion and stuffed it into his robes with lightning speed, as if afraid Zhang Xiaohua might regret it, all the while repeatedly saying: “Very good, very good indeed.”

Seeing Bai Huan’s swift movements, Zhang Xiaohua was somewhat dumbfounded. If Bai Huan displayed such speed in the gambling arena, who could possibly be his opponent?

Holding the betting records in his hand, Bai Huan slowly explained yesterday’s betting situation to Zhang Xiaohua while they waited for challengers to arrive.

Yet after waiting for nearly the time it took to eat a meal, not a single person entered the small courtyard. Even when Zhang Xiaohua spread out his Divine Sense, he found no trace of other disciples around the bamboo grove.

Zhang Xiaohua could not help but feel puzzled: “Could it be that I guessed wrong? Under the guidance of Wu Zhouxu and Boss Chen, have the disciples of Tianmu Peak truly reached a realm of moral character beyond my own?”

But then, recalling Zou Shuming’s spying from yesterday, Zhang Xiaohua vaguely came to an understanding: “They’re all waiting, waiting for someone to test the waters first. Perhaps only after they determine that I cannot handle so many challenges will they come one after another. But what if the first ones to test me are the Three Vajras? Or perhaps people they invited to act in their place? That’s medicinal pills worth fifty taels of gold. Am I supposed to let that go?”

Just as he was thinking this, three people arrived from outside the bamboo grove. When Zhang Xiaohua looked over, they were precisely Wu Zhouxu, Chen Fengxiao, and Zou Shuming. There were no other disciples behind them.

“What is this supposed to mean?” Zhang Xiaohua could not help but feel puzzled.

Chen Fengxiao led the other two into the small courtyard. Seeing the papers spread across the table, Bai Huan, sitting beside it with his chin propped up in boredom, and Zhang Xiaohua standing nearby full of spirit and ready to face challengers, he could not help but smile and say: “Little Brother, still waiting for other disciples to come deliver medicinal pills to you?”

“Not at all, this little brother is waiting to return medicinal pills to the other disciples!”

Wu Zhouxu also stepped forward and cupped his hands, saying: “Junior Brother Ren, you truly are a great talent. This senior brother admires you greatly.”

“My cover’s blown?” That was Zhang Xiaohua’s very first reaction. He immediately asked: “Wu Dulang, what do you mean by that? This little brother can’t understand.”

“Ahem, ahem.” Wu Zhouxu coughed twice and helplessly said: “Junior Brother Ren, leaving aside your enormous winnings yesterday, just the conditions you announced before leaving caused all of Tianmu Peak to spend the entire night in unrest.”

“Exactly. Forget the Pill Division, even our own Herb Division spent last night forming cliques and organizing quite a few little groups, all wanting to challenge you today. Even the Six Arhats were stirred up quite a bit and eager to make a move.”

At the side, Wu Zhouxu glanced at Zou Shuming and said: “The three Vajras who lost to you yesterday all went to Junior Brother Zou and asked him to stand up for them. As for the other disciples, they practically sought out every one of the Ten Vajras. Tell me, aren’t you a great talent? You’ve only been at Tianmu Peak for a few days, yet you’ve already thrown the place into complete chaos.”

Zhang Xiaohua grinned broadly and bowed as he said: “Aiyo, this truly was this little brother’s lack of consideration. I ask the two Bosses for forgiveness. But the words were already spoken yesterday, so what can be done now?”

Chen Fengxiao exchanged a glance with Wu Zhouxu before turning to Zhang Xiaohua and saying: “The disciples of both the Pill Division and Herb Division have already been restrained by us. To them, it’s only some medicinal pills after all, not enough to injure bones or shake foundations. There’s really no need to make a huge fuss over it. However, the stakes of the three Vajras were not small, so we cannot make decisions on our own behalf.”

Then he pointed at Zou Shuming and said: “So, the Pill Division’s Great Vajra has been selected to come out. He represents not only the three Vajras who lost to you, but also the disciples of both the Herb Division and Pill Division who lost medicinal pills to you, and he has come to challenge you.”

“This… this isn’t fair, is it?” Zhang Xiaohua was extremely speechless. “Even if I lose to the Great Vajra, I could still beat ordinary disciples, couldn’t I?”

Looking exactly as though he had expected this response, Wu Zhouxu said: “Here’s the arrangement. First, Junior Brother Zou will represent everyone else in a match against you. If he loses, then all the wagers from the others will each have an additional twenty percent added for you. But if you lose, you won’t have to forfeit everything. You only need to erase twenty percent of the debt. What do you think?”

“Hehe.” Zhang Xiaohua secretly laughed inwardly. “You people must have already discussed this beforehand. If I refuse, then nobody will challenge me, and I won’t even get that extra twenty percent. Hm, enough is enough. I still need to continue getting along at Tianmu Peak in the future. Making relations too hostile with everyone wouldn’t be a good thing either.”

Thus, Zhang Xiaohua nodded and said: “Very good, that suits my intentions perfectly. I wonder what else Wu Dulang wishes to say with this ‘secondly’?”

Wu Zhouxu smiled and said: “Since this is a challenge match, then regardless of whatever competition conditions Junior Brother Zou proposes, you should agree to them, right?”

“This…” Zhang Xiaohua was somewhat dumbfounded. “Don’t tell me it’s going to be a drinking contest?”

Then he quickly added: “As long as it’s conditions related to martial competition, anything else is unacceptable!”