Shenfu Sect’s Main Peak rose to a height of 3,880 meters, towering over the Thirteen Peaks as the chief among them.

The Herb Hall, Instructor Hall, and other such buildings were mostly located at the foot of the mountain.

The Elders’ residences were located higher up the mountain. Ordinary disciples were forbidden to enter, but servant disciples were an exception.

By the time Bai Yuan arrived at the Instructor Hall, it was already packed with people.

The Divine Mansion Sect had over ten thousand disciples, and with Cultivation Techniques and medicinal pills being essential for any Martial Artist, the Instructor Hall and Herb Hall were never empty. The masters of these two halls were Peak Masters from the Thirteen Peaks, individuals of extremely high standing.

The Instructor Hall was open to all disciples, including servant disciples.

However, aside from True Disciples, even Inner Sect Disciples had to spend silver to make a purchase, and the prices were steep. For this reason, many disciples also called the Instructor Hall the "Black Heart Hall."

The Cultivation Techniques here were extremely expensive, but its collection was as vast as a starry ocean, ensuring that anyone could find a technique to their liking.

The Instructor Hall had seven floors, named after the stars of the Big Dipper: Shaking Light Pavilion, Kaiyang Pavilion... all the way to Merak Pavilion.

The Cultivation Techniques on the first floor, the Shaking Light Pavilion, were the worst—even a Skin Grinding Martial Master could practice them. The higher the floor, the better the techniques.

The Tiger-Crane Form was a technique enshrined high in the Merak Pavilion. That was why the Divine Mansion Sect valued it so dearly; if it had been just some piece of trash from the Shaking Light Pavilion, naturally, no one would have cared.

"Junior Brother Bai!"

A clear, crisp female voice rang out from behind Bai Yuan.

It was Fang Ya, whom he had met the day before.

Fang Ya was as enthusiastic as ever. "Junior Brother Bai, are you here to choose a Cultivation Technique?"

"I am," Bai Yuan nodded.

Fang Ya said earnestly, "Junior Brother Bai, you’ve only just joined the sect. It’s not a good idea to switch Cultivation Techniques yet. It’s not too late to look for a more advanced technique after you’ve solidified your foundation."

Her words were genuinely meant.

Martial Artists should never be greedy when it comes to their training; even the Outer Disciples at the Huwei Arts Hall understood this principle.

All martial arts in the world are fundamentally similar. Most Martial Artists begin with a simple Cultivation Technique, then gradually switch to a similar but more advanced one as their strength increases. A swordsman remains a swordsman, a boxer remains a boxer; it’s rare for anyone to completely change their style mid-path. Even switching to a new technique within the same style is done with the utmost caution.

Most newly-initiated disciples would be warned by their masters not to bite off more than they could chew.

Bai Yuan, however, was an exception... as was, perhaps, Old Dong.

"A Cultivation Technique isn’t necessarily better just because it’s high-grade. The most important thing is that it suits you."

"Even if you were given a manual for the Merak Pavilion’s Tiger-Crane Form, what’s the use if you can’t even meet the basic requirements to learn it? You’d be better off with something practical, like the Grand Ancestor Long Fist."

Fang Ya grew more and more pleased with herself as she spoke.

Of course, these weren’t her own thoughts—it was what Peak Master Dong had warned her about back then.

Now, she was imitating Dong Wanjun’s tone and repeating his words to Bai Yuan.

Now that Peak Master Dong was away at war and there was no one to guide Bai Yuan, she felt that as his elder senior sister, it was her responsibility to step up.

"Thank you, Senior Sister."

Bai Yuan gave a faint smile.

’But for some reason, her words have the distinct flavor of Old Dong. Strange, how strange.’

"We’re all from Wan Jun Peak; no need to be so formal."

Fang Ya casually patted Bai Yuan’s shoulder.

Others might not like Wan Jun Peak, but she thought it was great. It didn’t have all the petty politics and scheming of the other peaks; you just had to focus on your martial arts.

Of course, this wasn’t because Wan Jun Peak had a wholesome atmosphere and its disciples were all pure of heart.

Rather, it was because anyone who wasn’t pure had been slapped to death by Peak Master Dong, so those who remained were, by default, pure.

That’s why Wan Jun Peak was so sparsely populated. Besides its recent establishment, Peak Master Dong’s "contributions" were also a major factor.

Most disciples who came to Wan Jun Peak were those who couldn’t get into the other twelve peaks and decided to try their luck here. After all, Peak Master Dong’s fearsome reputation was simply too widespread.

After bidding farewell to Fang Ya.

Bai Yuan wandered around the Shaking Light Pavilion by himself, showing no intention of going to the upper floors.

Whether it was Kaiyang Pavilion or the floors above it, none of those Cultivation Techniques could possibly be better than his Tiger-Crane Form and Blood Tiger Saber. There was no need to waste enhancement points—and of course, he couldn’t afford them anyway.

Besides, the path he intended to walk was different from everyone else’s.

"What a complete waste."

Bai Yuan couldn’t help but sigh, holding an ancient book with faded, blurry script.

This ancient book had clearly been sitting in the Shaking Light Pavilion for a very long time. Its cover was almost completely peeled off, but one could faintly make out a few words: *Raging Flames, Sizzling Oil*.

That’s right. It was a cookbook.

’This body’s previous owner had such amazing talent as a chef; I can’t let it go to waste.’

Bai Yuan planned to aim for the legendary-level cooking skill.

Once he obtained a legendary-level skill, the corresponding profession would automatically be upgraded. It was just like his tracking skill from his time as a Hunter; even without encountering any demons, as long as his tracking reached the legendary level, he could still unlock the Demon Hunter profession.

The benefits of high-level professions far surpassed those of ordinary ones, and they offered more "gameplay" options, as evidenced by the Demon Hunter class.

Although *Raging Flames, Sizzling Oil* looked unremarkable, it was written by a legendary Divine Chef. In a chef’s eyes, it was a work on par with the Nine Yin Scripture, yet the Divine Mansion Sect had tossed it aside like some miscellaneous tome.

If that wasn’t a complete waste, what was?

However, for a Martial Artist to abandon their training to learn how to cook would only make them a laughingstock.

Even the greatest Divine Chef in the world couldn’t compare in status to a Martial Artist. The lower classes were always the lower classes.

But Bai Yuan was an anomaly.

’I’ll learn to cook in secret and then blow everyone away.’

Getting his hands on *Raging Flames, Sizzling Oil* meant this trip to the Instructor Hall hadn’t been a waste.

"Three hundred taels."

When Bai Yuan brought the book to the Instructor Hall’s Steward, the man quoted the price without even looking at it.

That’s right. All techniques from the Shaking Light Pavilion had a standard price: three hundred taels.

Bai Yuan was beginning to understand why this book had been left to gather dust.

No Martial Artist would be willing to spend three hundred taels on a cookbook. The idea was simply too absurd.

He took three silver notes from his robes and handed them to the Steward. This was his share from the Li Family—silver notes from the Profound Sun Money Shop, which were accepted anywhere within Xuan Yang’s borders.

The Steward expertly took the silver notes and made an entry in his ledger.

"You have seven days to copy it. After seven days, it must be returned. Otherwise, the fine is two thousand silver coins."

Most of these techniques were the only existing copies, so it was naturally impossible to buy one outright for just three hundred taels.

Still, the mention of two thousand silver coins made Bai Yuan suck in a sharp breath.

His entire fortune at the moment amounted to exactly two thousand silver coins. In a place like Qinghe, that would be enough to be considered a wealthy family. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Tucking the cookbook safely into his robes, Bai Yuan quickly exited the Instructor Hall.

Just as he was about to descend the main peak—

A voice like a shattered gong roared.

"That’s him!"

Bai Yuan looked toward the source of the voice and saw a flamboyant old man in a garish, flower-patterned green robe staring at him menacingly, a group of people in tow.

The voice had come from a young disciple standing next to the flamboyant old man.

The young disciple was pointing at him, chattering nonstop to the old man.

"Elder Wang, that’s the kid."

"He’s the one I saw as I was leaving, I’m absolutely certain!"

Bai Yuan was a good distance away from the group, but he could still clearly hear the conversation between the two.

The flamboyant old man stared at Bai Yuan with a hostile expression and slowly began to speak.

"Kid, you’ve got some fancy tricks, don’t you."