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Reaching out, he picked up the cup of tea still steaming with warmth and drank it in one go.

The warm tea slid down his throat.

Only then did Fang Qingyu raise his eyes to meet Da Lei’s scrutinizing gaze.

The corner of his mouth curled into a smile.

"This time..."

Fang Qingyu put down the empty cup, letting its base gently tap on the smooth tea table with a crisp sound, "I’m here to buy something from you."

"Oh?"

Da Lei’s eyebrows furrowed slightly in a barely noticeable wrinkle.

His fingers unconsciously brushed the edge of the smooth tea table, "Kunpeng Divine Bone, such things are hard to come by; I only have a piece of a broken bone. You can’t just want it and have it appear."

Fang Qingyu immediately waved his hand, "No no no, I’m not here to purchase those rare treasures; I’m looking to buy a few Martial Techniques."

"Martial Techniques?"

Da Lei was momentarily stunned, the slight furrow in his brow suddenly relaxed, and an extremely peculiar expression swept over his face.

"Ancient Techniques?" he repeated for confirmation, his tone slightly raised.

"Yes." Fang Qingyu nodded affirmatively, "Ancient Techniques."

Da Lei leaned back into the wide chair, the oddity in his eyes growing stronger, laced with unabashed doubt, "Doesn’t the Federation have all kinds of Martial Techniques? Why bother coming here to hunt for Ancient Techniques?"

His fingers gently tapped on the armrest as his gaze swept over Fang Qingyu, seemingly trying to find some hint from his face.

Feeling slightly uncomfortable under his gaze, Fang Qingyu touched the bridge of his nose and lightly coughed to cover up, "Well... I’ve heard your collection of Ancient Techniques is rather unique, and I’m here to see if there’s anything that suits me. Terms are negotiable."

The words were somewhat vague, but the meaning clear.

Upon hearing this, Da Lei’s ever-calm eyes rarely flicked upwards, showing a large portion of the whites of his eyes.

This expression, on his usually undisturbed face, seemed particularly discordant, even a bit comical.

Of course, he knew who Fang Qingyu had heard it from...

Besides Lady Jiang Wei, who cherished Fang Qingyu like a treasure, who else could it be?

Da Lei reluctantly sighed, seemingly unwilling to entangle in such trivial matters, waving his hand dismissively.

Almost simultaneously with his gesture.

There was a faint distortion in the air beside him, and suddenly, an elderly man in a faded gray cloth robe silently appeared at the tea table.

The old man’s eyelids drooped as if in slumber.

Da Lei pointed to Fang Qingyu and instructed the old man, "Take him to the bookstore to pick out a few Ancient Techniques."

Then, turning his gaze back to Fang Qingyu, he said indifferently, "Consider this as your payment for protecting Lady Jiang Wei these past days."

At these words, a slight surprise flashed in Fang Qingyu’s eyes.

The remuneration for a few Ancient Techniques was no small matter...

However, coming from a family ally.

Fang Qingyu felt quite assured in accepting.

Though Da Lei differed from him in certain matters, there was no need to refuse his goodwill.

So Fang Qingyu nodded.

Without saying a word of courtesy.

He rose and followed the shadow-like old man, leaving the quiet room filled with the fragrance of tea.

The elevator descended silently.

The old man stood in the corner with his hands down.

His cloudy eyes remained fixed on the closed elevator doors.

Without making any sound from start to finish, even his breathing was so faint it was almost imperceptible.

Fang Qingyu also enjoyed the silence, remaining equally mute.

"Ding."

A soft sound announced the sliding open of the elevator doors.

The outside was a very ordinary corridor, the lights soft, even somewhat plain.

Hunched over his back, the old man led the way with shuffled steps.

He guided Fang Qingyu through the soundless corridor, making two turns.

Finally stopping at an inconspicuous wooden door.

The old man extended his claw-like hand, pressing a button in an unobtrusive slot by the door.

With a quiet click, the door unlocked.

Pushing open the door, he stepped aside to clear the path, and in a hoarse voice, said, "The Ancient Techniques are inside, choose by yourself. Once chosen, come out."

With that, he leaned directly against the wall beside the door like a Gate God.

His eyelids drooped again, as if falling into a slumber, cutting off all communication with the outside.

Fang Qingyu nodded slightly and stepped inside.

The scene within was unexpectedly surprising.

Lacking the anticipated grandeur, devoid of dazzling displays, or even high-tech temperature and humidity controls.

The room was just an average study-sized space.

Even appeared somewhat cramped and overly simple.

Three rows of deep brown wooden bookshelves stood against the walls, occupying most of the space.

The bookshelves were of a very old style, the wood dark and exuding a sense of aged richness.

In the center of the room.

There was only a similarly outdated solid wood desk and a chair, nothing else.

The air was filled with a unique scent.

A blend of the mild sweetness unique to aged paper and the faint fragrance emitted by the wood.

The shelves were neatly stacked with books, the number not considered plentiful.

Most book spines had no flashy titles, just simple label categorization.

Fist, Saber, Sword, Body, Other, Misc...

Fang Qingyu’s gaze slowly swept over the classification labels.

The goal this time was simple.

A Saber Technique, a Fist Technique, a Body Technique.

No need for Hard Skills or Body Refining Techniques now.

He already possessed the Nine Tribulations Body and Nine Tribulations Cyan Dragon Body.

Upon raising these two Hard Skills to Perfection and merging them.

He would obtain the Star Shattering Constellation System of Hard Skills.

What he needed were three Martial Techniques that could integrate with the existing Thunder Flame World-Burning Slash, Nine Prisons Break Extreme, and Thunder Shock Escape Shadow.