Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Aquarius Weapon Cabinet

"You don't know about cultivating martial souls?" Han Bingning looked at Tang Tian.

Tang Tian shook his head, utterly confused. "No idea."

Han Bingning's eyes flickered. "When you reach the fourth tier, you'll awaken your martial soul, which contains your insights into various martial techniques. We imprint part of our martial soul onto cards—that's how Soul General Cards are made."

Tang Tian suddenly understood. "No wonder only those above the fourth tier can produce Soul General Cards."

"That's right." Han Bingning nodded. "Every Soul General Card requires the imprint of a martial soul. This weakens the person's martial soul, so nurturing and strengthening it is essential for every martial artist; that's what the soul core is for. Martial souls have many uses, and the more solid they are, the less you're affected by your surroundings."

"Sounds pretty impressive," Tang Tian said, nodding with a vague understanding.

Han Bingning found herself at a loss for words and decided to change the topic. "Do you want money, or do you want to exchange for something else?"

"Something else?" Tang Tian's interest was piqued. "What good things can I get?"

"If it's something for cultivation, like Stellar Stones, they can increase your true energy training speed. But I don't recommend using them below the fourth tier. Using Stellar Stones too early, without a solid foundation, isn't good for your future," the shopkeeper quickly added. "If it's weapons, Aries produces the standard Little Aries Sword, and Sagittarius produces the Little Sagittarius Bow—both are excellent."

"I already have weapons," Tang Tian replied, rummaging through his backpack.

"The Black Iron Gauntlets from the Crucible constellation!" The shopkeeper's eyes lit up. "A fine weapon! The Black Iron series from Crucible is a rare treasure. Only a few are produced each year—it's hard to buy one. I didn't expect you'd have a way to get it."

"Is it that powerful?" Tang Tian's eyes shone.

"Yes, very much so." The shopkeeper nodded repeatedly. "Though Crucible is a small constellation compared to giants like Aries and Sagittarius, it's famous for its quality weapons. The true Crucible weapons come in four main series: Black Iron, Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Black Iron is known for its durability and exceptional defense. Strictly speaking, these four series already fall into the category of Stellar Secret Treasures, and they're quite valuable."

Tang Tian was thrilled.

"Since you have Crucible's Black Iron Gauntlets, you won't settle for ordinary goods," the shopkeeper laughed. "But here, I do have a rather interesting Stellar Secret Treasure."

"What is it?" Tang Tian asked eagerly.

"The Aquarius Weapon Cabinet." The shopkeeper took out a necklace, from which hung a tiny, crystalline water bottle, about the size of a fingertip, glowing with a beautiful, gentle sheen.

"The Aquarius Weapon Cabinet can hold six weapons, or some miscellaneous items, but the capacity is limited. It's the entry-level Stellar Secret Treasure from Aquarius, commonly known as the Little Weapon Bottle," the shopkeeper explained smoothly. "With it, you can say goodbye to backpacks. It's convenient for travel. If you're versatile, all the more reason to have a weapon cabinet. It can't be stolen or lost; with a single thought, your weapon will fly into your hand. Any aspiring youth should own an Aquarius Weapon Cabinet!"

"More importantly—" The shopkeeper raised a finger, "your item is just enough to exchange for one."

Tang Tian didn't hesitate and reached out. "I'll take this!"

The tiny water bottle landed in his palm. When Tang Tian injected his true energy, the bottle transformed into a beam of light and merged into his body.

Tang Tian immediately felt something new within him.

Sure enough, it was as if there was a virtual weapon cabinet in the void, which he could open at will.

He tried putting his Black Iron Gauntlets into the cabinet. As soon as he willed it, the gauntlets vanished from his hands.

Tang Tian was instantly energized!

Fascinating!

The Black Iron Gauntlets kept disappearing from his hands and reappearing, and he played with them endlessly, like a child.

Han Bingning covered her forehead, unable to bear watching. She suddenly regretted bringing this clown into her family shop.

After he'd had enough fun, Tang Tian contentedly stored Brother Stone's Black Iron Gauntlets in the Aquarius Weapon Cabinet. He clenched his fist and struck a confident pose. "Oh, Young Tang, you're truly strong!"

Han Bingning's expression froze. Clearly, she was already regretting her decision.

"Hey, Young Han, let's go! The young man must go cultivate!"

Tang Tian, satisfied, waved his hand and left without so much as a trace of cloud behind him.

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As usual, Han Bingning returned home.

Her mind was still replaying the events of the past few days. The more she pondered, the more she realized there were many things she couldn't understand.

Han's father and mother exchanged glances, worry written all over their faces. The concerns they already had grew even deeper.

Han's father cleared his throat. "Bingning, I heard you made a new friend today?"

Han Bingning snapped out of her thoughts and absentmindedly replied, "Yes, he's quite interesting."

Quite interesting...

Han's father and mother looked at each other again; now their worry showed plainly on their faces. Interesting? When had their daughter ever called anyone interesting? After so many years at school, she had never praised any boy in their presence!

Unprecedented!

The first time!

Something was wrong!

"Daughter!" Han's mother couldn't help herself. "I know you like Shangguan Qianhui, but don't start liking her man too!"

Han Bingning's expression froze, her brows knitting. "Why would I like him?"

That kind of man—crude, scatterbrained, always confused—how could she possibly like him?

Han's father glared. "Shangguan Qianhui? What's wrong with her? Our Bingning is certainly not inferior! At worst, let them compete!"

Han Bingning was at a loss. She looked at her parents speechlessly.

She never knew how to deal with them, so she simply said, "I'm going to practice my sword."

Behind her, Han's father and mother launched into a heated discussion.

"Compete? Why are you talking about competition? That Tang Tian fellow isn't good enough for our daughter!"

"Short-sighted! Killing a fourth-tier mid-level Iron Armored Rhino—how many people can do that? It looks like Shangguan Qianhui is still impressive! Think about it, she spotted Tang Tian's potential so early—remarkable!"

"Even so—"

"Don't you see? Has our daughter ever praised anyone? With her cold personality, it's rare for her to find someone she likes. You should encourage her! Do you want her to never marry? She's not someone you can force!"

"You're right! Absolutely right! Old man, you really see far ahead!" Han's mother realized, slapping her thigh repeatedly. "We have to find a chance to investigate..."

"Don't rush!" Han's father's eyes gleamed with wise insight. "We mustn't startle her. Bingning is shy—if we mention it every day, she'll be overwhelmed..."

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Tang Tian returned to the Jade Marsh Bamboo Sea and began training his clumsy lightness technique. He still didn't know how he'd managed to defeat the Iron Armored Rhino last time. Scabs covered almost his entire body; if it weren't for Little Nan Nan's Bamboo Bee King ointment, he'd probably be hanging by a thread.

Such victories were best kept to a minimum.

Only exhilarating victories befitted a man of legend!

"Big brother!"

Little Nan Nan's cheerful voice echoed from the bamboo forest. A chubby little figure, bouncing with the help of bamboo's elasticity, shot through the bamboo sea like a tiny ball, moving at incredible speed.

With a swing, Little Nan Nan soared through the air in a high arc, flying toward Tang Tian.

Tang Tian looked up in confusion. Wait, something didn't seem right.

The arc passed right over his head, without stopping.

"Wow, wow, wow, big brother, catch me!"

Tang Tian jolted, kicked off, eyes wide, cheeks puffed, and used every ounce of strength to sprint forward.

At the last moment, he thrust off the ground, leaped forward, and just managed to catch Little Nan Nan with a diving grab.

"Big brother, you're amazing!" Little Nan Nan clapped her chubby hands in delight.

Still shaken, Tang Tian glared and barked, "Amazing, my foot!"

Little Nan Nan's mouth quivered, tears welling in her eyes. "Nan Nan just learned lightness technique..."

Sensing the situation was turning bad, Tang Tian quickly put on his brightest smile. "Ah, I see! No wonder the young lady looked so graceful soaring through the air!"

"Really? Really?" Little Nan Nan's face lit up, tears vanishing instantly.

"Absolutely heartfelt!"

"What does heartfelt mean?"

...

Every day Tang Tian worked up a sweat, while not far away, Nan Nan sat with her snacks, munching happily. Dried meats, candied fruits, nuts—her little pouch seemed infinite.

A few days later, the scabs on Tang Tian's body fell off completely, revealing fresh new skin, with no scars left behind.

Although he couldn't recall the fierce battle, Tang Tian soon discovered his Crane Body was more solid than before. Though his true energy hadn't grown much, with the strengthening of his Crane Body, he found that a single thought sent his true energy surging like a tide, endlessly stirring.

He could wield his true energy more freely than ever.

The Hollow Wooden Post was finally mastered, so Tang Tian began training the Eight-Step Cicada Chase.

The Eight-Step Cicada Chase was a third-tier lightness technique, requiring more skill in true energy manipulation. Among third-tier lightness techniques, its explosive power ranked among the top three.

Within eight steps, its burst was astonishing.

But its flaw was clear: it consumed a lot of true energy and wasn't suitable for long-distance travel—a classic combat technique.

But to Tang Tian's surprise, while the Hollow Wooden Post had nearly made him vomit blood, Eight-Step Cicada Chase came easily. As it turned out, it depended more on true energy control.

But for Crane Body, this wasn't difficult.

Even more unexpectedly, with Crane Body's force, his true energy surged like drums and tides. For eight consecutive steps, he didn't feel the slightest fatigue.

The Crane Qi Technique truly lived up to its reputation as the true heritage of the Crane School.

Old Wei must have had some hidden treasures!

Tang Tian brimmed with confidence.