He was in the Ming Dynasty, and his adoptive father was Governor Cao.

"The Exquisite Magic Cube..."

Xiao Ting muttered to himself, "This thing might be an incredibly difficult puzzle for the people of this world, but for me, it's as simple as it gets."

Is this a "surprise" that Wanxiangsheng deliberately left for those who come after?

Could the so-called "clues to secret scrolls written by ancient sages" be the legacy left by this fellow villager?

He was hesitating whether to give it a try when he overheard several street thugs at the next table whispering:

"Have you heard? There was quite a commotion at the Pearl-Gathering Division last night!"

"That's right, flames were shooting into the sky. Later I heard that it was Lei Zhen, the second-in-command of the Angry Dragon Gang, who led his men to raid the dungeon, but they walked right into Cao Gong's trap and were all wiped out! Lei Zhen himself was said to have been killed on the spot!"

"Hiss—really? Lei Zhen is a master of external martial arts!"

"It's absolutely true! I have a distant cousin who works in the yamen, and he told me this himself this morning. And that 'Water Shadow' Zhuo Hanjiang, he was also personally apprehended by Eunuch Cao!"

"The Heavenly Primordial Qi truly lives up to its name!"

"Of course! I heard this matter seems to be related to that 'Lingnan Twin Dogs'?"

"Shh! Keep your voice down... That guy who escaped death is riding high. I heard he's gotten quite bold, and he even killed the supervisor's brother..."

"This is going to be interesting. The Angry Dragon Gang has suffered such a huge loss, will Huo Tianqing let it go? With the outposts suffering heavy losses, the Shangshui Alliance on Weizhou Island will probably make a move as well..."

"So what? Even if Huo Tianqing isn't in seclusion, let alone if he is, he wouldn't dare to go head-to-head with Cao Guangxian. Haven't you heard the saying, 'One pillar suppresses the southern sky, three rivers converge at the sea gate, seven stars illuminate the misty ridge, and a hundred streams flow into the deep ford'? Cao Guangxian is one of the 'three rivers', so it's more likely that the leader of the Shangshui Alliance will personally take action."

……

Xiao Ting took a sip of beer and thought to himself that these people were quite well-informed.

The Primordial Qi of the Heavenly Gang...

Xiao Ting couldn't help but sigh, and whispered, "To have missed out on such a divine martial arts manual is truly a huge loss!"

Fan Xiping knew what he was talking about as soon as he heard it, and couldn't help but laugh: "If it's any other martial arts, you can ask him again, and he will definitely teach you. But this one, once missed, is missed. You shouldn't think about it too much, sir."

Xiao Ting was taken aback: "What do you mean?"

Fan Xiping asked, "Do you know what the foundational cultivation method of the 'Heavenly Gang Primordial Qi' is called?"

Xiao Ting thought carefully but still couldn't figure it out, so he asked, "What's your name?"

Fan Xiping said leisurely, "The Heavenly Gang Boy's Skill."

"Then how..."

Xiao Ting realized what was happening and his heart skipped a beat. Was he going to start by using the virginity of a virgin?

That definitely won't work... Wait, maybe the original owner could have? Then I realized, well, he was even earlier than me...

Helpless, Xiao Ting tilted his head back and gulped down a mouthful of wine, feeling as if he had lost a mountain of gold!

When it comes to martial arts training, building a foundation with high-level internal energy is far better than using inferior methods. Over the years, the additional effects of high-level internal energy, such as nourishing and protecting the meridians and strengthening the internal organs, are extremely significant.

Even if they are at the same level, the potential they bring is incomparable.

"There's no need for you to be upset, sir."

Fan Xiping poured Xiao Ting a cup of wine and said, "There are countless divine skills and secret techniques in the world. Not all martial arts are irreversible. Some techniques can even rejuvenate people and make them young again, but they are not easy to obtain. The Kunlun Ruins' 'Eight Desolations and Six Directions, I Alone Am Supreme Technique,' the Shaolin Temple's 'Marrow Cleansing Classic,' the Miao Jiang's 'Heavenly Silkworm Divine Skill,' the Medicine King Valley's 'Shennong Glazed Skill,' and so on, all have the power to cleanse the marrow and refine the body."

Why does this sound so familiar?

Xiao Ting shook his head: "Having it is one thing, but getting it is another. The *Tiangang Yuanqi* was practically offered to me, and if I didn't take it, these others can't get it even if they wanted to!"

"That's true. But..."

Fan Xiping looked at the bounty and smiled, "There are some that are not restricted by sect rules and are not controlled by any experts. They are just currently hidden somewhere and unknown to others."

Xiao Ting raised his head and looked at him: "Wanxiangsheng?"

Fan Xiping nodded, a look of longing on his face: "Wan Xiangsheng accomplished countless feats in his life. As mentioned before, he even developed a set of 'Thirty-Six Techniques of Fishing.' Some were just for fun, but others were absolutely top-tier divine skills, unparalleled throughout history! I do know some inside information about the 'Wan Xiang Relics.' I wonder if you, sir, are interested..."

Xiao Ting sat up straight, squinted at him, and said, "Why do I feel like you deliberately brought up Wanxiangsheng to lure me here? Old Fan, you're not being honest."

Upon hearing this, Fan Xiping smiled and asked in return, "Does Your Excellency know which school or sect I belong to?"

Xiao Ting had already found out and said, "The Thieves' Guild."

"Do you know what the thieves are best at?"

"Lightness skill".

"What kind of light-footed skill?"

"Like a Shadow, Always Following"

Fan Xiping let out a long sigh: "During the Tang Dynasty, Kongkong'er, the founder of the Thieves' Sect, created the 'Shadow Following Step' and the 'Masterful Empty Hands.' From then on, the Thieves' Sect upheld the principle of 'Even Thieves Have Their Code,' and rose to become a major sect in the martial arts world. With its three unique skills of lightness, pressure point striking, and thieving techniques, it was unparalleled in the world and dominated for hundreds of years until the Wu Dynasty, when Wanxiang Sheng suddenly appeared..."

Xiao Ting said gloatingly, "They were crushed..."

Fan Xiping sighed: "Wan Xiangsheng tricked the seventeenth sect leader, 'The Flea on the Drum,' Shi Qian. The two competed in lightness skills. While Shi Qian was practicing his footwork, Wan Xiangsheng observed and secretly learned it, and then innovated upon it, pushing this lightness skill to an unprecedented level. It allows one to traverse the air and ride the wind, and he named it 'The Unfettered Ascension Steps'!"

I go……

No wonder so many of these martial arts techniques sound familiar...

Xiao Ting guessed that this person's talent was definitely related to comprehension, and the martial arts he created must be extraordinary!

"Once this set of lightness skills was used, the sect leader was naturally defeated, thus losing the position of sect leader and the sect leader's token. Wan Xiangsheng thus became the eighteenth sect leader of the Thieves' Sect."

"...What?"

Xiao Ting's brain went blank: "Wan Xiangsheng was once the leader of the Thieves' Guild?!"

Fan Xiping nodded and said, "He has served as the leader of many sects. It is said that he has a strange hobby of collecting sect leader tokens in order to achieve some kind of 'achievement'. But precisely because of this, he will not return the tokens and has no intention of revitalizing the sect. Once he gets the token, he will disappear in no time. Sometimes he will make a fake one and leave it behind, and sometimes he is too lazy to even leave a fake one, because he will improve the techniques. Any technique he improves will definitely be much more powerful. He uses it to exchange for tokens, and many sects actually think it is a profit, so they live in peace."

"If that's the case, isn't that a good thing?"

Xiao Ting asked in bewilderment, "Then why... wasn't the 'Steps to Immortality' passed down from the Thieves' Guild?"

Fan Xiping said helplessly, "Because no one knew he had this kind of temperament at the time. When he disappeared without a trace with the token, the sect leader thought it was an insult and, in a fit of anger, destroyed the bundle he left behind... Only later did they find out that it contained the manual 'The Unfettered Ascension to Immortality'..."

Xiao Ting: "..."

Fan Xiping, as a descendant of the Thieves' Sect, also found it difficult to speak of this past event: "The sect leader at the time was also a proud and arrogant person. When asked to ask for it again, he could not open his mouth. He could only leave a will that his descendants must learn the 'Indulgent Ascension Steps' and leave it to protect the sect to make up for his mistakes. To this day... it has been passed down from generation to generation, but it has never been successful."

Xiao Ting now understands all too well the feeling of missing out on such a powerful skill…

He couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy and asked curiously, "From your description, Wan Xiangsheng doesn't seem like a stingy person. Couldn't the later generations just ask him for a copy? How come it's been so long and he still hasn't learned it?"

Fan Xiping shook his head and said, "Wan Xiangsheng likes to play around in the world. His footprints have covered all corners of the world, and even foreign lands. He is like a dragon that is seen but not seen. Even with the power of the Thieves' Guild, it is extremely difficult to find him. When we heard about him again, it was decades later. He left a line of words on the top of Mount Tai, pointing to 'Wan Xiang's Relics'."

Xiao Ting asked, "What character?"

Fan Xiping's face remained expressionless as he spoke, word by word: "'Want my martial arts? If you do...'"

As soon as those words were uttered, Xiao Ting couldn't help but burst out laughing!

The wine in his mouth sprayed all over Fan Xiping's face!

"Cough cough cough... Sorry... I choked..."

Xiao Ting coughed loudly while cursing under his breath: What the hell?

This guy from the same hometown is such a fun-loving person! Is he about to usher in a "great era of martial arts"?!

The surrounding diners all turned their attention to them.

Fan Xiping, however, paid no attention. Instead, his gaze was fixed intently on Xiao Ting, and he transmitted his voice, saying, "Indeed... Wan Xiangsheng once said: 'All those who awaken their enlightenment experience a fleeting dream, awakening their innate wisdom and revealing previously unknown things...' Wan Xiangsheng was like that."

[Sir, you are the same.]