C11 Three Levels of Spirit Condensation

Mo Fanchen's heart skipped a beat as he noticed the incredulous looks on the Wu brothers' faces. His mind raced with various speculations!

Could there be something extraordinary about the two skills he was practicing?

That seemed unlikely! If they were truly remarkable, why would the Su family part with these skill manuals so readily?

Or perhaps the Su family was clueless, mistaking these skills for mundane ones?

If these skills were indeed secret techniques, would the Wu brothers demand he relinquish them?

His mind swirled with questions, yet the Wu brothers simply stared at him, neither speaking nor showing any sign of aggression.

With caution, Mo Fanchen swallowed and ventured to ask, "Brothers, is there something amiss with these two skills of mine?"

"Wahahaha! Mad Bull Fist and Raging Bull Force?"

No sooner had Mo Fanchen posed his question than the Wu brothers tossed their cards onto the bed and erupted into raucous laughter!

Their laughter grew louder, and Mo Fanchen, sensing the mockery, lost the courage to inquire about the cause of their mirth.

"Haha! Mo, did Niu Daben create these two skills?"

Wu Sheng managed to stifle his laughter long enough to seek confirmation from Mo Fanchen.

Upon seeing Mo Fanchen's nod, tinged with bitterness, Wu Chang, who had also ceased laughing, casually pointed out the window and remarked, "What a coincidence, this nutcase! Oh, I mean, this clown! He's actually locked up on our floor right now!"

"Nutcase? Clown?"

The terms Wu Chang used to describe Niu Daben suddenly seemed apt to Mo Fanchen, especially when considering the simplicity of Mad Bull Fist and Raging Bull Force, along with the earnest signature on the skill manuals.

"Isn't he just a clown?" Wu Chang chuckled, slapping his thigh, "That clown, with his mere Innate Realm abilities, goes around claiming he'll one day rule the martial world. It's laughable!"

"Mo, do you know how Niu Daben ended up here?" Wu Sheng asked, as if recalling an absurdly funny incident. He fought to contain his laughter before continuing, "That clown, with his Innate Realm cultivation, foolishly overreached and tried to steal the top-tier Divine Might Sky Dragon Technique from the Desired Vigorous Sect!"

As a result, he was forcibly ejected by the gatekeeping monk! Xuan Xiu, a member of the Desired Vigorous Sect, couldn't tolerate anyone harboring ill intentions towards his sect, so he had the offender locked up here."

"That's a classic case of 'you won't die if you don't seek trouble!'"

Wu Chang summed up before gesturing to the others to resume their card game.

"Alas, it seems I, Mo Fanchen, am down on my luck! Right at the start of my Martial Spirit Awakening, I encounter such a nonsensical skill created by an idiot!"

Mo Fanchen lamented with a hint of resignation as he picked up his cards again.

Despite his words, Mo Fanchen was genuinely intrigued by Niu Daben.

Could someone capable of creating a skill truly be that foolish? Even if those two skills were somewhat rudimentary!

Mo Fanchen was skeptical!

I must take the opportunity to meet this Niu Daben and see for myself whether he's genuinely foolish or just feigning it.

"Don't lose heart, Mo! That's the life of a Wanderer for you. We may not have the same resources or advanced skills as those from prominent sects and clans in the beginning, but once you get into the Divine Martial Academy, if you're diligent and excel, you're bound to catch the eye of top-tier sects and clans. Then, all the skills, pills, status, and other resources will follow!"

"How does that saying go? 'All are equal before education,' and that applies to the Divine Martial Academy too!"

The Wu brothers took turns speaking, with Mo Fanchen chiming in at just the right moments. Before long, he had gleaned quite a bit of information about the life of a warrior from them.

Warriors, while possessing a unique status, are also part of the ordinary world.

Beyond their essential training, warriors have their own jobs and lives. Take the enigmatic Crime and Punishment organization, for example; its members might be indistinguishable from any other worker in their day-to-day lives.

And then there are the major sects and clans with their own family businesses, some of which are economic titans controlling regional economies!

These sects and clans use their vast wealth, power, and connections to continuously recruit other warriors, thereby expanding their influence. The increase in their strength serves to enhance their voice within the martial world!

As for why members of Crime and Punishment choose not to join these sects and clans, it likely comes down to personal preference.

Before the Wu brothers arrived at Scourgehold, they too had received overtures from various sects and noble families. However, the waters ran too deep with those sects and families, and the brothers preferred not to wade into such murky affairs.

Furthermore, Scourgehold boasted the Tri-Exalted and Heaven-Defying, along with six deacons of formidable strength, surpassing even those influential sects and families. The perks at Scourgehold were also far superior to those of a mere disciple in a sect or family. So, the monotony of the job was a small price to pay.

"By the way, brothers, we only imprison martial cultivators who have reached the Nature and Man in One state at Scourgehold. What about those who have attained the Three Levels of Spirit Condensation?" Mo Fanchen's question abruptly halted the Wu brothers' card game.

Wu Chang reflected for a moment before responding in a subdued tone, "Warriors who have reached the Three Levels of Spirit Condensation present a challenge even for the seasoned operatives of Crime and Punishment, let alone capturing them!"

"Forget the distant past; consider the recent incident near Zouver. All the sects and families, along with Crime and Punishment members from the surrounding cities, mobilized hundreds of experts to eliminate Wuxin, the leader of Divineshadow Sanctum. They lost many of their own and still Wuxin managed to slip away! Where does one even begin to seek redress for such a failure?"

"Still, there have been rare cases of capturing those at the Three Levels of Spirit Condensation. To apprehend such a powerful warrior, one must deploy another of equal standing. As for their place of confinement, it's said to be a highly secretive location known as Extreme Cold Hell."

"The gap between Qi Control and the Three Levels of Spirit Condensation is vast, like heaven and earth! In time, you'll come to understand just how fearsome a warrior at the Three Levels of Spirit Condensation can be."

"Extreme Cold Hell?" Mo Fanchen quietly echoed to himself. His understanding of the warriors' might was limited to secondhand tales; he had yet to witness their power firsthand.

It was the mystery surrounding these formidable individuals that heightened Mo Fanchen's anticipation of them.

"Hehe, I wouldn't even dream of encountering a master of the Three Levels of Spirit Condensation at this point," Mo Fanchen chuckled, then added somewhat sheepishly, "I'm just wondering if I could possibly go and see Niu Daben now?"

"Why would you want to see him?" Wu Sheng asked, taken aback, before chuckling, "Are you not worried about catching his madness and becoming another lunatic? Plus, we're in the middle of a card game here!"

"Well, his Mad Bull Fist and Raging Bull Force may be incredibly basic, but they're the only skills I've got. I have no choice but to practice them! And there are aspects of these skills I still don't quite grasp. Wouldn't it be better to ask the man himself rather than blindly trying to figure it out on my own?" Mo Fanchen explained with a shrug of resignation.

Mo Fanchen's rationale seemed sound, especially since the Wu brothers had been cultivating all night with little rest and were feeling somewhat fatigued.

Without any objections, they informed Mo Fanchen of Niu Daben's cell location. After all, overseeing the cells was part of their duties, and having someone else perform the checks was both convenient and a relief.

The concern that Mo Fanchen, who had been at Scourgehold for less than a day, might deliberately unlock a cell to release prisoners and incite a riot was unfounded.

Each cell at Scourgehold was secured with a unique spell, and Mo Fanchen, merely at the Body Tempering stage, couldn't hope to open it.

Moreover, each cell door was fitted with a four-heart lock, which could only be opened with the keys of four guards at the Innate Realm, all present at the same time.

The other two guards would not arrive until the shift change the following week.

Thus, Mo Fanchen's chances of impulsively unlocking a cell were nonexistent.

Cells for those at the Innate Realm were located around the second floor of the building, divided into four main sections: A, B, C, and D, each containing ten smaller cells.

Niu Daben, the individual Mo Fanchen wished to visit, was confined in cell A6.