Chapter 272

: Surprise
Translator: 
Yukidaruma Translations 
 Editor: 
Yukidaruma Translations

This…
The more he read the Rebirth Sword Technique’s manual, the more astonished Wang Tiangang was. Not only did his rank greatly surpass Leon’s, his mastery of sword arts was greater as well.
This was why, like Hoppes, he could tell how outstanding the Rebirth Sword Technique was.
How was this a hodgepodge sword technique? This was clearly a Nurturing sword technique that had combined the essences of countless sword techniques. Although each move and stance seemed to be randomly pieced together, they all contained the marvel of several sword moves and were aimed toward nurturing the body through an extreme method. Any more would damage the body and any less would make it just an ordinary Nurturing sword technique.
This was also why he could clearly understand how difficult it was to create this sword technique.
Wang Tiangang lifted his head to look at Fang Xingjian once again, and especially after looking at the latter’s young appearance at seventeen, he thought of how he himself was already thirty-five. He could not suppress the burning jealousy that was growing in his heart.
‘Why was I not the one who created this sword technique?’
Everyday, after practicing all his Nurturing techniques, he would only gain a little over 4,000 potential points. However, Fang Xingjian’s single Rebirth Sword Technique could already provide him with 5,000 points, no, not just 5,000 points, since Fang Xingjian still had the enhancement from his specialties. Moreover, the highest level of his sword technique would definitely not be at level 10.
Thinking of this, Wang Tiangang felt even more depressed.
Thank goodness he was not aware of the number of potential points Fang Xingjian was getting everyday. If he were to know of it, he would probably have the urge to kill Fang Xingjian with his sword.
This was also the reason why Fang Xingjian did not reveal the entire truth. After all, having a lead would only cause others to be jealous, and having a lead of a hundred steps could drive others into desperation and drive them crazy.
Zhou Xingwen walked up and asked,
What’s the matter?

Wang Tiangang let out a long breath, shook his head, and left without saying a word.
Since young, he had always relied on his superior talent to crush other Knights, enjoying the ecstasy of crushing the weak.
However, this time around, he had finally experienced what his companions had always been feeling… The feeling of complete loss to someone with greater talent.
It did not feel good.
Now, he suddenly felt thankful to the many seniors he had surpassed since young. To think that they had not tried to kill him.
Even though Wang Tiangang had left, Zhou Xingwen stayed behind. As he looked at Fang Xingjian, no one could tell what he was thinking.
Hoppes was still engaged in a discussion with Fang Xingjian, from the circulation of the force, to the trembling of the organs, to the circulation of the vital energy and blood…. Leon was now completely left out of the loop and was unable to understand what they were saying.
At the start, he could still understand certain parts of it and kept up, albeit barely. But now, as he listened to Hoppes’ and Fang Xingjian’s discussion, he had the feeling of being completely ignorant.
Although he could understand each individual word by itself, he did not understand a single thing when the words were all pieced together.
If he had been to Earth before, he would know that there was a saying that could describe his current situation.
Even though I do not know what you mean, it sounds amazing.
This feeling gave him a stronger feeling of admiration than if he were to understand the conversation. As he waited by the side and looked on as Fang Xingjian and Hoppes continued their conversation for over an hour, Hoppes finally smiled and said,
It’s really unexpected how your understanding of Nurturing sword techniques, vital energy and blood is already so deep. How about it, are you interested in joining my sword arts team?

Hoppes extended the invitation once again. What could Leon say to this? He merely looked at Fang Xingjian with great admiration. He had already discarded the disdain and the contempt he had for Fang Xingjian earlier.
Faced with the invitation for the second time, Fang Xingjian still had no plans of joining them. He had his own arrangements and did not plan to become Hoppes’ subordinate.
Seeing Fang Xingjian shaking his head and rejecting him, Hoppes did not feel awkward in the least. He merely smiled and said,
Xingjian, you might not understand yet. Pursuing sword arts, pursuing the pinnacle in martial arts… these require a tremendous amount of time and money.

And my sword arts team can get a budget of at least a 300,000 gold from the Regional Academy every year. I can let you have 50,000 gold to study sword arts further.

Of course, the direction of the study must be approved by me.

Hoppes really admired Fang Xingjian’s talent and could not help but want to help him along.
And to think that a sword arts research team in the Regional Academy could be given a budget of 300,000 gold per year, over two times more than how much Kirst Royal Academy was given. From just this point alone, one could tell the great gap between Prefectural Academies and Regional Academies. It was like the difference between high schools and universities.
When Leon heard this, he looked toward Fang Xingjian with a yearning look on his face.
Getting 50,000 gold every year… This was considered a huge sum of money to him. Or rather, to any Conferred Knight who was below level 25, it would be considered a huge sum of money.
However, Fang Xingjian still shook his head and said,
No need. For now, I don’t wish to join any research teams.

Hoppes shook his head in pity. He did not push him further but merely said,
I’ll report your Rebirth Sword Technique to the Knight Association. If we hurry up a bit, we should be able to see it in the Knight’s handbook at the end of this month. Right, how much are you planning to put it up for? For the royalties that is.

Saying that, Hoppes smiled.
I see a bright future for this sword technique. Putting aside the major academies, probably even quite a number of departments in the military and local forces would want to purchase the rights to it.

The exact price the royalties would be set at was something that required multiple negotiations. Fang Xingjian planned to let Ferdinand handle this. However, the Knight’s handbook allowed the creator to include a reference fee as an estimation for those who were interested in purchasing the rights.
Fang Xingjian gave it some thought and said,
What do you think about setting it as 3,000 gold per year?

When he heard that Fang Xingjian was considering setting it at 3,000 gold per year, Leon could not help but gasp. This was beyond expensive. The royalties for ordinary Killing techniques would only cost a few hundred gold. How much was 3,000 gold? If twenty academies were to purchase the rights, then Fang Xingjian’s annual income would be 60,000 gold, a much higher price than what Hoppes had offered him.
Of course, the prerequisite was that there were people who were willing to pay so much money for it.
Hoppes stroked his beard which he had not shaven for quite a while, saying,
Haha, it’s a little expensive, but you can discuss the price with them when the time comes. However, if you wish to gain recognition earlier, it’ll be better for your to lower the price a little. Otherwise, even if you get recognized for the theory, with no concrete results, many people would still not be willing to purchase it easily.

Fang Xingjian understood this. Even if the Knight Association’s review team had verified the effects of the Rebirth Sword Technique theoretically, only after many people started learning it and showed results would the Rebirth Sword Technique then spread like wildfire.
After sending off Hoppes and the envious Leon, Fang Xingjian returned into the house. There was no need for him to adjust his mental state and he could just continue to finish up the last few lines of the book he was working on. He then started training the Ninety Thousand Godly Demon Flash.
He seemed as if he had not been affected by Hoppes and the income he would be getting in the future.
Remaining indifferent regardless of being showered with praises or humiliation, neither conceited nor rash. Every since he became a Conferred Knight, his Universal Sword Dominance Lunisolar mental cultivation method continued to circulate, causing him to be increasingly calm.
It was as if he had accumulated his various negative emotions, including fury and vengeance, and, when he came across external demons or felt unjust, these emotions would explode out in an instant like a sharp sword drawn from its sheath.
And now, after the past few days of training and sorting out, his techniques had become:
Boundaries Negation Level 40
Rebirth Sword Technique Level 40
New Nine-Headed Dragon Sword Technique Level 40
Luminous Heaven Soaring Slash Level 40
Ether Sword Ripples Level 4
Ether Divine Art Level 4
Ninety Thousand Godly Demon Flash Level 1
Other than his Ether Divine Art and Ninety Thousand Godly Demon Flash, the rest had already reached the maximum level. The next thing to do was to push the Ninety Thousand Godly Demon Flash to the maximum level before proceeding with skills synthesis.