The initiation ceremony was complete. Zhao Tianhu had also taken part, joining the Black Flood Dragon Gang in the process.
Now that he was an official member of the Black Flood Dragon Gang, Wang Xingjian’s attitude became even more enthusiastic.
As soon as Zou Feng walked out of Loyalty Hall, Wang Xingjian presented him with a list of available Cultivation Skills.
"Brother, take your time looking through this in the pavilion. I’ve already had someone prepare some Spirit Tea."
"It’s fine if you can’t decide right away. Just take the next few days to think it over."
"Once you’ve made your choice, the brothers in the gang who have already cultivated that skill will share their experience with you for free to help you get started quickly."
"Even if you hit a bottleneck later on, you can still ask them for guidance."
This was another great benefit of joining a gang: you didn’t have to take someone as a master.
Members all addressed each other as brothers, helping one another, sharing hardships and fortunes alike.
Of course, whether that "brotherhood" was only on the surface was another matter entirely.
Zou Feng nodded. "Thank you for your trouble, Brother Wang!"
"I already said, we’re brothers now. What’s with all the pleasantries!" Wang Xingjian feigned displeasure.
Zou Feng didn’t delay any further and walked quickly into the pavilion to sit down.
’I hope it’s just as I predicted—that there are plenty of Evil Skills to choose from.’
’But the probability of there being a Poison Skill Secret Manual is pretty low.’
’Back in the Ghost Market, Zhang Ye from the Black Flood Dragon Gang stopped me. His goal was to hire me, a Poison Cultivator, for a job.’
’So either the Black Flood Dragon Gang has no Poison Cultivators, or they’re already dead.’
Spreading open the list, Zou Feng first gave it a quick scan.
There were actually more than twenty types of True Skills.
And each Cultivation Skill came with a rough annotation about its cultivation method.
Therefore, Zou Feng could easily distinguish which skills clearly did not follow the Righteous Dao.
In truth, the so-called "Evil Skill" was just a very general term.
In the world of Martial Artists, the definition of an Evil Skill naturally varied from person to person.
Disciples from Renowned and Righteous Sects would consider any Cultivation Skill that didn’t follow the conventional Righteous Dao to be, without a doubt, an Evil Skill.
More open-minded Martial Artists felt that as long as the cultivation process didn’t involve harming others, it wasn’t an Evil Skill—at most, it was just an unorthodox path.
And in the Black Flood Dragon Gang, it was clear that the vast majority of Martial Artists were very "open-minded."
After browsing through it, without even needing a closer look, Zou Feng could guess from intuition alone that more than half the items on this list were Evil Skills that strayed from the proper path.
’As for what I should choose, that requires some careful planning.’
’First, I definitely can’t just shout: "I’ll take all the skills that harm the body and accumulate hidden dangers!"’
’If I really said that, I’d just be seen as someone who has succumbed to qi deviation from cultivation, whose mind is no longer sound.’
’Taking it a step further, even if the Black Flood Dragon Gang actually gave them to me, if I openly cultivated a dozen harmful skills and was still alive and kicking...’
’At that point, forget about anyone else, the Gang Leader Deng Guangxin himself would probably grab me, throw me in a basement, and "study" me thoroughly.’
’Or he’d immediately arrange for one of his disciples to "die of illness" so I could become one of his six apprentices.’
Another thing he couldn’t ignore was that even though he didn’t have to suffer the side effects of cultivation, he couldn’t skip the process of "practicing the skill."
Cultivation Skills required a great deal of time every day. If he practiced too many types at once, would he not need to sleep, eat, or listen to music?
And so, Zou Feng carefully studied the cultivation summaries of each skill while pondering how to make a more reasonable choice.
As the sky gradually darkened, Zou Feng finally made his decision.
Wang Xingjian was very patient, waiting in the pavilion and drinking tea the whole time for Zou Feng to choose.
"Brother Wang, I’ve decided. I’ll take these Three Skills." Zou Feng picked up the brush on the table and circled his choices.
Choosing Three Skills first was what Zou Feng considered the most reasonable number for now.
It wouldn’t make others think he was trying to bite off more than he could chew by practicing too many.
In terms of cultivation time, he could also manage it.
Wang Xingjian was quite curious about what choices Zou Feng would make.
However, after just one glance, Wang Xingjian’s brow furrowed.
’What did he pick?’
’The suicide three-piece set!?’
Tribulation-Indestructible Body, Karmic Fire Red Lotus Palm, and Black Tortoise Sea-Suppressing Force.
There were over twenty Cultivation Skills on the list, and while more than ten of them had significant cultivation side effects to varying degrees...
...how had he so accurately picked out the top three worst ones?
Tribulation-Indestructible Body: to put it bluntly, its cultivation method was to inflict all kinds of torture on oneself.
If one could endure it and allow their body to evolve and be reborn under extreme conditions, one could imagine just how tough their body would become.
However, even if one could endure and cultivate this Skill to the Realm of Synthesis and Mastery, their body would be left with all sorts of ailments and hidden dangers.
If those hidden dangers ever erupted, it would most likely mean instant death on the spot.
Karmic Fire Red Lotus Palm: cultivation required consuming a Burning Vein Pill, then repeatedly roasting one’s hands in a special toxic fire.
The degree of roasting was standardized by the point at which the aroma of cooked meat filled the air...
As for Black Tortoise Sea-Suppressing Force, the name sounded quite normal, but its cultivation method required soaking one’s entire body in a special medicinal solution.
The duration of each soak was determined by whether one was "marinated to flavor"...
Wang Xingjian couldn’t help but size up Zou Feng again.
’He doesn’t look like he’s trying to kill himself!’
"Brother, listen to my advice, this probably isn’t a good idea!"
"If you had only chosen one of these Three Skills, I wouldn’t try to dissuade you, but all three together..."
Wang Xingjian earnestly and tirelessly explained the stakes in detail to Zou Feng.
But no matter how terrifyingly Wang Xingjian described the side effects, Zou Feng remained completely unfazed.
’It’s not like I’m the one who has to endure them anyway.’
Zou Feng, of course, had his reasons for choosing these Three Skills.
Tribulation-Indestructible Body: a defensive Skill he currently lacked, which would cover his shortcomings.
Karmic Fire Red Lotus Palm: when Cultivating and striking, his palms would turn completely red, perfectly concealing his true killing move, the Five Poison Palm.
Black Tortoise Sea-Suppressing Force: a Heart Skill that strengthened and enhanced Inner Qi. After mastering it, not only would his Inner Qi become incredibly dense, but it would also be endless, even coming with special effects.
So, if one ignored the side effects, Zou Feng’s choices were very reasonable. He had defense, offense, and a Heart Skill.
"Brother Wang, I appreciate your concern. I actually understand all these hidden dangers."
"Then why are you still..." Wang Xingjian looked completely baffled.
Zou Feng sighed and said, "I started practicing martial arts too late, and I’ve only trained in the Pile Skill. If I don’t push myself, if I don’t go all in, I’ll never achieve anything on the Martial Dao."
"Besides, even though I’ve chosen these Three Skills, I’m definitely not going to practice them all at once."
"Right, don’t the hidden dangers accumulate more the further you cultivate?"
"So I’ll just act within my limits. I’ll train until Minor Success or Entering the Hall and the Room, then stop immediately and switch to something else."
Hearing Zou Feng say this, Wang Xingjian breathed a sigh of relief. "That makes sense. Since you understand the stakes, brother, I can rest easy."
"Alright, your living quarters have been arranged. I’ll take you there now."
"Someone will deliver the Cultivation Technique Secret Manuals for those Three Skills shortly."
"However, there aren’t any brothers in the gang currently practicing these Three Skills. There were in the past, but they’ve all... So for now, there’s no one who can guide you..."