The next morning, Fang Han pushed his door open to a bright, sunlit day.

He took a deep breath of the crisp air. A night of deep sleep had completely swept away the mental fatigue from cultivating the *Spirit Nose Technique* the day before.

He didn’t go directly to the Task Hall to receive the commission letter for the investigation. Instead, he first went to the Library Pavilion to return the *Spirit Nose Technique* manual he had borrowed the previous day.

The disciple on duty confirmed there were no issues, made a record of the return, and after thanking him, Fang Han turned and left.

Next, without stopping, he headed straight for the Pill Hall.

The upcoming investigation was fraught with unknown dangers, so a necessary supply of Elixirs was indispensable.

He used the Contribution Points in his Identity Jade Token to exchange for three bottles of Peiyuan Pills for daily Cultivation, one bottle of high-quality Golden Wound Medicine, and one bottle of Antitoxic Pills for emergencies.

After this shopping trip, the Contribution Points in his Jade Token shrank again, leaving only a little over two hundred points.

Fortunately, even if these Elixirs weren’t used during the mission, he could save them for later or deposit them into the system panel. They wouldn’t be wasted, which made the expense less painful.

With the Elixirs prepared, Fang Han finally set off for the Task Hall to collect the commission letter for the mission: investigating the deaths of five Sub-Branch disciples.

Carefully putting away the commission letter, Fang Han didn’t linger. He turned, descended the mountain, and walked out of the towering main gate.

He didn’t immediately rush to the scene of the incident. He entered the bustling Qingxuan City.

The city was as bustling and noisy as ever, with a constant stream of carts and horses.

Fang Han found a "Huifeng" Money Shop with a grand facade and a good reputation, took out four silver notes with a face value of one thousand taels each, and exchanged them all for gleaming gold ingots.

The forty taels of gold felt heavy in his hands. He wrapped them in a thick cloth and placed them in his bag.

After completing the exchange, he didn’t linger in the city. He quickly left, followed the main road for some distance, and after confirming no one was around, he ducked into the depths of a dense forest by the roadside.

Finding a hidden, shady spot, Fang Han called out to the system panel with a thought.

A translucent screen of light quietly unfurled, the data clearly displayed.

[Host: Fang Han]

[Root Bone Talent Amplification: 32x (Level 6 Amplification requires 1,000,000 silver)]

[Swordsmanship Talent Amplification: 32x (Level 6 Amplification requires 1,000,000 silver)]

[Stepping Talent Amplification: 16x (Level 5 Amplification requires 100,000 silver)]

[Secret Technique Talent Amplification: 8x (Level 4 Amplification requires 10,000 silver)]

[Owned Wealth: 6,402 silver]

’Deposit.’

The 40 taels of gold disappeared, and his owned wealth changed.

[Owned Wealth: 10,402 silver]

’Activate Level 4 Amplification!’

Focusing his consciousness on the "Level 4 Amplification requires 10,000 silver" option after [Secret Technique Talent Amplification], Fang Han chose to activate the Level 4 Amplification.

His owned wealth changed again.

[Owned Wealth: 402 silver]

His Secret Technique Talent Amplification also changed.

[Secret Technique Talent Amplification: 16x (Level 5 Amplification requires 100,000 silver)]

The amplification multiplier for his Secret Technique Talent increased from eightfold to sixteenfold, reaching the limit of what his current wealth could afford.

He did this because for the current investigation, the most important thing wasn’t martial strength, but the means of Tracking.

The *Spirit Nose Technique*, this Tracking Secret Technique, was the key to finding the culprit!

If he could cultivate it to a higher level in a short time, his chances of finding the murderer and completing the mission would be much greater.

’This is... a sixteenfold amplification of Secret Technique Talent?’

As the amplification multiplier for his Secret Technique Talent reached sixteenfold, in that instant, Fang Han’s understanding, comprehension, and deductive ability related to Secret Techniques underwent another qualitative leap!

If cultivating the *Spirit Nose Technique* at eightfold amplification was like a walk in the park, then now, under sixteenfold amplification, he felt that the many intricacies and subtle points of this Secret Technique were as clear as the lines on his palm.

Subtle tricks that previously required repeated pondering to grasp were now understood with a mere flicker of thought.

An indescribable confidence welled up within him.

’It’s enough! With this Talent, how could I not master the *Spirit Nose Technique* quickly!’

Fang Han suppressed the excitement in his heart, focused his mind, and wasted no more time. He determined his direction and executed the Wind Shadow Step.

His figure, like a wisp of pale green smoke, sped along the main road towards the village mentioned in the case file.

While traveling, he devoted a portion of his mind to trying to cultivate the *Spirit Nose Technique* on the move.

Under the sixteenfold Secret Technique Talent Amplification, his aptitude for Secret Techniques reached an astonishing height.

Even while in motion, he could still stably guide his Inner Qi and precisely stimulate the specific meridian points near his nasal cavity.

As he traveled, he constantly adjusted the frequency and intensity of his Inner Qi’s circulation, carefully experiencing the olfactory changes brought by each stimulation.

At first, the various scents that hit him as he traveled—dust, plants, animal droppings, distant cooking smoke—all mixed together, assaulting his sense of smell like a surging tide.

But soon, he was able to gradually adapt and began to try and isolate and distinguish specific scent trails from the chaos.

For example, the faint scent of a horse’s body and the smell of wheel grease left by a carriage that had just passed on the main road ahead;

The subtle fragrance of some wildflower quietly blooming in the roadside bushes; he could even faintly catch the foul odor of a wild beast left behind in the distant mountain forest.

This rapid improvement in his Perception Ability gave him a bit more confidence in completing this investigation.

「Two days later, in the afternoon.」

Following the directions in the case file, Fang Han left the main road and turned onto a somewhat desolate dirt path.

After walking for about another half-hour and crossing a low mountain ridge, the silhouette of a village in the valley ahead came into view.

However, unlike the vibrant life of an ordinary village, this one was so deathly silent it was hair-raising.

It was afternoon, a time when there should have been spiraling cooking smoke and the faint sounds of people, yet not a single crow of a rooster or bark of a dog could be heard from the entire village, nor was there a wisp of smoke from a hearth to be seen.

The mud-brick and thatch-roofed houses were sparsely scattered on the valley floor, mostly intact, not at all like ruins left after a war or fire.

But an invisible, suffocating aura of death enveloped the entire village.

On the crooked wooden sign at the village entrance, the name "Huangshi Village" was vaguely visible in blurry characters.

This was Huangshi Village—the place that had been brutally massacred, and where the five Sub-Branch disciples had unfortunately perished while investigating.

Fang Han slowed his pace, his sharp gaze sweeping over the silent village. His Inner Qi circulated quietly within him, and he pushed the *Spirit Nose Technique* to the limit he could currently sustain. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

The air was filled with a mixture of earth, rotting vegetation, and... a very, very faint, yet lingering, scent of blood.

With a steady gait, he walked step by step towards the village entrance.

Just as he was about to step into the village—

SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH!

The sound of something cutting through the air suddenly erupted!

Seven figures flashed out from the shadows of the village houses like phantoms, instantly forming a semi-circle to block Fang Han’s path.

The newcomers were all clad in the distinctive tight-fitting attire of Qingxuan Sect’s Law Enforcement Hall disciples. They wore standard-issue long sabers at their waists, their gazes were sharp, their auras were heavy, and their coordinated movements showed they were well-trained.

There were five men and two women. The leader was a stern-faced young man of about twenty-seven or twenty-eight with eyes like a hawk and a powerful aura.

The other six clearly deferred to this young man as their leader.

Seven pairs of eyes—scrutinizing, wary, and with a hint of imperceptible exhaustion—all fell upon Fang Han, the uninvited guest.

Seeing the Qingxuan Sect Disciple’s Robe on Fang Han, they lowered their guard slightly, but not completely.

"Junior Brother, what brings you here?"

The stern young man stepped forward and asked in a low voice.

Fang Han stopped, his expression calm. He took the commission letter, which was stamped with the Sect’s seal, from his robes and presented it with both hands.

"I am Fang Han, a disciple of the Sub-Branch. I have come on the Sect’s orders to assist in the investigation of the Huangshi Village case and the deaths of our five fellow disciples."

The stern young man’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. He took the commission letter, quickly verified the authenticity of the seal, then raised his eyes to carefully size up Fang Han.

’Young. Far too young.’

’Although his aura is heavy and his strength is likely not weak—he could definitely be called a genius—at such a young age, how much experience could he possibly have with tracking and investigation?’

The six Law Enforcement Hall disciples behind him exchanged glances, an undisguised flicker of disappointment in their eyes.

They had spent days here with few clues and little progress, which was why they had requested aid from the Sect.

They had been hoping for an experienced elder, a Steward skilled in this area, to arrive.

But they never expected to get a Junior Brother who looked even younger than them and likely had no experience with tracking and investigation.

’What is the Sect thinking?’

The stern young man handed the commission letter back to Fang Han, forcing a somewhat stiff smile onto his face as he cupped his fist.

"So it is Junior Brother Fang Han. I am Zhao Qian, the leader of this Law Enforcement Hall team."

He gestured to the people behind him.

"These are Li Ming, Zhang Yuan, Sun Yi, Zhou Bo, Liu Yun, and Chen Xue. They are all Law Enforcement Hall disciples participating in this investigation."

"Greetings, Senior Brother Zhao, and all Senior Brothers and Sisters."

Fang Han cupped his hands in return.

"You must have had a long journey, Junior Brother. Did the Sect send you because you specialize in Tracking Secret Techniques?"

Zhao Qian’s voice carried a hint of subtle hope.

The six Law Enforcement Hall disciples behind him also fixed their gazes on Fang Han, awaiting his answer.

’Although they didn’t believe someone as young as Fang Han could possess profound tracking and investigation skills, what if?’

"Senior Brother Zhao, you misunderstand. I have never cultivated a Tracking Secret Technique before. It was only after accepting this mission that I went to the Library Pavilion yesterday to exchange for one to learn."

Fang Han met Zhao Qian’s gaze, shook his head, and answered truthfully.

These words fell on the ears of Zhao Qian and the other six like a basin of cold water being dumped over their heads.

’Exchanged for one to learn... just yesterday?’

The hint of hope on Zhao Qian’s face instantly froze, then receded like a tide, replaced by an unconcealable disappointment and even a sense of absurdity.

Li Ming, Zhang Yuan, and the others behind him also looked at each other, the corners of their mouths twitching uncontrollably.

’Is the Sect serious, sending a disciple like this as reinforcement?’

Zhao Qian took a deep breath, barely suppressing the turmoil in his heart. When he spoke again, his tone was tinged with detachment.

"You’ve had a long journey, Junior Brother. Come into the village with us for now."

He stepped aside to clear the path, making a "please" gesture, his attitude devoid of warmth or expectation.