Martial Dao: I Can Enhance My Talents

Soon, Fang Han saw the Huang Mansion.

It was a sprawling estate with vermilion gates and high walls, bearing a plaque with the two words "Huang Mansion" over the entrance.

It was extremely eye-catching and instantly recognizable.

After circling the Huang Family’s residence, Fang Han found a clean, ordinary-looking inn named "Yuelai," got a superior room, and had a simple dinner inside.

As night gradually enveloped Baiyun City, the lights of countless homes flickered on one by one.

Fang Han, who was meditating on his bed, opened his eyes. They were as calm and still as a tranquil lake.

He changed into a set of pure black Night Travel Clothes he had prepared earlier and put on a plain, featureless Wooden Mask.

He silently activated the Ten Thousand Transformations Concealing Breath Technique, retracting his aura to its absolute limit. In an instant, he became like a shadow in the dark night, his presence reduced to a minimum. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Pushing open the window, his figure glided out as silently as a falling leaf, melting into the deep night.

After a few leaps across rooftops and alleyways, he arrived once more at the Huang Mansion.

The mansion’s walls were over twenty feet high, which would have been a considerable obstacle for an ordinary Martial Artist, but in Fang Han’s eyes, they were nothing.

He found a quiet corner, tapped his toes lightly, and vaulted over the wall with the agility of a wildcat, landing softly inside.

With the Ten Thousand Transformations Concealing Breath Technique active, his aura was almost completely contained, allowing him to blend in with his surroundings.

Moreover, the Flowing Wind Shadowless Step allowed him to move without a sound, as fast as a phantom.

There were guards patrolling within the mansion, but the highest Cultivation among them was merely Ninth Grade, and they were clearly slacking off.

Relying on his extraordinary Spiritual Sense and Body Technique, Fang Han easily avoided the patrol teams.

Like an invisible wind, he headed straight for the most magnificent three-story pavilion at the heart of the estate.

This was the residence of the Huang Family Patriarch, Huang Shiren, as mentioned in the intel from Tingyu Building.

The pavilion was brightly lit, and he could see maids, servants, and a few lavishly dressed people who were likely relatives of Huang Shiren.

However, he didn’t see the man described in the intel. Huang Shiren was probably out on business.

’A perfect opportunity!’

A faint glint flashed in Fang Han’s eyes.

With Huang Shiren, a Seventh Grade Martial Artist, absent, he could easily handle being discovered even if he made some noise. It was the perfect time to search for the secret room.

He slipped into the pavilion like a shadow and went to the study first.

The study was elegantly furnished with bookshelves and calligraphy paintings, the shelves themselves spotless.

He held his breath and focused, his fingertips infused with Inner Qi. He tapped the walls and floor tiles with extreme lightness and speed, listening carefully to the echoes while his sharp gaze scanned every spot that might hide a mechanism.

However, after a thorough search, the walls and floor of the study were all solid, showing no signs of hidden compartments or secret passages.

Undeterred, Fang Han silently withdrew from the study and crept into what he presumed was Huang Shiren’s bedroom—the pavilion’s master suite.

The bedroom was even more luxurious, with embroidered silk curtains, a quilted bedspread, and rosewood furniture that gave off a faint, pleasant fragrance.

He repeated the process, starting by tapping the walls. Finding nothing, his gaze fell upon the thick velvet carpet covering the floor.

He gently lifted a corner of the carpet, revealing the smooth, bluestone slabs beneath.

TAP... TAP... TAP...

The sound of his tapping was barely audible in the silent bedroom.

When he tapped a section of the floor near the inner side of the bed, the echo was slightly hollow, a subtle difference from the dull thud of the solid stone around it!

Fang Han froze, a faint smile gracing his lips beneath the mask.

’Jackpot!’

He crouched down and carefully felt around the area.

A small protrusion where the foot of the bed met the floor, a wood carving resembling a decorative pattern, caught his attention.

He tried gently pressing and turning it.

CLICK.

An extremely faint mechanical sound was heard.

The stone slab that had sounded hollow slid silently to the side, revealing a dark staircase leading down, just wide enough for one person. A musty, dusty smell faintly wafted out.

Fang Han was now certain, but he didn’t rush down immediately.

He took a tinderbox and a small candle from his robes, lit it, and then carefully descended the stairs.

The staircase wasn’t long, ending about twenty feet down.

Before him was a secret room, about a thousand square feet in area, with the faint scent of moisture-proofing herbs in the air.

In the center of the room were over a dozen camphorwood chests of various sizes, neatly stacked.

Fang Han walked to the nearest chest, channeled his strength into his fingertips, and pried it open. The lid popped open with a soft sound.

Instantly, a dazzling radiance of jewels and treasures filled his vision!

The chest was packed to the brim with gold ingots, silver ingots, and all sorts of Pearl Agate, all glittering in the candlelight.

’So it really was here!’

Even with Fang Han’s steady disposition, his breath hitched for a moment.

’Panel.’

Without further hesitation, he summoned the system panel with a thought.

A translucent screen of light quietly appeared.

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

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

[Wealth: 737,000 silver]

’Deposit!’

He focused his mind on the chest full of gold, silver, and jewels.

SWOOSH!

The treasures and the chest itself vanished in an instant, and the wealth value on the panel began to jump wildly!

[Wealth: 767,000 silver]

[Wealth: 797,000 silver]

[Wealth: 827,000 silver]

...

Fang Han continued without pause, repeating the process and depositing the contents of the dozen or so chests one by one.

The chests varied in size and the value of their contents, but they clearly represented the Huang Family’s accumulations over many years.

When the last chest disappeared, the number on the panel finally, slowly, settled—

[Wealth: 1,585,000 silver]

’That’s over eight hundred thousand silver in total!’

A single operation had increased Fang Han’s wealth by more than eight hundred thousand silver, far exceeding the one-million-silver threshold needed to unlock Level 6 Talent Amplification.

The massive haul made his heart pound a few times, but he quickly suppressed his excitement and his eyes regained their clarity.

’I can’t stay here long!’

He carefully checked the secret room one last time, making sure nothing was missed and erasing any traces he might have left behind.

Then, he blew out the candle and returned up the stairs to the bedroom.

After restoring the stone slab to its original position, smoothing out the carpet, and ensuring everything looked exactly as it had when he arrived, Fang Han left the pavilion as silently as he had come.

With his superb Body Technique and Breath Concealment Technique, he avoided the patrols and easily vaulted over the high walls of the Huang Mansion.

The night was still deep, and Baiyun City was lost in slumber, no one aware of the earth-shattering "heist" that had just occurred in the core secret room of the Huang Mansion.

With a few flickers of his body, Fang Han was back in his room at the Yuelai Inn.

He shut the window behind him and immediately burned the Night Travel Clothes and mask to ashes.

Feeling the astonishing amount of wealth in his system, Fang Han sat cross-legged on the bed, a sharp glint in his eyes.

’Level 6 Talent Amplification is within reach!’

But he didn’t upgrade immediately to experience the effects.

He was still in Baiyun City, right under the Huang Family’s nose.

Although he didn’t think the Huang Family could track him, he needed to get his condition to its peak and prepare for battle to deal with any potential accidents.

...

「Late at night. Baiyun City, Huang Mansion.」

Patriarch Huang Shiren, his body tired and slightly drunk, pushed open the door to his bedroom.

A thick wave of alcohol mixed with the scent of perfume washed over him. He rubbed his throbbing temples, a hint of satisfaction on his face from a successful business deal.

Today, he had socialized with several prominent families in the city and finalized a sizable deal for medicinal herbs. Though mentally draining, the profits were considerable.

He latched the door behind him and carefully checked that the windows were shut tight.

Walking to the inner side of the bed, he expertly squatted down and pressed his finger lightly on the inconspicuous wood-carved pattern.

CLICK.

With a soft mechanical sound, the stone slab slid open silently, revealing a pitch-black opening.

He picked up the oil lamp that was already prepared on the table and lit it with a tinderbox.

The orange-yellow glow dispelled the darkness near the opening and also illuminated his face, which was flushed from the alcohol.

He took a deep breath, as if he could already smell the reassuring scent of gold, silver, and moisture-proofing herbs. Holding the lamp, he started down the stairs.

His footsteps made soft echoes on the stone steps.

This was a habit he had developed over many years, almost a ritual.

Every night before bed, he had to personally confirm that the very foundation of his life and security was safe and sound before he could sleep peacefully.

Otherwise, even with delicacies before him and silk-and-satin bedding on his bed, he would be unable to fall asleep.

The outline of the secret room gradually became clear in the lamplight.

However, the neatly stacked, treasure-filled camphorwood chests he expected to see did not enter his vision.

Huang Shiren’s steps came to an abrupt halt.

The lamplight flickered, illuminating a space ahead that was... empty.

Yes, empty.

The secret room, once filled to the brim with over a dozen chests of all sizes, was now completely bare!

All that remained on the floor were the faint imprints from the chests’ long-term pressure, and the faint, lingering smell of camphorwood and pest-repelling herbs in the air.

The color drained from Huang Shiren’s face like a receding tide.

His drunkenness vanished in an instant, replaced by an icy chill that shot from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.

He blinked hard, then rubbed his eyes forcefully, suspecting he was still drunk and hallucinating.

However, after rubbing his eyes, what he saw was still the same, heart-stopping emptiness!

"No... Impossible!"

A hoarse roar, as if from a strangled throat, escaped him.

The hand holding the oil lamp began to tremble uncontrollably, spilling oil.

The flame flickered violently, stretching and distorting his shadow on the empty walls.

He stumbled to the center of the secret room, bringing the lamp close to the floor. The dim yellow light swept futilely across every corner.

Nothing! There was nothing!

The wealth he touched and counted by hand every day, the fortune the Huang Family had accumulated over decades—gold, silver, jewelry, antiques... had all vanished without a trace!

"SPURT—"

A metallic sweetness surged up his throat. Huang Shiren felt the world spin, his vision turning black, and his body swayed, nearly causing him to collapse.

He barely managed to brace himself with a hand on the cold floor, his nails turning white from the force. A crushing weight, like a thousand-pound boulder, settled on his chest, and a suffocating pain washed over him.

’Decades of the Huang Family’s lifeblood... just gone like that?’

’Who? Who did this?!’

Endless heartache and overwhelming rage intertwined, threatening to consume his sanity.