This realm is quite difficult to reach. For martial artists who do not know internal cultivation methods and cannot develop internal energy, it is almost impossible to attain the Blood Condensation stage.

　　Just as John Bennett was thinking about these things, a plain-looking young man walked in and said, “Shopkeeper, give me two secret caskets.”

　　Ordinarily, the shopkeeper would be happy when someone came to buy secret caskets, but when he saw this young man, he shook his head and said, “James Thompson, all the money you’ve worked so hard to earn as a servant in the Li family of Tongzhou Prefecture has been thrown into these secret caskets. Take my advice—this isn’t something you should be playing with. You’re a clever kid. In just a few years at the Li family, you’ve already caught the eye of the third young master, been granted the Li surname, and transferred from the kitchen to the merchant caravan. Wouldn’t it be better to use this money to make connections with some of the Li family’s stewards? Who knows, maybe you could become a steward yourself one day.”

　　James Thompson smiled and said, “Even if I become a steward, I’d still just be a servant of the Li family. Maybe I really could draw some peerless martial art from a secret casket and rise to greatness.”

　　The shopkeeper shook his head. Draw a peerless martial art? If only it were that easy.

　　There are indeed many legends in the martial world—some people have drawn treasures from seemingly ordinary secret caskets—but those are always the rare exceptions. Far more people simply waste their money, with the odds being pitifully low.

　　But since he was the one selling secret caskets, and he saw that James Thompson was a pitiful fellow, he gave him a few words of advice. Still, since the other party insisted on buying, could he refuse to sell?

　　Just as he was about to fetch the secret caskets, John Bennett suddenly said, “Wait, shopkeeper, I’ll take all of these secret caskets.”

　　The moment the shopkeeper called out James Thompson’s name and identity, John Bennett recalled who he was.

　　He was the one who had once obtained a great opportunity in Yuanbao Town—a martial artist of servant origin, who, by drawing a martial art from a secret casket, swept across the martial world and became a local overlord.

　　And judging by James Thompson’s words, he was indeed the type unwilling to remain ordinary. Otherwise, even if a useless person with no ambition drew a martial art, he would never reach that height; most likely, he’d end up killed and his martial art stolen.

　　Thinking of this, John Bennett secretly felt lucky that he had arrived just in time. He only knew of this event, but not the exact timing. If he had come even a moment later, the opportunity would have been lost.

　　James Thompson frowned and said, “Sir, I said I wanted to buy them first.”

　　John Bennett glanced at him and said, “Now I say I want them all. Do you have a problem with that?”

　　A trace of anger appeared on James Thompson’s face. He snorted coldly and said, “Does this gentleman think that just because I, James Thompson, am a servant, I’m easy to bully? I am a member of the Li family of Tongzhou Prefecture!”

　　Tongzhou Prefecture is a major city in Wei Commandery, and the Li family is one of the three great families of Tongzhou.

　　Before a prime minister’s gate, even a seventh-rank official must bow. Although he was only a servant of the Li family, some declining families in small places really couldn’t compare to him. Even members of minor families had to bow and scrape before the Li family’s stewards.

　　John Bennett looked at him and sneered, “Just now you said you didn’t want to be a servant for life, but when it comes down to it, you’re still trying to use the Li family’s name to intimidate others? You, a servant, want to use the Li family to pressure me? Ridiculous!”

　　As soon as John Bennett finished speaking, several servants behind him immediately surrounded James Thompson, glaring at him menacingly.

　　He had learned some martial arts because he was favored by the Li family’s third young master, but after all, he was just a servant and had only learned some basic skills. His strength was only at the Body Tempering stage, so he was no match for so many people.

　　So he could only watch helplessly as John Bennett took all the secret caskets from the shop. For some reason, besides feeling humiliated, he felt even more heartache, as if something important had been taken from him.

　　After John Bennett left, James Thompson gritted his teeth in hatred. This matter was far from over!

　　He had been in the Li family for so many years. Although he was just a servant, he belonged to the third young master, and had made connections with quite a few important people!

　　At this moment, after obtaining the secret caskets, John Bennett returned to the inn, drove everyone out, and began to examine the secret caskets one by one.

　　Since these secret caskets were only used to store things, opening them was simple: just drip fresh blood onto the casket, and the formation would naturally unlock.

　　Of course, once a secret casket was opened, since the sealing formation had been lost to time, the casket would be completely ruined and could not be reused. This also prevented anyone from using empty caskets to cheat.

　　There were seventeen secret caskets in total. John Bennett opened eight in a row, but seven were empty. The remaining one contained a booklet, but it was already decayed beyond recognition, and it wasn’t a martial art—just a ledger recording a sect’s assets, of no use at all.

　　It wasn’t until John Bennett opened the ninth secret casket—a palm-sized box made of brown stone, with no patterns or decorations, looking very plain.

　　But after opening it, he found an ancient jade inside, emitting a faint, warm glow.

　　In ancient times, some powerful figures, in order to better preserve martial arts, would not write them on paper, but instead engrave them as spiritual imprints into fine jade. As long as nothing unexpected happened, they would last for tens of thousands of years without damage.

　　“This is it!”

　　With excitement, John Bennett grasped the jade slip, and a torrent of text instantly flooded into his mind.

　　“Taoist Secret Canon, ‘Innate Skill’!”