The fist is like a mountain, carrying the force of a thousand pounds.
The Mountain-Picking Fist has reached perfection, and with its pinpoint strength, even those in the Qi Storage Realm must avoid its edge.
Mr. Zheng heard Qin An's calm words and realized there was no escape.
He angrily drew his long saber to block in between, unleashing a hysterical frenzy.
"I have wandered the martial world too. Even if I die today, I'll drag you to the grave with me."
"Crack!"
A crisp sound rang out, like a breeze passing over a wild grassland.
The long saber in Mr. Zheng's hand shattered in response.
Qin An's fist, with a frigid whooshing sound, struck Mr. Zheng's chest.
From Mr. Zheng's back, a bloodied fist emerged, clutching a dripping heart between its five fingers.
Qin An withdrew his fist, allowing Mr. Zheng's heart to fall to the ground, while one hand pressed against Mr. Zheng's shoulder, gently wiping away the blood.
Once he had cleaned it off, Qin An released his hand.
"Even someone as foul as you has a red heart."
Mr. Zheng fell to the ground, his body twitching like a prawn before becoming lifeless.
Not far away, the remaining eleven or so eagle demons screamed in fear and fled quickly.
Qin An, expressionless, chased after one and struck with a raised fist.
With each punch thrown, an eagle demon's body fell to the ground.
Several eagle demons attempted to flee into the sky, but the ground echoed with a whistling sound.
The wild grassland was strewn with many boulders.
Qin An picked up a stone, hurled it with a thousand-pound force, and accurately hit the eagle demon.
The eagle demon, struck by the stone, burst into a mist of blood in the sky.
A few breaths later, the ground was stained with blood and littered with corpses.
Qin An walked slowly towards Chen Chun.
Seeing the blood-dripping dagger in Qin An's hand, Chen Chun shivered, feeling that Qin An now seemed unfamiliar.
When they first met, Qin An was just a butcher.
Out of compassion for Qin An getting caught up in turmoil, he had given him the Wind-breaking Saber Skill.
But who would've thought, in just a short ten days, Qin An had exterminated a whole nest of eagle demons?
What kind of genius could eliminate Perfect Hidden Qi Realm eagle demons in just ten days?
"Are you okay?" Qin An asked.
Chen Chun snapped back to reality, nodding, "Injured, but it's not serious. Just need a few days to recuperate."
Qin An turned around, squatted on the ground, and began to butcher the eagle demon's corpse.
Seeing this, Chen Chun's mouth slightly stiffened.
He expected Qin An to show more concern, but instead, Qin An turned and immediately started butchering the eagle demon.
This calmness and decisiveness made Chen Chun feel great admiration.
Qin An's actions were skillful, each cut landed precisely on the eagle demon.
After reaching level three in the butcher profession, Qin An's understanding of butchering grew, which also reduced the time taken.
This group of eagle demon hatchlings had no Blood Crystals; only Master Eagle Eight had them.
Qin An used Qi to communicate, transforming the Blood Crystals into his own blood energy for storage.
Without the next level's Heart Method, he could only store them for future use.
The last time cultivating the Mountain-Picking Fist consumed a lot of blood energy, this stuff was precious, better to have it than not.
Before him, the smoke gathered for a moment.
[Butcher lv.3 (80/400): The animals you slaughter are slightly more delicious]
Not long ago, he slaughtered a few pig demons, and today he again slaughtered the eagle demons. Plus, with a higher level in the butcher profession, his technique became more adept, accumulating 80 proficiency points.
Qin An stood and approached Mr. Zheng's corpse, picked up two Cultivation Techniques, and examined them closely.
Seeing this, Chen Chun quickly sat cross-legged to recover.
In such a corpse-filled place, he lacked Qin An's composure. Recovering from his injuries faster was safer.
With the scholar profession's bonus, Qin An quickly memorized both Cultivation Techniques.
The first is a saber skill called the Great Swan Saber Skill, emphasizing wide and sweeping strokes, practiced by Mr. Zheng.
The second is a Body Technique called Bluebird Leap, making one's body as light as a swallow when performed.
Qin An pondered briefly before turning his gaze to the Great Swan Saber Skill, practicing its moves.
Thereafter, a line of smoke appeared before his eyes, transforming into words.
[You practice the Great Swan Saber Skill, triggering proficiency in Qi Storage Realm saber techniques]
[Great Swan Saber Skill perfected]
[You start pondering the commonalities between the Great Swan Saber Skill and Wind-breaking Saber Skill, seeking to integrate them]
Upon seeing the text, Qin An was slightly surprised.
The Golden Finger showed a change.
Qin An set aside his surprise, becoming calm, staring at the void ahead.
Is the change good or bad?
At least from the text, it seems related to fusion, likely a good thing.
[Day after day, you ponder, with a talent for saber mastery, combining the strengths of both skills, consuming a lot of blood energy, you comprehend a new Cultivation Technique, naming it Broken Goose Saber Skill]
[But your talent is insufficient, the Broken Goose Saber Skill is a Body Storage Realm saber technique, reaching a shallow understanding is the limit]
[Broken Goose Saber Skill (shallow understanding)]
A flood of information entered his mind, and after fully absorbing it, Qin An mastered the essence of the Broken Goose Saber Skill.
The so-called Broken Goose Saber Skill embodies the speed of the Wind-breaking Saber Skill and the broad strokes of the Great Swan Saber Skill.
When the saber is drawn, it's like overturning mountains and seas, yet swift as a gale and torrential rain.
What intrigued Qin An was that the Broken Goose Saber Skill is a Body Storage Realm saber technique, but his talent is for the Qi Storage Realm, so he can only deduce it to a shallow understanding.
Yet even at this shallow understanding, it's far stronger than the perfected Wind-breaking Saber Skill.
"The next realm is the Body Storage Realm, but that's not important, Chen Chun is here, I can ask him later."
"The Golden Finger is indeed interesting, it seems I shouldn't forget my old profession while seeking new ones."
Qin An resolved in his heart.
Saber techniques of the Body Storage Realm at shallow understanding are already the limit of a level three butcher, what if it were level six?
He planned to continue practicing as a butcher.
Qin An began to loot the bodies.
Besides Mr. Zheng, he didn't miss a single constable, collecting a considerable amount of silver coins.
Chen Chun had mostly recovered, standing up slowly, looking at Qin An with increasingly complex eyes.
Qin An sheathed the dagger at his waist, "How should we deal with these corpses?"
Chen Chun snapped back to reality, "We can only handle them simply."
"You take care of it," Qin An said.
Chen Chun's mouth twitched slightly.
He wanted to say he was injured, but seeing Qin An's demeanor and remembering Qin An's life-saving grace, he could only smile wryly and start handling the scene.
Simple handling can hinder the authorities, not for long, but dragging it out nevertheless.
Once Chen Chun finished, Qin An walked towards the town.
"Let's go, I have questions for you."
Chen Chun followed behind Qin An.
His injuries hadn't healed, and he couldn't leave Ding County, so he could only return to town.
Their silhouettes gradually disappeared into the wild grassland.
...
By the time they returned, night had fallen.
Qin An pushed open the door and lit the oil lamp on the table.
The dim light flickered, illuminating Qin An's face intermittently.
For some reason, Chen Chun, gazing at Qin An's face, recalled the scene in the wild grassland where Qin An single-handedly cut down the eagle demons, involuntarily shivering.
Qin An asked, "Cold?"
Chen Chun shook his head, "No, what do you want to ask me?"
Qin An pondered for a moment, "What's the next realm?"