A Surge in Strength!

Late at night, Steward Jin had long since gone to sleep.

Suddenly, the maidservant hurried over and woke Steward Jin. "Master, the heroes have returned, and they even carried back the corpse of a giant rat..."

Steward Jin jolted awake.

"A giant rat?"

"Help me change..."

By the time Steward Jin hurriedly changed and arrived at the front hall, he found it already packed with people.

At a glance, he spotted the corpse of a giant rat lying on the ground, as large as a calf.

The corpse was covered in blood, its appearance savage and ugly.

Overjoyed and shocked, Steward Jin hurriedly bowed to the five martial artists who had exterminated the rats. "Thank you, five heroes, for ridding the people of this evil! You have finally slain the Rat King and wiped out the rat plague!"

Ji Qing remained impassive and accepted the bow openly.

The four sect martial artists, however, looked embarrassed and all turned slightly aside, not daring to accept it.

"Someone, bring the silver!"

Steward Jin immediately had someone bring out one thousand taels of silver.

Under the firelight, the thousand taels of silver gleamed white, enough to make anyone covet them.

The four sect martial artists ultimately still cared about their reputations, and they took the initiative to clarify, "Steward Jin, this time, only Young Hero Li took action in exterminating the rats. It was his accomplishment alone. We cannot accept rewards we have not earned; we absolutely cannot take this silver."

The moment those words were spoken, everyone erupted in uproar.

Steward Jin was also astonished. The five of them had clearly gone into the mountains together to exterminate the rats.

He had assumed the five had joined forces to kill the Rat King. Who would have thought that only Li Mu had acted?

"Da Niu, what exactly happened?"

Steward Jin questioned the hunter, Da Niu.

Da Niu's face was flushed with excitement as he said, "Steward Jin, the Rat King really was killed by Hero Li alone. You didn't see what happened then—the Rat King truly was a rat that had become a spirit! It was even swallowing and exhaling the moon's essence..."

Da Niu recounted in full detail everything he had seen of "Li Mu" exterminating the rats.

Only then did the crowd realize that the rumors were true. The Rat King truly was a rat that had become a spirit.

Some people even tried cutting the Rat King's corpse with blades, only to discover that they truly could not cut through it. It was genuinely impervious to blades and spears.

Such a bizarre, terrifying Rat King, one even impervious to blades and spears, had actually been slain by "Li Mu"?

Clearly, "Li Mu" was the true great hero and master of the Jianghu!

"Hero Li, the matter has now been made clear. You truly killed the Rat King alone, so this silver naturally belongs to you."

Steward Jin's form of address for Ji Qing changed from "Young Hero" to "Hero."

With a wave of his hand, the servants carried the silver over to Ji Qing.

Ji Qing did not stand on ceremony.

How could one roam the Jianghu without silver?

Besides, this was silver he had earned through his own abilities.

Ji Qing accepted the silver outright.

"Steward Jin, where is Li Yao?"

Ji Qing asked.

"Rest assured, Hero Li. Li Yao is asleep with Suo'er, and there are maidservants attending them. Nothing will happen."

"You heroes must be tired as well. I have had wine and food prepared. After you have eaten and drunk your fill, please go rest."

Ji Qing nodded. He was indeed somewhat tired.

"Then we shall not stand on ceremony."

The four sect martial artists did not decline either. Though they had failed to get any silver, they still had to eat a meal.

After eating and drinking their fill, the group went off to rest.

As for the Rat King's corpse, they would discuss it the next morning.

Ji Qing was still somewhat uneasy.

He went to the room where Ji Yao was sleeping and took a look. Seeing that maidservants were indeed attending her, he finally returned to his own room to rest.

The night passed without incident.

Early the next morning, Ji Qing sat cross-legged beneath a large tree in the courtyard.

The view there was excellent; he could even see the rising sun.

Yet Ji Qing did not cultivate the Rising Sun Skill as usual.

His attention was focused entirely on the Demon-Refining Record in his mind.

Yesterday, he had killed the Rat Demon and gained ten Origin Points. Now was the time to use them.

"Raise the Rising Sun Skill to perfection!"

Ji Qing's Rising Sun Skill was currently only at the beginner level. Beyond that were minor accomplishment, major accomplishment, and perfection, so it required three Origin Points.

As the three Origin Points were consumed, scene after scene surfaced in Ji Qing's mind.

Every morning, he faced the rising sun and cultivated the Rising Sun Skill.

Day after day, year after year.

After nearly thirty years, his Rising Sun Skill finally reached major accomplishment!

After another twenty years, Ji Qing caught a trace of opportunity within the Rising Sun Skill and raised it to a miraculous level, thereby comprehending Supreme Yang Inner Force!

After the Rising Sun Skill transformed into Supreme Yang Inner Force, his inner force became purer, fiercer, and more domineering. His resistance to poison greatly increased as well, and it even restrained certain cold and yin inner forces.

"Supreme Yang Inner Force surpasses the inner force of the Rising Sun Skill in quality. As for the Jadeite Skill's inner force, it is even further beneath it..."

Ji Qing now had both kinds of inner force at perfection, so he had to take the next step: fusion.

For an ordinary martial artist, inner force fusion would happen naturally, without any problems.

But Ji Qing was different.

Both of his inner forces had reached perfection.

Once they fused, could he still preserve the traits of both kinds of inner force?

For instance, the Jadeite Skill at perfection had gained the trait of Inner Force Burst. Could that be retained?

Ji Qing weighed the matter for a long time, but in the end, he still chose fusion.

Only by fusing his inner force would he have a chance to break through.

"Fuse."

Ji Qing began merging his inner forces.

As they fused, Ji Qing discovered that the process was really one of discarding the dross and retaining the essence.

His original inner force was merely the inner force of ordinary third-rate martial arts.

It was abundant enough, but too loose, its purity far from sufficient.

If he encountered another Third-Rate Martial Artist cultivating a top-tier third-rate technique, Ji Qing would definitely suffer greatly in a contest of inner force.

But now, as the two kinds of inner force fused, Supreme Yang Inner Force gradually took the dominant position.

His originally loose inner force began merging into the Supreme Yang Inner Force. During this process, a great deal of inner force was refined anew, and the newly formed inner force was far purer than before.

At last, the fusion was complete. All of his inner force had become Supreme Yang Inner Force.

Ji Qing examined his Supreme Yang Inner Force.

"Hmm? The Inner Force Burst trait is still there? It can still amplify my inner force by thirty percent!"

Ji Qing was delighted.

The Supreme Yang Inner Force within him was already powerful, far surpassing his previous two kinds of inner force in both purity and depth.

With Inner Force Burst added on top, his Supreme Yang Inner Force would become even stronger!

With seven Origin Points remaining, Ji Qing continued upgrading his lightness skill, Grass on Wings.

Though this lightness skill was very common in the Jianghu, it was indeed practical.

Ji Qing's Grass on Wings was currently only at minor accomplishment.

"Raise Grass on Wings to perfection!"

As two Origin Points were consumed, scenes of him practicing lightness skills year after year appeared in Ji Qing's mind.

From minor accomplishment, it gradually rose to major accomplishment.

But after reaching major accomplishment, Grass on Wings seemed unable to advance any further.

Only after a full twenty years did Ji Qing finally find a trace of opportunity, thereby comprehending the ultimate move, Void Borrowing Strength.

This move, Void Borrowing Strength, was exceptionally wondrous.

It allowed someone to forcibly draw another breath while in midair, as though borrowing force from the void itself, then leap upward once more.

It was somewhat unbelievable.

"Whoosh."

Ji Qing opened his eyes.

He immediately sprang upward. Light as a swallow, he shot into the air in a single leap.

"Void Borrowing Strength."

Ji Qing unleashed his lightness-skill ultimate move. His inner force circulated beneath his feet in an extremely peculiar manner, and then he stomped viciously against empty air, actually soaring another yard or more upward.

Such lightness skill was simply shocking to the world.

"Who would have thought a third-rate lightness skill could produce such a terrifying ultimate move?"

Ji Qing now knew that when martial arts reached "perfection," they could often yield certain ultimate moves.

But which ultimate moves one comprehended varied from person to person.

It depended entirely on the martial artist's own aptitude.

The blade-technique ultimate move and lightness-skill ultimate move Ji Qing had comprehended so far were both highly practical and extremely powerful.

At this moment, the information on the first page of the Demon Record had changed drastically.

Ji Qing: Third-Rate Martial Artist

Supreme Yang Rising Sun Skill: Perfection (Supreme Yang Inner Force, Inner Force Burst amplifies by thirty percent)

Thirteen Fast Blades: Perfection (Ultimate Move: Thread of Sky)

Grass on Wings: Perfection (Ultimate Move: Void Borrowing Strength)

Origin Points: 5

The two inner cultivation techniques had fused into a new martial art called the Supreme Yang Rising Sun Skill.

Though Ji Qing was still a Third-Rate Martial Artist at present,

he was actually only one third-rate inner cultivation technique away from reaching the second rate!

Though he had spent five Origin Points, his overall strength had surged tremendously!

"With five Origin Points left, I need to find a third-rate inner cultivation technique. Perhaps I should also find a blade technique focused on explosive strength, to deal with demons and monsters with powerful bodies."

Just as Ji Qing sank into thought, a burst of hurried footsteps came from outside.

A group of constables suddenly barged into the courtyard.