Inner Qi Level Six

As a series of cracking sounds came from the dense bushes, a giant lizard over two meters long, with bright red skin, revealed itself.

"Red Rock Lizard. Judging by the fluctuations of its aura, it should be an early-stage Level One Demonic Beast."

Thanks to Old Man Zhao's collection of books, Lu Ming quickly identified the species of Demonic Beast before him.

Generally speaking, Level One Demonic Beasts corresponded to the Inner Qi Realm of human Martial Artists, while Level Two corresponded to the True Qi Realm, and so on.

The early stage of Level One was equivalent to the first through third levels of the Inner Qi Realm.

"Very good. I'll use you to test my blade today."

Having encountered a suitable opponent, Lu Ming's hand was already gripping his saber hilt. Though somewhat excited, he remained extremely cautious.

This was only the second time he had faced a living creature. The first had naturally been when he settled his grudge.

Since that had been an assassination, it had not truly revealed anything.

But now, his opponent was a Demonic Beast—thick-skinned and tough-fleshed, lacking intelligence, and fearless of death.

It was worth treating seriously.

Sure enough, upon seeing Lu Ming, the Red Rock Lizard had already taken him for prey. It bared its fangs and pounced at him first.

Its massive body, over two meters long, had not even crossed half the distance before a foul wind struck his face.

Lu Ming remained calm and unhurried. With a sidestep, he evaded the pounce.

Then his long saber slid from its sheath, stabbing toward the Red Rock Lizard's eyeball.

He attacked the enemy where it was weakest, choosing the most vulnerable part of the giant lizard's body.

Bang!

Yet the saber failed to pierce through. At the critical moment, the Red Rock Lizard had shut its eye, letting its hard eyelid block the strike.

"Truly gifted by nature—even its eyelids are this hard!"

Though his strike had failed, Lu Ming was not disappointed. He used the Cloud Soaring Skill and retreated in a flying leap.

Roar!

But the Red Rock Lizard would not let up. Seemingly enraged, it twisted around after landing and pounced again.

"Again!"

Lu Ming naturally repeated the same move, easily dodging before unleashing the first move of the Heavenly Saber Saber Art, Gale Style.

This move pursued speed above all else. It could slash or stab, swift as a gale.

Thus, before the Red Rock Lizard could even blink, the long saber had smoothly pierced in and passed through its brain.

Whoosh!

Even after succeeding with a single strike, Lu Ming swiftly pulled away.

Naturally, he did so to prevent the Red Rock Lizard from going mad and launching a final counterattack before death. It was better to keep some distance first.

"As expected, practicing saber techniques against living creatures and practicing them against wooden stakes are completely different."

Only after a while did the Red Rock Lizard finally cease moving altogether.

That meant Lu Ming had dealt with his opponent, but he was not particularly delighted. The battle had made him recognize his own shortcomings.

If he had chosen Gale Style from the start, he could have killed his opponent instantly and would not have needed to expend so much effort.

Of course, probing his opponent had also been necessary. The balance between those choices required careful focus and discernment.

After reflecting on himself, Lu Ming seemed to have found the direction in which his saber techniques could improve. He stopped dwelling on it for the moment and walked over to the Red Rock Lizard's corpse.

This Red Rock Lizard likely weighed several hundred jin. He could not possibly take the whole thing with him.

Otherwise, he would not be able to continue his training afterward.

So, comparing it with the information in his mind, he began gathering the valuable materials from the Red Rock Lizard.

First, he cut open its belly to search for a Demonic Core.

Demonic Cores could be used in pill refining and artifact forging, with countless marvelous uses. They were therefore quite valuable.

But they were not easy to obtain.

Generally speaking, only Demonic Beasts of Level Two and above could condense them within their bodies.

Naturally, there were exceptions, so he decided to try his luck.

Unfortunately, his luck was not very good, and he could only begin collecting other materials.

There were not many valuable parts on the Red Rock Lizard. Only its hide was worth much, and it could be used to make protective gear.

Lu Ming first took the hide, then gathered some other items. Once he had dealt with most of it, a large pile still remained.

"If only I had a storage ring. I wonder when I'll be able to afford one."

Having been poor for too long, Lu Ming felt an ache in his heart as he looked at the pile left on the ground.

Thus, he thought of the storage rings he had read about in books.

But since he did not have one now, he could only cut away his own flesh and abandon the rest.

After advancing again, he soon encountered a second opponent: a mid-stage Level One Demonic Wolf. It was incredibly fast and not especially large, hiding and attacking amid the dense forest.

It was extremely difficult to deal with.

Fortunately, the Heavenly Saber Saber Art was a saber art that pursued speed, while its accompanying footwork and movement techniques were also exceptionally nimble and varied, excelling at turning, shifting, and maneuvering within narrow spaces.

Therefore, the dense forest was not an obstacle.

With the support of Heavenly Blade Inner Energy, Lu Ming was even faster than that Demonic Wolf.

Afterimages and saber light filled the forest.

Relying on his speed, Lu Ming faced the Demonic Wolf's attacks with composure. As time passed, his combat techniques steadily improved as well.

He learned to use his eyesight and speed to strike after yet arrive first, intercepting attacks before counterattacking with the momentum.

After several dozen exchanges, the Demonic Wolf was sliced in two at the waist.

"Continue!"

Without wasting time, Lu Ming collected the materials and continued deeper into the mountain range in search of opponents.

As time passed, the sun sank toward the western hills. Only when he sensed the forest growing ever darker did Lu Ming stop.

After more than half a day of slaughter, not only was he ravenous, but the inner energy in his body had also been nearly exhausted.

Thus, he decided to end things here for the day and find a place to spend the night.

The forest was more dangerous at night, so he had to find somewhere shielded on all sides. While there was still some light, he searched quickly.

His luck was not bad. He soon found a small stone cave a few square meters in size. After testing it and confirming that no Demonic Beasts were hiding inside, he piled in plenty of firewood and lit a fire.

Naturally, the purpose was to drive away small creatures such as venomous insects, snakes, and ants.

Only after burning it out for a while did Lu Ming feel safe enough to move in.

Before long, he came back outside and scattered medicinal powder to repel insects and beasts. Once he had finished, he sat by the campfire and ate dried provisions and roasted meat.

A quarter of an hour later.

Full and satisfied, Lu Ming began circulating his cultivation method, cultivating as he restored his inner energy.

Thanks to the extraordinary Heavenly Saber Art, it took only half an hour for him to fill his dantian once more. Moreover, he had even more inner energy than before.

"I didn't expect that after a round of battles, I'd directly reach the peak of Inner Qi Level Five."

Having found the answer, Lu Ming was somewhat pleasantly surprised. He had only broken through to Inner Qi Level Five a few days ago, yet he had already advanced another step.

This speed was like riding a rocket.

Without further thought, he hurriedly continued cultivating, wanting to see whether he could ride the momentum and break through to Inner Qi Level Six tonight.

The night passed without incident, and in the blink of an eye, it was the next morning.

Lu Ming woke from sleep. As expected, he had broken through smoothly again the night before, reaching Inner Qi Level Six.

The inner energy within his body had naturally increased by another large amount, allowing him to fight for longer.

So, without delay, after eating some dried provisions, he picked up his saber and continued searching for Demonic Beasts to battle.

Another day passed like this. Lu Ming had been in the Shuofeng Mountain Range for nearly three days, and only when his cloth sack was almost too full to hold anything else did he have no choice but to stop.

During this time, he had killed more than twenty Demonic Beasts, including several late-stage Level One Demonic Beasts equivalent to the eighth or ninth level of the Inner Qi Realm.

Though the hunts had been difficult, and he had even suffered some injuries because of them, he had ultimately killed them all successfully.

He had also encountered a Level Two Demonic Beast. Fortunately, he spotted it early and swiftly used the Cloud Soaring Skill to flee, escaping danger without mishap.

In short, this expedition had yielded a bountiful harvest. Leaving aside the materials that his sack could barely contain, there was also his strength.

After several days of tempering, he had mastered extremely profound practical combat techniques.

First was his eyesight. He discovered that his perception was exceptionally keen, often allowing him to anticipate the enemy's moves and strike after yet arrive first.

As a result, his saber techniques had become more concise and sharper, entering another level altogether.

It could be said that, at this point, his only weakness was his lack of fist and kicking techniques.

Since those in the Inner Qi Realm could not release qi outside their bodies, they naturally could not shape saber qi. Once he lost his long saber, his strength would be greatly reduced.

That was how he had received the injuries currently on his body. At the time, his long saber had become lodged inside a Demonic Beast, and it was fortunate that he had decisively abandoned the saber and retreated.

Otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

This was where the usefulness of fist and kicking techniques stood out.

Without thinking further, Lu Ming split the Green Vine Snake lunging to bite him into two with a single slash. He decided to end this training expedition, for even if he obtained better items, he had no room to carry them.

Thus, without further delay, he hoisted the cloth sack onto his shoulder and headed back.

But at that moment, two people suddenly blocked his path.