The Use of Demonic Beasts

"Crack, crunch~"

The sounds of bones grinding came from Jiang Ping An's body.

In the pool, Jiang Ping An's body twisted strangely, as though worms were crawling beneath his skin.

His body radiated heat far beyond that of an ordinary person, and mist rose from the water's surface.

"Ha!"

Jiang Ping An leaped high out of the water and raised his fist, smashing it into a tree on the shore.

With a bang, the tree trunk exploded.

Looking at the flying wood chips before him, a trace of astonishment appeared on Jiang Ping An's still-youthful face.

In just one day, he had actually learned the First Floor of the "Blood Qi Art"!

Though he had taken three Blood Qi Pills, which boosted cultivation.

Wasn't this still far too fast?

Could the "Blood Qi Art" be easy to learn?

No, that wasn't right. From what he had learned in the city, only one soldier out of five hundred could master the First Floor of the "Blood Qi Art."

If the "Blood Qi Art" were easy to learn, there could not possibly be so few Middle Captains in the army.

But if it was difficult to learn, how had he mastered it in a single day?

Could it be related to the fact that he was a cultivator?

Or perhaps, when it came to body cultivation, he was a genius?

Jiang Ping An did not know what was going on with him. He had no teacher, no friends, no guide—no one to tell him why.

Still, Jiang Ping An was very happy.

Mastering the First Floor of the "Blood Qi Art" meant that he could now go toe-to-toe with an ordinary Middle Captain without using spiritual energy.

He had not forgotten the terrifying strength of that man outside the Eagle's Sigh Mountain Range, whose single slash had shattered his muscles.

Jiang Ping An touched his head. This breakthrough had made him noticeably taller, and his slender body had gained some flesh.

"If Father and Mother saw how tall I am now, they would definitely be happy."

At the thought, the smile on Jiang Ping An's face suddenly vanished, and he clenched his fist tightly.

He slowly exhaled. "I'm still not strong enough. Not strong enough to take revenge."

Those soldiers would never let him go, and he would never let go of the soldiers who had driven his parents to death.

"Grrrumble~"

A hungry sound came from his stomach.

He had clearly just eaten, yet he was hungry again already.

He had heard that martial artists had enormous appetites. It was probably because Martial Warriors increased their Blood Qi through food.

Jiang Ping An walked over to the horse meat roasting over the coals, tore off a chunk, and began eating.

The stars filled the sky, and the night was azure. Within the shadowy forest, the young man sat alone before the fire, accompanied only by his swaying shadow.

"Whoosh~"

A Black Leopard suddenly sprang from the darkness and lunged for Jiang Ping An's throat.

Jiang Ping An had long been prepared. He grabbed the blade beside him and slashed at the Black Leopard.

"Clang~"

The blade struck the leopard's claw, producing the sound of steel colliding with steel.

The leopard landed swiftly, kicked off with its hind legs, and once again shot toward Jiang Ping An's throat at tremendous speed.

Jiang Ping An's heart tightened. This leopard's claws had actually blocked his blade!

He was a Qi Refining Third Layer cultivator!

Could this be a demonic beast?

His father had once said that besides ordinary wild beasts, the mountains also contained exceptionally powerful demonic beasts.

These demonic beasts were more intelligent than ordinary beasts, and their strength and speed far surpassed those of other animals.

If this leopard bit him, he would definitely be finished!

Jiang Ping An did not dare let down his guard in the slightest. He swiftly rose and retreated, swinging his blade at the same time.

Phantom Blade!!

Afterimages appeared around the blade as it slashed toward the Black Leopard.

Although he had not yet fully learned the First Floor of Phantom Blade, it was more than enough against a demonic beast with intelligence, but not much of it.

Sure enough, the leopard raised its claw and blocked the Phantom Blade's afterimage, but failed to block the real blade.

"Pfft~"

The blade cut heavily into the leopard's thigh.

Even with his strength, he had not managed to sever its leg!

"Roar~"

The leopard let out a painful howl.

After landing on the ground, it no longer dared attack and turned to flee.

How could Jiang Ping An possibly give it that chance?

Spiritual energy and Blood Qi surged into his arm at once as he threw the blade with all his strength.

The long blade whistled through the air, tore through the void, and violently pierced through the Black Leopard's belly.

Jiang Ping An pounced over. Using the method his father had taught him, he straddled the leopard's back and locked his arm tightly around its neck.

The leopard struggled fiercely. As blood continued to flow, after roughly Half a cup of tea, it stopped moving.

"Whew~"

Jiang Ping An let out a long breath of stale air.

"Looks like the Eagle's Sigh Mountain Range isn't as safe as I imagined. I'll have to watch out for demonic beasts too."

"I wonder what this demonic beast tastes like."

Jiang Ping An dragged the leopard's corpse over to the fire and began cleaning it.

He had only eaten ordinary wild beasts before. He had never eaten these stronger demonic beasts.

As he worked, Jiang Ping An poured spiritual energy into his ears and kept constant watch on the surrounding movements, lest another demonic beast launch a surprise attack.

Several hours later, he tasted his first bite of meat.

At that moment, his eyes suddenly widened.

The meat had the same chewy bite as the Beef Jerky he had eaten as a child, and saliva began to flow uncontrollably.

Once he swallowed it, faint warmth spread from his stomach through his entire body.

It felt somewhat like taking a Blood Qi Pill!

No, it did not merely feel like it. This was Blood Qi!

Jiang Ping An was overjoyed.

Earlier, he had been wondering whether he should set aside a few days to use the Treasure Accumulation Basin to duplicate Blood Qi Pills and cultivate the "Blood Qi Art."

This discovery made him abandon that idea.

Demonic beasts contained Blood Qi within their bodies!

Although a single bite did not replenish much Blood Qi, this leopard was huge.

One leg from this leopard was comparable to a single Blood Qi Pill!

After eating and drinking his fill, Jiang Ping An skewered the remaining leopard meat on wood and smoked it over the fire. He then returned to the crack between the rocks to cultivate the Breathing and Meditation Technique.

Fortunately, after learning the Breathing and Meditation Technique, he no longer needed sleep. Otherwise, he truly would not have been able to sleep in the wilderness.

Over the following days, Jiang Ping An cultivated the Breathing and Meditation Technique at night. During the day, he ate meat, trained his body, and cultivated the "Blood Qi Art."

To train Phantom Blade and obtain demonic beast meat, he often wandered about.

He did not even need to search for demonic beasts himself. Once they caught his scent, they would come running on their own.

Fortunately, these demonic beasts were not particularly strong. The Black Leopard he had encountered that day was already considered rather formidable.

With these demonic beasts, his body cultivation progressed no slower than anything else.

"Please, let us go! Please, at least let my daughter go! She's still just a child! I'm begging you!"

Jiang Ping An was searching for strange beasts when he heard a disturbance nearby and swiftly leaped into a tree.

Not long afterward, a group of people passed beneath the tree.

More than a dozen vicious-looking men armed with weapons were driving along more than a dozen women.

The women ranged from old to young. They cried endlessly, their faces filled with terror and panic.

The armed men wore evil smiles, occasionally taking advantage of the women.

"Please, let my daughter go! I'll go back with you, but she's still so young!"

A woman dressed in coarse cloth clutched a seven- or eight-year-old girl and continuously begged the men beside her.

"Damn it! You're the only one who's been yammering all the way here! Aren't you annoying enough already?"

A man with several scars across his head was extremely impatient. He grabbed the nagging woman and dragged her out.

He said to the other men, "You go on ahead. I need to vent my anger."

"Mother! Mother! Let go of my mother!"

Seeing her mother dragged away, the daughter cried until she was hoarse. Wearing tattered straw sandals, she rushed forward and opened her little mouth, biting down hard on the man's hand.

"Ah!"

The man screamed miserably and slapped the Little Girl to the ground.

"You little bitch! This Old Man will kill you right now!"

With a savage expression, the man pinned the girl to the ground.