Killing Technique

"The heat of Blood Burst is the nascent form of Qi.

Force manifests outwardly, Qi is hidden within; young master, remember this.

As for controlling and strengthening this heat… it is related to whether one can reach the Seventh Rank realm.

Mastery relies on comprehension;

Execution depends on innate talent;

As for strengthening… besides daily tempering, one must also seek rare treasures and opportunities. Only then can this process be accelerated. Otherwise, relying solely on one's own arduous efforts might take an unknown amount of time…

However, even if one succeeds then, it will be too late.

Human energy is finite. If a person cannot reach the Seventh Rank in their prime, then… even if they reach it through hard work later, that will be the limit."

Song Xue stood with her hands behind her back under the moonlight.

The moonlight flowed, and the beautiful woman stood tall, her starry eyes like spring water, like a painting.

Suddenly, rustling sounds came from outside the courtyard, accompanied by hushed voices saying, "Don't push me," and "I'm about to fall out."

The young woman suddenly quieted down, then coughed heavily.

Silence immediately fell outside the full moon archway.

A moment later, several burly men from the martial hall ambled out, chuckling sheepishly.

The leading man scratched his head and said with a smile, "Sister, hello. We… we… were just on patrol here."

Another round-faced man chuckled, "Sister, Young Master Qi, we're just taking a look around, haha, taking a look around."

Further back, a tall, thin man's gaze secretly flickered between Qi Yu and Song Xue before he quickly withdrew it, his eyes flashing with hidden light.

Watching this scene, Qi Yu couldn't help but smile. At the same time, he realized that Song Xue teaching him the killing move alone was actually a very intimate act.

It made sense, after all. What kind of girl would teach martial arts to a man under the soft moonlight late at night?

These men who had come were all here to gossip.

This interruption was just a minor interlude.

Once discovered, the men no longer peeked, and Song Xue continued her instruction.

"The killing moves of our Spirit Serpent Martial Hall focus on the hands and arms.

The mobilization of heat is precisely in these two areas."

As she spoke, Song Xue's gaze swept across the courtyard, and she picked up a dark iron staff from the corner. She rolled up her sleeves, revealing a section of her fair, white forearm, and held the iron staff level with her eyebrows. "Watch closely."

Her voice fell, and she let go.

The moment the iron staff fell, a sharp glint appeared in her eyes. On her right arm, blood energy surged, extending more than an inch. In the cold night air, it expanded like a cybernetic white metal power arm.

Her hand moved from bottom to top, meeting the falling iron staff. Her five fingers, like a snake raising its head, coiled around the staff…

Crack.

Crack, crack, crack!!

With a grating sound, Qi Yu clearly saw the muscles on her arm tighten like steel cables, coiling layer by layer. The iron staff twisted in response.

The surging blood energy did not stop; it continued to converge on her palm, condensing into an illusory white claw that expanded by two inches. With a powerful clench!

Sizzle!

The tip of the iron staff was actually torn off like dough.

Having finished, Song Xue retracted her stance and lowered her sleeves, saying, "This is Azure Serpent Entwining Kill, White Serpent Throat Seal.

If combined with a classified spear, the force can be channeled through the spear. When the wrist turns, the spear is agile; when the fingers press, the force gathers at a single point."

Qi Yu was also aware of classified weapons.

Ordinary ironware could not withstand the force of a martial artist. Only weapons forged with special materials could be classified.

In the words of the [Abandoned World], this was more intuitive: Want to forge an Eighth Rank weapon? Fine, bring an Eighth Rank Yao Beast's bone or horn. Want to forge a Sixth Rank one? Then… bring a Sixth Rank one.

Of course, this was just the simplest and most direct explanation.

In reality, the art of weapon forging was extremely complex and not something done casually…

Afterward, Song Xue began to teach Qi Yu the method of mobilizing heat for the Spirit Serpent Killing Technique. It wasn't until more than half an hour had passed that the two separated.

The next morning, before dawn, the Spirit Serpent Martial Hall was already bustling with activity.

In the courtyard, those martial artists who had not yet reached a classified rank, in addition to their daily training, had to handle numerous chores – purchasing and cooking, carrying water and chopping wood, sweeping and washing, even emptying chamber pots and cleaning latrines were all included.

Qi Yu also got up early, recalling the Spirit Serpent Killing Technique taught by Miss Song last night.

Although the technique had only two moves, it contained a great deal. The most crucial part was the "method of heat transportation," which aimed to gather the scattered heat energy throughout the body to the arms and palms.

After practicing for a while, Qi Yu felt that practicing in isolation had its limitations. Thus, he walked towards the training grounds in the inner courtyard and practiced with several Eighth Rank martial artists.

The atmosphere of the martial hall was good. After exchanging greetings, Qi Yu felt he had also integrated into this atmosphere.

Around noon, Qi Yu was resting on the stone steps beneath the eaves when a man with tanned skin, who looked thin but had dense muscle and sharp eyes, walked over. He sat next to Qi Yu and bowed with a smile, saying, "Young Master Qi."

Qi Yu looked at the man.

He had already noticed this person.

Song Xue's combat power data was "29~57," while this man's was "29~58." It was no exaggeration to say he was the second strongest expert at the Spirit Serpent Martial Hall.

Like Song Xue, this man had participated in the Provincial Examination three years ago and had successfully passed, becoming a Martial Scholar. At the hall, people called him "Ghost Hand Seven," "Brother Seven," or "A-Qi."

Qi Yu smiled and returned the bow, "Brother Seven."

Ghost Hand Seven waved his hands repeatedly, "Young Master Qi is too polite."

Seeing his humble attitude, Ghost Hand Seven's expression became even more friendly.

Qi Yu took the opportunity to ask about his cultivation doubts. Ghost Hand Seven did not hold back, explaining and clarifying with hand gestures as he spoke.

Just then, a commotion suddenly erupted from the disciples on the outer perimeter of the training grounds, those still practicing skin tempering, and those still refining their Blood Essence who were not yet ranked.

"Thank you, Senior Sister Song."

"Hello, Senior Sister Song..."

"Senior Sister Song, sorry to trouble you."

Qi Yu turned his head to look.

He saw the young lady Song, dressed in a simple, plain white combat outfit, her ponytail swaying as she walked. Behind her followed a burly man holding a ceramic jar with a "Spirit Serpent" pattern, applying medicine to the tempering disciples' hands.

Meanwhile, young lady Song was simply asking the disciples one by one about their cultivation problems and then resolving them.

Even so, many disciples who spoke with her had flushed faces, and their voices had become much more "gentlemanly," unlike their usual boisterous chatter.

Ghost Hand Seven, however, let out a long sigh.

Qi Yu asked, "Brother Seven, why the long sigh?"

Ghost Hand Seven said, "Originally, there would have been dozens more disciples here today..."

As he spoke, he slapped his thigh and said, "I just hope Junior Brother Chu can perform well in this Provincial Examination and take down that dog surnamed Han."

Qi Yu understood.

That day, the Chu-Han Battle had severely damaged the reputation of the Spirit Serpent Martial Hall, causing many who had originally planned to apprentice there to go elsewhere.

Although the Spirit Serpent Martial Hall appeared lively now, in reality... a sense of desolation had begun to set in.

The martial hall's reputation was at stake.

How could reputation be regained?

It all came down to "success or failure."

Reality was this cruel; a martial artist's strength was not proven by words, but by combat.

Soon, Song Xue walked over to the inner courtyard.

Ghost Hand Seven stood up abruptly. Seeing that Qi Yu was also about to stand, he raised a hand and pressed down on the young man's shoulder, saying, "You rest a bit longer."

With a smile, he then ran off.

Song Xue walked up to Qi Yu and took a booklet from her bosom and handed it over.

Qi Yu opened it. The booklet contained extremely detailed records of the key points of the killing technique, as well as all possible problems one might encounter.

The handwriting was elegant, and the ink was still fresh...

"I still need to cultivate daily, so I might not be able to attend to you as much. I hope this booklet can help you.

I've also heard roughly about your Qi family matters, so... this time, you can only succeed in the Provincial Examination.

The Provincial Examination is divided into Jia, Yi, and Bing grades, and upper, middle, and lower tiers. As long as you achieve Yi Zhong (Second Class, Middle Grade), you will have passed...

I believe in you, you can definitely achieve the B-grade, you can definitely pass.