Yuyang Village, Ren Yuan's residence.
Jiang Yan, Tang Long, and Fei Shan had all hurried over.
The matter was urgent. The hall had issued a death order: the two villages near Qingshan Village had to send people to provide support. Anyone who disobeyed or treated the order perfunctorily would be severely punished.
"That's how things stand. A High-Level Monster seems to be lurking near Qingshan Village, and the village's Patrol Team seems unable to handle it."
Ren Yuan briefly explained the situation. It was much the same as what Tang Long had said—Qingshan Village seemed to have run into major trouble.
"Chief, can we deduce what level the monster is?" Fei Shan asked gravely.
If possible, this question had to be clarified.
In fact, the only thing capable of leaving an entire village's Patrol Team unable to cope was a Slayer Level monster.
If it were merely a Ranked Monster, they would not just be asking the hall for reinforcements—they would send out a distress signal directly.
For example, the last time a Ranked Monster invaded Yuyang Village, if the distress call had not been sent in time and the hall had not used a high-level talisman to destroy the monster, the entire village might have become food for it.
"This..." Ren Yuan hesitated for a moment. "The message from the hall said it was suspected to be a Blood Sha!"
Blood Sha?!
The expressions of Jiang Yan and the other two changed instantly.
This was a monster corresponding to the final major realm of the Three Body-Refining Realms.
Jiang Yan and the others were only Martial Apprentices. Before a Blood Sha monster comparable to a Blood Refining Realm martial artist, they were as weak as ants.
"Chief, if it really is a Blood Sha, wouldn't going there just mean throwing our lives away?"
Tang Long asked in a deep voice.
He was referring to everyone present, including Ren Yuan.
Although Ren Yuan was a Body Refining Realm martial artist, he was only in the Body Refining Realm—two realms below the Blood Refining Realm.
Even he would be nothing more than slightly stronger cannon fodder before a Blood Sha.
Ren Yuan shook his head and said with a bitter smile, "You've misunderstood. The hall is sending us to provide support, not to attack and kill that suspected Blood Sha monster."
"If that were the case, then even if we had to risk punishment, we couldn't rush there to throw our lives away."
The others all looked over. Ren Yuan continued, "The hall will send other people to deal with that monster."
"But because a powerful monster has invaded, the Rune Soldier sensed it and has already divided most of its power to suppress the monster. As a result, there are gaps in the Rune Soldier's defenses, and some monsters may take the opportunity to enter the village."
"Our main mission is to kill those monsters and prevent too many casualties in Qingshan Village."
After hearing Ren Yuan's explanation, the expressions of Jiang Yan and the other two eased somewhat.
Although Qingshan Village had a High-Level Monster, at least they would not have to face something so terrifying directly.
At this moment, Ren Yuan took three talismans from his robes and handed one to each of them.
Jiang Yan took his. The tadpole-like runes on it resembled those on the Blazing Flames Talisman, only somewhat more complicated.
"This is a mid-grade Blazing Flames Talisman. You use it the same way as the Blazing Flames Talismans you normally use, but it's more powerful."
A mid-grade Blazing Flames Talisman?
Was this an upgraded version of the Blazing Flames Talisman?
"The power of a mid-grade Blazing Flames Talisman is basically equivalent to the Inner Qi of a Body Tempering Realm martial artist. We don't know what dangers we'll encounter this time in Qingshan Village, so don't conserve your talisman power when the time comes."
Ren Yuan warned them earnestly.
So that was how it was. The power of a mid-grade Blazing Flames Talisman was equivalent to the strength of Body Refining Realm Inner Qi.
Then the Blazing Flames Talismans they normally used should be low-grade Blazing Flames Talismans, with power equivalent to the Inner Qi of Body Refining Realm martial artists.
Talismans truly were a powerful force. They could infinitely balance out the gap between the weak and the strong.
He suddenly remembered that Sheng Fuwu had once given him an Ice Talisman. It seemed even better than the Blazing Flames Talisman, so it should also be a mid-grade talisman.
At this moment, Tang Long asked, "Chief, could it be that ordinary Blazing Flames Talismans can't kill Slayer Level monsters?"
Ren Yuan had not expected Tang Long to ask that. After thinking for a moment, he slowly said, "It's not that they can't kill them. As long as the monster stands still and lets you hack at it, a Blazing Flames Talisman can still kill a Slayer Level monster."
So that meant they couldn't kill it.
Jiang Yan could understand the reasoning. A Martial Apprentice using talisman power to kill a monster was much like a child wielding a sharp blade.
If the opponent were a monster on the same level as a Body Refining Realm martial artist, how could they possibly kill it?
Their attack power might be similar, but in other aspects, such as strength and speed, monsters were even stronger.
A Martial Apprentice facing a Slayer Level monster had not the slightest advantage.
At this thought, Jiang Yan suddenly came up with a question. "Chief, I want to know why ordinary people and Martial Apprentices don't have the power to kill monsters."
Previously, when he had killed monsters, he had discovered that his physique and speed were not far behind those of Slayer Level monsters. However, whenever he killed a monster, there had always been a talisman attached to his weapon.
In other words, killing monsters depended on two things. On one hand, his Martial Apprentice strength, physique, speed, and martial skills allowed him to strike the monster. On the other, the power of the Blazing Flames Talisman could injure the monster when his attack landed.
He had never tried removing the talisman and directly fighting a monster with his weapon. He knew from experience that those below the Body Refining Realm lacked the power to injure monsters, but he did not understand why.
Hearing Jiang Yan's words, Ren Yuan smiled. "You've been in the Patrol Team for so long. How do you not even know this?"
As he spoke, his body trembled. In an instant, a thin layer of white Inner Qi covered his entire body.
"Look..."
Ren Yuan pointed at the Body Refining Inner Qi around him and said softly, "After a martial artist advances to the Body Refining Realm, they can use Inner Qi to protect their body. Inner Qi may look like clouds or mist, but in reality, it's incomparably violent."
"Ordinary low-level martial artists attacking a Body Refining Realm martial artist basically have no chance of breaking through their protective Inner Qi."
"With Body Refining Inner Qi, Body Refining Realm martial artists largely avoid the possibility of being killed by a sneak attack."
Jiang Yan did not understand why Ren Yuan was explaining the characteristics of Body Refining Inner Qi to him, but he still followed Ren Yuan's words. "So, if they can't break through the protective Inner Qi, a Body Refining Realm martial artist won't be injured?"
Ren Yuan nodded. "You can put it that way."
"Moreover, the reason it's called protective Inner Qi is that when it's attacked, it also generates a countershock that injures the enemy."
"Generally speaking, only power of the same level or higher can break through protective Inner Qi."
Jiang Yan understood. This protective Inner Qi was practically an all-around shield—and one that reflected damage, at that.
As long as one lacked the strength to shatter protective Inner Qi in a single blow, one basically could not injure a Body Refining Realm martial artist.
Then just how severe had Sheng Fuwu's injuries been back then for Jiang Yan to have dealt with him so easily?
After finishing his explanation of Body Refining Inner Qi, Ren Yuan brought the topic back to the question Jiang Yan had asked. "Actually, the reason those below the Body Refining Realm can't kill monsters is that monsters are born with a layer of protective membrane from the moment they come into existence. This membrane has no offensive power, but its defensive effect is similar to the protective Inner Qi of a Body Refining Realm martial artist."
"We generally call this membrane the Black Membrane. Only Body Refining Realm Inner Qi can easily break it. Martial Apprentices have merely awakened a sense of qi; their qi is nurtured within and cannot be released externally. That's why people say that those below the Body Refining Realm cannot injure or kill monsters."
A monster's Black Membrane? Innate defense?
So that was it. If one could not break the monster's Black Membrane, one could not kill it.
"When our Human Race classified monsters, the reason Slayer Level monsters corresponded to the Martial Apprentice realm was, on one hand, that apart from the difficulty of shattering their Black Membranes, monsters at this level were no weaker than Slayer Level monsters in any other aspect. But with talismans, Martial Apprentices gained the power to kill Slayer Level monsters."
"On the other hand, the protective Black Membranes of Slayer Level monsters were far weaker than the protective Inner Qi of Body Refining Realm martial artists. Aside from certain special Blood Sha, basically all Slayer Level monsters could be injured by a single strike from a Body Refining Realm martial artist."
At this point, he smiled. "When Martial Apprentices use Blazing Flames Talismans to fight monsters, they're essentially using Body Refining Realm Inner Qi against their enemies, which instead gives them quite a few advantages."
Jiang Yan nodded, then asked one more question. "Can Martial Apprentices really not kill monsters?"
Seeing how seriously Jiang Yan asked, Ren Yuan shook his head and said, "Without talisman power, it's basically impossible—unless someone can possess physical strength far beyond that of an ordinary Martial Apprentice while still in the Martial Apprentice realm."
"A Body Refining Realm martial artist, for example, can break a Slayer Level monster's Black Membrane without using Inner Qi, relying solely on physical strength."
"Ultimately, a monster's Black Membrane isn't as miraculous as you imagine. It's similar to an animal's fur or a plant's bark—something that grows naturally."
"There's a limit to how much force it can withstand. No matter what kind of force it is, as long as it exceeds that limit, it can shatter the membrane."
"But ordinary people aren't as reckless as Body Refining Realm martial artists, willing to use their own strength to kill monsters. Compared to sheer physical strength, Inner Qi is the strongest and sharpest weapon a Body Refining Realm martial artist possesses!"
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