"Oh? The warriors from Yuyang Village had decent fighting strength?" Ning Gongdao's mind flashed with the figures of Ren Yuan, Tang Long, and Jiang Yan.
"Could it be that Ren Yuan has just broken through?" he wondered silently.
"Ahem..." He gave a soft cough. "Since there's no major problem over in Yuyang Village, let's go support Xiaoqiu Village."
"We'll make sure to clear out every anomaly that slipped in tonight."
With that, he strode off, moving as swiftly as a shooting star chasing the moon.
Behind him, Hu Xing hurriedly called for the Patrol Team members to follow.
Whoosh!
Jiang Yan flicked his long sword, a flash of cold light cutting an anomaly to ash.
He panted softly. There really had been a lot of anomalies tonight.
He glanced at the increase in his Weird Value.
Weird Value: 98
"Mm... I gained so much this time." Joy flowed through him. Coming to Qingshan Village had really paid off.
Only a small portion of the Weird Value he'd gained came from the anomalies he killed himself. Most of it was thanks to Ren Yuan.
After all, Ren Yuan was a Body Refining Realm warrior, and he was far more efficient at killing anomalies.
This experience had also firmly set Jiang Yan on the path of increasing his Weird Value.
First: find a way to stay beside powerful sect experts. Let them kill anomalies while he reaped the rewards. That way, he could gain Weird Value easily, without much danger.
Second: farm low-level anomalies. The Weird Value from them wasn't high, but they posed less danger, and the gains were steady.
"Besides, it's time I put improving my martial arts on the agenda. I need to find a way to obtain a cultivation method for the Body Refining Realm as soon as possible."
"If it's too difficult and I can't get one, I can consider stacking up my External Cultivation instead. In short, I can't rely entirely on the power of talismans."
Talismans were, after all, external objects. When faced with an anomaly—especially one that launched a surprise attack—he wouldn't have time to use a talisman. At that point, he'd lose the power to kill it.
Ever since he'd learned that physical strength could also break through an anomaly's Black Membrane, he'd already made plans for his own advancement.
He would cultivate Inner Qi while also practicing External Cultivation.
In fact, methods for cultivating martial Inner Qi also trained the body, but their main focus was cultivating the Inner Qi that emerged within.
External Cultivation, on the other hand, focused mainly on training the body and improving strength, speed, and the like.
Every warrior knew the benefits of External Cultivation, but not all warriors deliberately practiced it, for two reasons.
First: there wasn't enough time. Martial cultivation demanded relentless progress. Just cultivating Inner Qi alone kept people racing against the clock. Practicing External Cultivation as well would consume valuable time. In the end, they might practice both Inner Qi and External Cultivation, only to hinder their progress in the martial realms.
Second: there weren't enough resources. Cultivating Inner Qi already consumed a great deal of resources. Adding External Cultivation would double or even multiply the cost, and ordinary people simply couldn't afford it.
As Jiang Yan mulled this over, bursts of cheering suddenly rang out from inside Qingshan Village.
Hmm?
Had that anomaly already been eliminated?
Above the village, a jade willow stretched across the sky. Countless fine aerial roots sprouted and spread, forming a pot-lid-shaped barrier that covered Qingshan Village. Then the jade willow faded, and every strange sight vanished.
"Mm... That's about the same as the protection from the Big Carp Talisman Soldier."
"Looks like Qingshan Village's Rune Soldier has indeed resumed guarding the village."
"In other words..." Jiang Yan looked into the vast darkness. "The most dangerous moment has passed."
The Sha inside the village and the anomalies from the wilderness had both been dangerous. Now that the Rune Soldier's defenses were back, it meant the Sha had been killed, and the anomalies in the wilderness could no longer enter the village.
"Once we take care of the anomalies that slipped in, our trip to Qingshan Village will be over."
He thought silently. By now, Jiang Yan was eager to return to Yuyang Village and focus on improving his martial arts.
"Jiang Yan," Ren Yuan called out. "Someone in the village just brought word of Lord Ning's order. In half an hour, we'll enter the village and search every inch for any anomalies that might have slipped in."
"That Sha-level anomaly is dead."
So it really had been killed. He hadn't been mistaken.
Jiang Yan's expression remained calm. "Does Tang Long know?"
"Mm, I've already told him."
"In that case, let's keep patrolling for this last half hour."
Half an hour later.
Rustle!
Rustle!
The Yuyang Village patrol squad returned.
On the way, seeing that things were relatively safe, Jiang Yan quietly asked Ren Yuan a question.
"Chief, last time you said that Body Refining Realm warriors could shatter an anomaly's Black Membrane with their physical strength. But you also said that Inner Qi was the strongest kind of power!"
"What did you mean?"
Ren Yuan looked at Jiang Yan in surprise. This was common knowledge. Jiang Yan was a warrior, after all.
How did he not know this?
"Maybe he never had any contact with warriors before," Ren Yuan thought. "Or perhaps he advanced too quickly. He only just became a warrior, so there really may be some common knowledge he doesn't understand."
Thinking this, he patiently explained it to Jiang Yan. "As I said last time, any kind of power can break an anomaly's Black Membrane, including physical strength."
"And you weren't wrong, either. Inner Qi is indeed the strongest power a Body Refining warrior possesses."
Seeing Jiang Yan's serious expression, Ren Yuan thought for a moment. He looked around and spotted a small tree by the roadside a short distance ahead.
He motioned for Jiang Yan to follow.
When they reached the tree, Ren Yuan said, "See this little tree?"
"For example, if this tree were an anomaly, its bark would be its Black Membrane."
He took off his saber and continued, "Why do we say Inner Qi is the most ferocious power a Body Refining warrior has?"
"You can think of your fist as a warrior's physical strength, and the saber as Inner Qi."
In other words, Inner Qi was a semi-illusory energy. By its very nature, its attacks were somewhat stronger than physical strength.
Ren Yuan raised his saber and gestured to Jiang Yan.
"Watch. I'll use the same amount of force."
He lightly swung the saber, slicing into the little tree.
Whoosh!
The saber cut halfway through the trunk.
"Now look again. Use the same amount of force and strike the tree with your fist."
"See what happens."
Thud! Ren Yuan threw a punch, and leaves fluttered down.
A white mark appeared on the trunk, a clear trace left by the blow of his fist.
"Now you understand, right?" He looked at Jiang Yan. "Inner Qi and your own strength can both hurt things, but they're on different levels."
"To break through an anomaly's defenses with your body alone, you need much greater strength."
As he spoke, he drove a fist into the little tree, putting far more force behind it than before.
Crack! The little tree snapped.
Jiang Yan fell silent. He said nothing, only clasped his hands slightly toward Ren Yuan.
He reflected, "The greatest enemy of the Human Race in this world is the anomalies. Inner Qi is clearly more effective against them, so methods for cultivating Inner Qi are the true mainstream."
"Likewise, Inner Qi is a power that emerges inside a warrior when their own blood and qi combine with the Vital Energy of heaven and earth. Its attacks are indeed incredibly ferocious."
"In Ren Yuan's example, he compared Inner Qi to a blade and physical strength to fists and feet. That means Inner Qi itself is on a higher level than physical strength."
"So, to break through an anomaly's Black Membrane with physical strength, I'll need to use far more force than I would when striking with a blade."
Unless he could cultivate an advanced Body Refining method, practicing External Cultivation would only get him half the results for twice the effort.
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