Talent Advancement

The next day, the sky was bright.

Qin Meng finished his breakfast and wandered out empty-handed. Instead of heading straight for the mountains as he usually did, he strolled leisurely around Luming Fort.

He pushed his wild instinct to its limit.

Within a radius of thirty meters, every rustle of wind and grass became crystal clear—the sound of a woman splashing water while washing rice, the playful shouts of children chasing each other, the skittering of a mouse in a corner—all of it gathered into his mind like the vibrations of a fine spiderweb.

He was looking for Qin Lai and those few lackeys of his.

He had never forgotten that Song Zhong had led men to follow him into the mountains to kill him. If it weren't for the system, he would have died, and Qiu Yue's fate would have been even more miserable.

After lying low for several days, the repairs to his home were finished. With his martial skill advanced and his strength having taken a leap, it was time to settle the score.

Qin Lai had to die, and those lackeys who acted as his accomplices had to die as well—only by sending them to join Song Zhong's group would Luming Fort be at peace.

As he walked, he memorized the layout of the fort. The twists and turns of the alleys and the scattered houses were all clearly mapped out in his mind. His ears, however, remained pricked, catching the fragments of conversation from passersby.

By midday, he had circled the front and back of the fort.

Unfortunately.

From the idle chatter of a few hunters, he learned that Qin Lai and his older brother, Qin Wang, had left the fort early that morning carrying heavy gifts, seemingly to visit some influential figure.

The lackeys were either following them or had gone to town; there wasn't a single target he could strike.

As he walked to the west side of the fort, a burst of exasperated cursing exploded from a courtyard by the side of the road:

"Strike with force and precision! Did you not eat today?"

"You're going to be the death of me! Pull the throat quickly, let it choke on its own blood, or this half-carcass will spoil. Good grief, how did I end up teaching a bunch of idiots like you?"

Qin Meng paused, and a line of small text appeared out of thin air before his eyes:

[Life source +0.2%, +0.18%...]

He took a few quick steps, and the numbers dropped to +0.15%; as he approached the courtyard gate, they rose again to +0.19%. The closer he got to the interior of the yard, the faster they climbed.

Qin Meng realized in his heart—life source was a type of energy, and his passive collection range was about twenty paces. At this very moment, inside the yard, a life was fading away.

Peering through the gate, he saw it was the home of Cao Biao, the fort's butcher.

Cao Biao was a well-known master of pig slaughtering among the border forts. His family was wealthy, but due to his penny-pinching nature, he had earned the nickname "the miser."

At this moment, the burly man with a face full of flab had one arm in a sling and was berating several young men: his sons, Cao Hu and Cao Bao, and two apprentices.

On the ground, a fat black-bristled pig was tied tightly. Blood gushed from its neck, and its body twitched violently; it was clear the knife had missed the mark.

There were several more black pigs in the pen waiting to be slaughtered.

Qin Meng's gaze grew fervent. Was this a stroke of luck, a wave of life source delivered right to his doorstep?

Inside the courtyard, Cao Biao also spotted him, his brow furrowing instinctively. Qin Meng's reputation in the fortress was far from pleasant—a drunkard, a gambler, a wife-beater, and a loafer.

"Mengzi?" Cao Biao asked in a gruff voice, his tone distant. "You've recovered?"

He had heard about the changes in Qin Meng, but having not seen it with his own eyes, he remained skeptical.

"Thanks for your concern, Uncle Cao, I'm better." Qin Meng replied, though his eyes never left the pigs. "Uncle Cao, are you slaughtering all these pigs today?"

"What else?" Cao Biao grumbled. "They have to be delivered to the city restaurants by tomorrow morning. Sigh, drinking leads to trouble; I had to go and break my arm at the wrong time, and these few useless brats..."

He was clearly overwhelmed.

"I'll help you slaughter them." Qin Meng stepped into the courtyard.

"You?" Cao Biao was stunned. He looked him up and down, his eyes full of disbelief.

Slaughtering these five or six-hundred-pound, thick skin and fleshy black-bristled pigs was a job that required both brute strength and technical skill. The depth of the blade, the angle, the timing of the bloodletting—if any of these were off by even a hair, the entire pig could be ruined.

Qin Meng? A notorious good-for-nothing and drunkard? Stop joking.

Cao Hu, Cao Bao, and two apprentices also looked over, their faces equally etched with doubt.

"I've handled plenty of large game with my father; I know a thing or two." Qin Meng's tone was calm, yet carried an inexplicable certainty. "I have enough strength; I can hold them down."

Cao Biao glanced at the pig still twitching on the ground and pondered for a moment. "If you can really do it cleanly, the pay is three coins per head, and you can take the pig head and offal as you please! But I'll say this upfront, if you mess it up..."

"If the meat is tainted with blood, I'll pay for it," Qin Meng said decisively.

His confidence came from the fused memory fragments. The experience of processing large prey, the techniques, and the skills were all clear, as if he had practiced them a thousand times.

He said no more, walked to the workbench, and picked up a pig-slaughtering knife. He then walked toward the pigpen, scanned the area, and selected a black-bristled pig.

Untying the rope, grabbing the ear, pulling the tail, and exerting force—the movements were crisp and clean. He actually dragged the several-hundred-pound struggling black pig out and brought it right to the bench.

Just as the beast was about to squeal, Qin Meng's left knee precisely pinned its neck.

His right hand flashed with the blade, so fast it was dazzling.

The blade tip precisely plunged into the throat's vital point, piercing straight through to the heart. The pig's body shuddered violently, its struggles quickly weakening. Thick, dark blood flowed smoothly into the basin, with hardly any splashing.

The entire process took no more than three to five seconds.

Fast, accurate, and ruthless, without a single wasted movement. Cao Hu, Cao Bao, and the others watched, dumbfounded.

Cao Biao narrowed his eyes, the flesh on his face twitching. This technique, this steady hand—it was impossible to master without having slaughtered at least a hundred head of large livestock.

Qin Meng, however, was immersed in a different sensation.

The moment the blade sank in, a familiar warm current flowed silently into his body along the steel.

[Life Source +2.5%]

[Plundered the origin power of the black-bristled pig bloodline, talent thick skin and fleshy growth progress +13%]

Qin Meng felt a surge of spirit. He focused his mind to "check" the panel, and sure enough, there were changes:

Talent: thick skin and fleshy, Low-tier (5% → 18%)

Good, killing pigs really has a future.

Qin Meng was secretly delighted, as if he had found a path to rapidly grow his talent.

"Good lad!" Cao Biao finally snapped out of his daze and exclaimed loudly, "You really have a knack for this! You couldn't have mastered this blood-letting technique without years of hard work!"

A warm smile spread across his face. "Alright, Mengzi, just keep doing it like this. You bunch of idiots, what are you still standing there for? Go help Mengzi out."

Cao Biao turned back to Qin Meng. "Mengzi, have you eaten yet? If not, why don't you grab a bite with your uncle? It's almost noon."

For the next hour or so, the squeals of pigs rose and fell, though each was cut short.

Qin Meng's movements became increasingly fluid, as if some form of muscle memory was awakening.

Dragging the pig, pinning the neck, plunging the blade, draining the blood—every step was clean and efficient, leaving the Cao father and son marveling repeatedly.

The life source collected grew more and more.

The growth progress of the thick skin and fleshy talent skyrocketed: [Low-tier (18%)] → (35%) → (52%) → (75%).

Although the increase from each kill gradually diminished, the cumulative effect was impressive. Qin Meng could feel that with every influx of warmth, his skin, flesh, and fascia were undergoing subtle and continuous changes—becoming firmer and tougher.

When it was time for the last one, Qin Meng keenly sensed something unusual.

This pig was the smallest and thinnest in the pen, cowering in a corner. While the other pigs only knew how to squeal and struggle blindly when dragged away, this one buried its head deep, emitting low whimpers from its throat, carrying a hint of fear.

Qin Meng's heart stirred, but his hands did not stop.

He dragged it out, subdued it, and pressed the blade to its neck with his usual proficiency. The moment the blade was about to pierce the throat, the pig struggled violently with astonishing strength!

Qin Meng exerted force through his left knee, pinning it down firmly. A flash of steel swept by, piercing it with precision.

A sudden change occurred!

A slight tremor came from the blade, as if it had instantly absorbed some kind of distinct energy.

A warm current, several times more powerful than before, surged into his body with a roar.

[Life Source +10%]

[Deprived the black-bristled pig of its origin bloodline power, talent thick skin and fleshy has upgraded to intermediate rank]

Hm? Qin Meng finished bleeding the carcass without a change in expression, but his heart was churning. This seemingly scrawny pig was actually a variant with an awakened bloodline?

A surge of warm energy rushed through his limbs, sinking deep into his flesh and merging with his fascia. His skin became tougher, and his muscle fibers reorganized and strengthened on a level invisible to the naked eye. A wave of tingling itchiness spread throughout his entire body.

[Talent: thick skin and fleshy - intermediate (2%)]

The ability had leveled up, and a new description appeared: Skin like copper armor, tendons tough as cables, binding flesh and blood into solid steel. Blunt weapons cause no sensation, sharp blades lose their force, and bones and muscles develop "flesh armor," absorbing shocks and resisting falls. Ordinary blades can hardly damage the foundation.

After finishing lunch at the Cao household, Qin Meng collected his wages and carried the pig's head and offal home. Xiao Xue darted out of the house, yapping happily.

Shen Qiuyue was stunned at the sight: "Mengzi, this is..."

"Uncle Cao gave it to me." Qin Meng handed over the items. "Clean it up, we'll stew it for dinner."

"Alright."

Qin Meng went into the house, dug out a few old clothes, and bundled them up with a grey cloth.

"I might be back late today." He tied the bundle with practiced ease.

"Bolt the door tight. Don't open it for anyone."

Shen Qiuyue seemed to sense something; she pursed her lips and nodded. "...Mengzi, be careful."

Qin Meng shouldered the bundle and grabbed his blade before heading out. He pretended to go hunting and entered the forest outside the fortress, but in reality, he reached a secluded mountain hollow to change his attire. As he activated his talent environmental integration, his height and facial features began to shift...