The next day, dawn had barely broken.
White frost covered the ground outside, and the morning light was cold and clear.
As usual, Qin Meng rose early, fetched water to wash, rinsed the rice and set it to cook, then carried the dark, heavy Zhanma Dao into the courtyard.
[Name: Qin Meng]
[Realm: Mortal Body]
[Innate Talent: Divine Valor]
[Talents: Wild Instinct—Advanced (8%), Environmental Integration—Intermediate (19%), Iron Back—Intermediate (6%), Thick Skin and Fleshy—Intermediate (25%)]
[Core Cultivation Method: None]
[Martial Skills: Black Dragon Eighteen Hands—Minor Accomplishment, Evil-Slaying Blade-Breaking Saber—Proficient, Chain Arrow—Minor Accomplishment, Berserker Spear Technique—Minor Accomplishment]
After last night's life-or-death battle, both his martial skills and talents had improved. Qin Meng had also gained new insights into using his talents and wielding his saber.
He began with the Zhanma Dao's opening stance, its blade slicing through the morning mist.
At first, his movements were steady, the saber following his body. Gradually, it moved faster and faster, becoming a blur of dark light. The air in the courtyard churned, and fallen leaves spiraled upward.
Qin Meng immersed himself in the moment, insights into the Evil-Slaying Blade-Breaking Saber flowing through his mind.
This saber art focused on slaughter, overwhelming opponents with its momentum. Every strike had to carry the resolve to cleave through evil.
"Blade-Breaking—Swift Slash!" he growled, and his saber's momentum abruptly shifted.
A layer of black and red light flared along the Zhanma Dao. The air warped faintly in the wake of its edge, making a soft tearing sound.
Qin Meng spun like a top, the saber's light spilling out in all directions. The ground in the courtyard hissed beneath the blade, marked by a series of deep and shallow cuts.
On his status panel, the Evil-Slaying Blade-Breaking Saber's proficiency climbed rapidly before stopping at [Proficient (478/500)].
He was just a hair's breadth away from minor accomplishment.
"Mengzi, breakfast is ready." Shen Qiuyue leaned out from the kitchen and called to him.
"Coming." Qin Meng lowered his saber and went inside.
At the table, Shen Qiuyue quietly studied the man. He had changed, inside and out. His eyes were sharper, and there was a keen edge to his every move.
At this rate, he would sooner or later set foot on the true Martial Path.
And she couldn't remain a woman who only knew how to wash clothes. She couldn't hold him back.
"Shen Qiuyue, you can do this." She repeated the words silently to herself, her gaze growing more resolute.
Qin Meng noticed the change in her. Though he didn't know what it meant, he felt glad to see it.
In this world, weakness was a sin.
After breakfast, he teased the Little Fox curled up in the corner of the kang, slung his bow and arrows over his shoulder, and picked up his long saber.
"I'm heading into the mountains. I'll be back later."
"Mm. Be careful, and don't go too deep into the woods." Shen Qiuyue no longer fretted as she had before, but she still reminded him gently.
Qin Meng nodded and stepped outside.
Treading across the frost-covered ground, he headed for the mountains beyond the fort. Fort residents already up and working waved to him along the way, and he nodded back to each of them.
His debts were paid, and the weight on his heart had lifted.
Now, before enlisting, he needed to raise his strength as much as possible. A core cultivation method was out of reach in the short term, so he would make up the difference with his talents.
As long as his talents were strong enough and he successfully advanced, his body would grow strong enough to protect himself.
Before long, Luming Mountain came into view.
Fallen leaves carpeted the foot of the mountain, rustling underfoot.
Qin Meng took a deep breath, activated Environmental Integration, and quickly subdued his presence. As he moved through the mountains, he fully unleashed Wild Instinct.
The world before him instantly came alive. Trees gave off a faint green glow—that was vitality.
In the soil, he sensed the faint signs of insects wriggling.
In the distance, points of heat marked the paths of birds beating their wings.
But soon, Qin Meng furrowed his brow. Amid the lush green energy teeming through the mountains, threads of black airflow were mixed in.
The energy was violent and chaotic. Wherever it passed, the green glow dimmed.
"What is this?" Qin Meng wondered warily, but couldn't figure out the cause.
He readied his bow and arrows, following the heat signatures as he hunted.
The woods really were different from usual. Signs of animals were everywhere.
He hadn't been in the mountains long before a hare darted out of the grass.
Qin Meng nocked an arrow and drew his bow. With a whoosh, the arrow struck the hare cleanly.
[Life Source +0.1%]
As he ventured deeper, prey grew more plentiful.
Pheasants flapped into the air, badgers poked their heads out to look around, and roe deer fled in alarm.
Qin Meng never missed, and his basket grew heavier.
[Life Source +0.09%]
[Life Source +0.12%]...
Besides these small animals, he also found signs of larger beasts—mud pits dug up by wild boars, and narrow paths trampled by goats and herds of deer...
"Something's wrong." Qin Meng stopped and looked around.
Usually, these beasts stayed deep in the mountains, but today they had all appeared near the outskirts.
He followed a mountain stream, hunting as he went and searching for medicinal herbs. Even with his talent concealing his presence, he still came under attack often.
"Hiss—"
A spotted venomous snake sprang from the dry leaves, its fangs lunging for his ankle.
Qin Meng reacted faster. His blade flashed, and the snake was severed in two. Both halves continued writhing, so he stepped forward and finished it off.
"That makes three."
He expertly drained its blood and removed its gallbladder, then continued on.
These snakes were fiercely aggressive, nothing like their usual selves, when they avoided people.
The stream burbled along, its banks damp and covered in footprints from all kinds of beasts.
Qin Meng hid behind a tree and fully unleashed Wild Instinct.
Thirty paces away, several Silly Roe Deer had gathered to drink. Their necks were slender, and their coats light brown. They were the very targets he had been tracking.
The deer lowered their heads to lap at the stream, then raised them to look around, ears twitching. They looked adorably foolish, completely unaware of the danger surrounding them.
He held his breath and nocked an arrow, drawing the bowstring taut.
Whoosh! The arrow cut through the air and struck one of the deer in the neck. It let out a brief cry, then stumbled and collapsed beside the stream.
The others jerked their heads up in fright, but didn't flee at once. Instead, they stood there in a daze, staring toward the direction the arrow had come from.
Seizing the opportunity, Qin Meng nocked another arrow and brought down a second Silly Roe Deer.
Only then did the remaining deer come to their senses. They scattered in every direction, panicked and heedless, vanishing into the dense woods in the blink of an eye.
Qin Meng hurried over to collect his prey.
But as he bent down to drag it away, a warning of danger exploded in his mind!
With a splash, the stream erupted, and a dark shape shot out.
It was a monster nearly ten feet long, shaped like a lizard yet resembling a giant salamander. Yellowish-brown scales covered its body, its mouth was full of jagged fangs, and its ugly, vicious face was framed by blood-red eyes. A demonic aura of baleful intent radiated from it.
The water beast was incredibly fast, pouncing in almost an instant. Its stench hit him head-on.
Qin Meng sprang backward, but he was too late.
He abandoned his bow and punched, unleashing the full force of Black Dragon Eighteen Hands' Mad Dragon Collapsing Mountain.
Thud! His fist slammed into the monster's cheek. Its scales cracked, and black blood sprayed out.
The monster recoiled in pain. Qin Meng used the opening to leap back, Zhanma Dao already in hand.
"Roar—"
The monster rose onto its hind legs, towering half a body above Qin Meng. Its forelegs were short and thick, its claws hooked like talons, and its hind legs powerful. It was clearly a vicious beast that could live both in water and on land.
Qin Meng's gaze turned icy as he angled his blade toward it.
The monster lunged again, more frenzied than before. It ignored the Zhanma Dao and went straight for Qin Meng's throat, fighting as if it were willing to trade its life for his.
"You're asking for death!"
Qin Meng pressed forward instead of retreating, unleashing the killing moves of the Evil-Slaying Blade-Breaking Saber. Black and red light blazed across the blade as he drove its sharpness to the limit.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Blade and claw clashed, sparks flying. The monster's scales were so hard that ordinary blades could scarcely cut them, but with the Zhanma Dao's sharpness enhancement, every strike left a deep gash.
Qin Meng fought more fiercely with every passing moment. Under the pressure of life and death, his saber work grew ever more fluid. He dodged a swipe of the monster's claws and slashed upward from below.
With a ripping sound, a foot-long wound opened across the monster's belly, blood gushing like a spring.
The monster flew into a rage and spat a mouthful of foul black water.
Qin Meng had been ready. He rolled across the ground and dodged. Wherever the black water splashed, plants withered and rocks corroded.
"Poison?"
His eyes grew even colder, and his saber technique shifted again. He worked the "Thrust" from Berserker Spear Technique into his saber moves, becoming one with the blade as he shot forward in a streak of dark light, straight at the monster's face.
The strike was as fast as lightning. The monster couldn't dodge in time.
Thwack! The blade pierced its left eye and drove straight into its skull, then churned wildly.
The monster shuddered violently and let out a shrill, agonized shriek, its claws flailing in a death throe.
Qin Meng yanked out his blade and leaped back, evading its last-ditch counterattack.
Then he lunged forward again and plunged his blade into the monster's head. Red light spread from his palm onto the Zhanma Dao, greedily devouring the monster's lifeblood.
The monster staggered a few steps, then crashed to the ground. It twitched a few times and lay still.
[Life Source +20%]
[Plundered Iron-Armored Salamander Demon bloodline talent: Self-Healing]
[This is a healing talent with high compatibility. Automatic fusion initiated.]
A tremendous surge of vitality flooded into his body. Qin Meng felt warm all over. Every cell seemed to leap with joy, greedily absorbing the energy.
Old injuries from his years of martial training quietly disappeared, and impurities left his body with his sweat.
[Talent: Self-Healing—Low Tier (1%)]
Self-Healing: The body overflows with vitality and endless vigor. Injuries heal much faster, and blood and energy can be consumed to rapidly mend wounds.
Qin Meng stretched his limbs. His strength hadn't increased, but his whole body felt incredibly refreshed, his flesh brimming with vigorous vitality.
He tried making a shallow cut on his arm. After only a few breaths, the wound stopped bleeding and scabbed over.
"Thick Skin and Fleshy, plus Self-Healing..." He shook his head with a wry smile. He was glad his ability to survive had grown stronger, but worried he was now a full-fledged meat shield.
Just as Qin Meng's attention wavered, another wave of dread welled up in his heart.
"Not good!" Qin Meng tried to leave, but it was already too late.
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