Seven Years of Blade Mastery, A Hundred Strands of Internal Breath!

Stepping out of the small courtyard, Hao Wei felt an indescribable complexity in his heart.

No matter how he tried to persuade him later, Zhao An still politely declined the partnership and showed zero interest in becoming a gang leader.

Everything had been nothing more than his own wishful thinking.

"In that case, I really must consider a way to extricate myself..." Hao Wei sighed softly and walked away.

In the courtyard, Zhao An did not take Hao Wei's intentions to heart.

Being the boss of a group of ruffians and thugs had never been a promising prospect in his eyes.

Most importantly, he had no interest in associating with a bunch of people marked in red.

Turning these red-named individuals into his Soul Slaves was a far more cost-effective endeavor.

A few days passed in the blink of an eye.

It was unclear what the advisor Hao Wei had said upon returning, but no one from the Tiger Head Gang came to bother him again.

As for the Python Gang, they had been quite well-behaved these past few days, also refraining from provoking Zhao An, at most daring to have two or three scouts watch his movements on the street.

Every day, Zhao An would set aside an hour to go to the medical clinic to learn reading and writing.

Thanks to the cultural foundation from his past life, his progress in relearning was quite rapid.

His ability to comprehend and draw inferences from one instance to another made Meng Wanyi feel at one point that Zhao An had chosen the wrong profession.

He shouldn't be out brandishing blades; he should have studied literature from a young age to become a refined scholar, perhaps even passing the imperial examinations to become an official.

Seeing that Zhao An was not dull and was genuinely seeking knowledge, Meng Wanyi taught him quite earnestly, never cutting corners.

When Zhao An wanted to learn some medical theory or even the art of alchemy on the side, Meng Wanyi would impart some of it appropriately, given the silver he paid.

This day.

Zhao An focused his attention on the Soul Pool.

[Soul Slave Li Dazhuang, period of enslavement has ended. Extract Karma Fruit?]

"Extract."

As the thought arose, the Soul Slave, which had entered standby mode, instantly transformed into a pale red Karma Fruit and was absorbed by Zhao An.

The enslavement period for this Soul Slave, Li Dazhuang, had lasted a full seven years.

During these seven years, Zhao An had kept him focused solely on practicing the blade, without a single moment of rest.

Now, the fruits of those seven years of cultivation were finally ready to be harvested.

Previously, the five-year enslavement of Xu San had allowed him to successfully deduce the Fierce Tiger Blade Art and reach the perfection stage of the first realm.

Now, this Soul Slave had continued to practice this blade art diligently for another seven years on that foundation.

As everything merged together, a massive influx of information and imagery poured into his mind, causing Zhao An, who had mastered the Fierce Tiger Blade Art, to have a sudden epiphany.

Furthermore, the muscles, bones, and even meridians of his body were undergoing a simultaneous transformation.

Accustomed to this, Zhao An drank a bowl of medicinal soup brewed with five catties of Red Blood Root before the hunger could even set in.

He had also eaten a full meal before this.

These pre-supplemented energy reserves ensured he wouldn't be caught off guard by this transformation.

He could feel his physique growing stronger, as if he had truly spent another seven years practicing the blade.

At the same time, what surprised him most was that the Internal Breath circulating through his meridians was actually increasing in quantity!

One strand, two strands, three strands...

The "internal cultivation" method inherent to the Fierce Tiger Blade Art allowed every practitioner to constantly refine and strengthen their Internal Breath while practicing the blade!

The Soul Slave was no exception; their day-after-day of "internal cultivation" had also become part of the final result, passed on to their master, Zhao An.

Thus, in no time at all, Zhao An, who originally only had one strand of Internal Breath, now had a hundred strands circulating through his body.

Although those wisps of Internal Breath were still not entirely stable, they were far stronger than before!

With a hundred strands of Internal Breath entwined, the power of the next blade strike Zhao An unleashed was incomparable to his previous efforts!

He drank the Red Blood Root soup bowl after bowl, without stopping.

This was the energy source for his spontaneous growth of Internal Breath and the strengthening of his physique!

Fortunately, this year's Red Blood Root was relatively cheap, and he didn't need to run around, as he could purchase it directly at Meng Wanyi's clinic.

It wasn't until a stick of incense had burned away that the fruits of the Soul Slave's seven years of cultivation were completely digested.

Zhao An was drenched in sweat, yet he was full of vigor, his eyes burning with a sharp, piercing light.

He tapped the table lightly, and his Internal Breath traveled through his palm onto the surface.

The long blade beside him was instantly jolted upward; he caught it in his hand and headed to the open space in the small courtyard.

The Fierce Tiger Blade Art flowed forth; his blade momentum was domineering, his edge sharp, and his posture as agile as a tiger.

As Internal Breath poured in, the blade hummed with a faint, resonant tiger's roar.

He took a step forward like a fierce tiger ascending a mountain, sweeping his blade down; dust billowed from the ground, and the stone tiles beneath cracked into several pieces!

The tiger's roar was hidden within the blade wind, and the blade force rippled through the air.

Without a doubt, the blade skills of Zhao An had become far more refined!

As fallen leaves drifted down, the blade flashed through the air, instantly shredding them into fragments that swirled and landed near Zhao An's feet.

Zhao An swung his blade faster and faster, his eyes growing increasingly bright.

Only after he was completely satisfied did he stop his movements, the surging blood and energy within his body gradually calming down.

Zhao An let out a long breath, a satisfied smile hanging on his face.

His current strength was as if he had truly undergone seven years of bitter training—no, it was far more impressive than seven years of ordinary hard work!

The evolution of his physique, the explosive surge of Internal Breath, and the breakthrough to the third realm of the Fierce Tiger Blade Art!

This ninth-grade blade art had five realms in total; reaching the third realm meant he possessed the power to manifest a tiger shape with his blade and break through wind barriers with his force.

Executing the same blade technique now, the power of Zhao An's strike far surpassed what it had been in the past!

Previously, he had only reached the perfection of the first realm, but now he had skipped the second realm entirely to reach the third; the gap between these levels was an achievement that ordinary people might not reach even after a dozen years of dedicated study.

"Soul Slaves are truly wonderful..."

Looking at the dozen or so Soul Slaves he had left unused, Zhao An couldn't help but sigh in admiration once more.

With so many "grinding horses" at his disposal, why worry about failing to master his blade skills!

Now, facing Zhou Hu, he finally had the confidence to compete, no longer needing to be as subservient as before.

He truly disliked the feeling of swallowing his pride, especially when facing that "big red name."

"I must find an opportunity to test my blade again!"

Zhao An was not one to sit and wait for death; keeping his strength hidden without using it was simply stifling.

But before that, he still had one Karma Fruit waiting to be claimed.

[Soul Slave Liu Gen, enslavement period has ended. Do you wish to extract the Karma Fruit?]

This Soul Slave named Liu Gen was also someone he had killed while passing the Three Trials.

However, compared to the seven-year enslavement period of Li Dazhuang, this Liu Gen only provided five years.

The task Zhao An had assigned him was not to practice blade skills, but to devote himself entirely to studying and comprehending the contents of that small booklet.

That was the so-called Golden Scale Mountain Piling Art!

He wanted to see for himself whether this thing truly originated from a major sect's martial arts manual!