For several days afterward.
The whole city went under lockdown again. County Soldiers, yamen guards, constables, and clerks began a thorough search for any Black Wind Stronghold remnants who might still be hiding in the city.
"Why's the city under lockdown again?"
"There are soldiers everywhere. Looks like they're searching for bandits."
"What bandits could cause such a commotion? Don't tell me they broke into the County Magistrate's residence?"
"Watch your tongue. There are constables and clerks all over the place. Careful, or your words will bring trouble."
"..."
The people on the streets had no idea what was going on. They could only watch as squads of officials came and went, searching over and over until everyone was on edge.
Few people noticed that, at a yamen in the Outer City, several old constables who never did a lick of work had all vanished without a trace.
In the small courtyard east of the city.
The courtyard, which had been left in disarray after the battle, had now been cleaned up.
The blood had been washed away, and the county yamen's officials had carried off the bodies.
Li Gou'er was covered in plasters. His face was still bruised and swollen, but at least he could walk around again.
Zhao Chunzi, who had been more badly injured, still needed to lie in bed and continue recovering.
Though they had been beaten quite badly, neither of them had any complaints.
After all, Zhao An had personally killed Zhao Ke, the man who had abused them. He had avenged them thoroughly.
Zhao An stood bare-chested beneath the sun, unafraid of its scorching rays.
With his skin as tough as it was now, even getting sunburned would have been difficult.
He was practicing the martial arts he had learned. At times, his palms darted like a gust of wind and a fleeting shadow; then his moves shifted, his palm strikes fell silent, and his hands became twin claws, darting like serpents—sinister and venomous, each strike utterly ruthless!
Then, with another silent shift, his claws became fists. His punches were domineering enough to shake the earth and heavens!
Had a martial arts expert witnessed Zhao An's entire sequence of moves, they would have been dumbstruck.
Every move Zhao An made was flawless, every technique masterful. He carried himself like a grandmaster of martial arts.
But grandmasters were usually old. Where in the world had there ever been a twenty-year-old master? That was another thing about Zhao An that left people slack-jawed.
He was far too young, yet whenever he made a move, every martial art looked like the result of decades of painstaking practice.
No one knew how Zhao An did it. Calling him a martial god reborn would not have been an exaggeration.
But Zhao An was no longer satisfied with mastering individual martial arts.
He wanted to seamlessly link several perfected martial arts in combat, weaving their techniques together so his opponents would be caught off guard.
Naturally, this was difficult. The Soul Slave's theoretical deductions weren't enough on their own. Zhao An still needed to practice and refine the transitions himself, exploring how to use different techniques more effectively in actual combat.
In short, he was still striving for perfection!
Suddenly, Zhao An changed his moves again and thrust out a finger, striking the hardwood post used for punching practice.
Crack!
The post gave a sharp snap.
When he drew his finger back, a tiny hole had appeared in the post.
Light shone through from the other side.
Evidently, that seemingly casual jab had pierced straight through the entire post!
More remarkable than its sheer power was the fact that the rest of the post was undamaged, with barely even a crack.
This showed not only that his finger was astonishingly strong, but also that his control over Internal Breath had grown increasingly precise.
All his strength concentrated into one point, reaching the pinnacle!
This was the new finger technique that Guo Fenglin, Zhao An's Soul Slave, had developed over thirty years in the Soul Pool: Bone-Piercing Finger!
Bone-Piercing Finger was one of the six forms of the Heavenly Profound Finger Techniques, a technique designed for offense.
It could transform one's Internal Breath into an invisible force that shot out along the finger, piercing skin and injuring bone. It was especially effective against martial artists skilled in body-hardening techniques, those who claimed their bodies were impervious to harm!
"What incredible penetrating power..." Zhao An couldn't help exclaiming.
It was almost as powerful as a bullet!
He hadn't realized Internal Breath could be used this way. It seemed to flow through the meridians like water, but when compressed and concentrated to the utmost before being released, it was like gunpowder firing through a barrel.
He had only just begun to master this finger technique, and it was already this powerful. Once he perfected it, he might be able to pierce even stone shields and hard armor with a single jab!
On top of that, Guo Fenglin, his former number-one Soul Slave, had not only mastered this technique; he had also further refined the two techniques he had already learned: Pulse-Severing Finger and Acupoint-Sealing Finger.
Before, his Pulse-Severing Finger could only briefly slow an opponent's Internal Breath. Its effect lasted no more than a moment. It could still be a decisive surprise at a critical moment, but in practice, if his opponent stayed calm and learned how it worked, they could soon render it ineffective.
Now that he had mastered it, a strike from his Pulse-Severing Finger could completely seal the opponent's meridians, restricting and even actively disrupting the flow of their Internal Breath. Its effects could last three to five hours—or even a day or two!
The same went for Acupoint-Sealing Finger. Before, it could only paralyze half the opponent's body. Now, a single strike could leave them completely paralyzed and unable to move!
But that wasn't all the number-one Soul Slave had achieved through thirty years of painstaking cultivation.
He had also mastered a special finger technique.
Qi-Bursting Finger.
It was one of the six forms as well.
But this technique wasn't aimed at an opponent. It was used on the practitioner himself.
By striking specific acupoints, it activated hidden points of potential within the body, allowing the user to temporarily gain strength, exert force, and boost their Internal Breath!
In short, it unleashed the body's potential, temporarily strengthening the body and Internal Breath and sending the user into a berserk state!
The technique drained the body and came with severe side effects, so it was a desperate gamble to be used only when all other options were exhausted.
Zhao An wouldn't use it unless absolutely necessary.
Pulse-Severing Finger, Acupoint-Sealing Finger, Bone-Piercing Finger, Qi-Bursting Finger.
Of the six forms of the Heavenly Profound Finger Techniques, he had now learned four. His progress wasn't slow.
He took this lost secret art very seriously.
In the battle against the Black Wind Stronghold's bandit leader, this lost finger technique had worked wonders, deciding the outcome with just two strikes.
Since ordinary Soul Slaves couldn't master it, he would have his best Soul Slave practice.
There was no reason to hesitate. Zhao An had the bandit leader, Yang Yi, take Guo Fenglin's place as a Soul Slave and continue studying the techniques.
As a Soul Slave, Yang Yi had a full forty years of servitude ahead of him. Zhao An was counting on him to master all six forms.
Thump, thump, thump!
Zhao An's fingers struck the wooden post one after another, moving so fast they blurred.
Before long, the post was riddled with holes, like a wasp's nest.
Only then did Zhao An gather his breath and stop. He looked at the post and nodded with satisfaction.
He was satisfied with both the power of Bone-Piercing Finger and his improved Internal Breath reserves.
The further one progressed, the harder Internal Breath became to cultivate. At this point, using up an ordinary Soul Slave with five years of servitude might not even gain him one or two strands of Internal Breath.
But Guo Fenglin's latest cultivation had given him nearly a hundred strands at once!
This was yet another reminder of how important it was to obtain a high-quality Soul Slave.
Thanks to Soul Slave Guo Fenglin's final contribution, Zhao An's total Internal Breath had grown to nine hundred strands. It flowed through his meridians like a stream winding through his entire body.
His Internal Breath cultivation was already remarkably profound.
They said a thousand strands formed a single stream. He was now very close to that final step of transformation!
Before you continue