Eight-Character Mantra, Decapitation Blade Technique

Hearing this, the teaching assistant dressed in black immediately stood up with a smile on his face.

The man was only six feet tall, much shorter than Liang Qisheng, but wherever his gaze fell, Liang Qisheng felt a chill at his own neck.

His gaze seemed like a blade, pressed against the throat.

"The rules of Yama Gate—do you understand them?"

The man spoke, and a sharpness like a knife edge descended instantly.

This sharpness made Liang Qisheng want to throw a punch.

But he suppressed the restlessness inside and slowly nodded.

Then, he pulled out a hundred-tael silver note he had prepared earlier from his bosom and offered it up.

That was right—this was the rule of Yama Gate.

Yama is easy to enter, but the little ghosts are hard to deal with.

To be accepted into Yama Gate, one had to offer a hundred taels of silver.

You see, in Shiwu County, a well-off family of three spent no more than thirty taels a year.

Just to learn a few blade techniques, being able to produce a hundred taels of silver was rare indeed.

So Yama Gate was not without its threshold—its threshold was money.

The Decapitation Blade was the executioner's secret art. Though a bit unlucky, learning it still required paying a price.

This undoubtedly blocked most people from taking advantage of the opportunity.

Yama too delights in gold and silver; without money or power, do not enter.

"Since you know the rules, follow me inside to register."

The teaching assistant took the silver note, looked Liang Qisheng up and down again, and a flicker of a smile crossed his face.

He gave a slight nod, then turned and led him through the courtyard, heading deeper inside.

The outside of Yama Gate was not particularly refined, but inside, it was a different world.

This was a deep, secluded mansion, vast in size.

A long corridor wound through the courtyard, surrounded by thick greenery that blocked out the sunlight from outside.

The further they went, the more a layer of chill settled on the skin, carrying a faint coldness.

As they walked deeper, they could see many students, most dressed in wealthy or noble attire, not ordinary folk, but without exception, each carried a Ghost Head Blade on their backs.

When these students saw Liang Qisheng, their eyes held a hint of mockery, their gazes occasionally falling on his neck.

But when they clearly saw the teaching assistant walking ahead, their expressions changed, and they quickly stepped aside, bowing slightly, showing an attitude of considerable reverence.

Clearly, this teaching assistant was no ordinary figure.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have made so many wealthy young men who had paid silver step back and show such deference.

However, the teaching assistant was amiable to those students on the surface, nodding to each one, then continued leading Liang Qisheng deeper inside.

After they crossed the long courtyard, they finally entered a large hall.

"Greetings, Senior Brother."

Inside, it seemed quite lively, with many people gathered, apparently registering something.

When the black-clad teaching assistant walked in, the hall, which had been somewhat noisy, fell silent instantly, and everyone bowed to him.

"Nothing much today. Met an interesting newcomer, brought him in for registration."

The Senior Brother pointed at Liang Qisheng behind him and said.

"Alright, I'll register him right away."

Only then did Liang Qisheng see a ledger on the man's desk.

It recorded names and amounts coming and going—all the silver offered by newcomers as tribute to the master.

Liang Qisheng cupped his hands to the Senior Brother and directly followed the teaching assistant into the inner room to register his identity.

When he came out, he had an iron identity token in his hand.

This counted as having his identity registered at the Decapitation Blade Sect.

Just as they came out, they ran straight into a figure.

When that person saw the Senior Brother, he ran over directly and whispered a few words to him.

The Senior Brother then casually assigned someone else to lead Liang Qisheng to the dormitory area.

Watching the Senior Brother's retreating back, Liang Qisheng caught a few words.

"...East Street Market... execution by beheading... decapitation..."

A sigh rose in Liang Qisheng's heart.

Perhaps this would be his life for some time to come.

Perhaps assuming Liang Qisheng had some connection with the senior disciple, the disciple leading the newcomers acted very warmly, arranging his lodging before leaving.

Liang Qisheng washed up briefly and settled into the Yama Sect's sprawling compound.

"Eight-Character Mantra: Thrust, Chop, Cleave, Slash, Stab, Sweep, Push, Flick...!"

In the training grounds, a single figure continuously shifted and changed positions.

The Ghost Head Blade in his hand, seemingly heavy and cumbersome, cut through the air like a bolt of lightning.

The shifting blade techniques turned the cold gleam into a formation, changing angles, stirring up a chill wind.

It was like a sobbing wail in the dead of night, adding an eerie atmosphere to the place.

The cold air swept past his neck, raising every hair on end, carrying a razor-sharp sensation as it blew by.

It felt as if the moment the blade light fell, a head would hit the ground.

After a moment, Liang Qisheng sheathed his blade and stood still.

The biting chill slowly dissipated into the air, leaving a wintry feeling behind.

"This Eight-Character Mantra encompasses the Twelve Breaking Blade Forms. It seems simple, but it's easy to learn yet hard to master."

"The blade technique is unadorned, but every single move is meant for killing—each stroke never leaves the vital point of the neck."

"Strike and withdraw, blood must be drawn, swift as lightning, edge fully bared, pursuing lethal efficiency."

At the same time, no one saw it.

In Liang Qisheng's mind, data on the Decapitation Blade Technique directly appeared:

"Name: Liang Qisheng

Realm: Flesh Tempering.

Lifespan: 68 years.

Techniques: Black Tiger Fist 77%(+)

Decapitation Blade Technique 25%(+)

Auxiliary: Hundred Herb Scripture!

Merit: 0!"

Liang Qisheng picked up the Decapitation Blade Technique quickly.

After all, with Black Tiger Fist nearing mastery, his foundation in martial stances was solid.

And this Decapitation Blade was very simple—every move pursued efficiency. It was the kind of thing where the difficult found it hard, but those who got it found it easy.

Otherwise, even if one trained the blade stance, without matching killing intent, it would be hard to achieve any real result.

Liang Qisheng finally understood why the Decapitation Blade opened its doors wide to take in disciples.

Many who came with prior training couldn't necessarily grasp the true essence, let alone those pampered rich kids who couldn't endure hardship.

This was pure fattening of sheep and harvesting of leeks.

But they had indeed laid their cards on the table, teaching the mantra and blade technique without any concealment.

One could even say they taught everything they had. If he still couldn't learn it, he could only blame his own bad luck.

After all, anyone who could hand over a hundred taels of silver—even if not filthy rich—still had some face to save.

Liang Qisheng's natural aptitude wasn't bad either, and with the foundation from his Black Tiger Fist stances, plus real-time data monitoring, he advanced quickly.

Using the last three Merit Points, he had now just barely stepped through the door.

"But I don't have many Body Nourishing Pills left, and I still need to prepare the herbal decoctions for tempering sinew and bone."

"I'm not in a hurry for silver yet, but I need to find a way to earn Merit."

When he came to Blade-Casting Town, he had three hundred taels total.

The apprenticeship cost a hundred, plus recent expenses on medicinal decoctions, his savings had shrunk by more than half, but he could still barely hold on.

But his Merit Points were completely spent—that was the most important thing.