Three Months, Decapitation Blade Technique 99%

This time, he had secretly put in a great deal of effort.

Senior Brother had taken one hundred taels of silver from him, but only after testing Liang Qisheng's skill and seeing that he had come to study with an existing foundation, his hands steady and solid, did he allow him to take the field.

Otherwise, if his skills were lax, then even if Liang Qisheng offered another thousand taels of silver, Senior Brother likely would not have let him step up. After all, it would be Yama Gate's face that was lost.

The prices of prisoners varied greatly according to their cultivation realm.

A Skin Refining martial artist cost ten taels, while Flesh Refining rose to fifteen taels.

Tendon Refining reached thirty taels. As for Bone Refining, it was said to cost at least a hundred taels.

It was only said because at the Vegetable Market Execution Ground in Blade-Casting Town, prisoners at the Bone Refining realm had been beheaded only a handful of times.

And every time, it had been Yama Gate's old executioner who personally took action.

After all, if men like that did not die, they would still be figures of great influence in Shiwu County. Capturing them would likely be extremely difficult.

Compared with the bounty, what Liang Qisheng cared about more were Merit Points.

After arriving in Blade-Casting Town, he studied the Decapitation Blade Technique on one hand.

On the other, he continued devoting his energy to the Black Tiger Fist.

He was close to mastering this fist art, and afterward it would undergo a qualitative transformation.

With enough Merit Points in hand, he could push the martial art to transform. To Liang Qisheng, the two complemented each other.

This was also the main reason he had chosen Yama Gate and gone to such lengths to become an executioner.

After all, there were not many ways to kill people by legitimate means and gain Merit Points in the process.

"...Killed a guilty person. Obtained five Merit Points!"

"...Killed a guilty person. Obtained seven Merit Points!"

"...Killed a guilty person. Obtained eight Merit Points!"

As he checked the Merit Points gained from beheading the three prisoners in his mind, Liang Qisheng nodded in satisfaction.

"The Five Prisons turn in reincarnation. Among men are vicious ghosts; beneath the blade are dead souls. None are innocent."

People could lie. Emotions could lie.

But the genuine Merit Points were right there, solid and real.

The last one in particular had yielded eight points. Clearly, he had committed no small amount of evil, with blood-debt cases on his hands.

"Yama Gate really is a fine place. It's a match made in heaven for me."

"One execution earned me twenty Merit Points. This truly is an excellent way to gain Merit Points."

Liang Qisheng was naturally extremely satisfied with this harvest.

Moreover, this was clearly a long-term stream of income, not a one-time deal.

For him, it could both maintain his identity and open up a path for obtaining Merit Points in the future.

"It seems that, for the time being, I won't have to worry about lacking Merit Points."

As he pondered, Liang Qisheng sank into his mind.

His consciousness settled on the "+" behind Decapitation Blade Technique and pressed down.

Swish! Swish!

A human figure appeared in his mind. The person stood between heaven and earth, surrounded by dark shadows, exuding an air of grim slaughter.

The heavy Ghost Head Blade in his hands flashed like a startled swan, flying up and down as it continuously changed forms.

Decapitation Blade Technique, Eight-Character Mantra, Twelve Breaking Blade Forms.

Though it was still the same blade technique, Liang Qisheng sensed the data in his mind shifting, and felt as though enlightenment had been poured directly into his head.

Only by truly immersing himself in this blade technique could he easily sense the enormous gulf between himself and that figure in his mind.

The feeling was like one person merely showing off after becoming proficient in a blade art, while the other had genuinely practiced it for decades.

He had severed hundreds of heads, his technique growing ever more consummate. Practice made perfect, but he had reached an entirely different level.

It was like both people had mastered Arabic numerals: one could only add, subtract, multiply, and divide, while the other had already solved advanced mathematics.

In the room, Liang Qisheng beckoned with both hands, and the Ghost Head Blade resting on the table immediately flew into his grasp.

His body seemed to have been jolted by lightning as he unconsciously swung the Ghost Head Blade in the manner of the figure in his mind.

The points that had previously confused him suddenly became crystal clear.

It was as though he had directly grasped the knack of it, naturally carrying it out.

Though he merely changed the Ghost Head Blade's direction and position by the slightest fraction, that tiny adjustment was exactly right—perfect and flawless.

Liang Qisheng could feel that the blade technique he swung had greatly improved in force, angle, and speed.

Its power had become greater, while the strength it consumed had sharply decreased.

"Decapitating like this reduces both the overall force and resistance, while also requiring less strength. And its power increases by at least thirty percent."

"This angle is simply a stroke of divine inspiration..."

Liang Qisheng suddenly understood.

At that moment, countless flashes of inspiration kept bubbling up in his mind.

Comparing it to the executions of those criminals before, he felt that his previous movements could be greatly improved.

Though both methods severed the head in a single stroke, clean and decisive, he would naturally choose the one with greater power and lower exertion.

If applied in actual combat, this was also like having the way forward pointed out to Liang Qisheng.

After all, battle was a contest to the death.

Especially when facing an enemy of similar realm and strength, only by expending less energy and judging angles with greater precision could one find that final chance on the razor's edge between life and death.

This was undoubtedly the way of survival.

Inside the room, Liang Qisheng was immersed in it.

Merit Points in his mind continued to increase by +1, +1, +1...

His understanding of the Decapitation Blade Technique grew ever deeper.

The Twelve Breaking Blade Forms appeared simple and brutal, but they actually contained ingenious craftsmanship.

It was fairly easy to master them proficiently, but reaching the state of perfection in their use was exceedingly difficult.

Even though Liang Qisheng had devoted himself to them wholeheartedly these past days, he still found certain parts obscure and difficult.

Now, countless insights surfaced, and the moves he had yet to fully grasp were deduced and refined throughout the process.

This pushed his understanding of the Decapitation Blade Technique to an even deeper level.

And the figure in his mind was like a dutiful master, tirelessly instructing him again and again.

This gradually allowed him to grasp the essence of cultivating the Decapitation Blade Technique, seizing that stroke of divine inspiration.

In the blink of an eye, another three months passed.

Liang Qisheng had already become thoroughly accustomed to life in Blade-Casting Town.

He was the sort of person who spoke little and kept out of trouble, and he quickly became familiar with the people at Yama Gate.

He was not particularly attached to money, and he handed over every bit of the required share without shortchanging them in the slightest, so he also took on the most assignments.

Every day, he spent his time cultivating without needing to think about anything else. Only when he accepted a task would he head to the Vegetable Market Execution Ground to behead criminals.

As his blade technique became increasingly refined, his methods of decapitation also grew exceptionally fierce. On many occasions, his executions were clean and decisive, earning him considerable praise.

This made him stand out among the younger generation of decapitation-blade practitioners, raising his reputation by no small amount.

After all, most people willing to spend a hundred taels of silver to learn the Decapitation Blade Technique came from fairly well-off families. Few were willing to actually go to the Vegetable Market Execution Ground and chop off heads for such an ill-omened living.

Yet he remained diligent and conscientious, neither competing nor scrambling.

"Finally completed!"

"Decapitation Blade Technique 99% (+)"