The morning after Wei Jinlin had killed three people from a distance with three bolts of energy, three imposing middle-aged men arrived at the Martial Arts Arena.
"Director, those three men last night were scouts under our command. They weren't deliberately spying on you.
"Demons have been wreaking havoc near Red Cloud County lately. We were worried something might happen to the Military Service Bureau, so we investigated in secret.
"We hope you'll forgive us for the offense!"
In front of the platform at the Martial Arts Arena, the three middle-aged men sincerely apologized to Wei Jinlin, who stood above them.
Four hundred Military Service Bureau disciples watching from nearby were astonished.
"Those three... They're the heads of the Chen Family, the Shen Family, and the Zhao Family! They're all patriarchs of the top martial arts families in the city! They actually came in person to apologize to Master Wei."
"The Military Service Bureau really does hold an extraordinary position. I have to do my best to become a martial arts prospect!"
"Look at Chen Jinyang and Shen Jue. They don't seem ashamed at all. They look grave, as if they've learned something terrible. What happened?"
"I think I heard them say something to Master Wei... demons!"
Lu Ming stood near the front of the crowd and heard them clearly.
When the three patriarchs mentioned "demons" to Wei Jinlin, even his expression changed. Lu Ming's heart sank.
He had heard that demons existed in this world, but they were usually found deep in the mountains and forests. Demons were rarely seen near Red Cloud County.
He hadn't expected one to appear now. This was serious. Even Wei Jinlin feared demons. If they encountered one, wouldn't they be doomed?
Soon, the three patriarchs left.
Wei Jinlin's expression returned to normal. He said nothing more, told everyone to practice on their own, then turned to leave as usual.
Just then, a tall man with triangular eyes stepped out of the crowd and addressed Wei Jinlin.
"Master Wei, I've reached the Three Breaths Nine Breaks level."
"Oh?" Wei Jinlin stopped and looked him over. "Three Breaths Nine Breaks? Not Three Breaths Nine Echoes?"
The man was clearly wearing only a gray training uniform. Normally, Three Breaths Nine Breaks involved training on the Wooden Tablet Nine Palace Stakes, which was for disciples in white training uniforms.
The man replied respectfully, "This disciple is Wu San. I have indeed reached the Three Breaths Nine Breaks level."
"Show me," Wei Jinlin said.
"Yes."
A confident glint flashed in Wu San's eyes. He went straight to a set of Wooden Tablet Nine Palace Stakes and stepped into it without hesitation.
"Crack, crack, crack..."
In less than three breaths, he had crossed the Wooden Tablet Nine Palace Stakes, smashing all nine wooden tablets.
Three Breaths Nine Breaks!
The crowd erupted in chatter.
"It's Wu San! He reached Three Breaths Nine Breaks without anyone knowing."
"Doesn't that make him a martial artist? A Skin Refining martial artist! How is that possible? He hadn't even reached Three Breaths Nine Echoes before. He was just like us, wearing a gray training uniform."
"Looks like he'd been hiding his strength. Now that he's heard there are demons around, he couldn't hold back and showed off, hoping to get better training."
"But he hasn't reached Three Breaths Nine Echoes. How did he get a wooden tablet?"
"Someone must be helping him. I heard he works for Shen Jue..."
Lu Ming's gaze sharpened. Wu San was the man who had bullied Li Hu in the woods before. He really did work for Shen Jue.
He hadn't expected Wu San to make a stunning debut today and jump two levels at once, reaching Three Breaths Nine Breaks.
Wei Jinlin took a brass key from his person and handed it to Wu San. "I'll come to your place this afternoon and teach you how to strike the stone tablets."
Wu San was overcome with excitement. "Yes!"
After Wei Jinlin left, many people gathered around Wu San to flatter him.
After all, once someone became a martial artist, they were almost certain to earn the status of a warrior in the Grand Examination. They could be said to have made their mark in the world.
Lu Ming was surprised, but soon stopped paying attention and focused on lining up to practice on the Wooden Tablet Nine Palace Stakes.
Over the past few days, more people had reached Three Breaths Nine Echoes or even Three Breaths Nine Breaks. Wu San wasn't the only one.
Lu Ming was focused on himself. Today, he could fill his experience bar and evolve another Acupoint Divine Ability!
With that expectation in mind, he hurried back to his small courtyard after lunch and kept weaving back and forth among the Wooden Tablet Nine Palace Stakes.
He spared no expense on medicinal ointment. After each practice session, he carefully rubbed it over his body, rested until he had recovered, then continued with the next round of stake-walking.
His acupoint experience surged with every round.
[Evolving Acupoint Divine Ability (944/1000)...] [Evolving Acupoint Divine Ability (946/1000)...] ... [Evolving Acupoint Divine Ability (982/1000)...] ... [Evolving Acupoint Divine Ability (998/1000)...] ...
Finally, as the sun slanted west, he completed his last round on the Nine Palace Living Stakes.
[Evolving Acupoint Divine Ability (1000/1000)...]
As he gained the final two experience points, new information appeared on the Divine Ability Panel.
[Evolution complete!] [Acupoint Divine Ability obtained: Point Kill.] [Point Kill]: Acupoints are force. Strike an acupoint to suppress its force, and you can kill your target. [Acupoint Divine Ability]: Heavenly Leak (Initial Completion), Point Kill (Initial Completion).
Point Kill!
Lu Ming was overjoyed when he saw the new ability.
He had actually evolved this kind of divine ability!
With Point Kill, when he looked at the black leak points in everything around him, he could faintly sense the difference in force between himself and those things.
Once his own force surpassed his target's, he could strike the target's black leak point and choose to crush it with his own overwhelming force. The force would surge through the black leak point and strike the target, killing it instantly.
This divine ability was already incredibly powerful on its own.
Most importantly, it complemented the Heaven Leak Divine Ability.
During battle, he could raise his own force by striking black acupoints. Once his force surpassed his target's, a single Point Kill would finish them off!
It was powerful!
Lu Ming was ecstatic to have gained this divine ability.
But from the looks of it, evolving a divine ability gave him a new one and couldn't improve an existing one.
Lately, he had vaguely felt that the more he used Heaven Leak, the more smoothly it came to him.
Perhaps already-mastered divine abilities needed to be used regularly. That way, they could gradually improve on their own, rising from "Initial Completion" to a higher level, such as Major Completion.
He would have to verify that later.
A flurry of thoughts crossed Lu Ming's mind. Now that he had a new divine ability, he wanted to try it out, but his whole body was aching, so he had to hold off for now.
He prepared to go inside, take a bath, then eat at the Public Kitchen.
Suddenly, he heard a "knock, knock, knock" at the gate.
Who would come looking for him?
Puzzled, Lu Ming turned and walked through the Nine Palaces Stakes to open the courtyard gate. A beautiful, radiant woman in white stood outside. It was Li Youning!
"Senior Sister Li?" Lu Ming hurriedly greeted her.
"Junior Brother Lu, there's something I need to tell you." Li Youning glanced around, slipped into his courtyard, and shut the gate behind her.
The gate blocked the view from outside. Li Youning moved closer to Lu Ming, and he caught a faint, delicate fragrance. The atmosphere turned a little intimate.
Lu Ming asked in surprise, "Senior Sister Li, what is it?"
A trace of weariness crossed Li Youning's refined, otherworldly face. The news she had received from home lately hadn't been good.
But she quickly composed herself and addressed Lu Ming seriously.
"I've been thinking about it since I went home. You have a talent for lightness skills, Junior Brother Lu. If you wait until after the Grand Examination to start training, it'll be a little late.
"I found a lightness skill for you: Grass Gliding.
"If you can grasp its mysteries, you may be able to break through with it. Once you become a martial artist, you can return to practicing the Nine Palace Living Stakes, and it'll be much easier."
The lightness skill Grass Gliding?
Lu Ming accepted the manual in surprise. His first thought was, I wonder if practicing this skill can evolve a lightness-skill divine ability.
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