Three Techniques Unite, A Black Shadow on the Roof

A murderous intent descended from the sky, causing Zhang Yutai's expression to change.

He produced another Jade Talisman, and a burst of white light erupted, shielding his head.

Li Qing descended from above, putting his entire strength into this strike.

Both the Blood Burning and Bloodletting minor arts were fully activated.

The entire blade was dyed a deep crimson, and a terrifying force slammed into the white light.

The immense pressure caused the white light to cave in, appearing as if it would be shredded the very next instant.

Zhang Yutai's pupils contracted, and he threw himself to the side, rolling away.

Splut.

The blood-colored blade light sliced through the white shield and slammed heavily into the ground.

The impact against the earth produced a sound like metal striking metal, followed by an explosion.

Countless stone shards sprayed in all directions, and Zhang Yutai's rolling body was immediately struck by the debris.

As luck would have it, a stone hit him squarely in the back of the head.

"Hmph."

Although he had already stepped into the Body Strengthening stage and his body was immune to common ailments, he was not indestructible.

The exploding debris left him dizzy and disoriented.

A sense of crisis lunged at him from behind, and Zhang Yutai resorted to a clumsy roll forward; it was an unsightly move, but highly effective.

He successfully evaded the danger, a streak of blood-colored blade light grazing past his neck.

Li Qing's eyes were cold, and he took a step forward, continuing his charge.

At this moment, Zhang Yutai's face was filled with panic. "Don't kill me!"

Li Qing's hand did not falter in the slightest; in the reflection of Zhang Yutai's terrified eyes, the gleaming blade light plunged into his head in a single strike.

The blade passed through his skull as if it were tofu.

Zhang Yutai's eyes bulged, filled with disbelief.

Li Qing withdrew his blade and looked at the corpse, which had split open from the bridge of the nose and stared up with unclosed eyes; he couldn't help but let out a long breath.

It's only been a few days, and these troubles are already coming one after another.

This world is far too malicious toward me.

Li Qing couldn't help but grumble. Behind him, a flash of light flickered as the illusory Flood Dragon returned to the Spirit Summoning Tablet.

Fixing his gaze on the corpse leaking red and white matter onto the ground, Li Qing hurriedly crouched down.

He began to loot the body.

Soon, he found a pouch on the fellow, opened it, and dumped the contents out.

There were two palm-sized scriptures and a piece of unknown animal hide.

There was also some silver currency, a medallion, and a letter.

The medallion bore the same "Blood" character as the one he had killed in the woods earlier.

"It seems they are from the same organization!"

"From Qingshi County to this Jade City—this organization is massive."

He opened the envelope, read it carefully, and furrowed his brows.

The contents were filled with nonsensical text; he immediately realized it was written in code.

Without the decryption key, it was impossible to see the true content.

"Such tight security; it seems this organization is up to no good."

"I've already killed two of their people; I must be more careful in the future."

He opened the silver notes and looked at them, a hint of surprise appearing on his face.

A full 5,000 taels of silver—this was no small sum.

"Are the people in this organization just that wealthy? One carried a Night-Bright Pearl, and this one had 5,000 taels of silver on him. It's truly incredible."

He stuffed the silver into his own robes; such a large sum would last him a lifetime, provided he didn't squander it.

As his fingers brushed against the two books and the animal hide, the Jade Tablet in his mind shifted.

Blood Swallowing Art (Art, Foundation Establishment)

Cultivation Method: Use the blood of nine different living creatures to write a Blood Curse, completing the Blood Curse body tempering.

Innate Minor Art: Blood Swallowing, allows the direct extraction of blood from a target's body to harvest essence.

Cost: Must not consume meat.

Note: If Blood Refining Art, Blood Fusion Art, and Blood Swallowing Art are cultivated in unison (Cost: Daily meat consumption must not exceed half a catty).

Spirit Blood Art (Art: Foundation Establishment)

Cultivation Method: Inscribe the Three Talents Blood Curse of Heaven, Earth, and Man with one's own heart blood, complete the perfect blood curse body refinement, and condense the spirit blood essence.

Innate Spell: Burning Blood Flame (Any living creature struck by the blood flame will have their entire body's blood ignited and burned away, transforming into essence to fuel the flames, while the blood flame remains under control.)

Cost: None

Shadow Transformation Art (Spell)

Cultivation Method: Bathe in shadows for nine days and nine nights without sleeping or moving.

Spell: Transform into a shadow and pass through all tangible, mundane objects.

Cost: Cannot remain in sunlight for twelve hours; breaking this rule will result in being eroded by shadows and transforming into an Anomaly.

Shadow Art (Spell)

Cultivation Method: Bathe in shadows for one day and one night without moving or leaving.

Minor Art: Can walk within the shadow world, shuttle through all mundane objects, and remain undetected by most methods.

Cost: No cost

Looking at the information that had suddenly changed on the Jade Tablet, Li Qing fell into deep thought.

So that's how it is. The Blood Swallowing Art, Blood Refining Art, and Blood Fusion Art are three parts of a single technique.

Cultivating them simultaneously reduces the cost, while cultivating them individually incurs a heavy price.

I was wondering how anyone could possibly cultivate such high-cost techniques; one slip-up and you'd turn into a monster.

It turns out they must be practiced as a unified set to minimize the cost and complete the technique.

Innate Spell: Burning Blood Flame. It seems this is the result of the Jade Tablet's modification, merging the three minor arts into one.

This spell appears to be continuous and can even draw upon the essence of those struck to sustain itself.

I'll likely only know the specifics once I begin cultivation.

His gaze fell upon the animal skin, which recorded the Shadow Transformation Art, now optimized into the far more formidable Shadow Art.

What a gift-bearing boy; my repertoire has just expanded.

The Shadow Art is a top-tier defensive spell. When I truly can't win a fight, I can walk through the shadows to evade pursuit.

His heart burned with excitement, but Li Qing did not rush to begin cultivation.

He quickly bent down to strip the man's clothes, wiped the red and white matter from the floor, and then wrapped the body inside them.

Ensuring no traces remained on the ground, he stuffed the token and envelope into the bundle made from the clothes.

With his essence circulating, his strength was immediately amplified.

Applying his force-channeling techniques with ease, he hoisted Zhang Yutai's corpse up.

Opening the room's door, Li Qing stepped out quickly and soon reached the perimeter wall.

The courtyard he was in was separated from the street outside by only a single wall.

Channeling his essence, Li Qing leaped up and landed instantly atop the eight-foot-high wall.

Beyond the wall was a small alley. Li Qing vaulted down and began walking along the alley toward the other end.

He moved quickly, keeping a constant watch on the path he had come from and on Zhang Yutai's corpse.

No blood fell along the way; he had wrapped Zhang Yutai's wounds with a cloth bag specifically to prevent blood from dripping onto the ground and leaving clues for others.

He reached the end of the alley, crossed a main street, entered another alley, and dumped the corpse there.

He turned to head back the way he came, but suddenly, he stopped in his tracks.

A figure leaped over the rooftops on the opposite side of the main street.

"This is..."