Slaying the Stone Spirit, Activating the Golden Finger, and Gaining the Palm-Rolling Sword Formation

The Stone Spirit had just crawled out of the rubble. Its stone armor had not yet fully unfolded, and it was at its weakest.

Anyone else would have been frightened into turning and running for their life, but Xu Jin had only two words in his mind—seize the initiative.

"Just broke out of your shell and you dare wander around? Even delivering yourself on a platter isn't this enthusiastic."

He gave a low shout, kicked off the ground, and lunged straight at the Stone Spirit.

He swung the quarry hammer with a whistling roar, targeting gaps like the Stone Spirit's eye sockets and neck. Every blow was vicious, without the slightest restraint.

The Stone Spirit let out a hoarse, furious howl as its stone arm swept toward him, carrying a heavy gale.

Xu Jin twisted aside, then brought the hammer handle down on its joint. With a crisp crack, a fine fissure split open across the stone arm.

The pain made the Stone Spirit shriek without end.

"Yelling? It won't help you!"

Xu Jin's eyes hardened. Stepping on its stone leg, he leaped into the air and landed astride the Stone Spirit's shoulder. Raising the hammer with both hands, he aimed at the crack atop its head and smashed down with all his strength!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Three hammer blows in a row sent shattered stones flying.

The Stone Spirit's struggles grew weaker and weaker. At last, it swayed, then crashed to the ground with a thunderous boom, completely still.

Xu Jin jumped down from its body, panting heavily, his palms numb from the shock.

Before he could catch his breath, the Compendium of Divine Powers in his mind suddenly erupted with brilliant golden light. Lines of blazing gilt words appeared one after another:

[Slain: Mixed-Blood Stone Spirit ×1]

[First kill reward triggered: Novice Gift Pack issued]

[Obtained divine power: Palm-Rolling Sword Formation (Perfect)]

[Obtained Demon Fragments ×3]

A warm current instantly surged from his dantian, flowing through his meridians and spreading across his limbs and bones.

Xu Jin could clearly feel his previously slight frame rapidly strengthening. His muscles tightened, his bones tingled with a fine, swollen ache, and even the web between his thumb and forefinger, which had hurt from the hammer's recoil, healed instantly.

At the same time, a complete divine power appeared in his mind—condense a lead pellet beneath the tongue, transform it into a flying sword in the palm, and slay enemies between breaths.

Acting on instinct, he pressed his tongue upward. A heavy lead pellet silently appeared between his teeth, cool and smooth, with none of the discomfort of a foreign object.

Xu Jin could not help lowering his head with a laugh.

The signature technique of Yao the Sword Immortal in volume eight of What Confucius Didn't Discuss. Back when he had read it, he had gone over it more than a dozen times and even complained that this move maxed out the showboating effect. Who would have thought that one day, he would directly max out its proficiency himself?

"Xu... Xu, little brother?"

Steward Wang's trembling voice came from the distance.

He had watched the entire fight while hiding behind a tree, and his calves were still cramping.

He had thought Xu Jin would only hold out for a few moves before fleeing. Who could have imagined that this scholarly-looking young man would swing a hammer more viciously than a butcher slaughtering pigs, smashing that life-taking stone monster to death with his own hands?

Xu Jin turned around, casually wiped the stone dust from his face, and walked over with far more confidence in his stride than before.

"Steward Wang, it's settled."

Steward Wang looked at the Stone Spirit's corpse, smashed into pieces on the ground, then at Xu Jin. His mouth hung open for a long while.

Only after quite some time did he come back to his senses. He slapped his thigh and cried, "A divine man! Little brother, you're truly a divine man!"

"Nothing divine about me. I'm just scraping together a living." Xu Jin's tone was calm as he held up three fingers. "The three months' wages we agreed on."

"Of course! Absolutely!" Steward Wang patted his chest, not hesitating in the slightest. "Forget three months! You helped me keep my job and saved my life. I'll add another five strings of cash as a reward! From today on, you'll be the resident expert of my quarry. You won't need to work; just collect your pay every month. If anything happens, we'll invite you over again!"

As he spoke, he pulled silver from his robes. Advance payment and reward together, he stuffed a large handful of gleaming silver into Xu Jin's hand, heavy with weight.

Xu Jin did not even count it before stuffing it into his robes.

Rent, food, money for a new set of clothes—it was all covered.

"When I fought it just now, the shock injured my internal organs. I need to go back and recuperate for a few days." He casually found an excuse. "The quarry should be fine for a while. If anything happens again, just find me in the city."

"Of course, of course!" Steward Wang nodded quickly, eager for him to rest properly. "Should I send two men to escort you?"

"No need."

Xu Jin waved a hand and turned back toward Blackstone Cliff.

He crouched down and searched through the Stone Spirit's remains. From its chest cavity, he pried out a crystal the size of a pigeon's egg, glowing with a faint azure light. He also picked out several of the hardest fragments of stone armor, wrapped them in oiled paper, and tucked them into his bundle.

These were all good things. Whether he used them to trade for money later or to refine something, they would come in handy.

On the way down the mountain, he tried activating the new strange art he had just acquired.

With a light breath from his tongue, he spat out a lead pellet. It rolled into his palm and transformed into a tiny sword over an inch long. Firelight flickered from its tip, like a snake flicking its tongue.

With a flick of Xu Jin's finger, a white streak shot out with a whoosh, lightly curved around, and severed a roadside branch as thick as a bowl. When it returned, it gathered back into a lead pellet and dropped into his palm.

"Palm-Rolling Sword Formation... it really has some bite."

Xu Jin swallowed the lead pellet back into his body, unable to suppress the upward curve of his lips.

With the Compendium of Divine Powers, killing demons would make him stronger. How could waiting by a tree stump for rabbits compare to taking the initiative?

The Great Yin Dynasty was crawling with demons and monsters. To others, it was hell. To him, it was a land strewn with experience packs.

His steps were light as he headed toward the city.

At the same time, two figures clad in black fitted uniforms embroidered with crimson patterns stepped onto Blackstone Slope.

Both wore bronze plaques at their waists, engraved on the front with the three words "Demon Suppression Bureau."

The middle-aged man in the lead crouched down, dipped a fingertip into the dark-red fluid on the Stone Spirit's remains, and frowned slightly. "Mixed-blood Stone Spirit. Dead through and through. The wounds were inflicted by a blunt weapon—brute force broke through its defenses."

The young Demon Suppression agent beside him froze. "A blunt weapon? Brother Chu, didn't the information say the quarry only had ordinary laborers? How could an ordinary person possibly beat a Stone Spirit to death?"

"Go ask the steward."

When the two found Steward Wang, he was directing workers to clear the site. The moment he saw people from the Demon Suppression Bureau, his legs went weak. Trembling, he told them everything that had happened the night before, not daring to conceal even the slightest detail—not Xu Jin's appearance, his name, or a single word he had said.

After hearing him out, both Demon Suppression Bureau agents fell silent.

The young agent wore an expression of utter disbelief. "An eighteen-year-old commoner? No cultivation, yet he solo-killed a Stone Spirit with nothing but a quarry hammer? And he even knew Stone Spirits were yin-aligned and feared the yang fire of iron?"

Who would believe that if it were told aloud?

Forget ordinary civilians—even probationary demon-slaying agents within the Bureau would have to expend considerable effort to deal with a fully formed Stone Spirit one-on-one.

The middle-aged man surnamed Chu darkened his gaze and ordered, "Seal off the scene. Suppress this information. It must not spread."

The two then turned and headed down the mountain, their figures swiftly vanishing into the morning mist.