Talent Awakening

Once the words appeared, everything before his eyes slowed to a crawl.

Information poured into his mind like a surging sea.

The knife in Qin An's hand felt as familiar as his own arm.

The smoke twisted like a snake, forming new words.

[Qin An]

[Butcher lv.3 (0/400): The livestock you butcher tastes slightly better.]

[Talent: Qi Concealment Realm Blade Mastery]

His Butcher Profession had finally broken through its limits and reached level three.

A flicker of joy rose in Qin An's heart.

But he quickly suppressed it.

His expression unchanged, Qin An quietly put away the Sharp Knife.

Great Qian was a chaotic place.

Demons wreaked havoc, and False Gods were everywhere.

Ever since arriving in this world, Qin An had resolved to be careful at every turn.

The tallest tree caught the wind. That was true everywhere.

Staying cautious was essential to staying alive.

The blood-red Flesh Orb drifted through the air.

The butchers were still stunned by Qin An's skill and had yet to recover.

Captain Zheng was the first to react. At the sight of the blood-red Flesh Orb, he tightened his grip on his long blade and said gravely, "Go fetch Clerk Wang."

Qin An took in Captain Zheng's reaction, silently wiped the blood from his Sharp Knife, and stood to one side with his hands lowered.

The blood-red Flesh Orb was anything but ordinary.

One glance at it sent a fierce, baleful aura rushing toward him.

Qin An was certain it was no mundane object.

But even with his Butcher Talent, he was still a commoner. He had no business drawing attention to himself.

He had only come to butcher the Pig Demon. The rest had nothing to do with him.

Before long, a middle-aged man in official robes emerged from the main hall.

His face shone with oil, his belly bulged, and he panted with every step.

Besides the county magistrate, the Yamen had the Three Bureaus and Six Offices.

The six offices handled personnel, households, rites, military affairs, justice, and public works. The three bureaus were the Livery Bureau, Swift Bureau, and Sturdy Bureau.

Clerk Wang oversaw prisoners and public order.

Captain Zheng had summoned him to inspect the matter in accordance with procedure.

Clerk Wang came closer, took several labored breaths, then pointed at Qin An. "You're the one who butchered this Pig Demon?" he asked with disdain.

Qin An nodded. "I am."

Clerk Wang might only have been a clerk, but in Ding County, he wielded real authority.

Besides, Qin An had butchered the Pig Demon in full view of everyone. There was no denying it.

Clerk Wang wiped the sweat from his forehead and waved a hand. "Reward him with two taels of silver."

Captain Zheng paused. His hand rubbed lightly against the hilt of his blade, but he said nothing.

A constable brought over a black wooden box and carefully placed the blood-red Flesh Orb inside.

Another constable held out two taels of silver to Qin An and waved him off as though shooing a fly. "Take it and get lost. The rest of you too. Out, all of you."

The constable's attitude was vile, but neither Captain Zheng nor Clerk Wang found it unusual.

When the Yamen asked a commoner for help, he ought to consider it an honor. Once he was no longer needed, he ought to know enough to get lost.

Qin An tucked the two taels of silver into his robes and left the Yamen with his Sharp Knife.

He was a butcher brought in to slaughter the Pig Demon.

Now that the Pig Demon was butchered and his Butcher Profession had reached level three, he intended to go home and test his new talent.

Everything else had nothing to do with a butcher like him.

Seeing Qin An leave, the other butchers exchanged glances and departed the Yamen as well.

Before long, only Clerk Wang, Captain Zheng, and the constables remained.

Clerk Wang's fleshy face quivered. He leaned toward Captain Zheng and asked, "Apart from that butcher Qin An, did anyone else touch the Flesh Orb?"

Captain Zheng hurriedly cupped his fists. "No one else touched it."

Clerk Wang nodded, his voice cold. "That Pig Demon had a lover. Anyone carrying its scent might face retaliation. As for that butcher... send someone to collect his corpse in a few days, then slip his relatives some money."

Captain Zheng gripped his blade's hilt and answered without raising his head. "Understood."

Clerk Wang picked up the black wooden box. "The Blood Crystal of a Qi Concealment Realm Demon will be of great use to you. Take it. The Yamen will need a skilled fighter stationed here, or those plague-ridden commoners will start complaining again. The Evil Extermination Division looks down on county towns. We can only rely on ourselves."

Captain Zheng said nothing. His hands trembled as he accepted the black wooden box, as though the Blood Crystal inside were a treasure of vital importance.

Qin An hurried all the way home.

Since arriving in this world, he had had a little place in Ding County. It was hardly luxurious, but its bedroom and sitting room were enough to live in.

It was already afternoon, and cooking smoke curled above the street.

Qin An had just reached his door when the door of the neighboring house opened.

Chen Chun poked his head out and peered around.

When he saw Qin An, the two wisps of his mustache twitched.

"You're back?"

Qin An gave him an odd look. "Is that so strange?"

Chen Chun seemed a little strange today.

Chen Chun sniffed faintly, then ducked back inside and slammed the door.

That made things stranger still.

But Qin An wanted to get home and examine his new talent. Without dwelling on it, he opened his own door.

Just as Qin An was about to enter, Chen Chun's door opened again.

Chen Chun held out a cloth-wrapped bundle. "Here. I bought this on a whim while buying timber in another county. They said it could bolster your yang energy."

Qin An took it without thinking. When he unwrapped it, he found a book inside.

Its pages were yellowed and the cover was faded, but he could still make out the words Wind-Splitting Blade Technique.

Qin An weighed the manual in his hand. "Old Chen, since when did you practice the blade?"

Chen Chun was beginning to seem rather mysterious.

He was supposed to be the owner of a Coffin Shop, yet here he was, suddenly handing over a manual for the Wind-Splitting Blade Technique.

What ordinary coffin shop owner practiced the blade?

Chen Chun laughed it off. "I heard an elder say that when a butcher kills a monster, the monster's baleful aura clings to him. I bought this manual for two copper coins. It probably won't do much, but practicing it can't hurt your luck."

"Really?" Qin An asked with a frown.

"Of course," Chen Chun said earnestly. "I wouldn't hurt you."

Qin An rubbed his chin. "Your mustache twitches when you lie, Old Chen. You're lying."

They had been neighbors for so long that Qin An knew Chen Chun's habits all too well.

Chen Chun brushed his mustache with a finger and slammed the door. "Practice it or don't. It's only for luck."

Soon, no sound came from behind the door.

Holding the manual, Qin An thought for a moment, then went inside.

Whatever was going on with Chen Chun, he would examine his talent first.

The furnishings were simple, but the house had everything he needed.

There were even a few leftover dishes on the table.

After a long day, Qin An was tired. He finished the leftovers before turning his attention to his talent.

"Qi Concealment Realm Blade Mastery. If I practice a blade technique now, the results will be beyond anything I expect."

When his Butcher Profession reached level three, Qin An had instinctively understood it.

The moment he picked up a blade, it felt familiar in his hand, as though he had wielded one for years.

After a moment's thought, Qin An set the Sharp Knife aside and picked up the Wind-Splitting Blade Technique Chen Chun had given him.

He had his doubts about Chen Chun, but the man had gone back inside rather than discuss it.

It was getting late. Remembering what Chen Chun had said about the baleful aura, Qin An opened the manual almost without thinking.

Reading it would not cost him a hair on his head. He might as well see what the manual contained.

As Qin An opened the Wind-Splitting Blade Technique manual, illustrations appeared on its pages.

The drawings were crude, like the aimless scribbles of a three-year-old.

Yet each illustration had a name beside it.

As Qin An turned the pages, understanding stirred within him.

Images flashed before his eyes.

In mere moments, a figure practicing the blade flickered through his vision like a revolving lantern.

Qin An looked down and kept turning the pages, his expression utterly focused.

Half an incense stick later.

When Qin An turned the final page, the Oil Lamp on the table suddenly flickered.

Qin An came back to himself and quietly set the manual down.

Black smoke appeared before his eyes and gathered into a line of text.

[You studied the Wind-Splitting Blade Technique and activated your Qi Concealment Realm Blade Mastery talent. Your Qi Concealment Realm Wind-Splitting Blade Technique has reached perfection.]

A trace of warmth flowed through his lower abdomen. Qin An stared at the words before him, stunned.

[Qin An]

[Technique: Wind-Splitting Blade Technique, perfected (Qi Concealment Realm)]

[Butcher lv.3 (0/400): The livestock you butcher tastes slightly better.]

[Talent: Qi Concealment Realm Blade Mastery]

"It's perfected already?"

Astonished, Qin An picked up the Sharp Knife beside him and swung it idly.

As he moved, the forms of the Wind-Splitting Blade Technique flowed continuously through his mind.

The Wind-Splitting Blade Technique prized speed above all else: the blade had to strike like lightning.

As Qin An swung the knife, the warmth flowed into the Sharp Knife.

The Sharp Knife swept through the air in an unbroken series of strokes, raising gust after gust.

After a few breaths, Qin An set the Sharp Knife on the table. He now understood his Golden Finger in a new light.

This thing was powerful.

It was far more than a collection of Life Skills.

At the very least, he might now gain a measure of safety in these chaotic times.

The thought settled Qin An's nerves.

Only then did Qin An notice another small line of text at the bottom of the smoke.

[You studied a blade manual. A new profession can be unlocked.]

[New profession: Scholar]

[Unlocked]

[Scholar lv.1 (0/100): You read slightly faster.]

A new profession?

Qin An froze for a moment, then delight rose in his heart.

The way to unlock a new profession through his Golden Finger was simple: he had to truly enter the trade.

But entering a trade was no simple matter. It required a deep enough understanding of the profession.

Qin An had been able to enter the Butcher Profession immediately because he had already been a butcher when he arrived in this world.

As for gaining the Scholar Profession now, he guessed it was because he had spent years studying in his previous life and had read the blade manual so intently.

Delighted by the new profession, Qin An wanted to start improving it at once.

Since it was Scholar, it had to involve reading.

Qin An picked up the manual, ready to keep reading.

Unfortunately, his proficiency did not increase.

"Books I've already read won't raise it?"

Qin An put down the manual. He had a hunch.

"I'll visit a bookshop tomorrow."

He was a butcher; he had no books at home.

Having seen how powerful the Life Skills could be, Qin An intended to raise his Scholar Profession as quickly as possible and awaken another talent.

A bookshop was his best option.

It was getting late. After a moment's thought, Qin An followed his usual habit: he tucked the Sharp Knife beneath his pillow, lay down, and closed his eyes.

He kept the Sharp Knife beneath his pillow because the times were dangerous.

He had only one life, and he had no intention of losing it.

The lamp went out. The moon shone bright among sparse stars.

Qin An gradually fell asleep, his breathing growing slow and steady.

Time passed, and the latter half of the night arrived.

A gust of wind blew through. The house door stood open, and a heavy breathing sound slowly rose.