Letting You Practice Life Skills, You Grind Your Way to Divine Positions

Gao Quan shot Qin An a fearful glance and nodded in agreement, quietly leaving the courtyard.

He recalled the times he and Qin An had called each other brothers, and then remembered the might of Qin An's Black Blade today. He wished he could slap himself twice.

How could he dare to associate with someone like that?

Qin An asked, "How long until I can exchange for cultivation methods?"

His position and title weren't important; the cultivation methods were.

He had stored a large amount of blood qi and wanted to try deducing something with a new cultivation method.

Tang Lingwei said, "A specialist from the Internal Affairs Division will come find you tomorrow. You must be tired today, so go back to your room and rest for a bit."

Qin An nodded and turned to walk towards his room.

Tang Lingwei stared at Qin An's retreating back, unable to snap out of it for a long time.

After returning to his lodging, Qin An took off the Black Blade and placed it by the bedside.

He had gained a lot today, but there were no cultivation methods. He would have to wait until tomorrow for them to arrive before he could properly deduce them.

The night was already deep.

Qin An disliked staying up late and preferred to ensure he was well-rested.

Even with proficiency points, he preferred to practice during the day.

Moreover, with the Azure Cloud Valley Monkey Demons and the Tree Lord coveting him, Qin An needed to keep himself in peak condition at all times.

Staying in the Evil Extermination Division wasn't necessarily safe. If he wanted safety, he could only rely on himself.

The oil lamp flickered, casting mottled shadows.

After blowing out the oil lamp, Qin An went to sleep early...

The next day.

A knock sounded at the door.

Qin An's eyes snapped open, and he held the Black Blade in his hand. "Who is it?"

A voice came from outside the door.

"Internal Affairs Division, here to deliver rewards."

Upon hearing this, Qin An got up and opened the door, but the Black Blade remained unsheathed.

A young man stood outside, dressed in a black robe. From his appearance, he exuded no killing intent, a stark contrast to the people from the External Affairs Division.

When the young man saw Qin An open the door, he extended the tray in his hand.

Qin An took it and opened the tray. On it lay a bronze waist token.

A coiling dragon was carved onto the waist token, exuding a fierce aura.

Besides that, there were two sets of spare black robes.

Qin An pondered for a moment before hanging the waist token on his belt.

Seeing this, the young man immediately cupped his fists. "This subordinate greets Sir Qin."

The Bronze Captain represented his identity in Ling Prefecture, having had to shed the blood of many demonic creatures and false gods to be promoted.

Although the Internal Affairs Division consisted of members from sects and families, they still had to respectfully salute the Bronze Captains from the External Affairs Division.

Qin An nodded. "Can I go to the Confidential Archives to exchange for rewards?"

He had merit points and the identity of a Bronze Captain. What Qin An needed now were cultivation methods.

He knew that cultivation methods and intelligence were stored in the Confidential Archives.

The young man lowered his head. "Your merit has already been registered. Sir Qin can naturally go. Additionally, you can go to the Resource Hall to collect your monthly stipend as a Bronze Captain."

They were all people who lived on the edge of death, so they naturally weren't lacking in money. Their monthly stipends were more than enough for lavish spending.

Qin An nodded and walked out of the room.

He first went to the Resource Hall to collect his stipend for the month, and then headed to the Confidential Archives.

Just as before, Qin An presented his waist token.

This time, the Internal Affairs Division clerk who checked the waist token no longer looked down on him, returning the token with a respectful expression.

"Sir, you may choose three Body Infusion Realm cultivation methods to copy and take with you," the Internal Affairs Division clerk said.

According to the rules, clerks could only choose two at most.

Bronze Captains were different; they could choose one more, which was considered a privilege.

Qin An took back his waist token and entered the Confidential Archives, beginning to select them one by one.

The books on the shelves only had names and descriptions, not their contents.

This was to prevent those with photographic memories from memorizing them all.

Before coming, Qin An already knew what he should choose.

His Blade Techniques and Cultivation Methods were now mastered, not far from perfection, but his Movement Technique was still only at the Qi Concealment Realm, holding him back.

Besides that, Qin An needed a defensive technique and a fist technique.

He had only just begun to grasp the fist technique and wanted to improve further.

Defensive techniques had always been Qin An's weak point, a critical need.

The Confidential Archives contained a vast number of cultivation methods, but the Internal Affairs Division clerks had categorized them, making them easy to find.

Qin An first searched for fist techniques and movement techniques.

The fist technique was called Sky-Rending Fist Technique.

This fist technique was incredibly powerful and had a similar feel to Qin An's Crimson Flame Mountain-Breaking Hand.

The movement technique was named Serpent Form Movement Technique, focusing on short-range evasive maneuvers.

Azure Bird Leap was grand and sweeping, like a goose gliding across the sky when performed, but it was slightly lacking in short-range evasive capabilities.

If Qin An were to deduce it alongside Azure Bird Leap, he might be able to compensate for its shortcomings.

With the movement technique and fist technique chosen, the only difficulty was the defensive technique.

Qin An stood before the bookshelves, contemplating, "I don't have any Life Skills related to defensive techniques. If I can't deduce one, I'll need to start a new Life Skill."

A moment later, Qin An made up his mind: he would choose a defensive technique that would make it easy to start a new Life Skill.

Every cultivation method had detailed annotations, and Qin An patiently flipped through them one by one.

Before long, a cultivation method appeared in Qin An's hand.

—Reversing Gang Qi.

Just then, a Bronze Captain from the External Affairs Division passed by.

When the Bronze Captain saw the cultivation method in Qin An's hand, he kindly shook his head and said, "Don't choose this one, it's very difficult."

Reversing Gang Qi involved transforming Qi into small needles that pierced the major acupoints throughout the body, generating Gang Qi to protect the body.

The difficulty of this cultivation method lay in the excruciating pain during cultivation, a pain that pierced the marrow and was unbearable for most people.

Qin An took a look, then picked up the three cultivation methods and walked forward.

The Bronze Captain found it strange, but seeing that Qin An ignored him, he didn't say anything more.

If he chose wrongly, it was fate; no one could be blamed.

He had kindly offered a reminder, and if the other party didn't listen, so be it.

Qin An completed the registration, and after the Internal Affairs Division clerk produced the replicated cultivation methods, he quietly left.

He already had plans for new Life Skills; he would deduce the movement technique and fist technique first.

He encountered no trouble on his way back from the Confidential Archives.

Qin An locked the door from the inside, poured a cup of clear tea, and took a shallow sip.

The smoke condensed like a serpent.

[Qin An]

[Ice-Fire Dual Cultivation Method (Mastered), Demon-Subduing Three Suns Blade (Mastered), Crimson Flame Mountain-Breaking Hand (Beginner), Azure Bird Leap (Perfected)]

These four cultivation methods were all that Qin An possessed.

Ice-Fire Dual Cultivation Method and Demon-Subduing Three Suns Blade were mastered at the Body Infusion Realm, while Crimson Flame Mountain-Breaking Hand was only at the beginner stage of the Body Infusion Realm.

As for Azure Bird Leap, it was only perfected at the Qi Concealment Realm.

Qin An first began practicing in the room, following the style of the Sky-Rending Fist Technique.

Those in the Evil Extermination Division were people who lived on the edge, so their benefits and treatment were naturally excellent, and their living quarters were spacious enough.

Sky-Rending Fist Technique was a Body Infusion Realm cultivation method, emphasizing grand and sweeping movements, powerful like the vast sky.