Letting You Train Life Skills, You Grind Your Way to a Divine Profession

"The woman he grew up with was taken by the young sect master. She drowned herself in the river long ago, yet he still thought he simply wasn't skilled enough."

"How tragic, how tragic, hahaha!"

Zhao Jinsheng muttered to himself through bleary, drunken eyes.

Seeing this, Qin An slowly eased his pace and brushed past Zhao Jinsheng.

He had not caught what Zhao Jinsheng was saying, nor did he wish to stir up trouble now.

Zhao Jinsheng instinctively turned back to glance at Qin An. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly spotted the dagger at Qin An's waist and fell into thought.

Only after Qin An vanished down the street did Zhao Jinsheng come back to himself, half sobered.

"He seems to know how to use a blade, and it's not some village trick. Could he have stumbled upon some fortuitous encounter?"

Zhao Jinsheng was certain he had not seen wrong.

The River Blade Sect excelled in saber techniques, and Zhao Jinsheng was among the finest of its disciples.

The man who had just passed him seemed unremarkable in bearing, yet carried the distinct aura of someone who trained with a blade.

Only another blade practitioner could sense it.

"He must have obtained some fortuitous encounter by chance."

With a single glance, Zhao Jinsheng could tell that the other man was dressed like an ordinary commoner and bore none of the air of Jianghu People.

If he were one of the Jianghu People, he would never settle down in a tiny place like Ding County.

The man knew some blade techniques but was not one of the Jianghu People, so he must have chanced upon a fortuitous encounter.

Such things were not uncommon in the Jianghu, but they were not like the storybooks claimed, where one could soar into the heavens after gaining a fortuitous encounter.

A common man was innocent, but possessing jade became his crime.

Most of them died miserable deaths.

"If he has a blade technique, wouldn't that be a bargain for me?" Zhao Jinsheng's heart itched.

Only someone from a force like his knew how precious cultivation methods truly were.

Even though he was one of the River Blade Sect's finest, he was ultimately an outsider by surname. To obtain more benefits, he needed a great deal of Merits.

Now that an opportunity lay before him, Zhao Jinsheng, swept up by his drunkenness, could no longer care about much else. As if possessed by ghosts, he followed Qin An into the alley and disappeared.

After returning home, Qin An hung the bells back up.

He planned to rest early and conserve his energy so he could go read at the bookshop again tomorrow.

When he returned, Chen Chun's home was completely dark. Qin An guessed that Chen Chun had not come home yet.

An Undercover Agent of the Evil Extermination Division naturally had missions to carry out. Besides, the Coffin Shop was an unlucky place, so no one found it strange when Chen Chun was often absent.

After tidying up briefly, Qin An prepared to go to bed.

It was already deep into the night when a sudden knock sounded at the door.

Qin An frowned slightly and looked toward the door. He did not answer. Instead, he picked up his dagger and hid behind the door.

Ever since the Sow Demon incident, Qin An had become increasingly cautious.

In Ding County, he knew only Chen Chun. If Chen Chun had come, he would definitely have spoken first.

Since there had been no voice, it had to be someone other than Chen Chun.

A midnight visitor was bound to be suspicious.

The house fell silent.

After continuing for a moment, the knocking stopped.

Under the moonlight, a flash of snowy brightness thrust through the gap in the door.

Qin An's gaze narrowed.

It was a blade.

After the blade slipped through, it slowly lifted, stopping right against the door bolt.

Most houses in Ding County used a single door bolt, and Qin An knew exactly what the person outside intended.

They wanted to enter the house without making a sound.

Qin An frowned and thought, There's none of that cold Sha Qi, and they're using a blade. I shouldn't have encountered them before.

He could not sense any Sha Qi, so it probably was not a demon.

And since the intruder used a blade, Qin An believed it should be a person.

But he had no idea who it was, because Qin An had never casually provoked anyone.

As he considered this, the blade kept shifting from side to side.

Before long, the blade pushed the door bolt aside.

A young man silently entered from outside.

The instant he stepped inside, he struck the bells beneath his feet.

"Jingle, jingle."

In the pitch-black surroundings, the sound of the bells shaking was exceptionally piercing.

Zhao Jinsheng had been intently observing his surroundings and was startled by the bells.

Before he could react, a rush of wind came from behind him.

Qin An struck.

He did not care who the other party was. Anyone visiting in the dead of night was an uninvited guest.

For the sake of safety, he decisively chose to draw his blade.

The dagger tore through the air with a violent boom, shooting straight toward Zhao Jinsheng's back.

Its target was the heart. If it struck, even immortals would struggle to save him.

Qi circulated along the dagger, increasing its speed by several degrees.

Every hair on Zhao Jinsheng's body stood on end. The explosive sound by his ear drenched his forehead in cold sweat.

At the critical moment, Zhao Jinsheng gripped his longsaber in reverse and held it behind his back.

Clang!

The dagger struck squarely against the body of the longsaber, producing the clash of metal against metal.

A tremendous force crashed into him. Zhao Jinsheng staggered, using the force to take several steps forward before turning around.

"Just as I thought! You only know blade techniques, not cultivation methods. You're another ordinary man who obtained a fortuitous encounter!"

Zhao Jinsheng's eyes gleamed as he raised his longsaber and chopped down at Qin An's head. "Today, this fortuitous encounter is mine!"

He had not been wrong. From the qi on Qin An's earlier strike alone, he could tell that Qin An had merely learned blade techniques.

This really was an ordinary man who only knew blade techniques.

The path of techniques would eventually reach its end; only methods were the core that allowed one to advance.

What could a commoner like this do, even if he obtained a blade technique?

Could he possibly train it to a high level?

"Today, you'll die beneath my minor-achievement Water Shadow Saber Technique. Even in death, you can rest with your eyes closed."

Licking his lips, Zhao Jinsheng gave a cold laugh. He exerted force through his right arm and slashed toward Qin An's neck.

Distorted shadows emerged along the longsaber, as though flowing water covered its surface.

The River Blade Sect was famed for the Water Shadow Saber Technique. When striking, it transformed qi into water, which could cling to an opponent's weapon.

The other party was merely a commoner. Without experience, he would surely pull back his blade to block.

Once it was stuck by the water flow, he would be prey on the chopping block, meat and fish for Zhao Jinsheng to carve as he pleased.

Zhao Jinsheng was already imagining the wonderful moment when he obtained the blade manual.

But at that moment, the dagger in Qin An's hand became a fraction faster.

Though launched later, it arrived first, sweeping from right to left across Zhao Jinsheng's neck.

A chill appeared on Zhao Jinsheng's neck. He instinctively reached up to touch it, and when he lowered his head, he saw his palm covered in blood.

"You..."

His throat had been cut open, and his voice sounded like a broken bellows.

Expressionless, Qin An reversed his grip and drove the dagger into Zhao Jinsheng's chest.

Blood sprayed everywhere, splashing across the ground.

By the moonlight, Zhao Jinsheng saw Qin An's expressionless face, and coldness filled his heart.