Cultivation Breakthrough!

[Yesterday's Evaluation: Killed two Blood-Moving Realm fifth-stage Martial Apprentices, Excellent!]

[Rewards: Iron Stake Technique proficiency +60, Exquisite Breathing Method proficiency +100, Primary Cultivation Enhancement Aura (24 hours)]

"These rewards are a little too ridiculously generous!"

It was the first time Jiang Feng had seen the system award so much proficiency experience all at once.

This time, the proficiency he received was even greater than the total from his previous five settlements!

At the same time, Jiang Feng noticed one particularly unusual reward.

Primary Cultivation Enhancement Aura.

By the name alone, it was clear this was an aura that could speed up one's cultivation, though it lasted only a day.

It had appeared before, but extremely rarely.

"Could killing people increase the daily rewards?"

Seeing the new sentence in his evaluation, Jiang Feng suddenly had that thought.

But since this was his first time killing someone, he couldn't be sure.

"Open panel!"

With a thought, a blue panel appeared before him.

[Name: Jiang Feng]

[Realm: Blood-Moving Realm seventh stage (5/100)]

[Profession: Alchemist first stage (11/100)]

[Techniques:

Iron Stake Technique (Great Accomplishment 103/300)

Exquisite Breathing Method (Minor Accomplishment 50/200)]

[Skills:

Herb Identification Art (Great Accomplishment 129/300)

Bedchamber Arts (Beginner 5/100)

Blood-Qi Pill (Minor Accomplishment 10/100)]

"Not only did my realm break through to the seventh stage of the Blood-Moving Realm, but my Exquisite Breathing Method advanced from beginner to minor accomplishment, too."

An irrepressible delight flashed across Jiang Feng's face. He quickly closed his eyes, calmed his mind, and carefully felt the earth-shaking changes within his body.

A wave of new memories about the Exquisite Breathing Method flooded into his mind.

In those memories, it was as if he had practiced the technique countless times, gaining more insights of his own into its intricacies. The parts that had once felt awkward suddenly became clear.

Guided by those memories, his breathing rhythm quietly changed. He no longer had to maintain it deliberately, yet each breath grew longer and more natural.

It was as if the breathing technique had become part of his very instincts, woven into every inch of his flesh and blood. Even without focusing on circulating his energy, his body continued to cultivate.

With every breath, the muscles throughout his body swelled, and his qi and blood surged through him like raging waves, several times stronger than before.

Under the guidance of the Exquisite Breathing Method, Jiang Feng could clearly feel that, so long as he wished, his qi and blood could burst out of his body at any moment, striking from any part of his limbs and torso.

The next moment, he snapped his eyes open. There was not a trace of hesitation in them, only a bone-chilling coldness.

The game of cat and mouse was over. Now it was his turn to hunt.

Just then, a thick bank of clouds swallowed the cold moon on the horizon. Lightning flickered deep within the clouds, and a sudden gale swept through the forest, making the trees roar.

Jiang Feng fixed his gaze on the tall figure. With a flash, he vanished behind a tree.

Thunder rumbled as a torrential downpour began without warning. Raindrops the size of beans hammered through the forest, filling it with a clamor.

Amid the downpour, Sun Bowei kept his bow drawn and steady, but most of his attention remained fixed on Fan Qingyang.

The conditions had grown as bad as they could possibly get. The rain had washed away every scent, while the wind and rain drowned out even the faintest sound. Nearly every method of tracking had been rendered useless.

But he didn't believe that the kid would simply run away. Even if he did, he would surely kill that fat pig before fleeing.

The fat bastard had been asking for it with the things he'd just said. Even as an outsider, Sun Bowei had wanted to chop that mouth right off his face.

Just then, a hurried rustling came from the grass beside him.

Sun Bowei furrowed his brow. "Hm? Did I hear that wrong?"

He instinctively ruled out Jiang Feng. How would a kid at the sixth stage of the Blood-Moving Realm dare attack him, a warrior at the eighth stage?

But the instant the thought crossed his mind, a fierce blade of light shot out of the grass, aimed straight at his throat. The viciousness of the strike and its cunning angle made it clear: the attacker was out to kill him.

"You've got some nerve! You really dare attack me!"

Sun Bowei's pupils contracted. With no time to think, he instinctively raised the ox-horn bow in his hands to block.

With a sharp crack, the sturdy bow that had accompanied him for years was cleaved in two. The force of the blade did not let up; it slammed into his chest.

Jiang Feng had put nearly all his strength into that strike, unleashing every ounce of the power he possessed at the seventh stage of the Blood-Moving Realm. He wanted to cripple the eighth-stage warrior in a single blow!

The icy blade bit into Sun Bowei's chest, tearing flesh and spilling blood.

But after cutting through the flesh, it ground to a sudden halt, unable to go any deeper.

It felt less like striking a man and more like hitting a slab of thick steel.

A flicker of shock crossed Jiang Feng's eyes. "What's going on? How can this man's body be so tough?"

His first strike had failed. Without hesitation, he pulled back his blade and retreated, racing more than ten steps through the downpour and putting distance between himself and Sun Bowei.

Sun Bowei looked down at the gash in his chest, deep enough to show bone, and felt just as shocked.

His Golden Armor Technique had failed to withstand that strike. How could a kid at the sixth stage of the Blood-Moving Realm unleash such terrifying force? That strength was clearly no weaker than that of someone at the seventh stage.

He tossed aside the bow, now broken in two, and slowly drew the curved saber from his waist. His gaze turned murderous as he looked toward Jiang Feng.

"Kid, you truly have talent, and you're brave, too. I admire that. If we'd met somewhere else, I might even have made an exception and taken you under my wing. But the one thing you absolutely shouldn't have done was kill the last two people I had left in this world."

Jiang Feng said nothing, only sneered. If he hadn't killed those two, was he supposed to sit still and let them kill him?

Some people were just shameless. They had nothing to say when they bullied others, but the moment someone bullied them, they started preaching about principles.

The next moment, qi and blood surged through his body. He pushed off the ground, raised the Ghost-Head Blade, and slashed at Sun Bowei again. The blade flashed coldly, ripping a gash through the curtain of rain!

Sun Bowei didn't dare show the slightest carelessness. His aura climbed higher and higher, and the muscles across his body visibly bulged as he swung his curved saber to meet the attack.

An explosive crack rang out in the downpour. In the blink of an eye, the two clashed dozens of times.

Blades struck against blades through the rain, sending sparks flying, only for the rain to extinguish them at once.

After several exchanges, as the two tested each other's offense and defense, Sun Bowei gradually noticed something. The young man before him was indeed astonishingly strong, but he seemed never to have trained in martial techniques meant for killing.

His blade work was a complete mess. He relied on brute strength, hacking wildly without the slightest method. For all that power, he had no way to bring it fully to bear.

The taut string in Sun Bowei's heart relaxed a little, and a vicious grin slowly spread across his face. "Kid, is that all you've got? You think that little is enough to ambush me? Have you ever thought about what will happen to you if your ambush fails?"

Before he had even finished speaking, golden patterns spread rapidly across his skin, while a thin red haze, so faint it was almost imperceptible, began to cover his body.

The next moment, he abandoned defense altogether and launched a ferocious counterattack against Jiang Feng like a mad dog.

The tide turned in an instant. Sun Bowei grew more and more valiant, each slash faster than the last and heavier than the one before, forcing Jiang Feng back step by step.

Jiang Feng gritted his teeth and desperately parried the relentless, storm-like attacks, but his feet kept stumbling backward, and shock filled his heart.

The gap was still too great. Even after breaking through to the seventh stage of the Blood-Moving Realm, facing an eighth-stage opponent who had mastered martial techniques was still too much for him.