Proficiency Stopped Increasing

Blade light flashed like snow, dazzling as radiance.

When the alley filled with blade light, the Beast Cult Protector froze on the spot.

His raised claws stiffened like wood, and he had no idea where to swing them.

There was blade light everywhere. Swinging anywhere was useless.

"Impossible! Impossible!"

"How could a tiny place like An Ding County have a master of such techniques?"

"Why have I never heard of him?"

An Ding County was tiny.

Why would an expert like this be in An Ding County?

The Beast Cult Protector could not understand it, nor could he keep thinking.

Because the blinding blade light had already passed through his body.

The Beast Cult Protector's words came to an abrupt stop. He lowered his head, wanting to look at himself.

The instant he lowered his head, a line of blood appeared around his neck.

His entire head fell to the ground and rolled away.

As his head hit the ground, one bloody line after another appeared across his body.

Like sliced tofu, he broke into evenly sized chunks and fell to the ground.

Blood dyed the ground red.

Zhou An sheathed his knife without even looking back, then left the alley.

The alley was utterly silent.

The Demon Suppression Division member still stood with his back to the corner, his eyes tightly shut, not daring to open them.

He knew very well that the other party did not want his identity exposed, which was why he had never shown himself.

He also knew that if he opened his eyes now and saw the other party's face—

What awaited him would be a miserable end.

There were things one should see, and things one absolutely should not.

Especially with a mysterious expert like this. No one could figure out his temperament.

The alley had fallen silent again. There was not even the sound of footsteps.

"Senior, are you finished? May I open my eyes now?"

The Demon Suppression Division member spoke cautiously.

No one answered him.

The member spoke again. "Senior, don't worry. I didn't see anything. You can leave first. Before you go, just pat the wall, and I'll open my eyes."

There was still no response.

The Demon Suppression Division member took a deep breath and decided to open his eyes.

Since there had been no sound for so long, the other party had probably already left.

"Senior, if you don't say anything, I'm opening my eyes."

The member tested the waters once more before slowly opening his eyes.

Every movement he made was cautious, especially when he turned his head. He was terrified of seeing something he should not see.

The alley behind him was silent. When the Demon Suppression Division member saw the empty corner, he finally let out a breath.

"He left..."

Only then was he certain that the mysterious expert had gone.

But when his gaze unconsciously drifted downward, he saw the pile of chunks on the ground and the blood covering the floor.

Cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

The Demon Suppression Division member recalled what had just happened and calculated the time.

From the Beast Cult Protector launching his attack to the alley falling silent, only a single breath had passed.

Yet in that brief time, the ground before him had gained a pile of shredded flesh. How many times had that blade been swung?

"This expert is even stronger than we imagined, and he doesn't seem hostile. I need to report this immediately. It'll be troublesome if there's some misunderstanding!"

The Demon Suppression Division member swallowed, stepped around the chunks on the ground, and prepared to leave the alley and return to the Demon Suppression Division to report the matter.

The entire process went smoothly, and he encountered no further danger.

By the time the Demon Suppression Division member headed for the Demon Suppression Division, Zhou An had already leisurely made his way to the yamen.

His first use of the level-three Butchering Ox Technique had felt extremely satisfying.

In that single breath just now, he had unleashed thirty strikes.

A full thirty flashes of blade light, impossible to guard against.

Tonight, I'll keep grinding my Knife Skills!

Having made up his mind, Zhou An arrived at the entrance of the yamen.

It was also time to get off duty.

The constables all went home, each finding their own way.

Zhou An likewise strolled back home.

After making himself a simple dinner and resting for a while, he picked up his kitchen knife.

"Let's see how the proficiency is increasing."

With that thought, Zhou An began chopping vegetables on the cutting board.

Soon, a rapid chopping sound filled the room.

The sound rose and fell continuously. About half an hour later, Zhou An finally put down the kitchen knife in his hand.

Butchering Ox Technique (Speed +2, Precision +1): 2/40000

A full half hour had passed, yet the proficiency had not increased by even a single point. Something was off.

No matter how slowly it increased, it should have gone up quite a bit in half an hour.

"Something's fishy."

Zhou An paced back and forth through the room.

"Where exactly is the problem?"

After thinking for a long while, Zhou An still could not figure out the specifics.

He had already forgotten much of the later content designed by that college student back then.

By now, quite some time had passed, and Zhou An decided to stop thinking about it for the moment.

He still had other skills to grind, and nighttime was precious.

With that in mind, Zhou An set the kitchen knife aside for now, went into the kitchen, and picked up the wok.

"I'll grind some Wok Tossing first."

Having made up his mind, Zhou An put the vegetables into the wok and began tossing it.

Though level-two Wok Tossing gained skill proficiency slowly, at least it was still increasing.

After he finished tossing the wok, he left himself two hours to sleep and went to rest.

Soon, the night passed.

The next day.

He had patrolled yesterday, so today he would continue slacking off.

After Zhou An reported for duty at the yamen, he went to the kitchen.

Chef Liu was washing and sorting vegetables. When he saw Zhou An arrive, he gave him a meaningful look. "Something happened on the street you patrolled yesterday."

Of course Zhou An knew something had happened. He had even gotten involved.

But he pretended not to know and asked curiously, "What happened?"

"People from the Beast Cult attacked the Demon Suppression Division, but a mysterious expert saved them. That mysterious expert is famous throughout our An Ding County now." Chef Liu kept washing vegetables with his head lowered, not even looking up as he spoke.

"Division Magistrate Zhang was furious. Since when had the Demon Suppression Division been subjected to retaliation? So they started targeting the Beast Cult overnight."

Zhou An merely gave an "oh."

He did not act especially curious.

Chef Liu asked strangely, "You're not curious at all?"

Zhou An made up an excuse. "What kind of times are these? An Ding County has been constantly unsettled lately. The less curious I am, the better my chances of keeping my life."

"You're an honest one, kid. These days, your own life matters most." Chef Liu smiled.

Zhou An did not continue the conversation and started working.

As usual, he took out his kitchen knife and began chopping.

But it was still the same. The proficiency did not increase at all.

Putting down the kitchen knife, Zhou An fell into deep thought once more.

Chef Liu was placing the washed vegetables on the table. Seeing Zhou An's expression, he asked, "What's wrong? What are you thinking about now?"

Zhou An came back to his senses and joked, "I was thinking that my vegetable-cutting skills are getting better and better. Maybe I can open a restaurant someday."

Chef Liu chuckled. "You can't even cook, so what restaurant are you opening? Besides, your vegetable-cutting skills still need improvement. Chopping vegetables isn't as simple as you think."

Zhou An froze. He felt as though he had grasped something in his mind.