Fellow Villagers, Recording the Eagle Claw Technique

Jiang Yi knew this very well!

With his current strength, he was still far from being able to storm the bandit stronghold.

It would undoubtedly be like throwing an egg against a rock.

After all, he had only just begun to touch the threshold of the Skin Refining Realm's martial path.

Although he had already taken half a step into the ranks of martial artists.

But this was, in the end, not a true martial artist!

In front of a true martial artist, he probably wouldn't even last five rounds.

If he encountered a stronger one!

He might not even be able to block a single move before being killed on the spot; they were simply not on the same level.

"I wonder if mastering the Rock Steadiness Fist will allow me to completely step over the threshold of the martial path and become a -

Genuine Skin Refining Realm martial artist!"

Jiang Yi pondered!

Considering whether to consume his lifespan to continue pushing this martial art to its perfected state.

Just then, a cautious voice reached him!

"Xia... Xiao Yi?"

Hearing the voice, Jiang Yi turned around!

The speaker was a young man with dry, yellow hair, a gaunt face, and tattered clothes.

Faintly visible!

Beneath the rags were glaring scars from whip lashes.

Seeing Jiang Yi look at him!

The young man's thin body instinctively shivered, and he nervously shielded the two youths beside him.

"Brother Dafeng?!"

Memories gradually surfaced in Jiang Yi's mind, prompting him to speak.

Jiang Dafeng, like him, was also from Jiang Family Village and was about two years older than him!

The two youths he was protecting were also named Jiang Fu and Jiang Sanxi.

They were all captured and brought back to the stronghold on that day, becoming slaves in this mine.

What left the deepest impression on Jiang Yi was Jiang Dafeng.

Perhaps because he was older, he was the leader of their Jiang Family Village "little gang."

These past few days!

If not for his steadfast protection.

His meager food rations would likely have been snatched away by other mine slaves long ago.

He would have starved to death before today!

"Ah, yes!"

Jiang Dafeng was startled for a moment, then quickly nodded!

He opened his mouth as if to say more, but hesitated.

"Brother Dafeng, what's wrong?"

"Xia... Xiao Yi, you... you've recovered from your mental decline? How did you suddenly become so powerful?"

"Yeah, Jiang Yi, how did you become so strong?"

"Was that the Rock Steadiness Fist you just used? Is that technique that amazing?"

Jiang Yi's proactive inquiry!

made the other two youths gradually bolder, and they gathered around Jiang Yi.

They spoke one after another, full of curiosity!

"Yes, I've recovered!

I don't know why I'm so strong; it just feels like I naturally know how to do it after recovering!"

Jiang Yi smiled!

As for the reason for his newfound strength, it was naturally because he possessed a golden finger!

This was his ultimate secret!

Was it something he could just blurt out?

This is impossible, obviously!

"Good... Good! This is wonderful news!

If your parents knew about this and saw how strong you've become, they'd surely be overjoyed... uh..."

Jiang Dafeng wanted to cheer, but then he remembered that Jiang Yi's parents had already died at the hands of mountain bandits.

He was speechless for a moment!

A little flustered!

The other two youths fell silent upon hearing this, their eyes turning red.

They sniffled, choked up with emotion.

That day!

The bandits from Black Wind Stronghold had launched a surprise attack, charging into the village to burn, kill, and plunder.

Not only Jiang Yi's family, but theirs as well, had perished while desperately resisting the bandits.

Jiang Yi shook his head and said softly, "It's alright, Brother Dafeng! You're right, if Mom and Dad knew, they'd definitely be happy for me."

"Y-yes, yes!"

Jiang Dafeng nodded in agreement, reaching out to gently pat Jiang Fu and Jiang Sanxi's shoulders to comfort them.

"Little Fu, Sanxi, don't be sad. It's all in the past now.

What matters is that we live well!

Jiang Family Village is gone, so we'll build another one. A stronger Jiang Family Village."

"Right, Brother Dafeng is right, we'll build another one!" Jiang Fu wiped away his tears, his face set with determination.

"We also want revenge! I want to train in martial arts!

When the time comes, I'll kill all those hateful bandits and avenge my family!"

Jiang Sanxi clenched his fists, grinding his teeth!

"We need to leave quickly!"

"While the bandits from Black Wind Stronghold don't know about this situation yet, let's go to Wushui Town, which is nearby, and take refuge for a while.

Once things calm down, we can make further plans..."

As Jiang Dafeng spoke, he bent down, suppressing his discomfort, and reached out to rummage through a corpse that had met a gruesome end.

To survive in town, one needed money!

Money! How could he, a mine slave, have any!

If he didn't have any!

How would he get it? He could only loot the bodies. He didn't have any, but surely these bandits did.

Especially that bandit lieutenant!

Jiang Fu and Jiang Sanxi also learned quickly.

They each went to a corpse and searched it thoroughly.

Some of the mine slaves looked over here, seeming restless.

Jiang Yi raised his head!

His indifferent gaze swept over them, causing the mine slaves' hearts to tremble. They scattered like startled birds and fled.

Killing and looting bodies!

This was an idiom he had only seen in novels in his past life, and now it had become a reality.

He had become a practitioner of this idiom.

On the corpse that had been split in two, he found a pouch containing hard fragments, and--

A yellowed, blood-stained ancient booklet.

On the cover, three ancient characters were clearly written--

Eagle Claw Technique

It was a claw-based martial art cultivated by that bandit!

[Detected unranked martial art Eagle Claw Technique, do you wish to record it?]

"Yes!"

A series of contents related to the cultivation method of Eagle Claw Technique poured into Jiang Yi's sea of consciousness.

Allowing him to quickly learn how to cultivate this martial art.

It was comparable to the Rock Steadiness Fist he was practicing, but the former leaned more towards combat.

Once cultivated to the Great Accomplishment realm!

A full-power claw could easily tear through ironwood and pierce five to six inches of steel plate.

Its power was quite impressive.

If this landed on an ordinary person, it would definitely rip off a thick layer of flesh and blood.

Since the Eagle Claw Technique had already been recorded by his golden finger, there was no need to keep the ancient martial arts manual!

"Brother Dafeng, catch!"

Jiang Yi handed the book and the small cloth bag to Jiang Dafeng.

"No... no, I can't accept it..."

Jiang Dafeng quickly waved his hands, trying to refuse.

"I trust you to keep it safe!"

"Ah, alright, I guess!"

Seeing Jiang Yi's unyielding expression, Jiang Dafeng reluctantly took it.

He carefully opened the cloth bag, and upon seeing its contents, his expression lit up with joy!

"There's even seven to eight taels of silver! If we're frugal, it's enough for us to survive in Wushui Town for half a year."

Jiang Fu and Jiang Sanxi also ran over at this moment, handing over the scattered copper coins they had found.

Jiang Dafeng put them all into the small cloth bag!

After tying several knots at the opening, he carefully tucked it away along with the ancient martial arts manual inside his robes.

He patted it down before finally feeling at ease.

"Let's hurry!"

"We need to get into Wushui Town before dark!"