Chapter 40: Introduction to Blade Art! The Proud Girl! Pure Fun!

Moonlight flowed like water, spilling over the silent mountain forest.

Jiang Ye sat cross-legged on a green stone, under the cold moonlight, carefully opening the two still-warm secret manuals.

He skimmed through them briefly, and the surprise in his aged eyes deepened.

“Both of these are ranked martial arts!”

Martial arts in the world were countless, and most were unranked.

For example, the martial artists in Anxi County who ran schools—including Liu Qingshi—taught and practiced unranked fist techniques.

It wasn’t that they didn’t want better arts; they simply had no way to obtain them.

Ranked martial arts were always tightly controlled by the imperial family and sects, kept secret from outsiders.

Such was the rule: techniques were not lightly passed down.

“It’s these cultivators of dark arts who have the connections!”

Jiang Ye flipped through the manuals in his hands, his eyes brightening with each page.

No wonder so many martial artists sank into corruption and joined the demonic sects—this lure of ranked martial arts was surely one reason.

He casually opened “Blood Moon Blade” and studied it closely.

The sword technique was exquisitely refined; every movement, every strike, was designed for killing, unlike any blade art he had ever seen.

As he read, he silently rehearsed it in his mind, as if the blade’s light had already sliced through his thoughts a thousand times.

Moments later, he closed the manual and instinctively drew the gleaming curved blade from the dead man’s lower back.

The blade curved like the moon, its edge thinner than a cicada’s wing; in his grip, it felt strangely “natural,” as if he had trained with it for decades, as if it were an old companion.

He rose, drew a deep breath, and twisted his wrist.

Shhh!

One slash—blade light like a ribbon, cleaving through the night!

“Blood Moon Blade proficiency +3!”

The system panel appeared.

Host: Jiang Ye

Lifespan: 70/95

Strength: Hua Jing (Initial Stage)

Destiny: Ascending the Divine Stairway [Effect 1: Extraordinary Comprehension!]

Mastered Techniques: Five Animal Fist [Perfected] Blood Moon Blade [Beginner, 3/500]

Mastered True Meanings: Tiger’s Gait Like Illness, Spirit Monkey’s Thousand Transformations, Startled Deer Leaves No Trace

Jiang Ye froze.

He had once heard Liu Qingshi say that ranked martial arts were profoundly complex; ordinary cultivators might struggle for a year without even entering the first stage.

Yet he had entered it after just a few moments.

Sssss!

Extraordinary comprehension was like this.

Jiang Ye’s interest surged; he immediately began practicing the blade.

Slash! Chop! Lift! Hook!

These most basic techniques, in the hands of a beginner, flowed like water, effortless and natural—as if he had devoted decades to this art.

After roughly a cup of tea’s time:

Shhh!

With a piercing, razor-sharp whistle, Jiang Ye twisted his wrist sharply!

The curved blade descended like true moonlight, carrying an unstoppable edge, slicing straight through the waist of the already-dead, headless corpse on the ground.

Pfft.

A soft sound.

Where the blade passed, the corpse was cleanly severed into two halves!

Only then did blood slowly seep from the clean cut, soaking the dry leaves.

“Excellent blade art!”

Jiang Ye sheathed the blade, gazing at the still-gleaming curved sword, unable to suppress a quiet praise.

One inch longer, one inch stronger.

His Five Animal Fist was also extraordinarily skillful, but it remained a bare-handed combat art.

Learning another blade technique meant one more option in battle.

In this chaotic age, nothing was more reassuring than having one more hidden card.

He slowly exhaled a turbid breath, tucked the curved blade into its sheath, and secured it against his body.

Then he turned to the other manual: “Golden Body Cultivation Art,” wondering if he could also enter its first stage.

Soon, Jiang Ye’s brow furrowed.

“Golden Body Cultivation Art” was an extremely profound hardening art, with terrifyingly strict requirements—the cultivator’s physical strength had to be sufficient just to enter the first stage.

Moreover, each training session required applying a specially prepared elixir over the entire body to forge sinew, bone, and skin; otherwise, it was self-mutilation.

Jiang Ye continued reading, his frown deepening.

The manual detailed the exact method of brewing the elixir.

But the key ingredients—Snow Yang Flower, Tian Kui Grass, Green Water Silk—were exceedingly rare, unavailable on any market, obtainable only from major apothecaries or the black market.

Each ingredient cost at least a thousand taels of silver.

In short, this was a hardening manual with an extremely high entry barrier.

“I’ll have to figure out how to train it once I reach Fucheng.”

Jiang Ye shook his head slightly and tucked “Golden Body Cultivation Art” into his robe.

There was time enough later; no need to rush now.

He bent down again and carefully searched the corpse, now split in two.

This time, he pulled out a thick stack of silver notes, each worth no less than one thousand taels.

“So much?!”

Though he knew the man had amassed ill-gotten wealth, seeing the thick stack in his hand still sent a flash of shock through Jiang Ye’s eyes.

He counted them—the total amounted to two hundred thousand taels.

One could only imagine how many lives this monster had taken.

Jiang Ye fell silent for a moment, then tucked the heavy stack of silver notes into his robe.

He stood, cast one final glance at the dismembered corpse, turned, and strode off in the direction the Su family had vanished.

His figure quickly vanished into the boundless night, as if he had never been there.

“Huh?! There’s movement over there.”

Jiang Ye had barely left the small grove when his keen senses caught faint sounds of combat from behind and to the right.

He had no interest in others’ fights and made no move to turn back—he was about to leave.

Suddenly—

“Black Old Five! You beast, surrender now!”

A clear, spirited feminine cry rang out.

“Hahahaha! Little girl, I advise you not to meddle. If you keep pestering me, don’t blame me for capturing you, this True Disciple of Tianqing Sect, and having my way with you for three days and nights!”

A cold, sinister voice replied.

Jiang Ye, who had been about to leave, paused slightly; a flash of cold light flickered in his aged eyes.

Black Old Five?

He had heard that ugly man from the Qisha Sect mutter his name before.

This man was surely another demon disciple of the Qisha Sect.

If he discovered the ugly man’s disappearance, it would be a serious threat to Liu Qingshi and the others.

Jiang Ye pondered briefly, then moved silently toward the source.

He would see if there was a suitable chance to send Black Old Five to join his brother in hell.