Water Ink Panel: Starting with Bow Technique to Hunt the Sun and Patrol the Skies
Chapter 42 - 41: Great Perfection of Qi and Blood (Request for Continued Reading)

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"Skillful Baiting, Poison Shadow? It could greatly increase the success rate of hunting?"

Shen Qing stared at the description of this text, and couldn't help but drift into a daze. Then, an indescribable joy welled up in his heart.

As the name implies, this skill was an upgraded version of bait setting and tracking.

These two skills seemed simple, but in reality, they demanded the most power from a hunter among all hunting skills.

Generally, without ten years or so of contemplation, it was impossible to grasp their essence, leaving one to only learn an imperfect version.

Unexpectedly, he could directly master it.

Now with this skill, he could either use bait or poison powder to lure prey, or he could silently approach them.

In the future, when encountering sly and agile prey like foxes or sables, he wouldn't fail.

Perhaps those rare mountain delicacies weren't out of reach.

With time on his hands, he tested it secretly and found that whether he was setting bait or secretly hunting, he did so with more ease and experience than before.

Ordinary prey without spiritual wisdom had difficulty detecting his traces.

Shen Qing couldn't help but be in high spirits.

After several attempts, Shen Qing gradually became familiar with this change and felt assured in his heart.

Then, he hoisted the no longer struggling goat, and his silhouette slowly disappeared into the forest, leaving a series of deep footprints in the snow.

Upon reaching a forked path, he stopped and waited.

Soon, two half-grown figures emerged from the forest.

They were Shanwa and Hu Zi.

Seeing the goat Shen Qing was carrying, their eyes lit up, "Brother Qingzi, we really caught it!"

"With you following me up the mountain these days, when have we ever come back empty-handed?" Shen Qing smiled.

Unlike before, his reputation in the village was now so high it could be described as being in the ascendant, and many wanted to team up with him for hunting trips.

But he noticed these people wanted to curry favor, seeking closer ties with him through this means.

All had their motives, which made him somewhat uncomfortable.

To avoid gossip, he simply took his two cousins, Shen Xiaohu and Shen Xiaoshan, up the mountain with him every time.

This way, he could both train his cousins' hunting abilities and help reduce some burdens for his uncle and aunt's family.

It served two purposes.

"Brother Qingzi, if this goes on, I'm afraid you'll clear out all the game in this mountain, leaving nothing left."

"You're worrying over nothing. Our village has lived at the foot of this mountain for many years, and have you ever seen Shicheng Mountain devoid of game? As long as we're careful after spring and don't fish in a dry lake, there won't be much problem."

Shen Qing gestured with his foot, "Let's go, let's head back."

The two cousins each held a sandalwood bow and followed behind Shen Qing, heading toward Hongshan Village at the foot of the mountain.

On the way, Shen Xiaoshan suddenly spoke up, "Brother Qingzi, do you think I can still enter the Martial Arts Hall to practice martial arts?"

"It might be a bit difficult."

Shen Qing knew his uncle's family wasn't very well-off and could barely afford for one person to enter the Martial Arts Hall, making it impossible to support another.

Now that Shen Xiaohu had fortunately joined Linfeng Hall with him, Shen Xiaoshan was unlikely to have the chance.

Shen Xiaoshan had long since known this outcome and asked again out of unwillingness, but the answer was still the same, leaving him somewhat dejected.

"Do you really want to learn?" Shen Qing turned back and asked.

Shen Xiaoshan replied almost without hesitation, "I do!"

"Then when I have time, I'll teach you some stance training for nourishing and training Qi and Blood." As Shen Qing walked through the forest, he said, "The early stage in the Martial Arts Hall is also about nourishing and training Qi and Blood, which you can practice at home just the same. When you've developed your Qi and Blood and when your uncle's family's conditions improve, you can then go to the Martial Arts Hall if you want."

Hearing Shen Qing's words, Shen Xiaoshan's face was immediately filled with joy.

"Thank you, Brother Qingzi. This goat must be heavy, let me carry it for a bit."

"No need, no need..."

The three brothers laughed and joked as they walked toward Hongshan Village at the foot of the mountain.

The sunset poured like molten gold, covering the snowy forest and also enveloping the three of them, bathing them in a golden glow.

In the distance, at the foot of the mountain, blue smoke rose gently from the village houses, like a thin veil floating slowly in the evening breeze.

Time was peaceful and calm.

...

Four days later.

Shen Qing had eaten all the medicines Li Linfeng gave him, including some supplements he had previously scavenged from the Chen Family, which he had also completely consumed.

He secretly calculated that the amount of medicine he consumed would cost no less than five or six taels of silver.

Enough to cover nearly half a year's expenses for an ordinary family.

It was said that the literati were poor, while the martial were rich.

He had gained some insight into this.

But you got what you paid for.

After consuming these supplements in recent days, Shen Qing's progress in stance training and nourishing and training Qi and Blood soared like it was on a cheat mode, at least twice as fast as before.

It took him less than ten days to meet the conditions for another breakthrough.

[Skill: Nine Skills (the level of mastery)]

[Progress: 306/300 points]

[Status: Can be improved]

Shen Qing licked his dry lips.

Breaking through to the Great Perfection of Qi and Blood would undoubtedly make him stronger than he was now.

By then, he should be able to handle at least a few of those so-called local tyrants in the Outer City.

In the room, the flickering candlelight illuminated Shen Qing's determined face. He no longer hesitated, "Break it for me!"

Boom!

Shen Qing felt a dull thud, and the Qi and Blood within him suddenly seemed to boil.

Beneath his skin, faintly visible were blood vessels like ignited fuses, glowing with a fiery light, and the perception of Qi and Blood reached unprecedented intensity.

An invisible force erupted from Shen Qing's dantian, like a volcanic eruption, transforming into waves of warm currents washing over every inch of his flesh and blood.

As these warm currents swept through, a faint but heart-shaking cracking sound echoed, Shen Qing's eyes suddenly opened wide, and two beams of light shot out like tangible entities, causing the dim room to seemingly light up.

Having never seen such an anomaly, Shen Qing was momentarily taken aback.

As time passed, when all signs of the breakthrough in his body settled, Shen Qing began to carefully sense the changes.

He was astonished to find that the warm current within had become more robust, almost twice its original size.

Moving with his thoughts, it circulated continuously within his body.

Shen Qing took a deep breath, feeling immensely invigorated, better than ever before.

So this was what reaching the Great Perfection of Qi and Blood felt like.

As Shen Qing willed it, descriptions of the Nine Skills appeared in his mind.

[Skill: Nine Skills (Great Perfection)]

[Progress: 6/400 points]

[Status: Cannot be improved]

[Note: As the heavens move, so does the gentleman strive unceasingly. Continuous cultivation and the improvement of the cultivation technique's progress can allow this technique's limit to be broken.]

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