Anyone the Iron Saber Gang went after was bound to have something of worth.
Bai Yuan approached the bearded man.
Only upon getting closer did he realize the bearded man's injuries were even more gruesome than he had imagined.
His right lower leg was gone. No wonder Bai Yuan had only seen a single line of footprints in the snow earlier.
Beyond that, his body was covered in innumerable cuts from blades and swords.
To have survived for so long with such grievous wounds, one could only imagine how powerful he must have been.
Bai Yuan rubbed his hands together in excitement.
Someone else had painstakingly worn down an elite mob to its last sliver of health, only for him to swoop in and steal the kill. The very thought was exhilarating.
Bai Yuan quickly crouched down and began rummaging through the bearded man's clothes.
There were still experts from the Iron Saber Gang in the mountains hunting the bearded man; he didn't dare linger.
Fortunately, thanks to his "practice run" on Zhao Si Hu, his second time looting a real corpse went much more smoothly.
Perhaps because he had been on the run for so long.
The bearded man had almost nothing of value on him; otherwise, he wouldn't have resorted to using pebbles as a weapon.
Other than two taels of loose silver, there was nothing else of value.
Though his clothes were made of good material, they were torn to shreds and not even worth a few copper plates.
With the aid of his Proficient-level Archery and Tracking skills, Bai Yuan's vision and powers of observation were superb. It was as if he was born to loot corpses.
He soon noticed something odd about the bearded man.
The boot on the bearded man's left foot was actually a right boot.
The man's right leg was gone, so there was no reason to wear an ill-fitting right boot on his left foot. Unless... the boot itself held a secret.
Bai Yuan deftly pulled the boot off the man's foot.
The boot was made of calfskin—tough, durable, and a favorite among Martial Artists.
Soon, Bai Yuan found what was unusual about the boot.
There was a hidden compartment in the sole!
He drew the dagger he had gotten from Zhao Si Hu, which was strapped to his own right calf, and carefully sliced open the calfskin boot.
A yellowed piece of silk cloth appeared before his eyes.
Tiger Form, Crane Style!
Bai Yuan's eyes lit up.
A Cultivation Technique!
The reason the bearded man was being hunted by the Iron Saber Gang was most likely this Cultivation Technique called Tiger Form, Crane Style.
"Good stuff."
Bai Yuan tucked the silk cloth inscribed with the Cultivation Technique into his shirt and quickly left the volatile area.
...
Not long after Bai Yuan had left,
eight figures appeared beside the bearded man's corpse.
These men were all experts from the Iron Saber Gang.
Like the Iron Saber Gang disciples seen earlier at the entrance to Baisha Town, these eight men were also dressed in short, black, practical tunics. However, their cuffs were embroidered with golden saber-shaped threads, indicating their higher status within the gang.
A middle-aged man bent down and meticulously inspected the bearded man's corpse.
"Peng Lianbao is dead. The Tiger Form, Crane Style... is gone."
The middle-aged man glanced at Peng Lianbao's bare left foot, his expression turning grim.
The face of the old man, who appeared to be the leader of the group, darkened.
He couldn't care less whether Peng Lianbao lived or died.
But the Tiger Form, Crane Style belonged to the Divine Mansion Sect, and the Divine Mansion Sect reigned supreme over all of Huanglong Prefecture!
Even the three great powers of Qinghe County combined wouldn't stand a chance against the Divine Mansion Sect.
"Who did it?"
"An expert archer."
...
"Uncle, what happened to you?"
Night had already fallen over Baisha Town. Bai Yuan clutched his still-bleeding left shoulder as he pushed open the door to the small wooden cabin.
Xiao Qiaoniang's face turned deathly pale as she looked at the battered Bai Yuan.
This injury was far more severe than the last one.
Xiao Qiaoniang didn't shriek in terror like a typical peasant woman would. Instead, she remained remarkably calm and closed the wooden door behind Bai Yuan.
Then, she fetched a basin of hot water and began to carefully clean the wound on his left shoulder with a linen cloth.
As the bandage was unwrapped, Bai Yuan sucked in a sharp breath against the renewed pain.
'But this injury was well worth it...'
"Uncle, does it still hurt?"
Xiao Qiaoniang skillfully bandaged Bai Yuan's wound with the leftover strips of linen from last time.
Thanks to his Archery skill, Bai Yuan's body was no longer as frail as it once was. The muscles beneath his skin bulged slightly, and his chest was solid.
The potent masculine scent made Xiao Qiaoniang's cheeks flush.
"It doesn't hurt."
Bai Yuan shook his head.
'Compared to the Cultivation Technique I got from the bearded man today, this minor injury was definitely worth it.'
He had thrown the hardwood bow and the boot containing the Cultivation Technique into the Celestial Pit; not even the Iron Saber Gang would be able to find them now.
He had also stashed the game from his hunt in a hidden cave in Mentougou.
He lifted his uninjured right arm and pulled the yellowed silk cloth from his robes.
"Uncle, what's this?"
"A Cultivation Technique."
Bai Yuan didn't try to hide it. Since he and Xiao Qiaoniang lived under the same roof, it would be impossible to keep it a secret anyway.
After spending these last few days with her, he had come to understand Xiao Qiaoniang's character.
Though she was somewhat delicate, she was as capable as any man, had a mind of her own, and understood the gravity of situations.
"The kind of thing only those master Martial Artists have?"
Xiao Qiaoniang's eyes filled with astonishment, and she instinctively lowered her voice.
"That's right."
Bai Yuan chuckled and spread the silk cloth open.
"Tiger Form, Crane Style."
"The tiger for the form, the crane for the essence. Cultivating both the internal and external is the true path."
"Strike like a fierce tiger descending a mountain; be internally supple yet externally hard. In motion, devour the world; in stillness, be as unmovable as a mountain..."
Although this Tiger Form, Crane Style was a blade technique, it hardly discussed the specifics of wielding a blade, focusing instead entirely on the matter of dual internal and external cultivation.
Bai Yuan's eyes widened.
'A top-tier Cultivation Technique!'
'I remember in my past life, I didn't get this Cultivation Technique until I was level one hundred. To think I'd get such a high-level technique while I'm still in the starter zone!'
'The previous owner of this body had average talent. For him to learn a top-tier Cultivation Technique like Tiger Form, Crane Style, it would have taken him at least ten years just to reach the entry level, and that's with the guidance of a good master.'
'Fortunately, I have a cheat system.'
"Add points!"
[Profession Acquired!]
[Swordsman] [Boxer] [Cook]
Tiger Form, Crane Style was a blade art, so Bai Yuan chose Swordsman without a moment's hesitation.
[Skill Acquired!]
[Chop] [Hack] [Slash]
In the early stages, the Chop skill had the most killing power, and it would work best with the Tiger Form, Crane Style.
Bai Yuan naturally chose [Chop] as his initial Swordsman skill.
[Name: Bai Yuan]
[Class: Hunter, Swordsman]
[Skills: Chop (Novice), Tracking (Proficient), Archery (Proficient), Trapping (Novice), Tiger Form, Crane Style]
[Enhancement Points: 20]
Unlocking the new class had consumed 10 of his enhancement points.
Fortunately, killing the bearded man had awarded him a full 30 enhancement points, so he had more than enough.
Bai Yuan's gaze fell on the "Tiger Form, Crane Style" entry on the panel.
"Tiger Form, Crane Style" was still grayed out and couldn't be upgraded. Then, a line of small text appeared before his eyes.
[Tiger Form, Crane Style: Requires the three initial Swordsman skills to reach the Proficient level to unlock.]
Bai Yuan understood.
The Tiger Form, Crane Style Cultivation Technique was of a very high tier. It was only natural that someone who had never even practiced with a blade couldn't possibly begin to learn it.
He had to build a solid foundation before he could cultivate the Tiger Form, Crane Style.
Luckily, he had a good number of enhancement points to spare.
'Max them out.'
"Thank you."
...