"Oh? Many more exotic beasts?"
"Yes, but they’re mostly lower-level exotic beasts, mainly Second Realm. However, I’ve heard someone encountered a Fourth Realm level exotic beast."
Zhao Ya silently noted this information, thanked the stall owner, and then returned home.
Nie Jingnian had already arrived.
The two fed bait to the exotic insect, seeing it squirm, noticeably more active than when they first started, they finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Zhao Ya couldn’t help but ask, "Have you noticed an increase in exotic beasts while roaming near the commandery recently?"
Nie Jingnian pondered for a moment, then nodded, "Indeed, but they’re all relatively low-level exotic beasts."
Zhao Ya frowned slightly, feeling a vague sense of unease.
While the increase in exotic beasts is generally a good thing, when combined with the Fifth Realm giant bat found in the earth cave, it seems somewhat unusual.
"What’s wrong?"
"It’s nothing, I just heard from the people at the beast meat market that the number of exotic beasts around the commandery has increased recently, so I wanted to ask you."
Nie Jingnian nodded, chatted briefly, then got up to leave.
After he left, Zhao Ya tidied up a bit and then headed to the Martial Arts Hall, meeting with his master, Lu Dingtai.
"Meat jerky hierarchy? Why suddenly ask about that?" Lu Dingtai was a bit surprised.
Zhao Ya didn’t hide anything, recounting yesterday’s events to Lu Dingtai in detail.
After listening, even Lu Dingtai’s usual calm demeanor couldn’t hide his astonishment.
"Fifth Realm level exotic beast? Are you sure?"
"Absolutely certain."
Lu Dingtai inhaled sharply, suddenly saying, "Try to describe that woman’s sword techniques."
So Zhao Ya picked up a practice sword, recalled for a bit, and demonstrated some sword techniques.
After watching, Lu Dingtai fell silent in thought.
Zhao Ya couldn’t help but ask, "Master, do you recognize these sword techniques?"
Lu Dingtai shook his head, "I don’t recognize them, but based on your description and their actions, they feel very familiar."
"Back when I was learning at the sect, I once encountered a sword dao expert by chance. Their sword techniques were just like the ones you described, sharp and frightful, although that was thirty years ago."
Lu Dingtai showed a trace of nostalgia, then continued.
"If that woman really comes from there, then her ability to face a Fifth Realm exotic beast head-on wouldn’t be surprising."
"It’s fortunate you and Nie Jingnian managed to retreat unscathed under such circumstances. Of course, that’s because the woman didn’t intend to truly kill you; otherwise, even if you could escape, Nie Jingnian would have been in serious trouble."
At the end, Lu Dingtai’s expression darkened, speaking sternly, "You cannot be so reckless again in the future, understand?"
"Yes!"
"As for the meat jerky hierarchy, indeed, there are places where it’s classified into ten levels, but those are martial dao flourishing regions where exotic beast cultivation techniques are highly developed, forming such standards."
"Here, just having meat jerky is good enough, who would bother to classify so meticulously?"
Zhao Ya was thoughtful.
He had long suspected that woman’s unusual background, probably from a prosperous martial dao place. But why would such a person come to Yunxiao County?
Just for that giant bat?
"Master, that woman took a bead from the giant bat’s stomach last. What was that?" Zhao Ya asked again.
"I don’t know about that," Lu Dingtai shook his head.
"Exotic beasts are extremely complex. Not even Fifth Realm experts can fully understand them, but I’ve heard some cultivation techniques require special exotic beasts as catalysts for breakthroughs, perhaps that’s why the woman came."
After listening, Zhao Ya nodded.
So the matter was put to rest.
A few days later, the exotic insect finally passed its stress period and laid its first batch of eggs.
After sharing half with Nie Jingnian, Zhao Ya picked up one, threw it into his mouth, and tried it.
The quail egg-sized insect egg burst in his mouth, a strange fishy taste spreading, and upon swallowing, it transformed into pure qi blood.
Zhao Ya carefully felt it.
It was a while before he opened his eyes.
The qi blood contained in the insect eggs was one level higher than the golden-spotted black eel jerky, about the same as seven-star blood eel jerky, but still not as good as the fifth-level jerky given by the woman.
So Zhao Ya classified it as fourth-level jerky.
With the supplement of insect eggs, Zhao Ya’s training progression finally stepped onto the fast track again.
In a blink, another month passed, the branches grew dense, flowers blossomed, and spring finally arrived late.
On this day, Zhao Ya was practicing the Golden Body Technique at home.
Once he completed the last move of the Golden Body Technique, Zhao Ya finally heard the familiar prompt.
[Golden Body Technique proficiency +10]
"Huh!"
Zhao Ya let out a deep breath, suddenly feeling his skin rapidly changing.
Under the stimulation of qi blood, the skin became increasingly resilient.
If previously the skin’s defense could be likened to parchment, it now resembled tanned leather armor.
Moreover, this transformation reached deep into the muscles, continuously altering Zhao Ya’s entire state.
Simultaneously, the inner qi blood was also stirred, as if breaking through a barrier, becoming even more surging.
Zhao Ya’s body trembled violently, then a smile appeared on his face.
He broke through!
After practicing martial arts for three and a half years, Zhao Ya finally achieved a breakthrough to the Fourth Realm, becoming a martial artist who achieved great success in skin grinding.
This progress, while not unprecedented, could certainly be considered extraordinary.