The instigator was this scarred man, and his accomplices were the men guarding the pot, but now all of them are dead.
As for the remaining refugees, they were merely poor people who were exploited and enslaved.
There was no point in killing these people, so Zhao Ya turned and left.
After returning home, Zhao Ya put down his gains from this trip, then sat quietly in the courtyard, feeling a heavy weight in his heart.
Zui’Er noticed Zhao Ya’s unusual demeanor, but she said nothing, only bringing him a cup of hot water and sitting silently beside him, resting her head gently on his shoulder.
After a long while, the sky had completely darkened, and only then did Zhao Ya stand up, letting out a slow breath.
"Zui’Er, make dinner!"
"Okay, Ya, what would you like to eat?"
"Stew!" Zhao Ya said almost through gritted teeth.
"Alright!"
After dinner, Zhao Ya began his training.
With the practice of the Eight Vajra Skills, Zhao Ya’s previously knotted mood gradually unraveled.
In a trance, Zhao Ya seemed to have some enlightenment.
Taking advantage of this state, after practicing the Eight Vajra Skills, he went on to train in other martial arts.
Each move of the Five Tiger Fist was mighty, each stroke of the Gale Saber Technique cut through the soul, the Grasshopper Skill followed as closely as a shadow, and the Swallow’s Three Dips were as swift as thunderbolts.
Once he had practiced all the martial arts, Zhao Ya stopped and suddenly felt his heart pounding like a drum, with Qi blood coursing tumultuously through him like a rushing river.
Vaguely, the fascia surrounding his muscles, organs, nerves, and blood vessels trembled slightly.
Although the tremor was small and didn’t reach the deepest parts of his body, it was still a significant progress.
Especially since it had only been over half a year since Zhao Ya’s Great Success in Muscle Strengthening; this speed of progress was remarkable.
Feeling inspired, Zhao Ya opened his attribute panel.
Name: Zhao Ya. Age: 17 years. Remaining lifespan: 45 (+278 days) years
Skills: Eight Vajra Skills (Refined Skill 127/5000) Five Tiger Fist (Refined Skill 223/5000) Gale Saber Technique (Refined Skill 99/5000) Lightweight Grasshopper Skill (Mastery 1243/2000) Swallow’s Three Dips (Mastery 1034/2000)
[Heart Unlock Progress: 59%]
In that state of enlightenment just now, all his martial arts skills improved to varying degrees.
The proficiency of the Eight Vajra Skills increased by 15 points at once, and the Five Tiger Fist and Gale Saber Technique each increased by more than ten points.
The key was that the heart unlock progress surprisingly increased by 2% at once.
He wondered if this was related to that profound state he was in just now.
However, despite this considerable progress, the overall progress was still too slow due to the insufficient supply of Exotic Beast Flesh.
Zhao Ya felt helpless about it and could only hope to gather the necessary materials for the Blood Replenishing Powder as soon as possible.
At that moment, a surge of hunger interrupted Zhao Ya’s thoughts.
He felt his stomach and intestines growl in protest.
Quickly, Zhao Ya ran into the house, took out a box of meat, and started stuffing dried meat into his mouth without hesitation.
One piece, two pieces...
After consuming three pieces of Cured Green Bamboo Snake and some Earthworm Dried Meat, that soul-deep hunger was finally alleviated.
Simultaneously, with the activation of the Water Valley Essence Talent, his Qi blood was replenished.
Zhao Ya felt the fascia tremble again, deeper than last time.
He understood this was a sign of Qi blood gradually refining the fascia.
When all the fascia in his body was refined, it would mean he had successfully forged the membranes, advancing to a Third Realm Martial Artist.
The gap between the Second Realm and the Third Realm was substantial.
The First Realm involves Bone Refining, hardening all bones to be as tough as jade, greatly increasing strength beyond ordinary people.
The Second Realm, Muscle Strengthening, involves refining all the body’s meridians to be flexible and smooth, accelerating the flow of Qi blood once Great Success is achieved, increasing strength further, with the power to drag three horses.
However powerful the Second Realm was, it paled in comparison to the Third Realm.
In the Third Realm, all the body’s fascia is refined.
These fascia, seemingly insignificant, actually play a crucial role, primarily supporting muscles, blood vessels, and nerves.
If your muscles and bones vanished at this moment, your body would still be held together by fascia.
In essence, fascia is like the body’s scaffolding.
Its importance is therefore evident.
Once all the fascia in the body is refined, not only does strength increase significantly, but the body becomes more flexible and robust, with a greatly enhanced reaction speed, truly reaching a state where even a feather cannot land unnoticed.
As Zhao Ya pondered, he felt his Qi blood gradually returning to its origin, and the trembling of the fascia ceased.
He realized it was because he lacked the requisite heat and strength in his Qi blood, causing the refinement to pause.
This was thanks to his heart unlock progress being at over fifty percent, much stronger than the average Martial Artist.
Without this, progress wouldn’t have been so rapid.
Reflecting on this, Zhao Ya’s craving for flesh and blood intensified.
He took out the Blood Replenishing Powder list, which already had many circled items.
The circled ones were the materials he had found.
Only a few were yet to be found.
"Tiger Bone Marrow, Wild Boar Brain..." Zhao Ya muttered, a heavy expression on his face.
Each of the remaining items was not easy to obtain!
Furthermore, Zhao Ya understood that to achieve the best effect of the Blood Replenishing Powder, it was preferable to use the organs of Exotic Beasts.
Which meant the difficulty would increase exponentially.
But no matter how difficult, it had to be done.
Zhao Ya decided to venture deeper into the mountains and forests tomorrow to try to gather these materials as soon as possible.
Having made up his mind, his mood finally relaxed.
After washing up, he returned to his room.
Not long after lying down, a warm, jade-like body nestled into his arms.
Zhao Ya was startled, then heard Zui’Er speak emotionally.
"Hold me tight!"
...
Half an hour later, the clouds dispersed and the rain ceased.
"Ya!" Zui’Er called softly.
"Hmm?"
"What’s wrong with you today? Why did you look so upset when you came back? Did I do something wrong?"
Zhao Ya smiled, knowing this sensitive girl’s mind was overthinking again.
"No, Zui’Er, you’re always so obedient, how could you do anything wrong?"
"Then did something happen outside?"
"Yes!" Zhao Ya pondered for a while, then eventually recounted the events of the day to Zui’Er.
After all, the world’s miseries don’t disappear just because you hide them, especially in this world, these things are unavoidable.
Letting Zui’Er know what was happening outside was good, otherwise, her naive innocence might harm her.
After hearing Zhao Ya’s account, Zui’Er was already in tears.
"That woman is so pitiful!"
"Yes, truly pitiful!" Zhao Ya sighed.
Zui’Er was silent for a moment, then suddenly hugged Zhao Ya again.
"Ya!"
"Hmm?"
"You’re such a good person!"
Zui’Er fell asleep.
Gazing at the sleeping girl, Zhao Ya suddenly recalled her words, saying he was a good person, and couldn’t help but laugh silently.
Was he a good person?
No!
Zhao Ya thought to himself, he was just someone who wanted to become strong, to achieve immortality, to protect the people around him.
The difference was that Zhao Ya had a bottom line.
So when he had the ability, he didn’t mind using his saber to judge the world’s lengths, the goodness or evil of people’s hearts.