A host of familiar techniques swirled endlessly in Chen Feng's mind as he replayed the scene from his recent fight with the bandits, specifically the moment he executed the Kusanagi technique.

It had been a pure whim, mimicking a move straight out of a game.

Yet, that simple imitation had somehow intensified the misty dark vortex within his core.

The amount of dark energy condensed by just one execution of the Kusanagi far surpassed what he usually gathered in two hours of dedicated cultivation.

He replayed every minute detail of the Kusanagi's movements repeatedly in his head.

Chen Feng stood in the snow-covered expanse behind the mountain, slowly practicing the motions.

The elemental energy of heaven and earth seemed to find its true destination, gently converging upon his body and coalescing into the power of the dark vortex within his Dantian. "Ding!" A faint sound echoed from his Dantian.

The dense, gaseous mist actually began to coalesce, forming a droplet the size of a soybean! The complete liquefaction of one's internal battle qi signifies the warrior's promotion from a Fighter to a Master.

Now, the vortex power within Chen Feng's body had begun to form a complete liquid droplet, proving he had stepped one rung closer to the Master realm.

To advance from the second level to the seventh level of Fighter cultivation in less than eight months—if this news were to spread, the entire continent would surely descend into madness! Even the renowned master cultivator, Feng Li'ao, celebrated as the continent's foremost expert, had taken a full four years to progress from a second-level Fighter to the seventh.

The gap between four years and eight months was nothing short of an abyss.

In comparison to Chen Feng’s speed, Feng Li'ao’s cultivation pace resembled that of a snail.

Originally, the continent's battle qi lacked any detailed stratification, primarily because Mages held the most revered status.

Fighters were relegated to mercenary work or military service, engaging mostly in low-tier, dead-end professions.

Consequently, no one bothered to seriously categorize battle qi.

However, following the emergence of the Heavenly, Earthly, Human, and Beast levels of Gun Techniques among the Knights, a venerable Battle Sage finally established a four-tier classification system for all battle skills and battle qi, strictly adhering to the Heavenly, Earthly, Human, and Beast structure.

Battle qi in its initial state manifests with different colors corresponding to different attributes.

The ability to display this inherent color marks the lowest tier of battle qi.

For example, Earth-attributed battle qi would appear earthy yellow, while Ice-attributed qi would be gaseous and misty.

This raw, untutored battle qi is termed Beast-level battle qi.

This nomenclature implies that even wild beasts can emit such qi; it is almost indistinguishable from instinct—a force devoid of technique.

One level higher is Human-level battle qi.

This qi does not overtly display its original attribute color; it remains constant regardless of the inherent element.

The battle qi cultivated by Hermits and Assassins is almost invariably Human-level.

It allows the user to alter the qi's color according to the surrounding environment, enabling them to conceal their presence.

Earth-level battle qi is even more ethereal; regardless of the attribute, it generally resembles a pale white mist.

This qi lacks distinct elemental boundaries, allowing the practitioner to potentially unleash two different elemental skills simultaneously! Heavenly-level battle qi is the apex; while immensely powerful, it possesses no elemental segregation.

When unleashed, it closely resembles ordinary airflow, having no color.

Furthermore, this attribute can accommodate skills of any element, leading Heavenly-level battle qi to also be known as Attributeless Battle Qi! The difference between Heavenly, Earthly, Human, and Beast level qi means that the same quantity of qi yields vastly different levels of power.

To illustrate: if one were to shatter a thousand-jin boulder using an equal measure of Heavenly qi versus Beast qi, the Beast qi required would be at least ten times greater than the Heavenly qi.

In other words, if two individuals are both Fighters, but one cultivates Heavenly battle qi and the other Beast battle qi, even with identical internal qi reserves, their actual strength would differ by several times.

This is a major underlying reason why individuals of the same rank can vary so greatly in power.

If Chen Feng’s vortex power were to be categorized into the battle qi hierarchy, it would likely fall into the Beast level, as it displays a clear elemental signature: Fire! The primary reason he could slay a group of bandits whose cultivation was not significantly weaker than his, wielding the power of a seventh-level Fighter, lay entirely in the sheer might of the Fist King techniques—the strength of his Battle Skills! Of course, while higher-grade battle qi offers numerous advantages, it also presents drawbacks, namely greater difficulty in advancing.

Beast-level qi, due to its lesser potency, only requires the practitioner to condense all internal qi into a liquid state upon reaching the ninth level of Fighter to successfully advance to Master.

However, for Heavenly-level qi, the process is far more demanding; while powerful, compressing it into a liquid state is more than ten times harder! This is the main reason why Assassins and Hermits practicing Human-level qi seldom reach the Master realm.

Some major clans possessing high-grade battle qi cultivation methods usually prohibit their members from practicing until they surpass the Fighter ranks.

Otherwise, reaching the Master realm proves nearly impossible.

Only after attaining the Master realm would they begin to re-study advanced battle qi, slowly refining their internal low-grade qi.

However, the transition between battle qi levels is notoriously complex; without specific secret arts, the chance of success does not exceed thirty percent! "Hoo," Chen Feng exhaled the stale air, halting his continuous movement.

After a night of practice and contemplation, he had successfully condensed a liquid vortex of power within him, and his understanding of the Kusanagi technique had deepened profoundly.

Many previously disjointed elements suddenly became clear, making the movements feel much smoother.

Taking a deep breath, he walked back toward the blacksmith shop.

After washing up and hurriedly eating a meager breakfast, Chen Feng summoned Old John and young As to his room, completely ignoring Judy, whom he left outside to clear the dishes. "I'm leaving!" Once the three were settled in the room, Chen Feng cut straight to the point.

Old John, evidently having long anticipated Chen Feng's decision, remained seated in silence. "Leave? Big Brother, where are you going?" Young As, however, looked surprised.

Chen Feng ruffled the boy's hair and said, "I'm going somewhere very far away." "Very far?" Little John finally grasped the true meaning of his Big Brother’s departure and urgently pleaded, "Big Brother, don't go...

As doesn't want you to go!" "Ah, As," Old John sighed, pulling the boy into his arms. "Don't worry about your Big Brother; he has his own path.

He can't be cooped up here with us forever!" Without waiting to see if As understood, John turned and walked back into the room he shared with the boy.

A moment later, he returned, producing a small, unassuming money pouch and handing it to Chen Feng.

Chen Feng accepted the cloth bag, feeling a surprising weight. "Truthfully, after seeing your skills yesterday, I knew you wouldn't stay long," Old John said, gesturing toward the pouch in Chen Feng's hand. "These are fifty gold coins I've saved over the years.

You can't set out on the road without some money..." Feeling the satisfying weight of the coins in his hand, a wave of warmth washed over Chen Feng.

Fifty gold coins might mean little to him, but for the impoverished Old John, it represented a substantial fortune.

One gold coin was equivalent to the price of forging twenty longswords.

Fifty gold coins meant a thousand swords! Even assuming a profit of one sword per day, it would take over two years to accumulate fifty gold coins! Shaking his head, Chen Feng pushed the coins back toward Old John. "I cannot take it!" "You won't take it?" Old John looked genuinely upset. "I know what you have, or rather, what you don't have.

When I first rescued you, the clothes you were wearing were already rags! You had not a single penny on you—how can you survive out there?" Chen Feng smiled, flipped his wrist, and a large bag materialized seemingly out of thin air, which he promptly placed on the table.

Old John looked on with confusion.

He carefully scrutinized Chen Feng's hands, which seemed unchanged, yet he couldn't fathom how such a large bag had appeared.

Still, he understood they belonged to two vastly different worlds; it was natural that many things remained incomprehensible.

If he could understand everything, he wouldn't just be a blacksmith.

With dawning curiosity, Old John opened the bag.

His face was instantly overtaken by astonishment.

This bag contained the five hundred gold coins, two Merchant Cards, and the remainder after selling the fifteen third-grade Battle Cores! "Gulp..." Old John swallowed hard, his hands, usually steady as bedrock while hammering iron, now trembled uncontrollably. "These are...

gold coins?" Old John could hardly believe his eyes.

Five hundred gold coins—such an astronomical sum he had never witnessed in his life.

In all his years as a blacksmith, his total savings amounted to just fifty coins! It was like watching a pauper who had earned little his whole life suddenly seeing five million in cash placed before him; the sheer shock was almost impossible to process.

Chen Feng nodded. "There are five hundred gold coins here.

Take them and buy a house in Gnanmu Town.

This place isn't sustainable forever, and As is growing older.

Staying isolated here isn't good for him either!" Hearing that Chen Feng intended to gift him such a vast sum, John frantically waved his hands. "No, this is impossible; I can't accept it..." Chen Feng interrupted him. "Don't refuse.

You and As saved my life; consider this your reward!" With that, he stood up and presented a card.

Old John took the card, a look of bewilderment clouding his features.

Having never encountered sophisticated currency storage devices like Merchant Cards, he found the sight of it less shocking than the pile of gold coins.

Chen Feng feared that revealing the three thousand five hundred gold stored on this card would terrify the old man again, so he explained, "Keep this card safe.

If you spend these five hundred gold coins, take this card to the General Merchant Guild to exchange for currency." "This thing can exchange for money?" Old John clearly looked skeptical.