Withdrawing the overflowing Jingyuan, Shi Yan suddenly glanced at the dark crimson ring on the ring finger of his left hand. This strange ring, which he had named the Blood Mark Ring, had originated from the Blood Pool and seemed inextricably linked to it.

A thought stirred in his mind, and he vividly recalled the moment he first slipped the Blood Mark Ring on. Back then, his internal Jingyuan was incredibly weak. The instant the ring was worn, his Jingyuan uncontrollably surged toward it, but because it was too feeble, it failed to breach the skin, meaning the essence could not flow into the ring.

Now that he had broken through to the Third Heaven Realm, his Jingyuan had significantly strengthened and refined, allowing it to overflow beyond his body’s containment...

If he were to inject his Jingyuan into the ring, would something happen?

Shi Yan was intensely curious, vaguely sensing that this ancient-looking ring held a secret. Perhaps through this very ring, he could finally understand the anomaly within his body's acupuncture points.

Peering through the gaps in the leaves, Shi Yan observed for a moment and realized the Mohist martial artists were moving further away, unlikely to return anytime soon.

Shi Yan decided to test it!

The Jingyuan flowed slowly from his lower abdomen, accelerating rapidly, suddenly surging into his left arm. As the Jingyuan streamed at high speed, the meridians in his left arm throbbed with pain. The Jingyuan, like a battering ram, rushed all the way to his left ring finger, violently pouring into the flesh beneath the ring’s surface.

“Hiss! Hiss!”

The Jingyuan emerged like smoke from under the surface of the Blood Mark Ring, and instantly, tendrils of pure Jingyuan vanished into the ring.

The Blood Mark Ring abruptly erupted with a startling crimson light. A barrier within the ring seemed to be violently torn apart, and a strange thought surged out, flowing back into Shi Yan’s arm, racing up along the limb to his neck, and finally crashing into Shi Yan’s mind.

Martial Skill—Berserker Frenzy!

The thought released from the Blood Mark Ring was actually a wave of memory—a bizarre martial skill. The method for cultivating this technique flooded into Shi Yan’s mind, indelibly etched into his memory like a brand.

Martial skills were the ways martial artists utilized their Jingyuan, techniques for offensive action powered by this essence. Similar to Alchemists, martial skills were divided into five ranks: Mortal, Profound, Spirit, Saint, and Divine.

The classification of martial skills differed slightly from Alchemist ranks; while Alchemist ranks were further divided into seven grades, martial skills possessed no grades, only these five levels.

Higher-level martial skills could maximize the utilization of a martial artist’s internal Jingyuan, enabling them to unleash terrifying offensive power. The higher the rank of the skill, the more refined the application of Jingyuan; however, cultivating high-level techniques demanded a corresponding cultivation realm. The higher the rank, the more stringent the prerequisite conditions.

Generally, martial artists in the Post-Heaven and Innate realms were best suited for Mortal-rank skills; those in the Human Rank and Hundred Calamities realm fit Profound-rank skills; Earth Rank and Nirvana Realm practitioners were best suited for Spirit-rank skills; Heaven Rank and God-Reaching Realm masters were best suited for Saint-rank skills; and those in the True God and God King realms were best served by Divine-rank skills.

If lower-realm martial artists forcibly attempted to cultivate higher-level skills, it was usually a complete waste of time.

Due to insufficient realm attainment and Jingyuan strength, they would generally struggle to master high-level techniques. Even if they barely succeeded, their limited realm and power would prevent them from unleashing the technique’s true potential, making it more effective to cultivate skills commensurate with their current level.

For instance, a Post-Heaven realm martial artist, even if in possession of a legendary Divine-rank skill, would be utterly squandering a treasure, as their realm and strength were far too weak to ever cultivate it successfully.

Conversely, if a high-realm martial artist lacked high-level skills and only practiced low-level ones, they would also be unable to unleash their true strength.

If a True God realm martial artist only possessed Mortal or Profound rank skills, their combat power would be severely diminished, constrained by the low-level techniques, allowing them to manifest only seven or eight-tenths of their true capability.

On the Divine Grace Continent, martial skills were even rarer treasures than the elixirs refined by Alchemists; they were arguably the continent’s most expensive treasures. Typically, martial skills were held tightly by major noble families and various factions. The reason some families could attract martial artists to pledge allegiance was intrinsically tied to the quality of the skills they possessed.

The higher the rank of the skill, the greater its value. High-level martial artists without matching high-level techniques would be severely disadvantaged in combat, leading to immense frustration, and potentially even death.

Therefore, ambitious martial artists of high attainment would commit unspeakable acts to obtain a high-level skill suited to them.

Shi Yan sat cross-legged amidst the leaves, slowly sorting through the "Berserker Frenzy" martial skill in his mind. After organizing the memories, he discovered that "Berserker Frenzy" was divided into three tiers, and his mind only contained the cultivation method for the first tier. He had no idea what rank the skill was, nor if it would ultimately suit him.

Since this technique originated from the Blood Mark Ring, being directly infused into his mind as memory, its arrival was bizarre. Moreover, its cultivation required Jingyuan to flow in reverse—a stark divergence from the standard methods of martial skill training. Shi Yan hesitated, unsure whether to risk cultivating this technique of entirely unknown origin and incomplete nature.

The Shi Family, being one of the five great Shi families within the Merchant Alliance, naturally possessed its own martial skills. The Shi Family's highest-ranked skill was a single Spirit-rank technique, guarded as a treasure by the Family Head, Shi Jian, and currently only accessible to the old man, who had reached the Earth Rank realm.

However, aside from this single highest-tier Spirit-rank skill, the Shi Family held various Mortal and Profound rank techniques.

Shi Yan had originally planned to return to the Shi Family and utilize his new identity to learn those Mortal and Profound rank skills. Now, with this mysterious technique of unknown rank and provenance suddenly emerging from the Blood Mark Ring, he was utterly uncertain whether to proceed with it.

His expression hardening, he condensed his Jingyuan once more and sent it surging into the Blood Mark Ring. He found that the Jingyuan was blocked by the ring’s barrier. No matter how hard he tried, the essence could not breach that shield. He faintly sensed something lay beyond it, but without breaking through, he could not know what it was.

Beyond that barrier likely lay more information about "Berserker Frenzy," potentially the cultivation methods for the other two tiers. Unfortunately, it seemed only when his Jingyuan reached a certain level of power could he hope to shatter the shield.

Frustrated, Shi Yan retracted the Jingyuan he had sent into the ring and reviewed the incomplete martial skill in his memory again, falling back into hesitation.

Should he cultivate it?

Light gleamed in his pitch-black eyes. Enveloped by the leaves, Shi Yan’s expression flickered between moods. After a long, long pause, he resolved to test it first, intending to observe what changes would occur in his body upon cultivating the first tier of "Berserker Frenzy."

The Jingyuan slowly flowed towards the Jugu (Giant Bone) point. Upon reaching it, Shi Yan began to inject the essence according to the rotational method described in the first tier of "Berserker Frenzy." The Jugu point immediately began to spin violently. The negative emotions—resentment, despair, madness—stored within the point were suddenly triggered, transforming into a surge of power that flowed out, beginning to alter the muscles, bones, and flesh surrounding the Jugu point.

Pain immediately followed!

The area around the Jugu point contracted sharply; the muscles seemed to instantly tense up.

Shi Yan trembled inwardly and quickly reversed the flow of Jingyuan, feeling a tearing pain in his meridians spread throughout his body. After pulling the essence back a few inches, Shi Yan hardened his will and forcefully pushed forward again. The Jingyuan, like a restless beast, instantly swept past the Jugu point and charged towards the Jianzhen (Shoulder Forearm) point.

The Jingyuan gathered at the Jianzhen point and spun according to the same method, triggering the resentment, despair, and fury hidden within that point. Shi Yan felt the flesh in that area instantly constrict, and a faint, hazy white mist began to seep from the pores of his shoulder. This ashen-white mist was laced with feelings of despair and hatred—enough to grip the soul!

The Jingyuan reversed its flow once more. Shi Yan’s right arm felt as if it were about to split, cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and even his back was soaked.

Extreme agony!

Baring his teeth, the inherent madness within Shi Yan erupted. Ignoring the torment in his arm, Shi Yan continued to spur his internal Jingyuan, pushing towards the Wuli (Five Li) point...

After an unknowable amount of time, enduring the agony that threatened to break into a roar, Shi Yan’s Jingyuan traveled from the Jugu point all the way to the Yangchi (Sun Pool) point at his wrist. It seemed that all the latent negative forces stored within the acupuncture points of his entire right arm had been triggered.

Gazing closely, he saw that the muscles of his right arm had contracted, becoming visibly leaner and thinner. A faint, ashen-white mist coiled perpetually around the limb, transmitting waves of negative emotions—resentment, despair, terror.

Just looking at it seemed capable of affecting the mind, inciting fear.

The Jingyuan churned back and forth within the arm, a torrent of power like a bursting dike, mixed with the myriad negative emotions, surging within the limb. Shi Yan felt as if his right arm possessed infinite strength, burdened by an overwhelming urge to unleash it.

Deep in his heart, violent, bloodthirsty thoughts suddenly flared!

Shi Yan gasped, his eyes blazing with murderous intent. Within the foliage, he scanned for targets with the ferocity of a jackal, desperate to crush anyone who appeared below him into dust with the power surging in his right arm, to shatter them until they were a bloody mess before he felt satisfaction.

...

A short while later, two figures walked slowly into view from ahead, muttering curses—two Mohist martial artists who had been dispatched to this area by Mo Yanyu after their search in other directions yielded nothing.

“That little bastard ran off somewhere. If I catch him, I’ll cut his head off! Damn it, my old flame is waiting for me back at the Merchant Alliance, and I’m wasting all this time in this godforsaken place, crap!” cursed a burly martial artist with a thick, full beard.

“Zheng Tie, be careful. That kid killed four of ours; he’s definitely not easy to deal with. The amount of food he eats is more than both of us combined; the kid is weird. Don't let a small ditch sink our boat,” the other martial artist warned, his expression vigilant as he constantly glanced around, clearly much more cautious.

“Relax. Both of us are at the Second Heaven Realm of Post-Heaven, and we’re together. If that little bastard dares to show his face, he’s just courting death. Hmph! If we finish him quickly, we can get on the road. I’m sick of this ghost place. I want a woman! I need a woman!” the martial artist named Zheng Tie roared loudly into the woods, seemingly driven mad by longing.

“Heh heh, the Young Miss is also a woman…” the cautious martial artist chuckled softly, lewdly.

“Heh heh, the Young Miss is indeed a woman, but we have no fortune to enjoy her. I see Master Karu has been quite diligent in seeking out the Young Miss lately. I wonder if he’ll have a chance to claim her favor. That face, that ass of the Young Miss, tsk tsk... I wonder which bastard will get her. It’s a pity our realm is too low; we likely have no hope in this life.”

Zheng Tie lowered his voice, a lustful smile on his face, clearly indulging in fantasies. As he warmed to the subject, he suddenly thrust his lower body forward and let out two loud laughs.

“Stop dreaming. The Young Miss has a fiancé—that kid Ling Shaofeng is not someone to trifle with. If he ever finds out you desire the Young Miss, you’re dead!”

Upon hearing Ling Shaofeng’s name, Zheng Tie’s expression changed, and he muttered, “That kid is sinister. I heard he is close to breaking through to the Human Rank. I’ve seen him kill people; his methods are far more vicious than you can imagine. If Karu were to run into Ling Shaofeng, he’d probably die too. We really do need to be careful. What if what we said gets back to that brat…”

Zheng Tie couldn't help but shiver slightly, clearly harboring deep apprehension towards Mo Yanyu’s fiancé.

The two continued their hushed discussion about Ling Shaofeng, their faces growing grim, and they gradually walked closer to Shi Yan’s position, completely unaware that hidden above them in the dense canopy lurked Shi Yan, a bloodthirsty beast.