The old man's ears twitched, and the smile in his eyes suddenly flashed with astonishment. He pressed his ten fingers into the ground, bent his knees slightly, and sprang backward sharply. The cloth-stick swept past the tip of his nose, the rushing wind it created feeling like a genuine steel blade.

The full-force strike missed, but with a swift step, the man charged forward like a fierce tiger pouncing on a clumsy novice. This rush covered five or six meters in an instant. The immense power, mixed with an incredibly explosive burst of Dou Qi, instantly left a deep footprint on the ground, causing the hard frozen earth to crack. The mud, as solid as rock, tumbled and exploded into the air, resembling a heavy cavalry charge with iron-shod warhorses thundering past.

The droplets of water carried on the cloth-stick, under the stress of high-speed flight, felt like hard stones as they zipped past the old man's ear.

"So fierce? As expected!" The old man's brow arched as he recoiled like a monkey, retreating rapidly. His ears constantly flickered, discerning the sound generated by the forceful strike—a subtle roar like a gale in the heights of skyscrapers—and a hint of elation appeared in his eyes.

"This is..." The accompanying sound of wind and cloud Dou Qi! The old man dodged repeatedly, a layer of caution settling over his features. "This staff strike actually connected..." The sheer destructive power of it..."

Bang! Crash!

The cloth-stick struck a large stone. The water-soaked fabric instantly exploded outward, as if a dozen monkeys wielding sharp claws were bursting out, tearing the cloth apart.

With the fabric destroyed, the stone fared no better. The collision unleashed a sound like a sudden clap of thunder. The head-sized rock shattered into several pieces, sending shrapnel flying everywhere.

In Qian Jin's hand, only a small section of the cloth remained; it was no longer rigid as a staff but completely limp. He opened his five fingers, releasing the cloth, and his hand instantly morphed into the shape of an eagle’s talon. His body swiveled, launching an attack like a great eagle swooping down, the talon aimed directly at the old man's throat. The slight breeze stirred in its path carried the faint hint of an eagle's cry.

"The 'Thunder Eagle' from the Beast Combat Techniques?" The old man's eyes brightened further. He could tell at a glance that this technique wasn't one Qian Jin had practiced extensively, yet the explosive nature of his Wind and Cloud Dou Qi had boosted its destructive capability to a level that could not be ignored.

Can't hit me! This strike definitely won't land! As Qian Jin struck, he calculated everything internally. The moment his airborne feet touched the ground, the muscles in his lower body tightened rapidly—toes, ankles, calves, knees, thighs, hips, and waist!

The rotation of his Dou Qi simultaneously accelerated to its absolute peak, unleashing an unprecedented burst of explosive power!

The muscles vibrated violently for a split second, and Qian Jin's body abruptly shifted direction. He appeared almost instantaneously to the old man's right. The fierce eagle talon whistled dangerously, causing the old man’s scalp to tingle uncontrollably! His pupils constricted instantly to pinpricks, and he thought inwardly: What kind of movement is that?

Snap!

In a flash of lightning and flint, the old man twisted his neck. Qian Jin’s eagle talon clamped onto a small tree instead. The thumb, index, and middle fingers, gripping tightly, drove deep into the tree trunk! A pull, a wrench, a tear! Bark flew everywhere! The small tree vibrated relentlessly under the force.

The faster Qian Jin circulated the Dou Qi within him during combat, the greater the battle power he unleashed! Tearing the trunk of the small tree apart, Qian Jin stared in astonishment at his fingers, which seemed utterly unchanged. Even with the 'Stone Body' realm of the Wind and Cloud Golden Body, his strength shouldn't be this immense. If he had truly grasped someone's throat, wouldn't he crush it instantly?

"So close..." Qian Jin shook his head repeatedly, sighing. If he could master 'Myriad Shadows' to the level of two successive swift movements, he might truly have succeeded just now.

The old man gazed at the momentarily halted Qian Jin with suspicion and uncertainty. That single instant had been too bizarre! It wasn't just the acceleration that was unexpectedly fast; the process of movement itself was indescribably uncanny! Dangerous! In that moment, the aura of peril made one's bones tremble ceaselessly.

"What was that strange movement just now? How did you achieve it? What kind of Combat Technique is that?" The suspicion in the old man's eyes grew, and he secretly admired this peculiar method of movement.

Qian Jin scratched his head, bracing his legs hard to keep them from collapsing. The burst of power in that instant had yielded results beyond imagination, but his legs, having undergone such a full-power exertion, were now trembling and showing signs of near-collapse. Forget taking another step forward; merely remaining standing was a stroke of luck.

"This... uh..." Qian Jin scratched his head and could only offer a wry smile. What Combat Technique? It wasn't a Combat Technique at all—just blacksmithing skills taught by Uncle Black. It would be strange if anyone had seen it.

"This... uh..." Unable to bear the old man’s expectant gaze, Qian Jin said mildly, "This is called 'Myriad Shadows.' I haven't mastered it yet."

"'Myriad Shadows'..." 'Myriad Shadows'...*" The old man murmured the name several times, emphasizing, "You need to practice this 'Myriad Shadows' more when you have time. Though I don't know who taught you, it is truly a rare method of movement! It’s first-rate for both evasion and attack."

Qian Jin nodded with a bitter smile. He thought to himself that it would be hard not to practice 'Myriad Shadows.' It was likely that for the foreseeable future, he wouldn't learn anything new at Black's forge; just 'Myriad Shadows' and the second strike of the 'Eighteen Ascending Hammers' would keep him busy practicing for quite some time.

"Right." The old man pointed at Qian Jin. "How did it feel when your Dou Qi erupted just now?"

"Surprisingly strong," Qian Jin raised his eyebrows. "I almost feel like grabbing a rock to test the results."

"Stronger than the introduction to Demon Slaying Warriors you read about, correct?" The old man approached Qian Jin, looking at the small tree from which a significant chunk of wood had been torn away. His eyes held a fresh measure of appreciation. "If that grip had been on a person's throat, a single pull would have been enough to wrench the throat bones out! It should certainly be enough to kill them."

"Yes," Qian Jin flexed his fists and nodded repeatedly. "I feel it's stronger than what the books describe, and not just a little bit stronger."

"Of course," the old man said, a proud expression spreading across his face. He held out a palm. "Outsiders only know that Demon Slaying Warriors are symbols of power. They don't know that Demon Slaying Warriors are also divided into five levels. We call it the 'Nine Battles.' A warrior who successfully breaks through to the Demon Slaying Warrior level usually possesses the standard of the 'First Battle,' also known as a 'Demon Slaying First Battle' warrior."

A look of sudden realization dawned on Qian Jin's face. He looked down at his fists and asked quietly, "So, you mean that after I entered the Demon Slaying Warrior realm, I do not belong to the 'Demon Slaying First Battle' category?"

"Correct!" The old man nodded happily, then sighed and shook his head. "I didn't expect your entry into the Demon Slaying Warrior realm to turn out like this. I thought you would cross the threshold easily and become a 'Demon Slaying First Battle' warrior, but unexpectedly, you broke through the bottleneck and directly reached the peak standard of the 'Demon Slaying Third Battle'."

"'Demon Slaying Third Battle'?" Qian Jin frowned. "How is that distinguished?"

The old man tapped his head. "My fault, my fault. When I chat with you, I always feel like you've read many, many books and know a lot of things, but I forgot one important detail. Ordinary warriors only qualify to read books up to the Demon Slaying Warrior level; there are no records beyond that. It’s normal that you don't know."

"The method for distinguishing the levels of Demon Slaying Warriors is simple: capacity, temperament, and the rotational speed of the Dou Qi! Feel your own Dou Qi rotation speed. When a 'Demon Slaying First Battle' warrior pushes to full speed, it rotates only ten times per minute. A 'Demon Slaying Second Battle' warrior will be between ten and twenty rotations. A 'Demon Slaying Third Battle' warrior is between twenty and forty rotations. A 'Demon Slaying Fourth Battle' is between forty and eighty rotations. The Fifth Battle is eighty to one hundred sixty rotations. The Sixth Battle is one hundred sixty to three hundred twenty rotations. The Seventh Battle is three hundred twenty to six hundred forty rotations. The Eighth Battle is six hundred forty to one thousand two hundred eighty rotations. A 'Demon Slaying Ninth Battle' warrior has a rotational speed between one thousand eight hundred twenty and two thousand five hundred sixty rotations!"

Qian Jin focused his mind, channeling his Dou Qi through the Qi Apertures to its fullest, while mentally counting the rotation speed. The confusion in his eyes grew deeper.

"Forty rotations is the peak of the Third Battle?" Qian Jin stopped the burst of power and looked at the old man. "But I clearly rotated around sixty times just now..."

"What!" The old man jumped up as if his tail had been stepped on, looking at Qian Jin in disbelief. "You said you have a rotational speed of sixty? How is that possible? I just assessed your capacity and temperament—it is indeed the peak level of the Third Battle! If we calculate strictly, your capacity is barely at the peak, and your temperament is a pure peak..."

Qian Jin stared at the old man, astonished. There had never been any description in the books about what happened after entering the Demon Slaying Warrior realm. He had absolutely no reference material. Unless he left the valley to find a high-level academy and use his status as a Demon Slaying Warrior to access the advanced library for verification.

"Weird... truly a monster..." The old man circled Qian Jin several times before finally asking, facing him, "Are you sure? Sixty rotations of Dou Qi speed? That’s the level of a Demon Slaying Fourth Battle warrior! You must understand, even without the sixty rotations of Dou Qi speed, with your peak Third Battle standard, a Bloodline Warrior of your age would need extraordinary talent, coupled with rigorous mental training and a massive accumulation of Dou Stones, to be cultivated! Don't lie about your Dou Qi speed just to save face..."

Qian Jin shrugged helplessly. Sixty rotations of Dou Qi rotation was sixty rotations. If he pushed a bit harder, even sixty-five might be attainable.

"Go... oh my god!" The old man rubbed his temples with a look of agony. "What is going on here? There have been historical cases where the volume of Dou Qi and the quality of Dou Qi differed slightly, but the rotational speed of the Dou Qi being this much higher..." A monster!

Seeing the old man wearing an expression of distress, as if he had lost his last pair of underwear gambling, Qian Jin sighed and asked, "Master... uh... can you stop sighing for a moment? At least tell me whether this situation of mine is good or bad?"