Having established an advantage in one swift move, Qin Fen did not pursue further; this attack had greatly bolstered his confidence.

The Butcher slowly detached himself from the support of the great tree. A section of the bark against his back appeared remarkably bright. He gently shook his arms, which felt as though a thousand steel needles were stabbing them simultaneously. The power of the Raging Tide surged into him like a swarm of locusts, tearing through his skin and raging within his muscles. In an instant, the destructive force had consumed its way up to his elbows.

The strength of a Six-Star Meteor level poured into his arms, rapidly dispelling the severe damage inflicted by the Raging Tide.

The mess hall fell into profound silence. Even the instructors, veterans accustomed to the unexpected turns of battle, were forced to take a new measure of Qin Fen.

How could a Four-Star warrior defeat a Five-Star Meteor? And yet! Qin Fen had indeed won that exchange! In just a few days, how could the power of his ultimate move have escalated so dramatically? And his evasion technique—what was that technique? It resembled the Dragon’s Veil, yet also the Vajra Dance. Was he somehow fusing these two movement arts?

The instructors exchanged bewildered glances. This young man had only just graduated high school as a Four-Star martial artist. Without sufficient foundation, he shouldn't possibly be capable of fusing and creating his own martial way.

The instructors reluctantly shifted their focus back to the Butcher, hoping to discover if he had gone easy on Qin Fen to account for such a result.

However, the few instructors were disappointed. The Butcher was giving Qin Fen a thumbs-up! This Butcher, the coldest killer on the battlefield, rarely praised anyone, whether during training or in actual combat, and was notoriously strict with those he instructed. Yet here he was, signaling approval.

The Butcher walked back to Qin Fen. "Kid, well done. That strange movement art, is it your new ultimate skill? Very strong! A pity, though. It still has flaws."

Flaws? Qin Fen's eyes lit up. What he needed now were external critiques to make the necessary improvements and adjustments.

"This kind of combined attack can only be used as a trump card, and you must strive to keep it secret. Otherwise, the effort you put into researching an ultimate move for fighting higher tiers will be significantly diminished."

The Butcher's assessment earned nods of agreement from the assembled instructors. Qin Fen himself wholeheartedly agreed with the view; a trump card necessitates stealth. If its methods become common knowledge, its very purpose vanishes.

"What does killing feel like?"

The Butcher abruptly changed the subject, making Qin Fen pause. He pondered for a moment before answering, "Human life is incredibly fragile."

"Do you enjoy the feeling of killing?"

"No," Qin Fen shook his head repeatedly.

"Then how do you overcome the emotions you dislike?"

Qin Fen's gaze instantly turned ice-cold. The brutal scenes from the abandoned building flashed rapidly through his mind. A sliver of chilling killing intent emanated from his bones. "I didn't see them as people. I was merely carrying out the work of cleansing toxic bacteria."

"Good!" The Butcher roared. He raised his thumb high, his eyes shining with satisfaction. "I don't want to nurture a bloodthirsty maniac who enjoys killing. Your answer is excellent, demonstrating both sufficient awareness and calm. Your strength and your mind have passed the test. You may now learn my Heart Extraction Hand."

The Heart Extraction Hand—one of the Butcher's ultimate killing techniques.

After seeing it for the first time, Qin Fen had deeply understood the terrifying power it possessed. With this technique, the Butcher was an efficient killing machine, even without carrying any weapons. After the first raid on Zajade, Qin Fen had often reflected that if he had possessed the Heart Extraction Hand technique, the mission would have been completed in one go, negating the need for the subsequent sniping incident at the concert.

The Butcher faced Qin Fen in the sealed room and raised his right hand. "The Heart Extraction Hand. The initial practice may cause a bit of pain, so you need to be mentally prepared. Now, I will run a slow-motion replay for you so you can see precisely what the Heart Extraction Hand is."

Qin Fen concentrated with all his might. The muscles beneath the skin of the Butcher's palm began to writhe slowly, as if thousands of writhing worms were intertwining under the surface. The sound of his entire palm bone twisting and grinding against itself was constant, a noise that made one's scalp tingle just by hearing it.

Excitement flashed in the Butcher’s eyes. "See that? Pure muscle control. Compressing the muscle, compressing it again and again! Do this first step with no reliance on Zhenqi. Then…"

The veins on the Butcher’s palm began to shift as well—a change driven by the manipulation of Zhenqi. These worm-like veins wrapped tightly around the already compressed muscle, executing a second phase of compression.

Qin Fen finally understood why the Butcher had once said long ago that the Heart Extraction Hand was a perverse technique of first self-mutilation, then enemy destruction.

This method of contracting and squeezing muscles and joints possessed a surprising similarity to the Core Compaction Art. However, the Core Compaction Art pressurized Zhenqi; with surgically implanted Zhenqi pressurizers and highly precise regulators, a person could perform it without feeling any pain at all.

This external compression, however, could not be aided by any technology! It relied entirely on the body itself, as if the bones were being crushed by tons of heavy stone. The resulting changes in the muscle would surely be agonizing.

"Now that you know the principle, let me explain how to achieve it." The Butcher's palm returned to normal. "Controlling the body's muscles isn't that simple; it requires talent. Otherwise, Squad Leader Hao and the others still wouldn't be able to use the Heart Extraction Hand even today…"

The instructors sitting nearby could only nod in agreement. They were good friends and often exchanged information about various rare techniques, but some techniques truly demanded innate talent.

Take the Heart Extraction Hand, for example. This technique, requiring such stringent control over musculature, was not something just anyone could master. Muscles can tense when exerting force, but altering the shape and compressing them is an entirely different realm—it’s like how some people can wiggle their ears while others absolutely cannot.

Before the instructors could finish nodding, the crisp sound of bones cracking echoed in the room again.

Without waiting for the Butcher to explain the transformation process, Qin Fen was already mimicking the Butcher's earlier actions, slowly altering the shape of his palm. The muscles attached to his palm bones were subtly writhing.

The Butcher fell silent. The instructors stared, stunned speechless.

A single thought echoed in everyone's mind: This guy really is Qin Zhan’s brother! The elder brother was unparalleled in brilliance, and the younger brother is not the least bit inferior. No! Perhaps this kid is even more freakishly gifted than his brother!

Qin Fen's expression was equally complex. While diligently practicing the Heart Extraction Hand, he kept glancing at the Butcher, inwardly admiring him: How is this just 'a bit of pain'? The pain of placing one's hand under a car wheel and having it run over it is perhaps only this level? No! A car runs over it once. This pain is like being run over repeatedly!

Twenty-one minutes later, Qin Fen finally achieved the final form of the Heart Extraction Hand. Compared to the Butcher, who could complete it instantaneously, his speed was slower by more than a second or two.

Twenty-one minutes of torture. Even with Qin Fen's immense endurance, his forehead was slick with glistening sweat. It was the pain!

Greater than Qin Fen's pain was the shock of the instructors. They had expected to see a nearly complete form of the technique. Instead, after a dozen or so failed attempts at alignment, Qin Fen had self-corrected and achieved the perfect form of the Heart Extraction Hand.

The Butcher’s surprise surpassed everyone else’s. This ultimate skill, which he had spent over a year developing, had been instantly replicated by a child. He wasn't sure whether to feel proud of having such a brilliant disciple or disappointed that a year of hard work had been copied in a moment.

Qin Fen dispersed the Heart Extraction Hand form, shaking his wrist constantly and flexing his fingers in and out. It had been excruciatingly painful!

"Very good, very good," the Butcher applauded lightly. "Then I only need to address the technique during the actual killing."

The Butcher moved toward the two hanging sandbags and casually lifted his arm. He walked past the sandbags, and a metal sphere the size of a human heart materialized in his hand. Only when he was five paces away from the sandbags did the first one emit a soft puff. Golden sand began to slowly stream out.

The Butcher pointed to the remaining sandbag. "There is also a metal sphere inside. Take it out."

Qin Fen knew he couldn't replicate the Butcher's casual walk that instantly deployed the Heart Extraction Hand. He remained rooted to the spot and began reconstructing the technique.

This time, it took him only seven minutes to complete the Heart Extraction Hand. He walked quickly toward the second sandbag.

Puff…

Golden sand poured out, just as the metal sphere was withdrawn from the sandbag in Qin Fen's grip.

"Think carefully," the Butcher said. He patted Qin Fen’s shoulder, and the instructors left the room with him.

Qin Fen sat quietly on the floor, looking up at the two sandbags still continuously leaking sand.

The same Heart Extraction Hand, yet such a massive difference in extracting the 'heart'? Qin Fen supported his chin with one hand and smiled faintly, murmuring, "It seems the true, completed form of the Heart Extraction Hand isn't just reconstructing it, but silently stealing the opponent's heart, to the point where not even a drop of blood is spilled."

Qin Fen spent the entire afternoon quietly in the practice room. He ran several more trials on the emptied sandbags. The results were much improved, but he still couldn't achieve the perfection displayed by the Butcher.

"The rest must be pure technique and proficiency," Qin Fen murmured to himself, looking at the two heavily perforated sandbags. "I’ll consult Instructor Butcher again tomorrow, and then it should be truly complete."

He pushed the door open and stepped out. His phone immediately buzzed with over a dozen text messages before finally quieting down. Qin Fen realized then that the training room he had been in was constructed from special materials that completely blocked external communications.

"Lao Qin, hurry back!"

"Lao Qin, quickly! The Dragon Hall is about to be annihilated!"

"Hurry! This isn't a sparring challenge this time, it's annihilation! If they wipe you out, it's truly over!"

"Hurry! If you're any slower, you'll have to reapply to establish a sect."

Annihilation? Sparring challenge? Qin Fen stared at the messages, suddenly realizing how little he truly understood about the Sky Combat Net.