From bone collectors to the supreme ruler of humanity

Chapter 36 A Head-on Clash with a True Qi Realm Realm

Lin Yan loosened his grip on the knife, then tightened it again.

He thought of the bow posture on the third page of the incomplete breathing exercise manual. The core of the bow posture is to concentrate the qi, pressing the qi and blood from the limbs towards the center of the body.

If you reverse the process of condensing energy, instead of pressing it towards the center, you explode it outwards from the center...

He tried it once.

Qi and blood exploded from the dantian and rushed into the limbs, causing the veins on the arms to bulge and a very faint red layer to rise on the surface of the skin.

It wasn't the dark red of a full beard, but a light red.

【Skill: Basic Sketching (Rough) (130/800)】

The numbers on the panel were constantly changing.

[Skill: Berserk (Incomplete)]

[Progress: (Beginner) (1/500)]

[Effect: Increases strength rapidly and greatly reduces pain sensation for a short period of time]

[Side effects: It can cause adverse reactions to blood and qi, which may result in mild cases of hair loss and limpness, or even severe cases of ruptured meridians and shortened lifespan.]

Become!

Lin Yan felt a violent force surging through his body, and the muscles in his arms were trembling. It wasn't fear, but the force was too wild, so wild that his muscles and skin ached at the same time.

It can only last for twenty breaths.

He pushed off with his feet and charged forward, swinging his hundred-refined steel blade in a wide arc towards the bearded man.

The bearded man parried with a sword.

The two blades clashed, sparks flying. This time, Lin Yan did not back down.

The two knives remained locked in mid-air for a moment before snapping apart simultaneously.

The bearded man paused for a moment.

The young man from Yan who was just being overpowered by him is now evenly matched with him in strength?

"you......"

Lin Yan didn't give him a chance to speak. He slashed down with his second, third, and fourth strikes, each one heavier than the last. The swordsmanship was still that of the military, but each strike carried the brutal, frenzied power of the Northern Barbarians, like a torrent of water rushing down one after another.

The bearded man blocked seven blows and retreated to the edge of the crater. His heel stepped on a corpse, and he swayed slightly.

Taking advantage of his loss of balance, Lin Yan stabbed him in the heart.

The bearded man sidestepped, the blade grazing his ribs and leaving a bloody gash below his side.

He gritted his teeth and raised the savage knife, the dark red lines on his arm suddenly deepening.

"Die!"

With each slash, the force was 20% greater than before.

Lin Yan parried with his sword, the hundred-refined steel blade emitting a piercing hum. The ground beneath his feet exploded, and he was thrown backward, crashing heavily into a pile of rubble.

The old wound on my right arm has reopened.

A sharp pain shot through my broken ribs, and a metallic taste rose in my throat.

Fifteen breaths.

He only lasted fifteen breaths before the backlash from his berserk state hit. The power that had been rampaging through his body suddenly receded like a tide, leaving him completely empty, like a hollowed-out shell.

The bearded man walked over step by step, knife in hand.

"You little brat from Yan, you've stolen my Northern Barbarian skills?"

The fat on his face was contorted into lines, and the savage knife was raised high.

"Twenty years to go!"

A sword light pierced through from the side.

Ye Qingxue's narrow-bladed longsword touched the blade of the bearded man's sword, knocking him back a step. She stood in front of Lin Yan, the tip of her sword touching the ground, the blade slightly bent.

"Can you still hold on?" She didn't turn around.

Lin Yan got up and spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva. "I can hold on."

"Then stand up."

Ye Qingxue thrust her sword at the bearded man.

Her swordsmanship was different from before.

It was no longer a series of thrusts, but a continuous stream of sword energy, each strike faster than the last, the sword tips leaving afterimages in the air.

The bearded man wielded his broadsword with sweeping, powerful strokes, capable of shattering the combined sword strikes of the three swords with a single horizontal slash.

But Ye Qingxue's sword strikes dispersed and immediately regrouped, like water flowing around a reef, impossible to break no matter how hard you tried.

Lin Yan stood up, supporting himself with his knife.

[A superficial imitation] is used to analyze Ye Qingxue's swordsmanship.

Her method of generating power was peculiar—not through her arms, but through her waist and hips. A slight twist of her waist would shift the sword tip three feet off-center. The sword's bend wasn't a release of force, but a build-up of power; the more it bent, the stronger the rebound.

This is not how a longsword should be used. The advantage of a longsword is its ability to thrust straight at the target, but her swordsmanship treats the blade like a bow, deflecting each strike.

Lin Yan took a deep breath and activated "Qi Condensation Reverse Infusion" for the second time.

This time, instead of trying to calm his breathing, he compressed his qi and blood in his dantian and then released it suddenly, letting it rush into his limbs.

A light red rash appeared on the skin again, but this time it was lighter than before, and the rash was under better control.

Twenty-five breaths.

He slipped.

Swimming Body Steps and Body Circling Stance.

It slid down to his back along the left side of his beard.

The bearded man swung his sword backhand, but Lin Yan ducked to dodge. He then slashed upwards with his hundred-refined steel blade, the tip of which sliced ​​through the back of the bearded man's left leg.

The bearded man grunted and turned to strike Lin Yan.

Ye Qingxue's sword simultaneously pierced his back.

With his beard flanked from both sides, the bearded man suddenly roared, his blood and qi erupting, his true energy bursting out from his body, simultaneously knocking away Ye Qingxue's sword and Lin Yan's knife.

The attacks from both of them were completely neutralized in an instant.

Lin Yan gripped the knife tightly and moved back to Ye Qingxue's side.

"His true energy is almost depleted. With berserk mode and a burst of true energy, he won't be able to hold on for long."

Ye Qingxue nodded slightly.

The two pounced on him again, one from the left and one from the right.

Lin Yan's knife came down from the front, and the bearded man swung his knife to block it.

Ye Qingxue's sword came from the side, but the bearded man dodged it by sidestepping.

The two attacked in turn, and the bearded man, attacked from both sides, finally revealed a weakness.

Ye Qingxue thrust her sword toward his throat, but the bearded man ducked to dodge. The tip of the sword grazed his scalp, shaving off a piece of it.

He roared in pain and slashed wildly at Ye Qingxue with his savage blade.

Taking advantage of his weakened stance, Lin Yan thrust his Hundred-Refined Steel Blade in from the side. With a swift, whirling motion, the blade circled the bearded man's left arm, and the tip pierced diagonally into his heart from under his ribs.

The bearded man stiffened for a moment, then looked down at the blade on his chest.

Ye Qingxue's sword followed closely, piercing his throat, the tip protruding two inches from the back of his neck.

The bushy beard fell down and crashed into the pile of rubble.

The dark red lines faded from the skin, the eyes returned to normal, and the pupils slowly dilated.

Lin Yan pulled out the knife and sat down heavily on the ground.

Ye Qingxue drew her sword, wiped the blood off the bearded man's clothes with the tip of the sword, and then sheathed it before walking to Lin Yan's side.

"That last strike, if I'm not mistaken, was it the Mysterious Blade Technique?"

"Um."

"And how did you come to be berserk mode like the Northern Barbarians?" Ye Qingxue asked, scrutinizing Lin Yan.

"I learned it by stealing it."

"Stealing knowledge".

Ye Qingxue remained silent for a moment.

"What's your name?"

"Lin Yan".

Ye Qingxue nodded and gave her name, "Ye Qingxue".

"You are the second person I have ever met who can learn Northern Barbarian martial arts after just one look."

"Who was the first one?"

"My master."

She didn't say anything more, and turned to walk towards the wounded soldiers who were still tied to the dead trees.

Lin Yan took a breath and stood up to help.

Three wounded soldiers of the Great Yan were tied to the dead tree, and two others lay under the tree with several cuts in their chests, barely breathing.

Lin Yan squatted down and checked their breathing with his hands, pressing them against their chests to see if they still had a heartbeat.

One is gone.

The other one was still breathing, so Lin Yan quickly took out some wound medicine, poured it on the wound, and tore off a strip of cloth to press it firmly.

Ye Qingxue cut the ropes binding them and lowered the three down from the tree. They were all still alive, but seriously injured.

A young soldier looked up at them, his lips trembling as he managed to squeeze out a few words: "Th...thank you..."

"Do you have any dry rations?" Lin Yan asked him.

"...in my arms."

Lin Yan reached into his arms, pulled out a hard biscuit, broke it in half, and stuffed it back into his hand.

Another veteran leaned against a dead tree, not having eaten anything. He had a gash in his chest, and blood stained most of his clothes.

He sat there, his hands trembling, his eyes glazed over.

"Mountain Camp?"

The veteran suddenly spoke, and Chong Linyan said in a hoarse voice.