My Journey to Immortality Begins with Hunting-Chapter 057 - Rank 8, Skin Refinement

With both his money-making plan and his demonic beast meat supply route securely established, Li Yuan no longer encountered anyone foolish enough to rob him.

In part, the Qian brothers looked fierce enough to scare off most opportunists. Even pushing carts through the woods, no one dared mess with them.

As for Li Yuan, his inside knowledge in the black market allowed him to buy demonic beast meat without a hint of trouble. He knew exactly where to get the best cuts, how to gauge his surroundings, and how much of his own combat power to reveal so nobody would dare target him.

His routine soon settled into a comfortable rhythm.

Every few days, he went hunting to earn money.

By day, he either purchased demonic beast meat in the black market or trained at Senior Li’s residence.

By night, he strolled with Yan Yu or simply went to bed with her.

It was a rather unconventional three-point routine, but it worked.

Sometimes, the Ginger Tavern wouldn’t buy as much game due to changes in the market. Fortunately, its proprietress was keen on maintaining a strong relationship with Li Yuan, often introducing him to other restaurants looking for reliable suppliers.

Of course, her eagerness wasn’t just about Li Yuan’s connection to Senior Li. It also stemmed from her friendship with Yan Yu.

Yan Yu had been struggling with her Return-Willow Technique and wanted someone to chat with, so she often joined the proprietress for drinks and snacks. They hit it off, chatting freely about their lives, and gradually became close friends—or besties, one might say.

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Meanwhile, news from Parasol Town about Zuo Xiuxiu and Huang Ya did catch Li Yuan off guard, though he only heard about it from Yu Mao.

According to Yu Mao, soon after arriving at Parasol Town, Zuo Xiuxiu ended up marrying the young master of the Lion Style Martial Hall.

The Lion Style Martial Hall was a respectable school. Their head, an eighth rank martial artist, commanded a decent amount of influence in the area.

There was quite a stir when the young master decided to marry Zuo Xiuxiu, enough that the head nearly disowned his son over it.

The son, however, refused to abandon Zuo Xiuxiu. He loved her too deeply, past history notwithstanding. Evidently, they’d shared some connection before her first marriage, though only they knew the real story. Whether it was childhood sweethearts, love at first sight, or some complicated entanglement—none of that mattered now; they were together at last.

As for the case of the bodies found in the lake at the black market, the Blood Blade Sect officially declared the Wei Family responsible.

Apparently, the Wei Family had planted numerous spies throughout the black market with the intention of killing Blood Blade Sect members.

The casualties, former associate disciples, Wen Xiaoqiao, Cai Ze, and even some ranked disciples, were all linked back to them.

Eventually, the Dark Visage Elder and Senior Li tracked down these spies and took them out, sparking a wave of Blood Blade Sect retaliation against the Wei Family.

It helped little that, historically, the Blood Blade Sect, Wei Family, and Sun Family were the three main powers in Gemhill County.

Moreover, the Blood Blade Sect and Wei Family had a longstanding blood feud. They’d only cooperated briefly when the Red Lotus Rebels wreaked havoc. But now that the rebels had disappeared, allegedly heading north toward the Jade Capital, their mutual hatred flared up once more.

The floating corpse scandal merely poured fuel on the fire. Clashes between the two sides—ambushes, killings, and brawls in the wild—became the new norm, escalating with each passing day.

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Three full months had passed since Li Yuan first purchased demonic beast meat.

Early one morning, he stood in the backyard of the shanty area and tossed the last chunk of the most recent batch into his mouth. Then, planting his toes firmly on the ground, he settled into a frog-like squat, silently activating the eighth rank stage of the Spirit-Release Technique to stir up his shadow blood and guide it toward the surface of his body.

Suddenly, his entire frame shuddered. The surging shadow blood in his veins seemed to come alive, moving according to a unique, deliberate pattern.

At his mental command, it coursed to his skin like soldiers obeying orders, suffusing his flesh with warmth. Under this nourishment, his skin visibly grew denser and tougher.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have enough shadow blood yet. It only formed the barest film across his body. Still, that was enough to mark the beginning of true progress.

For Li Yuan, that first step was all he needed.

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He exhaled slowly, excitement flashing in his eyes as he glanced at the familiar display of his stat window. He had 724 stat points saved up, and in his technique list, an entry had appeared for the eighth rank Spirit-Release Technique!

“All right, let’s max it out,” he murmured.

Without hesitation, he hammered the + symbol.

A torrent of memories flooded his mind. He knew in reality he had only spent three months refining shadow blood and eating demonic beast meat. Yet in these visions, he lived as though several years had passed.

Over and over, he repeated those same three months...accumulating shadow blood, harnessing it through the eighth rank Spirit-Release Technique, letting it flow like a great river through every limb, until finally it coalesced beneath his skin as a genuine blood veil.

When the surge of recollections subsided, Li Yuan checked his updated information.

After spending 299 stat points, his eighth rank Spirit-Release Technique was maxed out at 300 points. Now, fighting barehanded, his overall combat power stood at 19~30. With his sleeve dagger in hand, it instantly jumped to 69~160.

“Huh. That’s a smaller boost than I expected.”

He remembered that prior to breaking through, his range had been 49~140. Surpassing an entire rank should have raised his combat ability more dramatically. Still, after a moment’s thought, he understood the reason.

“All my skills are still ninth rank, which can’t fully tap into eighth rank potential. Plus, although the sleeve dagger is decent for ninth rank, it’s a bit lacking for eighth rank.”

He smiled wryly. It seemed he still had a long road ahead.

“Hmm... Now that I’ve reached eighth rank, I should start training in the second form of Spring-Autumn Blade, Spring Awakening."

With that thought settled, Li Yuan drew his sleeve dagger once more, pressing the button so the blade snapped out. Gently pressing it against his forearm, he slid it across his skin.

Shiikh! He didn’t even leave a white mark. He gradually increased the pressure until he put a moderate amount of strength into it, and only then did a faint line appear on his skin.

That level of force was roughly on par with a typical person’s peak effort when wielding a decent weapon, somewhere around 8~9.

In other words, unless his health dropped drastically, someone at that level could no longer even break his skin.

Next, Li Yuan channeled his shadow blood more deliberately. A faint flush spread beneath his skin, forming a light blood veil.

This time, he tried a power of 20, which only managed to leave a very light scratch. He remembered 20 was the approximate maximum that plainclothes escort he had once encountered could achieve.

Back then, he found that man’s prowess startling. Now, it wouldn’t even faze him.

“Becoming eighth rank really is a leap forward,” Li Yuan mused.

In high spirits, he seized his fine steel blade and began practicing Spring Awakening.

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Seven days flew by in a blink. Li Yuan continued his routine of training, occasional hunts, and daily life.

One evening, just as he was putting his blade away, a sudden sense of breakthrough filled his mind.

Checking his skill status window, he finally saw a new entry—

NEW! Basic Spring Awakening (1/10)

Below that was some small red subtext.

「Requirements: Advanced Spring Thunder」

There were also a + button beside the skill.

Li Yuan glanced at the 474 stat points he had available, then decisively began adding points to the skill.

Basic Spring Awakening (1/10) ➔ NEW! Intermediate Spring Awakening (1/20)

➔ NEW! Advanced... (1/40)

➔ NEW! Expert... (1/80)

He kept going until he reached—

➔ NEW! Master Spring Awakening (1/160)

“Still have 324 stat points left.” Li Yuan gritted his teeth and funneled 160 more stat points in, leaving him at 164.

Master Spring Awakening (160/160)

A flood of images raced through his mind, an illusion of countless hours spent striving to improve. He experienced one combat session after another, bouts of inspiration in secluded cultivation, and wise mentors offering insight.

Then finally he achieved a perfect unity of man and blade. It was only a few heartbeats later in the real world, yet it felt like he had lived through several years of diligent cultivation.

The reason it took only a few years in that accelerated flash, rather than a decade or more, was because the progress was seamless and unbroken in his vision. He would train hard, then test in real battle, which led to new insights, which led to meeting experts, and their guidance led him toward mastery, step by step.

Returning to reality, Li Yuan now stood with his blade in hand, checking his updated overall combat power—119~190!

Now that Li Yuan had reached this level, he could finally attempt merging the two flows of shadow blood. Closing his eyes, he guided the separate currents toward one another, careful and deliberate.

Unlike before, when they clashed like two colliding stars, this time felt more like a shooting star falling into a vast lake. The impact still unleashed tremendous force, but now his shadow blood veil protected him from the kind of explosive backlash he’d experienced before.

In an instant, his face reddened, his gaze crackled with electric brilliance, and his black hair rose around him as though whipped by a fierce wind.

A suffocating aura rippled out in waves, like crashing tides. The blade in his hand began to hum with a strange, bell-like resonance, carrying a chilling thirst for blood.

Li Yuan silently counted the seconds. This time, the intensity was holding steady. With a single thought, he separated the two flows again, withdrawing his power. The flush left his cheeks as quickly as it had come, and his appearance returned to normal.

He let out a long breath. “Finally...I can maintain that state without losing control.”

He glanced at his hands, pondering, How much strength should I reveal now?

From past observation, other eighth rank disciples in the Blood Blade Sect typically peaked at around 60~80.

Meanwhile, Senior Li’s peak strength was around 200~210. That gave Li Yuan a general sense of his own place in the pecking order.

With a small nod, he stood up. It’s best if I just pass myself off as an exceptionally gifted ninth rank.

If I compete too aggressively, I could die in the chaos. If I don’t push hard enough, I’ll never gain access to higher rank martial arts.

So Li Yuan decided to keep seven parts hidden and show only three, all the while saving up his stat points...and, of course, his trump card of merging shadow blood flows. That should be enough.

He glanced at the sky, which was still bright. Changing into a fresh set of clothes, he surveyed the ramshackle huts around him.

I need to head over to Senior Li’s place. There’s a matter that needs sorting out...

Author’s Note

Figuring out these power levels can be a real headache, so here’s my basic logic—

The protagonist’s two streams of shadow blood are calculated separately.

A weapon rated as 3 for a ninth rank fighter gets downgraded to 2 for eighth rank, and similarly, a ninth rank skill used by an eighth rank fighter sees its effectiveness adjusted downward.

Despite all the recalculations and downgrades, there’s one hard rule. After a breakthrough, you can’t end up weaker than before. If an equation ever yields a lower figure than the pre-breakthrough level, a split-tier formula is used instead—basically adding the newly gained power at a reduced rate to the original strength, then taking whichever result is higher.

In short, the system ensures that any breakthrough still results in a net gain.