Saber Qi?!

[Name: Tran Mac.]

[Age: 16.]

[Cultivation Technique: Nourishing Blood Technique (Minor Accomplishment 20.3/500)]

[Realm: Skin Refining (Ninth Grade).]

[Strength: 38.]

[Skill: Demon-Breaking Saber Technique (Elementary 13650/50000).]

Tran Mac was suddenly startled.

One must know, for meat from something dead for more than half a shichen, one jin was needed to increase one point of experience.

But that bear gallbladder directly increased one point of experience.

"Could it be that different types of meat have different effects?"

Tran Mac thought to himself.

But the insects and pork he ate before didn't show any difference.

Sensing the surprised gazes of Tong Dien and Luu Thu, Tran Mac said indifferently, "This kind of good stuff, one should eat it oneself."

"..."

Tong Dien gave an embarrassed smile, thinking to himself that Bro Mac was extravagant. If it were him, he would definitely take it to exchange for money to improve his life.

Tong Dien's movements were very swift. After half a shichen, the entire Black Bear, according to each part, was divided into several chunks. Although each chunk varied in size, if weighed piece by piece with a scale, one would find the weight didn't differ much.

This was Tong Dien's skill for supporting his family.

A butcher's job was "dirty work," and their social status was also very low and humble, belonging to the lower nine professions. But it was a very profitable position.

It was also because Tong Dien was working for Tran Mac, and what he was butchering was a bear.

If he were slaughtering pigs for others, he would not only get to keep the pig's head, but the pig's internal organs would also belong to him.

According to what was agreed before, Tran Mac gave him five jin of bear meat and lent him a wooden basin to pour some bear blood into.

After finishing, Tong Dien also had his son-in-law tidy up the small courtyard, then prepared to take his things and leave.

Han An Nuong just then came out of the kitchen: "Uncle Tong, the food is ready. Stay and eat together."

"No need, it's already cooked at home." If it were before this moment, Tong Dien certainly wouldn't have been polite. But now was a year of great disaster; Tong Dien truly didn't dare to take this advantage.

Mainly because he was afraid of Tran Mac.

"Stay and eat together. I happen to have some things I want to ask Uncle Tong," Tran Mac said.

"Alright then."

Tong Dien had no choice but to agree, but he had his son-in-law take the things back first.

...

[Nourishing meat consumption +0.05, Nourishing Blood Technique experience +0.05.]

Tran Mac ate a piece of bear meat, looked at the system, and saw only 0.05 experience added, the same as when he ate wild boar meat before.

Tran Mac could only attribute it to the special nature of the bear gallbladder.

Suddenly, he thought of something and asked Han An Nuong to take the bear heart to cook.

During this process, Tran Mac asked Tong Dien about buying and selling matters in the county town.

Tong Dien, as a butcher, definitely had his own methods for trading meat and furs.

Tong Dien naturally didn't dare to hide anything from Tran Mac, saying, "For things like meat, only large households, restaurants, and grain merchants will buy. However, we can't access large households. Grain merchants love to raise prices on the spot. To sell at a good price, it belongs to restaurants."

"And in Binh Dinh County, the restaurant that offers the highest price would be the Purple Gold Pavilion. The pig heads I got before were sold to the Purple Gold Pavilion."

"Purple Gold Pavilion." Tran Mac nodded lightly, then asked, "Uncle Tong, what about the furs?"

"Can be sold to cloth shops and merchant associations. However, I know little about this." Tong Dien thought Tran Mac wanted to take the bearskin to sell in the city, then suddenly said, "Bro Mac doesn't need to worry. Bearskin is a rare commodity anywhere; there's no worry about selling it."

Tran Mac naturally knew it was a rare commodity, but he wasn't familiar with the county town. In Phuc Trach Village, his strength was the greatest, but in the county town, it was estimated not to be the case. Tran Mac wanted to find a reliable buyer.

After all, forced purchases and sales, or having the price suppressed, he had seen plenty of such things.

Afterward, Tran Mac again inquired with Tong Dien about prices. Although Tong Dien spoke of prices before the great chaos, Tran Mac at least had some understanding in his heart.

Actually, Tran Mac also asked Tong Dien about other matters, like who in the county town couldn't be provoked.

But in the end, Tong Dien was just a small figure and didn't understand these things.

While talking, Han An Nuong brought over the well-stewed bear heart and the still-uncoagulated bear blood and placed them on the table.

Tran Mac directly grabbed the bear heart and took a bite.

[Nourishing meat consumption +0.5, Nourishing Blood Technique experience +0.5.]

By the time Tran Mac finished eating the entire bear heart, he had gained a full three points of experience.

One must know, this bear heart didn't even weigh one jin.

Tran Mac quickly drank a mouthful of bear blood.

[Nourishing beast blood consumption +0.1, Nourishing Blood Technique experience +0.1.]

Tran Mac stared. One mouthful of bear blood was actually double the experience of ordinary meat.

And the system displayed it as nourishing beast blood, not eating meat.

True Nourishing Blood Technique!

In that case, wild boar blood should also count.

Tran Mac felt anemic.

That wild boar from before, he had gutted it in the mountains, letting all the blood out.

Pig heart, intestines, and such, he similarly didn't want.

After Tong Dien left, Tran Mac tried the Black Bear's liver and kidneys.

But this time, it was the same as eating ordinary meat, adding the same experience.

"Could it be that only the heart and blood are more special..."

Tran Mac thought to himself.

Unfortunately, he currently had no other animal internal organs for comparison.

This question could only be temporarily shelved.

...

He didn't know if it was because of drinking the bear blood.

That night he actually had a wet dream. Starting the second day, he actually had nocturnal emissions.

This couldn't help but make him feel embarrassed.

He remembered his first nocturnal emission was still when he was in tenth grade.

Later, his father took him to a bathhouse, and he never had nocturnal emissions again.

However, thinking that this body was only sixteen years old, it was precisely the time of youthful innocence.

Nocturnal emissions were perfectly normal.

...

Three days later.

Morning.

[Number of swings +1, Demon-Breaking Saber Technique experience +1.]

In an instant, many comprehensions flooded Tran Mac's mind; that was a deeper level of understanding of saber techniques.

He called up the system panel.

[Name: Tran Mac.]

[Age: 16.]

[Cultivation Technique: Nourishing Blood Technique (Minor Accomplishment 67.5/500)]

[Realm: Skin Refining (Ninth Grade)]

[Strength: 38+31.]

[Skill: Demon-Breaking Saber Technique (Intermediate 0/200000).]

"It broke through! The attached strength increased by ten points!"

Tran Mac took a deep breath, found a piece of firewood as thick as his thigh, and tested his strength.

[Number of swings +1, Demon-Breaking Saber Technique experience +1.]

He swung out with one forceful slash.

Before the blade even landed on the firewood, Tran Mac perceived an invisible force shoot out from the blade's body.

With a "bang," the thigh-thick firewood split into pieces.

"Holy smokes! Saber Qi?!"

Tran Mac was somewhat dumbfounded.

But immediately after, it was excitement.

Then, he tested again how far this saber qi could strike.

The conclusion was, only one zhang.

However, Tran Mac was already very satisfied.

This was still only the elementary level of the Demon-Breaking Saber Technique. (Translator's Note: The system panel showed "Intermediate 0/200000" for Demon-Breaking Saber Technique, but Tran Mac refers to it as "sơ cấp" - elementary here. This might be an inconsistency in the source or his own assessment.)

Afterward, there was still intermediate and advanced.

Developing like this.

Wouldn't that mean...

"Gulp." Tran Mac didn't dare to imagine.

A breakthrough is a breakthrough!

"Now I can enter the city."

Three days ago, Tran Mac had already made a plan. After maxing out the elementary experience of the Demon-Breaking Saber Technique and increasing his self-protection ability a bit, he would enter the city.

For his first trip into the city, Tran Mac didn't bring the bearskin, only the wild boar skin, to test the waters first...