At a glance, there were no less than a hundred of them, each blade looking battered, with dried bloodstains covering their surfaces.

“Pick one.”

Staring at the wall full of blades, the old man spoke: “I picked all these up on the battlefield. Every single one’s owner has already died in battle.”

Seeing that Samuel Thompson didn’t move, the old man said, “Are you scared?”

Sweeping his gaze around, Samuel Thompson spotted a gray long saber in the corner.

Clang!

It was a saber without a scabbard, shaped like a horizontal blade, with inscriptions on the hilt.

‘Great Wall Calendar, Year 742, Hengdao Pass.’

The single-edged blade was 1.3 meters long, five inches wide, with a thick spine, mottled with rust.

“Have you chosen?”

Squinting, Old Man Bear glanced sidelong at Samuel Thompson, then lit another pouch of tobacco.

“Cough, cough...

Cough...

Alright, you can go now.”

“Huh?”

This left Samuel Thompson stunned. What about the promised swordsmanship instruction?

“The old man has nothing to teach you.”

Looking at the blades on the wall, Old Man Bear sighed, “You already know the Po Jun Saber. Why would you need an old man to teach you?”

“Basic saber techniques?”

Samuel Thompson immediately caught on.

Human martial cultivation originated from the Kunlun Academy. Whether it was body refinement methods or other techniques, all were researched and developed step by step by the academy.

The basic saber techniques were the very first set of moves introduced.

As martial arts evolved and new schools emerged, countless human warriors appeared, and saber techniques were constantly improved, leading to many different styles.

“Po Jun—daring to die in the army, charging into enemy lines, pressing forward with no retreat, finding life in the face of death—that’s the old man’s Po Jun Saber.”

“Thank you for your guidance.”

Samuel Thompson solemnly bowed to the old man.

Before this, the reason he hadn’t practiced other saber techniques was that he planned to learn them after entering the academy.

Now, after the old man’s words, he suddenly realized—

All the various saber techniques today, at their core, are derived from the basic saber techniques.

The basic saber techniques are simple, yet they supported the backbone of humanity’s martial rise in those early days.

To face the beast crisis, humanity created this practical, lethal art from nothing—no superfluous moves, every strike meant to kill, every blade stained with blood.

With the old man’s gift of a saber and his guidance, calling him teacher was not an exaggeration.

“Hmm, much better than those reckless brutes in the Wu’an Army. That bunch of useless fools only know how to eat.”

Glancing at his own Wu’an Army uniform, Samuel Thompson felt a bit embarrassed.

“Aren’t you leaving yet? You’ve taken the old man’s saber, and you still want him to feed you?”

Bang!

Outside the door, Samuel Thompson leapt out, the shattered wooden door blocking the frame—he really had been thrown out.

Inside, the old man held a hammer and nails, banging away as he fixed the broken door.

Watching the old man busy, Samuel Thompson shook his head.

Was it really necessary? He’d kicked it open so forcefully before, and now he was fixing it so awkwardly.

The key thing was, he wouldn’t even let anyone help—insisted on doing it himself.

What a stubborn old man.

Heading toward the outpost, he saw many people already out, helping the Wu’an Army clean up the battlefield.

The bodies of the fallen reservists and Wu’an Army soldiers were being sorted and temporarily placed in the outpost.

Personnel from the Ministry of Internal Affairs were busy on the streets, registering information and preparing for the upcoming compensation work.

After returning to the outpost, Samuel Thompson went straight to the infirmary.

Upon entering, he saw Edward Carter, wearing a neck brace, lying down.

“Thanks.”

Seeing Samuel Thompson approach, Edward Carter moved the corner of his mouth.

Samuel Thompson sat down and asked with concern, “You’re not going to die, are you?”

“I’ll live. Didn’t expect that beast to have actually practiced a demon cult technique—transformed right in front of me and kicked me straight out.”

“What happened this time?”

Samuel Thompson continued.

The battle was over, but he was still confused. For the Blood God Cult to make such a big move, someone inside must have gone mad.

“No idea.”

Edward Carter grinned, the pain not stopping him from smiling.

Tonight’s battle had slaughtered nearly a thousand—there were only so many beasts in Jiangbei City.

The brothers’ revenge was taken!

Though it hadn’t gone as expected, he didn’t care.

After glancing at Edward Carter, Samuel Thompson returned to his dormitory.

After a quick wash, he lay on the bed, eyes half-closed.

In his mind, on the bronze coffin, pale golden demon blood rolled.

This drop of demon blood was about the same size as before.

“If I refine it now, will I not explode?”

Demon blood of the Thousand-Jin Realm—Samuel Thompson thought about it three times but still didn’t dare use it.

The gap between the Stone-Splitting and Thousand-Jin Realms was just too great. If it were the Mountain-Opening Realm, he might barely give it a try.

Squinting, he recalled what Old Man Bear had said.

The Po Jun Saber was more about momentum—adding your own force to the moves.

As he thought, he drifted off, his mind wandering.

In his mind, the bronze coffin emitted a hazy green light. Suddenly, Samuel Thompson saw the pale golden demon blood on the bronze coffin spread out, forming a blurry shadow.