Edward Carter was drenched in sweat. He stopped and shook his head repeatedly. “The first level of [Wind-Returning Sword Finger] emphasizes pointing with the wind, letting the wind assist the finger. Only when the speed matches that of a sword can the finger strike with the power of a blade.”

Frowning in thought, Edward Carter faintly sensed that he had already grasped the key to the first level.

Splash!

In the hot spring, the little girl popped out of the water and saw Edward Carter standing at a distance, his back to her, motionless like a statue. Her eyes rolled mischievously, and she giggled, slapping the water hard with one hand, sending up a splash. Then, with her other hand, she struck again, shattering the splash into several water arrows that shot toward Edward Carter.

The water arrows sliced through the air with a whistling sound, quite intimidating.

Although the little girl couldn’t cultivate true qi, the water arrows she launched with sheer brute force were still astonishingly powerful.

Pa! Pa! Pa!

It was as if Edward Carter had eyes in the back of his head. Without turning around, he flicked out a dozen finger shadows, piercing through the water arrows. Instantly, countless droplets exploded three feet behind him, but not a single drop touched him.

“Wow! Brother Mo, you’re amazing!” The little girl stuck out her tongue and immediately ducked back into the hot spring, not daring to come out.

“Too bad, I’m still just a bit short.”

Edward Carter shook his head slightly, glaring at the little girl who had dived into the hot spring. He was about to scold her when suddenly a faint sound reached his ears. In his mind, a scene appeared: from a crack in the rocks to his rear left, a gray snake quietly slithered out, staring at him, its tongue flicking.

This gray snake was half a foot long, with a green stripe running down its gray body. As it flicked its tongue, wisps of black mist faintly emerged from its mouth.

“A Green-Striped Demon Snake! A level-two demon beast comparable to a Warrior. Aren’t they all supposed to be found on the shady side of Mount Wanren? How could one appear here?” Edward Carter was startled.

The Guyou Continent was vast beyond measure. In the deep mountains and wilds, terrifying demon beasts roamed. The strength of demon beasts, from low to high, corresponded to the realms of human martial artists: a level-one demon beast was equivalent to a Martial Disciple, a level-two demon beast to a Warrior, and so on...

However, demon beasts possessed all sorts of terrifying abilities, making them far more dangerous than human martial artists of the same level.

This Green-Striped Demon Snake was extremely venomous. An ordinary person bitten by it would die instantly, the poison sealing the throat as soon as blood was drawn. The most terrifying thing about this beast was its incredible speed; a moment’s carelessness could mean death by its bite.

Whoosh!

In the “see with your ears” field of vision, the Green-Striped Demon Snake coiled its body and sprang out in an instant. Its speed was even three-tenths faster than a third-stage Warrior expert.

“So fast! Damn, I can’t dodge it.”

Edward Carter wanted to evade, but in the “see with your ears” vision, the snake’s speed seemed much slower, and he could clearly see its trajectory through the air. However, his body couldn’t react in time.

“Hmph!”

In that instant, Edward Carter’s eyes flashed like lightning. He shifted slightly, purple true qi swirling around his fingertips, and suddenly pointed—utterly silent.

All around, only the faint sound of wind could be heard. As the wind picked up, his finger strike grew faster and faster, bursting forth with a sharp, cutting force.

“This is the feeling—this is the path of the wind!”

A flash of insight swept through Edward Carter’s mind. The finger he thrust seemed to merge completely with the wind. In the next moment, a flash like a sword gleamed, as if a sharp blade had pierced out from the wind, striking the Green-Striped Demon Snake right at its vital spot—the seven-inch mark.

Strike a snake at seven inches!

All snake-type demon beasts shared this fatal weakness.

Buzz!

The Green-Striped Demon Snake was severed in midair, its dark green blood spraying everywhere. The two halves of its body fell to the ground, the wounds neat and smooth as if cut by a sharp sword.

Looking at the snake’s corpse on the ground, Edward Carter broke into a smile. Although the situation had been dangerous just now, in that instant, he had comprehended the path of the wind and mastered the first level of [Wind-Returning Sword Finger].

Moreover, feeling the surging true qi within, Edward Carter discovered yet another great benefit of the Battle Saint Physique.

Chapter 10: Ambush on the Street

Turning his senses inward, Edward Carter found that the [Amber Qi-Stabilizing Pill] he had taken earlier had been completely absorbed. His Warrior first-stage cultivation was now stable, and the purple true qi in his body had increased again, reaching one-tenth of his total true qi.

“The Battle Saint Physique is truly miraculous. During cultivation and combat, it can rapidly absorb the effects of medicinal pills—five times faster than martial artists of the same level.”

The [Amber Qi-Stabilizing Pill] was a high-grade mortal-level pill, meant for experts at the Martial Master level to stabilize their cultivation. Normally, a Martial Master would need to go into seclusion for a week to fully refine the [Amber Qi-Stabilizing Pill].

Therefore, Edward Carter had been very cautious earlier, only cutting off one-fifth to take. Unexpectedly, in just half a day, with the mastery of the first level of [Wind-Returning Sword Finger], that one-fifth of the [Amber Qi-Stabilizing Pill] had already been completely absorbed.

On the other hand, as his Warrior first-stage cultivation stabilized and his true qi further increased, the purple true qi in his body now made up one-tenth of his total true qi.

“In other words, if I have enough high-grade mortal-level pills, or even more precious spirit-level pills, my cultivation speed could be several times faster than when I was six years old.” Edward Carter’s heart skipped a beat.

At this moment, Edward Carter truly realized the terrifying potential of the Battle Saint Physique. Just unlocking the first level had already given him such astonishing martial talent.