Chapter 22: 22. Silencing Nothing happened that day. In the evening, Song Yan returned to South Bamboo Peak, where Wang Susu found him and said softly, "Junior Brother, nothing over here now." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞 Song Yan replied, "Thank you, Senior Sister Wang." Wang Susu laughed, "How’s your comprehension going?" "Made some small progress." "Then keep up the good work, Junior Brother. If you need anything, just ask. Also, Qi Yao has been ordered by the Peak Master to stay confined and is not allowed to leave the mountain for now. Do you... want to visit her?" "No need." "Hehe." After finishing their conversation, they parted ways. ... Song Yan returned to his cave mansion, glanced at the Princess Consort, who was still weak from the recent replenishment, but did not ask her to serve him. He simply said, "Xuerou, rest well today and come to me again tomorrow." The Princess Consort seemed to have completed her self-hypnosis; the seductive aura from the Multi-tailed Fox Race’s hidden bloodline had been thoroughly awakened. At this moment, she was sucking her fingers, completely lost in bewitching poses, sinking into desire, and said, "Rou’er belongs to Song Lang, all of Song Lang’s. Song Lang made Rou’er feel like the first time she became a woman..." Song Yan looked at her appearance with a complex mood, only feeling that "Fanatic Fans" was terrifying. When one’s power is even slightly higher, it can completely manipulate those below. What is integrity, chastity, or willpower when faced with such power, all crumble. He could do this to mortals. Those higher-up cultivators could probably do the same to him. It truly was like walking on thin ice, constantly on edge... ... ... Thus, for several days. One day, as usual, Song Yan planned to go to Cuique Forest, but just as he stepped out of his cave mansion, he heard a quarrel from afar. Looking in the direction of the sound, he saw a skinny, wrinkled old man arguing with Zhang Yin. Song Yan not only recognized the old man but was also quite familiar with him. His name was Kang Defu, the oldest among the successful servant cultivators; the day of the test, he had stood behind Zhang Yin. At this moment, Kang Defu was angrily saying, "Brother Zhang, am I not an official disciple? Why didn’t you allot me a Furnace from the Great Wei Royal Family? You said there wasn’t enough before, but yesterday I saw a new batch of royal Furnaces delivered at the market down the mountain! Why is there still none for me?" Zhang Yin frowned at him, showing some mockery, and said, "Junior Brother Kang, you’re already in your seventies or eighties, why bother with the finest Furnace from the Great Wei Royal Family? It’s a waste!" "Brother Zhang..." Kang Defu was so angry he was panting, and said angrily, "But this is what I’m entitled to!" Slap!! Zhang Yin slapped him, knocking Kang Defu flying, his mouth full of blood. Still not satisfied, Zhang Yin stepped forward, stepping on Kang Defu’s face, looking down at him with a half-smile, "You’re this old and still don’t understand the rules. Learn from Brother Song more. Get out!" In the distance, Song Yan who was listening felt a bit speechless. How did he get dragged into this? But on second thought, he seemed to be doing quite well here indeed. Zhang Yin helped him ask the Inner Sect Disciples to teach him the "Little Five Elements Hand" and the "Skin Painting Technique." Wang Susu spoke on his behalf, actively helping him clear all suspicions. Kang Defu got up spitefully, spat out some bloody saliva, but didn’t dare to make a sound, and just left. Song Yan tightened his Profound Robe and headed towards Cuique Forest. ... ... It is already deep winter now. Soon, light snowflakes began to drift between the cliffs. The snow intensified, the mountain birds flew far away, and the desolate forest covered in snow resembled white hair. Song Yan listened to the howling wind around him, thought briefly, and decided to practice today. He had observed low level demon beasts for many days, but still felt something was missing, so after much contemplation, he decided to try a method mentioned in the "Skin Painting Technique": kill, dissect, measure. Kill the demon beast, dissect it, use his hands to perceive every inch of the demon beast’s body, carefully understand. This... is the quickest way to perceive "Skin Painting." He needed to get the "Skin Painting Technique" onto his panel as soon as possible so that he could perform a Life Span Calculation. The weather was clear before, which was not suitable. But today, with the chaotic sounds of nature, it could cover many movements, and if he went even further, it could work. ... ... Two double-headed wolves were dashing out from a cave. The cold weather didn’t bother them much, but it could make some ordinary beasts let their guard down, and they might even come across one that was frozen senseless if they were lucky. The double-headed wolves might not have much brains, but they had hunting instincts and experience from living in this environment for a long time. Whoosh whoosh~~ Whoosh whoosh whoosh~~~ The double-headed wolves started sprinting. They were having decent luck today; shortly they saw a two-legged creature on the snow. The wolves’ eight eyes glowed darkly. They hunched down slightly, quietly moving closer, but the two-legged creature seemed completely unaware. Once within a certain distance, the wolves drooled with foul-smelling saliva, exchanged a glance, and suddenly accelerated. The charge kicked up a flurry of snow fog. In the eyes of the unfortunate two-legged creature, all it saw was the snow fog blasting apart as two ferocious black shadows shot forward like the wind, pouncing straight at it. But just then, one of the trailing two-headed wolves heard an odd sound, different from wind, snow, or forest rustle. As the sound fell, a cold light pierced through its heart. The two-headed wolf’s vision darkened. It collapsed. Dead. The other two-headed wolf had already leaped up, targeting the two-legged creature’s neck, seeming to slightly raise its hand. But the creature reacted quickly. The raised hand became a returning hand, blocking the wolf’s mouth. The wolf unhesitatingly bit at the proffered hand. But in the next instant, the hand turned black in its eyes. It was a terrifying, mysterious black. As the fangs fell, a strong explosive force emanated from the blackness of that hand. Clearly, that hand didn’t even move, yet inside it was like a cataclysmic explosion had occurred. Crack! Bang!! Boom!!! Time seemed to slow down. The dual-headed wolf’s teeth were the first to shatter, followed by its mouth, and then its head. Blood, brain matter, shattered bones, and bits of flesh exploded in mid-air. At this moment, the two-legged creature’s speed suddenly accelerated, darting back two or three zhang, while the exploding flesh and blood fell just short of his feet, sparing his clothes from being soiled. ... ... This two-legged creature was Song Yan. Song Yan had fought a bit and felt his combat power should be adequate. After all, on the hill, he roughly understood that "although dual-headed wolves are low-level demon beasts, only equivalent to Refining Profound First Layer, they cannot be instantly killed even by a Refining Profound Second Layer," yet he easily killed two. The young man crouched down and began quickly studying the dual-headed wolf. The scent of blood would soon lure other demon beasts or wild animals, and he didn’t have much time. Fortunately, "the battle with the dual-headed wolf" indeed gave him more insights into this existence called "dual-headed wolf." A stick of incense later, noises came from afar, seeming like quite a few things were either approaching or moving away. Song Yan stood up, washed his hands with snow, and waved at the pairs of green eyes in the snowy bushes not far away, signaling that they could come and eat. He happily walked back, thinking as he went, and casually took out two Earth Element Walnuts, twirling them in his palm. As he kept turning them, he suddenly felt something and took another look at the panel. Goodness gracious. It wasn’t just a few more, there were suddenly two extra lines. [Magic: (Life Span Calculation available)] "Skin Painting Technique" (Not entry-level) "Little Five Elements Hand" (Not entry-level) Clearly, whether it’s the "Little Five Elements Silk Binding Hand" or the "Skin Painting Soul Summoning Technique," their cultivation is very difficult. Even the entry-level techniques, when disassembled, cannot be mastered in just a few days. But since they appeared on the panel, Song Yan felt the problem wasn’t significant anymore. ’You reap what you sow.’ The young man was filled with joy. ... ... After about two sticks of incense, suddenly Song Yan frowned, preparing to dodge something, yet saw two figures riding dual-headed wolf shadow puppets coming through the forest. Upon closer look, it was the Outer Disciples of Shadow Puppet Peak wearing Profound Robe with profound patterns. The newcomers did not lower their guard because Song Yan was in uniform; instead, they sternly asked, "Which Peak are you from? What are you doing here?!" Song Yan calmly replied, "Brother Disciple is from South Bamboo Peak, here to observe demon beasts for the Talisman Master’s ’Skin Painting Technique’ which requires divine insight. This can be proven by everyone up and down South Bamboo Peak." The two disciples exchanged glances, and suddenly one threw an iron shackle, coldly saying, "Put it on yourself first, go back with us and then talk." Song Yan furrowed his brows. Just then, he suddenly tightened his expression, quietly stepped back half a step, protecting the two senior brothers behind him. The two Outer Disciples also sensed something, instantly becoming tense, scanning the surroundings of the woods with vigilance. Whoosh! Whoosh! Two gray-clad figures swept out from the woods, one holding a sword, the other with a gourd. "Hey, three demonic brats..." "Kill, to avenge for the Great Wei Royal Family!" The sword-wielding person instantly sent the sword flying. The one with the gourd shook its mouth, releasing iron pellets flying out, carrying a dark sheen rapidly towards the three. Originally tense, the Outer Disciples seemed to perceive the other party’s level, and suddenly burst into laughter, lifting one hand slightly, accelerating the dual-headed wolf shadow puppet, and moving the other hand, causing another shadow puppet to fly out. Upon closer look, it was a bird with a sharp beak like a knife, and the other was the White Thorn Deer, very familiar to Song Yan. The four clashed together. In the first instant, Song Yan dodged behind a tree, watching them strangely. Yes. Though he lacked experience in battling people, at this moment he could tell, these four, although wielding weapons and shadow puppets he didn’t have, were all just at Refining Profound Second Layer, just like him. Those holding the sword and gourd, presumably the Loose Cultivators kept by the Great Wei Royal Family as enshrinees, now infiltrating the mountains to kill a few Puppet Palace disciples for some revenge for the Great Wei Royal Family. And those two Official Disciples were patrolling here, which made Song Yan’s previously anxious heart slightly settle. Since they were indeed from his own sect, after the fight, he could be shackled, and after explaining, it would be fine. In no time, suddenly Song Yan heard a scream, seeing a Shadow Puppet Peak disciple’s left arm severed by a flying sword. The other disciple, distracted, was also hit straight by the iron pellets, falling to the ground. Just as he struggled to get up, he was struck again quickly by the flying sword. However, the sword-wielding Loose Cultivator was also negligent and got pierced by the severed-arm disciple manipulating a bird shadow puppet. After a dozen seconds of fierce entanglement... Four people, one dead, two severely injured, one lightly injured. The dead and severely injured were from Shadow Puppet Peak. And the lightly injured was the gourd-wielder. That just slightly injured gourd Loose Cultivator’s gaze swiftly landed on Song Yan, without wasting words, shouting loudly, hands forming a spell, and the iron pellets poured out once more. Song Yan suddenly flickered like a whirlwind, instantly reaching the gourd Loose Cultivator. The Loose Cultivator was stunned, yet unpanicked, raising his hand with two fingers like a sword pointing down, the tips brimming with Profound Qi, falling onto Song Yan’s incoming palm in a flash. The next moment, the gourd Loose Cultivator’s face changed drastically, shocked, and astonished because he felt a terrifying suction coming from the opposite side, sucking away all the Profound Qi from his fingertips, breaking down his magic naturally without attack. ’What kind of evil art is this?’ ’Where did my Profound Qi go?!’ Song Yan, taking advantage, pushed, his palm landing on the gourd Loose Cultivator’s head. Bang! The gourd Loose Cultivator, dead! Song Yan, like a phantom, instantly approached the flying sword Loose Cultivator. Bang! The flying sword Loose Cultivator, dead. Looking at the remaining senior brother, he sighed lightly. In an instant... Bang! Senior brother, dead! ... The absorbed Profound Qi rippled within, a sensation of becoming more, but merely "impurity." It made Song Yan quite uncomfortable, but now... he still needed to endure this discomfort, quickly fetch some corpses first.