Rise to God with Life Skill Professions-Chapter 419 - 409: Blacksmith Butcher 15

The candlelight flickered, casting a layer of mystery over the room.

After Liu Yi spoke these words, Qin An paused in his actions of tapping Cold Star, and said lightly.

"I see."

He understood.

The upper-tier cities of Xunyang Prefecture were actually also embroiled in a web of political intrigue.

There were those who supported the Divine Soul Refining Body Skill and those who didn’t, fearing it would cross a line and cause irreparable casualties.

So this was a gamble.

"It’s a gamble on who will win," Qin An said lightly.

Liu Yi nodded and said, "You’re right, it’s indeed a gamble. Situ Shen is on the side of the Divine Soul Refining Body Skill, while all of us are on the opposing side. If he succeeds, then this plan would spread continuously from Xunyang Prefecture, and the casualties caused—you understand better than anyone."

Qin An pondered and said, "I understand."

The cost of the Divine Soul Refining Body Skill was enormous. It required not just a massive amount of divine souls but also caused significant casualties.

These casualties would not come from practitioners, but from ordinary people.

If the Divine Soul Refining Body Skill succeeded, half of Xunyang Prefecture’s population would die tragically.

The remaining half may seem to live well, but there are two problems here.

First, it’s unfair to the half who died. They could have lived worry-free but died tragically because of a decision from above.

Second is the red line issue.

If it really succeeded, would it break the red line and cause irreversible harm? No one could say for sure.

Liu Yi continued, "For this reason, Xunyang Prefecture, this experimental ground, has become the most valued thing for those above."

"Perhaps the day of the ultimate showdown is approaching, and this showdown will be a battle to the death between the two sides, who wins, who loses, who lives, who dies."

Upon saying this, even with Liu Yi’s usually lively nature, she couldn’t conceal the heaviness in her heart.

"Such a child’s play?" Qin An suddenly said, "Is it just a life-and-death battle between the two sides that decides the outcome of the gamble?"

He felt that this way of an ultimate showdown seemed too childish.

Liu Yi shook her head and said, "The experimental ground, you must understand what these four words mean. To those above, Xunyang Prefecture is just a drop in the ocean. If it really became an experimental ground, they could discard it at will."

"The outside world is harsh, so harsh that you can’t imagine."

Liu Yi stood up, pacing back and forth in the room. Each sentence she spoke made the atmosphere heavier.

"You came from Ding County, aware of its harshness, but only after coming to Lingzhou did you realize that Ding County’s harshness is but a drop in the ocean compared to Lingzhou."

"Xunyang Prefecture encompasses countless state cities, and Lingzhou within Xunyang Prefecture is also like water in the ocean, and similarly, Xunyang Prefecture is to those above."

"I can only say that outside Xunyang Prefecture is not a safe environment but rather a dangerous place where one can die at any moment. Even if a Mountain Patrol Golden General steps out of Xunyang Prefecture, life and death are not within his control."

At this point, Liu Yi sat back down opposite Qin An.

"Do you understand now?"

Qin An raised his teacup: "I understand."

"What do you plan to do?" Liu Yi asked again.

Qin An shook his head and said, "I haven’t been promoted to Mountain Patrol Golden General yet; we’ll talk after I am."

This secret was indeed huge, so huge that even Qin An hadn’t imagined it.

But for Qin An, the most important thing now was to improve his strength.

Although he had reached the initial phase of the Unity Realm, there were still those like Situ Shen at the peak of the Unity Realm, not to mention the black-robed Pseudo-God.

This black-robed Pseudo-God could even erode the relics of the Ancient Battlefield, and the horror of his means was unimaginable.

Only by continuing to improve could there be a possibility of preserving his life.

Therefore, improving strength is now a priority.

As for this grand conspiracy, when the day of the ultimate showdown comes, the results will naturally unfold.

Sometimes, human power cannot change the situation, but when strength is robust enough, one person’s power can overturn the world.

Liu Yi clapped her hands and said, "You and I think alike. We can’t change anything alone; even if we want to, it’s beyond our ability. It’s better to strive to improve ourselves, so during the final showdown, we can protect ourselves and those innocent civilians as much as possible."

"Do you know when the day of the ultimate showdown will come?" Qin An asked.

"When the two sides are evenly matched, that will be the day the ultimate showdown begins. Of course, we have other solutions before that," Liu Yi said slowly.

"The Divine Soul Refining Body Skill is not very glorious, after all. We are members of the Evil Extermination Bureau, slaying demons and exterminating evils is our duty. We can freely kill those demonic creatures and Pseudo-Gods, reducing Situ Shen’s side’s strength."

"Of course, Situ Shen can also target us, but he cannot go too far. This may seem unfair to him, but it is actually the fairest."

"The people above are not fools. Situ Shen already holds an advantage with the Divine Soul Refining Body Skill, and our advantage is that we can weaken his strength before then."

"No specific time?" Qin An pondered, "There are too many variables in this."

Liu Yi nodded and said, "That’s why I said life and death are no longer within our control. Whether one can survive depends on their luck."

Qin An said no more.

By this point, everything was clear, and there was no need for further words.

Liu Yi stood up and said, "I have said everything to you. I’m going to prepare for the matter of the Heart Demon. Wait for me here; when I have everything ready, I’ll come to Xunyang Prefecture to find you."

Qin An nodded, "No need to see me off."

Liu Yi, already accustomed to Qin An’s character, was not angry. She waved and quietly left the room.

Soon, only Qin An was left in the room.

Qin An didn’t dwell on the colossal secret; instead, he focused on the recent matter of dealing with the Heart Demon.

"Two months’ time..." Qin An’s fingertips tapped the table, sounding a dull thud, "If I’m diligent over these two months, perhaps I can train the Butcher and Blacksmith professions to level fifteen. By then, both professions would gain new talents, and my Power of Attack would be on par with the Heart Method."

With this thought, Qin An thought no more, blew out the oil lamp, and rested early.

...

Time passed, and in a blink of an eye, many days went by.

During this time, Xunyang Prefecture fell into a long-lost calm.

This calm, however, stirred up great waves within the Evil Extermination Bureau.

Not long ago, a golden badge suddenly appeared in Xunyang Prefecture.

The Internal Affairs Department’s prefecture officer respectfully delivered the badge to Qin An’s room.

At this moment, both the Prefecture General of Xunyang and the Mountain Patrol Generals roaming the wilderness received a shocking message.

After all these years, the long-unpromoted Mountain Patrol Golden General has finally been promoted.

Qin An became the first person in countless years to be promoted to Mountain Patrol Golden General.

The news spread, causing great unrest among both human and pseudo-god forces in Xunyang Prefecture.

Those in the know were aware of Qin An’s progress and knew he came from the remote Ding County.

In this short period, he moved from a county town, past a state town, to reach the prefecture city, and even became the top Mountain Patrol Golden General in the prefecture city.

Such an experience is nothing short of legendary.

The reputation of "blade and fist mastery" gradually spread throughout Xunyang Prefecture.

From this moment on, no one was unaware of Qin An’s true identity.

But the protagonist of the turmoil was currently in a blacksmith shop, putting aside the ironwork he had already crafted.

Smoke swirled before him, eventually transforming into two lines of text, hovering in mid-air.

[Butcher lv.15 (0/30000): Your slaughtered livestock becomes tastier, enhancing its essence, increasing slaughter speed, precision, and structure.]

[Talent: Inner God Realm Blade Cultivation Technique Perfection, Inner God Realm Weapon Cultivation Technique Insight Perfection, Inner God Realm Blade Cultivation Technique Damage Perfection, Inner God Realm Blade Cultivation Technique Armor-breaking Perfection, Inner God Realm Blade Cultivation Technique Attribute Enhancement Perfection]

...

[Blacksmith lv.15 (0/30000): The quality of items you forge improves, material consumption decreases, item traits enhance, forging speed increases, precision improves.]

[Talent: Inner God Realm Power Cultivation Technique Perfection, Inner God Realm Spiritual Forging, Inner God Realm Heart Forging Skill Perfection, Inner God Realm Spiritual Cultivation Perfection, Inner God Realm Forged Object Attribute Bearing Perfection]

The text suddenly vanished, transforming into a mass of information that burrowed into Qin An’s mind.

Qin An closed his eyes, taking a few breaths to completely grasp the two level fifteen occupations, then opened his eyes.

"It’s done."

Qin An clenched his fist, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

The tedious and dull period finally allowed Qin An to successfully advance the Butcher and Blacksmith to level fifteen, ushering in a new round of qualitative change.

First was the Butcher occupation, which had a new feature that improved the structure of slaughter.

This trait allowed Qin An to have a better understanding of the composition of slaughtered objects during the process.

Slaughtering speed would also correspondingly increase.

In terms of new talents, all talents had reached Inner God Realm Perfection.

A new talent appeared, perfecting the addition of Inner God Realm Blade Cultivation Technique.

This talent was intriguing, suggesting that when Qin An employed the Eight-Colored True Essence with blade skills, it could be enhanced and become more formidable.

Both offensive and defensive capabilities, as well as armor-breaking power, were extremely powerful.

The other occupation was even more impressive.

Once the Blacksmith occupation reached level fifteen, it gained a new forging precision improvement.

This trait allowed Qin An to accurately highlight the specialty of items when forging them.

For instance, when forging a weapon, it could exhibit the weapon’s armor-breaking power.

Qin An felt that in Xunyang Prefecture, there was no one who could match his forging skills.

Compared to traits, the Blacksmith’s talents had all reached Inner God Realm Perfection, with an additional talent of Inner God Realm Forged Object Attribute Bearing Perfection.

This talent was also related to Qin An’s Eight-Colored True Essence.

Any item Qin An forged, whether it was Cold Star, armor, or another object, could carry the terrifying power of the Eight-Colored True Essence, allowing various traits of the forged item to reach their peak.

If it was Cold Star, it would become sharper; if it was a defensive item, the defense would become even more terrifying.

Whatever talent it was, it represented a qualitative leap for Qin An.

Qin An composed himself and mused, "Now it’s time to enhance the two Cultivation Techniques."

With both occupations elevated to level fifteen, he could also advance his fist and blade skills to the initial stage of Unity Realm.

However, Qin An was in no hurry just yet.

He watched the flickering flames before him, then drew Cold Star and removed his outer clothing.

Beneath the outer layer was a soft armor, which Qin An had crafted earlier and always wore.

Now with the Blacksmith occupation reaching level fifteen, it was time to reforge the soft armor and straight blade.

Thinking of this, Qin An took off the soft armor, placed it along with Cold Star, and put on his outer clothing again.

Looking at the two items laid out, Qin An unhesitatingly placed them into the flames.

He had the Heart Forging Skill, so there was no need for cumbersome forging methods.

As he watched the items gradually turn red, Qin An retrieved them, skillfully wielding the hammer inside the blacksmith shop.

Strands of Eight-Colored True Essence followed the hammer, landing on the two items.

Recasting was much simpler than forging.

Qin An didn’t spend much time.

After about half an hour, he set down the hammer, placing it on the nearby anvil.

Cold Star and the soft armor lay quietly there, their cold gleam suggesting they were no ordinary items.

Qin An briefly meditated, calming his internal True Essence, before approaching the two items.

First, he picked up the soft armor on the right, feeling satisfied with its hardness.

Then he infused his Eight-Colored True Essence, discovering it further enhanced the soft armor’s defense.

"Just this soft armor alone gives me astonishing defense, not to mention the protective skills."

He put the soft armor on once more, covered it with his outer clothing, and then looked at Cold Star.

Suddenly, a thought struck Qin An, sensing an indescribable change within Cold Star.