15. Make a Move

The long-awaited Cultivation Technique finally appeared on the panel. Song Cheng silently whispered to himself, "Add points."

He tried putting in 2 points first, then quickly glanced at his strength.

In an instant, his strength jumped from "3~3" to "4~4."

Without further hesitation, Song Cheng added the remaining 18 points.

In just a moment, the cultivation progress of the "White Snake Blade" leaped from "Uninitiated (0/2)" to "Great Achievement (6/16)."

A mysterious feeling surged from the depths of Song Cheng's heart.

The blind boy practiced his sword in the quiet courtyard, fully concentrated, his mind free from distractions.

The training form felt like a steel hammer fiercely striking his body, his frail body like cast-off copper and iron.

Sweat expelled impurities from his body.

His flesh and blood, torn and painful from repeated forging, hurt unbearably.

The blind boy did not cry out. He silently drank the accompanying herbal concoction, lay down to sleep, and continued the next day.

The herbs that originally needed to be prepared appeared automatically during practice. The "White Snake Blade," requiring many resources to master, was effortlessly "skipped" with added points.

Slowly...

His soft flesh became firm, and his thin body slightly bulged but contracted again due to being fit, still appearing thin but no longer weak.

His chest vertebrae became flexible, and whenever his body moved, the force of his muscles would transmit through his spine to his hand bones and palms.

He felt as if the bones in his upper body had turned into a double-headed snake.

His two arms were the heads of the snake, and the chest vertebrae were the body of the snake.

However, this was just a newly born double-headed snake that needed to grow and learn the art of hunting.

These experiences surged through, and Song Cheng felt his entire body fill with an unprecedented power.

He slightly clenched his fist and felt the muscles in his forearm and upper arm swell, and a sensation like tight bowstring was set at his shoulder, causing the muscles on his back to tighten.

This was power.

Song Cheng checked his strength again:

8~8.

This was without practicing the Battle Method.

Even now, this figure far exceeded anyone in Tang River Village.

Even if the third son of the Ding Family pointed the Powerful Crossbow at him, he could quickly react, dodge the bolt, then roll forward, giving the opponent no chance to shoot a second time.

...

In the distance, the noise had subsided.

It was unsure whether the pig cage imprisoning Yune had reached the riverbank.

Tong Jia stood bewildered under the eaves, helpless, with a strong sense of powerlessness in her heart.

Earlier, she had spoken for Yune, but the result... she was coldly mocked, as if persisting would make her just as guilty as Yune, as if she was responsible for Granny Shi's death.

The villagers seemed all possessed.

Her whole body felt cold.

The evil of human nature seemed to form an icy swirl in the void, drowning her at the bottom of water, unable to breathe, unable to speak, only able to watch the distance.

Suddenly, this calm was broken.

Tong Jia's arm was grabbed.

She looked up, puzzled: "Brother Cheng?"

Song Cheng said in a deep voice, "Quick, pack the valuables and food in the house, then gather at the village entrance in the back! Bandits are coming from the front village, hurry!"

"What about... you?"

"I need to go out for a bit, there's something to do."

With that, he did not stay any longer, leaned on his Fine Blade, and headed out the fence gate. But before the door, he turned and emphasized, "Make sure to bring our Road Guide, don't forget!"

Having said that, he quickly headed towards the Ding Family.

The sound of the wind, the clattering of the Fine Blade, quickly showed everything around him.

He had traversed these places before, now he was just "refreshing the map," so he moved swiftly.

Tong Jia came to her senses.

She did not understand but trusted Song Cheng, hurriedly started packing.

Moreover, she sensed something strange.

It seemed...

Everyone had gone mad.

But if called madness, it did not fit right, the feeling was like a malignant thought blooming in the dark soil...

...

...

Song Cheng headed towards the pond where "The place where those dishonest lovers were punished" lay, and the Ding Family was on the way.

Upon reaching the Ding Family, the Little Blind Boy slowed his pace, his eyes saw the data behind the wall.

[Strength: 0(1)~1(2)]

[Affinity: 0]

"0~1" was the current strength after being injured.

"1~2" was the strength before injury, a strength only Ding Siyu possessed in the entire Tang River Village.

After confirming the target was Ding Siyu, he quickly arrived at the door.

He pushed.

The door was barred.

Inside came Ding Siyu's voice: "Who?"

Bang!

Song Cheng applied force, the door bar broke from behind, and the door swung open.

He rushed inside.

"Song Cheng?!" Ding Siyu was startled but reflexively reacted.

One hand pushed the side cupboard with force, the other hand clapped towards the window with a "snap," while he rolled with the covers, falling to the ground.

Being blind, he followed the sound.

The cupboard fell, and the items on it clattered to the floor, creating ripples in the blind boy's black-and-white world, twisting the entire image.

And the creak of the window being lifted would instinctively make one think Ding Siyu had escaped.

But after Ding Siyu rolled, he quickly grabbed for a knife on the side.

Before he could reach it, Song Cheng's blade was already out, his arm as hard as stone launched a not-so-skilled but quick enough stab, a lively white snake leaping from the darkness.

Sss!

The blade pierced through the quilt and stabbed fiercely through Ding Siyu.

Ding Siyu was pinned to the ground, chest in excruciating pain, asking in terror and rage, "Why?"

He had too many doubts.

Why did a blind boy want to kill him? Why did the blind boy have such power?

"You deserve to die," Song Cheng simply replied, but his hands didn't slow.

A twist, a draw, the air seemed still, everything settled, and the humanoid figure before him was clear.

Ding Siyu's new and old wounds intersected, and he let out a miserable scream.

Sss!

The next moment, the scream ceased abruptly.

The blade tip pierced the little villain's throat and then neatly slashed, severing the neck, separating head from body.

Ding Siyu, dead!

...

...

The narration is brief, happening in a flash. Song Cheng's killing was simply moving along the road, entering, noticing the data, and hitting the mark with a single blade.

After killing, without any delay, he quickly moved toward the riverbank.

Soon, he heard a highly chaotic noise.

The Village Chief was announcing Yune's crime.

Song Cheng rapidly approached, glanced at his data: 8~8, then looked at the villagers covered in a red mist, waved his blade, and moved down the riverbank slope.

Creak, creak, creak...

The Village Chief finished announcing the crime, and the villagers lifted the pig cage, ready to throw it into the river.

Yet behind them, suddenly erupted a boy's voice.

"Stop!"