It was the faint sound of a breeze passing through the treetops.
The leaf stem trembled, the edges of the yellowed leaf, curled and worm-bitten, fell from the branch.
Just like the countless others on the ground, in three seconds, it will become part of the forest’s yellow-brown leaf carpet.
Then, over four to five months, gradually wither and decay, eventually becoming the weak nutrients nourishing some clumps of weeds.
A gust of unnaturally strong, fierce wind interrupted this process.
The withered leaf, already abandoned by the trees due to the loss of life energy, was shattered by the biting wind almost instantly.
It turned into tiny, fragile pieces of leaf debris, drifting like dust in the air.
Falling on the rough, textured bark of an oak tree nearby, landing on the surface of tender green stems and leaves on the ground.
Also clinging to the fine black, messy tips of hair, caught in the swirling air currents.
Shaking the body vigorously, shaking off the fragments of leaves and grass from clothes and hair.
Xia Nan turned his head, looking back.
As if some beast had charged through,
amidst the dense grass and resilient shrubs of the forest, a ten-foot-long, liquid-smeared path of destruction was left.
It seemed quite effective.
But Xia Nan couldn’t help but frown, unsatisfied.
What he was practicing at that moment was the battle skill taught to him by the barbarian Frogon two days ago—
The effect displayed by the other party that day was extraordinarily exaggerated, nearly collapsing the whole cave, dozens of goblins and their Bear Goblin leader smashed to pieces like bowling pins.
But in reality, the orientation of [Teeth Hunting] was more like a technique of "charge" and "displacement."
Whether to add attacking attributes during the use of the battle skill entirely depends on the individual performer.
As for what he saw at that time, the attack effect spreading like an icy snake, even with a hint of mental intimidation.
Xia Nan was more inclined to think it was the power effect associated with the barbarian’s own profession.
And breaking demons into pieces might be partly due to the speed and kinetic energy boost provided by [Teeth Hunting], but fundamentally, it was because of the barbarian’s exaggerated physical strength akin to gold and stone.
Although it wasn’t to the extent of being "deceived," Xia Nan had a lingering sense these days of the difference between a seller’s presentation and a buyer’s reality.
He didn’t know when he could reach that "lawn mower" level.
Fortunately, it’s a practical and real battle skill.
Unlike the many seemingly battle skill books he bought in town general stores, with a terrible training experience of "robbing Peter to pay Paul," endlessly plugging gaps.
The practice of [Teeth Hunting], just like the former [Vortex Slash], gave him a sense of steady progress, where he could improve a bit every day.
Even if problems occurred during the process, after spending time and energy to solve them, it would form muscle memory and not happen again.
Learning it in practice even gave him a subtle sense of reassurance.
And the specific training methods and some surface principles of the battle skill became clearer as he gradually familiarized himself with them.
By engaging in high-intensity training, coordinating the muscle groups in the legs, waist, and back to release stored strength in a very short time.
Adjusting step frequency, controlling speed...
Combined with special breathing techniques, improving power exertion and timing, controlling the skeletal center of the entire body within a range suitable for battle skill activation.
To put it more simply, an analogy:
It’s like a Winter Wolf lurking deep in the snow, ready to pounce on its prey with full force like a spring.
The blade is its fangs.
Originally from the Northern Highlands’ barbarian tribes.
[Teeth Hunting] was initially developed by emulating the hunting movements of those powerful predators, combined with human bodily advantages, gradually shaped by a gifted battle master.
According to Frogon, practicing in knee-deep snow yields the best effect.
However, as it’s in the continent’s heartland, without the right environment, it has to be compromised for now.
Besides these, to master the battle skill [Teeth Hunting], there’s one crucial point:
Before each training, Xia Nan must, with the barbarian’s help, allow a certain special cold energy emitted by the other to infiltrate his body along the muscle texture and meridians.