Baiyun County, West Street.
Shen Yi turned to look at the few people behind him.
"You can all disperse now. Go home and rest early."
For them, tonight had been an unexpected disaster.
Especially for Zhang Dahu, who had always been a bully in the county, living a smooth and easy life.
Just as he had started to rein himself in, he had nearly been hacked to death by a fellow officer.
"Take care, Lord Shen," Chen Ji and the others clasped their hands and bowed.
The butcher, Zhang, opened his mouth, about to bring up the previous question again.
"I didn't go easy on you. It's just that I rarely spar with others, so I gained some insights," Shen Yi said, rubbing his temples with a slight headache.
"That makes sense," Zhang the butcher smacked his lips, finally regaining a bit of confidence.
After seeing them off, Shen Yi leisurely made his way back to his small house.
Now that the dog demon and the old ape had both been slain, even though their cultivation wasn't particularly high, they had been the greatest threats to Baiyun County.
For the next period of time, his life would surely be much easier.
As he reached his door, he raised his hand to knock but then glanced at the deep night and withdrew his hand.
She must be asleep by now.
Inside, Lin Baiwei sat at the table, diligently copying martial arts manuals.
Only the tight grip of her left hand betrayed her worry.
Initially, she had only wanted to deceive that scoundrel of a constable to save her own life.
But over the past few days, the man had hardly returned home with clean clothes, and her opinion of him had gradually changed.
In these troubled times, those who dared to slay demons were likely not bad people.
But last night's events had stirred a hint of anger in her heart.
Was the entire Baiyun County relying on just one person to guard against demons? The slightest mistake could lead to bloodshed!
Lin Baiwei had personally washed the demon blood from his clothes every day.
How could she not know whether Shen Yi was a lazy official who turned a blind eye to danger?
Moreover, this duty itself was unreasonable.
"You're back?"
Hearing the door open, a flicker of joy crossed Lin Baiwei's delicate face as she stood up to look.
Shen Yi was slightly taken aback but nodded.
He took off his outer robe and placed it on the cabinet, then picked up the papers on the table to flip through them.
"So many?"
"Martial arts at the Jade Liquid Realm involve meridians, acupoints, and the circulation of Jade Liquid. Naturally, they can't be compared to ordinary martial arts. Don't rush. Let me go over them a few more times to avoid any mistakes," Lin Baiwei explained briefly, relieved to see that he was unharmed.
"Go wash up. I'll heat up some food for you."
"No need. I'm not very hungry."
Shen Yi seemed to be flipping through the pages randomly, but a glint of excitement appeared in his eyes.
A new notification had appeared on his panel.
[Jade Liquid.
Four Harmonies True Aura (Uninitiated)]
A Jade Liquid Realm martial art that might not even exist in the entire Baiyun County now lay quietly in his hands.
"Even within the Jade Liquid Realm, this is an extremely rare and domineering technique. It's not something that can be used lightly unless one has a deep foundation. It's not really suitable for your current situation, but it's all I can offer for now," Lin Baiwei said as she walked into the kitchen, still reminding him, "Martial arts require gradual progress."
A moment later, she placed a bowl of hot stew and a large bowl of rice on the table.
"My master once said, no matter how much blood you've seen or how many horrors you've witnessed, you still have to eat."
Lin Baiwei, who had never admitted to having a master, casually mentioned the word "master" tonight.
Shen Yi pursed his lips and didn't refuse her kindness.
He picked up his chopsticks, mixed the tender stew with the rice, and quickly devoured it all.
The warmth of the food dispelled the gloom in his heart.
Shen Yi poured the remaining stew into his stomach and rubbed his belly contentedly.
Seeing this, Lin Baiwei's lips curled slightly as she collected the dishes and left the room.
Once the room was quiet again, Shen Yi climbed onto the bed and opened his panel once more.
The Four Harmonies True Aura wasn't an internal technique, nor did it seem related to swords or blades.
What made it so domineering?
[Remaining Demon Lifespan: 651 years]
Shen Yi didn't rush to deduce it.
Instead, he took out three beast cores, one from the tiger demon and two from the ape demon.
He placed one in his mouth, and the demon lifespan rapidly poured into the Four Harmonies True Aura.
[Year 1: You forcibly practiced the Jade Liquid Realm technique, deciphering the obscure text piece by piece while absorbing the tiger demon's beast core.]
[Year 3: You finally understood this martial art.
The beast core had long been fully absorbed, and all the energy in your first acupoint had turned into Jade Dew.]
[Year 29: You gained a preliminary understanding of the so-called "Four Harmonies," which referred to Heaven, Earth, Others, and Self.
You successfully achieved the first step, "Harmony of Energy and Body," and initiated the Four Harmonies True Aura.]
[Year 32: Your progress slowed, mainly because your internal energy wasn't sufficient to support this technique.
Every attempt drained all the reserves in your acupoints.]
...
Shen Yi stopped the infusion and placed the second beast core in his mouth.
[Year 43: With the help of the ape demon's beast core, your energy recovery speed increased.
You gained insight into the "Heart Ape" and, after prolonged practice, broke through to the Small Success stage of the Four Harmonies True Aura.]
[Year 72: You once again realized the importance of talent and rare medicines.
The former slowed your progress, while the latter made it impossible to compensate for your lack of talent through hard work.]
Seeing this, Shen Yi didn't hesitate and swallowed the third beast core.
[Year 94: The Four Harmonies True Aura reached Great Success.
With a wave of your hand, you could summon a storm of aura, like an immortal on earth.
But only you knew that each wave consumed years of accumulated energy.]
[Year 130: After years of stagnation, you felt the pain.
Martial arts were no longer a matter of reaping what you sowed.
If you didn't understand, you didn't understand.
If you couldn't grasp it, you couldn't grasp it...
You gradually began to resent the heavens and blame others.]
[Year 190: Over time, you lost the will to complain.
You simply quietly filled your acupoints, condensed Jade Dew, and waited for the next attempt.]
[Year 260: You rose in a daze.
There was no sudden enlightenment, just thousands of identical attempts.
This time, there was a slight change, but your numb mind couldn't even comprehend why.]
[Four Harmonies True Aura, Perfected!]
[Remaining Demon Lifespan: 391 years]
...
Shen Yi's eyes were blank for a moment.
The immense pressure, the knowledge of how without understanding why, the success that only led to greater confusion—all these emotions intertwined and flashed through his mind in an instant...
It made his stomach churn inexplicably, as if he wanted to vomit out all his internal organs.
Fortunately, it passed in a moment.
"Ugh."
Shen Yi rubbed his face.
Practicing martial arts wasn't much different from his past life's work or studies.
Getting started and memorizing a few key points or formulas wasn't hard, but achieving perfection meant knowing it inside out, mastering it thoroughly, and even digesting the entire book.
Only true experts in the field could reach that level.
Only someone with powerful assistance like himself would dare to aim for perfecting every martial art.
As the useless emotions faded, what remained in his mind was everything about this Jade Liquid Realm martial art.
[Jade Liquid.
Four Harmonies True Aura (Perfected)]
[Initial Realm.
Heart Ape: You have a thorough understanding of ape demons' habits.
Climbing mountains is as easy as walking on flat ground.
Your efficiency in learning movement-based martial arts is increased.]
(End of Chapter)