"Finally found you! Those black-skinned... those officers, they really don't treat us martial artists as human beings," Zhang the Butcher said, hooking his arm around Shen Yi's shoulder and letting out a sigh of relief.
"It's good, it's good, as long as nothing happened."
Seeing the burly man covered in mud and dust, each slap leaving a handprint on his clean robe, Shen Yi couldn't help but wonder where this reckless man had gone to spend time with his old flame.
Did they really get that wild?
"Yo! You got promoted so quickly?" Zhang the Butcher glanced at the cloud patterns on Shen Yi's sleeves and was instantly shocked.
Shen Yi glanced at his bulging belly and said lightly, "You look like you're about to give birth."
"Hehe, that's what body tempering does. You wouldn't understand if you haven't done it," the burly man scratched the back of his head and hesitated before saying, "I know you're strong, but it's better to keep a low profile recently."
Finally getting to the point, Shen Yi led him inside and poured two cups of well water that had been boiled and cooled.
"What's the matter?"
Zhang the Butcher took the cup and gulped it down without hesitation.
"You haven't heard? Something big happened in Linjiang County!"
Shen Yi leaned against the edge of the bed, sipping the cool water, and glanced sideways.
If he remembered correctly, he had just returned from Linjiang County.
Fortunately, the butcher's next words dispelled his doubts.
"Remember the swordsman from Qingfeng Mountain I told you about last time?"
"The one with over twenty family members, who was chivalrous and tender to each of his concubines?" Shen Yi's eyes flickered with complexity.
"That's him."
Zhang the Butcher wiped his mouth with his sleeve.
"You should know what kind of power Qingfeng Mountain is..."
"I don't," Shen Yi shook his head honestly.
Hearing this, Zhang the Butcher twitched his lips, feeling like he was gossiping about the neighbor's wife only to be asked, "What's a wife?"
"You're at least a Demon-Suppression Division officer, and you don't even know your own territory... Qingzhou's top forces, the six major sects and four great families, all have Golden Core experts. Zhao, Qian, Sun, Li, Qingfeng Mountain's swords, Pingsha Valley's thieves, and Baiyun Temple's Taoists."
Running out of fingers, Zhang the Butcher extended his other hand.
"And there's Xiafeng Manor, known for their divine blade skills... Anyway, you just need to know that in Qingzhou, they are second only to the Demon-Suppression Division."
"What about the Vajra Sect?" Shen Yi asked casually.
Zhang the Butcher smacked his lips.
"Without a Golden Core internal technique, they should be considered third-rate. But they have half a body tempering method. The abbot, relying on this, has a body that surpasses Jade Liquid. Although weaker than true Golden Core experts, he can easily handle those at the peak of Jade Liquid, barely making it to second-rate."
Hearing this, Shen Yi became interested.
"What body tempering method?"
"How would I know?" Zhang the Butcher sighed.
"Not only do you need exceptional talent, but you also have to chant Buddha's name for fifty years and preach for fifty years to have a chance to learn it."
He was already over forty and hadn't even reached Jade Liquid yet.
A trace of melancholy flashed across his face.
"Let's not talk about that, let's talk about you."
Zhang the Butcher took a deep breath.
"That swordsman from Qingfeng Mountain is the most talented disciple on the mountain. Young, not even a hundred and fifty years old, and already showing signs of touching Golden Core."
Shen Yi listened silently, unsure how this related to him.
"A few months ago, he left Linjiang County for some business. One of his concubines, pregnant, secretly climbed to the government office and, in front of everyone, gave birth to..."
Zhang the Butcher tensed up, his expression grave.
"A dragon."
Shen Yi's cup trembled slightly.
"The evil dragon was born prematurely and devoured its mother, leaving not even a bone."
"What's even more terrifying is that this swordsman has been on Qingfeng Mountain for over a hundred years, and his wives and concubines are often abducted by demons, disappearing without a trace. Who knows how many children he has!"
"When the swordsman returned, the Demon-Suppression General of Linjiang County immediately surrounded Qingfeng Mountain, killing many disciples on the spot, all his offspring."
Zhang the Butcher speculated, "After all, Qingfeng Mountain is a prestigious sect. The Demon-Suppression Division only surrounded them, probably waiting for your commander to return and make a decision. Recently, I heard rumors that the mountain people wanted to secretly send the swordsman away."
He sighed.
"Tsk, apart from those guarding Qingzhou, all the inner camp officers have been mobilized to guard the foot of the mountain for a hundred miles. This time, they mean business. I heard from the city guards that many with embroidered golden wolves have also been sent there. You should lay low if you can. You just arrived in Qingzhou, these matters don't concern you. Don't get involved before you even reap any benefits."
Shen Yi put down his cup, his expression calm.
He finally understood what those two were talking about earlier.
"This place is probably going to be chaotic for a while..."
Zhang the Butcher pulled out his butcher knife, rubbing the blade repeatedly, trying to draw some courage from it.
"What kind of chivalrous genius swordsman? Probably just an old Golden Core dragon, leaving its Yangchun River kin to have some fun, taking human form and slowly revealing its cultivation."
"Although the Demon-Suppression General is strong, facing several Golden Core experts at once, he might only achieve a pyrrhic victory. Completely annihilating them is unlikely."
"If that evil dragon escapes, along with its offspring of unknown origins, the first thing they'll do is seek revenge on the Demon-Suppression Division... They know what the Demon-Suppression Division cares about most—ordinary people like us."
After finishing his story, Zhang the Butcher didn't stand on ceremony.
"Come on, make some room, let me stay for a few days. Damn, finding a good teacher for my kid costs too much. I had to carry goods for ten days to save up enough silver."
"You sleep, I'll go out for a walk."
Shen Yi gave up the bed and walked into the courtyard.
His thoughts were scattered.
His expression was complex, a mix of vigilance... and a faint, almost imperceptible murderous intent.
If the evil dragon escaped, would he be one of its targets for revenge?
At this point, everything matched up in time and place.
He could guess the origin of that young, severely injured dragon demon.
Even a river demon could smell the scent of a dragon core.
Now that the dragon core was in his belly, transformed into the power of a dragon, did it also have a similar scent?
Shen Yi wasn't sure.
His understanding of these matters was still too limited.
Since he couldn't be sure, he had to consider the worst-case scenario.
His eyes flickered, and a panel appeared before him.
Previously, he had the Wind and Thunder Demon-Suppression Scripture to use as a stamina replenisher.
But now, at the peak of Jade Liquid, its efficiency was too low.
"If my energy is depleted, without using pills, how much lifespan would it take to instantly restore my full state?"
He slowly poured demon lifespan into the Wind and Thunder Sun-Melting Scripture.
Shen Yi didn't expect to deduce anything new; he just wanted to feel the changes in his energy sea.
So, as usual, he poured in one year at a time.
As the prompt flashed by, his expression changed slightly.
[Fifth year, your realm didn't increase, but your energy became more robust, actually connecting one more acupoint to the original 270 acupoints of the Sun-Melting Furnace.]
There was actually an unexpected benefit.
Although he didn't know its use for now, any improvement was good.
Shen Yi closed his eyes, feeling the faintly dissipating aura of heaven and earth around him.
After a moment, he concluded.
Even though the Sun-Melting Scripture's efficiency in refining energy far surpassed the Wind and Thunder Scripture, the accumulation within him now was more than a hundred times greater than before.
Limited by the thinness of the heaven and earth aura, if his energy sea were to dry up, exhausting the hundred years of accumulated Jade Dew within him, even with his internal techniques perfected, meridians widened, and body tempered over the years, without relying on pills, it would take at least twenty years of lifespan to fully replenish.
Without obtaining a martial art that could bring about a qualitative change, this was Shen Yi's greatest reliance.
No matter how precious the medicine, absorbing it takes time.
But as long as he had enough demon lifespan, he could always maintain his peak condition.
Note: The update time is around 11 PM every night.
The minimum is two chapters.
As for the subscription matter... due to some strange operations of mine, I lost the full attendance bonus...
Probably because I didn't get the recommendation slot, and I was a bit unwilling, so I waited another week, but the data dropped again...
Haha, I'm going to be dumbfounded by my own stupidity.
The big shots have already helped me a lot, but my own strength is still not enough.
Anyway, since there's no full attendance bonus, on the basis of two chapters at 11 PM, I will update additional chapters at any time, depending on how much I write.
Once again, thank you for your support!
(End of Chapter)