It was already night, and neither stars nor moon shed any light.
The earth had fallen into endless darkness.
Beyond the city, sinister winds howled like the wailing of ghosts and the weeping of spirits, chilling to the soul.
Gao Liu City had stood for two hundred and forty years. A "god" had remained here for generations, keeping demons and evil spirits outside.
Monstrous evils rarely caused trouble within the city. Yet beneath this calm, people's hearts had grown restless, and disasters instead occurred with increasing frequency.
Thus, the Prefectural Governor's Mansion had formed two groups to maintain order: the Patrol Envoys. One handled the day patrol, and the other the Night Patrol.
"Chief, we caught that rapist."
"Just as Fifth Master predicted, he isn't from our ward."
"Damn! This bastard is one ugly son of a bitch."
"No wonder the girls he ruined all chose to kill themselves. Just looking at that face makes even me want to puke."
"..."
More than a dozen black-robed men had bound the short, ugly man tightly and tossed him beside a well.
The ugly man had been beaten and kicked until his whole body was covered in wounds.
He raised his head, his eyes blood-red.
Blood from his forehead trickled down along his temple, making his ugly face look even more savage and twisted.
"You so-called Night Patrol Envoys are all useless, every last one of you. How could you have set an ambush for me in advance?"
He gnashed his teeth, brimming with indignation. "Besides, I only took a fancy to that woman on the street just now, on a whim!"
Bang!
A black-robed youth strode forward and kicked him squarely in his nauseatingly ugly face. With a cold laugh, he said, "Did you think that woman was admiring the view from a high tower, with an extraordinary air, stunning beauty, and a perfect figure? Especially those long legs—and even the way she dressed suited your tastes exactly?"
"That was a paper figure Fifth Master created after visiting several girls you had ruined, combining their shared characteristics with the clothes they had worn that day!"
"In the twelve wards of the Outer City's South District, there are thirty-eight high towers in total. 'She' has appeared atop twenty-three of them!"
"She climbed the towers so she could stay far away, where you couldn't see her clearly, yet could only glimpse her hazy outline... leaving your imagination to run wild."
"Each time, we used a sedan chair to carry her into the courtyard. It took three straight days before we finally caught a filthy rat like you!"
Unable to contain his fury, the youth sheathed his blade, stepped forward, and launched into another flurry of punches and kicks.
Seeing this, the others also joined in, adding their fists and feet. Their blows were vicious.
"You bastard! You learned a whole set of tricks to fool the eye, and your kung fu is pretty good too. Where couldn't you make money? Once you had money, couldn't you just visit a brothel? Why become a rapist?"
"Huh? You've got silver on you, you bastard?"
"You had money and still didn't go to a brothel? It wouldn't have cost you much! You had to go and torment innocent women!"
"Disgusting! Bah! You're a lecherous fiend! Worse than any lecherous fiend!"
Amid the barrage of punches and kicks, accompanied by screams, someone reached out and pushed open the courtyard gate.
Then a cold voice slowly rang out behind them.
"Stop! As Night Patrol Envoys, you must uphold the law and stand for justice. Beating a prisoner at will is knowingly breaking the law, and you will be punished!"
"Fifth Master!"
Everyone stopped at once and turned around. All of them respectfully saluted and shouted in unison.
"..."
The newcomer looked like a young man. Dressed in black martial attire, he displayed a powerful, well-built figure.
His features were proper, his five senses cold and stern, his expression indifferent. A bone-chilling coldness radiated from his entire body.
He slowly walked over and stopped in front of the ugly man, looking down at him without expression.
The ugly man finally managed to catch his breath. His face was swollen and bruised, blood covering his features. He raised a hand and gasped, "This brother is right. You're beating a prisoner—that's knowingly breaking the law! If you keep hitting me, I'll die..."
"According to the laws newly revised this year, I haven't taken a life. For this little offense, if I spend some silver, I'll at most serve a few years of hard labor!"
"If you beat me to death, that'll be malicious murder. Even if the Prefectural Governor's Mansion gives you leniency, you'll still lose those dog skins you're wearing!"
He struggled to prop himself up, panting erratically, then cried out in pain.
The black-robed men exchanged glances. They stood where they were, but none dared step forward.
Then Fifth Master, still expressionless, reached out and caught the man's body as it was about to collapse. He said flatly, "I wouldn't have guessed you were well versed in the law."
"People like us who commit crimes have to know what counts as a capital offense, don't we?"
The rapist turned his head away and said, "This brother told them to stop beating me, so he clearly understands the local laws as well. May I ask your honored name?"
"Impermanence."
"Fifth Bro... Oh heavens! The Killer Star?"
"That's me."
Fifth Master remained expressionless as he reached out and clamped a hand around his neck.
He stared straight into the man's terrified eyes and slowly tightened his grip.
Then he turned his head toward the black-clad Night Patrol Envoys and said solemnly, "Beating him like that just now wouldn't have killed him."
Crack!
The rapist's neck was forcibly twisted apart.
"The suspect refused to confess, attempted to escape using an illusion technique, and even tried to resist. He was executed on the spot!"
Fifth Master said this calmly. "The laws were newly revised. For a while, they'll be stricter than before."
"As Night Patrol Envoys, you must follow the laws and regulations to the letter during this period. You cannot knowingly break the law or beat prisoners at will."
"But someone who resists arrest like him can be executed on the spot. There's no problem with that."
He shook his hand, picked up the money pouch, poured out half the silver, and tossed the rest to the Night Patrol Envoys before leaving without looking back.
Everyone watched his departing figure, exchanging glances in silence.
Only after a while did the youth who had mentioned spending money at brothels click his tongue and say, "Fifth Master really is ruthless."
Another man gave a dry laugh. "Otherwise, why would they call him the Killer Star?"
The middle-aged leader wore an even more complicated expression. "Fifth Master has been assisting our Night Patrol Envoys with cases for less than two years, yet the suspects who have died by his hand number at least eighty, if not a hundred."
The man who had mentioned brothels couldn't help sighing. "It'd be wonderful if Fifth Master kept assisting us with our cases."
"Stop dreaming. We Night Patrol types are nothing more than minor figures under the Prefectural Governor's Mansion! Fifth Master isn't one of us..."
The middle-aged man lowered his voice. "I heard Fifth Master is from the Heavenly Supervision Department, but for some reason, he failed to get promoted and was made things difficult for, so he was transferred here to assist us with cases and accumulate merit."
After a pause, he sighed. "What a pity he's too ruthless, with too much of a killing nature. Someone will probably use that against him... I'm afraid he'll fail to get promoted again this time."
The man known as Fifth Master walked out of the courtyard and slowly closed his eyes.
Yet a passage of writing surfaced in his mind.
Name: Lin Yan. Cultivation Method: Five Elements Inner Breath Art. Cultivation: Peak Inner Strengthening (996/1000)+ Divine Ability 1: **Devour Baleful Intent!** Divine Ability 2: **Demon Suppression!** Techniques: Thunder Blade, First Layer (87/100)+ Paper Cut into Horse (12/100)+ Disguise Technique (67/100)+ Breath Concealment Technique (21/100)+ Killing Intent: 3 wisps.
"Two more wisps of Killing Intent."
Lin Yan slightly furrowed his brows and thought, That rapist had just barely crossed the threshold into the Martial Arts realm. His Skin, Flesh, Tendons, and Bones had all been tempered to a certain degree, yet killing him only yielded three wisps of Killing Intent.
He felt somewhat helpless. He was precisely this little short of breaking through to the Essence Refining Realm.
Before he knew it, two and a half years had passed since he awakened his Past Life Wisdom, recalled his previous life, and embarked on the path of cultivation.
At first, he had relied on slaughtering pigs and butchering sheep to accumulate Killing Intent, so his progress had been slow. It had taken more than half a year to temper his skin, flesh, tendons, and bones through the four realms.
These four realms were known as the first major gate of Martial Arts.
Later, through a twist of fate, he encountered a major figure and was invited to join the Heavenly Supervision Department under the alias Impermanence.
Not long afterward, that major figure recommended him as a Banner Bearer for the Outer City.
However, the Heavenly Supervision Department's headquarters in the Inner City rejected the application, believing his qualifications too shallow and his merit too scant, making him unfit for the position of Banner Bearer.
That was why he had assisted the Night Patrol Envoys in arresting criminals and accumulating Merit Points.
But he was an upright man who hated evil like an enemy, so he usually left no survivors.
This often caused his merits and demerits to cancel each other out. Even now, he still hadn't accumulated enough merit to become a Banner Bearer.
During this period, however, he had gained a great deal of Killing Intent. By devouring Killing Intent, his cultivation advanced with unstoppable momentum.
The second major gate of Martial Arts was divided into two levels: Blood Refining and Marrow Washing.
"I advanced to the second major gate of Martial Arts a year ago. In just half a year, I completed both Blood Refining and Marrow Washing!"
"The third major gate is tempering the five organs and six bowels, known as Inner Strengthening. I've already cultivated it to the peak!"
Lin Yan thought, According to the ancient records, before the mutations of heaven and earth, a martial artist at the peak of Inner Strengthening was already at the summit of worldly martial arts—the limit of the human body's physical strength.
But in this era, after the mutations descended, only by entering the Martial Path and transcending the ordinary can one truly be considered to have crossed the threshold, barely possessing the power to protect oneself!
This step is called the Essence Refining Realm!
He paused and glanced behind him.
The city was ablaze with lights.
Beyond the city lay silent darkness.
This was an era of chaos and disorder, where the weak were preyed upon by the strong, monsters ran rampant, and evil spirits appeared everywhere.
Gao Liu City had stood for one hundred and twenty years and was gradually restoring the rudimentary form of human civilization.
It was still in a crude and savage stage, but it seemed to be slowly developing and improving.
After all, I was born in Gao Liu City. My start after transmigrating isn't too bad.
Thinking this, Lin Yan entered an alley and rubbed his face.
Then he peeled off a layer of skin.
His cold, stern features had merely been a disguise.
His true appearance was unexpectedly rather refined.
The skin that had remained hidden beneath the mask for so long was as pale as if it held no blood.
He took off the black robe he wore and turned it inside out. It was actually a faded pale-yellow robe, with even two or three patches sewn into it.
At the other end of the alley, the man who emerged was no longer Fifth Master, the Killer Star whose name shook Gao Liu City.
He was a refined, frail young man from a poor family, dressed simply.
Under the cover of night, he left the South City Sector, quietly passing through the ward gate along the alleys.
After walking briskly for a long while, he arrived at an old street and reached a dilapidated house at its end.
The dilapidated house was only six paces wide and less than twelve paces deep.
The kitchen was right by the entrance.
A small door separated it from the inside, where there was a wooden bed.
This was his home.
It was a place his family had bought in this chaotic and disordered world after fleeing to Gao Liu City in his grandfather's generation and exhausting all their savings.
"Hmm?"
After entering, Lin Yan saw two cloth bags beside the stove, one large and one small.
He lifted them open. The large bag contained rice, while the small one held salt.
It seems Second Brother came by.
A smile unconsciously appeared on Lin Yan's face.
He still had family in this world.
His elder sister had married into the Inner City five years ago, but she returned two or three times each year.
His eldest brother had originally become a city guard of Gao Liu City, but six years ago, he was conscripted by Phoenix Perch Prefecture City. It counted as a promotion, and he had sent back silver several times over the years.
As for Second Brother, after getting married, he received aid from his wife's elder brother and built a house with three rooms and two corridors.
The new house had originally included a place for Lin Yan to live.
But by coincidence, just days before the house was completed, he suddenly awakened his Past Life Wisdom and recalled his previous life.
He also awakened two divine abilities: Devour Baleful Intent and Demon Suppression.
Having lived two lives, he thought more deeply and knew that the Devour Baleful Intent divine ability would likely force him onto a path of living by the blade.
He could attract enemies at any time.
Moreover, his cultivation would inevitably bring various inconveniences, so he had not moved into the new house.
Because of this, Second Brother had been so angry that his face flushed and his neck bulged. Yet he couldn't beat Lin Yan's stubbornness and could only let the matter go.
Even so, he still couldn't stop worrying about him. Every few days, he brought cooked food—or rice, flour, fish, and meat—and came by.
"I'll sleep for an hour first, then get up and cook some plain porridge. It'll be about time to go work at the slaughterhouse."
Although Lin Yan had entered the Heavenly Supervision Department under an alias, he had not given up his work at the slaughterhouse.
After all, slaughtering pigs and butchering sheep also generated Killing Intent.
Besides, this job was highly sought-after in the city.
Back then, it was only because his sister-in-law's family had pulled some strings that he had gotten this butcher's job.
He also received two taels of silver every month. It could be said that the pay was generous.
"At night, I assist the Night Patrol Envoys in solving cases. During the day, I slaughter pigs and butcher sheep at the slaughterhouse. I never get a day off... After food, clothing, daily expenses, and cultivation costs, I've still managed to save more than forty taels of silver."
Lin Yan thought to himself, If I save for another eight or ten years, I should be able to buy a plot of land in the Outer Three Wards. Then, after saving for another three to five years, I'll be able to build a house.
Thinking this, he was just about to take off his clothes and bathe when he heard a voice outside.
"A-Lei, the water jar at home has cracked! You need to come back and patch it up."
It was Second Sister-in-law's voice.
"Hmm?"
Lin Yan quickly walked out and opened the door.
The woman outside was in her early twenties. She had delicate features and wore simple clothes.
"A'Yan, where's your Second Brother?"
"Second Brother hasn't come home?" Lin Yan's heart suddenly tightened at her words, and he asked in a low voice.
"This afternoon, he bought a roast chicken and said he'd bring half of it over for you. Then he never came home."
His sister-in-law seemed somewhat bewildered. She said blankly, "I thought you two brothers had been drinking, and that he'd stayed here for the night. If the water jar hadn't sprung a leak, I wouldn't have come over to call him..."
"..."
At her words, Lin Yan's heart chilled slightly, and he instinctively glanced toward the area outside the city.
In this world, daytime belonged to the Human World, while nighttime belonged to the Netherworld.
Within the towns, divine lamps shone, keeping ghosts and evil spirits at bay.
Beyond the city walls, where the divine lamps did not reach, evil entities roamed.
He immediately withdrew his gaze and thought, Second Brother is steady and knows how dangerous it is outside the city. It's already afternoon—he shouldn't have left the city.
"It's already dark. What are you shouting by my window for?"
Just then, the neighbor pushed open his window. An old man grumbled impatiently, "That little woman of yours who hasn't married into the family yet came looking for you. She happened to run into your brother, so she took him home to discuss the betrothal gifts with your future father-in-law."
"The little woman who hasn't married into the family yet?"
His sister-in-law paused and looked at Lin Yan.
Hearing this, Lin Yan smiled and said, "I see. Then there's nothing to worry about. I'll go over and take a look later, and get Second Brother to come home early."
"Good, as long as you know where he went. Remember to make him come home early."
His sister-in-law sighed in relief and turned toward home, but suddenly came back. She took some loose silver coins from her pocket.
"You're both about to start a family. There's a temple fair in a couple of days. Take that girl out for a stroll, and don't be stingy with your money."
"Got it."
After saying this, Lin Yan watched his sister-in-law leave, then knocked on the neighbor's window.
"Uncle Liu, whose daughter is this little woman of mine who hasn't married into the family yet?"
"How many sweethearts do you have, boy? And you're still asking me this?"
The old man stuck his head out, his face filled with shock. Beneath his disdain was a hint of envy. "Isn't she Chen Jiangbao's daughter? Who else have you been fooling around with?"
"Chen Jiangbao? Got it. Go to sleep early."
Expressionless, Lin Yan pressed the raised window back down.
He returned inside, took his knife, and headed straight for the area outside the southern city gate.
Under the night sky, his delicate face had turned even colder.
Chen Jiangbao had no daughter!
And Chen Jiangbao was dead.
Yesterday morning, just outside the city, all that remained of Chen Jiangbao was half a gnawed-clean head.
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