The Mighty Master Shen

Sun Zhi fell silent for a moment, then asked, "What if I refuse? Will you expose my secret to the public?"

"How could I do that?" Shen Lin wore a brilliant smile, yet his words sent a chill through Sun Zhi's heart.

"It's just that Captain Sun should be more careful when handling cases in the future. After all, you're worth quite a bit. Be careful not to attract the covetous eyes of criminals."

Hearing this, Sun Zhi seemed to have heard a joke. He looked at Shen Lin with contempt and said, "You're threatening me? With you? A brat who's only just stepped into the Martial Artist realm, and you really think you—"

Halfway through his sentence, Sun Zhi's voice abruptly stopped.

His mouth hung open, his Adam's apple trembling nonstop, yet he did not dare swallow.

A steel saber had somehow appeared at his throat, pressed tightly against his skin.

The icy blade made every hair on his body stand on end.

This guy... when had he—

"Captain Sun, do you know..." Shen Lin bared his white teeth in a grin and murmured, "In martial arts, it isn't about who came first. The strong come first?"

Shen Lin had not used the Blood Qi Power within him from the Meridian Opening Realm. This entire move had relied solely on his understanding of saber techniques.

How to draw the saber faster, what angle of attack would reduce resistance—these were things he had deduced over more than a hundred years with the system's help.

Sun Zhi was utterly horrified.

The Blood Qi Power Shen Lin displayed was clearly not much stronger than his own, yet with nothing more than exquisite saber technique, he had subdued him in the blink of an eye.

This brat's talent in martial arts was actually this monstrous?

At that moment, Shen Lin withdrew his saber and chuckled. "Captain Sun, please consider this matter carefully."

The long saber returned to its sheath. He turned around, waving as he walked toward the courtyard gate nearby.

"As for County Lieutenant Hu, please put in a word for me, Captain Sun. Tell him this lad can't hold his liquor and has headed back first."

Sun Zhi stood rooted to the spot. Only after Shen Lin's back had completely vanished did he seem to remember how to breathe, gasping heavily as he leaned against the wall.

In nearly forty years, he had never felt so close to death.

Even his past life-and-death battles with demons had never put him under such pressure.

Yet Shen Lin, a Martial Artist who had only just developed Blood Qi Power, had made him feel suffocated.

Before that man, he seemed to have no ability to fight back at all.

"Such talent, such restraint..."

Sun Zhi could not help muttering.

He recalled how Shen Lin had always acted like a wastrel in the past. Though extraordinarily gifted, he disliked martial training and spent every day drinking and making merry outside.

But now, it seemed this fellow's mind was simply too dark. He had been hiding himself all along.

In terms of saber technique alone, perhaps no one in all of Qiulin County could stand shoulder to shoulder with him.

Still shaken, he touched his neck, drew a deep breath, and turned back toward the tavern.

Inside the main hall, the ordinary runners filled an entire table and had long since turned the place upside down with noise.

Sun Zhi was just about to return to the private room when he saw a sea of heads. Everyone had gathered around Kong Yu, and startled cries rang out from time to time.

"That Mantis Demon was the real deal! When those twin sickles started swinging, even the steel sabers issued by the County Yamen couldn't blunt their edge. So many brothers were cut straight into pieces. Fortunately, Master Shen stepped in at the critical moment!"

Hearing this, Sun Zhi's thoughts stirred, and he edged a little closer.

He had already sounded out Kong Yu before. The man's behavior had not looked like that of someone who had discovered his secret.

And now, Kong Yu's account of the demon-slaying process piqued Sun Zhi's interest.

After what had just happened, he was filled with curiosity about everything concerning Shen Lin.

Though he had yet to decide how to respond to Shen Lin, and whether they would become enemies or allies remained unknown, it was still best to gather as much information about him as possible.

Kong Yu picked up his wine cup. Someone beside him immediately eagerly filled it and asked, "Brother Kong, Master Shen was a Martial Artist. He still couldn't save our brothers from the Mantis Demon?"

Slurp!

He drained the fine wine in one gulp. Kong Yu shook his head and sighed. "At the time, Master Shen and I fought side by side. I didn't sense any change in his strength. He only broke through into the Martial Artist realm later, when he faced a life-and-death crisis."

"What kind of life-and-death crisis?"

A strange look appeared on Kong Yu's face, as though he found it difficult to speak. Looking around at the brothers, he lowered his voice. "I'm only telling you lot. Once you leave, don't go spouting nonsense outside."

"That Mantis Demon was female, and she liked handsome men. After dealing with the other colleagues, she left only Master Shen and me. I was tied up outside, and I could hear everything happening in the room crystal clear. It was enough to shake heaven and earth."

"Eugh~"

Someone first made a disgusted sound, then sighed, apparently feeling some sympathy for Shen Lin. "Those demons are all hideous and grotesque... Master Shen really had it rough."

"You don't understand!"

Someone nearby immediately refuted him. "Demons that have cultivated Demon Qi can all take human form. Some transform into gorgeous beauties even prettier than ordinary courtesans. In some places in the provincial city, transformed demons even entertain customers. I hear the experience is... tsk, tsk..."

A group of lecherous old bastards erupted into lascivious laughter.

Kong Yu waved his hand and hurriedly pulled the conversation back on track.

"Even so, demons that have cultivated Demon Qi have bodies far stronger than us ordinary people. Perhaps only under such a life-and-death crisis could Master Shen break through in the heat of battle and become a Martial Artist."

"As for what happened afterward, I was knocked unconscious and my mind was hazy, so I don't know much. I only vaguely remember hearing that after becoming a Martial Artist, Master Shen displayed his great might. Not only did he effortlessly tease that Mantis Demon, he even beat her until she kept crying for him to stop."

Sun Zhi's expression turned strange at that.

This guy might really have some psychological issues...

It looked like he would have to take the long view.

Shaking his head, Sun Zhi returned to the private room with mixed feelings.

And after that night, Master Shen's heroic deeds began spreading throughout Qiulin County.

In streets and alleys, vendors shared gossip with one another.

"Have you heard? After Master Shen was... violated by a demon, he was overcome with shame and broke through into a Martial Artist on the spot. He went on a slaughtering spree, driving that demon back step by step until she kept crying for him to stop."

"That's not right, is it? I heard our Master Shen liked that sort of thing and was teasing the demon before he even killed it."

On the street outside a brothel, a man furtively peddled pills.

"Brother! Want one? My medicine replenishes Qi and nourishes the kidneys. I guarantee you'll be majestic and mighty, with a golden spear that never falls!"

"It's that miraculous?"

"Of course! Why would I lie to you? You know Master Shen from the Criminal Affairs Office, right? He took my pills, and that's how he managed to battle the demon for three hundred rounds. After wearing her out completely, he killed her with one slash."

Inside the County Yamen, the ordinary runners watched Shen Lin enter. After he had walked away, they leaned toward the people beside them and whispered:

"Have you heard? Master Shen fucked that Mantis Demon to death!"