Gaining Merit Points

The news of Liu Bin's death was delivered to the local village officials, and the subsequent burial arrangements were handled by the Village Head.

He also quietly found the young girl.

With an official stepping in, the orphan's adoption went smoothly. After securing her household registration, Shen Zhui left fifty taels of silver and departed without a sound.

Once an Execution Order was issued, it meant the crime had been confirmed through Divine Law, and the sentence was almost always carried out on the spot.

Taking the prisoner into custody and scheduling a public execution was meant to prevent wrongful convictions, allowing a buffer period for review.

But in this world, once Divine Law had confirmed the crime, there was no possibility of a miscarriage of justice, nor was there any need to use public executions to demonstrate the law's deterrent power.

Of course, if the criminal surrendered, they would still be given a little time to bid farewell to their family. But when death was certain, how many Desperados would actually give themselves up?

This battle, though Shen Zhui had slain a Ninth Stage Houtian Martial Artist, was far from an easy victory.

If not for the Silver Scale Soft Armor protecting him and blocking Liu Bin's fatal strike, the outcome would likely have been mutual destruction.

Above all, he had expended all his Essence of Vital Energy, and without at least half a month of rest, recovery would be difficult.

This also served as a warning to Shen Zhui: going up against an experienced, cunning Desperado and trying to kill someone above his own rank was far too dangerous.

Relying on his Great Accomplishment in the Ruler Technique, he had thought it would be easy, but he had still underestimated a Ninth Stage Houtian Martial Artist.

After all, he had only just broken through to the Eighth Stage of Acquired Realm. The sudden increase in strength actually made his control over his body's force and the Ruler Technique worse than when he was at the Seventh Stage Houtian.

I need to be even more careful from now on.

Returning the Execution Order to the county office, Shen Zhui ignored the astonished looks from Steward Liu and his colleagues, exchanged his reward for some Lesser Vitality Pills, and hurried home to rest.

"What? You're saying Shen Zhui just broke through to the Eighth Stage of Acquired Realm, took an Execution Order, and killed a Ninth Stage Houtian Martial Artist?"

Inside a tavern in the city, Yang Wu was drinking with a few others when he overheard the news and was startled.

"Brother Wu, this is absolutely true. Li Er and I were both in the Law Enforcement Hall. We saw Shen Zhui hand the Execution Order back to Steward Liu with our own eyes. The news has spread everywhere—how could I be lying?"

"Slap!" Yang Wu slammed his wine cup heavily onto the table, his face shifting between dark and uncertain.

He was also at the Eighth Stage of Acquired Realm and cultivated the same "Bloodburn" technique. Although this technique gave him a slight edge over others at the same rank, Yang Wu knew he couldn't do what Shen Zhui had done—kill a Ninth Stage Houtian Martial Artist.

A Ninth Stage Houtian Martial Artist who had been on the run for years—every one of them was a Desperado with real skills.

And yet, a greenhorn like Shen Zhui had actually killed one!

"He's only been in the Martial Arts Department for three years, yet his progress has been astonishing. He's often pulled off shocking feats of defeating opponents above his rank. I never thought that even at the Eighth Stage of Acquired Realm, he'd still be this terrifying. How the hell does that kid train?"

Yang Wu couldn't figure it out. For a normal martial artist, mastering a weapon technique to the Great Accomplishment Realm took at least ten years of effort.

But Shen Zhui had done it in just three!

"This man has repeatedly arrested members of the Li Family and is favored by the County Magistrate. There's no chance of the Li Family winning him over. If he's allowed to grow to the Ninth Stage Houtian, who among the Houtian Martial Artists could stand against him? I've told the main family many times to eliminate Shen Zhui, but they never took it seriously! Now that he can kill a Ninth Stage Houtian, are they still going to let him live?"

Yang Wu calculated in his mind, a flicker of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes.

The County Magistrate and the major families in the city were already irreconcilable. Xiantian Masters wouldn't act lightly, so Houtian Martial Artists were the main fighting force.

If the County Magistrate really managed to train Shen Zhui up to the Ninth Stage Houtian, his power would likely grow even stronger.

"You all keep drinking. I'm leaving." Having made up his mind, Yang Wu quickly rose from his seat and hurried toward a certain location in the city.

County Office, Main Hall.

Steward Liu was reporting to a figure in a blue official robe seated in the hall.

"...County Magistrate, the hidden land holdings and taxes of the Li and Yang Families have been preliminarily uncovered. Not counting forested land, there are 13,482 mu of high-grade fertile fields alone. Mid- and low-grade fields total 42,571 mu. There are over 8,700 households evading taxes by concealing their Population Count."

"After nearly two years of secret investigation, this is all you've found?" The figure in the blue official robe was clearly dissatisfied.

"Reporting to the County Magistrate..." Steward Liu's heart tightened, and he became even more respectful toward this Magistrate, whose background was intimidatingly powerful.

"It's not that this subordinate is incompetent. The Li and Yang Families' concentrated land holdings are all protected by ancestral halls and temples, shielded by Daoist techniques that obscure the heavens, with Xiantian Masters stationed there. Outside, there are hundreds of guards and servants... Unless the County Magistrate personally goes to the City God Temple to request..."

"Enough, I understand." The County Magistrate cut off Steward Liu's words. "For now, it's not time for either side to completely tear off the mask... Continue sending people to gather information from other areas."

"Yes."

"County Magistrate, there is one more matter. Does Your Excellency remember Shen Zhui from the Martial Arts Department?"

"Him? Of course I remember. Speaking of which, This Official took up this post in the same year that kid joined the Martial Arts Department. I recall he reached the Seventh Stage Houtian at the beginning of the year, and I recently promoted him to Ninth-Rank Constable. What, is there criticism about that?"

Steward Liu shook his head. "Your Excellency's direct order naturally leaves no room for dissent. It's just that yesterday, Shen Zhui accepted an Execution Order for a Ninth Stage Houtian Martial Artist, and today he returned successful."

"Oh?" The County Magistrate's voice carried a hint of surprise. "A Seventh Stage Houtian could actually kill a Ninth Stage Houtian?"

"To report to the County Magistrate, Shen Zhui has already advanced to the Eighth Stage of Acquired Realm. Presumably, the Great Return Pill Your Excellency granted helped him break through."

"I see. So he's already at the Eighth Stage of Acquired Realm. I thought..."

After a moment of contemplation, the County Magistrate said, "To achieve such a feat is not bad, but in the end, it's still lacking. It won't make a difference to the overall situation... Go to the storehouse and grant him another ten Great Return Pills. As for the rest, don't bother. Focus on investigating the Li and Yang Families."

"Yes."

At that moment, Shen Zhui, who was recuperating at home, had no idea that his killing of a Ninth Stage Houtian Martial Artist had set off a chain of reactions. He was entirely focused on brewing medicinal tonics at home.

The slash Liu Bin delivered before his death broke through his iron ruler defense, and the remaining momentum left a cut mark on the Silver Scale Soft Armor, though the shock damage to his body was limited.

The sixteen bursts of Essence of Vital Energy he had unleashed in that critical moment were the real injury.

Like someone who had lost too much blood—on the surface, they seemed fine, but inside, they became terribly weak.

"Thinking back now, for that final move, I only needed to unleash eight bursts of Essence of Vital Energy and rely on the defense of my left-hand iron ruler and the Silver Scale Soft Armor to block that killing blow. But in the heat of the crisis, I panicked a bit."

Watching the charcoal in the hearth crackle and pop, Shen Zhui reviewed the battle.

A pair of iron rulers, one for offense and one for defense, were inherently designed to counter bladed weapons.

Especially since his Nine Layers of Iron Ruler had already reached the seventh layer, Ruler Shadow—his Momentum was fully formed!

On offense, it was unending; on defense, it was watertight.

There was no need to be so cautious.

"If my movement technique had reached Great Accomplishment, I could have completely avoided taking that slash head-on and simply dodged it. Unfortunately, my Ruler Technique has already reached Great Accomplishment, but this 'Flowing Cloud Steps' still refuses to break through."

"If I could reach the Great Accomplishment Realm, my body would be able to curl and unfurl freely like drifting clouds within a small area. Whether attacking or defending, I could advance and retreat at will. I wonder... where the problem lies..."

Shen Zhui felt a bit helpless.

"Could it be that my control over the force in my legs hasn't met the requirements yet?"

Shen Zhui thought it was very possible.

People use their hands far more often than their legs, and their flexibility surpasses that of their feet.

As the saying goes, three years for Ruler Technique, ten years for movement technique—it means movement technique is harder to train than Ruler Technique.

How important is movement technique?

In fights at the same rank, the martial artist with superior movement technique always wins!

The division of movement technique realms is also more direct and brutal!

Within no more than two minor realms, in a confined space, if one can dodge twenty-five attacks from a martial artist whose movement technique has also entered the threshold after a hundred shifts and evasions, that counts as entering the threshold.

Dodging fifty strikes from a Minor Accomplishment realm martial artist counts as Minor Accomplishment.

Dodging seventy-five attacks from a Great Accomplishment realm martial artist counts as Great Accomplishment.

Dodging all attacks, regardless of realm, counts as Perfection.

Of course, if the rank gap is too large—for example, a Peak Houtian martial artist training their movement technique to the Perfection Realm—they would only remain undefeated within the Houtian Realm.

If a Xiantian Master attacked, it would still be very hard to dodge, because the explosive speed of their bodies simply wasn't on the same level.

Also, if the terrain was narrow, or if enemies surrounded them from all sides, there would be no room to maneuver.

Movement technique realm represents the success rate of dodging.

Ruler Technique realm represents the power one can unleash based on control over bodily force.

Essence of Vital Energy is the explosive killing move.

These three are the foundation of a Houtian Martial Artist.

"If I could use Enlightenment Time to raise my movement technique to the Great Accomplishment Realm as well, then taking on Ninth Stage of Acquired Realm cases would be much easier."

With a thought, Shen Zhui's data appeared before him:

Shen Zhui: Eighth Stage of Acquired Realm

Technique: "Bloodburn" Third Layer

Martial Skill: "Nine Layers of Iron Ruler" Great Accomplishment Realm

Movement Technique: "Flowing Cloud Steps" Minor Accomplishment Realm

Merit Points: 7600

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