Choice

"Mm, a Ninth Stage Houtian Martial Artist, and a murder case—definitely stronger than those petty thieves locked up in jail," Shen Zhui thought to himself.

Merit Points were awarded based on the target's Sin Value and cultivation level.

Generally, the higher the cultivation and the deeper the sin, the more Merit Points one gained.

Once the number above a person's head turned red, it meant their sin had reached the Execution Threshold.

"For a Houtian Martial Artist, from the First to the Ninth Stage, no matter how deep the sin, the Merit Points gained are capped by their cultivation level, basically never exceeding ten thousand.

Liu Bin was a Ninth Stage Houtian Martial Artist and gave 7,600 Merit Points—that's about average," Shen Zhui mused.

If it were only about sin, ignoring cultivation, then Shen Zhui wouldn't bother with high-level targets; he'd just go after the low-level ones.

Of course, the system wouldn't let Shen Zhui exploit that loophole.

"It seems that if I want to accumulate battle merits, I still need to go after those guilty of heinous crimes who can be directly executed, and preferably the highest level possible."

Earlier, when he captured Yang Cheng, a Sixth Stage Houtian, he only got 160 Merit Points.

Now, by killing Liu Bin, he had gained 7,600 Merit Points. The speed of accumulation was completely incomparable.

Of course, the difficulty wasn't on the same level either.

Capturing Yang Cheng had cost Shen Zhui almost no effort, but killing Liu Bin had nearly cost him his life.

And now he had to rest for over half a month.

He sighed softly, noticing that the furnace was already emitting a thick medicinal aroma. Shen Zhui stopped overthinking and focused on brewing the medicinal herbs he had bought for dozens of silver taels.

Fortunately, as a constable in the county office, getting injured on duty was a daily occurrence, so he was well-versed in preparing all kinds of prescriptions.

Once the medicinal soup was ready, he downed a large bowl. A trace of warmth spread through his body, a rosy flush returned to his face, and the hollow emptiness inside him eased slightly.

Thump, thump, thump!

Just as Shen Zhui was about to drink a second bowl of the medicinal soup, a knock came from outside the courtyard.

He opened the gate and saw a Clerk who often worked under Steward Liu.

The Clerk was holding a wooden box. As soon as the door opened and he saw Shen Zhui, he stated his purpose.

"Constable Shen, I have been ordered by the Steward to deliver something."

Shen Zhui quickly Cupped Hands in greeting, then took the box.

"May I ask, sir, what is inside?"

The Clerk smiled. "I am merely delivering it. As for what it is, Constable Shen will know when he opens it. This is a reward from the County Governor. The Steward knew you needed to rest and instructed me to personally hand it to you. I imagine it is related to that matter."

"Shen Zhui thanks the County Governor and thanks the Steward. I appreciate you making the trip yourself. Please, come in and rest a while."

"You're too kind, Constable Shen. Steward Liu said you should just rest at home and decide when to return to the office on your own. I still need to report back, so I won't disturb you any longer. Farewell."

"Take care, sir."

"The County Governor is rewarding me with something?" After seeing off the visitor, Shen Zhui returned to his room and placed the box on the table.

"Let's see what it is." He opened the box. Inside was a blue silk cushion, on which lay two white porcelain bottles sealed with soft stoppers.

A faint fragrance wafted out, and Shen Zhui immediately felt his spirits lift.

"This scent is..." Shen Zhui paused, then quickly opened one of the bottles.

"Great Return Pills? These are actually Great Return Pills!"

Shen Zhui was a little excited. Both bottles were filled with Great Return Pills—ten pills in total!

"This... the County Governor has treated me well..." Shen Zhui couldn't help but sigh.

In this world, one silver tael could support a lower-class household for two months, and a middle-class household's monthly expenses were only ten taels.

And one Great Return Pill was worth five hundred taels on the market!

Five hundred taels was enough to buy a decent courtyard in the county town!

Ten Great Return Pills were worth five thousand taels!

With Shen Zhui's current salary as a Ninth-Rank Constable—fifty taels a month—even adding in bonuses from handling cases, and even if he didn't eat or drink, it would take him nearly ten years to save that much!

"Earlier, when I was promoted out of turn, I was given one Great Return Pill. Now, another ten..." For some reason, Shen Zhui felt the weight of this reward in his hands.

He wasn't a fool. There was never a free lunch in this world.

In Shen Zhui's mind, the county office, the County Governor, and himself were just a company, a boss, and an employee.

If earlier, the out-of-turn promotion had made Shen Zhui feel that his performance had earned that reward, then now, with this reward ten times greater... in this world, the meaning was quite clear.

"This is blood money..." Shen Zhui murmured to himself.

Whether the County Governor intended it that way or not, once this reward landed in Shen Zhui's hands, he had to have that awareness.

Shen Zhui pondered for a moment and came to a decision.

"Even without this reward, in the eyes of others, I am already the County Governor's man."

"The county magistrate represents the official orthodoxy, acts according to the law, and governs with principle. In his two years in office, he's brought Peaceful and Prosperous times, cracking down on clan magnates—a rare good official by any measure."

"I'm just a commoner, yet the magistrate has promoted and valued me all along. That's the grace of a patron who recognizes my worth."

"Besides, whose bidding I do is all the same. If I don't work for the magistrate, am I supposed to throw in with the Li and Yang Families?"

"Moreover, I only need to have this awareness—I don't necessarily have to do anything that risks my life for the magistrate. As long as I'm strong enough to protect myself and show greater potential... even if there's a major task, in this struggle between the magistrate and the powerful clans, I won't be some disposable Chess Piece."

"The more outstanding I am, the more resources I get, and the safer I become."

"On the other hand, if I were a fence-sitter like Yang Wu, or if I sided with the Li and Yang Families, once the winds shift, that's when the real danger hits."

Having thought it through, Shen Zhui cheerfully popped the cork, tipped out a smooth, pale-green pill, and swallowed it with relish.

The medicinal force spread through his body, a surge of vital energy flowing along his meridians and Acupoints, gently repairing every channel and replenishing the energy he'd lost earlier.

The Great Return Pill wasn't a healing medicine—it was purely a tonic for vital energy—but it perfectly made up for the energy deficit in Shen Zhui's body, which was like an injury without being one.

One Great Return Pill had already helped him break through the eighth Acupoint, reaching the Eighth Stage of Acquired Realm.

Now, using it just for recovery, the effect was naturally even more remarkable.

"Pop~"

A faint sound came from inside his body as an Essence of Vital Energy instantly took shape.

Then the pace quickened, a string of sounds following.

"Pop, pop, pop, pop~"

By the time Shen Zhui opened his eyes, fourteen Essences of Vital Energy had been restored within him.

With just two or three more days of rest, he could fully recover to the peak state of sixteen.

"Between this gain and loss, the third layer of the Blood Burning Art has advanced a bit. Truly, a martial artist only breaks through amid life-and-death combat."

"My movement technique is still a hair's breadth from the Great Accomplishment Realm. No rush to take on Ninth Stage of Acquired Realm cases—I'll use Enlightenment Time first to train it to Great Accomplishment!"

Getting off the bed, Shen Zhui opened the Room door.

"System, exchange half my Merit Points for 'Enlightenment' time."

"3800 Merit Points can be exchanged for 38 seconds of Enlightenment Time. Exchange immediately?"

"Yes."

"Exchange successful! 38-second Enlightenment countdown begins: 37, 36..."

Shen Zhui drifted into the courtyard and began practicing the movement technique, Flowing Cloud Steps.

The moment the Enlightenment countdown started, the battle with Liu Bin suddenly replayed before Shen Zhui's eyes.

"Die!" In his vision, a phantom figure appeared, identical to Liu Bin, swinging a blade straight down at Shen Zhui's head.

Shen Zhui lightly stepped aside, turning his body. The short blade sliced past his chest, striking empty air.

"Kill, kill, kill!" The phantom Liu Bin slashed wildly.

Unarmed, Shen Zhui's feet moved frantically, constantly 'dodging' Liu Bin's attacks.

"Swish, swish, swish~"

In a few breaths, Shen Zhui shifted and spun, evading thirty-four of Liu Bin's strikes.

Immersed in this imaginary combat, he repeated the dodging motions over and over, his Flowing Cloud Steps growing ever more fluid.

"Seeing and recognizing one's actions—that is Enlightenment."

Again and again, he spotted his own flaws and swiftly corrected them against the earlier scene.

Shen Zhui's movement technique gradually took on a hint of natural perfection.

Liu Bin's strikes came faster and faster, and before long, Shen Zhui had dodged over twenty!

"Hum~"

A faint tremor stirred in Shen Zhui's mind.

A mistake in dodging!

On the twenty-ninth strike, Liu Bin's short blade grazed Shen Zhui's ribs.

Shen Zhui had a flash of insight and kept dodging.

But then, on the thirty-second strike, it cut through his left arm!

His consciousness began to blur, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

"Swish, swish~"

Fifty-sixth strike! Shen Zhui bent low; the blade passed by the tip of his nose!

Sixty-sixth strike! Liu Bin's short knife reversed upward, the blade flashing past Shen Zhui's face.

Seventy-eighth strike! The knife tucked under his armpit suddenly jerked upward!

Eighty-third strike...

Ninety-fifth strike...

"Ah!"

Shen Zhui jolted awake.

Liu Bin's hundredth blade had directly cleaved his head off!

"Three, two, one. This Enlightenment Time has ended."

The countdown finished.

Before Shen Zhui, there was nothing—no Liu Bin, no injury.

Everything just now had only been a simulation within his Enlightenment state. But the sweat on his body was no lie.

"Using my battle with Liu Bin as the hypothetical fight, I only dodged and never struck back, lasting a hundred moves. Of those, I fully evaded sixty-eight blades. That's still short of the seventy-five-blade standard for the Great Accomplishment Realm."

Shen Zhui furrowed his brow, carefully replaying the movement drill from his Enlightenment Time.

"Still a bit short of the Great Accomplishment Realm. Where's the problem..." he murmured.

"Especially Liu Bin's desperate hundredth strike—that final blade was utterly unavoidable. If I didn't resist, I'd die. Even a Great Accomplishment movement technique might not fully dodge it."

The thirty-eight seconds of Enlightenment Time experience had ultimately failed to push his movement technique to Great Accomplishment.

It wasn't that Shen Zhui didn't want to exchange Merit Points for the more powerful 'Awakening Time.'

But he only had 7600 Merit Points. If he exchanged for Awakening Time, the experience would last a mere seven and a half seconds—far from enough.

"I thought I was only one step from the Great Accomplishment Realm, no need to save Merit Points for Awakening Time. Now it seems this Great Accomplishment movement technique is far harder to break through than I imagined."

Shen Zhui shook his head, though he wasn't disheartened.

"System, exchange the remaining Merit Points for another thirty-eight seconds of Enlightenment Time."

"Exchange successful. Thirty-eight-second Enlightenment countdown begins. 37, 36, 35..."

Time passed slowly. This time, Shen Zhui didn't move at all.

Instead, he closed his eyes and carefully recalled the thirty-two strikes that had 'hit' him.

When the countdown ended, Shen Zhui opened his eyes.

"Movement technique takes the waist as the axis, requiring coordination of the waist, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and back muscle groups. Applications vary across schools, mainly involving expansion and contraction, flashing and stretching, twisting and turning, and charging and squeezing."

"Two of those strikes—I now understand why I couldn't dodge them. Insufficient waist and abdomen force... One more try, and I'm sure I can evade them..."

Shen Zhui smiled.

Though his 7600 Merit Points were spent, he still hadn't broken through to Great Accomplishment in movement technique.

He was now only five strikes short of the seventy-five-dodge standard for the Great Accomplishment Realm.

This meant his movement technique's evasion success rate had improved by a sliver.

"Progress is good. Other martial artists might train for three or five years and still not match one hour under my Enlightenment Time... What I fear is making no progress at all during this 'Enlightenment' Time—that would be disastrous."

Enlightenment Time wasn't omnipotent. It still required some accumulation on one's part.

For example, a martial artist who had never studied blade techniques, who didn't even know what a blade was—even a full day of Enlightenment Time would be useless. There was nothing to enlighten.

Or a fool with a broken mind—enlightenment wouldn't exist for them either.

Enlightenment Time first required accumulation, and second, some innate insight.

Of course, at the level of 'Enlightenment Time,' Shen Zhui estimated it still had some use for breaking through to the Great Accomplishment Realm. But if he wanted to reach the 'Perfection' Realm later...

The effect of 'Enlightenment Time' probably wouldn't be as pronounced.

New book—please recommend, please bookmark!