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"Why was Luoding Village slaughtered...?"
This question puzzled not only Chen Yi in the simulation; Chen Yi outside the simulation often pondered it as well.
"Come to think of it, I still need to get in touch with Martial Artists. Isn't there a new Cultivation Method now?"
Chen Yi knew that his Third Brother-in-law was a Martial Artist, so whenever he had the option of seeking refuge with Third Sister, he chose it.
If he ran around the martial world on his own, he might never even get into Martial Artist circles. He could not keep dealing with ordinary people forever.
In the simulation, Shen Qingshan introduced Chen Yi to some basic knowledge of the Martial Dao.
For instance, for commoners, the Martial Dao had six realms:
Body Refining, Spirit Gathering, Soul Tempering, Golden Body, Spirit Sea, and Spirit Condensation.
Why add the qualifier "for commoners"?
Shen Qingshan explained.
"Because realms above Spirit Condensation have nothing to do with commoners. Anyone who can cultivate to the Spirit Condensation Realm is one in ten thousand, a dragon among men and a phoenix among people."
Then there were the grades of Cultivation Methods:
Low-grade, middle-grade, high-grade, Earth Grade, and Heaven Grade.
Shen Qingshan said,
"You can treat Earth Grade and Heaven Grade cultivation techniques as though they do not exist. Each one is a strategic resource, tightly controlled by the imperial family and the top Martial Artist factions. They are not readily passed on even to their own people.
"For ordinary Martial Artists like us, obtaining a high-grade Cultivation Method already means our fortune runs deep."
The Shen Family had once been glorious.
Now that the family had declined until only Shen Qingshan remained, the fact that he could still preserve four middle-grade Cultivation Methods was already like his ancestors underground having begged favors from every possible connection.
Once a faction weakened, its resources would inevitably be carved up by stronger factions. It was difficult to leave anything behind for its descendants.
The four Cultivation Methods Shen Qingshan gave Chen Yi were the external cultivation Zhengyang Art, the Internal Cultivation Fervent Heart Art, and the martial arts Shen Family Spear and Burning Cloud Hand.
Martial arts were used for combat: one was a spear technique, while the other was similar to a palm technique.
External Cultivation trained Blood Qi; Chen Yi had already learned that in the simulation of his previous life.
Internal Cultivation, on the other hand, trained Spiritual Qi.
When a Martial Artist reached the Ninth Stage of Body Refining and their Blood Qi had risen to its limit, they needed to cultivate Internal Cultivation to condense Spiritual Qi, thereby breaking through into the next realm—Spirit Gathering Realm!
Shen Qingshan was a Spirit Gathering Realm Martial Artist.
In a tiny county town, possessing Spirit Gathering Realm cultivation put one among the foremost Martial Artists in strength.
Furthermore, Shen Qingshan's position in the Monster Slaying Division was no ordinary one. He was a Junior Banner Officer, commanding a Monster Slaying Team of more than ten men.
[Year Two, age nineteen.] [Beginning trait draw...] [Draw successful!] ["Long Live Naps" (White): You must take a nap after lunch, or you will have no energy all afternoon.] [Adjust trait?] [Yes/No] [You chose No.] [After staying at Third Sister's home for a year, you practiced martial arts with your Third Brother-in-law. Although your Martial Dao realm did not improve, all your Cultivation Methods progressed.] [You replaced the low-grade external cultivation Reckless Bull Strength with the middle-grade Zhengyang Art, and your Blood Qi improved somewhat faster.] [Unfortunately, you only had a Low-Grade Bone Structure, so you could not get much faster.] [Shen Family Spear and Burning Cloud Hand both reached Entry Level in succession.] [With these two martial arts bolstering you, along with a year of sparring with your Third Brother-in-law, your practical combat ability greatly improved.] [Through your Third Brother-in-law's introduction, you took part in the Monster Slayer examination and selection of White Cloud County's Monster Slaying Division.] [Among the many Martial Artists taking the examination, your Martial Dao realm was basically at the bottom.] [But you had "Serious Punch." During the matches, your opponents were always caught off guard by your punch and sent reeling, unable to tell east from west.] [You successfully entered the Monster Slaying Division and became a Monster Slayer, gaining a stable income.] [However, Monster Slayers had no official establishment; they were similar to contract workers.] [Only upon reaching the rank of Monster Slayer like Shen Qingshan could one be entered into the court's roster of officials and receive an official establishment.] [You joined Shen Qingshan's Monster Slaying Team. You usually carried out duties alongside your Third Brother-in-law, and could ask him about martial arts whenever you had nothing to do. It was very convenient.] [One day, Shen Qingshan received a mission from the Division.] [An Ox Demon was causing trouble in Fire Prosperity Village east of White Cloud County. The Chief Officer ordered Shen Qingshan to lead a team to eradicate it.] [Your team of Monster Slayers rode out of the city and arrived at Fire Prosperity Village.] [Upon entering the village, you found peace and harmony everywhere. Yellow-haired elders and children with dangling locks lived in contentment; it did not look as though a Demon Race had ever caused trouble here.] [You split up to investigate.] [Dimly, you heard a cry for help and followed the sound.] [With a bang, you pushed open the gate of a courtyard.] [Before your eyes lay villagers' corpses strewn every which way, along with the fresh stench of blood in the air.] [A black shadow suddenly lunged out from the corner. You instinctively drew your sword to block.] [The other party was immensely strong, and its body was incomparably hard. Before you could see what the thing was, it had already rammed you to the ground.] [And the longsword in your hand, whether by coincidence or not, actually stabbed into one of the corpses.] [At the same time, a great clamor of footsteps rose outside the courtyard.] [Han Sheng, the head constable of the County Yamen, rushed in with twenty constables.] [When they entered, they happened to see you pulling your sword from the corpse.] ["How dare you, Shen... Chen Yi! You know the law and yet break it! You slaughtered three households in Fire Prosperity Village, eighteen lives in all! Seize him!"] [You were dumbfounded.]
Chen Yi said, "I understand now."
Chen Yi in the simulation was caught up in the situation and deeply shaken, so he had not yet reacted.
But Chen Yi outside the simulation, more rational and viewing matters as an outsider, had already seen through its essence.
This was a trap.
This trap had originally been prepared for Shen Qingshan—the "Shen Qingshan Murderous Maniac Incident" mentioned in the previous simulation.
But in the second simulation, there was an extra Chen Yi.
The trap that should have been used to frame Shen Qingshan had, through a bizarre twist of fate, fallen upon him instead.
"The officials had clearly been prepared here long ago. Whoever entered this courtyard, they would arrest. Does that mean it doesn't matter who gets framed? The key is simply to have someone take the blame?"
Only the County Magistrate could mobilize the County Yamen's constables and head constable.
"There's something wrong with this White Cloud County Magistrate..."
Fortunately, it was only a simulation. Being framed did not matter; he could treat it as stepping on a landmine in advance.
[You refused to be captured without a fight. As you exchanged blows with the constables, you explained that you had not killed anyone.] ["Still trying to quibble! We saw it with our own eyes. How could it be false?"] [Han Sheng was also a Martial Artist. Like Shen Qingshan, he was in the Spirit Gathering Realm.] [With twenty constables wielding chains to assist him, you were no match for them and were bound in iron chains and captured alive.] [Shen Qingshan and the Monster Slaying Team arrived, and seeing this, stopped Han Sheng.] ["Head Constable Han! What does this mean? Why are you arresting my man? If you don't give me an explanation today, don't even think about taking him away!"] [Han Sheng looked at him coldly.] ["Shen Qingshan, this Monster Slayer under your command slaughtered innocents and violated the law through martial force! Of course I'm arresting him! If you obstruct law enforcement, I'll arrest you too!"] [Shen Qingshan snorted coldly.] ["Nonsense! I know exactly what kind of person Chen Yi is. Why would he suddenly start killing people for no reason?"] [Han Sheng sneered.] ["Wouldn't we find out after taking him back for interrogation?"]
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