Lin Guanhuo followed Steward Liu to collect the reward money, along with ten Qi Boosting Powders.
By the time everything was taken care of, it was already evening.
Lin Guanhuo returned to the small, private courtyard that belonged to him.
He shut the door tight and sat cross-legged.
He did not rush to take the Qi Boosting Powder.
Instead, with a thought, he summoned the system panel.
[Name: Lin Guanhuo] [Lifespan: Forty-two years] [Realm: Body Tempering sixth-grade] [Martial Arts: Mountain Piercing Art Minor Accomplishment (7%), Precept Breaking Saber Art Killing move first layer (2%)] [Remaining Draw Sword count: 16,000]
This time, he had reaped a rich harvest. Not only had he amassed 16,000 Draw Sword counts,
he had also obtained a large sum of reward money, medicinal herbs, and a treasured saber.
Staring at the 16,000 Draw Sword counts, Lin Guanhuo's eyes gleamed.
Back at Li Family Fort, he had witnessed the might of the Mountain Piercing Art firsthand.
With Black Armor bolstering him, he could withstand the full-force strikes of three Spirit Transformation Yellow-Skinned Weasels without budging an inch!
Sure enough, you had to stay alive to deal damage!
"Defense is the foundation of survival."
Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Guanhuo focused his mind on the Mountain Piercing Art.
He poured in 10,000 Draw Sword counts at once!
"Begin comprehension!"
Lin Guanhuo promptly entered a state of deep comprehension.
At that moment, Lin Guanhuo could be seen sitting cross-legged on his bed, circulating the Mountain Piercing Art's mental cultivation method.
Before long, black scales covered his entire body, like a suit of armor!
Beneath the lamplight, they glimmered with a dim sheen!
Day after day passed.
As time went by, Lin Guanhuo's body began to change. The layer of black armor clinging to him gradually grew duller.
Then, streak after streak of gold slowly emerged!
On the morning of the third day,
the black armor covering Lin Guanhuo's body had completely transformed into gold.
He now resembled a golden statue, standing motionless, with an Invincible body!
[Mountain Piercing Art advanced to the Great Accomplishment stage!] [Mountain Piercing Art Golden Armor (0%)]
As the system notifications appeared, Lin Guanhuo slowly opened his eyes and looked down at his arm.
It was as if golden light flowed beneath his skin. With the slightest exertion, his muscles instantly tensed.
His defense was now incomparably stronger than before.
"Strong."
Lin Guanhuo clenched his fist, feeling the surging defensive power within him.
Now, even if he faced a First Rank Martial Master, he could remain calm and composed.
That was the confidence Golden Armor gave him!
He glanced at the panel. The next breakthrough required a full 20,000 Draw Sword counts.
But he had only 6,000 left...
"Still a long way off."
Lin Guanhuo did the math. Even if he exchanged all of his remaining forty-plus years of lifespan, he still wouldn't have enough to reach 20,000, even with the 6,000 he had on hand.
He couldn't be too greedy. Now that he had armor, it was time to sharpen his blade.
"Pour it all into the Precept Breaking Saber Art."
With another thought, Lin Guanhuo dumped all 6,000 of his remaining Draw Sword counts into the Precept Breaking Saber Art.
Another two days passed.
[Precept Breaking Saber Art Killing move advanced to the third layer, Tiger Subduing Style!]
On the morning of the second day, Lin Guanhuo abruptly opened his eyes, a flash of light in them!
He was full of energy. Holding the Green Long Saber, he gave it a light swing!
ROAR!!
With just a casual draw of his saber, a gale whipped through his courtyard, sending leaves and grit flying in every direction.
With that single slash, a tiger's roar seemed to ring out.
"Ferocious!"
Lin Guanhuo lowered his hand, marveling inwardly.
Only after he had cultivated the Precept Breaking Saber Art's basic form to Great Accomplishment had he truly grasped the essence of the art.
The Precept Breaking Saber Art was common as dirt, just a First Rank martial art.
Anyone could learn it from a book. Its moves were simple to the extreme, with no technique to speak of.
But it was like the weightlifting champions of his past life. Anyone could lift a barbell; there was no secret to the movement.
But lifting several hundred kilograms took day after day of grinding and building up strength, so tedious it beggared belief.
As evening fell, Lin Guanhuo changed into plain clothes and slipped out of the Demon Suppressing Division without a sound.
He made the rounds of the city's herbal shops, spent 350 taels of silver, and bought ten more bottles of Qi Boosting Powder.
Counting the ten powders Commander Zhou had rewarded him with, he now had a full twenty bottles in stock, enough to sustain his all-out cultivation for a while.
Back at the Demon Suppressing Division, he first went to the bathhouse and soaked in a hot bath, washing away the stench of blood and his fatigue. He felt refreshed and clear-headed.
Then he strolled over to the Main Courtyard dining hall.
The meals served to official Division Servants at the Demon Suppressing Division were far better than those at the Apprentice Plaza.
Braised Beef was piled up in huge basins like little mountains, with as much as anyone could eat. The wine was free for the taking, too.
Lin Guanhuo didn't hold back. He got himself three large bowls of beef and a pot of wine, found a corner, and dug in.
"Lord Lin, enjoy your meal!"
"Lord Lin, just let us know if you need anything from us."
While he ate, many Division Servants passing by stopped to bow respectfully to him.
Among them were even a few old hands who had served for years, all wearing ingratiating smiles.
Lin Guanhuo had made a name for himself with a single battle. Within days, the news had spread throughout the Demon Suppressing Division. Even some of its officially listed experts had heard of him.
Lin Guanhuo was now, without question, the strongest person below the officially listed experts in the Demon Suppressing Division.
That was the benefit of strength.
Wherever you went, you earned respect.
Lin Guanhuo had eaten his fill and was just about to leave.
Then he saw several odd-job workers rushing into the Demon Suppressing Division's Main Courtyard with two stretchers. Blood dripped along the ground behind them.
"Quick! Get a doctor!"
A crowd of Division Servants had gathered around, pointing and talking among themselves.
"This is awful... Aren't those two newcomers who just joined the Demon Suppressing Division?"
"I heard they took a job meant for five people, just to get their hands on the 500 taels of High Reward Money."
"They must've been out of their minds for money. It was a Pig Demon! Thick-skinned, strong, able to crush a person in one bite. They say if an officially listed lord hadn't happened to be patrolling nearby, those two wouldn't have had a scrap of bone left."
Hearing that, Lin Guanhuo stepped closer for a look.
Then he saw it.
The person lying on the first stretcher was covered in blood, his face as pale as paper. He groaned in pain.
His Right Hand had been severed at the wrist, the stump a bloody mess.
It was Shen Yifan, who had joined the Demon Suppressing Division in the same batch as Lin Guanhuo.
"Brother Shen?"
Lin Guanhuo was clearly surprised to see Shen Yifan.
The person on the stretcher behind him was in even worse shape.
It could hardly be called a person anymore, just a mangled corpse.
No head.
The lower half of the body was gone too, everything below the waist torn apart.
All that remained was a blood-soaked garment. From its style, it was clearly a woman's, and it looked vaguely familiar.
Lin Guanhuo had a bad feeling. "Th-this person is?"
At the sound of a familiar voice, Shen Yifan struggled to open his eyes. "Brother... Brother Lin."
"It... it's Miaomiao... Li Miaomiao..."
Lin Guanhuo frowned.
Li Miaomiao?
The Li Miaomiao who had once asked him for guidance in martial arts?
Shen Yifan's voice trembled. "It was too strong... That Pig Demon was too strong... I didn't even have time to react..."
"It opened its mouth... and swallowed Miaomiao whole... I risked my life trying to pull her out, but all I could save was this half of her body... At least... at least she can be laid to rest..."
Lin Guanhuo gazed at the mangled corpse and fell silent for a long while.
He still remembered how Li Miaomiao had once been strikingly beautiful, with everyone fawning over her.
Now, all that remained was half a rotting corpse.
"Alas..."
Lin Guanhuo couldn't help sighing.
Life was unpredictable.
Lin Guanhuo patted Shen Yifan on the shoulder. "Get some rest and recover, Brother Shen. The important thing is that you survived. I'll come see you another day."
He watched as they carried the stretchers away, then headed for his own quarters, his heart heavy with emotion.
Li Miaomiao and Shen Yifan had both been newcomers in the same batch as him.
Back at the Apprentice Plaza, everyone had sworn to wipe out demons and defend their corner of the land.
Who could have imagined that after just one or two months in the Demon Suppressing Division, they'd meet such a grim end—not even leaving a complete corpse behind...
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