The Mountain Lord's Revenge

In the Great Zhou Dynasty, once the hour of You arrived, it was time to disperse and hand over duties.

Before that, Chen Bin had gone to the reward office and smoothly collected his ten taels of silver.

Clutching the heavy silver, he was in high spirits, his steps light as he entered a bustling tavern.

Inside the tavern, the aromas of wine and food mingled and filled the air.

Chen Bin found an empty seat and ordered a feast worth one tael of silver. Before long, nine hearty meat dishes were served one after another.

Each dish was generous in portion and fragrant.

Chen Bin ate with gusto, savoring every bite until he was full and satisfied, then leisurely rose and made his way home.

For a cultivator, if one didn't eat meat or take medicine, the body would struggle to hold up.

Chen Bin understood this well, which was why he treated himself this way.

Back home, he carefully locked the doors and windows, instantly transforming into a quiet homebody.

He walked to the desk in the room, sat down gently, and opened his panel.

The panel clearly displayed:

[Name]: Chen Bin

[Cultivation]: Body Tempering Realm (Jade Marrow Perfection)

[Merit]: 494

[Martial Arts]:

Golden Sun Body Tempering Technique (Perfection: Cannot Merge)

Demon Suppression Blade Technique (Perfection)

Pure Yang Art - Qi Gathering Chapter (Not Started: 0/50)

Wind Thunder Saber Technique (Not Started: 0/50)

Chen Bin stared at the panel, sinking into deep thought.

"Cannot Merge?"

He murmured to himself, frowning, recalling that the Pure Yang Art - Qi Gathering Chapter was the follow-up technique to the Golden Sun Body Tempering Technique.

So, once the Pure Yang Art - Qi Gathering Chapter was initiated, would the Golden Sun Body Tempering Technique merge into it?

And if the two merged, would he then step into the Qi Gathering Realm?

With this speculation in mind, Chen Bin didn't hesitate and directly chose to consume Merit.

[You consume 50 Merit points. You begin to comprehend Pure Yang Art - Qi Gathering Chapter.]

[You have gained an Initial Glimpse of Pure Yang Art - Qi Gathering Chapter.]

[Your physique has been greatly enhanced.]

[Your cultivation has broken through. Qi and blood flow through your limbs and bones, approaching the Qi Gathering Realm.]

[Remaining Merit: 444]

In an instant, the progress bar for the Pure Yang Art - Qi Gathering Chapter on the panel changed:

[Martial Arts]: Pure Yang Art - Qi Gathering Chapter (Initiated: 0/100)

[Cultivation]: Half Step Qi Gathering Realm (Gathering Qi and Blood, Opening Tanzhong: 30)

[Map]: Detectable range of twenty-five zhang.

Chen Bin looked at the Merit cost of one hundred after the Pure Yang Art - Qi Gathering Chapter, and the thirty after Tanzhong.

Tanzhong meant the Tanzhong Acupoint. Could it be that opening each acupoint cost thirty Merit points?

Which one to add? Chen Bin was stumped.

And besides!

This Merit was simply not enough!

But this thought flashed by, and he snapped out of his focused state.

At that moment, he felt his body growing warm.

Though the Pure Yang Art - Qi Gathering Chapter was only initiated, he could clearly sense a stream of heat within his limbs and bones, steadily gathering toward his chest.

Inside his heart, with every breath, this heat surged along the heart and blood vessels, cycling back through his body over and over.

The path of this circulation seemed to have run thousands of times; even if Chen Bin fell asleep, this heat would still move on its own.

The next morning.

Chen Bin woke up slowly, got out of bed, and washed up methodically.

He walked to the window, looked up at the sky, and saw the sun hanging about thirty to forty degrees above the horizon. From experience, he judged it to be around eight or nine o'clock.

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Today was a day off—to be precise, a rare moment of ease after surviving a life-or-death mission.

Chen Bin had something on his mind. He needed to go to the county office to find Chen Chong.

Chen Chong had a movement technique manual there. He had been thinking about it all day yesterday, and today he planned to go get it.

Today, Chen Bin wasn't wearing the uniform of the Demon Suppression Division. Instead, he had changed into a set of black clothes.

These clothes were a bit tight on him.

But that didn't matter. As long as the clothes covered his body, it was fine.

He hung the Demon Suppression Blade at his waist, then pushed open the door and stepped out.

The aroma from the street-side breakfast stall drifted over. Chen Bin spent thirty Copper Coins on a simple but satisfying meal.

The stall owner recognized the Demon Suppression Blade and initially wanted to refuse payment, but couldn't stop him from paying.

He got a sense of the prices.

It turned out that the forty Copper Coins he had given the day before were indeed too many.

After paying, he headed toward the county office.

Before long, Chen Bin arrived at the county office entrance.

The Officer on duty at the gate saw a stranger approaching and was about to step forward to stop him.

But when his gaze fell on the Demon Suppression Blade at Chen Bin's waist, his attitude did a complete one-eighty, becoming extremely respectful.

After all, the Demon Suppression Blade—who in the county didn't know of it?

Chen Bin stated that he was looking for Chen Chong, and the two gatekeeping Officers immediately volunteered to go report his arrival.

Chen Bin didn't mind and let them decide for themselves.

One of them hurried off to deliver the message.

Chen Bin waited calmly outside the gate.

He didn't want to go in and search for someone himself, nor did he want to be stared at like a monkey once inside.

After a while, the Officer came rushing back, bringing another Officer with him.

He ran up to Chen Bin, bowed slightly, and with a tone that was respectful yet tinged with flattery, said, "Sir, Head Chen isn't at the county office—he's out on official business. But he's still within the city. I have to guard the gate, so I've asked one of Head Chen's subordinates to escort you there."

The Officer who had followed out immediately bowed respectfully.

"Sir Chen, this way, please."

"Let's go." Chen Bin nodded slightly, his tone calm.

A quarter of an hour later, the Officer led Chen Bin to a house in the North Ward.

Outside this house, dozens of commoners had already gathered, all curiously peering and murmuring among themselves.

Chen Bin swept his gaze across the crowd and instantly locked onto two heads marked with Red Names—members of the Demon Race. His eyes narrowed slightly, a flicker of barely perceptible vigilance passing through them.

Chen Bin paid no attention to the surrounding crowd. Under the county Officer's guidance, he pushed through the people and entered the courtyard.

Once inside, he noticed that people from the Demon Suppression Division were also there.

He didn't recognize the man. Judging by his attire, he was likely a Lieutenant under some other Captain.

The man saw the blade at Chen Bin's waist but no official uniform, so he couldn't discern his background. After thinking for a while and coming up with no one matching this description, he concluded that this was neither a superior nor a colleague. He merely gave a cold glance and then ignored him.

Here, only those of the same rank were called colleagues. What were subordinates? Dogs.

Chen Bin wasn't surprised to see someone from the Demon Suppression Division.

According to procedure, for routine cases—unless the Demon Suppression Division handled them directly—the county office would first discover the problem and then notify the Division to assist. Only when the case truly involved demons or monsters would it be fully handed over to the Division.

From the looks of it now, this case was most likely inseparable from demons and monsters.

Chen Chong, still in the courtyard negotiating with the crowd, spotted Chen Bin's arrival and immediately strode over quickly, a hint of surprise on his face. "Chen Bin, what are you doing here?"

"You mentioned a footwork technique last night, so I came to find you today." Chen Bin stated his purpose bluntly.

Chen Chong smiled, a trace of helplessness appearing on his face. "I meant to come find you yesterday, but I was bogged down with trivial matters and couldn't get away."

"What's going on here?" Chen Bin swept his eyes roughly over the courtyard and asked.

"It's retaliation!" Chen Chong said, his expression turning grave. "The South Mountain Lord's retaliation."

Chen Bin frowned deeply at this. "How so?"

"Follow me!" Chen Chong beckoned to him, signaling him to come along.