The Ninth Level of Kaiyuan, the Supernatural Gate

"Yesterday? Well, that was how it went..."

Su Ye briefly recounted what had happened the night before.

"It was largely thanks to the Mithril Inner Armor you requested for me, Director Zhang, that I managed to escape the Murderous Fiend."

"And the Storage Bracelet, too. Thanks to it, I was able to draw my Knife by surprise and wound him."

"Then, by a stroke of luck, I broke through to the ninth level of Kaiyuan and managed to kill him. Honestly, I still find it a little hard to believe."

Zhang Baichuan nodded.

"Yes, that was more or less what I expected. The Murderous Fiend was at the transcendent first heaven. Facing an ordinary martial artist like you, he underestimated you so badly that he didn't even use his protective star power, letting you stab right through his heart with a Knife. It was a close call."

Protective star power?

Was that the layer of power that stopped my Knife from going any deeper?

Su Ye silently committed the term to memory.

Meanwhile, Zhang Baichuan laughed.

"Su Ye, killing the Murderous Fiend who kept wreaking havoc in Fangyuan City was a tremendous achievement. On behalf of all the city's residents and the victims' families, thank you!"

"Also, killing a first heaven member of the Fallen Ones earns you one million in cash."

There was a reward, too?

Su Ye raised his eyebrows.

Not a bad haul.

However...

Seeing Su Ye raise his eyebrows, Zhang Baichuan thought he was dissatisfied and hurried to explain.

"A million isn't much of a reward for killing someone at the first heaven, true, but besides the cash, you'll also receive fifteen Merit Points."

Su Ye looked puzzled. "Merit Points?"

"That's right. Merit Points are the most important reward in the military system. You'll understand later. The further you progress in cultivation, the less useful money becomes. There are plenty of resources you simply can't buy with money."

"The more precious something is, the less likely it is to be available on the open market. You can only redeem Merit Points for it."

"You can look up the details yourself."

"Once you receive Merit Points, your Merit Points redemption system will unlock. You can check it through the Patrol Bureau's internal system later."

Su Ye could hardly wait to pull out his phone and check.

But...

"There's no rush. I suggest you go home first. Otherwise, your family might worry if they wake up and find you gone."

Zhang Baichuan reminded him with a smile.

Su Ye looked at the sky outside.

A pale light had already appeared on the horizon. Dawn really was approaching.

"Thanks for the reminder, Director. I'll head home, then!"

As he stood, Su Ye realized that his wounds no longer hurt at all. The cuts from the Knife had rapidly scabbed over, and it looked as though they would heal completely in just two or three days.

Even the redness and swelling on his face had vanished without a trace.

He put on his jacket.

His family probably wouldn't even realize he had been through a life-or-death battle the night before.

"Here!"

Zhang Baichuan tossed him a bottle of medicine.

"This is the best wound medicine the Patrol Bureau has. Apply it twice a day, and you'll be healed in two days."

For patrol officers like them, it was better to keep their families from finding out they were injured whenever possible.

"Thanks."

Su Ye smiled, tossed the bottle into his Storage Bracelet, and opened the door to leave.

But...

"Right, there's something else I forgot to tell you."

Zhang Baichuan spoke again, his voice somewhat subdued.

"Zheng Feng was already dead when we found him."

"Dead?"

Su Ye stopped and turned, looking at Zhang Baichuan in apparent disbelief.

"Yesterday, I only saw the Murderous Fiend toss Zheng Feng aside. He... actually died?"

Zhang Baichuan nodded. "Actually, when Liao Tingting told us Zheng Feng had been taken hostage by the Murderous Fiend, we knew he was doomed. That fiend never spared anyone who had come into contact with him."

"You did very well, Su Ye. You saved Liao Tingting, and you even stayed behind to fight the Murderous Fiend alone for Zheng Feng's sake."

"As a patrol officer, you did everything you could. You don't need to feel guilty."

"In fact... if something like this happens again, I'd rather you protect yourself. You're far more important to Dong Huang than Zheng Feng was."

That last remark reflected Zhang Baichuan's own bias.

Although saving hostages was Su Ye's duty as a patrol officer, he was still young.

He had yet to reach his full potential, and his future held limitless possibilities.

Zhang Baichuan would rather Su Ye had hardened his heart and stalled for a few more minutes until the other Patrol Bureau officers arrived, instead of confronting the Murderous Fiend alone for Zheng Feng's sake.

Su Ye lowered his head.

He hid the complicated expression on his face.

"I understand, Director Zhang. I'll head home now."

I'll just let Zhang Baichuan keep believing that.

When Su Ye got home, Liu Ruxin was getting ready to go out for groceries.

There was a market right beside the Patrol Bureau's Family Area. The vegetables, fruit, and meat sold there were fresh and cheap, and there were quite a few snack shops as well.

Since moving here, Liu Ruxin's happiness had soared.

"Xiao Ye, what were you..."

"I got up early to exercise and picked up breakfast on the way back."

"Oh, good, good!"

There was silky Tofu Pudding, crisp sesame flatbread, steaming buns, and the little girl's favorite tomato and egg dough-drop soup.

"Wow, this is so delicious!"

Su Baobao held a bowl bigger than her head, beaming as she ate.

"Big Brother, I love this breakfast."

"Then eat plenty. I'll buy you some more tomorrow after my morning workout."

"Mm-hmm! Thanks, Big Brother! But..."

Su Baobao blinked her big eyes.

"Didn't you go out in the middle of the night?"

"Huh? How could that be?"

Su Ye gave her a strange look.

He was certain everyone had been asleep when he left the night before. He had heard each of them breathing, and those long, steady breaths had definitely been those of sleeping people.

This little girl...

Su Baobao blinked uncertainly.

"You didn't? But I thought I heard you in the cultivation room. You sounded like you were in a lot of pain."

"That's impossible. All the cultivation rooms in this building are specially soundproofed. How could you have heard anything? You must have been hearing things because you weren't sleeping properly."

Su Ye put a small steamed bun into her bowl.

"Hurry up and eat, then go to school."

"Oh, okay."

The little girl nodded. She had probably misheard after all.

Su Ye, however, gave her a curious look.

Could this little one... really have heard something?

She was showing signs of Talent before she had even begun cultivating.

Could she have the potential to awaken a supernatural ability?

The Su family enjoyed breakfast together in harmony.

Meanwhile, at the Zheng family home...

Zheng Wuxiang stared at his son's corpse.

He looked as though he had aged tenfold in an instant.

"My son... my son."

Zheng Wuxiang had only ever had this one son.

Who could have imagined that he would have to bury his own child?

Bzz...

The phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated.

Distraught, Zheng Wuxiang pulled it out. But when he saw the message on the screen, a frenzied killing intent suddenly surged around him.

There was only a single line on the screen.

[Zheng Feng's killer: Su Ye]