Breakthrough and Cultivation Resources

Carrying the cultivation technique given by the old man, Shen Lin eagerly returned home.

Although his predecessor had a considerable income, both overt and covert, most of his wealth was spent on helping distressed young ladies. Consequently, his living situation was rather shabby.

The courtyard was overgrown with weeds, the gate was missing a piece, and the room was a mess.

Shen Lin had obtained a substantial amount of money from the Mantis Demon. Even after distributing some as compensation to the families of his fallen brothers, he still had nearly a thousand taels of silver on him.

With so much money, he could afford a spacious three-courtyard mansion and even a few maids to serve him.

However, at this moment, he had no time to think about such things; his mind was entirely focused on cultivation.

He sat on the steps and opened the martial arts manual the old man had given him.

Wild Wind Sword Technique

"When wind stirs and waves surge, blood will surely flow!"

"From the mountaintop, I observed the formless gales and comprehended the Wind-Walking Sword Style. With a single strike, be it a slash, thrust, chop, or sweep, its momentum is like a raging storm, leaving the enemy with no time to defend themselves. With this sword style, I have slain countless foes and never once been defeated."

Judging by the introduction on the first page alone, the Wild Wind Sword Technique seemed to have an extraordinary origin, a top-tier martial art.

But just below this text, a line of distorted characters directly dragged its prestige down to the bottom.

"Who are you trying to fool? Didn't this guy get killed by me? This sword technique isn't that great, don't learn it!"

Shen Lin shook his head speechlessly.

It was clear that the founder of this sword style, who had never been defeated, met his end at the hands of his opponent during his first defeat, and that opponent also looked down on the technique.

"Oh well, I don't have any better techniques right now anyway."

Shen Lin shook his head, flipped through the pages, and began to study it diligently.

After a long while, he let out a long sigh and closed the book.

At the same time, a voice echoed in his mind.

[You have learned the martial art Wild Wind Sword Technique. Do you wish to expend lifespan to deduce it?]

Shen Lin hesitated for a moment before finally deciding to give it a try.

After all, he had already deduced the Blood Battle Saber Technique to its absolute limit. To deduce it further, he would need to improve it and create his own technique.

And that would require an unknown amount of Demon lifespan.

Since Master Yuan said that the Wild Wind Sword Technique was better than the Blood Battle Saber Technique, it should at least offer him some benefits.

As he pondered, he moved his mind, and a panel rapidly unfolded before his eyes.

[Year 1: You begin cultivating the Wild Wind Sword Technique. The martial arts experience gained from cultivating the Blood Battle Saber Technique greatly benefits your sword technique cultivation. Your progress is rapid, reaching minor completion in just one year.]

[Year 5: Continuously swinging your longsword, feeling the gentle breeze with each swing, you seem to sense the emotions of the technique's founder. Wild Wind Sword Technique, major completion!]

[Year 12: Through relentless sword practice in wind and rain, you feel as if your longsword has become one with you. A single swing unleashes a roar like a fierce gale. Wild Wind Sword Technique, perfection!]

[Year 15: After achieving perfection in the sword style, you continue to cultivate. You discover that as you practice the sword technique, your Qi and Blood Force begins to gather in specific locations within your body. With your experience cultivating the Blood Battle Saber Technique, you understand that these are new meridians. Upon careful observation, you find that the Wild Wind Sword Technique is connected to a total of four meridians. Although two of them were already opened during the cultivation of the Blood Battle Saber Technique, you still discover two new meridians.]

[Year 48: You successfully open one meridian, and your Qi and Blood Force increases again, elevating your strength to a new level.]

[Year 52: You attempt to open the fifth meridian in one go, but under the impact of your Qi and Blood Force, the blocked meridian remains as unyielding as a mountain peak.]

Wild Wind Sword Technique, perfection!

Shen Lin slowly opened his eyes, which were filled with excitement.

Although he had instantly depleted the Demon lifespan obtained from killing the Ape Demon, his gains were substantial. Different cultivation techniques corresponded to different meridians. The Wild Wind Sword Technique was more advanced than the Blood Battle Saber Technique, being connected to four meridians. Even though two of them were the same as those connected by the Blood Battle Saber Technique, he had still discovered two new meridians and opened one of them, which left Shen Lin very satisfied.

At this moment, he felt his Qi and Blood Force surging within him, his entire body filled with strength.

With a significant increase in his strength came new problems.

Shen Lin frowned, contemplating the last sentence on the System panel.

The difficulty of opening the fifth meridian had increased again. With his current Qi and Blood Force, each impact yielded minimal results. He roughly estimated that at this efficiency, it would take him at least a hundred years to open the fifth meridian. A hundred years! For that, he would need to kill two more Ape Demons. He could only hope that Sun Zhi would be of some use.

The next morning, he woke up. Martial Artists who had generated Qi and Blood Force possessed abundant energy and did not require much sleep to recover. However, Shen Lin, burdened by his thoughts, had not rested well. With dark circles under his eyes, he got up, bought some steamed buns from a street vendor, and then headed to the County Office.

"Chief Qian, have there been any leads on Demons recently?"

He found the head of the Criminal Investigation Department and wanted to find some demons to kill as soon as possible.

Chief Qian shook his head. "Where are all these demons coming from? Sigh~"

He sighed, looking at the case file in his hand, his face full of worry.

Then, he looked up tentatively at Shen Lin. "Brother Shen, there's a case here, quite serious. Do you want to..."

If Shen Lin were still the same person, Chief Qian wouldn't have been so polite, he would have just assigned the work directly.

But after becoming a Martial Artist, although he was still under Chief Qian's jurisdiction, his strength was undeniable. Chief Qian had to communicate with him before doing anything.

Shen Lin asked curiously, "What case? Is it related to demons?"

"It's not demons, it's a Flying Thief!" Chief Qian shook his head. "Recently, some rogue has appeared in the city from who knows where. Several wealthy families have had their valuables stolen."

"A Flying Thief? Can't you just send some constables to investigate?"

Facing Shen Lin's confusion, Chief Qian said with a bitter face, "The problem is that this isn't an ordinary thief. The families that were robbed are all well-known in Qiulin County and have many guards.

"Even look at the Wang Family and the Zhao Family, they both have Martial Artists guarding them.

"Last night, the thief visited the Lu Family, a major household that ranks in the top five in the county, with three Martial Artist guards. But what was the result? This morning, they discovered one of the Martial Artists had disappeared. After a long search, they found his body, killed with a single sword thrust!"

Hearing this, Shen Lin understood why Chief Qian wanted him to take the case.

This Flying Thief was at least a Martial Artist who had cultivated Qi and Blood Force.

Ordinary constables really couldn't handle him.

It was a pity, though. Shen Lin currently had no interest in cases unrelated to demons.

After politely declining Chief Qian, he was about to leave when he suddenly seemed to remember something and asked, "Why don't you find other Head Constables? Head Constable Sun, for example, isn't he free lately?"

"Old Wu needs to recover from his injuries. The others have been sent out of the county by me. Your Head Constable Sun just received resources from the Prefecture's Demon Suppression Bureau today and rushed back to cultivate."

Shen Lin was stunned for a moment, his expression unchanged. "I see. Then I'll be going, Chief Qian."

After leaving the house, he stopped in his tracks and slowly turned his head to the side.

Over there was the direction of Sun Zhi's home.

"Cultivation resources... Ha."