Ye Yun rose to his feet, his robes fluttering without a breeze. Light gleamed in his eyes, then drew inward, and his entire bearing changed in an instant, the exact opposite of his former sickly air.
Ye Yun's gaze settled on the stone locks in the courtyard. They were meant for building strength.
According to the memories of his former self, after years of training, this body could lift a three-hundred-pound stone lock with ease, and five hundred pounds with all its strength.
Ye Yun walked over to the stone locks and looked at the largest one. Gripping it with both hands, he suddenly drove upward with his legs and easily raised it over his head. He held it there for several seconds, then slowly lowered it. Ye Yun felt as if he had more strength left to spare.
His former self could never have lifted a stone lock this large. It must have weighed around eight hundred pounds.
Yet today, he could lift it with ease. Ye Yun silently calculated that his current strength could probably bear a thousand-pound load.
According to his former self's memories, being able to bear a thousand pounds was within the strength range of a Ninth Rank martial artist, unless one had tempered their body or possessed astonishing talent.
Ye Yun looked toward the weapon rack and casually picked up a saber. It was made of steel and shaped like an ox tail. The blade was covered in dense rust spots and had not been sharpened. It was an exceedingly ordinary weapon, likely used for training.
Ye Yun held the saber in one hand and slowly closed his eyes, recalling the Po Yue Dao Technique.
He suddenly murmured, "Po Yue Saber Technique, First Form: Ripping Silk." The opening strike rang out like silk tearing, seizing the enemy's spirit; the saber followed the sound.
The leaves on a branch ahead were swept away by the saber qi, even though Ye Yun still stood several yards from it.
Though Ye Yun had fused with his former self's memories, he had never personally experienced the sensation of saber qi leaving the body. If his strength were just a little greater, it would have chopped through the branches, not merely stripped away the leaves.
This was far more realistic than the special effects in wuxia novels and xianxia dramas. Ye Yun calmed himself. It seemed his path in martial arts had only just begun.
Hearing the sounds in the courtyard, Uncle Fu came out of the kitchen. He glanced at the branches and said in puzzlement, "There wasn't even a strong wind. How did so many leaves fall?" He failed to notice how cleanly the leaves had been severed, a clear sign they had been cut.
"Yun, the food's ready. Time to eat," Uncle Fu said warmly to Ye Yun. Then he turned and went into the kitchen, returning with two plates of vegetables and a bowl of porridge.
Ye Yun had not eaten a proper meal in several days, and only now did he feel a fierce hunger. He hurriedly took a few bites, which eased the feeling.
The two quickly finished lunch, and Uncle Fu began cleaning up again. Ye Yun sat directly on a stone stool in the courtyard and began to cultivate, sensing the Essence Qi of heaven and earth as it washed through his meridians again and again.
After several cycles of the Greater Celestial Circuit, Ye Yun felt that he was just one step away from entering a new realm.
He decisively continued absorbing the Essence Qi of heaven and earth. Before long, he heard a faint, muffled sound. His body seemed like a canal whose floodgate had been opened, as Essence Qi rushed rapidly through his entire form. This was the Ninth Rank.
Ye Yun felt his blood flowing like liquid mercury, his skin as tough as leather, and his essence, qi, and spirit all rising to a new level. The wounds on his body had also healed.
After two days of cultivation, Ye Yun had stabilized his Ninth Rank realm. Ever since his talent awakened, he felt that his progress had been advancing by leaps and bounds.
He could now lift the eight-hundred-pound stone lock in the courtyard with ease, using only four or five tenths of his strength. He estimated that his strength was around eighteen hundred pounds.
According to his former self's memories, the constable Chen Qingzhou was a Ninth Rank martial artist. He was in his forties and had been at Ninth Rank for over a decade. His strength was probably around seventeen hundred pounds. Ye Yun was slightly stronger than him.
After two days of recuperation, Ye Yun returned to the county yamen. Though he had been seriously injured and the yamen had told him to rest, he could not sit still.
As soon as he approached the county yamen that day, he sensed the oppressive atmosphere. The losses from the raid a few days ago had been severe, with several dead and wounded. Everyone had yet to recover from the sorrow.
He ran into a constable named Yan Xiao Liu, a few years older than Ye Yun. His martial talent was decent, and supposedly, he was only one step away from entering the ranks. Ye Yun greeted him. Yan Xiao Liu spotted Ye Yun too and asked in disbelief, "You've healed, kid?"
After all, Ye Yun had been gravely wounded during the raid that day, on the brink of death and liable to die at any moment. Yan Xiao Liu had been the one to take him home.
After only a few days apart, Ye Yun had completely recovered. Yan Xiao Liu was astonished.
"Sixth Brother, I'm young, so I recover quickly. I feel fine now, so I came back on duty." As they spoke, the constable Chen Qingzhou hurried toward them.
Chen Qingzhou looked at Ye Yun in surprise, equally astonished by his recovery. After all, Ye Yun had been on the brink of death just a few days earlier.
"Chief, you look like you're in a hurry. Has something happened?" Yan Xiao Liu asked bluntly.
"Come with me. I'll explain on the way." With that, Chen Qingzhou hurried off.
It turned out that someone had reported a case early that morning, saying a village several miles away had been massacred.
Before long, they reached the devastated village. Its walls lay in ruins, and corpses littered the ground. There were no survivors. The sight sent a chill through them.
Some people had already gone to question the nearby villages, looking for clues.
Ye Yun carefully examined the scene. The ground was a mess. From the footprints and hoofprints, he judged that dozens of people at the very least had taken part in the village massacre. Judging by the wounds on the bodies, each victim had been killed with a single stroke. The bandits were clearly ruthless.
After a brief analysis, he concluded that they were likely a band of mountain bandits. Before long, the investigators returned and reported that people from a nearby village had seen a gang of bandits attacking from a distance.
From afar, they had appeared to be the bandits of Woniu Mountain.
"Those bandits are utterly inhuman!" Yan Xiao Liu said indignantly.
"That's right. They're growing more and more brazen. I hear a Second-in-Command joined their stronghold a while ago, greatly increasing its strength. They've been robbing people everywhere, and passing merchant caravans don't dare travel that way anymore. But now they've even massacred a village," Constable Chen Qingzhou said with a furious expression.
"But their good days are nearly over," Chen Qingzhou added in a lowered voice.
Ye Yun and Yan Xiao Liu looked at Chen Qingzhou curiously.
It turned out that the bandits had robbed a merchant caravan some time ago. Big Shots backed that caravan, and the robbery had greatly displeased one of them. The Big Shot had already put pressure on the local authorities to eliminate the bandits.
"But can people like us really wipe out the bandits?" Yan Xiao Liu asked doubtfully.
"Of course it won't be just us. I hear the local garrison will be deployed. These bandits have been running wild in the area. It's time they paid the price. We'll probably only need to assist from the sidelines. We won't have to take action ourselves," Chen Qingzhou guessed.
So that was how it was. After Ye Yun and the others finished examining the scene, they went back to report.
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