Sword Drawn, Like Silver Light Exploding

The sun slanted west, outside Yuyang Village, the place where Sheng Fuwu met his end.

At this moment, Sheng Fuwu was reduced to nothing but dust, only his clothes, identification token, some silver, and other items were found scattered by the edge of a small pond.

Ren Yuan clutched Sheng Fuwu's identification token, his expression calm. A sense of sorrow for a fellow creature's demise began to stir within him.

They were all at the Body Refining realm, yet Sheng Fuwu was now without a trace.

He took a deep breath, dispelling these strange emotions.

"Big Boss." Tang Long stepped forward, holding some of the items Sheng Fuwu had left behind, which he had found and collected nearby.

Handing the items to Ren Yuan, Tang Long's face was devoid of emotion. After all, that day Sheng Fuwu had schemed against all three of them.

If not for seizing the opportunity of the Monster's advancement, with Jiang Yan's strength, he might have been dealt with in a few breaths. With the Monster's speed, it was highly likely neither he nor Fei Shan would have escaped.

Rubbing the identification token in his hand, Ren Yuan accepted Sheng Fuwu's belongings. He glanced through them casually. There were no valuable items, but they were indeed the kind of things one should prepare for the wilderness, varied and showing experience.

This indicated that Sheng Fuwu was likely not killed by him. Otherwise, the possessions of a Body Refining realm martial artist would surely be tempting.

In fact, finding Sheng Fuwu's belongings was proof enough. In Yuyang Village, who could kill a Body Refining realm martial artist?

Besides the Monster.

The official sent by the government had sufficient strength, but no motive.

"Hoo..."

Exhaling, Ren Yuan glanced at the sun. It was about to set, and the distant woods were shadowy, dark, and chilling.

"Let's go." In the wilderness at night, unless absolutely necessary, even the strongest martial artist would not linger.

Evening.

Jiang Yan finally met Ren Yuan and Tang Long.

"Now, I have confirmed Sheng Fuwu is missing. I will send word to the hall later."

Ren Yuan ultimately concluded that Sheng Fuwu was dead, but the message he sent to the hall was that Sheng Fuwu was missing.

Because Sheng Fuwu's body had not been found.

However, once this message was sent, the hall would basically be certain.

"Furthermore." Ren Yuan looked at Jiang Yan, Tang Long, and Fei Shan. There were some matters that required Jiang Yan's agreement.

Sheng Fuwu had schemed to have the three martial artists resist the Monster for him, yet he himself had not escaped.

Regardless, he had framed his fellow disciples.

"Sheng Fuwu framed the three of you, violating sect rules. But since he is now missing, there's no talk of punishment."

"Among Sheng Fuwu's belongings, there is a cultivation technique. I can authorize all three of you to hand-copy it."

He said, his expression serious, "But I hope that if anyone asks about this matter in the future, you will only say that Sheng Fuwu and his nephew went into the wilderness and then disappeared. Can you do that?"

Ren Yuan was not whitewashing Sheng Fuwu, but whitewashing Patrol Mountain Hall. There was no other way. A Body Refining realm martial artist schemed against three Martial Apprentices, and the Martial Apprentices were mostly unharmed.

But he himself did not return.

If this news reached Dahe Gang, their Patrol Mountain Hall would be a laughingstock.

He understood his hall master's personality all too well.

If Patrol Mountain Hall became a joke, the hall master would also become a joke. In that case, no one in Patrol Mountain Hall would have an easy time.

If he reported Sheng Fuwu's framing of fellow disciples back, he would not only offend the hall master but also others who were involved in this matter.

For no other reason than the hall master's displeasure would make everyone else's lives difficult.

But in the end, all this resentment would be directed at him.

Therefore, in a short period, he judged that he had to handle this matter according to his own intentions.

He also believed that since the three had not suffered any substantial harm, they would not refuse to be placated with a cultivation technique.

As expected, upon hearing this news, the three agreed without any hesitation.

Half an hour later, Jiang Yan returned to his residence with a External Cultivation manual called Vajra Body.

He had been on night duty yesterday, and again on day duty this afternoon because Tang Long and Ren Yuan had gone out. Therefore, he could rest tonight and did not have to patrol.

As for the original team, it remained a three-person unit. Last time, due to the Fairy Flower curse, the patrol team had lost a full ten people, and the deficit had not yet been filled.

It was impossible to maintain a four-person team.

He was only now beginning to understand why the martial arts aptitude tests in Dahe Gang were so simple and crude. The patrol teams had too many accidents and frequent personnel losses.

Therefore, as long as they had martial arts aptitude, they would recruit them first.

In the end, those with good aptitude who successfully survived would naturally advance to the Martial Apprentice realm and be absorbed into the elite ranks of Dahe Gang, enjoying better treatment.

This was also a method of sifting the elite disciples through the patrol teams, like a great wave washing over sand.

As for those with good aptitude who perished at the hands of Monsters, it could only be said that they had bad luck.

Dahe Gang only looked at the results. If you ultimately became a Martial Apprentice, you would receive better treatment.

Lying in bed, Jiang Yan opened his modifier and directly viewed the three cultivation techniques he hadn't yet practiced.

Secret Technique: Sword Finger
Level: ?
Status: Untrained
Upgrade (No) Deduce (No)

Martial Skill: Fast Sword
Level: 4
Status: Untrained
Upgrade (Yes) Deduce (No)

Cultivation Technique: Vajra Body
Level: 4
Status: Untrained
Upgrade (Yes) Deduce (No)

Monster Value: 2

He first glanced at the Sword Finger Secret Technique, feeling a pang of envy. However, this Secret Technique couldn't be upgraded or deduced even when his Monster value was high. This indicated one thing: to upgrade this Secret Technique, his Monster value wasn't enough!

This indirectly suggested that this Secret Technique likely possessed immense power.

Shaking his head, he decided to save up Monster value before attempting to upgrade the Sword Finger Secret Technique.

Then, he looked at Vajra Body and Fast Sword.

This was a matter of choosing offense versus defense.

For him, it was simple. He had already cultivated the Golden Shield External Cultivation, which had already provided a certain boost to his strength and defense.

But he didn't have a sword skill martial technique yet. When he fought Monsters, he mostly used basic sword stances.

Now that he had the Fast Sword martial skill, he naturally wanted to learn it.

Moreover, he felt this martial skill aligned perfectly with his combat philosophy: strike first and incapacitate the enemy with the most efficient method in the shortest amount of time.

"Hmm..."

Jiang Yan considered carefully.

"Currently, when I encounter Monsters, I still rely on the power of talismans. However, some Monsters are fast, and even with my talismanic energy, I might not be able to hit them."

Therefore, he needed greater speed to deal with Monsters more quickly.

Offense and defense were always a debate with no clear winner. Jiang Yan decided to cultivate Fast Sword without further hesitation.

Upon directly entering the beginner level of Fast Sword, countless techniques for generating force and circulating energy flooded his mind, imprinting themselves into his body's instincts.

Jiang Yan stood up, gripping his sword.

A clearer sense of swordsmanship filled his mind. At this moment, he felt like a martial artist who had practiced Fast Sword for many years.

He could no longer suppress the urge to draw his sword.

The sword flashed out, like a burst of silver light, piercing the air with a sharp shriek.

Jiang Yan looked down at his hand, noticing calluses forming. "My sword speed has increased by about thirty percent compared to before, and this is only at the beginner level."

Thinking of this, he smiled.

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