"Cough, cough."
Jiang Yan began coughing heavily.
"Jiang Yan, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
"Nothing. I just think you look a little old for your age."
Until now, he had never imagined that Ren Tao wasn't even sixteen yet.
"What's wrong with that? Don't you think I look very manly?"
Jiang Yan: "..."
Moving on from that topic, Ren Tao thought for a moment, then said, "The Patrol Team really is dangerous. That Cat-Faced Man monster today must've been a Severe Sha."
Severe Sha?
Jiang Yan asked Ren Tao, "I heard that above Slayer Level monsters are Ranked Monsters. Is that right?"
After a brief silence, Ren Tao thought it over carefully before answering. "I heard someone say there's actually another level above Sha. The official term is 'Sha.'"
"Fierce Sha, Severe Sha, and Blood Sha correspond to the second martial arts realm, the Body Refining Realm."
"Sha, Sha!"
Jiang Yan closed his eyes and committed the two terms to memory.
In an instant, the relationship between martial arts realms and monster ranks became clear to him.
Martial Apprentices corresponded to Slayer Level, Body Refining corresponded to Sha, and Innate corresponded to Ranked Monsters.
"So that means I can barely handle a Fierce Sha?"
He thought of how he had only just entered the Martial Apprentice realm.
Maybe I can't even handle the lowest-level monster, a Fierce Sha, he thought to himself.
The new Patrol Team members gradually began adjusting to life in the team. During the day, they learned from the veterans; at night, they went home and practiced the Chopping Iron Four Forms with all their might.
Ten days later, dawn had only just broken.
Jiang Yan stepped out of his room with his long sword on his back and headed for the square with Ren Tao. Today was their last day of training. Starting tomorrow, no veterans would take the trouble to guide them.
At the square, the Patrol Team members who'd been on night duty had already finished their inspection beneath the Rune Soldiers and were now eating.
Jiang Yan and Ren Tao weren't about to fall behind. They ate flatbread stuffed with pickled vegetables and a small piece of dried meat, washing it down with hot porridge until warmth spread through their bodies.
After breakfast, Jiang Yan and Ren Tao parted ways. Jiang Yan found Shan Renhu on his own and stood beside him, cupping his fists in greeting. "Brother Shan."
Shan Renhu nodded at Jiang Yan without speaking. Before long, Meng Sheng and Qian Peng came over too, and the group exchanged greetings.
"Everyone's here." Shan Renhu took three Yellow Talismans from the small pouch at his waist and handed one to each of them.
"These are Blazing Flames Talismans. Keep them safe, and don't lose them."
Jiang Yan examined the Yellow Talisman in his hand. It was still covered in tadpole-like markings he couldn't understand, but it was much simpler than the Spirit Testing Talisman he'd seen a few days earlier.
The longer he looked at it, the more strangely nauseated he felt.
As he held it, he could feel a warmth radiating from it.
"I told you before: anyone below the Body Refining Realm generally doesn't have the power to fight monsters. Even the Patrol Team members are only stronger than ordinary people. If they encounter a monster, they basically have no way to fight back."
The three nodded. They already knew that.
"When ordinary people fight monsters, we rely mainly on talismans. Using a talisman's power is like a child fighting an adult with a sharp blade. It gives the child a chance."
"Otherwise, when the Patrol Team ran into monsters, they'd be helpless and just wait to die. We'd have been wiped out long ago."
Shan Renhu said seriously, "So make sure you keep this talisman safe. If you lose it, the team won't give you another."
"Talismans are for saving your lives. If you waste one on purpose instead of using it up while fighting a monster, the team won't replace it right away."
Shan Renhu thought for a moment, then added, "Tomorrow, you'll officially be assigned to groups. You'll each receive a Whistling Arrow then. If you encounter a monster, call for help first. Don't try to play the hero."
"Next, I'll show you how to use the Blazing Flames Talisman."
Shan Renhu took out another Blazing Flames Talisman and slapped it against the long spear in his hand. The paper automatically curled around the shaft.
From Jiang Yan's vantage point, strands of runes spread out, quickly covering the spear. At the same time, wisps of incorporeal flame began to burn.
"It looks like fire, but its power is about the same as the Inner Qi inside a Body Refining martial artist."
"That's why we can use talismans to fight monsters."
Body Refining Realm, Inner Qi!
Jiang Yan committed those two terms to memory as well.
Shan Renhu raised his spear and thrust it straight ahead. It was as if he were holding a spear of flame, and the heat distorted the air.
After a brief demonstration, Shan Renhu took the Blazing Flames Talisman off.
Taking it off was even simpler. He pinched the Yellow Talisman and peeled it away—quick and rough.
After the demonstration, he checked the sky and led the three of them toward the pond.
As usual, Shan Renhu went over the things they needed to watch out for on patrol. Most of it was repetition.
But Jiang Yan and the others still listened carefully. Over the past few days, they'd realized that Shan Renhu really was an honest man. He'd shared most of his experience with them.
He talked as they walked, and before long they reached the pond.
"I've already told you everything I can. You'll get the hang of it soon enough. The rest can only come with experience."
"One last thing. You all probably know that monsters are ranked, but those rankings are just something we Humans came up with by forcing monsters into categories based on our own martial arts realms. They're not always accurate. Body Refining martial artists die at the hands of Blood Sha monsters all the time, so never let your guard down."
Jiang Yan and the others nodded silently.
"Brother Shan, I have another question."
"Hmm? Go ahead."
"Why does a gang like the Dahe Gang patrol the villages?"
Shan Renhu froze for a moment and looked at Jiang Yan, then at Meng Sheng and Qian Peng. They were both watching him with curious expressions.
Three bumpkins. They don't even know that? he cursed inwardly.
"Actually, these five villages didn't exist before. After the Dahe Gang started mining here, countless people came here to make a living. Gradually, they gathered on their own and formed villages."
"Every year, they pay tribute to the Dahe Gang and provide the mining district with grain, vegetables, and daily necessities. In return, they seek the Dahe Gang's protection. Otherwise, why would you think our Dahe Gang would go out of its way to send a Patrol Team to protect these villages?"
"The area around Guihua City isn't peaceful either. The authorities have only registered the residents of these villages. They haven't officially taken charge of the area yet."
He paused, then lowered his voice. "Actually, there's an official martial artist among us in the Patrol Team. He came here at the start of the year. The talismans we use were made by him."
"So I'm guessing the authorities are about to officially take charge here. We might be out of a job."
Jiang Yan blinked. He'd originally thought the Dahe Gang was so powerful that it had simply seized a territory and made itself king. Now it seemed the authorities just didn't think these little villages were worth bothering with.
But if the authorities really did send people to govern these villages, they probably wouldn't actually lose their jobs, would they?
He shook his head and put the thought aside. It was too soon to worry about that.
If he really did lose his job, that would be wonderful. The Patrol Team was so dangerous, and he had no intention of staying in it forever.
"By the way, Brother Shan, what would you do if the authorities took charge here?"
"Me? I'd find a way to leave the Dahe Gang, settle down in one of these villages, marry a local girl, and have her give me a big, chubby son!"
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