Promise, New Life

Shen Yi grabbed Niu Ben by the ankle, dragging him from the doorway to the bedside like a sack of potatoes, leaving a long trail of blood behind.

Niu Ben continued to whimper.

His bovine eyes welled up with tears as if begging Shen Yi for mercy.

Shen Yi ignored him, muttering under his breath:

"You like whipping people, huh?"

Smack!

The whip came down, and Niu Ben abruptly curled up and writhed.

Smack!

"You wanted something special, didn't you?"

Niu Ben continued to thrash on the spot.

Smack!

"Is this special enough? Is this surprising enough!"

Shen Yi roared, venting his rage.

The whip in his hand lashed out repeatedly, turning Niu Ben's pale, fatty flesh into a bloody mess.

After a while.

Niu Ben's body stopped thrashing. His face was ashen, and he was on the verge of death.

Shen Yi stepped on Niu Ben's face.

He reached down and pulled out the Wild Goose Saber.

Niu Ben no longer had the strength to scream. He trembled and said:

"You, you, how could you, be so, strong..."

Thwack!

Shen Yi ignored him and chopped off Niu Ben's other arm with a single blow. He murmured, "I swore, scum like you."

"If you fall into my hands..."

Thwack! Shen Yi struck again, severing Niu Ben's left leg as well, "I will definitely..."

Another strike, and the right leg was severed.

"...Tear, you, limb, from, limb!"

Shen Yi spoke through gritted teeth, raising the final blade and chopping off Niu Ben's head.

Whoosh.

He exhaled a long breath.

It was finally over.

Shen Yi looked at the blood flowing like a river and the chaotic scene on the ground.

He felt a little nauseous.

Although he had seen beggars freezing and starving to death on the roadside in the past half-month, this was the first time he had killed someone since transmigrating.

In fact, Niu Ben had already died when Shen Yi chopped off his right leg. He heard the system notification:

[Killed an Unranked martial artist, gained eight months of secluded cultivation time.]

However, Shen Yi wanted to fulfill his promise to tear Niu Ben limb from limb, and also to fulfill his promise to himself!

He needed to adapt to this dog-eat-dog world as soon as possible. From today onwards, Shen Yi would sever his past self and start anew!

Shen Yi walked to the wardrobe in the corner of the bedroom.

He opened it and rummaged through it.

He picked out a relatively clean red gauze dress.

He tore off a strip of it and bandaged his left hand, which had been pricked while gripping the whip, to stop the bleeding.

Then, he immersed his mind in the light screen in his mind:

[Host] Shen Yi
[Cultivation] Unranked
[Martial Arts] Wind Severing Saber Technique (Entry Level), Bone Dislocation Hand (Beginner)
[Secluded Cultivation] 1 year

With the current crisis resolved.

Shen Yi could finally calm down and think about the system, martial arts, and how he should proceed in the future.

He definitely couldn't go back to the Pacification Office.

Being in the same group as Niu Ben, Xu Ping, and Liu Fang, and returning alone after the three went missing, was like walking into a trap.

Staying in the city was also out of the question.

Although the imperial court was muddleheaded, the military preparations were lax, and corrupt officials were as numerous as locusts crossing the river.

The Pacification Office still held considerable prestige, and its ability to search for and arrest people was top-notch. Staying in the city meant being discovered by the Brocade Guard sooner or later.

Fortunately, the Pacification Office wasn't the only power in this world.

In the countryside, there were numerous sects and gangs, bandits and outlaws gathered in the mountains, and wandering heroes wielding swords in chaotic times were often praised.

Freedom and unrestraint!

This was the life Shen Yi yearned for!

And what Shen Yi could rely on now was his system and his current martial arts skills.

Currently, he knew two sets of martial arts.

One was the Wind Severing Saber Technique, and the other was the Bone Dislocation Hand.

These two martial arts were compulsory for entering the Pacification Office, taught by the office's dedicated instructors.

Although both sets of martial arts had simple moves.

They were both easy to learn but difficult to master.

Legend has it that these techniques were created by the General of Divine Might, who swept across the land in his time, to allow soldiers to quickly get the hang of it.

And to solidify their foundation through practice.

Later, these two martial arts were acquired by the Pacification Office through exchange and were also used as compulsory introductory martial arts.

The quality of the martial arts also revealed a clue.

Both the Wind Severing Saber Technique and the Bone Dislocation Hand were second-rate martial arts. Although they couldn't compare to the Innate Realm or the ultimate techniques that pointed directly to the heavens.

They weren't trash either. As the Pacification Office instructors said, they were very suitable for building a foundation.

For Shen Yi's current level, these two skills were enough for him for a while.

Of course, this was just a temporary solution.

As the system showed, although Shen Yi's Wind Severing Saber Technique had advanced to the Adept level, and his Blood Essence was like a dragon, his saber strikes were like the wind.

His cultivation was still unranked.

Shen Yi needed at least an internal energy cultivation method to develop internal energy before he could reach the entry-level threshold in terms of foundation.

To truly embark on the path of martial arts, and even break through the Innate Realm in the future, achieve Grandmaster status, and even shatter the void.

According to what the Pacification Office instructors said before.

Martial arts that reached the divine were divided into twelve realms.

Five realms of Acquired Stage: Entry-level, Third-rate, Second-rate, First-rate, Acquired;

Four realms of Innate Stage: Innate, Outer Core, Grandmaster, Great Grandmaster;

Three realms of Celestial Stage: Harmony of Heaven and Man, Living Immortal, and the mysterious Shattering the Void.

However, this was only a division based on actual cultivation.

Cultivation didn't represent combat power. In fact, the outcome of a battle, in addition to the depth of cultivation...

Also depended on weapon techniques, mutual generation and destruction, experience against the enemy, state of mind, and fighting talent, and so on.

It was rare, but not impossible, for an unranked fighter to kill an entry-level fighter, a first-rate fighter to defeat an Acquired fighter, or an Acquired fighter to suppress an Innate fighter.

Including internal energy, the realm of comprehension of any martial art could also be roughly divided into five stages: Entry, Minor Success, Adept, Major Success, Perfection.

With Shen Yi's current Adept-level Wind Severing Saber Technique, it wasn't impossible to kill an entry-level expert.

But all in all.

This internal energy inheritance was indispensable in the long run.

The Pacification Office certainly had it.

But it wasn't for the likes of Shen Yi and his colleagues. Only the Black Guard above the rank of Squad Leader were qualified to be taught.

Thinking of this, Shen Yi suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

He immediately went to search Niu Ben's discarded clothes. Niu Ben's uncle was Captain Cui Kui, perhaps...

However, Shen Yi was soon disappointed.

Besides a bag of copper coins and silver.

Niu Ben had no other valuable items on him.

Come to think of it, who would carry a martial arts manual with them when they went out to play with women? Niu Ben wasn't that diligent.

But Shen Yi's heart stirred.

As the saying goes, "If you don't enter the tiger's den, how can you catch the tiger cubs?"

He immediately dragged Liu Fang's body outside the alley into the main room, and took all the silver from him and Xu Ping and put it away.

Then, Shen Yi locked the main house and courtyard gate securely, tossing the keys into the roadside canal.

And so.

From now until the scandal breaks tomorrow.

This was the time he could move freely within the city.

Shen Yi immediately took advantage of the night.

Hurriedly returning under the moonlight.

Shen Yi and the others were stationed at the Pacification Office's branch in the Southern District, and each constable was provided with a single dormitory.

And Shen Yi was going to Niu Ben's residence.

If Cui Kui had been giving his nephew special attention, then the secret manual must be hidden in Niu Ben's house.

Walking through the gate of the garrison.

The old gatekeeper was sound asleep in his little house, saving Shen Yi the effort of explaining himself.

In the dead of night, the garrison was deserted.

Shen Yi kept a hand on the hilt of his Wild Goose Saber, his figure darting towards Niu Ben's residence, making only a slight rustling sound.

Before long.

Shen Yi arrived at a detached courtyard.

Originally, a Pacification Office Captain wasn't qualified to live in a detached courtyard.

Of course, Niu Ben had connections within the garrison, indicating that Cui Kui was indeed good to his nephew.

With a creak, Shen Yi pushed the door open and entered.

He looked up at the deep night sky, then went straight into the largest main room in the center.

And began to search carefully.