On Realms

The wind and sand were fierce.

Hooves trod over the yellow earth, neither fast nor slow, as though measuring this lifeless land.

Jiang Yuechu leaned halfway against the horse's back, holding the reins in one hand while studying a book scroll earnestly with the other.

Fortunately, her former self had been proficient in the four arts of qin, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Though the book's contents were obscure, with a little thought, she could roughly grasp their meaning.

In this world, martial arts reigned supreme.

The Mortal Realm involved circulating one's qi and blood, tempering one's muscles and bones. It was the beginning of the martial path.

The so-called Mortal Realm was the circulation of qi and blood and the practice of martial techniques.

By continuously honing one's muscles and bones, one strengthened the body and laid the groundwork for the future.

There was nothing mystical about this stage. It was simply the slow grind of a millstone, piled up through time and sweat.

Most people in the martial world remained at this realm.

Beyond that came the String-Hearing Realm.

String-Hearing meant that, as a martial artist practiced martial techniques and the qi and blood within their body reached a certain abundance, they could hear their own heartbeat and flowing blood within, and hear the rustle of grass and trees, the wind's cry, and the cranes' shriek without.

Only upon reaching this step could one be said to have truly crossed the threshold of martial arts.

Moreover, according to the book, in the String-Hearing Realm, the more profound the martial techniques one cultivated, the more efficiently one could circulate qi and blood, and the faster one's cultivation progressed.

Jiang Yuechu fell into thought.

She was currently at the late stage of the String-Hearing Realm.

As for why the Wolf Demon's technique had not allowed her to break through—

Perhaps the method the Wolf Demon had taught was of too low a grade?

She did not dwell on it and continued reading.

After String-Hearing reached completion came Bone Resonance.

At the sight of those two words, Jiang Yuechu's breathing slowed slightly.

Bone Resonance, Bone Resonance.

Qi and blood coursed through the limbs and every bone, tempering the skeleton until it gave off a resonant hum like metal and stone.

At this stage, the fleshly body became immensely powerful. Ordinary blades and swords could scarcely harm it; it was no longer something mundane means could contend with.

However, breaking through from String-Hearing to Bone Resonance was as difficult as climbing to the heavens.

Not only did one's martial arts need to be sufficiently refined, one also needed an enormous quantity of heavenly treasures—or... the flesh and blood of demons and monsters as a catalyst—to ignite the qi and blood and break through in one stroke.

"Tsk."

Jiang Yuechu closed the book and tucked it into her robes.

It seemed she would have to pay greater attention to such external resources in her future cultivation.

With that thought, she had a plan in mind.

No matter what, she could not avoid the words demons and monsters.

It seemed she had been born to slay demons and eliminate monsters...

Jiang Yuechu laughed at herself.

"Ah..."

"If I really were someone from the Demon Suppression Bureau, how wonderful that would be."

She muttered to herself inwardly.

That way, not only would her identity problem be solved at a stroke, slaying demons and eliminating monsters would also be perfectly justified.

The imperial court would pay her a salary, and all the demons and monsters beneath heaven would be hers to kill.

Unlike now.

Even if she wished to slay demons—

She had no idea where the demons were.

And she had to be cautious of her identity at every turn.

She shook her head, casting those impractical thoughts from her mind, and focused on the road ahead.

Her target was naturally the monster in Jincheng County.

Though she knew very little about that monster and did not even know its strength—

Time waited for no one.

Right now, she had no choices to make.

Though monsters ran rampant, they were not like the NPCs in the games of her previous life, standing there foolishly and waiting for someone to kill them.

Many cunning Great Demons would immediately flee at the mere word that the imperial court was coming to exterminate them, finding some deep mountain or ancient forest in which to hide.

Once everyone had left, they would emerge again to commit evil.

That was also one of the reasons she wanted to infiltrate the Demon Suppression Bureau.

There were occasional people on the official road, all of them fleeing their homes.

Dressed in the ordinary clothing of a martial wanderer, Jiang Yuechu rode her horse against the flow of refugees, standing out like a crane among chickens.

Without those black robes patterned in crimson, she was merely an ordinary woman of the martial world.

Most fleeing commoners only cast her a numb glance, their eyes carrying a trace of confusion.

The girl was certainly pretty, but perhaps there was something wrong with her head?

After all, everyone was fleeing outward, while she alone traveled in the opposite direction.

Jiang Yuechu's expression did not change as she sat atop her horse.

With a casual tug of the reins, she stopped an old man who was leading his grandson forward on trembling steps.

"Sir."

The old man jumped in fright. Only after looking up and seeing that it was a young woman on horseback did he steady himself somewhat.

"Miss... do you need something?"

"How far is Gold City?"

"Gold... Gold City?" The old man froze for a moment, then pointed ahead. "Not far. Another dozen or so li, and you'll be there."

A dozen li.

Jiang Yuechu silently calculated the distance. She should arrive before nightfall.

Seeing that she said nothing, the old man could not resist asking, "Miss, are you... going to Gold City?"

Jiang Yuechu nodded without denying it.

The old man's face immediately filled with disbelief. He waved his hands repeatedly, as though afraid she might be bent on seeking death.

"Miss, listen to this old man's advice. Gold City is not a place you can go now..."

Jiang Yuechu naturally knew why it was not a place she could go.

But she had been worrying over the lack of information, so this was the perfect chance to ask about the situation.

She deliberately put on a puzzled expression. "Oh? Why can't I go?"

"Demons! There's a Great Demon!"

The old man slapped his thigh and said tremblingly, "Several villages around Gold City vanished overnight! They say that monster... aiya, the sight of it—blood flowed like a river, and not a single living soul was left!"

"Now everyone in the city has fled. Even... even the county magistrate abandoned his official seal and ran away with his family!"

"You're so delicate and tender, Miss. Going in there alone—wouldn't that be delivering food to demons and monsters?"

After speaking, regardless of whether she had listened, the old man grabbed his grandson and merged into the crowd without looking back, hurrying away for his life.

Only Jiang Yuechu remained, wearing a strange expression.

Even the county magistrate had run away?

Just how fierce was this monster?

Fragments of memory surged through her mind.

Great Tang law stated that officials bore responsibility for the lands they governed.

When a county head encountered disaster, bandits, or unrest, he could report it and request aid, or close the city and defend it to the death. The one thing he could not do was abandon his post and flee.

Such an act was no different from a general deserting on the battlefield, a crime equal to treason.

Once verified by the imperial court, the lighter punishment was dismissal from office and exile three thousand li away; the heavier punishment was execution of one's entire family, with disaster extending to three clans.

For a scholar who had studied hard in poverty for more than a decade and finally clawed his way up to become the lord of a county to abandon his own life, fortune, and family honor, rolling up his bedding and fleeing—

The monster's difficulty must have reached the point where the magistrate believed being hunted by the imperial court offered a better chance of survival than remaining in Gold City.

Understanding this, she could not help but hesitate.

Should she still go?

Just as she was pondering it—

Two figures suddenly appeared at the end of the official road.

Both wore black, their bodies extraordinarily burly, a head taller than ordinary strong men, with broad shoulders and thick backs.

Jiang Yuechu's pupils shrank, and her hand instinctively pressed against her sword hilt.

Only when they drew closer did she clearly see their appearances.

They looked like people, yet not quite.

Both had a layer of fine black bristles growing over their faces, noses jutting forward, and when their mouths split open, rows of stark white fangs could be seen.