Outskirts Patrol

After the Iron Ox Technique entered the Proficient Realm, the feeling of linking the five forms together was completely different from before.

The circulation of vital blood within his body no longer required deliberate guidance. His body had already formed instinctive memories, and every rise, carry, turn, and close of each form had become much smoother.

After practicing the Iron Ox Technique, Li Yuan went out to patrol the market district along East Street, maintaining order while keeping an eye on the roadside stalls.

When he reached the fork near North Alley off East Street, he saw several people gathered around a roadside stall.

Li Yuan walked over and took a look. Several miscellaneous items were laid out on the stall: two old Dharma Artifacts, a rusty Flying Dagger, a few mediocre ore stones, and a thumb-sized green Jade Bead placed in the center of a cloth mat.

Li Yuan placed his finger on the green Jade Bead.

The Panel did not respond.

He moved it to the rusty Flying Dagger.

Still nothing.

Finally, his finger touched a copper ring.

[Detected equippable item: Spirit Gathering Ring (Intact)]

[Item Affix grade: White]

[Note: Item does not belong to user. Cannot equip. Detailed information unavailable.]

Li Yuan turned the copper ring over for a look. Beneath the patina on its surface, several fine, dense lines were faintly engraved—traces of Spirit Patterns.

This had originally been a Dharma Artifact meant to assist cultivation. Its grade was not high, but it was no mere piece of street-stall junk.

"How much is this?" Li Yuan raised the copper ring in his hand toward the stall owner.

The stall owner was a lean, wiry middle-aged Rogue Cultivator. His eyes lit up.

"Fifteen Spirit Stones. This is a proper Spirit Gathering Ring. It used to sell for more than twenty on the market. It's only this cheap because I'm clearing stock."

Li Yuan put the copper ring back without bargaining.

He did not have enough Spirit Stones on hand.

These past few days, Li Yuan had occasionally come into contact with various items, and system prompts sometimes popped up. But most of them were beyond his means, while the few he could afford were of little use.

Judging from the equipment he currently had on him, Affix functions were closely tied to an item's purpose.

And even if he could afford them, he had no Equipment Slots left. The Nurturing Origin Technique and White Corn were still waiting.

Li Yuan continued down North Alley, turning over ways to earn Spirit Stones in his mind.

His monthly salary was fixed. It was unrealistic to expect to save money through ordinary means.

If he wanted to earn Spirit Stones quickly, the most direct method was joining the Guard Squad.

The Guard Squad paid ten Spirit Stones a month, nearly twice what Patrol Inspectors earned. And now that he was a Deputy Captain, he would definitely earn more than that if he joined the Guard Squad.

Moreover, the Guard Squad's duties were no longer limited to patrolling around the market district. To deal with the situation of Demonic Beasts migrating outward, the Guard Squad had expanded its operations—taking the initiative to strike into the areas around the Yuanheng Mountains and clear out Demonic Beasts. The Monster Material from slain Demonic Beasts was divided among the participants. With good luck, one trip could yield several dozen Spirit Stones.

Besides that, the market district kept a batch of bounty missions posted year-round. They ranged from clearing out Demonic Beast nests in certain locations to tracking down Cultivator Bandits, with rewards ranging from several to dozens of Spirit Stones. Whoever completed one claimed the reward.

These were all fast ways to make money. But Li Yuan dismissed them almost without a second thought.

The premise of making money quickly was returning alive.

The casualty rate among Guard Squad teams that took the initiative to strike had always been high.

He had an Equipment Panel and a promising future ahead of him. There was no need to gamble his life for a few Spirit Stones.

If he had to save slowly, then he would save slowly.

As his patrol drew to a close, Li Yuan returned to the Patrol Squad headquarters to report in.

The door to the main room stood open. Wang De sat behind a desk with a long roster spread out before him, while a clerk from the Management Office stood beside him. The two were discussing something.

Li Yuan waited at the doorway for a while.

The clerk left first. Only then did Wang De wave Li Yuan inside.

"Perfect. There's something I need to inform you about."

Wang De pushed the roster on the desk aside and pulled out a new document from underneath.

"The Wang Family is recruiting a group of Rogue Cultivators."

Li Yuan took the document and scanned it.

The document was brief. Its general meaning was—due to the severe shortage of Guard Squad personnel lately, the Wang Family had decided to openly recruit Rogue Cultivators from inside and outside the market district. Those selected would become peripheral members of the Wang Family and sign short-term contracts with them. Their main duty would be assisting the Guard Squad in maintaining public order around the market district.

The treatment was roughly the same as that of official guards. Monthly salary would be issued according to cultivation and strength, basic Medicinal Pills would be provided, and shares from hunting Demonic Beasts would be calculated proportionally.

However, there would be a selection process.

The contract term would be no shorter than three months and no longer than one year.

"They're short-handed to this extent?" Li Yuan asked.

Wang De leaned back in his chair and took a sip from his tea bowl.

"About half the Guard Squad is patrolling outside now, while the other half is stationed around the market district. On top of that, there are more and more missions that require taking the initiative to strike. The Wang Family doesn't want to transfer more people from the main family, so they can only recruit from among the Rogue Cultivators."

Wang De set down his tea bowl and glanced at Li Yuan.

"The Rogue Cultivator side is the Guard Squad's business. You don't need to worry about it. But there's something that concerns you."

"After the Guard Squad's manpower was transferred outward, they could no longer keep up with patrols around the market district. The Management Office's decision is to temporarily transfer the outskirts patrols to the Patrol Squad."

Li Yuan's brows twitched slightly.

The outskirts of the market district—those had previously been the Guard Squad's area of responsibility.

From the market district walls to the area several li around them, including the Rogue Cultivator settlement and several main roads entering and leaving the market district, all of those places had originally been patrolled by the Guard Squad.

If the Spirit Field District was included, the area was even broader.

The Patrol Squad only handled matters inside the market district walls. The responsibilities on the two sides had always been clearly divided.

"I've arranged the patrol routes and times for the outskirts." Wang De handed over another document. "You won't need to go every day. Once every three days."

Li Yuan accepted the document and looked it over. It marked the patrol route, the places it would pass through, and points that required attention.

The route was not particularly far, but safety was the problem.

The Rogue Cultivator settlement, for example, had been attacked just a few days ago. Two people had died.

"What extra compensation is there?" Li Yuan asked.

"You'll receive an additional half a Spirit Stone for each outskirts patrol. About ten times a month."

That came to five Spirit Stones a month. Added to his original monthly salary of six Spirit Stones, it totaled eleven.

Compared to the risks of joining the Guard Squad, that income was already quite good. Besides, he could not refuse it.

Li Yuan put away the document and nodded in agreement.

By the time he left the headquarters, the sun had already tilted westward.

Li Yuan headed toward his residence along North Alley.

When he reached the residential area, Li Yuan spotted someone new in front of the row of Wooden Cabins where he lived.

A tall, thin young cultivator stood outside the door of the room beside Fang He's, hanging an old cloth curtain over the doorframe.

Hearing Li Yuan's footsteps, the young cultivator straightened up and turned to look at him.

He was around twenty-five or twenty-six, with fair features. He was not short, but rather thin, and wore a blue-gray long robe faded from washing. His aura was steady.

Their gazes met for a moment.

The young cultivator clasped his hands in greeting, his manner polite.

"My name is Chen Shu. I just moved in."

"Li Yuan."

Chen Shu nodded and said nothing more. He turned back to continue hanging his cloth curtain.

Unlike Fang He, who had come over on the day he moved in and chatted for a while, this man considered exchanging names enough of a greeting.

Li Yuan did not ask further either. He nodded, pushed open his own wooden door, and went inside.

Next door, the cloth curtain rustled in the wind. Before long, everything fell quiet.

Li Yuan slid the bolt into place and sat down beside the bed.

He first practiced the five forms of the Iron Ox Technique once. Vital blood coursed through his body along fixed routes, washing over his organs and limbs. After reaching the Proficient Realm, every rise, carry, turn, and close of each form had become smoother by far than at the Entry Level, and his body's instinctive memory was growing stronger and stronger.

After finishing the Iron Ox Technique, he practiced the first three forms of the Nurturing Origin Technique twice more.

The Nurturing Origin Technique was still progressing slowly. Without the empowerment of equipment, he had to rely on feel to locate every node of vital blood. After practicing the third form, Blood Enrichment, once, it took longer than all five forms of the Iron Ox Technique combined.

[Nurturing Origin Technique: Entry Level (78/200)]

After finishing both techniques, Li Yuan sat cross-legged and began circulating the Spirit Guiding Art.

Spiritual energy entered his body, pure and free of impurities, as it rapidly coursed through his circulation.