Blue Trait

Spirit qi surged in from all directions. After being filtered by that invisible barrier, it became pure and crystalline, then raced through his meridians under the impetus of Circulation Acceleration.

One circulation ended, followed immediately by the next, repeating in an unbroken cycle.

The speed was fast, but the results were already quite limited.

The spiritual power within his Dantian was nearing saturation. With every completed circulation, the newly added spiritual power was negligible. Most of the effort went into tempering it—repeatedly refining the spiritual power he already possessed, removing the minute impurities lingering deep within it, making it purer and more condensed.

This was the bottleneck: his spiritual power was full, yet had nowhere to go.

It was like continuing to pour water into a pool already filled to the brim. However much went in, that much overflowed. The original owner of this body had been stuck at this threshold for nearly two years. In the end, he had forcefully charged through with a Breakthrough Pill, suffered qi deviation, and died. The lesson from the overturned cart lay right before him.

But tempering was not meaningless.

The purer the spiritual power, the less impact it would have on his meridians and organs during a future breakthrough, and the higher his chances of success would be.

The impurity-removing effect of the Spirit Qi Filtration trait helped enormously in this regard—every wisp of spirit qi entering his body was spotless, saving him a great deal of time otherwise spent cleansing mixed and impure spiritual power.

Outside the window, the sky shifted from pitch-black to deep blue, then from deep blue to a faint gray-white.

Li Yuan opened his eyes and slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air. With a thought, the Panel appeared.

[Spirit Qi Filtration (White)]

[Permanent Progress: 65/100]

Over the night, he had advanced thirteen circulations. The efficiency of running both traits at once was indeed impressive. At this pace, permanent activation would likely be completed in around three more days.

Putting away the Panel, Li Yuan rose from the bed. His muscles and bones were slightly sore, but his spirits were fairly good. His clothes were spotless, without even a speck of dust on them. The effects of the Clean Physique remained stable.

The morning air carried a trace of chill. After straightening his clothes and hanging his waist token at his belt, Li Yuan pushed open the door and stepped outside.

Today, it was his turn to patrol the area around North Alley and East Street.

Before he even entered the market district, he heard the distant clamor of voices.

As he turned into East Street, the sight before him was far livelier than it had been a few days ago.

The empty spaces along both sides of the main street were nearly packed full. Quite a few unfamiliar faces squatted by the roadside, spreading out a piece of cloth in front of them to count as setting up a stall.

They sold all kinds of things: scraps of ore, leftover herb roots, beast hides and bones, crudely made Talismans, and even half a broken sword, covered in rust. No one knew which forgotten nook or cranny it had been dug out of.

Most of these new stall owners were plainly dressed and dusty from travel. At a glance, they were Rogue Cultivators who had spent years roaming outside.

The Yuanheng Mountains were still unsettled, and another group of Rogue Cultivators had poured in.

This was good news for the Wang Family's income. Stall rents and shop revenue would both rise. But for Patrol Inspectors, it meant more trouble—once people became mixed together, friction was unavoidable.

Li Yuan walked the length of East Street, but no major incidents occurred along the way.

A few stall owners had set up too far outward, blocking half the passageway. Li Yuan stepped forward and reminded them with a few words, and they all cooperatively shifted inward.

When he reached the middle section of North Alley, an argument broke out ahead.

Two men who looked like Rogue Cultivators stood facing each other in the middle of the alley, each pointing at the other's stall. Their voices were not loud, but both spoke with fire in their tones.

"I set up here yesterday. I claimed this spot first."

"You claimed it first? Just because you spread that rag of yours on the ground? When I came this morning, there was nothing here."

Li Yuan walked a few steps closer and roughly understood what had happened.

The cause of the dispute was simple. Their stalls were pressed tightly together, with almost no space between them.

The man on the left sold low-priced ore scraps, a half-pile of dusty gray stones. The stall on the right displayed several bundles of dried herbs, tied crookedly and unevenly.

As they shoved each other, the ore scraps knocked over the bundles of herbs. Dry grass scattered across the ground, and several chunks of ore rolled away as well.

"Look at that! You've scattered all my things!"

"You set your stall so cramped yourself. Who can you blame?"

They looked ready to keep arguing, but fortunately, they were only unwilling to yield verbally. Neither made a move, nor were there any signs of spiritual power being circulated. In the end, it was merely a cramped stall space. Neither had any reason to truly fight over such a trivial matter.

Li Yuan stepped forward and showed the Wang character embroidered on his chest.

"Enough. Both of you, say less."

The moment they saw the Patrol Inspector, their voices immediately dropped.

The herb seller spoke first. He was around thirty, dark-skinned, with several patches sewn onto his short gray hemp coat. Cupping his hands, he said, "Patrol Inspector, please judge fairly. I had my stall set up here before dawn, but he insisted on squeezing in beside me afterward—"

"I was here yesterday," the ore seller cut in. He was around forty, thin and wiry, dressed in a faded blue cloth robe. A sparse tuft of short beard grew on his chin. Though he had lowered his voice, his tone still carried a touch of defiance.

Li Yuan looked at the distance between the two of them, then swept his eyes over the scattered items on the ground.

Ore scraps and dry grass were mixed together. A few stalks of grass had broken, but the ore was undamaged, rolling about on the ground in dusty gray lumps.

"Stalls in North Alley are not assigned by who came first. They are based on rent. Since both of you are in this alley, each move half a step to the side and leave a passageway between you."

Li Yuan's tone was calm. He favored neither side, and his words left no room for negotiation.

A Patrol Inspector's words still carried some weight before these Rogue Cultivators.

The two exchanged a glance. Though still unwilling, they could not continue arguing. Each muttered something under his breath and began tidying up.

The herb seller bent down to gather the scattered dry grass. The ore seller also squatted down and picked up the stones that had rolled away, one by one.

Li Yuan did not merely stand there. He bent down and casually helped as well.

Several ore scraps were returned to the stall, and the two loosened bundles of dry grass were tied up again. A few small items still lay scattered across the ground.

As Li Yuan bent down to pick up the scattered scraps, his fingers touched something cool and smooth, far lighter than the ore fragments.

It was a jade pendant, about half the size of a palm. Its design was ordinary, its surface somewhat worn and dusty gray. Lying among the ore scraps and dry grass, it was utterly inconspicuous.

The instant his fingers touched it, that familiar line of translucent text appeared before his eyes.

[Detected equippable item: Jade Pendant (Complete)]

[Item Affix Grade: Blue]

[Note: Item does not belong to user. Unable to equip. Unable to view detailed information.]

Blue.

Li Yuan's pupils contracted slightly, and his heart abruptly skipped two beats.

Yet his expression did not change in the slightest. He placed the jade pendant back onto the stall together with several other scraps. His movements were natural and fluid, no different from when he had been picking up the ore before.

"Everything has been picked up. Check through it and see whether anything is missing." Li Yuan straightened up and dusted off his hands.

The herb-selling Rogue Cultivator inspected his belongings, then shook his head to indicate there was no problem.

Zhao Wu, the ore seller, also squatted down and glanced over his stall—then his body suddenly froze.

His gaze locked onto the pile of scraps Li Yuan had just returned. More precisely, it locked onto that dusty gray jade pendant.

The next instant, Zhao Wu swiftly reached out, picked up the jade pendant, and quietly slipped it into his sleeve.

Li Yuan naturally noticed this.

Only after putting away the jade pendant did Zhao Wu raise his head as though nothing had happened and cup his hands toward Li Yuan. "Nothing's missing. Thank you, Patrol Inspector."

His tone remained casual, but Li Yuan noticed that the hand hidden in his sleeve had tightened slightly at the knuckles.

"Then each of you give half a step. Don't start another dispute. You should both know the Wang Family's rules about fighting and injuring people in the market district."

The two nodded repeatedly.

Li Yuan did not linger. He gave a nod, turned, and left.