The End

It was over!

Gazing at the Crocodile Demon lying limp on the ground not far ahead, its life extinguished,

Shen Changchuan let out a long breath,

and the tension that had kept his mind taut finally eased.

He might have seemed completely at ease during the fight, as though he had the Crocodile Demon dancing in the palm of his hand, never letting it even get close.

But in truth,

he had not been at ease for a moment throughout the battle.

It was all well and good if the Crocodile Demon's attacks missed,

but even one hit would have left him gravely wounded!

Shen Changchuan had no defensive spells and no defensive magical artifacts.

And the Crocodile Demon was a whole realm above him, with a natural spell of overwhelming power.

One careless moment,

and he could have died on the spot!

Under those circumstances, he had to keep his mind taut the entire time, not daring to relax for even an instant.

As a result, the strain on his mind had been unimaginable!

"My methods are still too limited."

"Although I managed to kill the Crocodile Demon with my perfected Spirit Eye Technique and Light Body Technique working together..."

"the enemies I might encounter in the future won't necessarily be like today's opponent, whose speed and agility I could suppress."

"If I run into an enemy who's faster than me, or one with Spell Techniques that can restrict my movement and agility, I'll be in serious trouble!"

Even after killing the Crocodile Demon despite their difference in realms, Shen Changchuan did not let success go to his head.

Instead, he carefully reviewed the battle,

sorting through the problems he had encountered and reflecting on them.

"I need to learn more spells and master more techniques! Defensive spells or defensive magical artifacts in particular—those are unquestionably my biggest weaknesses."

"If I can shore up those weaknesses, having more options in a fight will give me much more room for error."

"Besides, I have the Progress Bar Panel. I can train against its progress bars until I reach one hundred percent mastery, and once a spell is perfected, it even gives me an additional trait. That's my advantage!"

"Play to my strengths and avoid my weaknesses, making the most of what I have—that's the right path."

Shen Changchuan gazed at the Crocodile Demon's enormous body, his thoughts wandering.

He had a general idea of how to improve his strength from now on.

However,

he soon realized one thing:

the area around Dawan Village was extremely remote.

Cultivation forces here were very weak!

There wasn't even an ordinary marketplace nearby.

It looked like it would be extremely difficult to acquire new spells or other techniques in the area!

"Alas."

"The power struggles in the back courtyard of the Shen Family Estate are dangerous, but if I can show some talent for cultivation, then cultivation methods, spells, and the like won't be a problem."

"Dawan Village may be safer than the Shen Family Estate, but obtaining Spell Techniques here is incredibly difficult."

"Truly, blessing lurks within misfortune, and misfortune hides within blessing!"

"I hope I can find something suitable to shore up my weaknesses when Wu Family Market opens in two months."

Faced with this cold reality,

Shen Changchuan couldn't help sighing deeply.

Never mind.

There was no need to rush to find ways to shore up his weaknesses.

He could focus on improving his cultivation realm first.

Improving his strength was improving his strength, after all.

It amounted to the same thing.

"But come to think of it, don't ordinary low- and mid-tier Demon Beasts usually possess only one natural spell? What's going on with this Crocodile Demon?"

Thinking of spells brought something else to Shen Changchuan's mind.

He looked at the Crocodile Demon's huge body before him,

and confusion crept into his eyes.

A defensive spell that could turn its body to stone,

a Water Arrow Technique that shot out water arrows as thick as barrels,

and the dense barrage of arrows, like a shower of hidden weapons, that it had used to feint before escaping.

These were all techniques the Crocodile Demon had used during the battle.

It seemed to know a few too many spells.

That didn't make much sense.

"Besides, this fellow seems far too clever!"

Shen Changchuan recalled their fight moments earlier.

The Demon Beast had acted as if it were ready to fight him to the death, only to feint and turn tail at the last moment.

If not for the boost to his speed and agility from his perfected Light Body Technique, it might really have escaped back into the river.

That level of cleverness

was beyond what an ordinary Demon Beast could possess!

"Could it have some powerful bloodline inheritance, or did it come across some Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure that can awaken intelligence?"

The thought occurred to Shen Changchuan.

He looked toward the nearby river,

its waters muddied by the rainy season and surging along, now flowing quietly.

Shen Changchuan pondered.

Perhaps I can take a look. I might find something else.

He thought to himself.

However,

he was cautious by nature.

He had just fought a major battle, and more than half the spiritual energy in his body was depleted. He was in poor shape; this was hardly the best time to explore the river.

After all,

if there was one Crocodile Demon in the river,

who could say there wasn't a second, or even a third?

Shen Changchuan was steady by nature and wouldn't take such a risk so lightly.

At the very least,

he needed to wait a few days,

until he had recovered and confirmed there were no other Demon Beasts in the river.

While Shen Changchuan was lost in thought,

some distance behind him,

Han Qinhu had already led a group of the village's patrol members carefully toward them.

"Changchuan, how did it go? Did you take care of it?"

Han Qinhu asked, looking at the Crocodile Demon's enormous body, tangled in a mass of vines.

Though the Demon Beast lay motionless,

a trace of fear still lingered in Han Qinhu's eyes.

The battle earlier had clearly left him deeply shaken by the Crocodile Demon's terror.

"Thankfully, I dealt with it before it could get back into the river. Otherwise, it would have become a real problem for us later."

Judging by the intelligence the Crocodile Demon had shown while trying to escape, Shen Changchuan could foresee that if it had gotten away, it would have become a major threat to Dawan Village.

"Grandfather, are you and Uncle Dayong all right?"

Seeing the trace of blood still at the corner of Han Qinhu's mouth,

Shen Changchuan couldn't help asking with concern.

"Don't worry, it's nothing serious. The Iron Shield took most of the force. Dayong and I split what was left between us, so we only suffered some internal injuries. A little rest will see us right."

Han Qinhu waved a hand, unconcerned.

But right after that,

he broke into a string of coughs, and his face flushed red.

"Grandfather, don't try to act tough. Hurry and get some rest. Leave the rest to them."

"Last time, when the village chief from Zhao Family Village came to visit, he brought us a Spirit Ginseng. I used the main root while cultivating, but there are still plenty of rootlets left. You and Uncle Dayong can brew them in tea later. They should help you recover sooner."

Shen Changchuan quickly supported Han Qinhu,

gently patting his back.

It wasn't that Shen Changchuan was stingy.

It was just that if ordinary people took in spiritual energy carelessly, they might be unable to withstand its violent power, leaving their dantians and meridians shattered.

Though there was also a chance they might successfully achieve Qi Induction in one go, crossing the boundary between mortal and immortal to become cultivators,

the former was far more likely.

The proper way to awaken one's spiritual roots, draw in spiritual energy, and embark on the path of cultivation was to take a Qi-Inducing Pill or use spiritual food such as Spirit Rice Porridge to draw in spiritual energy and temper the body until it could withstand the refinement of spiritual energy.

The Spirit Ginseng's rootlets were part of the ginseng and contained a trace of spiritual energy,

but since the main root had been consumed, the trace of spiritual energy within them had already dissipated, so they posed little danger.

On the contrary, having been nourished by spiritual energy, their medicinal properties had greatly increased.

For mortal martial artists like Han Qinhu and the others, they were excellent tonics.

"Cough, cough. Well, in that case, thank you, Changchuan!"

Han Qinhu coughed a few times,

then caught his breath and thanked him.

"Grandfather, what are you saying? You're one of the people closest to me. If you hadn't helped, I'd have had my hands full just managing Dawan Village."

"If the Spirit Grain hadn't been harvested yet, I would've helped you awaken your spiritual roots and draw in spiritual energy, so you could become a cultivator."

Shen Changchuan spoke to him in a gentle voice.

Hearing this, Han Qinhu felt a warmth in his heart, and couldn't help feeling a little emotional.

The best decision he had ever made in his life

was probably to use his connections with that Shen Family steward back then and get his daughter into the Shen Family.

It might not have been a good decision for his daughter, given that she was caught up in the turmoil of the Shen Family.

But in this world, so much was beyond one's control. Where could you find something that was perfect in every way?

As long as things turned out well in the end,

that was enough.

Han Qinhu glanced at the huge body of the Crocodile Demon nearby.

He couldn't help feeling moved.

His grandson's strength seemed to have improved again.

Thinking that he had actually worried about him earlier,

Han Qinhu felt a little embarrassed.

His grandson was a genius with the potential to become an immortal. How could he fail to deal with a mere Demon Beast?

From now on,

all he needed to do was follow his grandson's decisions.

With the efforts of the village's burly mortal martial artists, the Crocodile Demon's corpse was soon carried to Half-Mountain Courtyard.

Meanwhile,

the dead were all given proper burials.

The houses that had collapsed in the fighting were also repaired.

All the aftermath was taken care of.

Dawan Village gradually settled back down.

Time slipped by,

and in the blink of an eye, five days had passed.

During those five days,

Shen Changchuan had fully recovered.

The life-and-death struggle with the Crocodile Demon had also given him some insights. His cultivation had quietly improved, and he was already nearing the peak of the early fourth level of the Qi Induction Realm.

However, he wasn't in a hurry to break through.

Instead, he went to the river every day,

using the Spirit Eye Technique to peer into its waters, which had swollen during the rainy season and turned murky and turbulent.

After five days in a row, the faint demonic aura that had originally filled the river had completely dissipated.

Not a trace of demonic aura remained.

The wisp of demonic aura that had risen earlier had completely dissipated. It seemed the only Demon Beast in the river was the Crocodile Demon!

It was time to take a look. He hoped his guess was right.

Once he was sure there was no danger,

Shen Changchuan didn't hesitate for long. He leaped straight into the river and dove deep beneath the surface.

The murky, churning water drastically limited his vision, making it difficult to see anything nearby.

But now,

the light of the Spirit Eye Technique gleamed in Shen Changchuan's pupils,

and with the Spirit Eye Technique enhancing his perception and vision, Shen Changchuan could easily see things eight or nine meters away through the turbid water.

So,

he began searching through the river's murky, yellow-brown depths.