Suspended Sword Division

The Golden Crow had just risen, and the sunlight was warm.

After several days of heavy rain, rare fine weather finally arrived.

The rain-washed city was exceptionally fresh.

On Changqing Street in Taixi City, there was a breakfast stall.

Though it was merely one corner of the entire county town, it still displayed the myriad faces of life in this world.

A young man in a long robe glared at his young son and berated him for going to school, only for the boy to glare back with eyes even wider than his own.

A middle-aged aunt planted her hands on her hips and scolded her husband for whatever hole he had been fooling around in last night.

Two elderly men sat facing each other, carefully cradling bowls of porridge across the table as they slurped away. One moment, they discussed which brothel's most popular courtesan had run off.

The next, they talked about the rare downpour last night, discussed the weather of recent days, and complained about whether the Dragon King had been in a bad mood lately.

Old Man Han, the owner of the stall, kneaded dough behind the counter. Wrinkles piled across his face as he watched the seated customers with a smile, his expression full of satisfaction.

It was an ordinary morning, not much different from those of later generations.

The only difference was that when young men taught their children, they said that failing to attend school meant becoming a beggar. And when the two old men discussed the weather, their talk was mixed with strange phrases like whether the Dragon King was enraged and whether Immortal Masters were fighting.

Shen Xiu had long since stopped finding such things strange.

After all, this was a world where Buddhism, Daoism, demons, and monsters all coexisted. Even if the Dragon King were some burly fellow scratching his feet, it would not be impossible to accept.

Bathed in sunlight, Shen Xiu sat quietly at a breakfast stall not far from the Golden Rainbow Martial Arts School. He had ordered a basket of buns and leisurely watched the crowds flowing up and down the street as he waited.

He practiced martial arts every day, so it was rare for him to rest.

There were not so many missions for them to undertake within the city. Over the past two days, Shen Xiu had stayed at the martial arts school, only going out occasionally.

Practicing martial arts like this was simply too satisfying.

Shen Xiu had grown a little inflated now. He even ordered two bowls of soy milk for breakfast.

Shen Xiu had eaten at the other breakfast stalls on this street, but only Old Man Han's buns suited his taste—white and plump.

Now that he was a Second Realm martial cultivator, the energy these foods provided was negligible and could not replenish much of anything.

He came here only to satisfy that familiar craving of the palate.

Otherwise, he would not have been so fond of eating breakfast at this particular stall.

For some reason, Old Man Han had closed the stall several days ago and only reopened it today. This was Shen Xiu's first visit since returning to Taixi City.

Old Man Han did not make Shen Xiu wait long. As soon as a basket of meat buns had finished steaming, he pulled it from among the steamers, piping hot, and prepared to bring it to Shen Xiu's table.

"Sir, your buns are ready."

Old Man Han's back was somewhat bent. Perhaps because of his age, he walked unsteadily, and even the hand holding the buns trembled slightly.

Seeing the old man like this, how could Shen Xiu let him carry the food over? He went over himself and took it from him.

Yet Shen Xiu's action seemed to have somehow offended Old Man Han.

A flicker of fear crossed Old Man Han's face, and he hurriedly cried, "Sir, you mustn't, you mustn't."

In his eyes, Shen Xiu wore martial training robes and carried a valiant aura. He was clearly one of those Martial Artists who wielded blades and spears. How could he dare let such a person do it himself?

If he accidentally caused offense, even a beating would be the least of it.

For no particular reason, Shen Xiu felt a pang of sorrow at this. He smiled and ignored the old man.

He took the basket of meat buns from Old Man Han's hands, then sat down by the window and began eating by himself.

Old Man Han's buns tasted good. The only pity was that there were no dumplings here.

Not only at Old Man Han's stall—even along this bustling Changqing Street, Shen Xiu had deliberately searched and found none.

If there were dumplings, along with pan-fried dumplings, Shen Xiu would have had no regrets at all.

At that moment, the conversation of several people nearby caught Shen Xiu's attention.

"Have you heard about what happened in Tianshui Village? They say that a White Bone Demon, its entire body glowing red, wandered through the village some days ago and slaughtered everyone there. The whole village is dead now, leaving behind nothing but ghastly bones. It has completely become a land of death..."

"I was planning to take on a job from a medicine merchant in that village last week, but something came up at the last minute, so I withdrew from the hire and did not go. That was truly close..."

The latter speaker's voice was clearly filled with the relief of having survived a calamity.

"When will this White Bone Demon finally be dealt with? We do not even know how strong that thing is."

"Third Realm? Fourth Realm?"

"Who the hell knows? We still have to rely on the lords of the Suspended Sword Division. I heard they already arrived in our Taixi City. I even saw those two heading toward the Golden Rainbow Martial Arts School just now. Looks like they are looking for some extra hands..."

"Do the lords of the Suspended Sword Division still need manpower? I heard that even their weakest members are Third Realm Bone Marrow Cleansing martial cultivators..."

"They are just looking for disciples to handle some errands. Do you really think they are looking for combat power..."

The scattered snippets of conversation drifted into Shen Xiu's ears. He had been about to return to the martial arts school, but upon hearing that last sentence, he stopped in his tracks.

The Suspended Sword Division of Shanglin City was an official institution of the Great Jing Dynasty.

It specialized in handling matters ordinary people could not deal with. Slaying demons, ghosts, Fierce Beasts, and evil entities was one of its important duties.

He had already seen the White Bone Demon. He did not know whether the Suspended Sword Division could handle it, but those people going to the martial arts school was naturally no good thing.

Given his current level of strength, he did not want to get involved.

Before the world beyond the city became clear, he might as well stay in the city and keep his head down.

His current thoughts were simple.

Other than becoming stronger, it was to make himself even stronger.

Strong enough that, when facing the White Bone Demon again, he would not lack even the slightest ability to resist.

As the new month arrived, Shen Xiu collected the five portions of Qi Cultivation Soup provided by the martial arts school and began another round of fist training.

After Instructor Duan taught him the subsequent supporting mental cultivation method for the Dragon Subduing Tiger Taming Art, Shen Xiu had entered the Fifth Layer. Having reached the state of consummate mastery, his techniques now clearly carried the bearing of subduing dragons and taming tigers.

The force of his fists surged like an endless river, their might boundless.

As he was now, he could probably knock out a Second Realm martial cultivator with one punch.

He wanted to see what kind of increase in strength the Sixth Realm of the Dragon Subduing Tiger Taming Art would bring.

After wandering along the Lishui River and practicing his fists for several days, he discovered another excellent place: wading into the river and practicing amid its ceaselessly turbulent currents.

The resistance in water was more than ten times that in air. Moving within it was more difficult and sluggish.

Thus, the difficulty of practicing his fists and tempering his body rose exponentially. At the same time, the progress he gained also doubled.

But as he trained, Shen Xiu discovered something strange. The waters of the Lishui River seemed different from those elsewhere.

Often, when he threw a punch, an identical force of water would strike back at him, sometimes even stronger than the force he had unleashed. It looked like a wave, yet it was not quite like one.