First Setback

Lin Baiwei finished tidying the tabletop, grabbed the dirty outer robe Shen Yi had changed out of, and headed to the backyard without a word.

Once the room fell into silence.

Shen Yi took out the Beast Essence still stained with blood and checked his panel.

[Remaining Demon Lifespan: Two hundred and twenty-six years]

He closed his eyes, a flicker of heat rising in his heart.

Sure enough, trouble and opportunity always went hand in hand. If his predecessor hadn't done such stupid things, how could he have so easily obtained martial arts related to the Jade Liquid Realm?

He just didn't know what kind of martial arts it would be.

The best would naturally be internal energy, followed by blade techniques... but his Demon Lifespan was running a bit low again.

Those demons who used to be thick as thieves with his predecessor rarely contacted him anymore. Truly, when people leave, the tea goes cold; it was all too realistic.

As for leaving the city to hunt demons.

Shen Yi had occasionally thought about it, but looking at Lin Baiwei's miserable state, he felt it was unwise.

Don't let the lack of decent experts in the county seat or the weak garrison fool you; the Great Gan Dynasty stood behind them. Unless the demons were tired of living a peaceful life, they wouldn't easily stir up major trouble.

Stealing a few people to eat in the shadows was a completely different concept from grandiosely conquering a county seat.

But once he stepped outside and accidentally ran into a ferocious demon...

Shen Yi didn't think he would have the chance to be tied up under a bed and still encounter someone so generous as to use their meager salary to support him.

It was far more likely he would be torn apart by fangs and claws, and at most, after the demon swallowed his flesh and blood, they would give a thumbs up and compliment how tender and smooth the takeout was today.

"..."

Recalling the way Liu Qi died, Shen Yi turned to his side, a sense of emotion passing through his eyes.

Just then, he suddenly felt a cold, wriggling sensation on his arm.

Almost instantly, the emotion in Shen Yi's eyes transformed into chilling murderous intent. Twelve major acupoints surged in unison, and sharp energy rioted within his body!

He violently threw off the quilt, only to see two long snakes, each as thick as a cup, one black and one white, slowly twisting their bodies as they crawled out from the gap between the bed and the wall. One coiled toward his thigh, while the other draped over his left arm.

They flicked their tongues lazily.

Shen Yi narrowed his eyes and quickly reached out to grip the saber on the wall.

Compared to before, his senses were now incredibly sharp. Let alone demons reeking of stench, even ordinary wild beasts or insects the size of a fingertip could not escape his notice.

Yet these two snakes had actually crawled onto his bed without him sensing a thing!

The next moment, the snake bodies shifted rapidly.

Two fair, full-figured bodies were revealed, covered only by a few scales over their vital parts. One leaned against Shen Yi's arm with a smile, while the other lazily embraced his waist, pressing her round, slender thighs onto his knees.

The two women looked up, their faces beautiful to the point of being wicked.

They slowly wound their hair around their index fingers, their voices like silver bells, their breath like orchids, carrying a touch of charm: "Master Shen, it has been a long time. Have you missed us?"

Having revealed their human forms, their aura finally leaked out.

Shen Yi watched them quietly, sensing a scent from them similar to his own.

That was the Initial Realm in perfect harmony, a seamless whole, reaching the state of perfection.

Without hesitation, his right palm drew his saber. Under the dim candlelight, the silver blade was suddenly enveloped in thick, scarlet Baleful Intent.

This strike aimed straight for the white snake woman's neck, fierce and ruthless, without holding back.

"Hiss!"

The white snake woman's expression changed drastically as she rolled off the bed.

The black snake also released Shen Yi's waist, reaching out with her palm facing upward. Her fingertips were instantly covered in pitch-black scales with a metallic luster.

She reached out to grasp the blade, intending to speak, but a look of shock suddenly appeared on her beautiful face.

She saw her most trusted black scales make a sizzling sound upon touching the blade, and in an instant, they were corroded away.

Dark red blood seeped from between her fingers, quickly turning into a line of blood that stained the blade.

The white snake woman collapsed on the ground, her full chest heaving uncontrollably. She touched her neck with lingering fear, her eyes filled with shock and anger: "Are you crazy!"

"I did hear that Master Shen's temperament had changed drastically."

The black snake woman gripped the blade tightly, her other hand slowly opening to reveal countless gold particles spilling onto the bed: "But I still can't understand, why stop doing business? We were merely acting on the orders of Old Mother to have you ask the masters at Caihua Workshop to go into the mountains and craft a few pieces of beautiful jewelry for her."

As she spoke, fragrant sweat beaded on her forehead.

This wasn't a change in temperament; this was clearly a complete transformation.

The strike just now looked simple, but it was actually seasoned and masterful, returning to the basics. Even those with exceptional talent would need decades of hard work to achieve such a flavor.

The momentum was even more formidable, not a whit weaker than her own hundreds of years of cultivation.

Even if the two sisters attacked together, they might not be able to take him down.

"Since Master Shen no longer wishes to handle these trivial matters, just say so, and we shall leave."

As the black snake woman spoke, she gave a wink to the side.

Seeing this, the demon woman on the ground transformed back into a long snake, and then, surrounded by thick fog, she vanished into thin air.

"..."

Shen Yi watched the white snake disappear, frowning slightly.

The two beasts before him were definitely the strongest demons he had ever seen.

It was not surprising that they could take a strike from him.

But this eerie method of concealing their breath and this ability to vanish had truly opened his eyes.

If only he could learn it too...

Thinking of this, Shen Yi looked back at the fair-skinned woman covered in black scales, his eyes warming slightly.

Under this burning gaze, the black snake woman felt as if she were seeing the gluttonous lecher from before, only to realize a moment later that something was wrong—the man didn't seem to care about her body at all.

She looked down at her lower abdomen and gritted her teeth.

This damn bastard, he was actually eyeing her Beast Essence!

"Shen, I won't fight you today. Just you wait, I'm going back to report this to Old Mother! If you have the guts, don't you dare hide!"

The black snake reverted to its true form, hissing with its tongue.

Just then, its peripheral vision swept across the room, and it suddenly noticed a figure standing at the entrance of the backyard.

The woman in white had a tall figure, leaning quietly against the wall, her profile cold and detached.

She merely cast a faint glance toward them.

The black snake stood upright, its scales bristling, unable to speak for a long time.

No wonder this Shen suddenly possessed such formidable martial arts and didn't put Old Mother in his eyes at all; he had climbed up to a high branch and no longer cared for old acquaintances!

"Let's see how long you can be smug!"

The black snake coiled its body in resentment, no longer mentioning Old Mother Green Scale. It conjured black mist to wrap around its body and, taking the gold particles on the bed with it, vanished on the spot.

Only two people remained in the room.

Shen Yi looked toward the doorway, his expression slightly disappointed.

Sure enough, his lack of experience with demons was still a flaw.

He could handle wild demons, but against demons with some background, he couldn't even fathom their methods.

"..."

Lin Baiwei lowered her hands and quietly watched the young man, taking in his expression. Beyond her shock, she couldn't help but be amused to the point of laughter.

She had originally thought Shen Yi was a low-level official with hidden depths, needing only a nudge from others to transcend his mortal shell, and she had even wanted to take advantage of him.

After two days of contact, she realized she had been wrong; he had at least stepped into the Initial Realm.

But she never expected that Shen Yi had already grown to the point where he could single-handedly intimidate two demons at the perfection of the Initial Realm... and he was still dissatisfied?!

"They are the most valued attendants of Old Mother Green Scale. Even if a captain from the Demon Suppression Division were to act, to be safe, they would need to mobilize over ten people and set up a demon-suppressing formation in advance just to have a chance at killing them."

"Or perhaps, you regret not being able to feel their bodies a bit more?"