His First Setback

After Lin Baiwei finished cleaning the table, she picked up Shen Yi's dirty outer robe and headed to the backyard without a word.

By the time the room had fallen silent,

Shen Yi took out the Beast Essence, still streaked with blood, and looked at the panel again.

[Remaining demon lifespan: 226 years]

He closed his eyes, a faint warmth rising in his heart.

As expected, trouble and opportunity always went hand in hand. If his predecessor hadn't done something so foolish, how could he have so easily obtained martial arts suited to the Jade Liquid Realm?

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

Internal cultivation would naturally be best. Saber techniques would be good, too... but his demon lifespan was running a little short.

The demons who had once been involved with his predecessor rarely contacted him anymore. So much for loyalty—people really did turn cold once you were gone.

As for leaving the city to hunt demons,

Shen Yi had occasionally considered it, but whenever he saw Lin Baiwei's miserable state, he felt it might not be a good idea.

It was true that the county town had almost no capable experts and its defenses were weak, but the Great Gan Dynasty stood behind it. Unless the demons were tired of living peacefully, they wouldn't casually make a big scene.

Sneaking off to eat a few people and openly attacking a county town were two entirely different things.

But once he ventured outside, if he ran into a vicious demon...

Shen Yi didn't think he'd be tied up and locked beneath a bed, only to meet someone generous enough to support him on a meager salary.

He was far more likely to be torn apart by fangs and claws. At best, after swallowing his flesh and blood, the demon might give him a thumbs-up and praise today's takeout for being tender and delicious.

"..."

Remembering how Liu Qi had died, Shen Yi turned onto his side, a flicker of emotion in his eyes.

Just then, he felt something cold and slippery squirm against his arm.

In an instant, the reflection in Shen Yi's eyes turned into a chilling killing intent. His twelve major apertures began working at once, and a sharp aura surged through his body!

He threw back the covers. Two long snakes, one black and one white, each as thick as a cup, were slowly writhing their way out from the gap between the bed and the wall. One coiled toward his thigh, while the other had draped itself over his left arm.

They lazily flicked their tongues.

Shen Yi narrowed his eyes and swiftly reached for the saber hanging on the wall.

Compared to before, his senses were now incomparably sharp. Not even stinking demons could escape his notice, let alone ordinary beasts or even tiny bugs no bigger than his fingertip.

And yet these two snakes had crawled into his bed without him noticing!

The next moment, their bodies swiftly changed.

Two fair, voluptuous figures emerged, their vital parts covered by only a few scales. One rested her head in the crook of Shen Yi's arm with a smile, while the other lazily wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her long, rounded thighs against his knees.

The two women lifted their heads, their faces so beautiful they seemed almost wicked.

They slowly twined their index fingers through their hair, their voices as clear as silver bells, their breath fragrant and their manner alluring. "Shen, dear, it's been so long. Have you missed us?"

Now that they had taken human form, their auras finally spilled out.

Shen Yi quietly studied them and sensed a presence much like his own.

They had reached the Initial Realm's peak, their strength perfectly integrated and utterly complete.

Without hesitation, he drew his saber with his right hand. In the dim candlelight, its gleaming blade was instantly shrouded in a dense, crimson Blood Baleful Intent.

The strike aimed straight for the White Snake Woman's neck, fierce and ruthless, with no restraint.

"Hiss!"

The White Snake Woman's expression changed drastically as she rolled off the bed.

The Black Snake also released Shen Yi's waist and reached upward. In an instant, the palm and pads of her fingers were covered in dark scales that gleamed like metal.

She grabbed the blade, about to speak, but a look of shock suddenly spread across her beautiful face.

The black scales she trusted most began to sizzle as soon as they touched the blade, corroding away in an instant.

Dark red blood seeped between her fingers, soon running down to stain the blade.

The White Snake Woman sat collapsed on the floor, her ample chest heaving uncontrollably. She touched her neck, still shaken, and stared at him in fury. "Are you insane?!"

"We did hear that Shen, dear, had undergone a change in temperament."

The Black Snake Woman clutched the blade with all her strength. With her other hand, she slowly opened her palm, scattering countless golden grains across the bed. "But we still can't understand why you've even stopped doing business. We're only carrying out Old Mother Green Scale's orders, asking you to invite a master from Caihua Workshop into the mountains to make her a few pretty ornaments."

As she spoke, sweat beaded on her forehead.

This wasn't merely a change in temperament. He had been reborn from the ground up.

That strike had looked simple, but it was expertly executed, returning to the origin. Even someone exceptionally gifted would need decades of hard work to achieve such mastery.

His aura was even more formidable, in no way inferior to her own centuries of cultivation.

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

"If Shen, dear, no longer wants to handle these trivial matters, you only had to say so. I'll leave at once."

As the Black Snake Woman spoke, she glanced to the side.

At the signal, the demon woman on the ground changed back into a long snake. Thick mist emerged around her, and she vanished into thin air.

"..."

Shen Yi watched the White Snake disappear, his brow furrowing slightly.

Those two beasts were undoubtedly the strongest demons he had ever encountered.

It wasn't surprising that they could withstand one of his strikes.

But their strange ability to conceal their auras, and their power to vanish, had truly opened his eyes.

If only he could learn those abilities too...

At that thought, he looked again at the fair-skinned woman before him, her body covered in black scales. His gaze grew warmer.

Under his scorching stare, the Black Snake Woman felt as though she were seeing the lecher he used to be. Only after a moment did she realize something was off: he didn't seem interested in her body.

She lowered her gaze to her abdomen, then gritted her teeth.

That damned bastard was after her Beast Essence!

"Shen, you bastard! I won't fight you today. Just wait—I'm going back to report to Old Mother! If you've got the guts, don't hide!"

The Black Snake returned to her true form, flicking her tongue with a hiss.

Just then, she caught sight of a figure by the backyard door.

The woman in white was tall and poised, leaning quietly against the wall, her profile cool and aloof.

She merely glanced this way.

The Black Snake rose upright, her scales bristling. For a long moment, she couldn't say a word.

No wonder Shen had suddenly gained such formidable martial skills and no longer cared about Old Mother. He'd found a new patron and forgotten his old friends!

"Let's see how long you can keep gloating!"

The Black Snake coiled up in fury. She no longer mentioned Old Mother Green Scale, instead summoning black mist to envelop her body. Along with the golden grains on the bed, she vanished from the room.

Only two people remained inside.

Shen Yi looked toward the doorway, disappointment written on his face.

As expected, his lack of knowledge about demons had finally shown.

He could handle wild demons, but against demons with a bit of backing, he couldn't even make sense of their abilities.

"..."

Lin Baiwei lowered her hands and quietly glanced at the young man, taking in his expression. Shocked as she was, she couldn't help being amused by it.

She had originally thought Shen Yi was a low-ranking officer with hidden depths, one who only needed someone to point him in the right direction to transcend the Mortal Body. She had even planned to take advantage of the opportunity to get the upper hand over him.

After two days together, she had guessed that she'd been mistaken. He had at least entered the Initial Realm.

But she had never imagined that Shen Yi had already grown powerful enough to single-handedly intimidate two demons at the Initial Realm's peak... and then he was still dissatisfied?!

"They're the two maids Old Mother Green Scale values most. Even if a Demon Suppression Division Lieutenant stepped in, they'd need to send at least ten people and set up a demon-subduing formation in advance to have a chance of killing them."

"Or were you just regretting that you didn't get to feel their bodies a little longer?"