The Tiger Demon Bestows a Divine Ability

Jiang Yuechu's consciousness sank into boundless darkness.

[Year One: You were born. You were a tiger cub of South Mountain, frail from birth and abandoned in a mountain ravine by your mother. Had a flash flood not swept you downstream, you would have become food for other beasts.]

[Year Two: You had learned to hunt skillfully and gradually managed to survive on South Mountain.]

[Year Five: You encountered a monster draped in long white fur. He sat beneath a waterfall with a book in his hands. You were hungry and wanted to eat him, but ended up getting beaten instead.]

[Year Six: You lay beside the monster and watched him read. He did not chase you away, and sometimes tossed you leftover peaches. You learned his name: White Ape Lord.]

[Year Seven: You followed the white ape to learn how to read. Your paws were too large to hold a brush, and you often poked holes through bamboo slips. The white ape was very patient. He said that all things could serve as brushes, and heaven and earth themselves were writings.]

[Year Eight: You learned three hundred characters. The white ape was delighted and told you stories. He said that when heaven and earth first opened, clear qi rose and turbid qi sank. Humans were the spirits of all things, while demons were the filth of heaven and earth.]

[Year Ten: You could already read on your own. You loved tales of wandering heroes the most, especially the blades described within them—one strike severing a river, one strike splitting a mountain.]

[Year Fifteen: White Ape Lord began teaching you other things. He said, "Demons cannot know only slaughter. Otherwise, how are they any different from beasts? What makes humans human is their understanding of propriety, righteousness, honor, and shame." You thought he was talking nonsense, and White Ape Lord angrily smacked your forehead with a book scroll for three days.]

[Year Twenty: With one slash, you severed the flow of South Mountain's waterfall. White Ape Lord applauded and laughed from the shore. You sheathed your blade and stood there, watching the rushing waterfall split apart beneath your strike. For the first time, exhilaration rose in your heart.]

[Year Twenty-Five: You began to feel restless. Every day, you practiced the blade, read books, and listened to the old ape preach his principles. You felt that this mountain was too small.]

[Year Thirty: Your blade technique reached great mastery. White Ape Lord asked whether there was anything that such a domineering blade could not cut. You shook your head confidently.]

[Year Thirty-Five: You met a young woman gathering herbs in the mountains. She did not flee at the sight of you and even shared half a flatbread with you. You found it strange and did not eat it.]

[Year Thirty-Nine: That young woman never came up the mountain again. You heard from the demons below that she had been married off to a wealthy man and beaten to death within half a year. You carried your blade down the mountain.]

[Year Forty-Five: White Ape Lord was leaving. He sat beside you and rambled on about many things. You asked him what he was going to do. He merely smiled without answering.]

[Year Fifty: You stood atop South Mountain and looked down upon the human world. The wind blew past, and you felt that it was time for you to leave the mountain as well.]

Her consciousness returned.

A speck of vermilion appeared out of nowhere.

Like blood dripping into water, it exploded outward from the tiger's eye!

[Consumed 102 years of cultivation. Tiger Mountain God progress has reached Vermilion Staining.]

[With vermilion entering the painting, flesh and blood were reborn.]

[Upon the scroll, the outline of that fierce tiger was rapidly filled in once more.]

[Successfully Vermilion Stained Tiger Mountain God. Received a demon's gift.]

[Fierce Tiger Swift Blade (Supreme)]

[Talent: Yin Law Granted by Heaven (The Tiger Mountain God favored the blade. Everything he learned in his life lay within it. Blade technique cultivation speed and power are both enhanced.)]

[Divine Ability: Tiger Baleful Blood Boil (One of the Tiger Mountain God's innate divine abilities. It can consume one's own blood and qi to restore injuries in an instant.)]

The words slowly faded away.

Jiang Yuechu lowered her head and looked at the three claw wounds on her abdomen, so deep that bone showed through.

Flesh curled outward, and blood flowed freely.

With a thought from her—

Tiger Baleful Blood Boil.

A scorching sensation surged through every limb and bone. Her blood and qi churned as though they were about to boil and burn.

The wounds on her abdomen wriggled at a speed visible to the naked eye.

In just a few breaths, those savage wounds had become only three faint red marks.

Jiang Yuechu tightened her grip on the blade.

An indescribable change rose within her.

Those who understood, understood. There was no need to say more.

Though it sounded like a long process, it had all happened in an instant.

In Chen Qingyuan and the others' eyes, this Demon Suppression Office official had merely swayed after forcibly taking a killing blow.

But the wolf demon in green robes saw it clearly.

That claw strike had used all its strength.

This woman had clearly suffered serious injuries!

So why...

Why had the woman merely closed and opened her eyes, and her injuries were healed?!

"You..."

"What exactly... are you? Human or demon?!"

The wolf demon in green robes was filled with terror and actually staggered back a step.

Before the others understood what the wolf demon meant—

They saw a pair of small hands push Chen Qingyuan, who stood at the very front, aside.

Chen Qingyuan turned back in shock. "My lord... you..."

This Demon Suppression Office official had obviously suffered grave injuries just moments ago.

But now...

Before anyone could react—

Jiang Yuechu raised her blade and charged toward the already terrified wolf demon like the wind!

At that moment, Fierce Tiger Swift Blade was unleashed once again.

Before the blade arrived, the wind came first.

A tiger's roar seemed to descend from the ninth heaven, shaking the mountains and forests!

The wolf demon in green robes went pale with fright.

Its legs trembled uncontrollably.

Its tongue even lolled out.

How was this possible?!

Why was this strike three times fiercer than the last?!

If you had this kind of strength, I would've fucking run long ago!

You just had to put on an act, didn't you?!

How vicious!!!

Fear instantly overwhelmed the hatred in its heart.

Without another thought, it turned and fled!

But it had only just twisted around.

When a chill shot from its tailbone straight to the crown of its head.

The fierce blade wind behind it had already pressed against the back of its skull.

"Spare—"

A single word had barely squeezed from its throat.

Before it could finish speaking, its world was split down the middle by a dazzling white line.

The wolf demon in green robes froze in place, still holding its forward-leaping posture. Then its body separated cleanly into two halves and fell to either side.

Its organs spilled across the ground.

Steam rose from them.

"..."

Jiang Yuechu slowly sheathed her blade, and the furrow between her brows eased.

Not bad.

With a Supreme-grade blade technique and Yin Law Granted by Heaven, she could now kill demons like this with ease.

[You killed a String Hearing Realm creature and obtained 75 years of its cultivation.]

[An unrecorded demon has been detected. Consume cultivation to record it?]

Jiang Yuechu ignored it and shifted her gaze toward the distant village road.

The few lesser demons lucky enough to survive had long been scared out of their wits and were about to flee with their tails tucked between their legs.

"Oh... I was so busy killing your king that I nearly forgot about you."

"Awooo—"

The demons scattered in all directions.

Yet one by one, they were caught by that figure.

Behind her—

Everyone stood frozen in shock.

This...

That pack of wolf demons which had just been so ferocious, slaughtering the village without restraint—

Was simply gone?

Was it because this young woman came from the Demon Suppression Office that she possessed such methods?

Or was it only because she possessed such methods that she could join the Demon Suppression Office?

The sun rose higher.

The men of the Flying Eagle Sect took mutilated corpses down from wooden racks and covered them with scraps of cloth.

Others helped living people with vacant eyes out of the ancestral hall.

When they saw the demon corpses on the village road and the devastation covering the ground—

Some dropped to their knees and kowtowed to the Flying Eagle Sect members.

Some clutched the remains of their loved ones and wept until they fainted.

Jiang Yuechu folded her arms and leaned against a mud wall at the village entrance that had collapsed on one side.

Her mind sank into her consciousness.

A brand-new panel slowly unfolded.

[Host: Jiang Yuechu]

[Realm: Late String-Hearing Realm]

[Martial Arts: Fierce Tiger Swift Blade (Supreme), Azure Cliff Returning Shadow (Perfect)]

[Cultivation: 200 years]

[Recorded Demons: Tiger Mountain God (Vermilion Staining), Azure-Faced Lord (Shadow Tracing)]

[Talent Divine Abilities: Yin Law Granted by Heaven, Tiger Baleful Blood Boil]

Late String-Hearing Realm...

Jiang Yuechu frowned.

Earlier, when Tiger Mountain God had advanced from Shadow Tracing to Vermilion Staining, her cultivation had already entered the middle stage.

Now, after recording this wolf demon, her realm had risen again.

But how exactly was this realm calculated?

Was it because she recorded demons, or because she obtained martial arts?

As for recording an Azure-Faced Lord, it had only consumed fifty years of cultivation, which was less than Tiger Mountain God. That was within expectations.

It was just that...

The lesser demons she had casually slain had turned into cultivation and produced no other reaction at all.

Jiang Yuechu fell into thought.

Perhaps such minor demons were beneath even her cheat ability's notice.

As for Azure Cliff Returning Shadow, it was a fist technique.

It was completely different from Fierce Tiger Swift Blade's fierce, domineering style of wide, powerful strikes.

This fist technique placed greater emphasis on movement techniques and changing forms.

Like a wolf moving along azure cliffs, shifting left and right, its trail impossible to follow.

The cries in the village gradually quieted, leaving only suppressed sobbing.

Footsteps approached from afar and stopped before her.

Jiang Yuechu opened her eyes.

It was Chen Qingyuan.

He walked over to Jiang Yuechu without speaking, then lifted his robe and prepared to kneel again.

"No need."

Chen Qingyuan paused. In the end, he did not kneel, but merely bent forward and clasped his hands in a deep salute.

"My lord's grace in giving us new life is something Chen Qingyuan and the people of Guangwu County will never forget."

Jiang Yuechu neither confirmed nor denied it.

Then—

She straightened up and patted the dust from her clothes.

The matter was settled. It was time for her to continue on and find a way to resolve the issue of her identity.

Seeing that she seemed to be leaving, Chen Qingyuan grew anxious and hurriedly said, "My lord! Are you leaving already? Why not return to Guangwu County City first and rest awhile? Let us at least fulfill our duties as hosts..."

Jiang Yuechu hesitated.

Being able to go to the county seat would naturally be a good thing.

Not only could she gather more information, she could also rest and recover.

But her identity...

Seeing her hesitation, Chen Qingyuan continued, "Could it be that my lord is handling an important case and cannot draw attention? If so, we will not ask another word. Rest assured, my lord. Even if the county magistrate asks about today's events, we will only say that our Flying Eagle Sect was fortunate. We will never reveal a trace of your whereabouts."

He paused, his gaze subtly sweeping over her waist and abdomen.

"Besides... my lord has traveled a long way, and your clothes... likely need changing as well. Guangwu County City may be small, but we can always prepare a thing or two for you."

Jiang Yuechu froze slightly and lowered her head in confusion, following his gaze.

The black garment over her abdomen had long been torn apart by the wolf's claws. Though Tiger Baleful Blood Boil had healed her wounds, the tears in the fabric remained.

When the morning breeze blew, glimpses of snow-white skin could be seen.

She had not really noticed.

In her previous life, playing ball shirtless had been commonplace. She had never given it a second thought.

But now, she was a woman after all.

Walking the world like this was indeed improper.

Jiang Yuechu raised her head and glanced at the utterly sincere Chen Qingyuan.

Fine.

She now possessed two hundred years of cultivation, along with two martial arts techniques.

What could a mere county town possibly do to her?

In the end, she nodded.

"Lead the way."