Missing the Pressure Cooker

All Merit Points added: Eight Blades of Breaking Edge.

First year: Blade Art proficiency greatly increased.

Second year: Blade Art mastery.

...

Fifth year: In your battles against the surrounding shadows, your blade art reached great mastery.

Eighth year: The Breaking Edge Blade Art reached perfection.

Twelfth year: After years of practice and combat, you understood the state of mind of the person who had created this blade art. These eight blades had been created for the battlefield—overwhelming in force and weight, focused on killing with a single strike.

Many of the moves sacrificed defense for power. You understood many of their flaws, and with slight corrections, this blade art became your own.

Eight Blades of Breaking Edge (Ultimate Realm)

Following the blade art, you could strike as you pleased, breaking free of set moves and relying only on techniques of exerting force, without any loss in power.

By the eighth year, Gao Fei had already regretted it. Once this basic blade art had been cultivated to perfection, he had assumed the remaining time would only bring combat experience.

He had not expected such an unexpected delight—the Ultimate Realm, the creator's state.

A blade art brought to a perfect close.

Twelve years of focused practice had passed, while outside, only the span of a breath had gone by.

When he looked again at the old village chief beside him, whose face was full of anxiety, the man actually seemed rather endearing.

Turning to look inside the fence, he found a simple, delicate beauty in the woman holding the wooden spear.

"Pah!"

The aftereffects were still a little strong.

He hurriedly shook his head, casting away the jumbled thoughts.

Without another word, he lifted his red-tasseled spear and charged at one of the standing Dog Demons.

Once he had enough speed and distance, he leaped, turned, and drew the spear behind his back.

Leaping Back-Spear Stance.

It used speed and the turn of the body to increase the power of the thrust.

Gao Fei knew that, with a Dog Demon's muscles, its defense would surely be astonishing. The one he was attacking was slightly smaller in build.

As he entered the Dog Demon's range and saw the direction in which it intended to dodge, he thrust with his right arm in advance.

The speed of his body, the force he had already gathered, and his own strength sent the spear stabbing swiftly toward the Dog Demon's chest.

Dodging was no longer possible. It hastily raised its wooden stick with both hands to block.

Crack!

The stick broke with a single blow. Just as the spear was about to pierce the Dog Demon's chest, another wooden stick struck the spearhead, knocking the attack off course.

After knocking aside the spearhead, the wooden stick swept sideways at Gao Fei.

Putting too much force into an attack had this drawback: once it was dodged, recovering the move would be half a beat slower.

He sidestepped, withdrew his spear, and rapidly retreated to open up the distance.

Judging from the force in their hands, both Dog Demons were in the Middle Qi-Blood Realm.

The Dog Demon holding the broken stick quickly followed.

Returning Horse Spear.

Only after the spear had thrust out did he turn to check the situation. The Returning Horse Spear relied on catching the enemy off guard.

His aim was slightly off. The spear pierced below the heart, its tip passing straight through the Dog Demon's body.

Even the red tassel could no longer stop the blood, which flowed down the spear shaft.

The wooden stick beside him swept over again. With no time to retrieve his spear, Gao Fei could only let go and retreat.

He drew the Tang Saber from his back.

The Dog Demons did not pursue. One held its wooden stick and helped up the injured one, its eyes filled with killing intent as it stared at Gao Fei.

"It's still carrying a child!"

The Dog Demon laid its injured mate flat on the ground, let out a roar, and charged forward. As it drew close, it turned and swept its wooden stick across.

"What are you angry for? It's not mine! Go find the adulterer."

Gao Fei did not dare block. He feared the wooden stick would break and smash into him, so he retreated several steps to evade the first heavy strike.

When the wooden stick stabbed straight at him like a spear, he shifted slightly aside and brought his saber down.

The cut was exceptionally clean. Following the momentum of the blade, he slashed directly for its head. The Dog Demon raised its hands to block.

Along with its hands, it was cut into two.

Killed an Awakened Intelligence Dog Demon, Merit Points +14

Walking up to the pregnant Dog Demon, Gao Fei looked at its still-rising chest and directly ended it.

Killed an Awakened Intelligence Dog Demon, Merit Points +10

One man and two demons—the exchange had ended within ten breaths.

The other Dog Demons that had yet to Awaken Intelligence had only just become entangled with the villagers.

With the archers' support, only one person had suffered a minor bite. It was not fatal.

On the other hand, two dogs had several arrow shafts sticking from their bodies and had fallen to the ground.

Gao Fei did not stop. He turned and charged at the remaining Dog Demons with Unawakened Intelligence.

After a fierce scramble, he managed to claim three "dog heads."

Killed a Dog Demon with Unawakened Intelligence; Merit Points +1

Killed a Dog Demon with Unawakened Intelligence: Merit Points +1

...

Every Dog Demon with Unawakened Intelligence was worth only one Merit Point.

Did Unawakened Intelligence mean committing evil unconsciously? Standing against the human race was only worth a single Merit Point.

"Sir, these Dog Demon corpses, what do you think...?"

At the martial hall, Gao Fei had heard of the All-Demon Feast. The meat of an Awakened Intelligence Dog Demon was definitely good stuff.

"How about this? Arrange for people to take these into the city and sell them. You can keep half the money."

By himself, he could carry at most one Dog Demon into the city. As for the rest, he would earn whatever he could.

"Oh, right. Count all casualties as caused by the Dog Demons. All casualties, understand?"

"Understood. I'll go tell the others right away."

The village chief ran over to the nearby crowd with a beaming smile and began making arrangements.

Watching the old man smile.

Thinking back from the time the middle-aged constable had dragged him into handling the case, through entering the village, and setting aside the matter of Old Ji trying to poison them both, Gao Fei felt as if he had been set up.

After waiting a while, he saw the village chief return. Gao Fei smiled and spoke.

"You knew the Dog Demons were coming, didn't you?"

"...No, how could that be? It was just a coincidence!"

The village chief's smile stiffened for a moment, and he hastily waved his hands in denial.

Gao Fei did not press the matter. Knowing the outcome was enough. Next time, he had to be careful of these natives—they were not mindless NPCs.

But!

The village chief knew that two government runners had been gathering blood food for demons. Would he break out in a cold sweat over his own decision?

Without strength, relying on schemes alone—it would be strange if nothing went wrong.

Two wooden flatbed carts were loaded with all the demon corpses, escorted by ten uninjured villagers carrying long spears.

It took two hours to return to Yueyang County Seat.

At the city gate, he gave each beggar two copper coins again, but gained no Merit Points at all.

His plan to continuously farm Merit Points by giving alms to beggars had fallen through.

"Where is the government exterminating demons now? How come I haven't heard about it?"

"No idea, but why provoke demons if there's no need?"

The people on the road had never imagined that Gao Fei had killed these demons.

The Tao Hua Village villagers knew where to buy and sell beast meat. Ignoring the pointing and whispering along the road, they pulled the carts straight there.

The entrance of Four Seas Residence.

A fat middle-aged man hurried out from inside.

When he saw the two Dog Demons with hands grown from their paws, he could not hide his delight.

"I'll take both of these."

"Only one is for sale! We're taking the other back to eat!"

The shopkeeper knew Gao Fei, and the price he offered was fairly reasonable.

The price was high enough, so for the sake of the silver, Gao Fei took one leg back. Taking more would only be wasteful. His second uncle's house had no ice cellar, so it could not be preserved at all.

The villagers still needed to buy supplies, so they did not stay long.

Yueyang County closed its city gates after dark. If they arrived too late, they would not even be able to leave the city.

Of the fifty taels of silver in his hand, the villagers took fifty-three taels.

Gao Fei watched everyone leave and could not help shaking his head.

Demons ate people, people ate demons—both did so to live better. There was no right or wrong in it.

I am human, so naturally I stand with humans. It is absolutely not for the Merit Points.

When he returned home, his second aunt was cooking. He directly handed a leg of meat to her.

"Stew it! If you stir-fry it, we might not be able to chew it!"

Half an hour later.

Gao Linyue and his son returned. The meal had yet to be served, and though they were somewhat puzzled, they did not ask. They merely waited quietly.

"Gao Fei! What kind of meat did you bring back? Why is it still not tender?"

"You'll know once you eat it."

There was nothing to say. He was not someone who liked to show off.

He was just a little hungry. He had only eaten a few buns all day. It would have been great if there were a pressure cooker.