Undercurrents Stir

Li Tie sat in his room with the doors and windows tightly shut, toying with a crimson Vermilion Fruit in his hand.

Eating a few more will be just about enough...

He muttered to himself, After all these years of living in the shadow and enduring, I've finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel. When the time comes, I'll also get to see what the Qi Gathering Realm is like...

Li Tie put down the Vermilion Fruit, a trace of greed flashing in his eyes as if he had thought of some wonderful prospect.

It's a pity that Strange Fruit Tree is guarded day and night by a great demon, otherwise I would have advanced to the Qi Gathering Realm long ago...

It's just that those animals' appetites are getting bigger and bigger...

Right at that moment, a knock came from outside the door.

"Head Constable Li, it's me, Hu Kai."

Li Tie reined in his thoughts, quickly shoving the Vermilion Fruit into his bosom before speaking up. "Come in."

Hu Kai pushed the door and walked in, his complexion ashen.

"Head Constable Li," his voice was dry, "Yang Xiao... he brought back the head of a Qi Gathering Realm great demon today..."

Li Tie's gaze locked, his face showing astonishment.

This morning I tested him out at the County Yamen, and back then he had only displayed the realm of the Ninth Layer of Body Forging, but a Qi Gathering great demon... how could he kill one?

Even he himself hadn't stepped across that threshold yet, so on what grounds could Yang Xiao do it?!

Li Tie fell silent for a moment, pensive. His cultivation couldn't possibly surpass a Qi Gathering great demon, and the Spring Embroidery Saber doesn't have such great capability to let him smooth over a realm gap. It seems this kid has a secret on him!

As he spoke, the look of covetousness in his eyes flashed past.

He looked at Hu Kai with probing eyes.

"You came just to say this?"

"If you're asking about the selection qualifications for the Demon Suppression Division, you should work hard to improve your realm and strength if you want more certainty. Forget it, take this."

Li Tie fished the Vermilion Fruit out from his bosom, holding it up in front of Hu Kai.

Hu Kai's eyes lit up. "What is this?"

Li Tie retrieved a fist-sized, vermilion-red fruit from his bosom.

"This is a Vermilion Fruit. It is brimming with rich vital energy and blood, and consuming it can allow you to easily break through a minor realm."

Hu Kai looked at the Vermilion Fruit, his eyes filled with longing.

"Head Constable Li, this..."

"Take it." Li Tie handed the Vermilion Fruit to Hu Kai. "Your father helped me back then, so a small matter like this isn't worth mentioning."

Hu Kai took the Vermilion Fruit and was moved to tears of gratitude. "Many thanks, Head Constable Li!"

"However..."

Li Tie waved a hand, his tone shifting as a trace of jealousy involuntarily arose.

"Yang Xiao's recent performance is indeed astonishing."

"If you find him an eyesore..." A glint of killing intent flashed in Li Tie's eyes. "I can help you. Let's think of a way to get rid of him."

Hu Kai shook all over, looking up at Li Tie.

"Get... get rid of him?"

"Right," Li Tie said inddenly. "For a good-for-nothing to suddenly become so strong, there must be a secret on him."

Hu Kai's pupils constricted slightly; he caught the subtext in Li Tie's words.

"However..." Li Tie continued, "now is not the time."

"The people from the Demon Suppression Division are coming soon. If something happens to Yang Xiao now, it will draw suspicion, or rather, he cannot die in Xiangyun County."

"There are so many demons out in the wilds; even I have to handle them with care. What if he were to be killed by a great demon?" Li Tie sneered.

"At that time, no one will suspect anything."

Hu Kai's heart grew cold, and he lowered his head. "Understood, Head Constable Li."

He tucked the Vermilion Fruit away and took his leave.

Early the next morning.

Yang Xiao woke from his cultivation, feeling the abundant spiritual qi within his four apertures, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

The Four-Aperture Qi Gathering Realm was already top-tier combat power in Xiangyun County.

Right now, only great demons who were likewise in the Qi Gathering Realm could make him spare them a second glance.

He washed up and looked at his reflection in the water vat in the courtyard: a dark blue upper garment paired with black, bound-leg trousers, with the Spring Embroidery Saber slung at his waist. He cut a truly spirited figure.

Today's trip to the County Yamen was for the routine patrol of Wang Village's situation.

Yang Xiao stood at the village entrance, closing his eyes to sense the surrounding auras.

The [Spiritual Olfaction] trait operated at full power, and within a radius of ten miles, all auras had nowhere to hide.

He furrowed his brow. "There is still Demonic Qi remaining..."

Although the lair of the dog demon in the Qi Gathering Realm had been uprooted, there were still sporadic demonic auras in the surrounding mountains and forests.

"I can't leave behind future troubles."

Yang Xiao opened his eyes and his figure flashed, darting toward the direction where the Demonic Qi was densest.

An hour later.

Yang Xiao stood before a mountain cave, his Spring Embroidery Saber stained with blood.

Inside the cave, the corpses of a dozen or so weak demons lay sprawled in all directions.

These were all low-level demons with the strength of the second or third layer of Body Forging, which to Yang Xiao was merely a matter of effortless exertion.

He pressed onward, guided by [Spiritual Olfaction] to clear out all demons within a radius of thirty miles.

At high noon.

Yang Xiao returned to Wang Village, the bloody stench on his body having already dissipated.

He tallied up his battle achievements: he had slain around thirty-odd demons, the majority of which were low-level demons, with only a few at the fifth or sixth layer of Body Forging.

"The surroundings of Wang Village should be clean now."

He headed back toward the county town along the official road, encountering several villagers along the way.

Oddly enough, upon seeing Yang Xiao, these villagers stopped in their tracks one after another, looking at him with utterly familiar expressions and eyes brimming with deep reverence and gratitude.

"Head Constable Yang!"

A middle-aged villager hurried forward, carrying a basket in his hand.

"Head Constable Yang, this is a little token of our appreciation. Please accept it!"

Yang Xiao opened the basket. Inside were a few steaming mantou and some cured meat.

"Earlier, when the dog demon went on a rampage, we almost got eaten... It's thanks to you that you saved us!"

Other villagers also crowded around one after another, offering food.

"Head Constable Yang, these are the eggs from our house!"

"Constable sir, these are freshly picked fruits!"

Looking at these villagers, Yang Xiao felt a slight warmth in his heart.

Previously, when Wang Village was slaughtered by the dog demon, the villagers still held some fear toward him.

But now, their eyes were filled with sincere gratitude.

By evening.

Yang Xiao returned to the County Yamen. Not seeing Zhang Hu, he headed straight for the storage room.

"Head Constable Yang!"

The yamen runner in charge of the storage room saw a familiar face and hurried up to greet him.

"Here to redeem merit again?"

Yang Xiao nodded. "I slaughtered some demons this time. Let's tally up the merit."

The yamen runner opened the ledger, licking the tip of his finger to turn the pages.

"Head Constable Yang, you previously had fifty points of merit. This time..." The yamen runner calculated. "320 points. Added to the previous ones, that's 370 points in total."

Yang Xiao nodded, casting his gaze toward the wooden shelves to one side. "I want to redeem some foundational martial arts."

"Then you go ahead and pick slowly. Just find me to register them once you're done."

Familiar with the routine, Yang Xiao walked over to the shelf on the right, turning things over in his mind.

Although these foundational martial arts wouldn't do much to boost his current strength, they could enrich his martial arts reserve.

Besides, the equipment slot could solidify these martial arts, granting him more skills and traits.

No matter how you calculated it, it was a net gain!

Yang Xiao returned home and sat in the courtyard, holding several thin martial arts booklets in his hand.

"Punching", "Boulder Stake", "Wind-Breaking Spear"...

An equipment slot was currently vacant. The "Demon-Slaying Blade Technique" wouldn't finish solidifying until midnight, so he could only equip one for now.

With a thought, he placed the "Rock-Shattering Fist" into the equipment slot.

[Rock-Shattering Fist]

[Effect 1: Mastery of "Punching" reaches perfection.]

[Effect 2: Acquire trait (White) Rapid Punch: Attack speed for fist and palm martial arts is accelerated, with zero front swing.]

[Permanent solidification condition: Equip for one hour.]