The Heaven Patrol Office in White Fish City.
Seated on a prayer mat, Yi Yang exhaled the last breath of stale air from his chest.
Deep within his spiritual consciousness, the golden-furred ape yawned, curled its tail twice, hugged its knees, and closed its eyes.
His mental power slowly gathered from every direction, withdrawing bit by bit from the hundred-zhang perception net into the space between his brows, like an ebbing tide.
Yi Yang glanced at the panel only he could see.
[Heart Ape Mind Guarding Art · Still Image (minor mastery) 13260/26000]
His progress through minor mastery in this cultivation art had passed the halfway mark.
Yi Yang opened his eyes and rolled his neck.
His left shoulder rose and fell without the slightest stiffness between bone and muscle. The wound Qin Wuli had inflicted on him had healed completely.
He stood and flexed his wrists a couple of times.
The sun blazed outside the window, and the cries of vendors and the rumble of wheels over paving stones drifted in from White Fish City's streets.
The city had grown lively again. After he had swept all the major factions clean, the remaining ordinary martial artists lived with their heads tucked down, even treading softly for fear of being implicated.
As a result, life had become considerably better for ordinary people.
Yi Yang poured half a bowl of warm water in the Duty Room and had just raised it to his lips.
Bang.
Someone knocked on his door three times in rapid succession.
Yi Yang recognized Xu Pei's footsteps.
He set down the bowl, walked over, and pulled the door open.
Xu Pei, who had been promoted to a position second only to his, stood in the doorway with a flushed face. His lips moved twice, but