Swordsmanship Divine Ability

His peaceful, orderly life passed swiftly, and half a year went by in the blink of an eye.

As usual, Zhou Yi arrived early at the Demon-Slaying Bureau's Ministry of Works, slipped into the prison when an opportunity arose, and spotted an executioner heading toward the Earth-Class Prison. He bewildered the man with an illusion and took his waist token.

"Three Earth-Class cells. A little fewer than usual today."

Zhou Yi opened the cell doors one by one, killing the Wolf Demon that had plagued Yongchang Commandery and the Bat Demon that fed on human blood.

His Dao Attainment increased by three years.

He had accumulated twelve thousand years of Dao Attainment.

When Zhou Yi opened the third cell door, he found a rare Silver Corpse inside.

Zombies were seldom seen in the Punishment Office Prison. Born of resentment, they had bronze skin and iron bones, but no intelligence whatsoever.

Ordinary spells for sealing demons and monsters were useless against a zombie's body. They had neither a dantian nor meridians, so their corpse energy could only be suppressed with sheer, overwhelming magical power.

When the Demon-Slaying Bureau encountered rampaging zombies, they usually killed them on the spot to save the trouble of transporting them.

This Middle Third Grade Silver Corpse was bound all over in coils of black iron chains, with only its head exposed.

Seeing Zhou Yi enter, the Silver Corpse let out muffled, rasping howls. A black iron ball had been stuffed into its mouth to stop it from spitting corpse poison and harming anyone.

"The Demon-Slaying Bureau's performance targets keep climbing. Even a Silver Corpse, which is an absolute nightmare to capture alive, is too valuable for them to dispose of on the spot."

The torture implement danced in Zhou Yi's hand and easily pierced the Silver Corpse's forehead. In his eyes, its bronze head and iron bones were no different from tofu.

The Demon and Monster Compendium's pages turned.

His Dao Attainment increased by one year.

The zombie's memory fragments should have followed, but there were only a handful of scenes.

Longyang County...

Earth Dragon Uprising...

"Its soul has already been damaged. Only a few scattered, deeply imprinted memories remain!"

Zhou Yi frowned slightly. He had no interest in the Silver Corpse's memories; what puzzled him was why someone had shattered its soul beforehand.

A soul meant next to nothing to a zombie. Only after transforming into a legendary yaksha, drought demon, or Corpse Qiongqi could one regain its intelligence and possess a soul like that of a normal living creature.

Shattering a zombie's soul did not diminish its combat strength in the slightest. Instead, it drove the creature into a frenzy, making it even harder to capture.

"Perhaps it was some special secret technique."

When Zhou Yi could not work something out, he did not dig deeper. Thanks to the Demon and Monster Compendium's soul-searching function, he knew rather too many secrets already.

If he investigated each one, he would probably have to travel across several continents.

He returned to the Ministry of Works.

He sorted out the day's registers.

Zhang Cheng did not arrive for his shift until evening.

Zhou Yi had just finished copying a volume of Daoist Scripture and put down his brush and paper.

"Brother Zhang, I've copied these twelve volumes of Daoist Scripture a hundred and twenty-three times now. Lately, it feels like I've fallen into meaningless repetition. I haven't gained any new insights."

Zhou Yi asked earnestly, "Is there no point in copying them anymore?"

Over the past year, Zhou Yi had asked him many questions. Zhang Cheng was less powerful than he was, but he had cultivated both martial arts and the Dao, advancing step by step to the second grade. His understanding of cultivation ran far deeper.

"Heh heh heh, you've already exceeded my expectations, kid. You actually kept at it for over a year before coming to ask me."

Zhang Cheng smiled. "These twelve volumes of Daoist Scripture were what I used to comprehend the Yin Spirit back then. In theory, once you fully understand them, you can condense a Yin Spirit."

"But your body hasn't been tempered, and you have neither magical power nor true qi. Without vital essence and energy to nourish it, your soul is incredibly weak. Even if you understand them completely, you'll only be able to sense the Yin Spirit."

Zhou Yi's eyes lit up. He had swallowed countless miraculous elixirs, and his magical power tempered his body every moment. His physical vitality was certainly not weak.

Ten thousand years of magical power was an even greater strength, enough to clash head-on with the Fox Immortal of Green Mound.

With ample vital essence and energy, he could condense a Yin Spirit directly as soon as he fully understood the twelve volumes of Daoist Scripture.

"Brother Zhang, how can I understand them completely? I want to try. If I get lucky and condense a Yin Spirit, wouldn't I be able to live many more years?"

Zhou Yi disguised himself as a wide-eyed beginner with dreams.

"You? Killing intent has been eating away at your body and soul for ten years. The fact that you're still alive is already a testament to the wonders of Fahai's Buddhist arts."

Zhang Cheng's expression grew solemn. "There are no shortcuts to cultivating the heart and tempering the nature. Comprehending the Dao still takes ten years of effort. Copy and recite the scriptures for ten years first, then we can talk about whether you can understand them completely!"

"All right!"

Zhou Yi agreed at once, turned back to his desk, and began copying and reciting the Daoist Scripture again.

Zhang Cheng paused in surprise. He had expected Zhou Yi to back down once he heard it would take ten years.

These days, even disciples of Buddhism and Daoism rarely persisted in copying scriptures for ten years. Instead, they went straight to practicing Qi Refining methods.

"What a pity! A born seedling of the Dao."

Evening.

On his way home, he passed the Capital's government office.

Zhou Yi saw an imperial proclamation posted there.

Imperial proclamations were not posted on ordinary days. Much like the state media in his previous life, they always announced major events.

The centerpiece this time was a portrait: triangular eyes, an upturned nose, and thin lips, forming a cruel, vicious face.

A line of small print below gave the man's name, background, and crimes, along with the reason for the proclamation.

The rebels of Wei Province had suffered a crushing defeat. Li Shan, one of the Eight Great Vajras serving the Yaksha Demon Venerable, had been captured alive by the Immortal Stipend Bureau. At noon tomorrow, he would be beheaded before the people of the Capital as a warning to others.

"One of the Eight Great Vajras, a Spirit Refining demonic cultivator. What a pity."

Zhou Yi had slain countless demons and monsters, including some who knew about the Yaksha Demon Venerable.

With his cultivation at the peak of the first grade, the Yaksha Demon Venerable had few rivals in the world. Together with the eight Upper Third Grade fiends under his command, his forces already rivaled a high-ranking sect in overall strength.

Ten years had passed, yet the rebels of Wei Province still occupied several commanderies.

Upper Third Grade demons and monsters were rarely seen mainly because capturing them alive was so difficult. Favorable timing, advantageous terrain, and an enemy afraid of death were all indispensable. The Demon-Slaying Bureau's prison might not receive even one in three to five years.

"If the execution supervisor is only Middle Third Grade, perhaps I could snatch a chestnut from the fire..."

Zhou Yi shook his head, driving away the dangerous thought.

He had cultivated for only twelve years so far and had safely acquired ten thousand years of Dao Attainment. The Demon-Slaying Bureau deserved most of the credit.

Risking the loss of such a treasure trove as the Demon-Slaying Bureau for a single Upper Third Grade demonic cultivator was not worth it.

The next day, some colleagues from the Ministry of Works went to witness Li Shan's execution. When they returned, they described the bustling scene: a sea of people, all seething with excitement.

Even before submitting to the Yaksha Demon Venerable, Li Shan had been a major criminal wanted by Great Qian. He had once sacrificed tens of thousands of people to refine a magical treasure. His crimes were so numerous that all the bamboo in the world would not have sufficed to record them.

A commander of the Demon-Slaying Bureau, a resident master of the Immortal Stipend Bureau, a eunuch of the Palace Attendants Bureau, and a Purple Dragon General from the most mysterious Dragon-Guarding Bureau.

Four Spirit Refining masters had supervised the execution to prevent demonic fiends from causing trouble.

Zhou Yi was glad he had not gone. Otherwise, faced with an immortal artifact, a Heavenly Gang Daoist art, or some other supreme treasure or divine ability, he could hardly say he would have resisted making a move.

The brush copying the Daoist Scripture suddenly trembled, skewing a stroke.

"No wonder I have to copy scriptures for ten years. I usually pride myself on my steadfast Dao heart, but that's only because the temptation hasn't been great enough..."

With that thought, he copied the Daoist Scripture with even greater resolve, cultivating his heart and tempering his nature.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

Early morning.

Zhou Yi entered the Punishment Office Prison and took the waist tokens of four Earth-Class Prison executioners.

But the fifth executioner headed all the way into the depths of the prison, stopping before Heaven-Class Prison No. 27.

"Has an Upper Third Grade demon been captured?"

Zhou Yi immediately bewildered the executioner with an illusion and entered the cell.

Triangular eyes, an upturned nose-the prisoner inside was none other than Li Shan, who should have been dead.

Li Shan struggled to open his eyes and let out a hoarse rasp. Whatever torture and interrogation he had endured, this mighty Upper Third Grade fiend could barely speak.

"An illusion... have you come to save me?"

Li Shan's pupils were eerie, cross-shaped stars. He saw through Zhou Yi's Body-Shifting Technique at a glance.

Zhou Yi said helplessly, "Are my spells really that poor?"

"Ahem... very subtle... my eyes... were replaced with Spirit Cat Eyes..."

"...Demonic fiend!"

Zhou Yi drove his torture implement through Li Shan's heart, ending his wicked life.

The Demon and Monster Compendium flipped through over a thousand pages before revealing Li Shan's entry. He held a Demon Banner and rode on the back of a Black Panther.

Reward obtained: Swordsmanship!

With a thought, Zhou Yi understood Swordsmanship's origins and effects.

It was one of the seventy-two Earthly Baleful Divine Abilities. Once comprehended, it removed all limits on his talent for swordsmanship, and studying sword arts became as effortless as if aided by the gods.

Sword arts included, but were not limited to, sword techniques, sword control, sword escape, sword formulas, sword intent...

I finally finished writing before midnight and kept my vow of two updates a day!!!