Chen Jiuyang couldn't sleep even when he got home and lay on his bed as dawn broke.
Bored, he took out the book "Beheading Blade" from his怀 and began to read. It was his first time seeing martial arts. The brief textual descriptions, combined with anatomical illustrations, gave Chen Jiuyang a general impression.
All his strength erupted through his arm, beheading with a single strike—a simple and brutal move.
Gradually, he became engrossed, and Chen Jiuyang unknowingly fell into a deep sleep.
In his sea of consciousness, a seed suddenly sprouted and bore fruit.
Chen Jiuyang woke up feeling very hungry and then discovered the young seedling and fruit in his sea of consciousness.
"What is this?"
Chen Jiuyang thought of the furnace that Mu Xi had mentioned yesterday, but the intense hunger drove him to the kitchen to find food. The leftover fish from yesterday was still in the basin. Chen Jiuyang ate at least two catties of fish by himself, but the hunger still didn't disappear. With no other option, he had to find Mu Xi.
"The furnace is extremely rare, and I don't know how to use it specifically. Brother Yang, since you feel hungry, why don't you look around? What can make you feel most appetizing?" Mu Xi pondered.
Chen Jiuyang looked around, up and down, and finally, his gaze was inexplicably drawn to the dirt on the ground: "Could it be that I have to eat dirt?!"
Chen Jiuyang found it somewhat absurd, but inexplicably, the dirt felt very appetizing.
He fell silent for a long time, then grabbed a handful of dirt and stuffed it into his mouth to try.
The hunger suddenly disappeared, and the fruit on the young seedling in his sea of consciousness abruptly detached from the seedling.
In an instant, Chen Jiuyang felt his body heat up, sweat pouring all over him. A surge of insights and memories about the "Beheading Blade" martial art flooded his mind, as if he had practiced it countless times, using this martial art to kill hundreds or thousands of wicked people.
"Huff, huff, huff!!!"
After a long time, Chen Jiuyang gasped for breath, his eyes filled with astonishment. He looked at Mu Xi and asked, "Is this the power of the furnace?"
Yesterday he was an ordinary person, and today he was extraordinary!
Under Chen Jiuyang's expectant and eager gaze, Mu Xi slowly shook her head:
"The furnace has too many divisions... My memory is gradually fading, and there are things I can't remember clearly..."
"..."
"Brother Yang, this is what little sister wrote when she was lucid. You can open it now. I've forgotten its content, but it should be what I wrote yesterday when I was lucid."
Mu Xi handed three letters to Chen Jiuyang and then returned to her room to sleep soundly.
"This girl is truly mysterious..."
Chen Jiuyang suppressed his speculation about Mu Xi's identity and opened the first letter. It was written in a beautiful hand:
Brother Yang:
Little sister is unwell and cannot tell you in person, please forgive me. My memory fades a little every day, and I tend to be sleepy. Fortunately, I met a young man like Brother Yang, who is worth entrusting.
Brother Yang has obtained the furnace, so he should use it well to have some self-preservation ability in the upcoming chaotic times.
Brother Yang has no spiritual roots and can only enter the Dao through martial arts. Little sister's martial arts are not profound, and she only has incomplete remnant techniques to help Brother Yang.
"Yuan Dao"
...
...
Afterward, he focused on reading the content of the first level of "Yuan Dao."
The first realm of a martial artist: mortals practice martial arts, devour...
When he finished reading, he had a general understanding of martial artists. When he came back to his senses, it was already close to evening.
He left his room and first went to check on the old man's room. The old man was still unconscious. The doctor said that due to his advanced age and severe injuries, even with medication, it would take about three to five days to wake up.
Chen Jiuyang took over the old man's duties. Zhao Gao, the eldest among the siblings, would be responsible for meals and daily life, while Chen Jiuyang would be responsible for earning money to support the family.
At the dinner table, Chen Jiuyang said to Zhao Gao, "Eldest brother, tell the brothers and sisters in the family not to go out to work for now. Let them stay at home."
Zhao Gao glanced at Chen Jiuyang's blue uniform and said with a solemn expression, "I understand."
Before, with Old Man Jin Zhong present, no one would have bothered these unregistered orphans. But as soon as Old Man Jin Zhong was injured, some people wanted to take advantage of the situation. When the sky fell, the dark and cruel society revealed its ferocious, bloodthirsty maw.
After dinner, Chen Jiuyang left ten taels of silver and hurried out to work at the yamen. The blue uniform he was wearing was the only shield protecting his family's safety.
Qingcheng had a population of about 100,000 to 200,000, and including the surrounding villages and towns, the radiated population was about 300,000. There were about seven to eight hundred blue-clothed yamen runners like Chen Jiuyang in the Qingcheng yamen, not including former official constables like Qu Ba.
Including the Fire Constable Captain, there were a total of over a thousand constables. The Fire Constable Captain stood at the head of the thousand, creating a somewhat spectacular scene. This was only for the night shift constables; there were also day shift constables. The safety of Qingcheng was handled by a total of nearly two thousand people.
The Fire Constable Captain stood at the very front, his majestic voice ringing out, "Roll call by squad leaders."
The blue-clothed constable squad leaders from each area began to call out names. After the roll call, Qu Ba and Chen Jiuyang were assigned by their squad leader to patrol.
Walking on the streets gradually being swallowed by darkness, Chen Jiuyang asked Qu Ba, "Brother Qu, how do I practice martial arts?"
Qu Ba, with a toothpick in his mouth, glanced at Chen Jiuyang and said nonchalantly, "Finish practicing the 'Beheading Blade' first before you worry about how to practice martial arts."
Suddenly.
Qu Ba stopped in his tracks, his expression tensing, and he slowly drew the gleaming long saber at his waist.
Chen Jiuyang followed his gaze and saw three tall men in black, without masks, in front of them.
Qu Ba's voice sounded in Chen Jiuyang's ear, "These scoundrels are truly bold. They didn't leave the city immediately after escaping prison but hid for a day and chose to leave today."
"Heh, Chen Jiuyang, you have bad luck. Stay away when the fight starts. If you break an arm or a leg, don't blame me, Brother Qu, for not being able to protect you."
After speaking, Qu Ba strode forward rapidly. His movements were incredibly fast, covering two to three steps in one second. A hundred meters could be covered in twelve to thirteen seconds. Such speed was truly astonishing.
In his previous life, only world-class athletes could achieve this, but here, a martial artist who claimed to be half-crippled could do it.
The difference between having exchanged blood and not having exchanged blood was evident from their speed alone.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
In the darkness, sparks flew from swords and sabers. Qu Ba, who appeared to be slacking off, could simultaneously deal with three thieves who had escaped from prison. It went without saying that these three thieves also knew some martial arts.
After fighting for several minutes, two of the thieves were injured by Qu Ba and fell to the ground. The last one charged towards Chen Jiuyang.
"Not good!"
Qu Ba exclaimed, "Chen Jiuyang, be careful!!!"
"If I can't beat you, can't I still kill a mere child?!"
The thief gasped for breath and leaped forward like a fierce tiger pouncing on its prey, his saber slashing down at Chen Jiuyang.
At this moment, Qu Ba rushed towards Chen Jiuyang, but it was too late.
Chen Jiuyang's expression remained calm as he drew his saber to defend himself.
"Zheng—"
The two sabers collided, and Chen Jiuyang staggered back several steps before actively attacking forward.
He stomped his foot down forcefully, swung his arm with all his might, concentrating all his strength into his arm, like an executioner who had practiced for decades. The saber in his hand moved with the "Yang Liu" style, cleanly and decisively slashing forward.
"Chih—" m..oΓg
"Da—"
"Huala—"
The thief who intended to kill Chen Jiuyang had his hand severed instead. The wound, as clean as a mirror's surface, gushed with blood.
In this dark, man-eating society, Chen Jiuyang had no room for hesitation. Retreating meant being drawn into the martial world, where one was no longer in control!
"Ah!" The thief let out a piercing scream and immediately clutched his bleeding arm.
To Qu Ba's astonished gaze, Chen Jiuyang swung the "Yang Liu" style saber again.
The scream abruptly stopped, and then his head separated from his body. Blood spurted from his neck like crimson wine, splashing all over Chen Jiuyang.
Qu Ba's footsteps halted, his expression bewildered, "This Beheading Blade technique!!!" He wielded it more steadily and decisively than a seasoned executioner.
The corpse crashed down. The latter only looked at him and asked,
"Can this strike practice martial arts?"
In an instant, Chen Jiuyang remembered everything.
Gold, wood, water, fire, and earth tempted him and were subdued by him! Each with its own temperament!
The five great origins were twisted into one rope by him!
"Rumble!!!"
The furnace officially began to be forged!