Chapter 1 Wang Family Courtyard

Li Cheng颐 sat cross-legged in his bedroom, his forearms exposed.

His once fair and smooth skin was now covered with dense black dots.

The black dots were faintly red and wriggled like worms, trying to burrow deeper into his flesh.

'This thing is a bit strange,' Li Cheng颐 frowned.

In terms of speed and strength, he far surpassed it.

But as soon as his Zhen Qi (true energy) made contact, it would be infiltrated. He had already tried using both the radiance field and the death energy flames, but neither could dispel or kill this thing.

Moreover, this thing was constantly devouring his flesh and blood to strengthen itself.

When he first returned, it was only the size of a palm, but now it had spread to both forearms.

'Just a small, ordinary town, and there's a power that can hurt me like this. This place... I was right to come.'

Li Cheng颐 looked at the black dots, and with a thought, death energy poured out like sludge, completely submerging them.

Although death energy couldn't kill or dispel the black dots, its powerful dulling effect and icy cold temperature greatly slowed their growth.

'It seems that this thing can only be solved with the local power. I should first find a way to learn martial arts and obtain Zhen Qi.'

Li Cheng颐 guessed that if he possessed Zhen Qi, he should be able to resolve the infiltration of these black dots.

'Actually, come to think of it, most of my power comes from the Flower Language, and it's not entirely under my control. There's a layer of separation, so I can't control it freely with precision.

Even the later death energy is newly mastered, and control is severely lacking.

The Dragon Realm of fighting techniques is purely a training of strength, and it's completely irrelevant to this kind of supernatural black dot.

So, in terms of precision, I really can't contend with these black dots.'

Li Cheng颐 pondered for a moment and, after confirming that the expansion speed of the black dots had slowed down significantly, lowered his sleeves.

'Just right, I can use the Zhen Qi martial arts here to perfect my precise control.'

Getting out of bed and leaving the room, he saw Wang Yiheng helping Patrol Chief Wang Yifeng through the door.

This cheap old man was stained with patches of blood, his face pale, and the thick-backed official saber in his hand was un-sheathed, the blade full of nicks.

"Brother Feng!" Wang Linshi rushed out, hurriedly helping Wang Yifeng.

"I'm fine, just a minor injury..." Wang Yifeng waved his hand, straightening up. "It's just that Da Hong from the Li family... alas. In just one exchange, four of us were there, and two died in the blink of an eye... If the town guardian hadn't arrived in time..."

He recalled the previous scene, and he was still cold and trembling all over.

His full-strength strike landed on the opponent, but it was only blocked by the protective Zhen Qi, and he was unharmed.

He had gathered all his Zhen Qi into one point for the strike, while the opponent had evenly distributed his Zhen Qi, enveloping his entire body.

Such a difference left him stunned on the spot, not knowing what to do.

If the town guardian hadn't arrived with reinforcements in time, he probably would have...

Looking at the worried faces of his family, Wang Yifeng's heart tightened, and he quickly squeezed out a smile.

"Fortunately, the Blood Watch Division people will be here soon. We only need to hold on for two more weeks until they arrive, and we'll be much safer."

"That monster was also killed by the town guardian and his men, so it won't appear again for the time being. Don't worry too much."

"I'll take this opportunity to rest at home for a few days while I recover from my injuries. Old Ding will take my place at the yamen (government office)."

He said a few words in a row to stabilize the emotions of his family.

Wang Yiheng and Wang Linshi believed it was true, and their expressions improved a lot, but Li Cheng颐 faintly heard the worry and anxiety in his words.

"That's great, Dad, I've been starting to practice the Loose Deer Saber again these days. You can guide me at home as well," Li Cheng颐 said, stepping forward.

"Yes, yes, that's good too, so you don't have to go out and wander around and encounter danger," Wang Yifeng nodded repeatedly.

Soon, he was helped by his family to rest, change clothes, and treat his wounds.

Li Cheng颐 stood alone in the courtyard, glanced at the Forsythia suspensa in his second sister's flower garden.

He slowly walked over, sensed that no one was around, and then reached out and gently touched the purple and white-edged petals.

'Forsythia suspensa: Also known as Lian Qiao, also known as hedge tree, shrub, usually 1.5 to 3 meters high, branches often drooping, young leaves with fine hairs, flowers are blue or blue-purple. Likes a warm, sunny, well-ventilated environment.'

'Flower Language: Witchcraft (generates a special enhancement effect randomly based on the environment)'

'Flower Scale Armor: Not determined as the main flower.'

'Witchcraft... this Flower Language' Li Cheng颐's heart stirred slightly.

Forsythia suspensa also grows in Yi country, but he hadn't collected it before. Very few people in Yi country plant this flower.

Withdrawing his hand, he turned and walked towards the main house. After all, as Wang Yifeng's third son, he should still show some concern at this time.

Soon, time flew by.

Three days had passed in the blink of an eye since Wang Yifeng had returned home to recuperate.

In those three days, as he had said, he didn't have any major injuries. He was just frightened and his mind was damaged. The cuts on his body were also caused by his own excessive force.

After resting for about the right amount of time, Wang Yifeng's leave hadn't expired, so he simply stayed at home and pulled Wang Yichen to practice the saber.

Li Cheng颐 couldn't have been happier.

He was now just missing a guide to truly practice Zhen Qi. The black dots from before were still remaining on his arm, waiting for him to deal with them.

This place couldn't even be cleared without injury by a normal small town, let alone other places. He had to make up for his weaknesses as soon as possible.

On this day, the weather was great, with plenty of bright sunshine.

In the courtyard, Wang Yifeng officially began teaching Li Cheng颐 the family's Loose Deer Saber technique.

He wore a gray close-fitting suit, a leather hair tie on his head, tying up his long hair, and a thick-backed official saber held upside down in his hand.

"My Wang family's Loose Deer Saber technique ranks among the top five in the entire Xinmeng Town. If you can practice it well, a swift strike will easily shatter anything it touches."

"The core of this saber technique is the Pine Pattern Qi (Song Wen Qi) that we are familiar with!"

Wang Yifeng raised the saber, bent his waist and knees, and struck a pose of a stag butting with its antlers.

He held the saber horizontally in front of his body, his hands pressing against the blade.

"Watch carefully, the method of cultivating Pine Pattern Qi mainly relies on three core movements."

"First, Deer Top Stance (Lu Ding Shi)."

"Second, Deer Horizontal Style (Lu Heng Shi)."

He put down the saber, clasped his hands tightly, and quickly waved his hands, keeping the tip of the saber at a constant point while the hilt kept swinging.

"Third, Deer Decision Style (Lu Jue Shi)!"

He held the saber with both hands and suddenly pushed it forward, his eyes widened, and his muscles bulged as if he were pushing all his strength into his hands.

"When practicing the three styles continuously, you need to imagine yourself as a stag, intimidating your opponent with your most powerful weapon, the antlers. While imagining, you also need to pay attention to some details of the mental cultivation technique..."

Wang Yifeng explained carefully, and Li Cheng颐 listened carefully.

From time to time, he would also ask questions.

Why make this pose, can't you make other poses?

Why imagine a stag?

Why does the stag in the imagination intimidate the enemy?

The questions left Wang Yifeng speechless. At first, he stammered a few explanations, but later, finding that he couldn't explain it at all, he became exasperated and drove Li Cheng颐 away after teaching him, returning to his own small courtyard to practice.

Second Sister Wang Yiheng, who was on the side, also covered her mouth and laughed.

"Dad, A-Chen seems really different from before now. He wasn't so interested before."

"That's true, but he just asks more questions. These family martial arts were passed down from my grandfather's generation. Who knows why they have to be practiced this way? If I knew, would I still be his dad? I'd be his grandfather directly," Wang Yifeng said speechlessly.

Feeling that his body had rested almost enough, he sheathed his saber, changed clothes, and walked outside.

"I'm going to the yamen to take a look."

He was still a little worried about the town guardian.

When he went out, he glanced at the courtyard entrance, where his third son, A-Chen, was still carefully pondering the three Qi-cultivation styles he learned earlier.

Wang Yifeng's originally worried mood was somewhat comforted.

Escorted by his wife and daughter, Wang Yifeng, wearing the uniform of a patrol chief, quickly arrived at the town guardian's yamen.

The so-called yamen was just a simple courtyard composed of three houses.

In the center of the gray roof stood a vermilion horn. This represented the highest point in the area.

The town guardian, Wu Xinhao, was fifty-eight years old, but he looked like he was in his early thirties.

He was short and stocky, and he practiced the family martial art Black Eagle Iron Claw.

Seeing Wang Yifeng return, he nodded to him.

The only people in this yamen with decent martial arts were him, deputy Guo Hu, and Wang Yifeng.

Guo Hu practiced the Descending Origin Returning Truth Leg Technique, which was in the same class as his Black Eagle Iron Claw, and both were rated as Five-Colored level martial arts within the imperial court. Although they were only the lowest White rank, they were still excellent. They were all good martial arts bestowed by the imperial court.

Wang Yifeng's Loose Deer Saber, on the other hand, was only a local martial art with a limited range of inheritance. Its power and effect were rated as an unranked Outer grade, meaning that it was not much different from the ordinary martial arts circulating in the Jianghu (martial world).

Wang Yifeng was able to have some strength and become a patrol chief because he also had the advantage of some natural divine strength.

But this was already the limit, and there was no way to continue further.

But they could continue to improve, and that was the difference in the cultivation techniques.

However, although he looked down on the martial arts, Wu Xinhao still valued Wang Yifeng himself, as he was currently in need of manpower.

"Old Wang, you've recovered? You've come just in time. That dormant-stage woman from before was blown up on the spot by a mysterious person a few days ago, which was a temporary help to us. Otherwise, once that dormant-stage woman developed, it might have been really dangerous in the future." Wu Xinhao wiped his weapon, which was a pair of special metal-made eagle claw gloves.

"Blown up by a mysterious person? Really?" Wang Yifeng was stunned.

"Can I lie to you? There are only a few good hands in our yamen. I'll take you to the scene later. The blood has been cleaned and neutralized with gray powder." Deputy town guardian Guo Hu sighed. "What can be determined now is that the Blood Body (Xue Shen) outside the city should have joined the Linghui Valley."

"Those monsters from Linghui Valley have also come here?" Wang Yifeng was shocked.

In the Shaoyin Kingdom, since there was an official organization like the Blood Watch Division, there was naturally a large-scale resistance organization.

Linghui Valley was one of them.

Although the Blood Body monsters were always crazy and could go berserk and kill at any time, they were not without intelligence. In order to avoid being defeated one by one and besieged, they also gathered and huddled together spontaneously.

Linghui Valley was the largest Blood Body organization nearby. Of course, saying it was an organization, its structure was actually extremely loose, and no one could say how many or how strong the monsters inside were.

Blood Body monsters were strong and weak, and there was also internal competition and killing among them. The number and strength could also change at any time.