I bear witness to immortality in the human world.

Chapter 31 The Vicious Thief and the Shadowy Spirit

Martial Arts Academy.

In the open field, Wu Ming, holding a long spear, was fighting with Chen Gui.

Both men moved with great speed. After a few dozen moves, Chen Gui drew his sword, leaped backward, and waved his hand, panting heavily, saying, "I'm not fighting anymore. In this open space, your spear is too weak."

Wu Ming smiled, put away his gun, and stood still.

Since he gradually mastered the Falling Leaf Spear Technique, even martial artists who had achieved the same level of blood coagulation found it difficult to overcome his spear technique. Chen Gui, who used to be able to completely suppress him, could not break through at all now.

In fact, Wu Ming's use of the spear for defense was already a way of concealing his true strength. If he were to launch an attack, even if Chen Gui's swordsmanship was fully mastered, it would be difficult for him to withstand Wu Ming's current spear technique. The difference between Wu Ming's current spear technique and that of a fully mastered master was extremely subtle. Moreover, with his keen perception, Wu Ming's moves were even more fluid and refined than those of ordinary fully mastered martial artists.

"Let's go, let's go have a drink."

Chen Gui pulled Wu Ming along and headed out of the martial arts academy.

Recently, the herbal tea business at the pharmacy has been booming, with demand exceeding supply. He was very happy and often took Wu Ming out to restaurants and nearby taverns for drinks. Wu Ming would also accompany him in his spare time. On the one hand, he was now working as a guard, and on the other hand, he would take advantage of any opportunity to get a free meal.

After leaving the martial arts academy,

He hadn't gone far when Wu Ming suddenly saw a group of soldiers in uniform posting notices on the street.

Upon closer inspection, the notice, written in scarlet lettering, stated that a vicious thief had been operating in the north of the city recently, committing numerous crimes that had resulted in the deaths of dozens of innocent people. The thief was described as extremely ruthless and warned the city's residents to be on guard and not to go out at night.

"It seems like things aren't very peaceful in this city lately."

Wu Ming looked at the notice.

Chen Gui remained calm and said, "These kinds of thieves appear every year, but usually they quiet down after committing a series of crimes and being targeted by the Censorate, and then they are put on the wanted list. Those people in the Censorate are not to be trifled with."

Wu Ming nodded slightly. The Shenxing Division was responsible for the security and order of Jingye City. It was on par with the Zhenyao Division in terms of status. The selection of talents was even more stringent than that of the Seven Martial Alliance's inner hall. It held a very high position, and the city guard division under its jurisdiction had at least several thousand men. Once it got serious, it could close the city gates and conduct a thorough search of the entire city.

It was only because the Censorate was in charge that the city was able to maintain order in such a world with abundant martial power, instead of allowing martial artists from all sides to run rampant, fight and vie for resources everywhere.

After a brief pause, Wu Ming kept the matter of the thief in mind and followed Chen Guiyuan away.

……

The inner city of Jingye City.

A solemn and dignified cluster of bluestone buildings sits there.

This is the location of the Shenxing Division, one of the two divisions. Since Yong Kingdom values ​​martial prowess, the Shenxing Division, as a purely military institution, wields immense power and is responsible for all order in Jingye City, including the administration and management of tens of thousands of warriors.

In one of the quiet government offices, several sandalwood tables were arranged around the perimeter. Behind one of the tables, a man in a dark blue official robe sat cross-legged, reviewing stacks of documents on the table.

Suddenly, a figure walked in from outside.

"Any progress on the case in the north of the city?"

"Hmm, we have a clue, but it's not very useful. This group shouldn't belong to any of the forces outside the city, nor are they members of the 'thieves' gang inside the city. They're probably just some vicious people who temporarily got together to form a gang to rob and plunder. I reckon that after they commit a couple more crimes and make enough money, they'll probably divide the loot and go their separate ways."

"..."

Huang Lin, the head of the Censorate, sitting behind his desk, turned cold and said, "If we let them go their separate ways, it will be troublesome to investigate them later. We must find these people before they fall apart."

As the head of the Censorate, Huang Lin held a high position and great power. Usually, only a few vicious bandits wandering outside the city would attract his attention. A group of vicious bandits, who were only pieced together by some people who had undergone first-time and second-time blood coagulation, would not normally be of any interest to him. However, this group of vicious bandits acted cruelly and slaughtered people at will during their robberies, resulting in dozens of deaths and injuries in one night. This matter eventually reached his ears.

The deputy clerk, dressed in a light blue official robe, responded and then continued, "Sir, those bandits are nothing but nameless scoundrels. But what should we do about the inauspicious hour tomorrow night?"

"Yin Sha..."

Huang Lin looked thoughtful.

Heaven and earth, yin and yang, rotate. Every so often, a special time of year, called "yin year, yin month, yin day," will appear. During this time, the yin energy will be extremely concentrated, which often gives rise to evil spirits and ghosts.

However, these things cannot last long; they will naturally perish once the rooster crows.

"Should we issue a city-wide notice, ordering everyone to stay indoors?"

The deputy head pondered and asked.

Huang Lin shook his head and said, "No, we must not cause panic in the city. A little bit of Yin energy will not cause too much damage. If the announcement is made, everyone will panic at night. If it causes chaos throughout the city, it will be more likely to give evil spirits an opportunity to take advantage of us."

The dense Yin energy will cause some ghosts that don't usually appear to emerge and wander around. But in reality, these ghosts are not harmful to people. As long as one's heart is upright and fearless, even if one is not a Blood Condensation Warrior, a single shout can make the ghosts retreat. If the whole city is notified and panic is caused, it may actually help to increase their momentum.

"The demons and monsters are nothing to worry about. Just a few months ago, our company joined forces with the Black Fiend and Xuanyu sects to deal with a Yin Fiend demon. The demon disintegrated and dissipated into evil demonic energy. Although we destroyed 99% of it at the time, a small amount still fled in all directions and hid deep underground. I am only worried that this remaining evil demonic energy will take this opportunity to emerge again and cause trouble."

The deputy director spoke in a deep voice with a solemn expression.

Upon hearing this, Huang Lin's eyes showed a thoughtful expression. He said, "The evil and demonic energy is indeed troublesome. Ordinary ghosts and spirits cannot get close to a Blood Condensation Martial Artist. However, this evil and demonic energy is essentially between reality and illusion, and it can invade the body of a martial artist. Once it enters the body, it may devour the soul, drain the blood and energy, and turn it into nourishment..."

"However, there is no need to worry too much about this matter. We have already destroyed its original intention that day. These scattered and broken demonic thoughts can no longer pose any threat. Hmm, to prevent any accidents, we can contact the Demon Suppression Division. Tomorrow night, our two divisions will join forces to patrol the city strictly. Once the time of extreme Yin has passed, everything will be fine."

After hearing Huang Lin's words, the deputy director nodded and said:

“What you say is absolutely right, sir. I will go to the Demon Suppression Division now and tell them about it.”

(End of this chapter)