A Martial Saint in Chaotic Times: Starting with Grinding Proficiency

Muddy Alley, the old Zhou family residence.

After finishing dinner, Zhou Yuan returned to the courtyard. He looked at the medicinal bath prescription in his hand, his expression slightly changing.

He had heard that the medicinal bath recipe was a closely guarded secret of every martial arts school.

The formula was extremely hard-won. The proportions of each medicinal herb, the principle of the interaction between the hot and cold properties of the main ingredients, and the control of the heat were all experiences summarized by our predecessors through countless trials and errors and the consumption of a huge amount of medicinal materials.

Only core disciples are qualified to receive the recipe for the medicinal bath.

"Rootless grass, black snake fruit, six-petaled flower..."

Zhou Yuan looked at the names on the prescription, a thoughtful expression on his face. Although these medicinal herbs were precious, fortunately they were not the kind of rare and priceless treasures.

Come to think of it, if all the medicinal herbs inside are of the rare and precious grade, then this prescription is basically worthless, because rare and precious herbs are extremely rare and cannot be obtained by ordinary martial artists.

He estimated that the silver he had would only be enough for seven or eight baths at most if he used it all to buy medicinal herbs.

Zhou Yuan clicked his tongue slightly.

Martial artists' expenses are indeed like a money-devouring beast. Yesterday he was still lamenting that he had plenty of money, but compared to the terrifying cost of this medicinal bath, it was still a drop in the ocean.

Then he looked at another ancient prescription given to him by Zhu Xiaowen.

An ancient remedy for treating a broken leg.

The list contained more than a dozen medicinal herbs and ten auxiliary herbs, several of which he had never heard of before, and some of them might have been lost to the world long ago.

The main ingredients consist of three parts.

When Zhou Yuan saw the name of the main ingredient, his eyes lit up slightly.

One of the ingredients, a hundred-year-old Ganoderma lucidum, happened to be available to him!

The spoils looted from Wei Rong unexpectedly came in handy so quickly.

The other two main ingredients are ice crystal grass and basalt wood.

Zhou Yuan had never heard of these two names before, but since they were listed as main medicinal ingredients alongside the century-old Fire Spirit Mushroom, their value must be considerable.

Although he couldn't immediately gather all the herbs from the ancient prescription, Zhou Yuan wasn't discouraged.

At least, there's hope.

If you keep looking, you'll always find it.

Zhou Yuan carefully put away the two prescriptions, and then set them up in the courtyard.

The biggest threat, Goldman Sachs, is dead, but Zhao Dacheng is still alive.

This person, being his direct superior, actually conspired with outsiders to murder him, which is especially hateful.

His personality has always been one of vindictiveness.

I will not attack unless attacked. If attacked, I will retaliate!

Zhou Yuan decided to find a suitable opportunity to eliminate this person as well.

More importantly, besides Zhao Dacheng, there was another behemoth—the Wei family.

Although the chances of the Wei family suspecting him are extremely small, nothing is absolute. Once the Wei family finds even the slightest clue, he will be instantly crushed into dust.

Thinking of this, Zhou Yuan exhaled a breath of turbid air, casting aside all distracting thoughts, and immersed his mind in the cultivation of the Mountain-Shaking Fist and the Snow-Treading Without a Trace.

The next morning.

After finishing his practice, Zhou Yuan went inside.

On the table sat his long-missed Zhajiangmian (noodles with soybean paste), filled with generous amounts of minced meat and several pieces of tenderly stewed beef. Sprinkled with sesame sauce, it smelled incredibly fragrant.

Zhou Ting seemed to know that there was hope for her leg injury to heal, and her smile became more and more frequent.

Zhou Yuan had only seen this smile before the Zhou family suffered from war.

A moment later, Zhou Yuan ate three large bowls of noodles with soybean paste in a whirlwind before he felt full.

After becoming a martial artist and breaking through a certain realm, his appetite really does increase day by day.

He said goodbye to his sister and hurried towards the patrol office.

According to regulations, it was his turn to be on duty today.

However, as soon as Zhou Yuan stepped out of his house, he noticed a person walking briskly towards his home from the alley entrance.

Zhou Yuan looked closely and saw that the person who came was Li Tong, another constable from the North City Patrol Office.

Why would Li Tong come looking for me?

Zhou Yuan was somewhat surprised, but he still took the initiative to go up to her and greet her warmly.

"Brother Li, so early."

"Zhou Yuan!" Li Tong saw him as if he had seen a savior and quickly said, "Perfect, saves me from making another trip. You don't need to go to the North City Patrol Office."

"What's wrong?"

Li Tong leaned closer and lowered his voice.

"Something terrible has happened! I heard that bandits have infiltrated the inner city, and the county magistrate is furious. He's summoning us all to the headquarters for a reprimand! Every single inspector and constable is to be present!"

Zhou Yuan understood that the influx of bandits into the city and the death of Wei Rong were both major events that would shake the entire city.

It was understandable that the county magistrate would gather the patrol officers and give them a speech at this time.

With that thought in mind, he and Li Tong hurried towards the Inner City Patrol Headquarters.

……

at the same time.

Inner city, patrol chief.

In the backyard, inside a spacious pavilion next to the pond, two people are playing chess.

One of them was dressed in ordinary clothes, with a handsome face and a long beard, exuding a certain majesty. He was none other than Liu Wenju, the magistrate of Luochuan County.

Sitting opposite him was a middle-aged man in the uniform of the Patrol and Inspection Bureau, with broad shoulders and a piercing gaze in his eyes. He was Xie Hongwu, the chief inspector of the Patrol and Inspection Bureau.

"Any recent activity from the Wei family?"

Liu Wenju held a white chess piece in his hand and asked calmly.

The one who died was Wei Rong, Wei Tianhe's most valued son and one of the core members of the future business alliance.

Xie Hongwu replied in a deep voice, "Your Excellency, apart from the initial commotion and the sealing off of several streets and alleys, the Wei family became extremely quiet afterward, as if they had forgotten about Wei Rong's death."

Upon hearing this, Liu Wenju, who had been quite interested in the game, suddenly stopped raising his finger in mid-air.

Quiet?

He knew Wei Tianhe and the business alliance's character all too well.

Wei Tianhe is an extremely protective person who will hold a grudge for even the smallest things.

Now that his son has died, according to common sense, it should have caused a huge uproar, and people should have gone to great lengths to find the murderer.

There is only one possibility for this sudden silence.

They are secretly plotting something.

Moreover, their ambitions are enormous!

Thinking of this, Liu Wenju threw the chess piece back into the chess box, losing all interest in playing chess.

"When will all the inspectors arrive?"

"Reporting to Your Excellency, it will be about half an hour later," Xie Hongwu replied.

Liu Wenju nodded slightly.

One of his purposes in overcoming opposition and expanding the patrol station was to strengthen security in the city, sever the connection between the mountain bandits and certain forces in the inner city, and prevent them from colluding.

Just then, a young man dressed in armor strode into the pavilion.

The newcomer was tall and handsome, and his cultivation had reached the Yi Jin level. He was Xue Renjie, one of the centurions of the patrol battalion.

"Your Excellency, thank you, Inspector General."

Liu Jie clasped his hands in a salute to the two men.

Liu Wenju raised his hand, indicating that he didn't need to be so polite.

"How's the matter I asked you to investigate going?"

Xue Renjie's expression turned serious as he reported, "The person who relayed the message to the patrol battalion that night, informing them of Zhao Shanshui's whereabouts, has been investigated by my men. They should be near the inner city."

"but……"

Xue Renjie paused, then continued, "This person's movements are extremely unpredictable; he comes and goes without a trace, and our men can't locate him at all. According to the description given by the soldiers guarding the city that night, he's not very old, but... but his cultivation level has probably already reached the Marrow Cleansing Realm!"

The words fell.

Both Liu Wenju and Xie Hongwu's expressions changed.

......