The Martial Saint rose to power starting as a substitute bridegroom.

The patrol battalion is divided into four sections, each responsible for patrolling the four areas outside Linjiang City: southeast, northwest, and southwest.

The defense of the inner city is directly managed by the regular police officers of the police station, and it is not up to the amateur squads like the street patrol to interfere.

Each of the four institutes has one deputy patrol chief. Li Yuan, as the deputy patrol chief, belongs to the West Institute and is in charge of patrolling and guarding the area along the Blackwater River.

On the first day of work, you should at least greet your subordinates.

The west courtyard is not very large, and apart from the lack of a kitchen, it is similar to an ordinary house.

The courtyard was furnished with wooden dummy stands, stone weights, and other training equipment.

Not far from the entrance, under an old willow tree, there was a bamboo couch, on which a young street patrolman was lounging, dozing off.

Hearing the footsteps, the young patrolman didn't even lift his eyelids. "Who is it? Don't you know this is a heavily guarded area?"

My name is Li Yuan.

"Don't tell me your name is Li Yuan, even if your surname is Sun..." The young patrolman was halfway through his sentence when he suddenly opened his eyes and sprang up from the bamboo couch.

He remembered that he had received orders from Patrol Chief Sun yesterday that a new deputy patrol chief was coming today, and it seemed that his name was Li Yuan.

Upon seeing the black uniform on Li Yuan's body, he became even more certain.

"Boss."

The young patrolman took two steps back like a child who had done something wrong, his hands awkwardly clasped in front of his chest.

Li Yuan smiled and said, "Go back to sleep."

The young patrolman looked terrified—should he continue sleeping or not?

Ignoring his hesitation, Li Yuan strode inside.

In front of the wooden dummy, a burly man with thick eyebrows and big eyes was practicing boxing with his bare arms. He looked to be about twenty years old, with well-proportioned and neat muscle lines all over his body.

With a series of "hey-ha" sounds, puffs of white vapor shot out from his mouth.

He glanced at Li Yuan out of the corner of his eye, but his hands never stopped moving.

Li Yuan didn't say much and walked straight into the house.

The deputy patrol chief did not have his own private room; he shared a large house with the patrol officers of the West Courtyard.

Five simple wooden couches were placed inside the room. Although the tables and chairs were old, there were enough of them.

Above the stove in the center of the room, a copper kettle was bubbling and spewing out white steam.

In the innermost corner, Li Yuan spotted another of his men.

The boy was holding an old booklet and reading it with great interest.

"Cough cough..." Li Yuan coughed lightly twice.

The young man's hand trembled, and he hurriedly closed the book, standing up in a flustered manner. "You must be Inspector Li?"

"Not bad." Li Yuan put his hands behind his back and nodded with a smile.

His gaze swept over the words on the book in the other person's hand—"The Plum in the Silver Vase".

"Zeng Yi has met Li Xun!"

Li Yuan nodded. "Little Zeng, although the sage said, 'There are beauties in books,' just looking at them is not enough."

Zeng Yi's face instantly turned bright red, "..."

"Now, tell me about the situation in the West Courtyard." Li Yuan found a reasonably sized chair and sat down.

Having just been pointed out by Li Yuan, Zeng Yi was already feeling uneasy, fearing that Li Yuan would report the matter and cause him to lose face. Therefore, he dared not keep anything to himself and pointed to the two people outside the window.

"The man at the door is called Kang Yan, and he is Patrolman Sun's brother-in-law." He pointed to the young patrolman who had just been dozing on the bamboo couch. "He is lazy by nature, but because of Patrolman Sun's connections, no one dares to discipline him."

Li Yuan nodded.

"The one practicing boxing is called Luo Bin. He was originally a refugee who fled from Shuangye City. Patrolman Sun took pity on him and thought he was quite skilled in boxing, so he took him in at the patrol camp. Who would have thought that this kid, hey, is actually at the peak of Ming Jin, just one step away from breaking through to An Jin, even stronger than those deputy patrolmen. Patrolman Sun has really struck gold this time."

As he spoke, Zeng Yi's eyes revealed a hint of envy. "This kid patrols the streets more diligently than I do. He's the only one who treats this temporary post as a serious job. But he's very proud of himself. Besides patrolling and guarding the streets, he's always practicing his martial arts. He never hangs out with us..."

Li Yuan nodded, signaling him to continue.

Zeng Yi paused for a moment, then continued, "We also have another one in the West Courtyard, named Qi He, who is an old-timer in the patrol battalion. It's said that he's related to a powerful family in Linjiang City, with an astonishingly large background. However, he often uses illness as an excuse and doesn't come here often..."

After listening to Zeng Yi's account and combining it with what he already knew, Li Yuan had a general idea of ​​the West Courtyard's situation.

In this world, status and background are far more important than anything else.

Kang Yan is the brother-in-law of Patrol Chief Sun, and Qi He is a relative of a large family. Normally, these two would not personally go out to patrol the streets.

The task of patrolling the streets in the West Courtyard was mostly handled by Zeng Yi and Luo Bin.

Luo Bin is the most skilled in martial arts and patrols the streets diligently, so there shouldn't be any major trouble in the West District.

As for what's going on inside their lives... Li Yuan didn't care; everyone has their own destiny.

As long as it doesn't take up your own practice time, it's fine.

"...I wonder how much silver he bribed Fatty Sun..." The burly man named Luo Bin in the courtyard stopped his moves, glanced at the window inside the house, and muttered to himself.

The two people inside the room overheard this, and the atmosphere became rather awkward for a moment.

Zeng Yi's expression immediately changed. "I'll go and call him in right now to explain things clearly!"

"It's alright," Li Yuan said calmly.

Just then, a slightly overweight middle-aged man rushed into the yard, shouting, "Something terrible has happened! Something terrible has happened!"

"What's wrong, Brother Qi?" Kang Yan asked.

Qi He immediately spotted Li Yuan's black uniform, a complex expression flashing across his eyes. He cupped his hands and said, "Inspector Li is here too. Something terrible has happened! Seven or eight more corpses have been pulled from the Blackwater River, each with a large hole in their chest..."

The waterway is under the jurisdiction of the West Courtyard.

Qi He was enjoying himself on the pleasure boat when he unexpectedly stumbled upon this unfortunate incident.

On second thought, today was the first day of the new deputy inspector's term, and he was happy to present this "gift".

Li Yuan was startled. "Let's go check it out!"

Less than two days after the incident involving the rat demon on Huaiyin Street, another murder has occurred, which is completely contrary to the previous practice of killing one person every seven days.

Moreover, this time it happened within his own territory, so he had a vague feeling that it was aimed at him.

The group headed straight for the riverside wharf.

Beneath the massive archway, a row of seven or eight corpses lay, their bodies covered with white cloth.

One of the figures was particularly eye-catching; it belonged to a wealthy young man whose feet, exposed outside the cloth, were adorned with exquisite satin boots and a small section of light black silk stockings.

Beside the body, the deceased's family members wept uncontrollably, and a stylishly dressed middle-aged lady fainted several times.

People were whispering among themselves—

"It's so pitiful. The Wang family has built up quite a fortune in Linjiang over the years, but this is their only son..."

"This is the first time a martial artist has been killed..."

"Wang Zhou is a disciple of the martial arts school, a martial artist at the third level of Ming Jin. The rest of them are all guards from his residence who are not weak in skill."

"What's the use of learning martial arts? You still can't defeat evil spirits. Life is getting more and more turbulent."

"Has any of you heard the rumors about that strange incident on Huaiyin Street?...

Upon seeing Li Yuan and his entourage in their uniforms arrive, the people at the front quickly made way for them.

Li Yuan walked closer and lifted the white cloth.

The deceased's face was contorted in pain, and his eyes still held a look of terror.

There were no other wounds on his body, nor any signs of struggle.

"It seems Wang Zhou was caught completely off guard by the surprise attack."

Li Yuan's gaze was fixed on the wound, and his brows gradually furrowed.

"That's not right. In previous similar murder cases, the victims' hearts were all ripped out. This time is different—Wang Zhou's heart was clearly not ripped out, but rather torn to pieces and left in the large hole in his chest..."

Upon examining them one by one, the remaining bodies were found to be the same.

hum!

Just then, a soft sound echoed in my mind.

The primordial evil energy within his body began to surge rapidly and unconsciously, trembling slightly as if it were fleeing in all directions.

A sense of inexplicable fear arose in Li Yuan's heart.

He quickly got up and looked towards the river.

A huge black "smiley face" shadow flashed across the river.

The huge smiling face shadow on the river made Li Yuan suddenly feel a strong sense of provocation.

He felt as if a pair of eyes were watching him from above, a feeling he had never experienced before, a suffocating panic and despair.

Only after a series of chaotic sounds did the terrifying pressure in his heart dissipate.

When I looked at the river again, the smiling black figure had vanished without a trace.

"Li Xun, what's wrong?" Zeng Yi noticed that Li Yuan's expression was off and asked with concern.

"I'm fine."

"Alright, alright, everyone disperse, go about your business!" Just then, Fatty Sun, leading several street patrolmen, strode over, his belly protruding, shouting to drive away the onlookers, "There's nothing strange about this world! The truth will come out eventually. Don't let that culprit fall into my hands; I'll at least pull his guts out and use them as rope!"

"Hey you, go to the south of the city and invite the old Taoist priest from Jin Guang Temple to perform a ritual to help the deceased..."

"What are you waiting for? Go on!"

His gaze met Li Yuan's, and both of them were taken aback.

Fatty Sun had clearly guessed some of the evil spirit's intentions.

Just then, the clatter of horses' hooves sounded not far away.

A squad of fully armed and armed police officers arrived, led by Liu Zhenshan, the magistrate of Linjiang County.

Upon seeing the gruesome state of the corpse, Liu Zhenshan couldn't help but gasp, his brows furrowing into a knot.

Although many people had died at the docks before, they were all from poor families. A few taels of silver would be enough to cover up the deaths with a hasty written report.

This time is different. The Wang family is a prominent family in the city, and their nephews and nieces work in the prefectural city. They are not easily fooled.

"Lord Liu, you must do us justice!"

The noblewoman from the Wang family, who had been crying her eyes out, rushed towards him, grabbed his clothes, and wouldn't let go.

"Please rest assured, Madam Wang, I will investigate this matter thoroughly and get to the bottom of it..."

After much coaxing and calming down Madam Wang, Liu Zhenshan finally summoned Fatty Sun with a grim face and, his voice red and trembling, demanded, "Fatty Sun, what's going on? Didn't you say the rat demon was dead?"

The fear in his heart and the enormous pressure brought by the Wang family made him disregard all official decorum. He no longer addressed him as "Inspector Sun" but instead called him "Fatty Sun".

"Hmm..." Fatty Sun pondered for a moment, "Boss, do you think... the rat demon might have accomplices?"

"Regardless of whether there are accomplices or not, this happened on your turf. I will temporarily waive the patrol officer's responsibility for negligence, but you must investigate this matter thoroughly as soon as possible, otherwise...!"

Fatty Sun was inwardly groaning.

Most of the brothers in my patrol battalion are on temporary assignments; now you want to use us as scapegoats?

"Boss, you know that many of my brothers are related to powerful and influential families. If they don't perform their duties well, I'm afraid things will get out of hand..." Fatty Sun gave him a meaningful look.

Liu Zhenshan fell silent.

"Forget it, forget it. I'll let someone else handle this." His brows furrowed into a knot.

Fatty Sun felt a sense of relief.

"Is he the Li Yuan you mentioned?" Liu Zhenshan gestured with his chin towards Li Yuan's direction.

"Exactly..."

"You believed him just because he said he was rid of the rat demon? And you even praised him for it?" Liu Zhenshan snorted coldly. No background, mediocre talent, low cultivation level, and he even fabricated lies to gain merit and position—Liu Zhenshan couldn't help but look down on Li Yuan even more.

"Wearing this uniform, he's just a pretty face with no substance."

Liu Zhenshan breathed a sigh of relief. "It seems necessary to invite them here."

"Who are they?" Fatty Sun asked, puzzled.

"The Demon Slayer".

……

Huichun Hall.

"Is it beneficial to use blood-nourishing pills?" Li Yuan asked calmly.

"We don't have Yi Xue Dan (益血丹), we only have Yi Xue San (益血散)!" The young shop assistant behind the counter replied rudely without even looking up.

In this world, all industries are in decline, but pharmacies are thriving.

Especially the pills that help improve cultivation are in high demand and short supply.

Here we need to discuss the difference between "Dan" and "San".

Pills, made by orthodox alchemists, are monopolized by major sects. They are highly effective and generally have no toxic side effects. However, they are rare, so their price is naturally high.

The process is different for small workshops; they can all refine it. Because the process is simple and the heat is rough, the medicinal effects are inevitably lost during the refining process, and even impurities may not be completely removed. Fortunately, the quantity is sufficient, and the price is much cheaper.

"Ten taels of silver per piece, how many do you want?" The shop assistant had an attitude of "take it or leave it."

Ten taels?

In the past, a single Blood-Nourishing Pill cost only ten taels, and Blood-Nourishing Powder only cost five or six taels.

But then I thought about it again and it made sense. With the martial arts exam just around the corner, the Blood Nourishing Pill must have already sold out. If I came any later, I was afraid I wouldn't even be able to buy Blood Nourishing Powder.

"I want four!" Li Yuan said. Although the effect would be less than ideal, it's better than nothing.

"Wait a minute."

At this moment, an elderly shopkeeper, who looked to be in his seventies or eighties, strolled out from the back room.

The old shopkeeper carefully examined Li Yuan's attire and the "Deputy Inspector" badge on his waist. After confirming that everything was correct, he immediately became polite.

"Sir, we have Blood-Nourishing Pills."

With a fawning expression, he took out four small porcelain bottles from a hidden compartment behind the shelf. "These Blood Nourishing Pills have been sold out lately, so I've secretly kept a few. It's not a large amount, so please don't tell anyone, sir..."

Li Yuan opened a small bottle, brought it close to his nose, and found that the medicinal fragrance was indeed much stronger.

"Price……?"

"Of course, of course, ten taels each will do," the old shopkeeper chuckled. "Consider it a good deed to make friends with the official."

Li Yuan was taken aback, not expecting that this official's robe would actually be of some use.

"Thank you." He put away the medicine bottle and paid the money.

"You good-for-nothing! You can't recognize a great man! The important person is right in front of you and you still don't know it!" The old shopkeeper turned around and scolded the shop assistant, slapping him on the back of the head.

The young man covered the back of his head, looking aggrieved—"I didn't see it!"

Just then, a group of seven or eight burly men stormed into the pharmacy, their imposing manner suggesting ill intent.

The old shopkeeper then shuddered.

The seven or eight men stopped abruptly when they saw the uniform on Li Yuan's body.

"Brothers, come back tomorrow." The leader waved his hand, and the group left the pharmacy.

The young waiter grumbled in a low voice, "Didn't the Sirius Gang come here just three days ago? Why are they here again to collect their dues?"

The old shopkeeper sighed, "What can we do? We've already been charged three times this month. They say the gang leader, Feng Kui, is a master of internal energy cultivation; nobody dares to mess with him. Our shop is actually doing well; the tailor shop at the east end of the street couldn't pay its dues, and the shopkeeper was beaten half to death..."

Li Yuan didn't say much and hurriedly left the pharmacy.

……

Wutong Lane.

The night was deep.

Li Yuan focused intently on his cultivation.

The effects of the Blood Nourishing Pill began to take hold in the body, and a strong, intensely warm current began to surge and circulate throughout the body.

[White Tiger Bone Forging Technique (Mastery): 40/100] —> [White Tiger Bone Forging Technique (Mastery): 50/100]

He sensed that his internal energy and blood were rapidly increasing, and he was getting closer and closer to the threshold of breakthrough.

Two hours later, the effects of the medicine gradually dissipated.

Li Yuan swallowed another Blood Nourishing Pill and began meditating to circulate the Yuan Sha Technique. The Yuan Sha Technique has no moves; one only needs to repeatedly refine the Yuan Sha Qi within the body.

One week.

[Yuan Sha Gong Level 1 (Minor Success): 37/100] --> [Yuan Sha Gong Level 1 (Minor Success): 47/100]

It was still a bone-chilling, icy pain.

Recalling the terrifying pressure he felt from the Yuan Sha Qi at the dock today, Li Yuan dared not relax his guard in the slightest.

Comparing his reaction to his previous encounter with the rat demon, he deduced a principle:

When encountering evil spirits, if the primordial energy becomes restless and frenzied, it means that the opponent's strength is inferior to your own; if it becomes fearful and uneasy, it means that you have sensed the dangerous aura emanating from the opponent.

In other words, if the primordial evil energy were strong enough, the demons that were provoking us today might not be so daunting.

It's just unknown what level of Yuan Sha Gong (元煞功) is required to achieve this.

However, building an additional layer provides an extra layer of protection.