Elderly Martial Saint: Sixty Times the Cultivation Speed ​​at the Start

Inside the main hall.

Yan Wuyuan remained reclining on the soft couch.

With his right hand supporting his chin and stray hairs falling down his side, his unfathomable eyes shifted from the pages of the old book to the secret report in Liu Qing's hand.

A very faint smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.

Although somewhat unexpected, this incident also demonstrates that the guy didn't let his investment go to waste.

"He did a good job and didn't let me down."

Hearing her young mistress's words, Liu Qing was somewhat surprised. She hadn't expected that her young mistress would know who had made the move.

At this moment, her mind was racing, trying to figure out who this "he" was that the young lady was talking about, and how he could gain the young lady's approval.

Just as she was pondering, she suddenly thought of someone, someone whom the young lady had specifically summoned before.

The time Yi Yang left the city was the time when the three corpses were found on the official road leading to Baiyu City.

Liu Qing matched all the clues at the same moment.

"What does Your Excellency mean?"

Liu Qing's voice unconsciously rose slightly, and she said with barely concealed astonishment at the end:

"Were all three people killed by Yi Yang?"

Wu Jin, internal energy level three; Jiang Sha, internal energy level two; Chen Xinhu, internal energy level two perfected.

These three people are all formidable, but what the young lady just said was that the sixty-year-old man killed all three of them by himself?

Yan Wuyuan did not explain her maid's surprise.

She lowered her eyes, her slender fingers fiddling with a stray strand of hair that fell over her shoulder, casually twirling it twice before letting it fall back down, seemingly lost in thought.

A sudden silence fell over the hall for a few moments.

The only sound inside the hall was the occasional faint crackling of the oil lamp wick.

"Now he's caused such a big commotion."

"Zong Sha will definitely be restless."

After a moment of silence, Yan Wuyuan finally spoke again, her tone returning to its aloof and cold tone.

She tilted her head, the cuffs of her dark palace dress trailing a smooth arc along the edge of the soft couch.

After saying this, the corners of her mouth curved slightly deeper. A rare hint of interest appeared in her eyes, the kind of expectant gleam that only a hunter has when locking onto its prey.

"Have the shadow guards investigate."

She slightly raised her eyes, her gaze falling on a dark pattern on the ceiling, and her voice softened, almost as if she were talking to herself:

"I need to know where Zongsha is hiding now."

He tapped his fingers twice on the table, very slowly.

"He ran away from me back then, and I wonder if he's improved at all over the years."

Upon hearing Yan Wuyuan's words, Liu Qing's breath hitched.

Having followed Yan Wuyuan for over a decade, she knew her mistress's ways all too well.

She usually doesn't worry about anything, and that lazy and nonchalant attitude isn't an act. When she speaks like that, it means she's about to take action.

For a sixty-year-old man?

And they even deployed shadow guards?

No, Liu Qing bit her tongue, suppressing the thought.

"How is that possible?"

She felt that the young lady's actions were definitely not for Yi Yang's sake, but rather for the old score of not killing "Zong Sha" when the young lady had just become the deputy chief inspector.

She didn't ask aloud; years of etiquette made her swallow all her doubts. She simply replied respectfully, "Your subordinate will immediately inform the Shadow Guards and make sure they find the trail."

Yan Wuyuan hummed in agreement, then leaned back on the soft couch, opening the old book in her hand once more.

The lamplight reflected on her profile, the light and shadow outlining an extremely delicate contour.

A certain emotion flickered in those deep, pool-like eyes, it was hard to say whether it was anticipation of another battle with the slaughter, or savoring the unexpected joy brought by some old man.

Liu Qing exited the palace.

I heard the soft sound of pages turning behind me, unhurried and gentle.

……

In the northern part of the prefectural city, at the office of the Punishment Department.

The patrol director, Zhou Yang, sat behind his desk, clutching the same news report in his hand. The teacup in front of him had gone cold and he hadn't touched it, clearly indicating that he was not in the mood.

Sitting on the left were Director Meng and his colleague from the day they met; neither of them spoke.

The duty room was so quiet that you could hear people walking in the corridor outside.

Finally unable to contain himself any longer, Director Meng swallowed hard and asked with lingering fear, "Could this... be related to that Yi Yangqian?"

He lowered his voice to a very low hue, glanced at the doorway to make sure no one was there, and then continued:

"We had barely leaked the news when these people died on the same official road, heading straight for White Fish City..."

He hadn't finished speaking.

"Smack."

Zhou Yang slammed the teacup down on the table, spilling a few drops of cool tea onto the edges of the documents.

"impossible."

He stood up and paced back and forth behind the desk a couple of times.

His temples throbbed, but he still lowered his voice to a level that only the three of them could hear, and said:

"How could a sixty-year-old man with only a registered first-level internal energy cultivation level possibly kill three experts single-handedly?"

He stopped in his tracks, turned around, and glared angrily at the two men. Boosting his confidence, he said:

"Wu Jin is at the third level of internal energy cultivation! His Mountain-Shattering Fist is at its peak!"

Director Meng, who was being stared at, felt his Adam's apple bob, but dared not speak.

Zhou Yang clenched his fist, steadying his tone: "It must have been the Youquan Division that secretly arranged for expert escorts. Who knows how many undercover agents that Yan Wuyuan has under her command?"

He walked back to his desk and sat down, his fingers unconsciously tapping the table to soothe the two of them, saying:

"We don't need to worry."

Upon hearing this, Director Meng and the other person exchanged a glance and reluctantly nodded in agreement.

But when the three of them turned their faces away, none of them looked relaxed; their eyes were filled with regret.

A few more breaths of silence fell over the duty room.

Finally, Zhou Yang spoke, his voice low and hoarse: "This matter must be kept to yourself; it absolutely cannot be told to anyone."

He glanced at the two men one by one, and squeezed out each word through clenched teeth:

"It has nothing to do with us."

They both nodded at the same time.

But everyone knew that whatever the truth was, the three of them were now sitting on the edge of a fire pit. What if the Underworld Bureau found the source of the leak…

The thought flashed through the minds of all three simultaneously, only to be suppressed at the same time.

No one spoke anymore.

……

The outskirts of the prefectural city.

A secluded valley rarely visited by people.

The fog was thick, the cliff face was covered with dark green moss, and thick layers of decaying leaves were piled up in the corners where the sun never shines.

A figure stood with his back to the valley entrance.

He was tall and strong, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. His back was straight. He did not deliberately release his aura, but the mist in the valley avoided him within a three-foot radius.

Moisture dares not approach, and even the chirping of insects has ceased in this area.

At this moment, the figure was holding a thin piece of paper in his hand.

The paper was written in neat handwriting and contained a copy of an internal report from the Sky Patrol Bureau regarding the killing of six bandits, three of whom died on the official road.

The paper was slowly clenched in those large, well-defined hands.

The wrinkles spread outwards from the center.

Finally, it was kneaded into a ball.

"What a piece of trash."

The two words rolled out of his throat, his voice low and deep, like a rock rolling down the bottom of a valley.

The man casually tossed the crumpled paper aside.

Before the paper ball even hit the ground, it was shattered into fragments by the aura that unintentionally emanated from him. The powdery paper pieces drifted in the mist, slowly sinking after being soaked by the moisture.

Finally, he turned and walked into the depths of the valley.

The pace was slow.

But with each step he took, the pebbles beneath his feet silently cracked open to both sides. Cracks radiated outwards from the soles of his boots, like a spider web, like a dried-up riverbed.

As that imposing figure disappeared into the thick fog, the branches of several old trees that had been rooted there for decades suddenly bent outwards.

It's not the wind.

It was some kind of invisible energy surging out from the valley.

The mist in the valley churned for a long time before finally settling down.

……

Six days later.

Outside the city gate of Baiyu County.

Yi Yang rode his strange beast horse and stopped at the end of the official road.

He traveled at a leisurely pace over the six-day journey, using the breaks along the way to consume the precious pills he had taken from Wu Jin and the other two, pushing the progress on his panel forward once again.

Look up.

White Fish City was much larger than he had expected.

The city wall is about four zhang high, built of bluestone, and shines with a slightly grayish-white color in the sunlight. Every twenty zhang on the top of the wall stands an arrow tower, and the patrolling soldiers are in bright armor and march in neat formation.

The city gate was wide enough for three carriages to pass side by side. Caravans, farmers going to the market, and peddlers carrying bamboo baskets filled the air with lively chatter.

Compared to Yunlin County, where he had lived before, Baiyu City was more prosperous than ever before.

Yi Yang dismounted and walked towards the city gate, holding the reins.

A crowd of people had gathered in front of the notice board at the city gate. Some were standing on tiptoe to look inside, while others were whispering excitedly to their companions.

Yi Yang led his horse closer, his gaze sweeping over several heads before landing on the notice.

The above is the wanted poster issued six days ago for "the killing of six bandits, three of whom were beheaded by unidentified individuals on the official road."

It was stated that a huge bounty could be claimed based on the tokens on the three individuals, and the identity of the killer would also be offered as a reward.

Yi Yang's lips twitched slightly. He hadn't expected that the first thing he would see upon arriving in White Fish City was his own story.

He naturally had no interest in the bounty listed above.

His gaze moved down to the second notice.

His smile froze for a moment; Yi Yang clearly hadn't expected such a thing to happen.

The second notice was issued in the name of the Judgment Hall of the Celestial Patrol Division, with red background and black characters, and the sealing wax stamp was clearly identifiable.

The content is as follows: Two days ago, Yan Wuyuan, the deputy chief inspector of Youquan Division in the prefectural city, broke into the lair of the Six Bandits of Zongsha alone, and fought against the True Gang Realm "Zongsha" and "Qin Wuli" who had just broken through to the True Gang Realm by himself.

One against two.

Two people were seriously injured.

Yan Wuyuan brought back Qin Wuli's severed arm as proof and publicly declared, "I will kill him next time we meet."

Yi Yang stared at the three characters "Yan Wuyuan" for five breaths.

Something on my back tensed slightly.

He didn't expect that woman to take action herself.

What I never expected was that it would be done in such a brutal way, that one person fought two True Qi Realm cultivators and even broke their arms and brought them back as evidence.

The surrounding martial artists were still discussing it.

"That lord of the Netherworld Division is too ruthless! He took on two True Qi Realm cultivators single-handedly!"

"Didn't Qin Wuli just break through? He was at the True Qi Realm!"

"I heard that Zong Sha escaped, but was seriously injured..."

Yi Yang withdrew his gaze.

Regardless of Yan Wuyuan's reasons for taking action—whether it was to settle old scores or something else—one thing is certain.

During his time in White Fish City, Zong Sha and Qin Wuli would not cause him any more trouble.

At the same time, Yi Yang also glimpsed a corner of Yan Wuyuan's strength.

He led the strange beast horse toward the city gate.

Clad in a worn gray robe, with an aged face, he walked at a leisurely pace. Blending among the passing caravans and pedestrians, he was as ordinary as a drop of water merging into a river.

The martial artists watching behind him were still excitedly discussing the earth-shattering battle of that important figure from the Youquan Division.

No one noticed that an old man leading a horse had already entered White Fish City.