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

The next morning, on the second floor of the archives, old case files were piled up on half a table, the smell of paper ash mixed with the smell of stale ink.

Yi Yang sat by the window looking at the files, with nothing else to do.

He had just turned to the next page of the file when Sun Hao's panicked shouts suddenly came from the first floor.

"Sir, someone is looking for you!"

After he shouted, the stairs thumped loudly. Sun Hao poked half his head out, his round face tense and sweat beading on his forehead.

"Sir, it is Chief of Patrol Tang Hao."

Yi Yang closed the file.

Tang Hao.

The rotten snake that Zhao Gang mentioned finally crawled to the doorway.

He got up and went downstairs to see what was going on. At the entrance on the first floor, three people had already entered the museum.

The leader was in his early thirties, with a robust build, broad shoulders, and a thick back. His coarse black clothes were stretched taut.

His face was rough, his brow bone was high, his nose was wide, and his lips were pressed down with a half-smile, which was not pleasing to the eye.

Those eyes swept around the storeroom, no different from a butcher picking out meat—discriminating, dismissive, and carrying a hint of a master inspecting the storeroom.

Two patrol captains stood behind Tang Hao.

A man in his forties, with a bitter face, slumped shoulders, and a token clutched in his hand, looked like he had been in debt for half his life, and his name was Zhang Li.

Another man, around twenty-seven or twenty-eight, had a round face and a short beard. His clothes were neatly arranged, and his waist knife was polished to a shine. However, he stood stiffly, and his fingers were always rubbing against the hilt of his knife. His name was Zhu Yuanshan.

Huang Yushu was copying case files next to the bookshelf when he saw the three people enter, and he straightened his back.

Sun Hao, needless to say, even swallowed back his yawn, looking just like a schoolchild caught red-handed by the teacher.

Tang Hao saw Yi Yang and smiled, saying, "Old Yi, you seem to be enjoying some leisure time."

Yi Yang walked to the table, straightened his sleeves, and said, "The Imperial Archives is no easy place. Are we supposed to be fighting cultists every day with knives in hand?"

Tang Hao chuckled softly twice: "That's an interesting remark. What a coincidence, a task has indeed fallen to you today."

He took a transfer order from his pocket and slammed it on the table.

The paper shook, and Sun Hao's eyelids twitched along with it.

Yi Yang picked up the transfer order.

The text above states that the Sky Patrol Division received a report that remnants of the Nine Evil Cults were suspected of hiding in the abandoned village of Shiqiao outside Yunwen Town. The division ordered Patrol Chiefs Yi Yang, Zhang Li, and Zhu Yuanshan to cooperate with the disciples of Lei Yun Martial Arts School to carry out the extermination.

After reading it, Yi Yang put the paper back on the table.

Tang Hao took two steps closer and said casually, as if instructing a farmhand to fetch water, "No need to send a team, the three of you can go."

"The main force consists of people from Lei Yun Martial Arts School; you will act as guides and assistants."

"After all, the martial arts school disciples are young and unfamiliar with the area, so our Sky Patrol Division needs to send out a few people to support them."

Yi Yang lowered his eyelids as he listened to the task assignment, which should have been conveyed by a dedicated clerk and steward.

It was clearly unusual for Tang Hao, a patrol captain ranked thirteenth, to personally deliver the transfer order to the patrol archives.

Yi Yang glanced at Tang Hao.

Tang Hao was staring at him, a hint of a smile on his lips, a mixture of probing and schadenfreude.

Yi Yang coughed twice, his back hunching even more.

"The old man is slow on his feet, don't hold him back."

Tang Hao raised his hand and patted him on the shoulder.

The force was considerable; an ordinary elderly person would have suffered shoulder pain for a long time after such an impact.

Yi Yang merely swayed slightly, perfectly mimicking the motion.

Tang Hao laughed and said, "Don't worry, with the experts from Lei Yun Martial Arts School leading the way, you can just follow behind and pick up the scraps."

"These days, if credit is handed to you on a silver platter, why not take it?"

After saying that, he turned and walked out without caring whether Yi Yang obeyed or not, as if he knew that Yi Yang could not refuse.

Zhang Li and Zhu Yuanshan looked at each other and moved along with them.

Yi Yang stood at the door, watching the three of them head towards the training ground.

Zhang Li stopped after walking a short distance.

He rubbed his hands together, glanced back at Tang Hao, and only after seeing that the other man had walked away did he steel himself and return to the entrance of the museum.

"Old man Yi."

Yi Yang looked at him.

"You have something to say?"

Zhang Li smiled bitterly, his bitterness deepening as he soaked in coptis chinensis for three days.

"Old man Yi, haven't you heard about that big event?"

Yi Yang looked at him with suspicion and said, "There are many files and little gossip in the archives. What major event has happened recently?"

Zhang Li lowered his voice and said, "Don't you know? In a few days, a very important person will be transferred to the Yunlin County branch."

"An important person?"

"Level 1 Patrol Director".

Upon hearing these words, Sun Hao gasped, and even Huang Yushu stopped holding his pen.

Patrol Director.

This position is no longer open to just anyone; at the very least, one must be a master of the Inner Qi Realm.

Zhang Li continued, "I heard that he came here to integrate all the forces in Yunlin County and completely eradicate the Nine Evil Cults."

"We need to screen all the martial arts schools, families, and gangs in the county town, as long as they have any usable martial artists."

"Especially young geniuses, if they catch that person's eye, they can directly enter the Sky Patrol Division as regular guards, which is much better than just drifting through life in a martial arts school."

Yi Yang tapped the corner of the transfer order with his finger.

"That's why the people from Lei Yun Martial Arts School arrived early."

Zhang Li nodded in agreement, saying, "That makes sense."

"They need to build up their resumes before the big shots arrive, accumulating a few merits in suppressing evil, so that when the roster is submitted, it will look good."

As he spoke, the bitterness on his face was almost palpable.

"But the credit goes to others, while we do the hard work."

"If something goes wrong, we'll be the ones to take the blame."

He took out his token and waved it.

Thirty-one.

He then pointed to Zhu Yuanshan's back in the distance.

"Old Zhu is thirty-two."

Zhang Li then looked at Yi Yang's waist.

"Lord Yi, you are thirty-four."

"The three of us are among the lowest-ranking patrol captains in the entire Yunwen Town branch."

"Who else should we be assigned this thankless and arduous task?"

Sun Hao couldn't help but curse, "Isn't this bullying?!"

Zhang Li glanced at him.

"Even within the Sky Patrol Bureau, there are procedures for bullying. There are transfer orders and official seals; what can you say?"

Yi Yang folded the transfer order and put it in his bosom.

"How many people from Lei Yun Martial Arts School came? What's their strength?"

Just as Zhang Ligang was about to speak, Zhu Yuanshan returned.

The round-faced man answered the question quickly.

Five people.

"The leader is called Liao Xu. He is at the peak of the Qi and Blood Transformation Realm, and is the senior disciple of Lei Yun Martial Arts School. He is skilled in swordsmanship. I heard that he fought against the Black Knife Gang in the county town and did not suffer any losses."

"And Song Wu, he is also at the third level of Qi and Blood."

"The most important person is Yi Zhanzhi."

Upon hearing the name, Zhu Yuanshan glanced at Yi Yang, seemingly recalling the rumors circulating in town, and quickly changed his tune.

"He is also at the third level of Qi and Blood, and has only recently broken through to the next level, but he has a high status as the closed-door disciple of Master Mu Fenghai."

"The remaining two, Zhao He and Shen Qingyue, are both at the peak of the second level of Qi and Blood."

Zhu Yuanshan patted his chest, his tone much more relaxed.

"Don't worry too much, Lord Yi. It's said that the strongest member of the Nine Evil Sect on the other side is only a deacon at the third level of Qi and Blood."

"We have three Qi and Blood Level 3 experts and two peak Level 2 experts on our side, so we're very stable."

"We won't get the credit, but our safety will be guaranteed."

When Yi Yang heard the name Yi Zhanzhi, his eyelids twitched, but he quickly composed himself.

Tang Hao's abacus was clattering away with its calculations.

He got himself into Lei Yun Martial Arts School's trap.

Yi Zhanzhi was also there.

The feud between the Yi family and themselves was no secret in the town.

If something goes wrong on the battlefield, who can explain it?

The cultists killed people, and the swords accidentally injured the Sky Patrol officers. The patrol chief was old and slow to react.

Any one of these points can be included in the case file.

Tang Hao can both use others to do his dirty work and conveniently do the Yi family a favor.

Killing two birds with one stone, a very clever scheme.

Seeing that Yi Yang was no longer asking questions, Zhang Li and Zhu Yuanshan wisely left.

The museum fell silent.

Yi Yang went up to the second floor, closed the door, and sat back down at his desk.

Outside the window, the sound of fists and kicks cutting through the air and the shouts of young patrolmen could be heard from the martial arts training ground.

It was very lively.

He tapped his fingers slowly on the table.

Tang Hao, Lei Yun Martial Arts School, Stone Bridge Abandoned Village, Nine Evil Cult Demons.

Several lines were tangled together, looking messy, but there was a sense that they had been deliberately twisted.

Yi Yang said in a low voice, "Tang Hao, you're good at making plans, but I wonder if you have enough beads."

evening.

Yi Yang changed into casual clothes, wearing an old blue robe over his clothes, with a sword made by the Sky Patrol Bureau hanging at his waist.

Zhang Li and Zhu Yuanshan were already waiting outside the west gate of the town.

Zhang Li carried an old bundle, which was bulging inside, probably filled with dry rations and medicine.

Zhu Yuanshan was a man of few words. He stood by the roadside, his hand on the hilt of his knife, his toes pointing outwards, ready to unleash his power at any moment.

Upon seeing Yi Yang arrive, Zhang Li sighed.

"Let's go, and come back soon. This old man wants to go home and have some hot porridge."

Yi Yang glanced at him.

"You're only in your forties, and you're calling me an old man?"

Zhang Li said with a bitter face, "Being ranked at the bottom of the Sky Patrol Division for too long makes people age faster. Others practice martial arts to improve their health, but I only get wrinkles."

After hesitating for a while, Zhu Yuanshan blurted out, "Brother Zhang, your wrinkles are quite well-defined."

Zhang Li glared at him.

"With a mouth like that, you're better suited to copying files at a museum than to roam the martial arts world."

Yi Yang walked at the back, his back slightly hunched, his steps slow, looking just like an old man who had been dragged along to make up the numbers.

As dusk settled over the treetops, the chirping of insects grew louder on both sides of the mountain path.

The grass blades rustled softly as the evening breeze swept through them.

Zhang Li kept rambling on, saying that he once wanted to be a hero who eliminated demons and protected the righteous, but later found that heroes die quickly, and that earning a monthly salary was the right way in the world.

"When I was young and naive, I always thought that with a knife in my hand, I could rule the world."

"Later, I was stabbed three times, lay in bed for two months, and then I understood."

"What is martial arts?"

"To be alive and receive your next month's salary, that's what martial arts are all about."

Zhu Yuanshan nodded in agreement.

That makes sense.

Yi Yang, listening from behind, almost burst out laughing.

Although Zhang Li's life was tough, it was a very down-to-earth kind of tough.

Half an hour later, the three arrived at a clearing deep in the mountains.

Five horses were tethered to a tree, their hooves pawing the ground restlessly.

The five members of Lei Yun Martial Arts School had been waiting for a long time.

The young man leading the group was about twenty-four or twenty-five years old, with a tall and slender figure and a cold and stern face. A narrow longsword hung at his waist.

He stood there with his shoulders and back straight, his breathing steady, and the martial arts school disciples around him subconsciously centered their attention around him.

Liao Xu.

Senior disciple of Lei Yun Martial Arts School.

Standing next to him was Song Wu, a burly man with thick arms, carrying a broadsword on his back, and with a fierce and unapproachable air about him.

To the right was Yi Zhanzhi.

His new martial arts uniform was impeccably tailored, a long sword hung at his waist, and his chin was slightly raised.

The young man was full of vigor and vitality, his sharpness between his brows was uncontrollable, like a freshly sharpened knife, eager to show its edge to everyone he met.

When he saw Yi Yang, his pupils contracted slightly, and a look of disdain appeared on his lips.

But he immediately looked away, the movement so quick it seemed he didn't want anyone to know they knew each other.

Seeing a roadside stone makes me feel inferior; I feel like I'm lowering my status if I even glance at it.

Yi Yang ignored him.

The other two are a man and a woman.

The man, Zhao He, was rather thin, and his eyes held the arrogance of a martial arts school disciple.

The woman, Shen Qingyue, with her hair tied high in a ponytail and holding a short sword, frowned slightly as she swept her gaze over the three patrol leaders.

Liao Xu spoke, his voice crisp and clear.

"Are you the three patrol captains sent by the Sky Patrol Bureau?"

Zhang Li clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"Zhang Li, number thirty-one."

Zhu Yuanshan also clasped his hands in greeting.

"Zhu Yuanshan, number thirty-two."

Yi Yang bowed in final respect.

"Yiyang, number thirty-four."

Yi Zhanzhi finally turned his face, his voice not loud, but sharp enough to be cutting.

"Number thirty-four?"

"These days, anyone can become a patrol chief in the Sky Patrol Division."

On the open ground, the evening breeze swept across the withered grass.

Zhang Li's face showed even more bitterness, while Zhu Yuanshan's fingers pressed against the hilt of the knife.

Liao Xu glanced at Yi Zhanzhi, but did not reprimand him. He simply said, "Zhanzhi, say less."

Yi Zhanzhi looked away, his tone light and casual.

"I'm just afraid someone will hold us back."

Yi Yang dusted off his sleeves and said slowly, "Don't worry."

"The old man is slow on his feet; if we really encounter danger, he won't be able to outrun you."