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

On his way home after the meeting, Yi Yang passed by the training ground and overheard some discussions through his powerful hearing.

Several guards squatted against the wall, wiping their knives, their mouths working faster than their hands, saying, "That old man didn't even sign up. He's just wasting his position as a guard captain."

"Number thirty-four, he's just a gatekeeper."

"Yeah, even if I were sixty, I wouldn't want to go and die."

Yi Yang kept walking, his expression unchanged, the cuffs of his old blue robe swaying in the wind.

These words are no different from the buzzing of mosquitoes; these people are unaware of their own strength.

It buzzes twice, and it doesn't itch or hurt.

When he arrived at the entrance of the archives, Huang Yushu was tidying up the file shelves. When he saw him come in, the book in his hand stopped in mid-air, his lips moved twice and then closed, then moved twice more.

Yi Yang glanced at him and said, "Say what you want to say."

Huang Yu put the booklet back on the shelf, turned around, clenched his fist, and his knuckles turned white.

"My lord, I would like to sign up."

Yi Yang stopped.

Huang Yushu's voice was a little hoarse, but he spoke quickly: "I've been investigating the case of the Nine Evil Cults wiping out 32 people in Qinghe Village for two years. For two years, they've been suppressed and we haven't been allowed to investigate. We've worn out three sets of case files and sorted out hundreds of clues, but they've all been sitting in a cabinet getting moldy."

He paused, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"This major operation might yield new clues."

Yi Yang looked at him.

This kid usually keeps his head down copying case files and doesn't talk much, but the stubbornness in his eyes has never faded. Thirty-two lives have been on a young man's shoulders for two years; it's a testament to his strong character that he hasn't gone mad.

What is your Qi and Blood level?

"Peak of the first level."

Yi Yang nodded.

"Go ahead. Don't rush to the front. Come back alive and continue helping me review the files."

Huang Yushu's eyes reddened, he clasped his hands and bowed deeply, bending over for a long time before straightening up.

Yi Yang didn't say anything more and went upstairs.

-

Departure date of the operation.

At dawn, flags fluttered in the air at the Observatory's training ground, where more than thirty applicants lined up, fully equipped. The glint of swords in the sunlight was blinding, horses' hooves pounded the ground, and half a cart of provisions was piled up.

Yi Yang stood at the window on the second floor of the museum, gazing into the distance.

Tang Hao stood at the front of the line, a broadsword slung over his shoulder, looking sharp and spirited; his face seemed to scream "I'm going to make a name for myself!" Zhao Gang stood in the middle, his sword gleaming at his waist, whispering instructions to the guard beside him.

Huang Yushu was at the very end, carrying an old bundle on his back, his face tense, clearly showing a mixture of anticipation and fear for the upcoming battle.

There were also a few unfamiliar faces in the group. The martial arts disciples from the town were dressed in different clothes and looked uneasy, clearly motivated by the generous reward. They stood there and mingled into the chicken coop with a flock of cranes.

........................

After the team left, the Sky Patrol Division branch was almost empty.

No one spoke in the corridor, and there wasn't a soul in sight on the training ground. Patrol shifts were reduced to a minimum, and the entire branch seemed to have lost its soul.

Inside the archives, Sun Hao lay on the table yawning, his mouth wide open as if he could swallow an entire file.

"Sir, everyone's gone. Can we finish our shifts earlier today?"

Yi Yang flipped through the files without looking up: "Guard the gate well, don't slack off. Things are most likely to happen when there are few people around."

Li Tong leaned against the door frame, rubbing his cuffs with his fingers for a while before finally speaking: "Sir, you don't seem worried at all."

Yi Yang closed the file.

"What are you worried about?"

Li Tong couldn't explain it, scratched his head, muttered "that's true," and went back to his post.

Yi Yang reopened the case file. The sound of pages turning echoed in the empty office, almost like the striking of a wooden fish.

Worry?

Worrying is the most useless thing. You'd be better off practicing the stance a couple more times.

-

After finishing his shift in the evening, Yi Yang returned to the courtyard.

Jiang Yuexin had already prepared dinner: flatbread, a dish of pickled vegetables, and a bowl of stewed meat. The lean meat was bought a couple of days ago, and Jiang Yuexin added wild mushrooms from the mountains. The soup was thick and white, and the aroma was so enticing that even the stray cats passing by outside the courtyard wall stopped and lingered.

Yang Hui came to visit, carrying a bowl of steamed bun filling. The three of them sat around under the old locust tree.

Yang Hui kept rambling on: "Today, many martial artists from the town went out of town. Old Liu, the butcher, said that half of his pig was bought up in one go, saying it was to prepare dry rations for the team."

She picked up a piece of food, chewed it, and then said, "Some people are saying that this time they're going to wipe out the Nine Evils' stronghold in the mountains, and there's going to be a big war."

As Jiang Yuexin listened, she slowed down her chopsticks and looked at Yi Yang.

"Grandpa, you don't need to go, do you?"

Yi Yang picked up a piece of meat and put it in her bowl: "No need. Grandpa is a gatekeeper, I'm not involved in fighting."

Jiang Yuexin breathed a sigh of relief, biting into her pancake, her eyes crinkling with joy.

Looking at her smiling face, Yi Yang's lips also relaxed.

The locust tree leaves rustled in the evening breeze, and the steam from the stewed meat rose, carrying the savory aroma of wild mushrooms. Yang Hui started cursing the rat spirit who stole her cabbage at the east end of town again, while Jiang Yuexin laughed so hard she almost fell over.

These kinds of days are valuable.

........................

into the night.

After Jiang Yuexin and Yang Hui went to sleep, Yi Yang closed the door and bolted it.

He took out the muscle-strengthening powder he had obtained from Zhao Gang earlier that day from his inner pocket, crushed it, and put it into a wooden tub of hot water that had been heated in the kitchen. The herbal smell was pungent, and the liquid was bubbling with murky, yellowish-brown foam.

Take off your clothes and put them in the tub.

The moment the scalding medicinal liquid soaked into his flesh and bones, Yi Yang gritted his teeth.

pain.

It wasn't a physical pain, but rather the medicinal power seeping into the deepest part of the skeleton through the gaps in the bone forging realm, like someone embroidering in the bone marrow with a fine needle.

But he didn't stop.

The Yi Wood Health Preservation Exercise begins to operate, accelerating blood and qi circulation and gradually penetrating the medicinal power deep into the muscles and bones. The five internal organs—heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys—simultaneously generate heat, and the internal energy of the five organs works in concert to filter out impurities from the medicinal power, retaining only the essence.

Fifteen minutes later, Yi Yang got up from the medicinal bath.

His skin had a faint jade-like hue, steam rose from it, and water droplets slid down his skin. His body, though sixty years old, looked like that of a man in his early forties.

He put on his old clothes, walked into the courtyard, and stood up on the Yi Wood Longevity Stake.

Under the moonlight, the locust tree leaves swayed gently.

The faint, clear aura of the Yi Wood element was clearer than it had been ten days ago. It was no longer like looking at the mountains through a veil; the fog had mostly dissipated, and the contours of the mountain ridges were now visible.

The gate to the five levels of Qi and Blood is just ahead.

It's only a matter of time before we push it away.

First, I will practice the stance training that I must do every day. I still have things to do in the middle of the night, and if I don't practice now, I won't have enough time.

........................

On the same night.

In a side alley on the south side of Yunwen Town, there is Widow Li's small courtyard.

The room was dimly lit by an oil lamp, and the bedding was in disarray. Fang Yu leaned against the headboard, his shirt half-open, revealing his lean chest and several old scars on his waist. He was fastening his belt, a look of satiated laziness on his face.

Widow Li, in her early thirties, with disheveled hair, nestled in the corner of the quilt, reaching out to tug at Fang Yu's sleeve.

"You're leaving again? That butcher Zhao from the alley next door keeps loitering around my door, his eyes are like a dog eyeing a bone. Can't you stay the night?"

Fang Yu impatiently brushed her hand away, straightening his collar as he coldly said, "Butcher Zhao? A pig slaughterer who hasn't even practiced breathing exercises, what are you afraid of him for? If he dares to touch a single hair on your head, I'll break his arm later."

Widow Li wanted to pester him further, but Fang Yu had already stood up.

The bronze plaque from the Martial Law Hall at his waist made a soft sound as it touched the scabbard.

"Brother Tang has led his men out to suppress the cult. The Sky Patrol Bureau has taken over most of the duties, and there's plenty of work to do."

He walked to the window, parted a corner of the paper windowpane with his fingers, and looked outside. A smile appeared on his lips, a smile that was chillingly sinister.

"For example, dealing with an old, immortal thing."

Widow Li asked curiously, "What do you mean by 'immortal'?"

Fang Yu turned around, leaned against the window frame, and said casually, "That old man surnamed Yi in the Patrol Hall, number thirty-four, the lowest-ranking patrol captain. Last time, Brother Tang took Director Mu to test him, but they couldn't find any flaws. Before Brother Tang left, he instructed me to keep an eye on him after everyone left, and to see if I could find an opportunity to give him a good beating in the next few days."

He paused, a greedy glint in his eyes.

"I heard that the old man has a granddaughter, who is fourteen or fifteen years old."

Fang Yu licked his lips, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly. His smile was ambiguous and lewd, as if he had seen something good.

"It looks beautiful and fresh; many people in town have seen it. It's a flower bud that hasn't bloomed yet."

"I wonder what this flower looks like when it's hidden away; it must be very tender."

Widow Li's face darkened.

She reached out and pinched Fang Yu's waist, scolding him angrily, "Isn't having me enough? What's wrong with how I serve you?"

Fang Yu hissed as he was pinched, then grabbed her wrist with his other hand, applying just the right amount of pressure.

"Stop joking. This is what Brother Tang instructed us to do."

He let go, put on his coat, and pushed open the door into the night.

The footsteps faded into the distance.

Widow Li sat on the bed, the anger on her face slowly fading. What remained was an indeterminate feeling, a gloomy expression that matched the moonless sky outside the window, a color that was hard to define as either unease or jealousy.

In a small courtyard halfway across the town, Yi Yang was finishing up the last set of stakes.

He put on black night clothes, took a long knife bought on the black market, quietly closed the gate of the courtyard, and left.