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

Yi Yang climbed over the last low wall and landed under the locust tree in his own courtyard. The soles of his boots touched the familiar blue bricks, and the tension in his heart, which had been taut all night, finally eased a little.

The courtyard gate was bolted, and only a tiny sliver of light shone through the paper window of the kitchen.

He had just reached the door when he heard hurried footsteps inside. The bolt was pulled open, and Jiang Yuexin poked her head out, her eyes red-rimmed. The moment she saw Yi Yang, her nose tingled and her lips trembled.

"grandfather!"

She rushed out and grabbed Yi Yang's arm, her fingers clenching so tightly that her nails dug into his clothes.

Yang Hui followed behind, clutching a kitchen knife with half her hair disheveled. When she saw Yi Yang standing unharmed in the yard, she loosened her grip, and the knife clattered to the ground.

"Uncle Yi! You're finally back!" Yang Hui's voice boomed, "There were arrows whistling and shouts of battle outside, it scared Yuexin and me so much that we propped the table against the door and sat there with kitchen knives in our hands for half the night!"

Yi Yang patted Jiang Yuexin's head and gently pulled the little girl off his arm.

"Why are you crying? You're spineless."

Despite his outward expression of disdain, he gently rubbed the back of her head twice: "A bunch of bandits causing trouble at night is nothing to brazen. The Sky Patrol Division has Chief Steward Fang in charge, a master of the fifth level of Qi and Blood. Dealing with a few petty thieves is no different than swatting flies."

Jiang Yuexin wiped her eyes, her nose still twitching, and stared at the torn area on Yi Yang's left shoulder for a moment: "Grandpa, your clothes..."

"I got scratched when I was climbing over the wall. I'll just need a couple of stitches later." Yi Yang pulled his collar up to cover the spot, then turned and walked into the house. "I'll boil some water so Grandpa can soak his feet. His bones are sore from all the commotion all night."

Jiang Yuexin said "oh" twice and quickly ran to the kitchen to start a fire. Yang Hui bent down to pick up the kitchen knife, followed her over and sat down next to her. She wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve, talking non-stop.

"Uncle Yi, this world is really unbearable. There were things happening in the village before, then there was the Shengcang Martial Arts School incident, and then the army that was suppressing the cult just returned. Before they could even get their footing, bandits came again."

She grew angrier as she spoke, slapping her knees repeatedly: "What's wrong with the Great Yu Empire? Whether it's the government or the Sky Patrol Bureau, one group is dealt with only to have another emerge, like weeds in the field, impossible to eradicate completely."

Jiang Yuexin poked her head out from the kitchen and said in a soft voice, "Aunt Yang, I heard from people in town that it's not just Yunlin County that's causing trouble, but also several neighboring counties."

Yang Hui sighed, her eyes filled with weariness and helplessness, and said, "It seems the world is about to change."

Yi Yang took the hot water that Jiang Yuexin brought, put his feet into the wooden basin, hissed twice, and didn't say anything.

Yang Hui turned to look at him, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Uncle Yi, how about we quit working at the Sky Patrol Bureau? You're getting old, and that meager salary isn't worth risking your life for. Yuexin is still young, what if something happens to you..."

"Aunt Yang." Yi Yang interrupted her, his tone not harsh, but as soon as those two words were spoken, Yang Hui's mouth shut.

"We can't shed the skin of the Sky Patrol Bureau now."

He stirred the hot water with his toes, his face loose and sagging, looking no different from an ordinary old man soaking his feet for health: "Without this skin, everyone in town would want to cut me. Wearing this official uniform, at least I have a shield to protect myself."

Yang Hui was speechless for a long time before finally managing to squeeze out, "Then don't go out anymore. Just stay in that museum and look through the papers. Being safe and sound is better than anything else."

Jiang Yuexin nodded vigorously at the kitchen door, her eyes reddening again.

Yi Yang looked down at the hot water in the wooden basin, where an old face was reflected on the surface.

The wrinkles are still there.

But the eyes below are no longer those of the same person as they were six months ago.

"OK."

He replied casually, "Grandpa will listen to you and won't take any more risks."

Jiang Yuexin stopped crying and smiled, then ran over to add hot water for him.

Yang Hui breathed a sigh of relief, muttered "That's more like it," and got up to go to the kitchen to help cook porridge.

Yi Yang leaned back in his chair, eyes closed, feet soaking in hot water, his face showing the weariness and serenity one would expect from a sixty-year-old.

He had the gold and silver he had earned that night and a secret manual tucked into his arms, feeling warm and cozy.

……

The following afternoon.

The second floor of the museum.

Yi Yang sat in his usual spot flipping through files, while Sun Hao dozed off downstairs. Li Tong went to the storeroom to move some newly arrived old files. Huang Yushu's seat was empty; he had been slightly injured in battle last night and had taken leave today.

Footsteps came from the stairwell, unhurried but carrying a hint of slumber.

Zhao Gang appeared at the entrance on the second floor.

His dark circles were so heavy they could be used as ink, his stubble was even thicker than yesterday, and a newly wrapped white cloth was on his left arm, from which a faint trace of blood seeped.

His Sky Patrol uniform was filthy, with a knife cut on the front and dried mud and blood stains on the hem.

He glanced around and saw that Yi Yang was the only person in the room. He closed the door, dragged over a stool, and sat down. As soon as his butt touched the wood, he collapsed onto the table as if his bones had been removed.

"Damn it, I almost lost my life again."

The muffled sound from inside his arm trembled with relief, and Yi Yang pushed the teapot over.

Zhao Gang looked up and poured half a pot of water down his throat, not even noticing the water overflowing from the corner of his mouth and dripping into his collar. He put down the teapot, wiped his face with his sleeve, and his bloodshot eyes were filled with a murky mixture of anger and lingering fear.

"Those bastards from the Nine Evils Cult, they're not all dead."

Yi Yang stopped flipping through the case files.

Zhao Gang lowered his voice and recounted everything that had happened the previous night.

The remnants of the Nine Evils Cult colluded with three bandit groups around Qingmu Mountain and, taking advantage of the fact that the Sky Patrol Army had just returned from an expedition and the wounded were still recovering, launched a surprise attack on the Yunwen Town branch in the dead of night. The enemy came prepared, first cutting off the sentry posts in the east of the town, and then attacking from three directions simultaneously. The Sky Patrol Army was caught off guard and caught completely off guard.

"The cruelest thing is—"

Zhao Gang gritted his teeth, squeezing out each word through the gaps between his teeth.

"A madman named Wang Gongqin has appeared."

Yi Yang's fingers gently stroked the cover of the dossier.

Wang Gongqin.

That night in the deserted village of Shiqiao, the Nine Evil Cult's deacon, who had swallowed the Blood Essence Pill and whose strength had increased dramatically, beat the five people from the Thundercloud Martial Arts School to a pulp.

"He broke through."

Zhao Gang's voice deepened further: "Fifth level of Qi and Blood, Refining the Dirty Realm."

Yi Yang put down the file and leaned back in his chair.

Zhao Gang continued pouring out: "Last night, it was Chief Steward Fang Yue who personally intervened, and the two of them burned half an incense stick's worth of incense in the East Courtyard of the Heavenly Patrol Bureau."

He rubbed his fingertips, where bruises from gripping the knife the night before still lingered.

"Fang Yue is a seasoned Qi and Blood Level 5 cultivator who has been stationed in Yunwen Town for many years. He has a profound foundation, but guess what? He couldn't defeat him."

Zhao Gang held up two fingers and gestured: "Wang Gongqin's martial arts technique is incredibly evil. Later, when they were fighting, Steward Fang Yue cornered him at the alley entrance. Logically, he should have sealed off his escape route and finished him off with a single blow. But instead, that bastard developed a layer of black and red patterns on his body, and the knife couldn't even budge him when it struck."

"Chief Steward Fang Yue slashed three times but failed to break through his defenses, and Wang Gongqin took the opportunity to escape from the rooftop."

Zhao Gang took a swig of cold tea, his Adam's apple bobbing, and the sound of him swallowing the tea was particularly clear in the quiet second floor.

Yi Yang asked curiously, "What about casualties?"

Zhao Gang's face fell: "Nine patrol captains were killed in action."

He counted on his fingers.

"Two of the acting patrol commanders are dead."

The acting patrol commander, a master of the third level of Qi and Blood, was considered a backbone force in the Cloud Pattern Town's Sky Patrol Division. Two of them were lost overnight.

"Not to mention the ordinary patrol guards, there were over thirty of them, some seriously injured." Zhao Gang slammed his hand on the table, making the teapot lid jump up and then fall back down. "These cult bastards kill without blinking an eye, their methods are even more ruthless than last time. I can't even bear to talk about how some of my brothers died."

Yi Yang picked up the teacup, but didn't drink it. He simply ran his thumb along the rim of the bowl.

"Who was Wang Gongqin there for last night?"

Zhao Gang paused for a moment, then lowered his voice and said, "You've hit the nail on the head. That madman didn't kill indiscriminately after entering the Sky Patrol Division; his targets were very clear."

"They are two patrol captains, named Zhang Li and Zhu Yuanshan."

Yi Yang paused for a moment while holding the bowl.

Zhang Li and Zhu Yuanshan were the two patrol chiefs who went to the deserted village of Shiqiao with him; they were honest men who were ranked at the bottom.

Zhao Gang's voice dropped even lower: "Both of them are dead."

"Wang Gongqin said something before she took action, and someone nearby heard it."

Zhao Gang stared into Yi Yang's eyes.

He said, "Where's the thing?"

The second floor was quiet.

Yi Yang placed the teacup back on the table, the bottom of the bowl tapping against the wooden surface with a very soft sound.

thing.

That long sword with black patterns.

The knife enshrined in the center of the blood array in the backyard of the ancestral hall in the deserted village of Shiqiao was Wang Gongqin's treasure.

That night, only three members of the Sky Patrol Division participated in the operation in the deserted village: Yi Yang, Zhang Li, and Zhu Yuanshan.

The group from Lei Yun Martial Arts School was a different group. They were first defeated and fled by Wang Gongqin. Later, Wang Gongqin chased after them but was intercepted and repelled by Fang Yue. During this gap, Yi Yang took advantage of the opportunity to sneak into the backyard of the ancestral hall and take the black-patterned longsword.

After the subsequent large-scale encirclement and suppression by the Sky Patrol Division, Wang Gongqin was not captured—now it seems that he was probably in seclusion in some remote corner at that time, breaking through to the fifth level of Qi and Blood.

When he returned from the pass, the knife was gone.

The entire Nine Evil Cult was wiped out.

Who ended up with that knife?

Only three patrol chiefs from the Sky Patrol Division participated in the operation in the deserted village: Zhang Li, Zhu Yuanshan, and Yi Yang.

Wang Gongqin first approached Zhang Li and Zhu Yuanshan, but got no results.

Next up is myself.

Yi Yang tapped his fingers silently twice on the table.

Seeing that he remained silent, Zhao Gang added, "Old man, Wang Gongqin is no longer just an ordinary steward. He spearheaded this operation and was able to mobilize the three bandit groups to cooperate in the battle. According to our sources, his new title is—Grand Steward."

High Deacon.

After the Yunlin County branch of the Nine Evil Sect was destroyed, the remaining forces reorganized. Wang Gongqin, with her strength at the fifth level of Qi and Blood and her evil skill of swallowing pills and refining blood, rose to become the biggest leader of the evil sect in this area.

Zhao Gang rubbed his palms together, the calluses scraping against them making a rustling sound.

"This guy is a menace. If Fang Yue doesn't kill him, he'll keep popping up. He might kill two patrol chiefs today, three tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow he might be sneaking up on our doorstep."

Yi Yang didn't reply. He picked up the teacup and took a sip. The cool tea tasted slightly bitter.

He had already calculated everything in his mind: "Wang Gongqin won't stop. He won't give up until he finds the knife. We can't find anything with Zhang Li and Zhu Yuanshan. By process of elimination, the only answer left is Yi Yang."

Next time, this madman will come after me.

Five levels of Qi and Blood.

Yi Yang was not afraid of a head-on confrontation. His Nine Peaks Blade Technique was nearing completion, his internal energy was protecting his body, and with the blessing of sixty times the Heavenly Mandate, his progress was increasing every day—even if they fought today, he might not lose.

But "not necessarily losing" is not enough.

To deal with a heretical cultivator like Wang Gongqin who goes berserk after consuming pills, only crushing him is meaningful.

If you defeat him in a five-on-five fight and he runs away, it's no different than not fighting at all. Next time he swallows a few more Blood Essence Pills and reappears, his strength might increase even more.

It has six layers.

Qi and blood are in six stages, undergoing marrow cleansing and blood replacement.

Once he reaches that level, Yi Yang can be said to be at the top of the town's strength for the time being.

Yi Yang put down his teacup, his eyelids drooping, his eyes filled with contemplation and murderous intent.

After Zhao Gang left, the museum returned to its usual quiet.

Wang Gongqin, a traitor of Jinyang Temple, stole the precious sword, cultivated the evil Blood Essence Technique, and reached the fifth level of Qi and Blood.

Yi Yang strung these lines together, drew a circle in his mind, and wrote two words at the end of the circle.

It's a sure kill.

As the sun began to set, footsteps could be heard downstairs.

Li Tong poked his head out from the stairwell, a somewhat uncertain expression on his face.

"Sir, someone is looking for you."

"Who?"

"A close aide to Deputy Chief Steward Sun said that Lord Sun has invited you to Fumanlou Restaurant tonight for a chat. He has prepared some simple wine and would like to have a talk with you."

Yi Yang paused for a moment while flipping through the case file.

Deputy Chief Steward Sun, another deputy inspector besides Qian Hu, possesses the fourth level of Qi and Blood, and usually doesn't interact much with him.

Should we invite people for drinks at this time?

Yi Yang closed the file and patted the dust off the cover.

"Reply to him, the old man is on time."

Li Tong responded and left.

Yi Yang remained seated in his chair, his fingers tapping silently on the table.

"What does he want with me, old man?"