I can't be a demon.

Chapter 76 What is a Swordsmanship Genius?

Shen Lian could see new decorations in the town every day. The sudden temple fair encountered no resistance, which most likely involved demons.

He even suspected that the starling was planning to cause trouble at the temple fair.

No matter how you look at it, there's a sense that a storm is about to come.

Shen Lian chose to sit back and wait.

In particular, he noticed that the imperial court had already transferred the Jinwu Guards from Daqi Town and Cangshan Town, so he only had to follow behind and grab the heads.

He practiced the blood-nourishing inner stance patiently, intending to obtain the scabbard after achieving great success.

The bottleneck of Dacheng did not last long.

The rising qi and blood were like substance, and a dull sound like beating a drum came from the chest and abdomen. The yin and yang energy wrapped around the blood-nourishing energy and continued to flow along the meridians.

However, it was only maintained within the scope of the courtyard. The blood-nourishing power could not threaten the Yin-Yang power, and the two did not form a conflict in the Dantian.

"The blood-nourishing power is relatively gentle and restrained, and is indeed suitable for assisting horizontal training."

Shen Lian restrained his strength, and his dantian gradually became stable.

【Neizhuang (Dacheng)】

After Shen Lian opened his eyes, he looked towards the courtyard gate and said to himself subtly, "Master Zhu, you actually had time to come all the way to deliver the scabbard."

The door opens.

"I just happened to have nothing to do, so I passed by the pawn shop."

Zhu Yihong held a leather scabbard with an extremely complicated expression.

Judging from Shen Lian's appearance, his temperament is more like that of an ordinary scholar, and he cannot be compared with the giant who is as strong as a mountain.

"Which Shen Lian is the real Shen Lian?"

Zhu Yihong looked around the courtyard.

There were obvious traces of residual strength on Shen Lian's body, proving that he was indeed practicing martial arts. Perhaps the five innate realms mentioned by Li Shun were not fake.

A Taoist priest? A warrior? Or... a demon in human skin?
"Shen Lian, the scabbard is made of ghost skin after all. Expose it to the sun every two or three days to prevent it from breeding resentment. What if it turns into a ghost..."

Zhu Yihong was speechless, and realized belatedly that Shen Lian was a vicious man who had killed hundreds, if not thousands, of demons with his punches.

She handed the scabbard to Shen Lian.

The scabbard exudes a faint fishy smell, and its size fits the bone blade very well. After being treated by the middle-aged man in a manner similar to soaking it in copper water, the hardness of the scabbard is no weaker than that of ordinary metals.

There are clever buttons on the back that can extend the scabbard to four feet in length.

The two were silent.

Until Shen Hansheng suddenly came to the courtyard with tea and snacks, and said to Zhu Yihong with a smile: "Miss Zhu, please take a seat. If we are negligent, please forgive us."

After Shen Hansheng finished speaking, he left the yard, and used peanuts to lure away the starling that was eating the melon.

The corner of Shen Lian's mouth twitched as he thought of how Shen Hansheng had been talking about getting married and having children recently. It was obvious that he was a little crazy.

Zhu Yihong also felt uncomfortable all over.

"Shen Lian, do you also practice swordsmanship on a daily basis?"

"Occasionally."

Zhu Yihong looked at Shen Lian as he sheathed the bone blade. He didn't look like a master of swordsmanship at all, and it was very likely that he didn't even have the habit of practicing with the sword.

As for the bone blade, it was completely flashy in her eyes.

Zhu Yihong really couldn't understand why Shen Lian used ghost skin to make the scabbard. If any demon noticed it, it would probably bring disaster upon itself.

Are you fishing?

She thought of the scene where Shen Lian swallowed up his resentment and couldn't help but shudder.

Shen Lian stuffed all the snacks into his mouth without hesitation, "Master Zhu, you didn't come to the pawn shop just for the scabbard, did you?"

Zhu Yihong chose to come here privately, which means that the government office did not know that he was Zhong Kui.

"Shen Lian, you can guess that the temple fair in the city is related to Gao Laozhuang, but I tell you, the real situation is ten thousand times more serious."

Zhu Yihong's eyes flushed red as he continued in a deep voice: "On the surface, there is no demonic activity in Yanliang Town, but in reality, everything is in chaos!"

She gritted her teeth and muttered, "Based on the traces we found alone, there are eight ghosts that escaped from Gao Laozhuang in the city!"

"It means that if the ghosts riot, there will be countless casualties in Yanliang Town!!!"

Shen Lian raised his eyebrows.

Just kidding, if the eight-headed monsters and the hemp ghost, whose behaviors are almost the same, went crazy, the consequences would be disastrous.

"Didn't the imperial court urgently deploy the Jinwu Guards?"

"hehe."

Zhu Yihong sneered repeatedly, his knuckles turning white from clenching his fists. "Although I don't know why the demons are gathering towards Yanliang Town, the Jinwu Guards of Daqi and Cangshan are also pushing them from behind."

When demons are concentrated in towns that are not under their jurisdiction, they can naturally act with more unbridled methods without having to worry about excessive casualties among the people, which would lead to subsequent accountability from the court.

Zhu Yihong and his colleagues not only need to deal with monsters, but also have to be wary of their colleagues.

"Why are the demons in the cave so troublesome?"

Shen Lian recalled the demons he had faced.

Even though their intelligence is the same as that of ordinary people, with the slightest provocation of qi and blood, the demon will immediately fall into the obsession of devouring blood.

As for the demons in Gao Village, what can we say about them? They are particularly patient.

He practiced openly in the pawnshop every day, but the demons didn't react at all.

Zhu Yihong explained: "You have a misunderstanding. It is true that there are a lot of demons living in the cave, but it is not a blessed place for them."

"On the contrary, the demons that can survive in the caves are generally extremely cunning."

Shen Lian frowned slightly. In a sense, the cave residence could actually be considered an independent demon force. Of course, because of the eighty-one difficulties, the demons could not enter and leave freely.

Zhu Yihong seemed to be hesitant to speak.

There was one thing she didn't say, in fact, Yanliang Town was already considered the temporary [Cave Residence] designated by the imperial court.

On the one hand, there are three demons lurking in Yanliang Town for a long time. On the other hand, the underground river involving Bibotan is also a problem.

Fortunately, the three-headed demon has never harmed mortals, otherwise the court would have organized the people to move away long ago. "Shen Lian, Ling Yue, the top performer of Cangshan Town's Embroidery House, will come out tomorrow night at the Bibo Building in Dongcheng District. You..."

"I'll come." Shen Lian couldn't help licking his lips. "If Lingyue is a demon, I can kill her with one punch."

"Don't."

Zhu Yihong suddenly felt something was wrong. "At present, we only know that there is a demon hidden in the Bibo Tower. Shen Lian, you must see clearly before you take action!"

She suddenly felt a little regretful. Logically speaking, Shen Lian's destructive power was far greater than that of the demon.

"I'm not some reckless man."

Shen Lian waved his hand. As the exorcist of Yanliang Town, his main method of slaying demons and monsters was to persuade people to do good. If they refused to obey, he would kill them with a single punch.

"There should be other Jinwu Guards present tomorrow night. Even if they annoy you, don't kill them all at once!!!"

Zhu Yihong seemed to have foreseen this, and his expression was even worse than when he was talking about the monster.

"rest assured."

Zhu Yihong let out a long sigh and took out five martial arts secrets books from his arms.

"I exchanged for the top-notch martial arts manuals through the Jinwu Guards. They include two volumes of pile techniques, two volumes of sword techniques, and one volume of palm techniques."

"Thank you, Master Zhu."

Shen Lian felt like someone was sending him a pillow whenever he dozed off. If he integrated his stance into the three doors, the transformation would be a foregone conclusion. It was a pity that he did not have the horizontal training martial arts.

Zhu Yihong felt relieved, as she was worried that Shen Lian had no desires or demands.

She stood up and walked towards the gate, then turned around and reminded, "The Jinwu Guards don't know about you... Zhong Kui's situation, so be careful in Bibo Tower tomorrow night."

Shen Lian nodded and watched Zhu Yihong leave.

He casually flipped open the martial arts secret book and focused on the two volumes on sword techniques.

[Qingfeng Sword Technique] is somewhat similar to Jichao Fist Technique. The moves are continuous, and there are hidden killing moves when the sword is drawn.

[Horizontal Sword Style] is a sword technique that better meets Shen Lian's expectations. It emphasizes the accumulation of force while holding the sword, and usually the first sword is the most lethal.

Shen Lian slapped the secret book and summoned the profession panel.

[Do you want to spend 1 point to master the horizontal sword style?]

Even if one is gifted and has great comprehension, it would still take at least half a year of hard practice to master the swordsmanship from scratch.

Therefore, the first sword technique must be learned with some effort. Once the foundation is laid, the subsequent sword techniques can be easily mastered like the Dabei Palm.

"determine."

Shen Lian held the bone blade horizontally with both hands, and the awkward movement was corrected little by little.

The extensive experience gained from using swords was directly instilled into his mind, as if he had mastered the horizontal sword style for six or seven years, and the moves were as easy as using one's own arm.

Shen Lian looked stern and murderous.

Clang!
The bone blade was unsheathed, and the fallen leaves passing by were broken into two halves.

Zhu Yihong was walking slowly in the alley. Because she didn't walk far, she could vaguely hear the sound of knives coming from the courtyard.

Her pupils shrank slightly, and she immediately recognized it as the horizontal sword style.

"How long has it been? Shen Lian only got enough to read the secret book once, right? And he has already entered the threshold. What kind of talent is this!"

[Do you want to consume 2 points to advance to martial arts: Horizontal Sword Style (Minor Success)]

"determine."

Shen Lian sheathed the sword skillfully, and this sword-holding motion was the result of twenty years of practice.

The strength is infused into the blade.

Clang.

The leaves floating around Shen Lian broke into pieces the size of a fingernail.

Zhu Yihong's face was filled with astonishment. Shen Lian's second sword move directly jumped to a higher level, wiping out the decades of practice of an ordinary person.

How can I describe it as talent? He was born with the knives.

[Do you want to consume 5 points to advance to martial arts: Horizontal Sword Style (Great Mastery)]

"determine."

Clang.

The knife light enveloped the courtyard, cutting off the weeds and roots on the ground, but the fruits and vegetables were not affected.

Just a few caterpillars cut in half fell, their bodies still unaware of death.

Zhu Yihong wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

Some Jinwu Guards believed that the alchemist was a natural born god. Now she suddenly felt that the term "natural born god" was the most appropriate to describe Shen Lian.

It’s as if... as if it’s a monster born from martial arts.

Enough to destroy everyone's cognition.

Shen Lian had no intention of adding more points. It would take 10 points to fully advance. After all, swordsmanship was his last resort. It would not be too late to invest more points when the need arose.

He wrapped the bone blade with cloth again, placed the scabbard and the bone fruit together in the coffin, and buried it at a depth of half a meter under the banyan tree.

A day passes in a flash.

During this period, people all over the city were talking about Lingyue's name.

Rumor has it that Lingyue is a peerless beauty whose fame spread far and wide, and that even brothels in the capital spent huge sums of money but were unable to invite her.

I don’t know what kind of charm this courtesan has, but just as evening fell, a large number of sons of wealthy businessmen in the city gathered at the entrance of Bibo Tower.

Mixed among them were the figures of the Jinwu Guards, and the yamen runners quietly surrounded the streets.

As soon as Bibo Building opened.

Hundreds of people swarmed in, wanting to catch a glimpse of the top performer in the Embroidery Tower, and were even willing to spend twenty or thirty taels of silver for tea.

In the chilly wind outside the door, there were a few wisps of cotton floating around.

(End of this chapter)