With half a game of chess, I vanquish all demons!

Huanglian was knocked to the ground and fainted immediately after being nudged by Jianpu.

Zhao Yao bent down, pinched Huang Lian's philtrum, and pulled him up, helping him to quickly regain consciousness.

Huanglian opened her eyes in a daze:

"Um?

Brother Zhao, what's wrong with me?

"Brother Huang, hurry and take your wife and children and escape for your lives!"

Zhao Yao's words were always critical hits.

Upon hearing this, Huang Lian, whose mind was not quite clear, was momentarily stunned and immediately saw the headless corpse of the servant.

"..."

Good heavens, it wasn't a dream after all!

A smile that looked more like a grimace appeared on his face.

"Escape? Where to escape to?"

"A peaceful place in the boundless ocean."

"And what about you?"

"Once I figure out why Su Shangtao wanted to kill me, and after I've fought with Su Shangtao, I'll naturally escape, escape to the boundless sea where hope lies."

"Brother Zhao, can I really escape?"

"Yes! My shout earlier was to warn Su Shangtao. He should be busy stopping the authorities and helping us cover up the murder here right now."

Once dawn breaks and he learns that it was his servant who died and that I am still alive, he will certainly not let me go, so he will not care about what will happen to Brother Huang.

This period of time was enough for Brother Huang to escape safely.

"Then, what are you going to do?"

"Haha~ Brother Huang, you've forgotten, I'm going to have a showdown with him, why would I be afraid of him harming me? I'm more afraid he won't come."

"..."

After hearing what was said, Huanglian felt relieved.

He bowed deeply to Zhao Yao with sincere emotions and left that very night.

Under the cover of night, only Zhao Yao and the body of the healthy servant remained in the courtyard.

He stood there quietly, gazing up at the deep night sky, listening to the commotion that was starting in Wangzhou City. After waiting for a long time without anyone coming to the courtyard to apprehend the culprit, he knew in his heart that from now until dawn, this place would be safe.

In Wangzhou City, the chaotic noise gradually subsided and disappeared, and everything quickly returned to the usual quiet of the late night.

Under the old locust tree, the chirping of insects became clear again.

"Phew~"

Zhao Yao exhaled softly, her body slowly relaxing.

He placed his hand on his chest, deliberately reducing the rise and fall of his chest to avoid aggravating his lungs, which were damaged by the poison.

It's been hurting there all along, but he's just been enduring it until now.

Now, I can finally focus on dealing with this injury.

Zhao Yao closed his eyes, his mind sinking. In his soul, he saw once again the half-board of jade chess pieces, radiating a shimmering light and covered with cracks.

His perspective was like that of an eagle swooping down, traversing across half of the chessboard, passing through fifteen jade-white humanoid chess pieces in various poses, and finally arriving at the edge of the chessboard, where he saw the jade chess piece with the character "卒" (pawn) engraved on it.

It emits a faint white light and has a translucent appearance with distinct flame layers, which is so unique.

Looking at the jade chess piece from such a strange perspective, as soon as Zhao Yao thought about it, a strong vortex suction force suddenly burst out from the jade chess piece!

Drawn by this force, strands of primordial energy were rapidly drawn from various parts of his body and surged toward the source of the vortex's suction force—the jade chess piece.

With another thought, the primordial energy that had been contained within the jade chess piece was released again, flowing like a stream into his lungs, which were damaged by the poison.

"Breathe in..."

After taking a deep, comfortable breath, Zhao Yao opened her eyes.

He pounded his chest, feeling his body weakened but no longer in pain, and a satisfied smile crept onto his face.

This jade chess piece on the chessboard can transform into armor and weapons at crucial moments, and can also absorb, store, or release the vital energy within the body.

Firstly, the primordial energy stored within the chess pieces can be released at other times to replenish damaged body parts and replace bodily functions before the body recovers from its injuries, thus restoring the body to its normal state.

Secondly, over time, the primordial energy accumulated and stored in the jade chess piece reached a certain level. When the primordial energy within it began to take human form, it could be used to enhance one's combat power during battle.

Thirdly, going even further, they could even "mold out" a real soldier!

Just now, Zhao Yaozheng used his first ability to mobilize the primordial energy around his body to fill the damaged parts, thus restoring his physical condition to a normal level.

After recovering from his illness, he began to reflect:

"Why would Su Shangtao kill me when we have no grudge against each other...?"

"Gurgle~"

His stomach suddenly growled, and a wave of hunger washed over him. Zhao Yao snapped out of his fruitless thoughts, reached into his sleeve, pulled out a few pills to strengthen his body and replenish his vital energy, put them in his mouth, tilted his head back, and swallowed them whole.

These pills were a perk for every student in the official academy.

Every month, the government would give the students a considerable sum of money and elixirs to strengthen their bodies. Over the years, this amounted to a considerable fortune.

After the pill entered his stomach, its medicinal properties took effect, and Zhao Yao felt much better, as his hungry stomach and parched body felt much more comfortable.

He stretched his arms and chest, moved his body a little, looked at the body of the servant, then glanced at the pit next to the servant, and couldn't help but chuckle.

bang~

He pushed Jianpu's body into the pit that Huanglian had dug, and it was the perfect size.

He kicked the servant's head and fingers into the pit, then bent down, picked up an iron shovel from the ground, looked at the blood all over the yard, and began to shovel and work.

"Huffing and puffing~"

Moonlight spilled down, and beneath the old locust tree, insects chirped, while a gaunt student, panting heavily, tirelessly buried a corpse and covered up the evidence.

After the bloodstains in the courtyard were cleaned up and the pit was filled in, Zhao Yao put down the iron shovel, stretched his body, yawned, calmed his mind, and silently recited the "Warrior Breathing Method," beginning his first real practice.

"When the Qi flows, it accumulates when deep, expands when accumulated, descends when expanded, settles when descended, solidifies when settled, sprouts when solidified, grows when sprouting, recedes when it grows, and returns to the heavens. The heavens are above; the earth is below. Following the natural order brings life; going against it brings death."

"Inhale... Exhale..."

With deep breaths, Zhao Yao practiced the Warrior Breathing Technique. His body, which had been heated from shoveling soil to fill the pit, gradually calmed down, and he entered a state of tingling, warmth, and relaxation. It seemed that some kind of miraculous change was taking place within his body at an extremely slow pace.

This is a breathing technique from the Demon-Slaying Realm, one of the highest realms in the heavens!

Although it was something insignificant that everyone could do, it was still extremely precious to Zhao Yao, who came from a world where cultivation had disappeared, and it stirred his heart.

After repeatedly practicing the Warrior Breathing Technique, Zhao Yao's mind and body calmed down. He instinctively closed his eyes and began to introspect.

"Um?"

He raised an eyebrow, realizing the unexpected situation.

In his internal vision, the area between his lungs and internal organs that had been damaged by poison and then filled with primordial qi had regained its function, but it would still take some time for the body's self-healing power to complete the healing process.

Now, visible signs of healing have appeared at the site of the injury.

Yes!

Long-term practice of the Warrior Breathing Method will naturally promote human growth and development. Now, with the addition of Yuan Qi, it simply accelerates this process.

"So, if I can quickly increase my internal energy, my progress in practicing the Warrior Breathing Technique will be greatly accelerated?!"

That's a good approach!

Since I can't access martial arts for now, the Hercules breathing technique will do.

Moreover, accumulating a large amount of primordial energy rapidly and gaining power from the shattered jade chess pieces was exactly what he was supposed to do.

Upon realizing this, Zhao Yao's heart began to pound violently.

He paced back and forth in the yard, excited for a while before gradually calming down.

So how can one quickly accumulate vital energy?

Zhao Yao took out a pill for strengthening the body and bones from his sleeve.

He held the pill between two fingers, staring at it intently, a plan forming in his mind...