I'm already invincible, and you're telling me I just logged in?

"Junior sister, we were all taught by the same master, yet you can't break through their moves!"

Feng Jing struggled to parry Shen Shuangning's attacks with both swords, saying as he fought, "You're always running around taking on bounties and solving cases, how many taels of silver do you earn after a month of hard work?"

"I only need to send one child to Dingzhou, and I can easily get two hundred taels of silver as payment."

While dismantling his offensive, he offered a tempting offer: "It's a real waste of your skills to be working in the Police Chief's Office. Why not follow your senior brother and work together? Wealth and glory will be within your grasp!"

Despite Feng Jing's repeated attempts to seduce her, Shen Shuang remained unmoved.

Her eyes were icy as she questioned, "Have you forgotten what your master taught you?"

Upon hearing this, Feng Jing scoffed, his face full of disdain: "What's the use of those empty moral principles? Can they be spent like money?"

"By the time you've earned enough for the medicine, your master will be long dead!"

On the other side, the five injured people were quickly defeated one by one by Xu Yan, even though they were surrounded.

As the last person fell, Feng Jing caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of his eye, and his expression changed slightly.

He distanced himself from Shen Shuangning, his gaze falling on Xu Yan, his tone turning serious: "This kid... isn't Chen Xuan's disciple!"

At the age of fifteen or sixteen, if one comes from an ordinary background, one is at most at the Cave Pulse Realm.

But this strength is clearly on par with his own.

He glanced at Shen Shuangning.

It seems my junior sister had suspected me for a long time and even found a scion of a powerful family to be my helper.

The numerical advantage suddenly turned into a disadvantage, and a sinister glint flashed in Feng Jing's eyes.

When Shen Shuangning slashed at his arm, he did not dodge, but took the blow with his bare body.

While in pain, he took advantage of the moment to pull out a dagger from his waist and stabbed Shen Shuangning with his backhand.

Shen Shuangning quickly created some distance and was about to go up again.

Feng Jing suddenly said, "Junior sister, I have tempered this dagger with the Seven-Step Heartbreak Elixir. I advise you to detoxify it first."

As the name suggests, the Seven Steps to Heartbreak will cause the poison to spread rapidly and attack the heart if one continues to use martial arts or internal energy.

To suppress the toxicity, one can only stand still, slow down the blood flow throughout the body, and then find a way to remove the toxicity.

After saying this, Feng Jing clutched his bleeding arm and plunged into the depths of the mountains without looking back.

"Xu Yan, chase after him!" Shen Shuangning shouted through gritted teeth.

Xu Yan was about to give chase when he suddenly caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye, and he froze.

He looked at Shen Shuangning's abdomen.

The blood at the wound had changed color, turning a dark purple.

"Uncle-Master, you seem to have been poisoned..."

Shen Shuangning looked down at the wound on her waist, and her face instantly darkened.

She never expected that her fellow disciple would resort to such a vicious and despicable tactic as poisoning.

"Uncle-Master, let's call it a day," Xu Yan said. "We can still chase after them, but saving our own lives is the priority."

Shen Shuangning remained silent for a moment, then sighed and did not refute.

Xu Yan's words make sense.

People can be caught again, but once a life is lost, everything is lost.

She tore open the clothes covering the wound and gritted her teeth, saying, "First, help me suck out the poisonous blood."

Xu Yan did not hesitate and bent down to do as instructed.

Shen Shuangning's cheeks flushed slightly, and she turned her head to the side, closing her eyes tightly.

After a while, the sucked-out blood gradually changed from its dark purple color to a normal bright red.

Most of the toxins have been expelled from the body, but some residual toxins remain. They must be thoroughly treated and removed after returning home.

Shen Shuangning took out the herbs she carried with her, crushed them, and applied them to the wound to temporarily suppress the remaining poison. Then she released a signal flare.

Two yamen runners were waiting at the foot of the mountain, but she didn't let them all come along.

As for the five human traffickers, Xu Yan knew they would need to be interrogated, so he spared them all.

After reinforcements arrived, they took the traffickers and the abducted children back to Shangyuan County.

After returning, Shen Shuangning recovered from the poison and spent the entire night in the yamen, interrogating the children about where they had been sold.

The next day, Xu Yan had nothing to do, so he practiced boxing in the courtyard of the martial arts school.

Just as it was running through its third cycle, that familiar pale blue light suddenly popped up in front of me.

[Update Announcement]

Thank you for your support of "Eight Desolations". The update details are as follows.

[Limited-Time Event - Martial Arts Tournament]

During the event, various factions on different maps will hold martial arts competitions, and players can go to their respective regions to register and participate.

The competition will award prizes based on the final rankings; the higher the ranking, the richer the prize.

Registration location...

[Feature Optimization]

We have received a lot of feedback from players regarding the issue of needing to level up again after switching internal skill techniques, so we have made adjustments to the internal skill system.

After the update, when players change their internal skill techniques, the new technique will inherit all the experience points of the replaced technique.

May all heroes have a smoother journey on their cultivation path!

[-Balance Adjustment]

【...】

[Compensation for this update: 3 Supreme-grade Mind-Clearing Pills]

Xu Yan quickly scanned the contents of this update.

Once you acquire better internal skills, you won't have to worry about leveling up again.

He carefully put away the three pills, bringing the total to four top-grade Mind-Enhancing Pills, including the one he had before.

That should be enough for two months. Once I finish Shen Shuangning's side story, I'll focus on raising the level of "Broken Mountains and Rivers".

After putting away the pills, Xu Yan was about to continue practicing his fist techniques when Shen Shuangning returned.

She looked exhausted, clearly having not slept all night, and said immediately, "They were tight-lipped; I didn't get anything out of them."

The incident stemmed from Feng Jing leading a group of people in collusion with local gangs.

As for where those trafficked children were sold, the matter has not yet been determined.

Shen Shuangning paused, then added, "Don't tell Master about Feng Jing's matter, or about the other two disciples."

"She can't take it."

Xu Yan nodded; he hadn't planned to say anything anyway.

Just then, a voice rang out from outside the martial arts school: "Lord Shen, I heard you've just returned to Shangyuan County, so I've come to pay you a visit. I hope I haven't disturbed you?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a young man dressed in very rich clothes walked in.

This man was the son of a wealthy local merchant in Shangyuan County, and his name was Wan Gui.

Many years ago, the Wan family belonged to a branch of the Jinglong Martial Arts School, but they separated early on and no longer belong to the main family.

Six months ago, Shen Hua suddenly fell seriously ill and was in critical condition.

Having no children, she passed the Jinglong Martial Arts School on to Shen Shuangning.

With nowhere else to turn, Shen Shuangning had no choice but to use the martial arts school's land deed as collateral to borrow 10,000 taels of silver from him, which she then used to bid on a spiritual medicine at the Chamber of Commerce to prolong her master's life.

The interest on this money was extremely high, but Shen Hua was both her mentor and her mother to her, and at the time she had no choice.

Upon seeing this person, Shen Shuangning's face instantly turned cold, and she took out a bag of silver from her bosom and threw it over.

She kept this a secret from her master, fearing that Shen Hua would find out.

"Take the money and get out of here!"

The man took the silver, weighed it in his hand, and said with a smile, "Lord Shen, this amount of money probably won't even cover the interest."

"I'll return the rest to you as soon as possible, now get out of here!"

Shen Shuangning spoke in an icy tone, and after finishing her sentence, she grabbed Xu Yan and started to leave, not wanting to look at him again.

Wan Gui, however, was not angry at all, and said slowly, "Lord Shen, then you can hurry up."

"Otherwise, in another six months, your Jinglong Martial Arts School will belong to me."

As he spoke, his gaze swept over Shen Shuangning's face. "Lady Shen, the matter I mentioned last time still stands."

"As long as you agree, everything is negotiable. Once you're in the Wan family, we're all one family. Isn't this martial arts school yours then?"

"Get out!" Shen Shuangning shouted sharply.

Wan Gui's smile finally vanished. He snorted coldly and turned to leave.

Xu Yan withdrew his gaze, looked at Shen Shuangning, and suddenly asked, "Uncle-Master, how much do you owe him?"

"We're still short 12,000 taels." Shen Shuangning's voice sounded somewhat disappointed.

Only six months left.

She had to manage the martial arts school and also buy medicine to prolong her master's life.

Now, the search continues to uncover the whereabouts of the children who were sold, as well as Feng Jing's whereabouts.

Unless you rob someone, you simply can't raise that much money.

Xu Yan suddenly stopped and called out, "Uncle-Master."

Although Shen Shuangning was annoyed, she still turned around and looked at him.

"What's wrong?"

Xu Yan didn't say anything more, and looked carefully at Shen Shuangning.

She had almond-shaped eyes and a high, straight nose.

His skin wasn't fair, but it was the healthy wheat color typical of martial artists.

Her high ponytail was neatly tied behind her head, making her look clean, sharp, and dashing.

"Uncle-Master, I have a plan that can bring the Jinglong Martial Arts School back to life!"

Xu Yan did not receive any reward after catching the human trafficker.

It seems that helping Shen Shuangning protect the martial arts school is the real purpose of this side quest.