Demon Slaying, Gaining 60 Years of Cultivation From the Start

The Pure Yang Technique and Red Flame Palm, both inherently masculine martial arts, had a restraining effect on demons and ghosts. Coupled with Gu Chen's seventy years of internal breath cultivation, the Panic Level yin spirit, equivalent to the late stages of the Contained Breath Realm, was simply not a match. Along with a few other bizarre yin spirits, all were turned to ash by Gu Chen's palm.

Witnessing the power of Gu Chen's palm strike, a trace of shock flashed through Wu Qian's eyes, never expecting Gu Chen's strength to be this terrifying.

"This Master Gu, could it be that he has already reached the Pulse Connecting Realm?!"

Suppressing the shock in his heart, Wu Qian, with a group of subordinates, approached and, cupping his fists, said respectfully, "Master Gu's strength is formidable, I am impressed. If not for Master Gu today, I'm afraid we would have been no match at all."

Gu Chen was checking the panel, wanting to see how many merit points the extermination of these monsters and demons had brought him. Hearing Wu Qian's words, he smiled and said, "Constable Wu, you are too kind. This is but my duty."

Wu Qian glanced over and saw that not even the corner of Gu Chen's clothes was damaged, his admiration for Gu Chen growing even stronger.

As for Wu Qian's subordinates behind him, they had already been so shocked they were at a loss for words.

"Master Gu, what do you think we should do now?" Wu Qian asked in a low voice.

Gu Chen said, "The evil spirits here have all been eradicated, and the matter of the Liu family village is concluded. We can return now."

Upon hearing this, Wu Qian's eyes lit up with joy, and he hastily said, "Yes!"

Afterward, under Gu Chen's lead, they returned to Ning City.

In the county government office, the magistrate Fang Yong had been waiting. Seeing Gu Chen return with Wu Qian and the others, he looked at Gu Chen with an inquiring gaze.

Seeing this, Gu Chen smiled and, cupping his fists, said, "Lord Fang, I am pleased to report that I have slain all the demons in the Liu family village, leaving none behind."

Upon hearing this, Fang Yong stood up, his expression solemn, and bowed deeply to Gu Chen, saying, "On behalf of the many people of Ning City, I thank you, Lord Gu!"

Gu Chen quickly stepped forward to help Fang Yong up, and afterward, the two chatted and laughed for a while. During that time, Fang Yong asked Gu Chen to stay longer in Ning City so he could show him proper hospitality as the host.

After all, Gu Chen had resolved a huge problem for Ning City.

Moreover, Fang Yong even wanted Gu Chen to stay at the county government office during this time, which would be more convenient for everything.

However, Gu Chen tactfully declined Fang Yong's proposal. With Ning City's affairs resolved, he intended to stay one more night and set out early the next morning, leaving Ning City to return to Tiandu.

Seeing that Gu Chen had made up his mind and that any attempt to detain him would be futile, Fang Yong expressed his regret but could do nothing about it.

Finally managing to excuse himself from Fang Yong, Gu Chen left the Ning City county government office and let out a sigh of relief.

"Dealing with these government officials is really quite troublesome," Gu Chen shook his head. The tussle with Magistrate Fang Yong felt even more exhausting to him than battling demons and ghosts.

Then, Gu Chen returned to the inn, and after closing the door tightly behind him, he sat cross-legged on the bed. He took out an irregularly shaped, pitch-black and profound crystal, and the temperature in the room plummeted immediately. This was the soul crystal obtained from slaying that Panic Level yin spirit earlier.

Amongst the evil spirits, only those at the level of demons would leave behind a soul crystal upon death, which was the essence of a demon's strength.

As for the bizarre creatures, they would not produce a soul crystal upon being killed, which also proved that the power of the bizarre creatures, compared to demons, was much more dispersed and difficult to condense into a single entity.

With a thought from Gu Chen, the soul crystal in his hand began to erode from the edge, slowly dissipating before his eyes.

After absorbing the soul crystal, Gu Chen's consciousness sank, and the next second, the panel appeared.

Name: Gu Chen

Martial Arts: Iron Shirt Technique (perfection), Thirteen Grand Protectors' Horizontal Skill (perfection), Red Flame Palm (perfection), Dragon Tendon Tiger Bone Fist (Initial Insight)

Inner Strength: Pure Yang Technique

Cultivation: Seventy Years

Realm: Complete Great Perfection of the Contained Breath Realm

Merit Points: 20

For slaying the bizarre creature level yin spirits, Gu Chen received a total of seven merit points. As for the demon level yin spirit, after absorbing the soul crystal, he received twelve merit points. Coupled with the initial remaining point, it made a total of twenty points.

After Gu Chen's cultivation had reached the strength of seventy years, his body once again experienced a sensation of fullness. Therefore, this time he did not choose to further improve his cultivation level but decided to first advance the realm of his martial skills.

At this moment, on his status panel, one could see a total of four martial skills. Three of them had already reached the realm of perfection, with only the "Dragon Sinew Tiger Bone Fist" remaining in its initial insight phase.

This technique was not obtained from the Jing Tian Department but was left by the original host's father.

When compared to the "Iron Cloth Technique," the "Thirteen Grand Protectors' Horizontal Skill," and the "Red Flame Palm," the "Dragon Sinew Tiger Bone Fist" was somewhat more profound.

In the world of Jiuzhou, martial skills and internal cultivation were divided into detailed grades from low to high: Common-Grade, Lower-Grade, Middle-Grade, Upper-Grade, Superior Martial Skills, Earth Grade, Heavenly Grade, and finally the peerless techniques.

Among these, Common-Grade was also known as 'Inferior,' in simple terms, Common-Grade martial skills were farmhand moves, not fit for public display, hence being considered 'Inferior.'

Gu Chen's "Iron Cloth Technique," "Thirteen Grand Protectors' Horizontal Skill," and "Red Flame Palm" were all martial skills redeemed in the Jing Tian Department using his military exploits, and belonged to the Lower-Grade category.

Meanwhile, the "Pure Yang Technique" and the "Dragon Sinew Tiger Bone Fist" were of Middle-Grade.

But one should never underestimate Lower-Grade martial skills, as even the most casual Lower-Grade martial skill, if brought to the world of martial arts, would be worth at least a few hundred taels, or even over a thousand. If it's internal cultivation, the price would be even higher.

And for a Middle-Grade martial skill or internal cultivation technique, the starting price would be at least a few thousand taels of silver.

Upper-Grade martial skills and internal cultivation could be so expensive that they may be worth up to hundreds of thousands of taels.

As for Superior Martial Skills, they would typically cost at least several hundred thousand taels of silver, and they were often priceless and not available on the market.

As for martial arts above the Superior grade, they could not be measured in monetary terms, being both rare and invaluable treasures, they are the foundation of every major force's heritage and are not easily imparted to others.

From this, one can see the preciousness of martial arts in the world of Jiuzhou.

Of course, it's not always better to have a higher-grade martial skill, as a higher grade indicates that the martial art is more profound. Without the corresponding martial arts experience, one would find it difficult to comprehend such complex martial arts, making even the entry level impossible to achieve; attempting to force it would only result in deviating and going mad.

The original host had practiced the "Dragon Sinew Tiger Bone Fist" for quite a long time and couldn't find the key to its entry level, which was part of the reason why.

Even for Gu Chen, without relying on the status panel, it would take him another five years to perfect the three martial skills, including the "Iron Cloth Technique."

If Lower-Grade martial skills were this challenging, let alone others.

Therefore, even in large families and major sects, or among the princes and princesses in the royal palace, they all started practicing martial arts with lower-grade skills to build a foundation, gradually accumulating martial arts experience to prepare for the comprehension of higher-grade martial arts.

Then, Gu Chen brought his thoughts back to focus, and with a single thought, five points of skill points disappeared. At this point, one could see on the status panel's martial arts section that the "Dragon Sinew Tiger Bone Fist" had progressed from initial insight to the entry level.

Subsequently, a surge of corresponding martial arts experience poured into Gu Chen's mind.

Crackle and pop!

At that moment, while sitting cross-legged on his bed, a crisp sound suddenly emanated from within Gu Chen's body, which was the sound of his tendons and bones resonating in harmony.

The "Dragon Sinew Tiger Bone Fist," although a form of fist technique, one could tell from its name that the core essence of this martial art was primarily in the tempering of tendons and bones. With robust tendons and bones, one's muscles and fasciae would also be strengthened, greatly enhancing one's physique and explosive power.

Moreover, according to what the original host's father had said, if one were to perfect this martial art, they would possess the strength of dragons and tigers, lifting thousands of pounds would not be a problem.

Unfortunately, the original host's father failed to perfect this martial art before he passed away.

Furthermore, due to his early death, there was no one to explain this martial art to the original host, which was one of the reasons why the original host could not find the key to its entry level.

But now, with the status panel at his disposal, Gu Chen had no such concerns, as he could elevate his skills by expending skill points.

"It seems that the cost of improving Middle-Grade martial skills is not comparable to that of Lower-Grade," Gu Chen thought to himself.

Previously, even raising the "Red Flame Palm" to perfection had only cost Gu Chen three skill points.

But now, just by bringing the "Dragon Sinew Tiger Bone Fist" to the entry level, he had spent five skill points, a significant difference.

This also highlighted the gap between Middle-Grade and Lower-Grade martial skills.

Feeling the greatly enhanced tendons and bones inside his body, along with the boiling vital energy, Gu Chen thought to himself, and another five skill points disappeared. What followed was the "Dragon Sinew Tiger Bone Fist" reaching the stage of minor achievement.

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