【Year 236 — you were never truly trying to erase the residual resentments of the flood dragon and mountain lord. You were using them to observe the interplay of yin and yang. You had already brought the Twin-Harmony True Intent to Perfection, but now the yin-yang fish pattern rotating slowly across the sword intent projection had quietly become a dragon and a tiger.】
【Year 272 — with the Qingqiu fox demon’s explanations and guidance, the understanding in your mind grows steadily clearer. Finally, it releases the mountain lord and the flood dragon back out. The Twin-Harmony sword intent returns to its original form. You close your eyes slowly, and in the next moment, from within the sword intent — a dragon’s roar and a tiger’s cry ring out through the sky.】
【Condensate Realm · Twin-Harmony Dragon-Tiger True Intent】
The notification that appeared wasn’t a new technique — it was something closer to the Demon-Suppressing True Yang Saber, a special ability without proficiency tiers.
A rush of understanding poured in.
When it had all settled, a faint surprise moved through Shen Yi’s eyes.
In just over two hundred years, the fox demon had taken the Baiyu Monastery’s signature technique another step forward — with the flood dragon lord and mountain lord’s help, yes, but that still showed considerable breadth of knowledge. And it was just a Qingqiu student.
He thought about himself. Never mind creating a technique — just bringing the Twin-Harmony True Intent to Perfection had taken over twelve hundred years.
He’d genuinely found something valuable here.
The slight change in his expression made Lin Baixi look over curiously.
“Something wrong?”
“Nothing. Just thinking this little pouch is quite well-made.” He shook his head and offered the first thing that came to mind.
“It’s from an established power that commands respect across its territory — the depth they carry isn’t something Qingzhou can compare to.” She said it, then seemed to remember something, and smiled lightly. “I’m going to spend some time with my father. Would you want to come for a simple meal? He really wants to thank you in person for saving me.”
“Another time. I want to get back to Qingzhou city soon.” He declined the kindness. The Condensate method was nearly in his hands, he’d just come into a substantial haul of demon lifespan, and thinking back to Jiang Qiulan’s earlier advice — he wanted to finish completing the Solar-Fusion Furnace first.
A barely-perceptible flicker of disappointment crossed Lin Baixi’s eyes, but she kept the smile.
“Alright. When you get back from the capital, I’ll make something good.”
“Sure.” A small nod. He watched her leave.
Then he went back to feeding demon lifespan into the Thunder-Wind Solar-Fusion Scripture. For a purely internal technique like this, Demon Crystals were useless — only direct lifespan would do.
Fortunately, he’d just come into money.
Forty-nine major apertures remaining. Against ten-thousand-plus years of lifespan, it was practically a smooth road with no resistance at all.
【Year 52 — you connect another new major aperture—】
Notification after notification, all the same shape.
As the dark-red meridian network inside widened further, every aperture and passage in the body finally linked into a single connected whole.
In an instant — Shen Yi felt himself become a completely sealed furnace, the suppressive force inside vastly beyond what it had been. And it no longer moved as rolling hot mist sweeping repeatedly through the qi sea — it filled the entire body, like a standing barrier.
Without any active direction at all, the Heavenly Demon external pill sat quietly as a well-behaved rabbit.
He took careful stock of the change, and let the feeling settle.
Two thousand-odd years of demon lifespan purely to suppress one external pill — looked at one way, that felt like a lot.
But cultivating all these demonic techniques along the way inevitably left traces of strange things accumulating inside. Having this suppressive force as a foundation — it was worth it for the peace of mind.
【Remaining Demon Lifespan: 10,735 years】
Looking at that number, Shen Yi had the feeling of a person who’d gone from nothing to sudden wealth — completely uncertain what to spend it on.
Since arriving in this world, he’d never operated with this much to work with.
Once he had the Heaven-Devouring Core-Consuming Art, forget Condensate, forget core-nurturing — he was going to try a Mixed Origin Grandmaster on for size and see what it tasted like.
At that thought, anticipation for the capital trip grew considerably. He took out the fox demon’s core, swallowed it, brought the external pill back to a hundred percent, and walked out the door.
Hezhen and Liu Yuchuan were waiting in the street with the red horse. Compared to their general, their moods were considerably heavier.
Primarily: how were they supposed to write the mission report?
The two exchanged a look, then made their quiet decision to stand firmly on their own general’s side.
Qingzhou city. The General’s compound.
Jiang Yuanhua’s eyes were closed, expression composed — only the slight tightening of the hand holding the report book gave anything away.
The description inside was extremely concise. A single sentence.
“After being warned by General Shen, the fox demon had the audacity to draw its weapons and attempt to resist, and was dealt with by General Shen in passing—”
He opened his eyes and looked at the fox carcass the two personal attendant Deputy Commanders were holding.
It had even been stripped of its clothing.
His voice was flat. “You knew this fox came from Qingqiu?”
Liu Yuchuan looked straight ahead. “We did.”
Jiang Yuanhua set the report down slowly and looked away. “Then what are you waiting for. Go dispose of the body.”
A Qingqiu-trained fox dead inside the Great Qian empire’s jurisdiction — how much trouble that actually caused would depend on whether Qingqiu noticed a student had gone missing.
Even as a provincial General, this gave him a mild headache.
After the two Deputy Commanders had left—
He exhaled, pressed his fingers into his brow, and looked at the expressionless Chen Qiankun.
“Why didn’t you warn me?”
Chen Qiankun had seen Shen Yi’s extraordinary translocation movement, and hadn’t thought the fox demon posed any genuine threat to the young man — but he also hadn’t expected Shen Yi to take things quite this far.
Faced with the question, the old general’s expression didn’t change. He looked back with genuine puzzlement.
“I’m not sure what you expected me to warn you about. A Demon Suppression General killing a Condensate Perfection fox demon is entirely normal — or is the General reconsidering? Finding himself unwilling to carry this particular difficulty for General Shen?”
“Don’t use words to box me in. I don’t have the habit of going back on my word.”
Jiang Yuanhua steadied his breathing. The old man was deliberately provoking him.
If this came to light, a bit of face probably wouldn’t be enough — he’d need to have made preparations for something more concrete.
Was he testing Shen Yi’s strength, or was Shen Yi testing how much this General could absorb?
“…”
The conversation outside was apparently loud enough to reach the two women inside.
A fleeting arc moved at the corner of Jiang Qiulan’s mouth — too quick for even the Princess of Ji across from her to catch clearly — and then her usual calm returned.
The Princess had originally planned five days to observe Qingzhou’s sharpest blade.
Two and a half days in, she’d concluded there was no need to look further. In both character and quality, among the finest the empire had to offer — and more to the point, this person was in all likelihood going to become a Mixed Origin Grandmaster.
In the Great Qian empire, Mixed Origin Grandmasters were the most sought-after existence in the world. Even the imperial family treated them with ceremony. Put simply — once this one broke through, her standing would change so completely that there would be no reason left to respond to anything the Ji royal household wanted.
“Qiulan — since your colleague has returned, if there’s nothing else pressing — why don’t we set out for the capital right away?”
(End of Chapter)