Jiang Yuechu's consciousness sank into an endless darkness.
[In the first year, you were born as a young tiger in the Southern Mountain, weak and abandoned by your mother in a mountain stream. If not for a flood that swept you downstream, you would have been prey for other beasts.]
[In the second year, you could hunt skillfully and gradually survived in the Southern Mountain.]
[In the fifth year, you encountered a strange creature covered in white fur. He sat under a waterfall, holding a scroll. You were hungry and wanted to eat him, but ended up getting beaten.]
[In the sixth year, you lay beside the creature, watching him read. He didn't chase you away and occasionally tossed leftover peaches to you. You learned his name was Lord White Ape.]
[In the seventh year, you began learning to read with Lord White Ape. Your paws were too big to hold a pen, often poking holes in the bamboo slips. Lord White Ape was patient, saying, "Everything can be a pen, and the world itself is a text."]
[In the eighth year, you learned three hundred characters. Lord White Ape was pleased and told you stories. He said, "When the world first opened, pure energy rose, and impure energy sank. Humans are the spirit of all things, while demons are the filth of the world."]
[In the tenth year, you could read on your own. You loved stories of heroes, especially those describing swords that could cut rivers and split mountains.]
[In the fifteenth year, Lord White Ape began teaching you other things. He said, "A demon shouldn't only know slaughter, or how are you different from a beast? What makes humans human is their understanding of propriety and shame." You thought it was nonsense, and Lord White Ape knocked on your head with a scroll for three days.]
[In the twentieth year, you cut the Southern Mountain waterfall in half with a single stroke. Lord White Ape clapped and laughed by the shore. You sheathed your blade and looked at the waterfall you had severed, feeling joy for the first time.]
[In the twenty-fifth year, you began to feel restless, practicing your blade, reading, and listening to the old ape's teachings every day. You felt the mountain was too small.]
[In the thirtieth year, your blade skills reached their peak. Lord White Ape asked if there was anything your domineering blade couldn't cut. You confidently shook your head.]
[In the thirty-fifth year, you met a girl picking herbs on the mountain. She didn't avoid you and even shared half a cake with you. You found it strange and didn't eat the cake.]
[In the thirty-ninth year, the girl never returned to the mountain. You heard from the demons below that she was married off to a wealthy man and beaten to death within half a year. You took your blade and descended the mountain.]
[In the forty-fifth year, Lord White Ape was leaving. He sat beside you, chattering about many things. You asked what he was going to do, but he just smiled without answering.]
[In the fiftieth year, you stood atop the Southern Mountain, overlooking the human world. As the wind blew, you felt it was time for you to descend the mountain as well.]
...
Consciousness returned.
A dot of vermilion appeared out of thin air.
Like a drop of blood in water, it spread from the tiger's eyes!
[Consumed 102 years of cultivation, Tiger Mountain God progress has reached Vermilion Stain]
Vermilion ink entered the painting, flesh and blood were reborn.
On the scroll, the outline of the fierce tiger was rapidly filled in again.
[Successfully stained the Tiger Mountain God, received a gift from the demon]
[Fierce Tiger Quick Blade (Supreme)]
[Talent: Heaven-Bestowed Yin Dharma (The Tiger Mountain God loves using blades, and all his life’s learning is in this. Blade practice speed and power are enhanced.)]
[Divine Ability: Tiger Fiend Blood Boil (This is one of the Tiger Mountain God's innate divine abilities, allowing the expenditure of one's own blood and energy to instantly heal injuries.)]
The writing slowly faded away.
Jiang Yuechu looked down at the three deep claw marks on her abdomen.
Flesh rolled, blood flowed.
With a thought.
Tiger Fiend Blood Boil.
A surge of heat rose from her limbs and bones, her blood and energy roiling as if about to boil and burn.
The wound on her abdomen wriggled at a speed visible to the naked eye.
In just a few breaths, the terrifying wound was reduced to three shallow red marks.
Jiang Yuechu gripped the blade tightly.
An indescribable change arose spontaneously.
This feeling, those who understand, understand; there's no need to mention it.
All this seemed long in words, but in reality, it was just a moment.
In the eyes of Chen Qingyuan and others, this officer of the Demon-Suppressing Bureau merely swayed after taking a deadly blow.
But the Green-Robed Wolf Demon saw it clearly.
That claw just now, it had used its full strength.
This woman was clearly seriously injured!
But why...
Why did her wounds heal just by closing and opening her eyes?!
"You..."
"Are you human or demon?!"
The Green-Robed Wolf Demon was full of fear, stepping back in fright.
The others hadn't understood what the wolf demon meant.
But then they saw a pair of small hands push aside Chen Qingyuan, who was standing in front.
Chen Qingyuan turned back in surprise, "My lord... you..."
This officer of the Demon-Suppressing Bureau had clearly been seriously injured just now.
But now...
Before anyone could react.
Jiang Yuechu, holding her blade, charged towards the now terrified wolf demon like the wind!
At this moment, the "Fierce Tiger Quick Blade" was unleashed again.
Before the blade arrived, the wind had already risen.
A tiger's roar seemed to come from the heavens, shaking the mountains and forests!
The Green-Robed Wolf Demon was so scared its face turned green.
Its legs trembled.
Its tongue hung out.
How could this be?!
Why was this strike even fiercer than before?!
If I had known you had this power, I would have run away long ago!
Why pretend?!
Such a sinister mind!!!
Fear instantly overshadowed the hatred in its heart.
Without thinking, it turned to flee!
But as soon as it turned its head.
A chill rushed from its tailbone to its skull.
The fierce blade wind was already at the back of its head.
"Spare..."
A word squeezed out of its throat.
Before it could speak, its world was split in two by a bright white line.
The Green-Robed Wolf Demon's body froze in place, maintaining a forward-pouncing posture, then neatly split in half, falling to the sides.
Its innards spilled all over the ground.
Steam rose.
"......"
Jiang Yuechu slowly sheathed her blade, her tightly furrowed brows relaxing.
Not bad.
With supreme-level blade skills and Heaven-Bestowed Yin Dharma, she could easily slay such demons.
[Killed a String-Attuned Stage creature, gained 75 years of its cultivation]
[Detected an unrecorded demon, consume cultivation to record?]
Jiang Yuechu didn't pay attention, her gaze shifted to the distant village path.
The few surviving little demons had already been scared out of their wits, trying to escape with their tails between their legs.
"Oh... I was so focused on killing your king, I almost forgot about you."
"Howl—"
The demons scattered in all directions.
But each one was caught by that figure.
Behind her.
Everyone was dumbfounded.
This...
The pack of wolf demons that had been so ferocious and slaughtered the village.
Just like that, they were gone?
Was it because this girl was from the Demon-Suppressing Bureau that she had such means?
To read the uncut version, go to [pawread.com].
Or did she join the Demon-Suppressing Bureau because she had such means?
...
The sun rose higher.
The men from the Soaring Eagle Sect took down the mutilated corpses from the wooden racks, covering them with tattered cloth.
Others helped the hollow-eyed survivors out of the ancestral hall.
When they saw the demon corpses on the village path and the mess all around.
Some knelt on the ground, kowtowing to the people from the Soaring Eagle Sect.
Some hugged the remains of their loved ones, crying until they fainted.
Jiang Yuechu crossed her arms, leaning against a half-collapsed mud wall at the village entrance.
Her mind sank into her consciousness.
A new panel slowly unfolded.
[Host: Jiang Yuechu]
[Realm: String-Attuned Late Stage]
[Martial Arts: Fierce Tiger Quick Blade (Supreme), Qingya Reflection (Perfect)]
[Cultivation: 200 years]
[Recorded Demons: Tiger Mountain God (Vermilion Stain), Blue-faced Gentleman (Shadow Copy)]
[Talent Divine Abilities: Heaven-Bestowed Yin Dharma, Tiger Fiend Blood Boil]
String-Attuned Late Stage...
Jiang Yuechu frowned.
Earlier, when the Tiger Mountain God advanced from Shadow Copy to Vermilion Stain, her cultivation had already stepped into the mid-stage.
Now, after recording this wolf demon, her realm had risen again.
But how exactly is this realm calculated?
Is it because of recording demons, or because of acquiring martial arts?
As for the Blue-faced Gentleman, it only consumed fifty years of cultivation, less than the Tiger Mountain God, which was expected.
However...
The few little demons she casually slew, besides turning into cultivation, had no other response.
Jiang Yuechu pondered.
Such little demons probably aren't even worth the golden finger's attention.
As for the Qingya Reflection, it's a form of boxing.
Completely different from the fierce and domineering Fierce Tiger Quick Blade.
This boxing technique emphasizes movement and changes in form.
Like a wolf moving on a green cliff, shifting left and right, its tracks unpredictable.
The village's cries gradually subsided, leaving only suppressed sobs.
Footsteps approached from afar, stopping in front of her.
Jiang Yuechu opened her eyes.
It was Chen Qingyuan.
He walked up to Jiang Yuechu, saying nothing, just lifting his robe as if to kneel again.
"Spare it."
Chen Qingyuan paused, ultimately not kneeling, just bowing deeply with clasped fists.
"The grace of saving our lives, Chen Qingyuan and the people of Guangwu County will never forget."
Jiang Yuechu remained indifferent.
Then.
She stood up straight, dusting off her robe.
The matter was resolved, and she had to be on her way, figuring out how to deal with her identity issue.
Seeing her about to leave, Chen Qingyuan hurriedly said, "My lord! Are you leaving already? Why not return to Guangwu County to rest for a while, and let us fulfill our duty as hosts..."
Jiang Yuechu hesitated.
Going to the county would be beneficial.
Not only could she gather more information, but she could also rest a bit.
But her identity...
Seeing her hesitation, Chen Qingyuan added, "Is it because you have a major case and can't make a public appearance? If so, we won't say a word. Rest assured, today's events, even if the county magistrate asks, we'll just say it was the Soaring Eagle Sect's luck, not revealing your whereabouts at all."
He paused, his gaze discreetly sweeping over her waist and abdomen.
"Besides... you've traveled a long way, and your clothes... might need changing. Guangwu County may be small, but we can prepare something for you."
Jiang Yuechu was slightly taken aback, following his gaze to look down.
The black robe on her abdomen had long been torn open by wolf claws. Though the Tiger Fiend Blood Boil divine ability had healed the wound, the slits remained.
The morning breeze blew, revealing glimpses of her fair skin.
She hadn't noticed.
In her past life, playing sports, going shirtless was common, and she hadn't thought much of it.
But now, she was in a woman's body.
Walking the world like this was indeed inappropriate.
Jiang Yuechu looked up at Chen Qingyuan's earnest face.
Fine.
Now she held 200 years of cultivation and possessed two martial arts.
What could a mere county do to her?
She finally nodded.
"Lead the way."
Proofreader: Peter Pan