Chapter 316: Ancient Martial Arts and Modern Martial Arts

Chapter 316: Ancient Martial Arts and Modern Martial Arts

The Luo Manor and the Chen Manor were separated by a mere street.

Located in the southern part of Yunyan County, the Luo Manor was engaged in the silk trade, not only limited to the county but also extending its influence throughout the entire state.

The head of the Luo family, known for his generosity and charitable deeds, often funded road construction and distributed porridge to the needy, earning him a stellar reputation in Yunyan County.

His greatest pride and joy was his son, Luo Bufan, a martial arts prodigy with exceptional talent. There were even rumors that he might be exceptionally admitted to the Demon Suppressing Bureau and become a Regional Guardian.

However, half a month ago, Luo Bufan went missing, causing a stir in Yunyan County. The head of the Luo family offered a reward of seven thousand taels of silver to find his son.

Unfortunately, not only was his son not found, but a week ago, the entire Luo family was massacred, shocking the entire county.

That night, not only was the Luo family slaughtered, but the Chen Manor also suffered the same fate, with all seventy-six members of the family killed.

The news shook Yunyan County, prompting the Demon Suppressing Bureau to send their people to investigate the massacre.

Qi Yuan sipped his thin porridge, sitting casually with his thoughts in disarray, "There's no glass or cannons here. If I were to make these things, wouldn't I make a fortune?"

Indeed, this game was perfect for farming and technological advancement.

However, after some contemplation, Qi Yuan didn't dwell on it further.

He needed to complete the task first; he was eager to return to the Martial Arts Tournament and was also awaiting his Golden Dan formation.

"Ah, what a pity. The young master of the Luo family and the young lady of the Chen family had just become engaged, only to encounter such a tragic fate."

By his ear, some commoners whispered, their words filled with regret.

Qi Yuan rose, no longer paying attention to the NPCs' discussions.

He had gathered all the information he needed.

At this moment, he headed towards the Luo Manor.

As he approached, the entire street seemed desolate, with even beggars rarely seen.

From a distance of over a hundred meters, Qi Yuan could smell a strong, pungent blood scent.

In the distance, city patrols had set up a cordon, preventing ordinary people from entering.

Was Qi Yuan an ordinary person? No, he wasn't.

He was a player.

Therefore, he strode towards the Luo Manor.

Up ahead, several city patrols were chatting idly.

Upon seeing someone approaching, the patrols' spirits lifted. After recognizing the visitor, Li Shu drew his knife and glanced at Qi Yuan with a slanted gaze, "Qi Er, instead of selling pork, what are you doing here? I thought you were a high-level expert from the Demon Suppressing Bureau, you scared me, Li Shu!"

Li Shu often bought pork from Qi Er, but... without paying, so he knew Qi Er.

"I'm here to complete a task." Sincerity was a sure-fire skill.

Qi Yuan felt that these NPCs also knew that this was a game world.

"So, let me in quickly so I can finish the task. I'm in a hurry to log off." Qi Yuan was always rule-abiding and reasonable. If not for the fear of drawing too much attention, he might have even considered branding the character 'Li' on his forehead.

As expected, Qi Yuan's words startled Li Shu for a moment, "Have you gone mad because your concubine was taken by Old Man Huang Four?"

Old Man Huang Four wanted to take Qi Er's concubine, and at that time, Qi Er had sought help from Li Shu.

The outcome was predictable; although Li Shu owed Qi Er money, he didn't intend to repay it.

Just then, a pair of men and women in black, tight-fitting outfits walked towards them.

The round-faced woman, with her tall figure, held a whip in her left hand and led a large black dog with her right, "What's going on here?"

Upon seeing the newcomers, Li Shu immediately changed his expression, "Respected officials, this Qi Er is the butcher in town. I don't know what madness has overcome him, but he insists on going to the Luo Manor.

I suspect he might be involved in the Luo family massacre. Should we arrest him?"

His words could be considered quite malicious.

In this world, being arrested often meant a harsh punishment, if not death.

Li Shu's thoughts were already sinister, and he saw this as an opportunity to harm Qi Er.

If Qi Er were arrested, he wouldn't have to repay the debt, and the scheme from before would remain unknown.

Qi Er had gambling debts, and he had offered his concubine as collateral, which was Li Shu's scheme.

The round-faced woman glanced at Qi Yuan, a playful smile on her face, "He's so handsome, he must be a good person.

It's a pity he's so handsome and yet a butcher."

The round-faced woman's words left Li Shu stunned.

The man in black replied lightly, "Don't get distracted by romance when you're on a task."

Apparently, the round-faced woman wasn't new to this.

At this moment, Qi Yuan looked at the two of them, his eyes revealing a puzzled expression, "Are you two also players in the game?"

He felt a bit confused.

This world was a large-scale game, and within the game world, there were even players.

"You're... a newcomer?" The round-faced woman was surprised, her eyes suddenly burning with excitement.

"He's actually a newcomer!" The man in black glanced at Qi Yuan, making a judgment.

The natives of this world couldn't possibly know the term 'player'.

"We're not players, we're from the Demon Suppressing Bureau!" The round-faced woman spoke up, "After we complete this task... if you're still alive, perhaps we can become colleagues in the future."

In this world, beauty was synonymous with justice.

The round-faced woman looked at Li Shu and smiled gently, "He's one of us."

As she spoke, she patted Li Shu on the shoulder.

Li Shu quickly offered a forced smile, cold sweat forming on his forehead, "It's my fault, sir!"

How did Qi Er get involved with the Demon Suppressing Bureau?

No, I must quickly inform Old Man Huang Four about this.

With the Demon Suppressing Bureau's announcement, Qi Yuan's wish to enter the Luo Clan's residence was granted.

The round-faced woman surveyed her surroundings, holding the leash of a large black dog, and smiled radiantly, "You should thank me. That patrol officer from earlier had ill intentions towards you, and I helped you deal with him."

"You're so lucky. On your first mission, you encountered a beauty like me.

If it were anyone else, who knows how they might take advantage of you."

Just now, she had patted Li Shu's shoulder, intending to harm him.

Qi Yuan blinked, "But he still owes me money. Why kill him?"

Hearing this, the man in black and tight attire hurriedly spoke, "Let's not waste time with these trivial matters. Our mission is urgent!"

As he spoke, he glanced at the round-faced woman and the large black dog she was holding.

"Xiao Bai, go and sniff for any clues." The round-faced woman shook the rope, signaling the black dog to investigate.

"This isn't an ordinary dog; it's a trace dog, and they're quite rare.

These dogs are similar to police dogs in the real world, capable of detecting things that ordinary people can't. They'll be very helpful for our mission." The man in black attire enthusiastically explained to Qi Yuan.

Qi Yuan also turned to the trace dog. This dog, along with the large black dog from Qi Yuan's Qing Shui Village, had black fur. However, compared to the energetic dog from the village, this one seemed lifeless, its eyes carrying the clarity and foolishness of a university student.

"Xiao Bai, hurry up and sniff!" An Qiao urged the black dog.

The black dog lazily lay on the ground, not bothering to move.

The man in black attire standing nearby laughed, "If you want the dog to work, you have to feed it well."

The trace dog wagged its tail slightly, seemingly agreeing with the man in black attire.

An Qiao revealed a smile as enchanting as a fox, "Fortunately, I came prepared. I personally cooked a meal this morning."

As she spoke, a basket appeared in her hand, filled with steaming hot food.

"Storage Technique?" Qi Yuan looked at the man in black attire.

In Qi Yuan's eyes, this man in black attire served as a non-player character (NPC) narrator, so Qi Yuan asked without hesitation.

He reached out to ask, showing no signs of embarrassment.

The man in black attire was also amiable in his role, "This isn't a Storage Technique; it's a Martial Skill.

Once you reach the Blood Qi Realm, you can also exchange for Cultivation Techniques and practice Martial Skills.

The principle behind these Martial Skills is to use Blood Qi to create a storage space."

"Not bad, all paths lead to the same destination," Qi Yuan exclaimed.

Blood Qi Realm warriors are comparable to Qi Condensation Realm cultivators, and they possess storage items similar to cultivators' storage rings.

This was quite impressive.

It's worth knowing that to refine storage bags or storage rings, one would need to be at least a Core Formation Cultivator.

At that moment, An Qiao brought out the food and placed it in front of the trace dog.

Qi Yuan looked at the specially prepared meal and instantly lost his appetite.

The trace dog eagerly sniffed with its nose and then turned away, its face showing disgust.

The man in black attire also smiled.

At that moment, the trace dog's eyes fixed on An Qiao, and it surprisingly spoke human words, "How about... you eat it first, and then feed me the leftovers?"

This food was not fit for human consumption; the smell was overwhelming.

Even the dog refused to eat it.

The dog was so frustrated that it spoke human words.

An Qiao's face turned purple, "Fat Dog, eat it if you want, but hurry up and sniff! Are there any clues?"

The trace dog grumbled, "You want the dog to work, but you won't let it eat its fill. You're such a dog yourself!"

In the version with the numbers 169 and the book bar, there's not a single mistake!

However, despite saying that, An Qiao had already called it Fat Dog, and if it didn't work now, she would truly get angry.

The dog sniffed left and right.

Qi Yuan and the others followed behind it, also scanning the Luo Clan's residence.

The Luo Clan's residence was empty, with bloodstains on the ground.

Strangely, there were no signs of a fight.

"Odd, there are no signs of a fight or fire.

And yet, all their corpses have turned into charcoal, making it impossible to tell anything," the man in black attire said suspiciously.

Last night, they had investigated the corpses, but all of them had turned into charcoal, emitting a foul odor, making it nearly impossible to find any useful information.

"You're so foolish. Clearly, they were burned after death, and as for who did it, it's obvious it was the County Magistrate," An Qiao said gravely.

Hearing this, the man in black attire became alert, "It's him... This matter is more complicated than it seems.

But this time, there's a newcomer on the team, so the difficulty should be low.

Not only does Yunyan County have three major Demon factions, but the County Magistrate also... harbors ill intentions. Something is amiss."

Generally, in the most challenging missions for newcomers, the strongest enemy would be a Blood Qi Realm Demon.

This mission is named 'Investigation,' and investigation missions are not difficult. However, the fact that the Luo Clan was eradicated is a clear indication that it wasn't the work of ordinary Demons.

It's worth knowing that both the Luo Clan and the Chen Clan have Blood Warriors.

Investigating such Demons is something these experienced individuals can handle, but for a newcomer like Qi Yuan, it's almost a death sentence.

"Perhaps it's because I'm so special that the mission assigned to me is slightly more challenging," Qi Yuan replied with a smile.

"You're very lucky to have met us," the man in black attire sighed.

At this moment, the tracking dog also spoke up, "Here, I can smell the scents of two demon clans, one of which is a yellow weasel, and the other is... an aquatic race. There's also another scent, very familiar, as if I've smelled it before."

"Two major demon clan forces are involved?" The round-faced woman's expression darkened.

Chen Fan had mentioned yesterday that in Yunyan County, there were three demon clan forces that couldn't be easily offended. Two of them were the yellow weasels and the aquatic race.

This case would entangle these two forces, which was not a situation they could easily extricate themselves from.

"Among the yellow weasel clan, the strongest warrior is a Blood Warrior Mastery. Among the four of us, only the team leader can match him. In the aquatic race, it’s rumored that there are even creatures above the Blood Qi Realm. Difficult, very difficult!" The round-faced woman frowned deeply.

This investigation had suddenly provoked two major forces, leaving them in a difficult position.

Qi Yuan looked at the large black dog and asked, "What is the familiar scent?"

As for the yellow weasel and the aquatic race, Qi Yuan had intended to find them anyway. They were his mobile blood stations. Now, he was thinking about uncovering the true reasons behind the destruction of Luo Manor and Chen Manor.

"I don't know," the tracking dog shook its head.

Qi Yuan felt a bit disappointed. His eyes had seen a lot of information, but for him, this information was not important. For instance, he saw that Elder Huang had once visited Luo Manor and that an aquatic demon had been here as well.

At this moment, the tracking dog sniffed again, moving closer to Qi Yuan and taking a deep breath, "Strange... you have a scent similar to the aquatic race, but... it's not quite the same."

"Did you encounter an aquatic demon?" the round-faced woman asked.

Qi Yuan narrowed his eyes, not sure what he was thinking, "Aquatic... I don't think so."

Since arriving in this world, his eyes had been constantly scanning for useful information. He had not encountered any aquatic demons. If he were to consider his predecessor, it was even less likely. He was the main body that had descended into this world, and as for his predecessor, he was long gone.

"Strange," the man in black attire frowned.

At this moment, Qi Yuan asked, "Do you have any martial skills or cultivation techniques? Give me some; I want to learn, especially the martial skills for storage, which I find quite interesting."

Qi Yuan was once again acting like a free-loader.

Anyway, the other party was an NPC. If they wanted to trade, he would trade.

"Our martial skills... cannot be traded," the man in black attire shook his head. "You can only exchange them after you join the Demon Suppressing Bureau."

"Looks like I'll have to find some martial arts manuals here," Qi Yuan said casually.

His current strength was not sufficient, and he needed to learn some martial skills and master martial cultivation techniques to enhance his power.

"The martial arts here, don't learn them!" the round-faced woman hurriedly warned, "The martial arts here are... ancient martial arts. Once you learn ancient martial arts, it's very difficult to change your path."

"Oh? Such a complex setting, and there are ancient martial arts and modern martial arts? Which is more powerful?"

"We in the Demon Suppressing Bureau learn modern martial arts," the round-faced woman, An Qiao, said at this moment, "Although ancient martial arts and modern martial arts look similar in this world and have the same power, there is a clear difference: ancient martial arts are only effective in this world. If you switch to a new world, the strength of an ancient martial artist will drop by one level. However, modern martial artists won't have this problem; they can maintain their strength in any world. In our Demon Suppressing Bureau, many senior predecessors chose ancient martial arts out of ignorance, which is regrettable."

The round-faced woman looked regretful.

Qi Yuan was slightly stunned.

"Many worlds? Many games?"

"Yes, each of our missions is actually in a different... parallel world," the round-faced woman explained. "Only modern martial arts are effective across all worlds."

Qi Yuan narrowed his eyes, "This setting... seems related to the Supreme principle realm of Yangshen."

"Yangshen, supreme principle realm, what is that?" An Qiao was a bit puzzled.

---

Recommendation for a friend's book: "Immortal, I Will Help You Cultivate." This is a multiple-heroine novel, truly not a secondary account of the author. Don't pressure him; his harem novels are quite popular and his writing is much better than the author's.

Synopsis: Possessing a return system, anyone Qi Yuan guides to produce positive emotions towards him will be bound by the system.100% of their abilities.

Qi Yuan, therefore, is dedicated to teaching and helping others. He shares everything with his fellow disciples and friends. Even enemies must be turned into friends.

There are also a dust-free sword heart, a pure-hearted disciple, the widow of a fate child, and a descendant of a medicinal lineage with a congenitally alluring body but a desire to serve the world.

Throughout his journey, Qi Yuan has guided and helped countless heroes, on the verge of becoming invincible. However, these people turn into emotional debts.

Qi Yuan calmly explains, "Romantic relations will hinder cultivation. Wait until your cultivation is complete, and we will never part ways... Hm? You ask why the demoness can? Her cultivation technique is special, and being with me will enhance her cultivation even more."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end