10: Reach the pinnacle and reach the eighth level of bone training!

Looking at the old man's head on the table, Chen Heguang's expression subtly changed.

"Isn't it a living corpse? Why did you bring back a human head?"

"He controlled the living corpses. He's dead. He killed them."

"That village..."

"Not a single survivor."

"Sigh..." Chen Heguang let out a sigh, then looked at the head, his eyes gradually turning fierce, "Raising living corpses and committing so many murders, he deserves to die!"

Jiang Lan lowered his eyelids.

"Demons eat people, and people also eat people, damn it!"

Chen Heguang was indignant, scolding the open-eyed head furiously.

After venting for a while, he seemed to remember something.

"Wait... he ordered the living corpses to massacre the village, shouldn't it have been to refine living corpses with human blood... Why do you say he killed the living corpses?"

Jiang Lan paused.

"It wasn't for refining living corpses."

Saying that, he took out a green sachet and placed it next to the head.

"Another one from the Green Lantern Sect? A sacrifice?"

Seeing the sachet, Chen Heguang's expression subtly changed.

Jiang Lan nodded slightly, then took out a crimson Medicinal Pill.

Chen Heguang asked, "What is this?"

Jiang Lan didn't hide anything, meticulously recounting his experiences after arriving at Xiaobei Village to Chen Heguang.

The more Chen Heguang listened, the tighter his brows furrowed.

By the end, they were almost locked together.

"You mean, this Medicinal Pill was given by the Green Lantern Goddess after sacrificing those hundreds of villagers and the living corpses?"

Jiang Lan shook his head slightly.

"I'm not sure, but from the previous situation, it seems to be the case."

Chen Heguang walked in front of Jiang Lan, looking at the Medicinal Pill in his hand, his eyes flickering.

He had previously been somewhat confused about why the Green Lantern Sect members were so fanatically performing sacrifices.

Now it seemed, it was probably for this item.

Indeed, wantonly slaughtering hundreds or thousands of people would be somewhat ridiculous if it were just for a simple sacrifice.

"This Medicinal Pill..."

Without a word, Jiang Lan directly handed the Medicinal Pill to Chen Heguang.

He had never thought of keeping this thing for himself.

An item obtained by sacrificing hundreds of lives, just thinking about it made it clear it wasn't a good thing.

Even if consuming this item could truly enhance his strength, he wouldn't use it.

With the System, Jiang Lan didn't need to take that risk.

Chen Heguang took it.

"I'll go find the Centurion."

Jiang Lan said nothing.

He had already given the Medicinal Pill to Chen Heguang; how to deal with it was Chen Heguang's business.

Chen Heguang turned to leave, but as he reached the door, he seemed to suddenly remember something.

"Things aren't peaceful lately. Don't stick your head out if there's trouble."

"Don't worry, Uncle Chen."

After Chen Heguang left, only Jiang Lan remained in Wuwei Hall.

As a Demon Suppression Guard, he was quite idle when there was nothing to do.

Not to mention him, even the Civilian Servant under him had nothing to do.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have gone to the Brothel to listen to girls tell stories during their shift.

Jiang Lan sat on a wooden chair, and a translucent panel appeared before him... [Name: Jiang Lan]

[Cultivation: Bone Refinement Second Stage]

[Cultivation Technique: Three Yuan True Nurturing Skill]

[Martial Skills: Yan Military Saber Technique (Proficient), Wild Goose Step (Beginner)]

[Remaining Lifespan: One hundred and six years]

[You can enhance your strength by injecting Lifespan into Cultivation Techniques and skills.]

[You can increase your Lifespan by suppressing or slaying demons.]

...Jiang Lan pondered for a moment, then whispered:

"Ten years each for Wild Goose Step and Yan Military Saber Technique."

In this world, Martial Dao Realms are fundamental.

And Martial Skills, when cultivated to a high level, provide a considerable boost to combat power.

Two Martial Artists of the same Realm, one who has cultivated Martial Skills and one who hasn't, will have a significant difference in combat power.

The combination of Realm and Martial Skill often yields a result where one plus one is greater than two.

If the Yan Military Saber Technique hadn't already reached Proficiency, even if Jiang Lan had gotten behind that bald old Daoist before, he might not have been able to cut off his head with one strike.

On the light screen, lines of text flashed by.

[Year 1: Your strength is already at Bone Refinement Second Stage. You begin cultivating Wild Goose Step, making rapid progress. Your Wild Goose Step Realm advances to 'Minor Accomplishment'.]

[Year 2: Your Wild Goose Step Realm advances to 'Proficient'.]

[Year 5: You diligently Cultivate, and your Wild Goose Step Realm advances to 'Mastery'.]

[Year 9: Through long-term practice, you gain new insights into Wild Goose Step, and your Realm advances to 'Peak Perfection'.]

[Year 10: You vaguely feel that this is not the limit, but due to lack of time, you haven't been able to comprehend anything new.]

As the text concluded, Jiang Lan felt as if the muscles in his legs had become much fuller, and his body felt light, as if with a single leap, he could fly like a wild goose.

Immediately after, text appeared again.

[Year 3: You practice day and night, and your Yan Military Saber Technique Realm advances to 'Mastery'.]

[Year 6: You gain deeper understanding of Yan Military Saber Technique, and your Realm advances to 'Peak Perfection'.]

[Year 10: For four consecutive years, your Saber Technique Realm has not progressed further. One day during Cultivation, a flash of inspiration strikes you, and you seem to grasp something, but it is not clear.]

A vast amount of insights flooded into Jiang Lan's mind.

It was as if he had truly devoted himself to this Dao for over a decade, how to draw the saber, the force, the angle, all were deeply imprinted in Jiang Lan's mind.

He raised his hand.

The calluses on his hand had grown thicker.

Jiang Lan had a feeling that even without a saber, he could now easily defeat his five-minute-ago self.

He lowered his head.

Both Martial Skills had now reached the Peak Perfection Realm.

He currently had no intention of investing further in these two Martial Skills.

Peak Perfection, as things stood, was sufficient.

What was more important now was to improve his Martial Dao Realm.

Martial Skills were merely supplementary; the Martial Dao Realm was fundamental.

"Three Yuan True Nurturing Skill, eighty years."

[Year 10: With accumulated effort, your Cultivation becomes increasingly refined, and your Realm Breakthroughs to Bone Refinement Third Stage.]

[Year 21...]

[Year 80: Twenty years have flown by. With accumulated effort, your Martial Dao Realm Breakthroughs to Bone Refinement Eighth Stage!]

"Boom!"

Inside Jiang Lan's body, his Qi and blood surged like a Dragon, emitting a rumbling sound as they crashed against each other.

The door of Wuwei Hall was pushed open.

"Nephew, are you setting off firecrackers?"

Jiang Lan: "..."

The panel retracted, and Jiang Lan looked up at the newcomer.

It was Chen Heguang, who had just left not long ago.

"Why are you back so soon?"

Chen Heguang sat down confidently in the main seat.

"The Centurion went to report to the Chiliarch."

Jiang Lan awkwardly twitched his lips.

He already knew what would happen next.

The Chiliarch would then report to the Demon Suppression Envoy, and the Demon Suppression Envoy would then report to the Division Chief.

"Things aren't peaceful lately. Lan'er, it's best if you don't stick your head out."

"Go on a public errand?"

"Yes, things have been too unpeaceful lately. The Green Lantern Sect managed to massacre two villages right under the Imperial City's nose. Isn't that a slap in the face for our Demon Suppression Division?"

Chen Heguang continued:

"So, the higher-ups will probably send people to guard the various nearby villages to prevent demons from causing trouble."

"I want to go."

"Are you crazy?"