Maniac Killer It's a Trap

"Why was Luoding Village slaughtered..."

This question puzzled not only the Chen Yi within the simulation, but the Chen Yi outside of it pondered it often as well.

"Setting that aside, I still need to make contact with martial artists. Didn't I just get new cultivation techniques?"

Chen Yi knew his third brother-in-law was a martial artist, which was why he always chose to seek refuge with his third sister whenever the option arose.

Wandering the Jianghu aimlessly meant he might never break into the circle of martial artists. Dealing solely with mortals wouldn't get him anywhere.

In the simulation, Shen Qingshan introduced Chen Yi to the fundamentals of the Martial Way.

For instance, as far as commoners were concerned, there were six realms of martial arts:

Body Tempering, Spirit Gathering, Soul Quenching, Golden Body, Spirit Ocean, and Spirit Condensation.

Why the qualifier "as far as commoners were concerned"?

Shen Qingshan explained:

"Because the realms above Spirit Condensation have nothing to do with common people. Anyone capable of reaching the Spirit Condensation Realm is already one in ten thousand—a dragon among men."

Then there was the quality of cultivation techniques, divided into:

Low Tier, Mid Tier, High Tier, Earth Tier, and Heaven Tier.

Shen Qingshan stated:

"You can pretend Earth and Heaven Tier techniques don't exist. Each one is considered a strategic resource, firmly controlled by the imperial family and top martial factions. They wouldn't easily teach them even to their own people.

For ordinary martial artists like us, possessing even a High Tier technique would be considered a profound stroke of luck."

The Shen family had once been glorious.

But now, the family's fortunes had declined to the point where only Shen Qingshan remained. The fact that he could still hold onto four Mid Tier techniques was likely due to his ancestors begging every connection they had down in the underworld.

When a faction declines, its resources are inevitably carved up by stronger powers, making it difficult to leave anything for future generations.

The four techniques Shen Qingshan gave Chen Yi were the External Art "True Sun Art", the Internal Art "Blazing Heart Art", and the Martial Skills "Shen Family Spear" and "Cloud Burning Hand".

Martial skills were used for combat—one was a spear technique, the other similar to a palm technique.

External Arts cultivated Blood Qi, which Chen Yi had learned in his previous simulation.

Internal Arts, on the other hand, cultivated Spiritual Qi.

When a martial artist reached the Ninth Stage of Body Tempering and their Blood Qi peaked, they needed to cultivate an Internal Art to condense Spiritual Qi, thereby breaking through to the next realm—the Spirit Gathering Realm!

Shen Qingshan was a Spirit Gathering Realm martial artist.

In a small county town, possessing a Spirit Gathering cultivation base placed him among the top-tier fighters.

Furthermore, Shen Qingshan held a notable position in the Demon Slaying Division; he was a Small Banner Officer, commanding a squad of over a dozen Demon Slayers.

[Year 2, Age 19.]

[Beginning Trait Extraction...]

[Extraction Successful!]

[Long Live Naps (White): You must take a nap after lunch, or you will be listless all afternoon.]

[Do you wish to adjust the Trait?]

[Yes/No]

[You selected No.]

[You stayed at your third sister's house for a year, training in martial arts with your brother-in-law. Although your martial cultivation realm did not increase, your proficiency in the techniques improved.]

[You switched your External Art from the Low Tier "Reckless Bull Strength" to the Mid Tier "True Sun Art", increasing the speed of your Blood Qi accumulation.]

[However, given your Low Tier Root Bone, it wasn't exactly fast.]

[You achieved entry-level mastery in the "Shen Family Spear" and "Cloud Burning Hand" successively.]

[With the support of these two martial skills, plus a year of sparring with your brother-in-law, your combat ability has greatly improved.]

[Introduced by your brother-in-law, you participated in the Demon Slayer assessment selection for the Baiyun County Demon Slaying Division.]

[Among the candidates, your martial cultivation realm was basically at the bottom.]

[But you possessed the "Serious Punch". During the matches, your opponents were constantly knocked senseless by your unexpected punches.]

[You successfully entered the Demon Slaying Division, becoming a Demon Slayer with a stable income.]

[However, Demon Slayers have no official establishment status; it is similar to being a contract worker.]

[One must reach the rank of Demon Slaying Envoy, like Shen Qingshan, to be entered into the Imperial Court's official registry and gain establishment status.]

[You joined Shen Qingshan's Demon Slaying Squad. You worked alongside your brother-in-law during the day and conveniently asked for martial arts guidance whenever you were free.]

[One day, Shen Qingshan received a mission from the Division.]

[A Bull Demon was wreaking havoc in Huowang Village, east of Baiyun County. Lead Officer Shen Qingshan led the team to purge it.]

[Your squad of Demon Slayers rode out of the city and arrived at Huowang Village.]

[Upon entering, the village looked peaceful. The elderly and children seemed happy and content; it did not look like a demon had been there.]

[You split up to investigate.]

[Vaguely, you heard a cry for help and chased after the sound.]

[With a bang, you pushed open the gate of a courtyard.]

[The sight of villagers' corpses strewn everywhere met your eyes, along with the smell of fresh blood in the air.]

[A black shadow suddenly lunged from a corner. You instinctively drew your sword to block.]

[The opponent possessed immense strength and a body as hard as iron. Before you could see clearly what it was, you were knocked to the ground.]

[Meanwhile, whether by coincidence or design, the longsword in your hand plunged into one of the corpses.]

[At the same time, heavy footsteps erupted outside the courtyard.]

[County Head Constable Han Sheng rushed in with twenty constables.]

[They entered just in time to see you pulling your sword out of the corpse.]

["Audacious Shen... Chen Yi! Breaking the law while knowing the law! Slaughtering eighteen people from three households in Huowang Village! Take him down!"]

[You were bewildered.]

Chen Yi: "I get it now."

The Chen Yi inside the simulation was in the middle of the situation and was too shocked to react immediately.

However, the Chen Yi outside the simulation, possessing a more rational and outsider perspective, had already seen through the essence of the event.

This was a setup.

This trap was originally intended for Shen Qingshan—the "Shen Qingshan Homicidal Maniac Incident" mentioned in the previous simulation.

But in this second simulation, Chen Yi was an added variable.

The trap meant for Shen Qingshan had accidentally fallen on him.

"The constables were obviously prepared and waiting here. They arrest whoever enters this courtyard. Does that mean it doesn't matter who gets framed, as long as there's a scapegoat?"

The only person who could mobilize the county constables and the Head Constable was the County Magistrate.

"There's something wrong with this Baiyun County Magistrate..."

Fortunately, it was just a simulation. Being framed didn't matter; he could treat it as stepping on a landmine in advance to avoid it later.

[Unwilling to be captured without a fight, you exchanged blows with the constables while explaining that you did not kill anyone.]

["Still making excuses! We saw it with our own eyes, how could it be false!"]

[Han Sheng was also a martial artist. Like Shen Qingshan, he was in the Spirit Gathering Realm.]

[Combined with the assistance of twenty constables wielding chains, you were no match for them and were bound by iron chains and captured alive.]

[Shen Qingshan and the Demon Slaying Squad arrived. Seeing the situation, they blocked Han Sheng's path.]

["Head Constable Han! What is the meaning of this? Why are you arresting my man? If you don't give me an explanation today, don't dream of taking him away!"]

[Han Sheng looked at him coldly.]

["Shen Qingshan, this Demon Slayer under your command slaughtered innocents and violated the ban using martial arts! Of course I have to arrest him! If you obstruct law enforcement, I'll arrest you too!"]

[Shen Qingshan huffed coldly.]

["Nonsense! I know exactly what kind of person Chen Yi is. Why would he suddenly kill people?"]

[Han Sheng sneered.]

["Take him back for interrogation, and we'll find out, won't we?"]