My Golden Core is a Star, do you call this cultivating?

Chapter 316: Old Martial Arts and New Martial Arts

The Luo residence and the Chen residence were separated by just one street.

The Luo family lived in the southern part of Yunyan County and ran a silk business, which was not only limited to Yunyan County but also reached an entire province.

Master Luo was known for his charitable deeds, often repairing roads and providing porridge, earning him a good reputation in Yunyan County.

Master Luo’s pride and joy was his son, a martial arts prodigy.

This young man, Luo Bufan, had exceptional martial talent and was even considered for a special recruitment by the Demon Subjugation Division to become a regional Demon Subjugation Envoy.

However, half a month ago, Luo Bufan went missing, causing a great stir in Yunyan County. Master Luo even offered a reward of 7,000 taels of silver to find his son.

Unfortunately, his son was never found. A week ago, the entire Luo family was killed, shocking all of Yunyan County.

On the same night, not only was the Luo family exterminated, but the Chen family also suffered a massacre—76 members of the family were killed.

The mass killings caused an uproar in Yunyan County, prompting the Demon Subjugation Division to come to Yunyan County to investigate the case.

Qi Yuan sipped on some thin porridge, sitting casually while his thoughts wandered, "There’s no glass, no cannons here. If I could produce these, wouldn't I make a fortune?"

This game was indeed suitable for building a foundation and developing technology.

But after some thought, Qi Yuan decided not to bother with it.

First, he needed to complete the task. He was also eager to return to participate in the martial arts tournament and was waiting to form his Golden Core.

“Sigh, such a pity that the young master of the Luo family and the young lady of the Chen family had just gotten engaged, only to face such a tragedy.”

Nearby, some townsfolk were whispering, their words filled with regret.

Qi Yuan stood up and stopped listening to these NPCs gossiping.

He had already gathered enough information.

Now, he headed toward the Luo residence.

As he approached the Luo residence, the entire street grew desolate, with even beggars rarely seen.

From a hundred meters away, Qi Yuan could smell the strong scent of blood.

In the distance, there were constables from the yamen who had set up a perimeter to prevent ordinary people from entering.

Was Qi Yuan an ordinary person?
No.

He was a player.

So, he swaggered toward the Luo residence.

Up ahead, a few constables were chatting.

Seeing someone approaching, one of the constables, Li Shu, lifted his knife and glared sideways at Qi Yuan. "Qi Er, what are you doing here instead of selling your pork? I almost mistook you for a high-ranking member of the Demon Subjugation Division. Gave your Grandpa Li quite a scare."

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

"I'm here to complete a task," Qi Yuan said earnestly, believing that sincerity was the ultimate weapon.

Qi Yuan felt these NPCs also had the right to know this was a game world.

"So, let me in quickly, so I can finish my task. I'm in a hurry to log out," Qi Yuan, who always followed the rules, reasoned calmly. If he wasn’t worried about drawing too much attention, he would’ve considered carving the word "justice" on his forehead.

Sure enough, Qi Yuan’s words left Li Shu stunned. “What’s gotten into you? Did you lose your mind because your child bride was taken by Master Huang?”

Huang Sijue wanted to take Qi Er’s child bride, and Qi Er had approached Li Shu for help.

As expected, Li Shu, despite owing Qi Er money, didn’t help at all.

At that moment, a pair of men and women dressed in black combat attire approached.

The round-faced woman, tall and holding a whip in her left hand, was leading a large black dog with her right hand. “What’s going on?”

Upon seeing them, Li Shu immediately changed his demeanor. “Two officers, this Qi Er is a butcher from the city. I don’t know what’s gotten into him, but he insists on going to the Luo residence. I suspect he might be involved in the Luo family massacre. Should we arrest him and throw him in jail?”

His words were quite malicious.

In these times, being arrested and imprisoned meant facing torture or even death.

Li Shu had always harbored ill intentions, thinking that by framing Qi Er, he could kill him.

That way, he wouldn’t have to repay his debt, and no one would ever find out about his setup.

Qi Yuan owed gambling debts and had used his child bride to pay them off, all part of Li Shu's scheme.

The round-faced woman glanced at Qi Yuan, a playful smile on her face. “He looks so handsome; he’s obviously a good guy. What a shame to be so handsome and work as a butcher.”

Her words left Li Shu speechless.

The man in black combat attire chuckled. “Focus on the task. Don’t get distracted.”

Clearly, the round-faced woman wasn’t new to this.

At this moment, Qi Yuan looked at the two of them with a curious expression. “Are you two also players? Players in a game world?”

He found it confusing.

This world was a large game, and within the game’s world, there were actually other players.

“Are you... a newbie?” The round-faced woman was surprised, her eyes suddenly lighting up.

“A newbie!” The man in black combat attire glanced at Qi Yuan and made a quick judgment.

The natives of this world wouldn’t use the term “player.”

“We’re not players; we’re from the Demon Subjugation Division!” the round-faced woman said. “Once this task is complete... if you’re still alive, we might become colleagues in the future.”

In this world, looks were justice.

Being beautiful alone was a crime, but when combined with other qualities, it was a deadly weapon in modern society.

If Qi Yuan were ugly, she wouldn’t have bothered to say so much.

The round-faced woman looked at Li Shu and smiled faintly, “He’s one of us.”

As she spoke, she placed her hand on Li Shu’s shoulder.

Li Shu immediately put on a smile, his forehead sweating. “I apologize for my ignorance!”

How did Qi Er get involved with the Demon Subjugation Division?

Thanks to the Demon Subjugation Division’s intervention, Qi Yuan got his wish and entered the Luo residence.

The round-faced woman looked around, still holding onto the large black dog, and smiled brightly, “You should thank me. That constable had ill intentions toward you, and I helped you solve the problem. You’re lucky this is your first task and you ran into a beauty like me. If it had been someone else, who knows how they would’ve tricked you?”

Just now, when she patted Li Shu’s shoulder, she did it to make a move.

Qi Yuan blinked his eyes. “He owed me money and hasn’t paid it back yet, and you just killed him?”

The man in black combat attire quickly chimed in, “Let’s not talk nonsense now. The task is what matters!”

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

“Little White, go sniff around and see if there are any clues,” the round-faced woman shook the leash, signaling the large black dog to go sniff around.

“This isn’t an ordinary dog; it’s a Tracking Dog, specially captured by An Qiao. It’s quite rare and valuable. The dog’s abilities are somewhat similar to those of police dogs in the real world. It can smell things that ordinary people can’t, which helps with our tasks. But this dog has a bit of a personality... tsk tsk,” the man in black combat attire enthusiastically explained to Qi Yuan.

Qi Yuan looked at the Tracking Dog. This dog had black fur, much like the black dogs from his home village, but compared to those energetic ones, this dog seemed lifeless and had a look in its eyes that could only be described as a blend of clarity and stupidity typical of a college student.

“Little White, hurry up and sniff around!” An Qiao urged the large black dog.

The large black dog lazily lay on the ground, not wanting to move at all.

The man in black combat attire laughed, “You want the dog to work, but you’re not feeding it properly.”

The Tracking Dog wagged its tail slightly, seemingly agreeing with the man’s comment.

An Qiao smiled slyly, “Good thing I was prepared. I cooked breakfast myself this morning.”

As she spoke, she suddenly produced a basket filled with steaming hot food.

“Storage space?” Qi Yuan turned to the man in black combat attire.

To Qi Yuan, the man in black was just another NPC meant to provide explanations, so he asked without any hesitation.

He had no shame in asking questions directly.

The man in black combat attire was also accommodating in his role, “This isn’t storage space. It’s a martial technique. Once you become a blood martial artist, you can also exchange for the techniques and practice martial arts skills. The principle of this technique is to use the energy and blood to create a space for storage.”

“Not bad, many paths lead to the same goal,” Qi Yuan commented.

Blood martial artists, comparable to Qi Refining practitioners, had something similar to a cultivator's storage ring.

That wasn’t bad at all.

You should know, it takes at least a Golden Core practitioner to refine a storage pouch or a storage ring.

Meanwhile, An Qiao took out the food and placed it in front of the Tracking Dog.

Qi Yuan looked at the dish, which was intentionally prepared, and immediately lost his appetite.

The Tracking Dog sniffed at the food expectantly, then rolled its eyes in disappointment.

The man in black combat attire chuckled.

At that moment, the Tracking Dog looked at An Qiao and spoke in human language, “How about you eat it first and then give me your leftovers?”

The food wasn’t meant for humans; the smell was repulsive.

Even a dog wouldn’t eat it.

The dog was so desperate it started speaking human language.

An Qiao’s face turned a dark purple, “You fat dog, eat it or not, quickly sniff around for clues!”

The Tracking Dog pouted, “You want the dog to work but won’t feed it well. You’re quite the dog!”

Still, despite its complaints, since An Qiao had already called it a fat dog, and it didn’t want to get on her bad side, it had no choice but to get to work.

It lowered its head, sniffing left and right.

Qi Yuan and the others followed behind it, scanning the Luo residence.

The Luo residence was empty, with some bloodstains on the ground.

Oddly, however, there were no signs of a struggle.

“Strange, no signs of a struggle, no signs of fire. Yet, all their bodies were burned to a crisp. It’s impossible to tell anything,” the man in black combat attire said, puzzled.

Last night, they examined the bodies, and all the corpses were burned to charcoal, giving off a foul odor and leaving them with no useful information.

“You’re so dumb. Clearly, they were burned after death, and as for who burned them, it’s obvious it was the county magistrate,” An Qiao said seriously.

Hearing this, the man in black combat attire became alert, “If it was him... then this matter is more complicated than it seems. But with a newbie in this mission, the difficulty should be low. This Yunyan County not only has three demon factions, but even the county magistrate also... has evil intentions. Something's not right.”

Usually, a newbie mission would be easy, with the toughest opponent being a blood martial artist-level demon.

This investigation mission shouldn’t have been difficult, but whoever exterminated the Luo family clearly wasn’t an ordinary demon.

After all, both the Luo and Chen families had blood martial artists.

Investigating such demons could be manageable for experienced individuals, but for a newcomer like Qi Yuan, it was almost a death sentence.

“Maybe it's because I'm special, so they gave me a slightly challenging task,” Qi Yuan chuckled.

“You’re lucky to have run into us,” the man in black combat attire remarked.

At that moment, the Tracking Dog spoke up, “Over here, I smell the scent of two demon races—one is a yellow weasel, the other is aquatic. Also, there’s a scent I recognize, but I can’t remember where I smelled it before.”

“It involves two demon factions?” The round-faced woman’s expression turned grim.

Yesterday, Chen Fan had mentioned that there were three demon factions in Yunyan County that they shouldn’t provoke lightly.

Two of these factions were the yellow weasel and the aquatic clan.

Now, this case involved both factions. How could they not be alarmed?

“The strongest in the yellow weasel clan is a peak blood martial artist. Among the four of us, only the captain is a match for him. In the aquatic clan, there are rumors of a demon even beyond the blood martial level. This is difficult!” The round-faced woman furrowed her brows.

Investigating this matter has somehow implicated two major factions, leaving them in a difficult position.

Qi Yuan looked at the big black dog and asked, “What’s the familiar scent?”

As for the yellow weasel and the aquatic clan, Qi Yuan had already planned to find them.

They were his mobile blood supply stations.

Now, he wanted to find out the true reason behind the extermination of the Luo and Chen families.

“I don’t know,” the Tracking Dog shook its head.

Qi Yuan felt a bit disappointed.

His eyes revealed much information.

But to him, this information wasn’t particularly useful.

For instance, he saw that Elder Huang had visited the Luo residence, as well as a demon from the aquatic clan.

At that moment, the Tracking Dog sniffed and approached Qi Yuan, giving him a sniff. “Strange... you also have a scent similar to the aquatic clan, but... it’s not exactly the same.”

“Have you encountered any aquatic demons?” the round-faced woman asked.

Qi Yuan squinted, lost in thought, “The aquatic clan... I don’t think so?”

Since arriving in this world, his eyes had been scanning for useful information.

He hadn’t encountered any aquatic demons.

As for his predecessor?
Even less likely.

He had arrived in this world in his true form.

As for Qi Er, he was long gone.

“How strange,” the man in black combat attire muttered, frowning.

At this moment, Qi Yuan asked, “Do you have martial techniques and skills here? Give me some. I want to learn, especially that storage technique from earlier. I’m quite interested.”

Qi Yuan asked for them shamelessly.

After all, they were NPCs.

If they wanted to trade, he would trade.

“Our martial techniques... aren’t for sale,” the man in black combat attire shook his head, “You’ll need to join the Demon Subjugation Division to exchange for them.”

“Seems like I need to find some martial arts manuals here,” Qi Yuan casually said.

Currently, his strength wasn’t strong enough, so he needed to learn some martial techniques and master martial arts skills to increase his strength.

“Don’t learn any martial arts here!” The round-faced woman quickly warned, “The martial arts here are... Old Martial Arts. Once you learn Old Martial Arts, it’s difficult to change paths later.”

“Oh? The setting is so complex; there’s a distinction between Old Martial Arts and New Martial Arts? Which is stronger?”

“We in the Demon Subjugation Division all practice New Martial Arts,” the round-faced woman An Qiao explained. “Even though Old Martial Arts and New Martial Arts might seem similar in this world, and their power might be the same, there’s a significant difference. Old Martial Arts are only effective in this world. In another world, an Old Martial Artist’s power would drop by a whole level. New Martial Artists don’t face this issue; their power remains consistent in any world. Many senior members of our Demon Subjugation Division unfortunately chose Old Martial Arts when they didn’t know better back then. What a pity.”

The round-faced woman looked regretful.

Qi Yuan paused in thought.

“Many worlds? Many games?”

“Yes, every time we complete a mission, we actually go to different... parallel worlds,” the round-faced woman replied. “Only New Martial Arts are universal across all worlds.”

Qi Yuan squinted his eyes. “This setup... sounds like it’s related to the Greater Truth Realm of the Yang God.”

“Yang God, Greater Truth Realm? What’s that?” An Qiao looked puzzled.