Chapter 7: Chapter 7: Choices
Translator: 549690339
"Hmm, the Ninth Rank warrior of Postnatal Realm involved in a murder case is indeed stronger than the petty thief we kept under arrest." Shen Zhui thought to himself.
The amount of Good Deeds acquired is related to the target's sin and cultivation level.
Usually, the higher the cultivation level and the deeper the sin, the more Good Deeds one can earn.
Once the number above someone's head turns red, it means that this person's sin has reached the point of execution.
"As for the warriors of the Postnatal Realm, from the First to Ninth Rank, even if the sin is profound, there is a limit to the amount of Good Deeds that can be acquired due to the cultivation level. It will generally not exceed ten thousand.
Liu Bin, a warrior on the Ninth Rank of the Postnatal Realm, granted me 7,600 Good Deeds, which is a normal amount." Shen Zhui contemplated.
If only the sin is considered, not the cultivation level, then Shen Zhui wouldn't need to look for those with high cultivation levels. He could simply choose those with low cultivation.
Of course, the system wouldn't allow Shen Zhui to exploit such loopholes.
"It seems, If I want to accumulate merits, I will have to find those with great sins, who can be executed directly. And, the higher their ranks, the better."
Previously, when I captured Yang Cheng, in the Sixth Rank of the Postnatal Realm, I merely acquired 160 Good Deeds.
Now, by killing Liu Bin, I have gained 7,600 Good Deeds. The speed of accumulation of good deeds is simply incomparable.
Of course, the difficulty is not of the same level.
Capturing Yang Cheng required almost no effort from Shen Zhui, while killing Liu Bin nearly cost him his life.
Now, I have to rest and recover for more than half a month.
With a slight sigh, realizing that the herbal smell was getting strong in the furnace, Shen Zhui decided to focus his attention on finishing the preparations of these herbs he had bought with dozens of taels of silver.
Thankfully, as a county court catcher, being injured while handling cases is a common occurrence, thus, he was familiar with preparing all kinds of medicinal decoctions.
Once the decoction was ready and consumed, Shen Zhui could feel a warmth spreading throughout his body, his face turned ruddy, and the emptiness within him was relieved a bit.
"Thump, thump, thump!"
Just as Shen Zhui was about to have his second bowl of the medicinal decoction, knocking sounds were heard from outside the courtyard.
Upon opening the courtyard gate, he found a minor official often seen following Secretary Liu.
The minor official was holding a wooden box, he explained his purpose upon seeing Shen Zhui.
"Captain Shen, by the order of Secretary Liu, I am to deliver this item to you."
Shen Zhui hurriedly bowed his thanks before receiving the box.
"May I ask sir, what could this be?"
The minor official smiled, "All I am responsible for is delivery. As for what's inside, you'll know once you open it. This is a gift from the county magistrate, Secretary Liu knowing of your need for rest, made sure I delivered it to your hands. It likely has something to do with your situation."
"I am grateful for the county magistrate's and Secretary Liu's kindness. It must have been inconvenient for you to come all the way here. Please come inside to rest for a bit."
"Captain Shen is too kind. Secretary Liu instructed that you should rest at home and can decide for yourself when to return to the office. I need to go back to report, so I won't trouble you further, goodbye."
"Have a nice journey, sir."
...….
"The county magistrate has given me something?" After seeing off the guest, Shen Zhui returned to his room and placed the square box on the table.
"Let's see what it is." Upon opening the box, inside was blue silk padding where two porcelain bottles were neatly arranged with soft seals at the opening.
A faint fragrance emanated, causing Shen Zhui's spirit to shake.
"This fragrance is…" Shen Zhui was taken aback, quickly opening one of the bottles.
"Great Restoration Pills? They're actually Great Restoration Pills!"
Shen Zhui was somewhat excited, these two bottles are actually filled with Great Restoration Pills, amounting to ten in total!
"The county magistrate has been quite generous to me..." Shen Zhui couldn't help but sigh.
In this world, one tael of silver could support a poor family for two months. For an average family, their monthly expenditure is only ten taels of silver.
And yet a single Great Restoration Pill on the market would cost five hundred taels!
Five hundred taels, enough to buy a decent residence in the county town!
Ten Great Restoration Pills are worth five thousand taels!
With Shen Zhui's current Ninth Rank status, earning fifty taels a month, even including bonuses from case solving, it would take almost a decade of saving without eating or drinking!
"They previously granted me a one-off promotion along with a Great Restoration Pill, and now again gifted me with ten more…" For some reason, Shen Zhui felt weighed down by this reward.
He is not a fool. There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
In Shen Zhui's mind, the county court, the county magistrate, and himself had a simple relationship like that of a company, a boss, and an employee.
If you consider the previous unexpected promotion, Shen Zhui felt that it was because his performance deserved the reward.
But now, the reward that is ten times as rich as before… in this world, the meaning is quite clear.
"This is blood money…" Shen Zhui muttered to himself.
Regardless of whether the county magistrate intended or not, or he thought so, once the reward fell into Shen Zhui's hands, he should be aware of this.
After mulling over it for a bit, Shen Zhui made up his mind.
"Now, even without this reward, in the eyes of outsiders, I am already seen as the county magistrate's man."
"The county magistrate represents the orthodoxy of the government, adheres to the law, is a just official, and for the past two years, there has been peace and stability under his watch. He has cracked down on powerful clans and local tyrants, he is indeed a rare good official."
"I, a humble commoner, have been continuously promoted and favored by the county magistrate. This could be considered a grace of knowing and meeting."
"Moreover, isn't it still selling my life if I work for someone else? If I don't work for the county magistrate, should I side with the Li and Yang families instead?"
"Besides, I only need to be aware of this, it doesn't necessarily mean that I have to do something life-threatening for the county magistrate. I just need to have enough strength to protect myself, demonstrating greater potential… Even if there is a major task to be done, in this struggle between the county magistrate and the local powers, I won't be considered an expendable pawn."
"The better I do, the more resources I will get, and my safety will be more assured."
"On the contrary, if I were to behave like Yang Wu, wavering on the fence, or join forces with the Li and Yang families, it would be a real danger if the situation changes."
Having thought through all this, Shen Zhui cheerfully opened the bottle, poured out a smooth, pale green pill, and happily swallowed it.
The medicinal effect spread throughout his body, a strong Qi circulating through his meridians, gently healing his various injuries and replenishing the Qi he had lost.
The Great Restoration Pill is not a healing medicine, but a Qi replenishing substance, which perfectly replenishes the Qi damage Shen Zhui has suffered.
One Great Restoration Pill had previously helped Shen Zhui break through the Eighth Acupoint, successfully reaching the Eighth Rank of the Postnatal Realm.
Now, using it simply for recovery, the effect was naturally even more extraordinary.
"Pop~"
A slight sound came from his body, as a stream of Qi essence instantaneously materialized.
Afterwards, the pace increased, with a series of sounds erupting.
"Pop pop pop pop~"
By the time Shen Zhui opened his eyes, he had already recovered fourteen streams of Qi essence.
After resting for two or three more days, he will be able to fully recover to the peak state of sixteen streams.
"Between gaining and losing, the third layer of the Blood Burning Technique has made some progress. Indeed, a martial artist makes breakthroughs in the midst of life and death battles."
"I'm only a hair's breadth away from reaching the Great Achievement Realm in my movement techniques. Instead of being in a hurry to take on assignments related to the Ninth Rank of the postnatal period, I'll first use my Enlightenment Time to perfect my movement to the level of the Great Achievement Realm!"
Getting off the bed, Shen Zhui opened the door to his room.
"System, exchange half of my Good Deeds for 'Enlightenment' Time."
"3800 Good Deeds can be exchanged for 38 seconds of Enlightenment Time. Would you like to exchange now?"
"Yes."
"Successful exchange! Countdown for 38 seconds of Enlightenment Time starts, 37, 36,..."
Shen Zhui gracefully walked into the courtyard and started training in the Flowing Cloud Step.
At the moment the countdown for Enlightenment Time began, Shen Zhui suddenly recalled his fight with Liu Bin.
"Die!" An illusionary figure appeared in his eyes, looking exactly like Liu Bin, swinging a blade towards Shen Zhui's head.
With a light step, Shen Zhui moved to the side; the short knife passed right in front of his chest, slashing thin air.
"Kill, kill, kill!" The illusionary figure of Liu Bin wielded his knife manically.
However, Shen Zhui was unarmed, only moving around furiously, never ceasing to 'dodge' Liu Bin's attacks.
"Shh, shh, shh~"
In just a few seconds, Shen Zhui had dodged thirty-four of Liu Bin's blows.
Shen Zhui was immersed in this imagined battle scenario, continually repeating his evasive manoeuvres, becoming more familiar with the movements of the Flowing Cloud Step.
"Seeing and recognising is Enlightenment."
He identified his shortcomings time and again rapidly correcting them based on previous scenarios.
Gradually, there was a hint of natural fluidity in Shen Zhui's movements.
Liu Bin's slashes were faster, one after the other, and in no time, Shen Zhui had dodged over twenty slashes!
"Buzz~"
A slight tremble began to rise in Shen Zhui's mind.
A mistake in evasion!
The twenty-ninth slash, Liu Bin's short knife grazed Shen Zhui's rib.
Shen Zhui came to a realization, and continued to dodge.
But shortly after, the thirty-second slash cut his left arm!
Shen Zhui's consciousness began to blur, with beads of cold sweat seeping from his forehead.
"Shh, shh~"
The fifty-sixth slash! Shen Zhui bent over, and the blade passed right above his nose!
The sixty-sixth slash! Liu Bin's short knife swung upward, the blade narrowly missing Shen Zhui's face.
The seventieth slash! A swift uppercut with the short knife held under his armpit!
The eighty-third slash…
The ninety-fifth slash…
…
"Ah!"
Shen Zhui jolted awake!
Liu Bin's hundredth slash, 'decapitated' him directly!
"Three, two, one, this Enlightenment Time has ended."
The countdown ended.
There was nothing in front of Shen Zhui, no Liu Bin, no injuries.
Everything that just happened was merely a product of his imagination during the Enlightenment Time. However, the sweat on his body was real.
"With the battle with Liu Bin as a reference, I only managed to sustain a hundred attacks by solely dodging. Of these, I completely avoided only sixty-eight blows. It is still a bit away from the standard of seventy-five necessary for achieving the Great Achievement Realm."
Shen Zhui frowned slightly, carefully recalling the practice session he had during the Enlightenment Time.
"I am very close to reaching the Great Achievement Realm, but what is the issue..." Shen Zhui muttered.
"Especially Liu Bin's desperate hundredth slash. The final slash was unavoidable; if I don't resist, I will die. Even achieving the Great Achievement Realm of bodily movements may not guarantee complete evasion."
Unfortunately, the 38 seconds of Enlightenment Time didn't help him break through to the Great Achievement Realm.
It's not that Shen Zhui didn't want to exchange Good Deeds for more powerful 'Enlightenment' Time.
But he only had 7600 Good Deeds. If he exchanged them for 'Enlightenment' Time, he would only get seven and a half seconds of experience, which wasn't enough.
"I thought I was only step away from the Great Achievement Realm and there was no need to save Good Deeds to exchange for Enlightenment Time. Now I realise, the Great Achievement Realm for body movements is much harder to breakthrough than I imagined."
Shen Zhui shook his head, but he didn't lose heart.
"System, exchange the remaining Good Deeds for another 38 seconds of Enlightenment Time."
"Successful exchange. Countdown for 38 seconds of Enlightenment Time begins, 37,36,35..."
With every passing second, Shen Zhui remained unmoved, closing his eyes and recalling the thirty-two slashes he had 'received' earlier.
When the countdown ended, Shen Zhui opened his eyes.
"Body movements are coordinated around the waist, utilizing the muscles of the stomach, chest, shoulders, and back. Different schools use different methods but usually involve expanding and contracting, dodging and attacking, twisting and turning, charging and bumping."
"I missed two slashes because I wasn't using my waist and stomach muscles properly... I'm certain I can dodge them this time..."
Shen Zhui smiled.
Although all of his 7600 Good Deeds were spent, and he still hadn't broken through to the Great Achievement Realm.
He was only five dodges away from the seventy-five dodges required to achieve the Great Achievement Realm.
This meant that his evasion success rate had slightly improved.
"Improvement is always good. Other martial artists might need three or five years to achieve what I can achieve in one hour of Enlightenment Time... it would be terrible if I haven't improved at all during 'Enlightenment' Time."
'Enlightenment' Time isn't a cure-all. One must have accumulated some knowledge and skills.
For example, a martial artist who has never learned blade techniques, and doesn't even know what blade techniques are, regardless of how much Enlightenment Time they had, it would be useless. There'd be nothing for them to comprehend.
Or someone with a mental problem, who doesn't have the ability to comprehend.
For Enlightenment Time to work, first, there must be some accumulated knowledge, and secondly, one must have a certain level of comprehension.
Of course, with 'Enlightenment' Time at this level, Shen Zhui estimated it would still help him break through to the Great Achievement Realm. But if he wants to breakthrough to the 'Complete' Realm afterward.
'Enlightenment' Time might not be as effective as it is now.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone