Hearing Lin Yujing's words, Chen Zhou was surprised to learn that she had such martial arts talent.

He had thought his own awakened martial arts ability was impressive, but it seemed this local was equally gifted.

"Then why didn't you use it earlier?" he asked.

"Before the battle, you warned me not to steal your spotlight," Lin Yujing replied with a somewhat helpless tone.

"Since you gave me orders, I followed them. Besides, you finished them off so quickly that I didn’t get a chance to attack."

Throughout the battle, Lin Yujing had been playing a supporting role, assisting Chen Zhou the entire time.

"That’s true. Thanks again, Master Lin, for your help." Chen Zhou nodded at her.

Lin Yujing returned the nod. She couldn't help but feel a bit confused about the young man before her. He was polite and gentle when speaking to her, and with his handsome looks, he appeared to be the perfect gentleman, someone easy to like at first sight.

But when facing the enemy, he transformed into a completely different person. He was ruthless, decisive, sarcastic, and quick-witted, easily breaking his opponents' defenses with sharp words.

Which side of him was the real one?

Lin Yujing hesitated for a moment, recalling a scene she'd witnessed earlier: Chen Zhou had removed his long gown and covered the naked body of a young girl with it.

Well, maybe he really was a gentle person after all...

Lin Yujing shook her head, dismissing the thought, and continued:

"My martial arts talent allows me to subdue the demons I defeat."

"So if you encounter that female cat demon again, I hope you'll spare her life."

Chen Zhou blinked. "..."

Why does your martial arts talent sound like Pokémon...?

Seeing Chen Zhou silent, Lin Yujing asked again, "How about you?"

"Well, you, the bird demon, look quite like a bird..." Chen Zhou said, turning his head away to avoid looking at her.

"Time is running out. Let’s move."

Such an abrupt change of topic...

"Okay." Lin Yujing didn’t argue. She let the bird demon crawl down, and the two climbed onto its back. The next moment, the bird demon spread its wings and soared into the sky.

......

As the battle ended, the streets fell quiet again. After a few minutes, people began to emerge.

The battle had taken place on the streets of Changqing County, where many residents lived, but none had been affected. Street fights weren’t uncommon here, so the locals had become adept at avoiding danger, fleeing as soon as a fight broke out. Some braver souls even watched the whole battle from a distance.

When the people came out and saw the aftermath, they noticed the three paralyzed carriages and several corpses scattered across the streets. Most of the bodies were burned beyond recognition, their identities untraceable. Two bodies were particularly shocking: the corpses of two monsters, one large and one small.

The larger monster had been sliced in half, its head severed, while the smaller one had a huge hole punched through its forehead.

"Oh my goodness, these are cat monsters!" someone exclaimed.

"What happened? Even monsters showed up?" another person asked nervously.

"It was Young Master Chen and Master Lin fighting the Black Tiger Gang!" a young man in the crowd shouted. "Didn’t you know?"

Everyone turned to look at him. Seeing that most of the crowd was unaware, the young man puffed out his chest proudly and laughed.

"Afraid to even watch the fight, huh?"

He raised his voice and continued, "The two burned bodies were the chief and deputy chief of the Black Tiger Gang, and the monsters came from their carriage! Young Master Chen killed them all, I saw it with my own eyes!"

The crowd’s excitement grew at this revelation:

"My God! The Black Tiger Gang’s leader is dead?!"

"Haha, that’s great news!"

"I can’t believe there were monsters in the Black Tiger Gang. Damn them!"

"So it wasn’t Young Master Chen who ate the child, but these monsters?"

As they were discussing, someone shouted, "Come look here!"

The crowd quickly moved toward one of the carriages. Before they even got close, they smelled a strong scent of blood. Upon closer inspection, they saw the carriage was filled with severed human limbs and mangled body parts. The sight was hellish, and some even vomited on the spot.

The young man, his face pale, said, "This carriage... it belonged to the dead monster!"

Realization hit the crowd:

"The man-eater was a demon, hiding in the Black Tiger Gang all along!"

"It seems we’ve misunderstood Young Master Chen. He’s a good person, a true knight!"

"The yamen’s announcement was pure slander!"

"Anyone who says Young Master Chen is a man-eating monster will have to deal with my butcher, Zhang San!"

"Yes! Zhao Shuanghe is the real piece of filth. Chen Zhou is our hero!"

The more they spoke, the more excited they became. Chen Zhou’s reputation skyrocketed in the hearts of the people.

"Where’s Master Chen now?" someone asked.

Everyone turned back to the young man, who scratched his head and replied, "When they left, I overheard them saying they were going to kill the county magistrate."

The crowd fell silent. Everyone looked at each other, speechless.

At that moment, they all silently prayed: God, please protect Chen Zhou and help him kill that dog of a magistrate!

...

Meanwhile, Chen Zhou had no idea he had become a near-saint figure in the eyes of the people of Changqing County.

He sat on the bird demon, flying toward the county magistrate’s office with Lin Yujing.

"This bird demon’s name is 'Ling Qing'. It’s not strong in combat, but it can travel thousands of miles a day, making it perfect for travel," Lin Yujing explained. "It took a lot of effort to capture it."

"It’s definitely convenient..." Chen Zhou glanced down at Changqing County below, envious of the speed and freedom of flying.

Not only did it match the speed of a carriage, but flying high above the ground had its advantages: no detours, no traffic, and no worries about delays.

It’s a shame it wasn’t his.

"Master Lin, how many 'Pokemons' have you captured?" Chen Zhou asked.

"Pokemons? What do you mean?" Lin Yujing was confused.

"I mean, how many creatures have you tamed?" he clarified.

Lin Yujing smiled. "Not many, only four."

"That’s great! Forget being a warrior, you should become a summoner instead," Chen Zhou joked.

Lin Yujing frowned, puzzled. She realized there was another problem: He often said things she didn’t understand. When he mentioned "Hakimi" before, she didn’t want to ask, afraid it would make her seem ignorant.

"While we wait for the next wave of battles, we should improve our skills. We’ve learned the [Tu Na Method], so upgrading should be easy," Chen Zhou said, turning his focus to "The Record of Merit and Virtue."

After killing Li Qing, Zhao Zhiming, and the two cat demons, his good deeds had earned him 530 points.

"I wonder how much these 530 points will boost me..." he thought as he started adding them to his attributes.

As he concentrated, new words appeared in "The Record of Merits":

[You’ve successfully mastered a powerful breathing technique, allowing perfect control over your inner energy. You've now reached the second realm, level 5. Next, you need to temper your bones.]

After condensing the true essence of martial arts, the next step is to use it to refine the body from the inside out, beginning with the bones.

[Consuming 240 good deeds, you've successfully used pure essence to temper the bones of your torso. Your body is transforming, and a fragrant aura radiates from your skin.]

[You’ve reached the seventh level of the second realm.]

[Consuming 270 good deeds, your true energy now strengthens all 206 bones. Your body becomes solid and powerful, increasing the toughness of your bones and muscles.]

[You’ve officially entered the first level of the third realm!]

As the final message appeared, Chen Zhou’s aura surged dramatically, breaking through his previous limits with incredible force.

He felt his body growing warmer, his energy surging like an ocean. Beneath his smooth skin, muscles and bones had become as tough as jade.

"I didn’t expect to enter the Three Realms so quickly..." Chen Zhou mused, feeling a sense of euphoria as his vitality surged, his health bar growing to one-third of his field of vision.

"With this much health, it would take thousands of arrows to kill me..." Shen Zhou couldn’t help but smile inwardly.

He had finally become a true tank, and he was glad for it. After all, he had always feared running low on health in games since he was a child.

Now, with this thick health bar, he could rest easy, even if the world came crashing down around him.