After explaining everything, Chen Ada took his leave to return home.
These days, the streets aren’t very safe, so even he, the night watchman, is temporarily out of work.
As it was still early, Zhao Ya decided to enter the watchman’s room to rest for a while.
Chen Sanhu, however, was too excited to contain himself.
For a young man who loved martial arts since childhood, Zhao Ya, a disciple of Dingtai Martial Arts Hall, seemed very mysterious and powerful.
"Master Zhao, what realm are you in now?" Chen Sanhu asked cautiously.
Zhao Ya looked up at him, prompting Chen Sanhu to quickly explain.
"Uh... I’m just curious. If it’s inconvenient for you to say, just consider my question a joke."
"Third Realm," Zhao Ya replied.
"Hmm?"
"I’m in the Third Realm now," Zhao Ya said calmly.
Even though Zhao Ya’s strength had made a leap in progress over the past few months, anyone who hadn’t reached Great Success in Skin Grinding was still considered in the Third Realm.
Chen Sanhu’s eyes lit up with excitement.
In his eyes, the Third Realm was an unattainably high level.
For him, Zhao Ya, with his Third Realm strength, was akin to a deity.
"Master Zhao, you’re... so powerful!"
After struggling for a while, Chen Sanhu finally managed to stammer out the words.
Zhao Ya just smiled at his words, then stood up and said, "Let’s go, it’s time to take a walk outside."
"Alright!" Chen Sanhu replied happily.
Once they reached the street, everything was as usual.
Not to mention thieves, there wasn’t a person in sight.
But Zhao Ya was not careless; this gang of robbers dared to break into homes to rob and kill, clearly not just ordinary petty thieves.
Since he had taken on this task, he had to do it well.
The bounty task posted by Xiushui Square was clear: there was a fee for patrolling at night, and if robbers were encountered and eliminated, there would be an additional, generous reward.
So, Zhao Ya was somewhat hoping that the gang of robbers would appear soon.
Yet, whether by good luck or bad, the whole night passed peacefully, without incident.
When dawn broke, Kong Cun arrived again.
"It’s been a hard night. I’ve already instructed someone to prepare breakfast for Master Zhao. Eat before going back to rest."
Kong Cun was very considerate, so Zhao Ya had breakfast at Xiushui Square before heading home.
When he got home, Zui’Er was already up and quickly spoke upon seeing Zhao Ya return.
"Ya, staying up all night must be tiring. What do you want to eat? I’ll make it for you."
Zhao Ya smiled, "No need to trouble yourself; I’ve already eaten."
"Then hurry up and rest for a bit."
Zhao Ya went inside, lay down on the bed, and prepared to sleep.
But after sleeping just over an hour, Zhao Ya woke up.
Although the sleep was short, Zhao Ya felt refreshed and not the slightest bit tired.
This phenomenon became more pronounced as the unlocking progress of his liver increased.
Does this mean that once fully unlocked, he won’t need to sleep anymore? Zhao Ya mused.
In any case, it’s a good thing, at least providing more time than others.
After a simple wash, Zhao Ya went to the martial arts hall to continue practicing martial arts.
And so, he spent his days training in martial arts, and nights patrolling Xiushui Square. Over the span of several days, not only did they not encounter any robbers, they didn’t even see a single thief.
While Kong Cun naturally praised this, Zhao Ya felt a bit frustrated.
He had hoped to quickly deal with the gang of robbers, but as it turned out, it seemed as though the gang knew he was around and chose not to appear again.
Although patrolling still made money, it was rather dull.
That night, Zhao Ya was patrolling the streets with Chen Sanhu as usual.
After these few days together, Chen Sanhu had grown familiar with Zhao Ya.
He found that Zhao Ya did not have the arrogance typical of other martial artists, but was instead quite approachable.
Sensing this, he boldly asked Zhao Ya about matters of the Martial Dao.
Zhao Ya was also happy to have a way to chat and relieve his boredom, so he answered all of Chen Sanhu’s questions one by one.
"Master Zhao, this afternoon when I was training as you taught me, I suddenly felt the bones in my arms making noises. Is this a sign of Bone Refining?"
"Hmm, the bones in the arms are the easiest to refine. Once you can refine all the bones in your body, you’ll qualify as a First Realm Martial Artist," Zhao Ya said.
"A First Realm Martial Artist!" Chen Sanhu exclaimed, with a look of longing on his face.
Though First Realm Martial Artists are everywhere in the Commandery, even Second Realm isn’t rare, for a poor family child, achieving Great Success in Bone Refining is already a remarkable accomplishment.
He was just about to ask more questions when Zhao Ya suddenly stopped walking.
"What’s wrong, Master Zhao?"
"There’s movement," Zhao Ya said in a serious tone.
Chen Sanhu felt a chill run down his spine, startled.
"Is it... the robbers?"
"I’m not sure yet. You wait here; I’ll go check it out!"
With that, Zhao Ya lightly tapped the ground with his toes, soaring into the air, and disappeared into the darkness within a few leaps.
Standing there alone, Chen Sanhu shivered as he glanced at the desolate surroundings, gripping the firewood knife tightly in his hands.
Meanwhile, Zhao Ya followed the group of people into a small alley, then perched on the wall of a household to observe intently.
The group was clothed entirely in black, faces covered with black cloths.
They were whispering about something at the moment.
With Zhao Ya’s Concealing Breath Technique reaching Peak Performance, once he deployed it, it was almost impossible for even a Fourth Realm Martial Artist to notice unless they carefully observed.
This group certainly had no awareness of him.
"Boss, the Martial Artist patrolling is still there. Should we make a move?" one of the black-clothed individuals inquired.
The leader, a burly figure with their muscles stretching their clothes taut, exuded a rather imposing aura.
After mulling it over a while, he replied.
"I’ve already checked; that youngster, though a disciple of Dingtai Martial Arts Hall, only joined this year, and given his young age, he probably doesn’t have much skill."
"If we let ourselves be intimidated by this guy, we’d be laughed at by fellow Green Forest members. So tonight, no matter what, we must take action."
"Nonetheless, we need to plan well. Second brother, take a few men and guard the Kong family’s back courtyard to prevent anyone from escaping from there. The rest will break in with me. Remember, don’t cause too much commotion; aim to control everyone in the Kong family immediately."
"Understood!"
"I heard that Kong Cun’s daughter-in-law is quite pretty. Do you think we might savor some pleasure this time?" someone chuckled.
"We’ll see. If we can control everyone in the Kong family without causing a scene, then it’s up to you."
"Haha, then I want to be first!"
"I’ll be second!"
"And I’m third!"
This group even began debating their order, clearly not their first time doing such a thing.
Just then, a cold voice came from above them.
"You’re really seeking death, aren’t you?"
"Who!"
The sudden voice caused an uproar among the men in black.
The leader shouted urgently, drawing the blade from his waist to fight recklessly.
But in the next moment, a flash of blade light swept through the alley.
Subsequently, the leader’s head flew off in front of the terrified eyes of his subordinates.
With a thud, the corpse fell to the ground.
Zhao Ya, holding the Meteorite Iron Saber, stood before the corpse and smiled slightly at the remaining people.
"Who’s going to be the second now?"
The remaining ones were terrified, shaking in their boots.
They were a gang of robbers who had surreptitiously infiltrated from outside the city, with most having weak skills; only the person just decapitated by Zhao Ya’s sword possessed Second Realm strength.
Yet, even their strongest couldn’t withstand a single strike from Zhao Ya, a clear indication of the massive strength gap.
At this moment, they realized their intel was wrong.
This young man, though recently admitted to Dingtai Martial Arts Hall, was not weak at all.
"Why? No takers this time?"
No one dared to respond.
Zhao Ya sighed, glanced at the sword in his hand, and said blandly, "Since no one is contending, let the blade make the decision then."
Run!
The only thought left in the robbers’ minds was to flee.
Not even attempting to struggle, they sprinted out frantically.
However, at that moment, the alley filled with another flash of blade light, followed by severed heads falling.
Moments later, Zhao Ya slowly walked out of the alley, not a drop of blood on him, and merely smiled at the arriving Chen Sanhu.
"Go call people over and tell them the robbers who once terrorized Xiushui Square have been eliminated."