Chapter 24: The Astonishing Nightshade!

Shang Lu immediately employed the Ape Walk technique, nimbly evading the attacks of the Bean Soldier and closing in on it. The Ox-tail Blade flashed out of its sheath, casting dazzling light as it cleanly and decisively split the Bean Soldier in half once more.

The Bean Soldier tried to block with its Sprout Spear and Sprout Blade, but was unable to withstand the strike and was cut down along with them.

The bailiffs gathered around the training ground erupted in astonished cries once again.

"Has Constable Shang mastered Bone Cleaving?"

"Wasn't he supposed to have damaged organs and lost all cultivation? When did he recover, and even advance?"

The bailiffs of Luo River County all knew that Shang Lu had previously suffered grievous injuries, nearly dying. They were aware he had lost his cultivation, becoming a cripple who couldn’t even fend off a mad dog.

Today, seeing that Shang Lu was not killed by the Bean Soldier but had instead passed the cultivation test was already shocking enough. Who could have guessed the surprises Shang Lu brought would continue?

Not only had he recovered his cultivation, he had broken through to mastery of Bone Cleaving. It was simply incredible!

Many, amidst their shock, turned to Du Feng for answers. "Old Du, did your Chief Shang have some sort of extraordinary encounter?"

Du Feng could only grin foolishly, happy for Shang Lu. As for how Shang Lu had regained his cultivation and advanced, he had no idea.

Other white-robed constables who had once followed Shang Lu were asked the same questions, but they were even more clueless.

Some offered them congratulations. After all, the improvement of a chief constable’s strength was good news for those under him—having a powerful leader meant better chances for survival and merit. Even if conflicts arose with other constables, having a strong chief ensured their words carried more weight.

Yet these white-robed constables could not bring themselves to feel happy. Though they hadn’t officially switched allegiances, their attitude was clear: earlier, they ignored Shang Lu entirely, showing they no longer regarded him as their chief.

At this moment, not only were they wracked with regret, but also gripped with fear. If Shang Lu decided to settle accounts with them, their new chief would neither have grounds nor courage to intervene.

Sun Ying, upon seeing Shang Lu's recovery, was already stunned. Now, witnessing Shang Lu break through to Bone Cleaving mastery, he was left dumbstruck, muttering repeatedly, "Impossible, this can’t be… Where did something go wrong?!"

As astonished cries and discussions filled the air, the Bean Soldier that Shang Lu had split in two rejoined itself. Its broken Sprout Spear and Sprout Blade regrew onto its rotund body.

The Bean Soldier rose, flexed its body, and its power surged once more.

The bailiffs around the training ground assumed Shang Lu would have to admit defeat this time. This was a Bean Soldier comparable to peak Bone Cleaving mastery!

Surely Shang Lu couldn't possess peak Bone Cleaving strength as well?

Yet Shang Lu astounded them once again. He did not surrender, but raised his blade to meet the Bean Soldier, fighting it to a standstill, neither side able to gain the upper hand.

"Impossible! Does Constable Shang truly have peak Bone Cleaving cultivation?"

Many thought so, but none dared voice it aloud, not wishing to be proven wrong yet again.

The bailiffs all stared wide-eyed at the fierce battle, hardly daring to breathe.

After several exchanges, Shang Lu spotted an opening and defeated the Bean Soldier.

Only then did the bailiffs erupt in yet another round of astonished cries.

"Peak Bone Cleaving! Constable Shang really has reached peak Bone Cleaving!"

"This… this is absurd!"

"Just months ago, Constable Shang was lying in a coffin waiting for burial. Not long ago, he was a cripple who couldn’t even beat a dog, and now he has peak Bone Cleaving strength… Does dying once somehow bring sudden advancement?"

Some speculated that Shang Lu must have been concealing his strength all along.

Sitting beneath the awning, the county magistrate gazed at Shang Lu with an amused expression. Afterward, he withdrew his gaze and looked toward the registrar beside him, squinting as if deep in thought.

Sun Ying, meanwhile, felt his whole body go weak, nearly collapsing to the ground. He could not fathom how Shang Lu had recovered his cultivation, let alone advanced to peak Bone Cleaving.

Wasn’t it said that Shang Lu’s organs were damaged, and that without years or even decades of recuperation, recovery was impossible? Weren’t accidents supposed to be rare, not happen one after another? Yet here they were, happening before his eyes!

Sun Ying cursed himself for listening to Chief Ma back then. If only he had eliminated Shang Lu early on, none of this would have happened. The one basking in glory and reward on the training ground might have been him.

Rage and regret churned in Sun Ying’s chest, nearly making him spit blood.

"Shang Lu, peak Bone Cleaving, assessment passed. Awarded a piece of Spirit Fat, as encouragement!"

The shaman did not have the Bean Soldier continue testing Shang Lu. Whether because the Bean Soldiers’ strength only reached peak Bone Cleaving, or because he believed Shang Lu could not have Pulse Opening cultivation, he simply announced the result.

A swirl of black mist appeared to Shang Lu’s left. A pale monstrous hand reached out from the darkness, handing him a blackened food box.

Other bailiffs felt fear and dread toward the monstrous hand, but Shang Lu experienced a peculiar sense of familiarity.

Before he could examine it closely, the hand withdrew into the mist, which then vanished.

Shang Lu put away the food box and turned to look at Chief Ma, who had barely passed the cultivation test, and Sun Ying, whose face was twisted with venomous resentment. He grinned broadly.

Next, it was time to settle the accounts between us.