Henry Thompson quietly circulated the power within his body. Although this circulation wouldn’t increase his strength, it would generate a warm current throughout his body.

　　This warm current could relieve fatigue, clear the meridians, invigorate the blood and dissolve stasis, and restore a man’s vitality.

　　By circulating it this way, he could sit cross-legged on the meditation mat all day without his legs going numb.

　　For a Daoist, this was a very practical skill.

　　He didn’t know what to call this power. It was different from physical strength and energy, more like a ball of qi that filled his whole body. Once it left the body, it would instantly dissipate, becoming formless and intangible.

　　In this world, there were many proper cultivators, so he naturally knew about the existence of true qi. That was the manifestation of the world’s spiritual energy within the human body, the foundation of all mystical arts and Daoist techniques—profound and mysterious.

　　But the difference was, true qi had to be strengthened through breathing exercises and circulating it through the body’s meridians. As for Henry Thompson’s power, the only way to enhance it was by leveling up through defeating monsters.

　　If not for this, why would he risk “danger” to bully lantern monsters?

　　That’s right—even the slightest risk was still a risk.

　　In his view, as always, this world was simply too dangerous!

　　Demons, monsters, ghosts—all collectively called evil beings.

　　On his very first day after crossing over, Henry Thompson witnessed a tragic incident caused by an evil being.

　　Brother Niu Er from the neighboring village was dragged away by a water ghost.

　　And his family, in order to retrieve his body, had to painfully offer sacrifices to that water ghost before they could recover his remains.

　　A human tragedy.

　　Later, because he was a Daoist, Henry Thompson saw a few more cases of evil beings causing trouble, leaving a deep shadow on his modern soul, which had grown up under the red flag and in the spring breeze.

　　Even after his strength improved and he helped resolve some of these incidents—usually quite smoothly—

　　Killing was one thing, but fear was another.

　　He was well aware that he was just in a tiny corner of this vast world. There were countless powerful demons, monsters, and ghosts out there.

　　When it came to evil beings, a healthy sense of awe was always necessary.

　　As the Daoist scriptures say: Young people shouldn’t be too hot-headed.

　　Objectively speaking… the current era could definitely be considered a time of peace and prosperity.

　　The world was now under the rule of the Heluo Dynasty.

　　This was a powerful feudal dynasty.

　　The Heluo Ji family, who established the dynasty after a soul-stirring war between gods and demons, had ruled for nearly eight hundred years and remained as solid as a rock.

　　Internally, there was a well-developed bureaucracy; externally, a powerful national army. Commerce flourished, and the laws were strict. Regarding evil beings, the court had special agencies to handle such incidents, and in the martial world, there were many sects of cultivators passing down their traditions.

　　The founding emperor of Heluo personally conferred titles on twelve immortal sects, established the Immortal Imperial Examinations, and encouraged cultivators to eliminate evil and uphold the Dao.

　　Both Daoism and Buddhism, both civil and military paths, were happy to contribute their strength to protect the peace of the land, and in doing so, expand their own followers.

　　But the empire was simply too vast. No matter how many cultivators there were, if you encountered an evil being, no one could guarantee they’d save you in time.

　　At best, they could avenge you…

　　Yuhang Town was an administrative district under the Heluo Dynasty, in Jiangnan Prefecture, subordinate to Hangzhou City. As for Ten-Mile Slope, as the name suggests, it was ten miles outside Yuhang Town. If you divided it further, it might even belong to some village.

　　Sometimes Henry Thompson wondered if, as a transmigrator, he was being a bit too timid.

　　It’s been almost a year, and he still hadn’t left the beginner’s village.

　　But then he’d think again.

　　You didn’t give me any of the perks a transmigrator should have.

　　Some get an old grandmaster as a mentor, others get all sorts of fancy systems, and at the very least, there should be some super, super, super, super, super divine artifact, right? And me?

　　Not even a spiritual root for cultivation.

　　Just a monster-slaying, leveling-up ability, having to diligently grind little monsters every night just to gain a “barely noticeable” bit of strength.

　　Thinking of it this way, Henry Thompson felt at peace.

　　Leaving the mountains? Impossible. He’d never leave the mountains in this lifetime. Without a cheat, all he could do was farm lantern monsters to barely level up.

　　The people of Yuhang Town were all talented, spoke so nicely, he absolutely loved it here!

　　……

　　The sun was shining, white clouds drifted lazily.

　　Cicadas chirped happily in the trees.

　　In the Daoist temple, the young Daoist quietly waited for incense-offering visitors in the front hall, while the old Daoist quietly looked at picture albums in the back courtyard.

　　This was what they called peaceful times.

　　The air was filled with the fragrance of photinia flowers.

Chapter Three: There’s Nothing That Can’t Be Solved With One Sword

　　As the afterglow of the setting sun fell over the mountains and the sound of a shepherd boy’s flute signaled his return at dusk,

　　Henry Thompson stood up from the meditation mat as usual, stretched his body, and straightened the creases in his Daoist robe.

　　Another day with not a single incense-offering visitor.

　　It was only at this moment each day that Henry Thompson’s mind and body truly belonged to himself, and he became a truly free person.

　　To put it simply, he was off work.

　　Even though he hadn’t done anything all day.

　　Such was the plain and unremarkable, yet dull, life of a young Daoist.

　　He turned to the back courtyard to start preparing dinner.

　　After the master and disciple finished their meal, he stood up and said to Brian Sullivan, “Master, I need to go out for a bit.”

　　Brian Sullivan nodded gently. “Be careful.”

　　“Yes.”