[Year 39, Age 56.]

[You replaced "Effort Guarantees Reward" with "Serious Punch".]

[You replaced "Photographic Memory" with "Badminton Expert".]

[On the day of departure, you didn't tell anyone.]

[Da Chun, Tian Wen, Shen Siqin, Xu Linglong, and that large group of your disciples and grand-disciples, none of them knew you had left Makou Town.]

[You were going to challenge the government this time, already prepared to go and never return, and didn't want to implicate them.]

Chen Yi outside the simulation knew that the 'him' inside was about to go all out.

So he swapped in the traits that could enhance combat power.

"It seems... after staying in the simulation for a long time, 'I' would blur the impression that 'this is a simulation', not as carefree as at the beginning, but with many more bonds."

Thinking carefully, wasn't the 'him' outside the simulation the same?

After living in this world for eighteen years, Chen Yi's feelings towards his family, fellow villagers, and friends were also genuine.

He couldn't completely detach himself.

Because he wasn't a cold-blooded animal.

It's just that, as a transmigrator, his thinking was more divergent and not completely confined by the background of this era.

[Baiyun County wasn't far from Makou Town.]

[Before long, you arrived beneath the familiar city wall of Baiyun County Town.]

[Times had changed. That young man who was conscripted into the army back then, now had a head of white hair due to his weak constitution.]

[Though aged, with the effect of "Ginger Gets Spicier With Age", your combat power wouldn't decline because of it.]

[You carried a heavy Flame Iron Greatsword and a long spear on your back, your gaze sharp. At a glance, you looked like a martial artist. The soldiers standing guard at the city gate only asked for your name, not giving you too much trouble.]

[You casually made up a name.]

["Chen Nan."]

[Due to the effect of "Monster Aura", you discovered from outside the city that Baiyun County was filled with floating monster aura everywhere.]

[Even after entering the city, you could still see wisps and strands of monster aura.]

[These monster auras had different colors, possibly representing that they came from different individuals.]

[The colors ranged from deep to shallow, thick to faint, possibly representing how long the monster aura had lingered here and the strength of that monster.]

[You discreetly gathered information for a few days.]

[Before taking action, you went to Yuelai Inn and found it had changed owners.]

[After asking the waiter, you learned that the original Proprietress had passed away from depression after her daughter was killed.]

[Only then did you know that in the year you turned forty, Old Liu escaped the pursuit of the eighteen sects of Sanjiang Prefecture and came to Baiyun County, where he carried out a massive slaughter using the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.]

[The Proprietress's daughter was killed by him.]

["Even without marrying me, the Proprietress couldn't escape the arrangement of fate..."]

[You didn't dwell on it. After eating and drinking your fill, you picked up your weapons and arrived at the entrance of the county yamen.]

["Halt! What business do you have!"]

[Without a word, you directly drew your sword. A flash of sword light, and the official fell to the ground. You swaggered into the yamen.]

["Someone is storming the yamen!"]

[The ordinary official runners were completely no match for you, who was at the Spirit Gathering realm.]

[You wielded the long spear, executing the "Shen Family Spear Technique", and went on a rampage within the yamen.]

[Among the constables and the constable chief of the yamen, there were also martial artists. That constable chief was close to your realm and didn't fall behind when fighting you.]

[With the opponent still having the advantage in numbers, it looked like you were about to be defeated.]

[But you hid basic attacks within your ultimate move.]

[Out of nowhere, you gave him two solid punches.]

["Badminton Expert" and "Serious Punch" stacked, unleashing a punch force twenty times your normal state!]

[That constable chief immediately saw his great-grandmother, had his liver pierced by your punch, and could no longer get up!]

[You spotted the County Magistrate in his official robes at a glance, crawling on the ground trying to escape amidst the chaotic crowd. You abandoned your opponent and rushed straight towards him.]

[The County Magistrate hid under the desk, trembling with fear.]

["Go quickly to the Dragon Protection Department and request the Chief Commissioner!!"]

[There was no time for him to call for reinforcements. You had already dragged him out from under the table like plucking a little chick.]

["Release the County Magistrate!"]

["You audacious madman!"]

["What kind of martial artist are you, to be so bold and reckless, aren't you afraid the experts from the Dragon Protection Department will execute your nine clans!"]

[The Dragon Protection Department was different from the Demon Slaying Division.]

[The Demon Slaying Division specialized in subduing demons and eliminating monsters, dealing with the calamities caused by the demon race.]

[The Dragon Protection Department, however, was similar to the Imperial Guards, a secret service organization. They didn't have publicly known bases or yamen, but were spread throughout the Great Qian Empire, very mysterious.]

[The primary task of the Dragon Protection Department was to maintain imperial rule.]

[Protecting local officials also fell within their scope of duties.]

["County Magistrate, long time no see."]

[The County Magistrate, whose neck you were gripping, glanced at you in terror.]

["Friend, do we know each other?"]

["I don't know you, but I know your father. I didn't expect the County Magistrate position to be hereditary. Just how many connections did your family pull?"]

["What connections! I passed the imperial examination on my own merit!"]

["Enough, stop the nonsense. I'm only here today to investigate two old cases. As long as you tell the truth, I might not kill you."]

["Y-you, speak..."]

[That previous fat and greasy County Magistrate was already dead.]

[The one before you now was his son, who had grown into the opposite extreme, skinny to the point of being skin and bones.]

["Over thirty years ago, a demon slayer named Chen Yi was sentenced to military service by your old man. Also, a Small Banner Officer of the Demon Slaying Division named Shen Qingshan was also sentenced by your old man for murder. Any impression?"]

["Uh... no impression of Chen Yi, but I have an impression of this Shen Qingshan. My father was seriously injured by him and died a few years later."]

["Why frame them for murder? What scheme was behind this?"]

["Friend, you must not make false accusations! My father adjudicated cases strictly and impartially, he never wronged anyone!"]

[You twisted and broke his arm.]

["Ah!!!"]

[The skinny County Magistrate screamed in agony, his whole body convulsing.]

[The official runners, seeing this, wanted to rescue him but were forced back by your imposing aura.]

["Don't come any closer! Otherwise, I'll kill him immediately!"]

[After saying that, you gripped the County Magistrate's neck again.]

["Don't waste time. Tell me... the! truth!"]

["Y-yes, it was a frame-up... the real culprit paid money... w-we found... people... to take the blame..."]

[Upon hearing this, the group of official runners looked at each other, whispering and discussing amongst themselves.]

[They probably really thought the two successive County Magistrates of Baiyun County adjudicated cases strictly and impartially.]

["Wrong, you're not telling the truth."]

["Th-this... is the truth... if this... gets out... my official hat... won't be safe..."]

["Finding scapegoats is normal, but scheming against a Demon Slayer and a Small Banner Officer, your old man must have had lard for brains! Speak! What was the real reason!"]

["I... this..."]

[The County Magistrate's face turned red and his neck thick from your choking, in great pain.]

[Seeing him hem and haw, you didn't hesitate to twist and break his other arm as well.]