The night was endless and sleepless.
The break of dawn.
Li Jing laid on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
The Time of the Sage.
It was routine after making love.
This was Li Jingâs first experience of such a state.
The events of the previous night lingered in his mind, feeling like a dream.
At this moment, Li Jing could hardly believe that it was all real.
But the warmth in his arms convinced him that there was no illusion.
Looking down at Liu Sisi, who was nestled in his arms like a kitten, with traces of tears at the corner of her eyes, Li Jing subconsciously tightened his hold on her.
His slight movement alerted Liu Sisi.
She fluttered her eyelashes and slowly opened her beautiful eyes.
Meeting his gaze, Liu Sisi smiled weakly at him and, in habit, tried to change to a more comfortable position.
Suddenly, she gasped from the discomfort and glared at him.
Li Jing laughed awkwardly, looking back up at the ceiling.
Seeing his reaction, Liu Sisi harrumphed, saying,
"Iâm hungry."
"Oh, Iâll get up and make you breakfast now."
Upon hearing this, Li Jing got up, dressed, and swiftly left the room.
Seeing how quickly he ran off, Liu Sisi tried to struggle up, then gave up and laid back down.
Even though it was their first time and Li Jing was very gentle, he was just too overpowering.
All night long...
Only when morning arrived did the intensity subside a little.
Who could bear this?
Liu Sisi had initially thought she could, even without experience, as she was strong enough.
As Li Jing had said last night, she is in the late-stage of the Three Realm.
Even this private affair, with a steady cultivation level of the Three Realm, she shouldnât have succumbed so easily.
But the reality was,
She "lost," and she lost completely.
She didnât know about others, but she felt that Li Jing had indomitable stamina.
Even for a Fifth Boundary being, one should not possess such inexhaustible power!
It felt like...
His physical training was so well developed that he had the stamina and endurance of a monster refining its body.
Without doubt, Liu Sisiâs perception was quite accurate.
In terms of pure physical strength, Li Jing, who had been in the Fifth Boundary for over a month and had been constantly refining his body, had a body comparable to that of a Great Demon of the Fifth Boundary.
But this physical power was something he didnât tend to use, whether in daily life or in battles, nor did he like to use it.
With his ability to cast several instant magic skills and even instant Control Objects Skill, the ultimate power of his spiritual weapon, why should he engage in physical combat?
Laying on the bed, Liu Sisi couldnât help recalling the previous night.
With a sweet smile when recalling those moments, she then winced as she massaged her sore waist.
For the first time in her life.
Liu Sisi thought having a slender waist wasnât such a good thing, perhaps it would be better if it was thicker.
Pulling up the blanket, she chose to close her eyes and meditate, using the Spiritual Qi within her body to soothe the pain in her waist.
She had to go to work later.
If not handled seriously, walking might become difficult.
...
Downstairs, Li Jing is busier than usual.
He has never been this busy in his life.
Of course.
It is necessary.
Once a loner, he has now made the physiological progression from a boy to a man, and his thinking has also evolved to a certain extent.
Not only has he become diligent in cooking, but he has also made a decision.
He must locate the Demon Beast Unionâs base in Jianghai City!
Each person knows their own situation best, like a fish knows the taste of water.
What he currently possesses is not enough to provide a carefree life for him and Liu Sisi.
Behind all good things, lies the responsibilities of a man.
To give Liu Sisi a better life, he needs to level up and earn money!
After busily preparing a hearty breakfast for Liu Sisi in the bustling kitchen, Li Jing sat down on the sofa, pulled out his phone and opened Yue Linglingâs live broadcast room.
Then, he found that Yue Lingling, who usually started streaming from late at night until noon the next day, had not started her broadcast.
Not only was she not online, but she also posted a notice in her live broadcast room, announcing a break for a period of time.
Thanks to Li Jingâs generous tipping last time, Yue Lingling had become a top streamer on the site with her fan base nearing a million.
With her announcement to pause her broadcasting, loads of messages could be seen in her chatroom.
There were those expressing concern, those questioning the situation, and some that were sarcastic.
Seeing Yue Linglingâs announcement to take a break, Li Jing immediately understood that she must have learned about the situation in the capital from the news and have realized the true nature of the Demon Beast Union.
Li Jing hadnât watched the news.
However, Chen Yuran mentioned last night that the General Administration in the capital had already reported to the Hua Country Inspection Bureau about their crackdown on the Demon Beast Union.
Such a major operation would certainly warrant a press conference to inform the public.
This situation must have had a significant impact on Yue Lingling.
With a soft sigh, Li Jing pulled up Yue Linglingâs Immortal Message number and began drafting a message.
"If you need any help, you can contact me. You are you, and the Demon Beast Union is the Demon Beast Union. You donât have much to do with them anymore. Better to let go of what you should let go of sooner."
After sending the message, Li Jing didnât expect Yue Lingling to reply, nor did he intend to bother her further. He turned his attention to Yulianâs Immortal Message number.
"Miss Yu, have you ever heard of the Demon Beast Union?"
Not long after the message was sent, Yulian replied.
"I have heard of it and tried to understand it, but couldnât find much. One of our companyâs former artists was from the Demon Beast Union. However, her bad behavior caused a scandal, and I had to let her go. Now, I donât know where she is or whether she is still in the art industry."
Just as Li Jing finished reading the message, Yulian sent another message.
"I guess youâre asking me about the Demon Beast Union because itâs related to the announcement about the nationwide crackdown? I saw it on the news. Also, a few Great Demon friends of mine who have signed the peace treaty have been invited by the local Patrol Bureau to assist in the investigation on the Demon Beast Union. I can try to glean some related information for you, but donât get your hopes up. The governmentâs public declaration to target organizations formed by demons makes all demons, whether Great Demons or humanoid ones from Third or Fourth Boundary, very sensitive. No one wants to get involved."
After reading this second message, Li Jing frowned slightly.
The grand operation in the capital indeed has a significant impact on the demons living among humans.
At such a critical moment.
Most likely, every demon will try to avoid getting involved and choose to lay low.
This is going to be difficult.
The Demon Beast Union is quite mysterious.
Even Yue Lingling, who is from the union, doesnât know much about it, let alone outsiders.
Now with the crackdown being carried out everywhere, the higher-ups of the Demon Beast Union are bound to go into hiding and temporarily cease all activities, as long as theyâre not stupid.
Without the help of the demons, itâs hard to find them.
The Patrol Bureau obviously understands this, and thatâs why theyâre trying to get the cooperation of Great Demons who have signed peace treaties.
After contemplating for a while, Li Jing started typing a message.
"Today is Saturday, you shouldnât be busy with company matters, right?"
Upon sending the message, Yulian quickly responded.
"Yes, Iâm home today. As I havenât signed any peace treaty, in the present sensitive situation, I wouldnât dare to go out unnecessarily."
"Alright, Iâll come over in the afternoon so we can talk face to face."
Li Jing replied to the message.
Just as he was considering if he should contact other monster friends he knew, Liu Sisi appeared in her Management Bureau uniform descending from the staircase.
Seeing Liu Sisi, Li Jing quickly put away his phone and stood up with a forced smile.
"Sisi, breakfast is on the table."
Liu Sisi responded with a simple "hm" and seeing his forced smile, she pouted and went to sit at the breakfast table.
Li Jing noticed her slight petulance, laughed awkwardly and joined her at the table.
"I might be busy for a few days."
"I know"
Liu Sisi replied while eating her breakfast.
"Itâs good that youâre busy, it saves you from harassing me."
"..."
Li Jing.
Liu Sisiâs word made him feel reminiscent of the good old days.
It seemed that after last night, she had completely given up on pretending to be nice and shy around him.
At this point, she really didnât need to keep pretending.
Similarly, the same went for Li Jing.
After eating a bit of breakfast, Li Jing said with a shy face.
"Despite being busy, I will still come back home at night, accompanying you to ârestâ wonât be a problem."
Liu Sisi paused mid-bite upon hearing this, gave him a "canât you have some shame?" look, and said in annoyance.
"I am not going anywhere, stop trying to harass me every day. You should be more careful out there when youâre working."
Continuing, she said.
"I havenât been at the Management Bureau for half a month, and I guess the Heavenly King Group is probably swamped with work. I may have to be busy for a while."
...
Having crossed that line, many invisible changes had occurred between Li Jing and Liu Sisi, making them seem much more like an old married couple than before.
Both of them were already well acquainted with each otherâs personalities and tendencies.
A fiery romance wasnât realistic for either of them.
They were both fairly mature types.
Being in a relationship shouldnât be a matter of life and death, that would be too childish.
Upon confirming their relationship, although they had become more intimate, they also faced a new barrier between each other.
Liu Sisi was naturally lively and Li Jing wasnât much different.
Both had been restraining their true personalities, trying to present the best side of themselves to each other. Who wouldnât want to appear perfect in front of their significant other?
One was striving to be the perfect boyfriend, and the other the perfect girlfriend, naturally there was a sense of restraint.
Simply put,
Both of them were pretending.
However, since they knew each other so well, trying to present a better self was quite challenging. Instead, they could only try to change themselves and present the âmost perfectâ version of themselves.
Those who are married would know.
Only when youâre truly in a family, can you see each otherâs true selves in daily life.
In this regard, both Li Jing and Liu Sisi agreed implicitly.
They were married in name.
And have crossed the line making them practically a couple.
As such, it was better to be open about it earlier.
Continuing to pretend, serves no purpose.
After all, they both knew the true character of the other, whatâs the need for pretenses?
...
After breakfast, Liu Sisi helped Li Jing clean up the kitchen, then went off to the Management Bureau.
Li Jing didnât hurry out, instead staying home and sending a message to Wushu.
Last night, Wushu didnât deliver the spiritual material he was supposed to exchange for Jin Rui Xin, Liu Sisi had asked to ârestâ before it arrived and he hadnât had time to wait.
Plans cannot keep up with changes, but Li Jing had already made arrangements.
It would be really awkward if his first ârestâ was interrupted by a courier, right?
When Wushu finally delivered the items, Li Jing without hesitation fed them along with the thirteen pieces of spiritual materials acquired from Mo Qi and Xu Jiayi to Linglong and Qingfeng.
The total value of the thirty-three high-quality spirit nurturing materials was close to „33 billion.
Feeding them down in one go was somewhat painful.
However, it was undeniably worth it.
Due to Li Jingâs consistent and cost-inefficient feeding, Linglong was able to trap Zhang Zhushi and Lu Yanran, and give them a sense of despair.
Otherwise, just with a spiritual tool of level five and the blessing of divine might, it might not have been so sturdy.
The attributes of a spiritual tool is an invisible trait that could offer infinite growth potential -- a key element.
Before determining the relationship of the properties of the tools, it is crucial to focus on the strength of the properties when seeking to change the relationships of same-tier tools.
To put it simply.
Water counters fire.
If their strengths are equivalent, fire is inferior.
However, as long as the fire is strong enough, it can definitely defeat water.
After feeding his two Spirit Weapons, Li Jing came to the North City Patrol Branch, replaced his shoulder badge and credentials.
Then he went to the Intelligence Department.
The task of striking the Demon Beast Union was entrusted to the intelligence department and the special action team.
These two departments were precisely where Lu Yangcheng and Yi Xiuzhu were stationed.
Since he knew someone there, it would certainly make things easier.
Li Jing hadnât planned to go to the Special Action Teamâs office.
The special action team was a combat assault department formulated to handle special cases. They often had to go out and had their independent standby residence and office.
When they had tasks, they would usually be on offsite duty, and there wouldnât be anyone if he were to go there.
Upon entering the Intelligence Departmentâs office, Li Jing quickly spotted Lu Yangcheng at a desk in a corner.
He hadnât seen Lu Yangcheng for months, and he seemed to have changed significantly.
At least on the surface, he seemed to be much more mature.
He didnât seem as careless as before and seemed more like a professional.
Lu Yangcheng was then discussing something with a female patrol officer over a tablet. Their movements suggested a certain level of intimacy and mutual understanding. They likely had been partners for some time.
Without thinking much, Li Jing walked toward him.
Before he got close, Lu Yangcheng noticed him and greeted with a smile.
"Oh! Isnât this Inspector Li from the Major Crimes Unit 6? What brings you to our Intelligence Department today?"
Lu Yangchengâs sarcastic tone was undeniable, showing that he had not changed much.
Li Jing was comforted by his tone.
Months had passed in a blink of an eye, although he had regular Immortal Message contacts with Lu Yangcheng and Yi Xiuzhu, they hadnât met face to face for quite some time.
"Itâs been a while since I last saw you, canât I come to visit?"
Li Jing smiled, turned to the female patrol officer who was sizing him up, reached out his hand and said,
"Hello, I am Li from Major Crimes Unit..."
Before he could finish, the female patrol officer reached out her hand and interrupted him with a coy smile.
"I know who you are, Li, the king of Major Crimes Unit 6. Youâve solved many major cases, and you once had a thing with the beauty of our North City Branch."
"..."
Li Jing.