Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill, Fifth Layer

Luoshui City, West Gate.

Zhang Shan returned to Luoshui City with over a hundred Imperial Guards and more than a dozen carriages, his face brimming with excitement.

"This time, we really have your Battalion Commander Shen to thank. I'll have to think carefully about how to repay him."

Zhang Shan was all smiles. This expedition had been immensely profitable. In the diary Shen Qing obtained at White Cherry Villa, several moles had been recorded, and quite a few of them were big fish.

Although Zhang Shan's reinforcements had arrived a little late, he had still given his all. Naturally, Shen Qing would not shortchange him.

He directly gave Zhang Shan one of those big fish. Unexpectedly, that big fish was connected to a case Zhang Shan had been handling, greatly advancing its progress. Solving it was now within sight.

He truly needed to think carefully about how to repay Shen Qing. At the same time, he had a feeling that after suffering so much bad luck, it was finally time for his fortunes to turn—and Shen Qing was his benefactor.

Just as Zhang Shan drifted into his fantasies, the soldiers stationed atop the city gate suddenly rang the alarm bell and shouted.

"Fierce beasts!"

Zhang Shan turned around.

"Fierce beasts? What blind fool of a fierce beast would dare charge at Luoshui City?"

"Get ready!"

Seeing a Battalion Commander of the Imperial Guards holding the fort, the city guards felt somewhat reassured and drew their bows taut in preparation.

Yet they soon began to panic again. A glance from afar was enough to make their hearts tremble, and even Zhang Shan swallowed hard.

"What the hell is that? A fierce beast at the peak of the Xiantian Realm? Why would it come to Luoshui City?"

Very quickly, sharp-eyed Zhang Shan noticed something. There seemed to be someone on that white tiger's back.

But that discovery made his heart pound even harder. Having served as a Battalion Commander for many years, he had naturally seen much, and knew that martial artists in other places sometimes kept fierce beasts as pets or mounts.

As for using a Xiantian Realm fierce beast as a mount, that was a privilege reserved for Grandmaster Realm martial artists.

There was such a martial artist in Yongning Commandery—the Pacification Commissioner of Yongning Commandery. Not even the other two Battalion Commanders had one. But as far as Zhang Shan knew, the Pacification Commissioner only kept a golden eagle, which could not compare to this white tiger at all.

The white tiger was the king of all beasts. Whether in strength or difficulty of taming, it could leave a golden eagle ten streets behind.

Zhang Shan's eyes lit up. Could some extraordinary figure have arrived in Yongning Commandery?

The white tiger slowly approached.

Zhang Shan's expression gradually turned puzzled.

Why did the person on that white tiger's back look like Shen Qing?

But that could not be right. Shouldn't Shen Qing have returned to the Hundred Households Office to rest after destroying White Cherry Villa?

Yet the more he looked, the more it resembled him.

"Not sure. Look again."

"Fuck, it really is Shen Qing!" Zhang Shan's voice abruptly rose several notches. "No, wasn't he sleeping in the city? Where did he sleep up a white tiger from?"

Fang Ming also lowered the saber in his hand, craning his neck as he stared without pause.

Behind the white tiger, several horses trembled as they pulled carriages. More than a dozen wolf carcasses lay on the carriages.

Soon, the white tiger drew near, and Shen Qing jumped down from its back.

"Well, if it isn't Zhang Shan."

"Back from catching people?"

Zhang Shan sheathed his saber, took a deep breath, and pointed at the white tiger. "Catching people isn't important. This is...?"

Feeling the envious and admiring gazes of the Imperial Guards and guards around him, Shen Qing could not keep the corners of his mouth down.

He reached out and patted the white tiger's head.

"You mean this? Last night, I went out and slaughtered a pack of wild wolves that had escaped from Bailu Marsh, and happened to run into this white tiger."

"Ah, the moment it saw me, it insisted on following me. I couldn't shake it off no matter what. As for its strength, it's nothing much—just peak Xiantian Realm, I suppose."

The white tiger's huge eyes were filled with confusion. Was that how it happened? Then should I leave?

Zhang Shan's mouth twitched. He was only at the seventh level of the Xiantian Realm, and Shen Qing was telling him that he had gone out once and tamed a fierce beast stronger than him.

Just keep showing off. Who could possibly outdo you?

Zhang Shan spoke in a sour tone. "Shen Qing, let me tell you this—you won't have any friends if you keep this up."

Shen Qing laughed loudly. "Come on, come on. I'll stop teasing you. I killed a Xiantian Realm wild wolf. Let's head back to the Hundred Households Office for wine and meat."

"Let's go! Today, I'm drinking you broke!" Zhang Shan said viciously.

Shen Qing seemed to recall something and looked back at the white tiger. "Stay by the city gate for now. Rein in your aura first. If you enter the city like this, who knows what kind of commotion you'll cause."

The white tiger nodded pitifully. Could it blame its own aura? It was the king of all beasts, after all.

Very soon, the Imperial Guards followed Shen Qing into the city.

The white tiger also looked back toward the distant forest. If it ran away now, there was a good chance it could escape.

But after thinking for a while, the white tiger found a spot by the city gate and lay down.

Come to think of it, Shen Qing was not a bad person, and he was young and powerful.

To sum it up in one sentence—

Being Shen Qing's mount was worth it.

Not long after returning to the Hundred Households Office, Luoshui Treasure Pavilion delivered the Mysterious Jade Green Lotus.

After obtaining the Mysterious Jade Green Lotus, Shen Qing did not waste any time and immediately ordered the Imperial Guards to brew it.

Several enormous medicine vats were carried into Shen Qing's room. The faint sounds of dragons and elephants grew increasingly powerful as time passed.

At the same time, in the imperial palace of the Capital City, Wuyang Continent.

An elderly eunuch solemnly handed a memorial to the Empress, Zhu Lingyue.

A trace of surprise also appeared in Zhu Lingyue's golden eyes.

"Shen Qing?"

"How long has it been since he exposed the White Dragon Cult?"

The old eunuch calculated for a moment. "Reporting to Your Majesty, it has not yet been a month."

"Not even a month, and he has already stirred up so much trouble again. He really is someone who cannot stay still."

Zhu Lingyue smiled.

"If he wants to stir things up, let him."

"The martial world of the Wu Dynasty should indeed change. Let it begin with Yongning Commandery."

"I would like to see just how much he can stir up."

The focus returned to the Hundred Households Office.

Shen Qing stood quietly at the center of the pavilion.

Shen Qing had completely absorbed all the medicinal power. The Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill had successfully broken through to the fifth layer, and the strength of his physical body had reached an inconceivable level.

Shen Qing was familiarizing himself with his power, gaining inch-by-inch control over his body.

Suddenly, Fang Ming entered the courtyard.

"My lord, two people claiming to be Sijie Jinwu Guards have arrived. They insist on seeing you, Boss."

"I arranged for them to wait in the main hall."

Shen Qing slowly opened his eyes.

"Jinwu Guard?"

"Good."

The Jinwu Guard was one of the Wu Dynasty's Sixteen Guards and likewise answered directly to the emperor.

They served as guards, defending vital locations across the various continents and commanderies. They could be found at all kinds of treasure vaults and medicinal herb cultivation grounds. If the Imperial Guards were special police, then the Jinwu Guard were bodyguards—more formidable bodyguards, who sometimes also acted as messengers.

A Principal Sixth Rank post within the Sijie Jinwu Guard was equivalent to a Battalion Commander in the Imperial Guards.

Shen Qing lightly stepped forward and walked directly across the lake's surface toward the side hall.

Fang Ming also noticed that Shen Qing had been standing motionless in that pavilion since an hour ago, seemingly practicing some technique. He could not help but grow curious. Could this be some marvelous method of cultivation?

Fang Ming craned his neck toward the pavilion, and his pupils suddenly contracted. Inside was only a palm-sized block of tofu, its snow-white surface bearing a faint footprint.

"???"

Could it be that Lord Shen had been standing atop that tofu the entire time? For a full hour, and the tofu had not broken?

Just what level had his control over his body and true qi reached?

Fang Ming swallowed, his voice trembling slightly.

"Is Lord Shen... really still human?"