[ Ding! Consumed 400 Crit Points, Qi Guiding Art critical hit successful! ]
In an instant, an unimaginable torrent of world-destroying energy wildly surged through every limb and bone in his body.
It launched a fierce assault toward a higher, more profound realm on the path of martial arts!
The final three levels of the Body Tempering realm were Organ Refining, Viscera Refining, and Aperture Opening!
This was a process of transformation from the inside out, far more dangerous and difficult than the first six levels.
Ordinary martial artists, even with sufficient resources and cultivation techniques, would need years of painstaking effort to break through a single level.
One careless misstep, and they would suffer damaged internal organs or severed meridians.
But Lin Feng had the system!
The first wave of energy surged precisely toward his five organs.
Every impurity within them was expelled, replaced by life essence so vigorous it reached the extreme!
Seventh Level of Body Tempering, Organ Refining completed!
The torrent of energy did not pause in the slightest before charging toward his six viscera.
Eighth Level of Body Tempering, Viscera Refining completed!
The breakthrough continued!
The final and most crucial step.
Aperture Opening!
The human body had nine apertures: the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, tongue, and the two apertures of the lower body.
These nine apertures were bridges connecting the human body to the outside world.
When that immense energy surged toward all nine apertures across Lin Feng's body, he felt as though his entire world had changed!
His five senses and six perceptions received an explosive enhancement!
His body seemed to have formed a faint, almost imperceptible connection with heaven and earth, allowing him to sense the flow of spiritual energy between them with far greater clarity!
Ninth Level of Body Tempering, Aperture Opening perfected!
"Whew..."
When the last trace of energy merged into his body, Lin Feng slowly opened his eyes.
With a light clench of his fist, there was a bang as the surrounding air exploded in his grip, forming a visible ring of airwaves!
He could feel a terrifying power within his body, enough to move mountains and fill seas!
A thousand pounds of strength? Under the tenfold critical-hit multiplier, his punch now carried the force to shatter ten thousand pounds.
The next day, news spread through Qingyang County like a magnitude-twelve earthquake.
The Black Tiger Gang was gone!
The Black Tiger Gang, which had entrenched itself in the city for years and lorded over others, one even the County Office had to treat with deference.
Overnight, it had been uprooted entirely!
Gang Leader Wang Ba, along with more than a hundred core gang members, had all perished. Not a single one survived; every one of them had been decapitated!
And the one who had done all this was neither some fierce dragon crossing the river nor an encirclement by government troops.
It was Lin Feng, the new constable at the County Office who had not even been there for a month.
One man, one blade, one night—and a century-old gang had been slaughtered to the last!
When this news spread, everyone's first reaction was disbelief!
It was too absurd!
More absurd than the Mountain God appearing in a dream!
But when countless bold citizens flocked to the entrance of the Black Tiger Gang's main hall and saw the corpses littering the ground and the hellish bloody scene, they believed it.
What followed was endless shock, along with wild joy rising from the depths of their hearts!
"Heaven has eyes! Those beasts from the Black Tiger Gang have finally received their retribution!"
"Lord Lin! Lord Lin is the true upright official of Qingyang County!"
"From today onward, whoever dares say a bad word about Lord Lin, I'll be the first to risk my life against him!"
The entire Qingyang County emptied into the streets as the people poured out of their homes of their own accord.
They beat gongs and drums and set off firecrackers.
At that moment, Lin Feng's reputation reached an unprecedented peak!
The County Office presented an entirely different scene.
Dead silence.
A silence as grave-like as a tomb.
All the constables sat stupidly in their places like ducks with their throats seized, not daring even to breathe loudly.
They looked at Lin Feng's empty seat, their eyes filled with a fear a hundred times stronger than what they felt when facing demons.
That was not a man. It was a God of Slaughter wearing human skin!
From Head Constable Li Gang's office came a loud crash, as though someone had been so frightened that he fell from his chair.
Zhao Dehai, the county magistrate, a local official renowned for his "steadiness," sat blankly in his study for a full hour after receiving the news before finally saying three words in a trembling voice.
"Invite... him in."
When Lin Feng entered the County Office's main hall again, the treatment he received had undergone an earth-shaking change.
Every constable, regardless of seniority, rose to their feet and bowed respectfully to him.
"Lord... Lord Lin!"
Their voices were filled with awe and trembling.
Lin Feng walked straight to the center of the hall and looked at Zhao Dehai, who sat high above.
Zhao Dehai's expression was complicated. There was shock, there was admiration, but more than anything, there was deep apprehension.
Looking at the young man before him, he understood perfectly well.
The small temple of Qingyang County could no longer contain this true dragon.
After a long silence, Zhao Dehai slowly spoke, his voice somewhat dry. "Lin Feng, the Black Tiger Gang... was it truly all your doing alone?"
"Yes."
Lin Feng's answer was simple and forceful.
Zhao Dehai took a deep breath, as though he had made some momentous decision.
"Head Constable Li Gang colluded with bandits, embezzled funds, and perverted the law. His crimes are heinous!"
Zhao Dehai slammed the judge's block, his voice ringing like a great bell. "Guards! Seize him! Throw him into the death cell and await judgment!"
Several trusted yamen runners rushed in from outside and headed straight for Li Gang's office.
Before long, Li Gang's pig-slaughter screams and pleas for mercy came from within.
Evidently, Zhao Dehai had already investigated last night's events thoroughly.
After dealing with Li Gang, Zhao Dehai turned his gaze back to Lin Feng.
"A nation cannot go a day without a ruler, nor can an office go a day without a head. From this day forth, Constable Lin Feng is promoted to the new Head Constable of Qingyang County Office! He will manage the county's public security and criminal apprehension!"
When this order was announced, the constables present felt not the slightest jealousy. Instead, they all breathed a sigh of relief, bowed again, and shouted in unison:
"Congratulations, Head Constable Lin! Congratulations, Head Constable Lin!"
What a joke. With such a God of Slaughter becoming their immediate superior—
If they did not hurry to declare their allegiance, were they courting death?
Lin Feng was not surprised by this. He merely cupped his hands calmly and said, "Thank you, sir."
He had not become head constable for power, but to more conveniently... search for Crit Points.
After the meeting, Lin Feng formally took over the head constable's office.
The moment he sat down, a shrill voice rang out in his mind.
"Congratulations, Master! Congratulations, Master! You've risen to the position of head constable! Master, you are accomplished in letters and martial arts, your virtue shall endure for a thousand autumns and ten thousand ages, and you shall unite the martial world!"
Huang Fugui crawled out from some corner, stood upright, and frantically bowed to Lin Feng.
"Enough. Stop babbling."
Lin Feng scolded with a smile. "If you have something to say, say it."
"Hehe, Master, this lowly one has already hidden all the Black Tiger Gang's and Li Gang's valuables. And while investigating the city these past few days on your orders, this lowly one really did uncover something interesting."
"Oh?"
"You know Steward Zhang in the east of the city, right? That big-headed Zhang who deals in silk."
"This lowly one discovered that something is wrong with his household."
"What kind of wrong?"
"Every few days, his household buys large numbers of live animals from outside—chickens, ducks, cattle, sheep, everything. But strangely, no one has ever seen them eat any of it, nor have they ever seen bones or anything of the sort thrown out. Those animals simply vanish into thin air."
A sharp gleam flickered in Huang Fugui's mung-bean eyes.
"Also, this lowly one caught the scent of a faint, lingering... bloody smell deep in the rear courtyard of his home. That smell is different from ordinary blood. It carries a sinister taint!"
Raising live creatures?
A sinister bloody smell?
Lin Feng's eyes narrowed at once.
He thought of a possibility.
"The Moon Worship Cult..."
He had happened upon that name while reading through information about this world.
A demonic cult that worshipped evil gods, used living creatures and even living people as blood sacrifices, and raised demons.
Could it be that a demonic cult was actually hidden within this tiny Qingyang County?
"Interesting."
"Huang Fugui, keep a close eye on him. I want to know exactly what secret his home is hiding."
"Got it! Master, just wait and see!"
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