Ascend to heaven? I'll send you to heaven.

Hu Dongxing's meticulous care was almost too much for Sun Zhi to handle.

Upon hearing Steward Qian's report that Sun Zhi had broken through to the Meridian Opening Realm, Hu Dongxing immediately dropped everything and rushed over.

It couldn't be helped. Although Qiulin County officially only had a few cultivators in the Meridian Opening Realm, there were countless hidden experts whose intentions were unknown.

While these individuals wouldn't openly cause trouble, they still posed a significant safety risk.

Just like the flying thief who had been active recently, who was suspected to be in the Meridian Opening Realm.

Hu Dongxing was stretched thin, constantly worrying about the safety of Qiulin County.

At the county yamen, although the county magistrate's two attendants were in the Meridian Opening Realm, they clearly wouldn't take his orders and only cared about the magistrate's safety.

Now, with Sun Zhi, his subordinate, breaking through to the Meridian Opening Realm, he finally had someone to share the burden with.

However...

Why wasn't the vital energy emanating from him as robust as expected?

Even though he was in the Meridian Opening Realm, his aura was similar to that of an ordinary Martial Artist.

This thought only lingered for a moment before Hu Dongxing dismissed it.

Steward Qian's report should be accurate.

After all, if Sun Zhi were still an ordinary Martial Artist, how could the pile of demon corpses from before be explained?

Those Fox Demons, judging by their size, were no ordinary small demons.

There was even a Wolf Demon in the Meridian Opening Realm.

It was normal for his vital energy to fluctuate slightly due to severe injuries.

Even though Sun Zhi had been through a lot and didn't directly deny anything, after he subtly pieced together the situation, he was completely dumbfounded.

When the hell did I become a Meridian Opening Realm cultivator?

And what was going on with Old Master Bai's family of Fox Demons?

So, the "next task" he mentioned referred to Old Master Bai's entire family?

However, he had attributed all the credit for this endeavor to himself.

Was he still trying to hide something and didn't want to reveal himself?

After some thought, Sun Zhi gritted his teeth and decided to play along with Shen Lin's plan.

He could easily confess everything when he met Hu Dongxing face-to-face.

But what good would that do?

Shen Lin was merely hiding his cultivation and acting cautiously; he hadn't committed any evil deeds or broken any laws.

If he revealed the truth, Hu Dongxing, and perhaps even the county magistrate, would be alerted.

It wasn't out of fear, but excitement.

At twenty years old, he was on the verge of breaking through to the Innate realm.

Such a genius, if recommended to the imperial court, would bring far greater merit than slaying any demons.

Shen Lin would likely be taken to the capital, perhaps join the Demon Suppression Division, or be recruited by other prominent families. In any case, it would be beneficial for him.

County Magistrate and Captain Hu would also rise through the ranks for their meritorious recommendation.

Everyone would win.

Only he would have offended Shen Lin.

There was no benefit to doing so.

Conversely, if he played along with Shen Lin...

At this thought, Sun Zhi's eyes lit up, feeling that his opportunity had arrived.

When Shen Lin achieved great success, wouldn't he also be able to soar to new heights?

"Sun Zhi's usefulness seems to be diminishing. Perhaps it's time to arrange an accident for him to atone for those brothers?"

Shen Lin put down the beast skin scroll in his hand and rubbed his eyes as he muttered.

Sun Zhi might not have realized that while he was thinking of following Shen Lin to rise in status, Shen Lin was thinking of arranging his "ascension."

Shen Lin naturally wouldn't trust someone who had sacrificed countless colleagues to demons as food.

After a moment of thought, he still shook his head, deciding to let Sun Zhi live a little longer.

That guy still had some use.

After all, if Shen Lin didn't want to attract attention, he would need an intermediary to exchange rewards from the Demon Suppression Division.

And Sun Zhi, who had gained prominence in the past two years, was a good choice.

With his decision made, Shen Lin's attention returned to the beast skin scroll before him.

The good news was that this cultivation technique obtained from the Bai family, the Qingqiu Body Tempering Art, was not just a cultivation method for the Demon Race.

He, as a human, could also cultivate it.

This is a body-tempering martial art. Through unique methods and the use of medicinal ingredients, it strengthens the body, greatly enhancing physical toughness. Once Great Accomplishment is reached, ordinary iron weapons cannot penetrate its defenses.

The bad news, however, is that this technique is incomplete. It can only cultivate one part of the body. That's why the fox demons of the Bai family previously only had unusually strong tails; the other parts of their bodies were not much stronger than those of ordinary Martial Artists.

After pondering for a moment, Shen Lin put down the beast skin scroll and took out the Meridian-Opening Pill.

Previously, he couldn't continue deducing the Gale Sword Technique and break through the fifth meridian because he lacked demon monster lifespan.

For now, he'd try ten years.

Taking a deep breath, Shen Lin closed his eyes.

In his consciousness, the system panel slowly unfolded.

[Year 1: You consumed the Meridian-Opening Pill. The pill dissolved instantly upon entering your mouth. The surging medicinal power enveloped your vital energy and forcefully slammed against the blocked meridian. The meridian, which had previously felt like unmovable solid rock, was easily opened by this medicinal power. Your vital energy surged forward unimpeded. By the time the medicinal power was depleted, the fifth meridian had been opened by two-thirds.]

[Year 10: Through your efforts, your vital energy has almost fully opened the fifth meridian. You feel only a thin membrane separating you from breaking through the fifth meridian.]

[Deduction complete!]

Shen Lin opened his eyes and found that the Meridian-Opening Pill, which had been in his hand, had vanished at some point.

Its effect was also quite significant.

A single pill had helped him open two-thirds of the fifth meridian, saving him over a hundred years of arduous cultivation.

No wonder other Martial Artists found it so difficult to break through to the Meridian Opening Realm without Meridian-Opening Pills.

Without any hesitation, Shen Lin chose to continue infusing.

[Year 1: You carefully sensed and mobilized the vital energy within your body, impacting the meridian countless times. The membrane was on the verge of collapse, but ultimately, it held firm.]

Even after infusing a year's worth of demon monster lifespan, he still hadn't broken through, but Shen Lin wasn't discouraged.

"Again!"

Another year of demon monster lifespan was infused.

After continuously infusing for four years, the content displayed on the system panel finally changed.

[Year 1: You continued to mobilize your vital energy to impact the fifth meridian. Countless attempts had already brought your mind to a state of tranquility, devoid of joy or sorrow. However, this time, when your vital energy broke through the obstruction and surged into the fifth meridian, your face still broke out in wild ecstasy.]

The fifth meridian, opened!

Shen Lin's consciousness returned to reality. He looked down at his hands.

After opening the fifth meridian, the vital energy within his body reached a new level.

His seemingly slender arms were now filled with enough strength to wrestle wolves and tear apart tigers.

There were 387 years of demon monster lifespan remaining.

So...

First, he would deduce the Qingqiu Body Tempering Art to Perfection and see which meridians this martial art was connected to.

As he pondered, the system panel unfolded once more.

However, after a moment, Shen Lin shook his head and canceled his plan for deduction.