Ranked Martial Arts

"Where did this idiot come from? Does he think our County Yamen is his home?"

"Hey, Li Family's Attendant, Cheng Shanhe. That fellow has always been hopelessly dense. He trained in martial arts until his brain turned to muscle."

Inside the prison, Shen Lin and Hu Dongxing looked as though they were whispering, but their voices were loud enough to be heard outside.

Not far away, Cheng Shanhe stood against the wall, veins bulging on his forehead. In the end, however, he merely snorted and forcibly swallowed his anger.

Seeing this, Hu Dongxing shook his head in disappointment.

I thought a little provocation would make this fellow lose control and cause trouble.

Then they could have driven him out with perfect justification.

With a sigh, County Lieutenant Hu said to Shen Lin, "Why did you come to the County Yamen in the middle of the night?"

"Hey, the cat at home was too clingy, so I came out for some air. As I was walking around, I ran into that fellow's disciple. He actually dared to draw his sword on me inside the County Yamen..."

Looking at Shen Lin's indignant expression, anyone who didn't know the truth would have thought he had suffered some enormous injustice.

Hu Dongxing said somewhat speechlessly, "You, honestly... But I've disliked that fellow for a long time. You did well this time. I'm very satisfied."

Shen Lin chuckled, then asked in puzzlement, "County Lieutenant Hu, what's going on here? That fellow and the other Meridian Opening Realm cultivator aren't people from our County Yamen, are they?"

At the mention of this, Hu Dongxing's expression became rather awkward. He said grimly, "After that incident when the Demonic Cultivator was silenced, the County Magistrate was extremely dissatisfied with me. This time, after we captured an important figure, he didn't trust me to watch over him, so he invited the Attendants of the Li Family and Zhang Family to help guard the prison."

"What important figure?"

Shen Lin pretended to be curious.

Hu Dongxing pointed toward the depths of the prison and let out a somewhat emotional sigh.

"That notorious flying thief!"

Shen Lin turned his head and took a look. The man bound to the wooden rack had disheveled hair and his head hung low, making his face impossible to see. Shen Lin couldn't help asking, "This flying thief... is he an outsider?"

Hu Dongxing's expression turned strange. Lowering his voice, he said, "A household thief!"

At that moment, the man inside the prison seemed to regain consciousness. He slowly raised his head, allowing Shen Lin to see his face.

Shen Lin was instantly stunned.

"Inspector Cheng???"

Although he had accepted Purple Crystal's commission to investigate the situation, Purple Crystal truly had not told him the identity of the captured person.

The so-called subordinate of hers was actually Cheng Yi, the Inspector of Qiulin County and a Meridian Opening Realm cultivator.

Cheng Yi was in charge of the Patrol Inspection Division. Not only was he a Meridian Opening Realm cultivator, but his status was also not much lower than Hu Dongxing's.

Such a person was actually a flying thief???

No wonder Hu Dongxing had looked so conflicted earlier.

"Can you confirm it?"

Shen Lin asked in a low voice.

Hu Dongxing lowered his voice as well. "Caught red-handed with the stolen goods!"

"Alas!"

Shen Lin sighed, then abruptly changed tack and began standing up for Hu Dongxing.

"The County Magistrate really... No matter what, they aren't our own people, are they? What does our prison have to do with them?"

Hu Dongxing's face was bitter as he helplessly said, "It's not a big deal. After all, I truly failed to handle my previous assignment properly and allowed that Demonic Cultivator to be silenced right before my eyes."

"Even so, you can't let these outsiders stay in our prison. If something really happens, can you rely on that fellow's brain? And they even share the same surname. Who knows, they might have some hidden kinship..."

"Shen! I've tolerated you for long enough!!!"

Cheng Shanhe finally lost his patience. With an angry roar, he was about to make trouble.

In the end, another Attendant from the Meridian Opening Realm kindly persuaded him and led him outside.

Shen Lin curled his lips and said to Hu Dongxing, "Just thinking about having to see that ugly mug of his every day in the County Yamen makes me sick."

Hu Dongxing shook his head. "It won't come to that! Cheng Yi will be executed tomorrow."

Shen Lin narrowed his eyes and pretended to be surprised. "That soon?"

"All those wealthy households who were robbed joined forces to push for it, and the County Magistrate didn't dare delay. After interrogating him all day today without obtaining any useful information, he decided to execute him tomorrow."

"They didn't find anything?" Shen Lin asked curiously. "Doesn't he have anyone else behind him?"

Hu Dongxing helplessly shook his head. "Cheng Yi is a real man! We used every method at our disposal, but he didn't even grunt."

After sighing with emotion, he changed tack and said, "The County Magistrate is also worried that someone is backing him. So executing him early is actually meant to test whether that person will reveal themselves."

Shen Lin smiled. "Tomorrow's execution ground will certainly be under heavy guard."

"That goes without saying!"

They chatted for a while longer. Shen Lin yawned, said goodbye to Hu Dongxing, and left.

Before leaving the County Yamen, he pretended to casually survey the surroundings. He discovered that the candlelight in several houses around the County Yamen had still not gone out.

Not only would the execution ground be heavily guarded tomorrow—even the County Yamen prison was under tight security tonight.

Creak~

When Shen Lin pushed the door open and entered, Purple Crystal immediately came forward and asked anxiously, "How did it go? Is he still alive?"

Shen Lin nodded without speaking. Instead, he stared straight at Purple Crystal.

Purple Crystal was startled at first, then seemed to realize something. Gritting her teeth, she said, "I desperately need the Meridian-Opening Pill. I can't give it to you. But after this is done, I can give you a martial art."

As though afraid Shen Lin would refuse, she hurriedly added, "It isn't an ordinary martial art. It's a High-grade Profound martial art."

"High-grade Profound?"

Shen Lin was somewhat confused. Martial arts are divided into grades too?

Understanding Shen Lin's confusion, Purple Crystal continued explaining, "Once you reach the Innate Realm and successfully absorb the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth, you'll discover that these martial arts activated with Blood Qi Power can no longer keep up in terms of might. Martial arts activated by the spiritual energy within the Innate Realm are called Ranked Martial Arts. Heaven, Earth, Profound, Yellow—the Heaven grade is the highest, and Yellow the lowest!"

Shen Lin truly hadn't known any of this before. But after hearing Purple Crystal's explanation, Ranked Martial Arts seemed to be somewhat better than the Meridian-Opening Pill.

After all, he currently possessed more than seven hundred years of Demon Lifespan. Even without the Meridian-Opening Pill, he should be able to break through the remaining two meridians.

But he had no way to obtain these so-called Ranked Martial Arts.

Thinking of this, he slowly nodded, agreeing to Purple Crystal's terms. Then he said, "Make your preparations. We'll set out soon!"

"We're taking action tonight?"

Purple Crystal was somewhat puzzled.

This was far too rushed. She hadn't had time to arrange many of her preparations.

"Tomorrow night works too, and it'll even be simpler—provided you know a resurrection spell."

Purple Crystal's pupils contracted. She asked in astonishment, "They're executing him tomorrow?"

Seeing Shen Lin nod, she immediately understood what he was thinking.

Although acting tonight was somewhat rushed, it was still simpler than storming the execution ground in broad daylight tomorrow.

After looking at the sky, Shen Lin said, "You should have other people working for you. Go out immediately and have them cause a disturbance somewhere in the city an hour from now, to draw away some of the County Yamen's manpower. Hurry. We'll meet at the County Yamen in half an hour."

Seeing Purple Crystal nod and leave, he rose and walked toward the study.

He had preparations to make as well.