"So, you all obtained your Acquired Divine Abilities related to your cultivation methods by cultivating those methods?" Lu Jun asked Li Tuo.
"Yeah... But not everyone is like you, suddenly awakening an Innate Divine Ability..." Li Tuo's voice was tinged with sourness.
"What's your Acquired Divine Ability?" Lu Jun asked curiously.
"Hehe, my ability is incredibly powerful. I can burrow through the earth and control soil..." After saying this, Li Tuo even demonstrated for Lu Jun. He jumped from his horse, and the instant he touched the ground, the earth softened. He sank into it in one go and even swam through the ground for a while.
"How about that..." Li Tuo said with a grin.
"Not bad." Lu Jun marveled.
Along the way, Lu Jun learned quite a bit about this world from the three members of the Demon Slaying Division.
For example, the land beneath their feet belonged to a nation called Dagan.
The country's regional administrative system resembled a combination of the provincial and prefectural-county systems from the ancient era of Lu Jun's previous life. The regions were divided into three levels: provinces, prefectures and states, and counties.
By comparison with Lu Jun's previous life, provinces were roughly equivalent to provinces, prefectures to directly administered municipalities, states to prefecture-level cities, and counties to counties.
Previously, the Huang Family Village where Lu Jun had stayed was, more precisely, located in Tannan Province, Yun Province, Nanxiang County, Qingyao Town, Huang Family Village.
Lu Jun's destination was the Yun Province headquarters of the Demon Slaying Division.
At the same time, Lu Jun learned that the blind old man's surname was Yun.
However, since Lu Jun had not officially joined the Demon Slaying Division yet, he simply addressed him as "Senior Yun."
Through their conversations, Lu Jun also learned that Old Man Yun's identity was far from ordinary.
The positions in the Demon Slaying Division were divided into seven ranks.
[ Sword Wielder, Bronze Robe, Silver Robe, Golden Robe, Commander, Division Head, Grand Executioner ]
They corresponded respectively to the seventh through first ranks of Dagan's official positions.
Because the missions of the Demon Slayer Envoys were so dangerous, even the lowest-ranking Demon Slayer Envoy held a seventh-rank official position. Naturally, no one had any objections. After all, these people fought demons and monsters on the front lines with their lives at stake. Who would dare complain about an official position bought with one's life?
Thus, Old Man Yun standing before them was a fourth-rank court official in a high position.
Even the two men beside him, who seemed to be along for the ride and whom the blind old man had brought along for experience, were sixth-rank officials.
Li Tuo bragged to Lu Jun, "Lu Jun, there's another benefit to joining our Demon Slaying Division that I have to tell you about."
Lu Jun glanced sideways at him.
Li Tuo said proudly, "We can execute first and report later—the emperor himself has granted us special authority. As long as anyone, any faction, or any court official shows even the slightest sign of involvement with demons and monsters, a Demon Slayer Envoy doesn't need to report to a superior. We can investigate directly. Anyone who resists will be killed without mercy!"
"How about it? Want to join?"
"I'll think about it," Lu Jun said indifferently.
The Demon Slaying Division's special authority was extraordinarily powerful.
He understood that this was a feudal era where a higher-ranking official could crush a lower-ranking one.
As things stood, having an official identity seemed quite useful.
What he least wanted to see was some unknown idiot getting in his way and babbling on to stop him while he was killing demons and monsters.
Horses had limited stamina. The journey from Huang Family Village to Yun Province was a long one and required a full five days.
In the blink of an eye, three days passed.
The group successfully reached the gates of Nanxiang County. They still needed two more days to arrive in Yun Province.
Old Man Yun spoke up. "It's getting late. Let's rest in Nanxiang County for the night."
The four of them entered the city and casually found an inn in the city center to rest.
As soon as Lu Jun returned to his room, he focused his eyes once more.
Very soon, words appeared before him again.
[Demon Slaughter Record] [Demon Evolution Abilities: Mirage of Flowers in a Mirror, Soaring Wind, Peerless Beauty]
[Demon Life Essence: 6472]
[Demon Life Essence can be used to increase the realms of martial arts and cultivation methods.]
"Martial arts realm..."
Along the way, Lu Jun had also asked Old Man Yun many questions about how cultivators in this world slew demons.
According to Old Man Yun,
Those with extraordinary talents awakened divine abilities naturally. Afterward, they only needed to raise their realms, and the power of their divine abilities would increase.
Of course, most cultivators instead learned cultivation methods after birth, mastered Acquired Divine Abilities, and used them to slay demons and purge evil.
Regardless of whether one possessed an Innate Divine Ability or an Acquired Divine Ability, a cultivation method was indispensable to becoming stronger.
Old Man Yun said that I performed meritorious service by killing the demons in Huang Family Village, and that I can claim a reward from the Demon Slaying Division later.
Why not use the merit from killing the demons in Huang Family Village to exchange for a cultivation method and start cultivating?
Otherwise, this Demon Life Essence will have no use.
Just then, a wisp of cool breeze drifted in through the room's window, and a voice traveled straight into Lu Jun's ears.
"Kid, sneak over to my room..."
Lu Jun raised his brows, rose from the bed, and Soared on the Wind out through the window and into Old Man Yun's room.
Inside the room,
Seeing Lu Jun float in through the window, Old Man Yun praised him. "Your Innate Divine Ability is truly useful. Normally, one would have to reach the Spirit Roaming Realm at the very least before being able to fly through the air."
"You've only just opened your acupoints, yet you can already do this. You can basically say that below the Spirit Roaming Realm, your life is almost guaranteed to be safe."
Lu Jun smiled lightly, displaying a calm, unhurried air.
"Senior Yun... did you call for me?"
"Mm." Old Man Yun nodded, then raised a hand and pointed to the spot beside him. "Sit."
Lu Jun sat down beside Old Man Yun.
"These days, Li Tuo and Yilin have already told you the basic knowledge of cultivation, right?"
"They have. Cultivators like us are collectively called Law Seekers. We cultivate and strengthen our divine abilities through cultivation methods."
"The cultivation realms are divided into the Realm of Opening Acupoints, the Realm of Heavenly Cycle, the Realm of Spirit Sea, the Realm of Dharma Aspect, the Realm of Spirit Roaming, and the Realm of Heaven and Man."
Old Man Yun nodded.
"Kid, you could be considered someone favored by the Heavenly Dao. Under normal cultivation, cultivators need to practice a cultivation method and then deduce their own innate divine abilities. This process takes five or six years just to break through to the Realm of Opening Acupoints."
"As someone with an Innate Divine Ability, you didn't need to spend five or six years. You opened your acupoints directly."
"Earlier, when you killed those demons and monsters, did you sense a warm current flowing around your body?"
Lu Jun nodded. "It was because of that current that I didn't feel very tired while killing them."
Old Man Yun continued, "That is true qi, the foundation upon which all of us Law Seekers use our divine abilities."
"One function of a cultivation method is to sense true qi, strengthen it, nourish it, and control it. Its second function is to evolve and enhance our divine abilities," Old Man Yun said.
"You performed the greatest meritorious service in killing the Yellow Sand Weasel demon in Huang Family Village and the Misty Mirage demon. Once you join the Demon Slaying Division, you'll be able to use your Merit Points to exchange for a good cultivation method..."
Then Old Man Yun suddenly smiled. "Of course, if you're in a hurry, I happen to have several good cultivation methods on hand. But if you learn one of my methods, you won't be able to exchange your Merit Points for another method at the Demon Slaying Division later."
Lu Jun's eyes lit up.
He understood why Old Man Yun had called him over.
This was clearly giving him a private lesson!
As one of the heads of the Yun Province Demon Slaying Division, any cultivation method Old Man Yun deemed worthy of his attention and kept in his collection was obviously better than those in the Demon Slaying Division's library—at the very least, by quite a bit!
"Thank you, Senior!"
Old Man Yun smiled and lightly waved his long robe.
Soon, three cultivation methods and a scroll were laid out before Lu Jun.
Before you continue