Hu Dongxing's meticulous care left Sun Zhi completely at a loss.
As soon as Chief Qian reported that Sun Zhi had broken through to the Opening Meridians Realm, Hu Dongxing immediately dropped everything and rushed over.
There was no helping it. Although only a handful of people in Qiulin County openly possessed the strength of the Opening Meridians Realm, who knew how many old foxes were secretly hiding their cultivation? Their motives were unknown.
Though these people wouldn't go around making trouble in broad daylight, they were still a huge security risk.
Take that Flying Thief who had been making frequent moves lately. He was suspected of being in the Opening Meridians Realm.
Hu Dongxing couldn't be in two places at once. He had been worrying himself sick over the safety of Qiulin County.
At the County Office, the County Magistrate's two attendants were in the Opening Meridians Realm, but it was obvious they wouldn't take orders from him. They only cared about the County Magistrate's safety.
But now, Sun Zhi, a subordinate of his, had actually broken through to the Opening Meridians Realm. At last, someone could share the burden on his shoulders.
It was just...
Why wasn't the Qi and Blood Force in his body as abundant as expected?
He had already reached the Opening Meridians Realm, yet his aura was about the same as an ordinary martial artist's.
The thought circled through Hu Dongxing's mind for only a moment before he dismissed it.
Chief Qian's report shouldn't be false.
After all, if Sun Zhi were still an ordinary martial artist, how could he explain that pile of demon corpses from earlier?
Judging by their size, those fox demons were no ordinary little monsters.
There had even been a wolf demon in the Opening Meridians Realm.
Perhaps their injuries had caused some fluctuation in their Qi and Blood Force. That would be perfectly normal.
Even with all his experience, Sun Zhi didn't immediately deny it. But once he'd subtly pried into the situation and gradually pieced things together, he was completely dumbfounded.
When the hell had I become an Opening Meridians Realm cultivator?
And what was the deal with Old Master Bai's whole family of fox demons?
So the next assignment he'd mentioned was dealing with Old Master Bai's entire household???
Still, Shen Lin had credited all the accomplishments from this trip to him.
He wanted to keep hiding his strength and avoid exposing himself, didn't he?
After thinking it over for a while, Sun Zhi gritted his teeth and decided to play along with Shen Lin's arrangement.
He could easily tell Hu Dongxing everything face-to-face.
But what good would that do?
Shen Lin was merely concealing his cultivation and acting cautiously. He hadn't committed any crimes or broken the law.
If Sun Zhi revealed the truth, Hu Dongxing, and even the County Magistrate, would probably be alarmed.
Not out of fear, but excitement.
Twenty years old, and on the verge of breaking through to Xiantian.
If they recommended a genius like that to the imperial court, the credit would be far greater than for slaying a few demons.
Shen Lin would be taken to the Imperial Capital. He might join the Demon Suppression Bureau, or be recruited by some other great Lineage. In any case, it would do him no harm.
The County Magistrate and Prefect Hu would also rise through the ranks for making a worthy recommendation.
Everyone would win.
Only Sun Zhi would have offended Shen Lin.
There was nothing to gain from doing that.
On the contrary, if he kept his head down and followed Shen Lin...
At the thought, Sun Zhi's eyes lit up. He felt that his opportunity had finally come.
Once Shen Lin rose to prominence, wouldn't Sun Zhi ascend to heaven right alongside him?
"Sun Zhi doesn't seem to be of much use anymore. Should I arrange an accident and send him to apologize to those brothers of mine?"
Shen Lin set down the beast-hide scroll, rubbed his eyes, and murmured.
Sun Zhi might have thought that following Shen Lin would let him ascend to heaven alongside him, but Shen Lin was thinking of sending him soaring straight to heaven.
Shen Lin naturally wouldn't trust someone who had fed countless of his fellow officers to demons.
After thinking for a while, though, he still shook his head and decided to let Sun Zhi live a little longer.
The man was still somewhat useful.
After all, if Shen Lin wanted to avoid drawing attention, he needed someone to act as his proxy and claim rewards from the Demon Suppression Bureau.
And Sun Zhi, whose reputation had risen sharply over the past two years, was a good choice.
Having made up his mind, Shen Lin turned his attention back to the beast-hide scroll in front of him.
The good news was that the cultivation method he'd obtained from the Bai family, the Qingqiu Body Tempering Technique, wasn't exclusively for the Demon Race.
He could cultivate it as a human, too.
It was a body-tempering martial art. Using a unique method in conjunction with certain medicinal ingredients, one could train the body and greatly increase its strength. Once mastered, ordinary iron weapons wouldn't be able to pierce its defenses.
The bad news was that the technique was incomplete. It could only be cultivated on one part of the body. That was why the fox demons of the Bai family had unusually tough tails, while the rest of their bodies weren't much stronger than those of ordinary martial artists.
After thinking for a while, Shen Lin set down the beast-hide scroll and took out the Meridian Unblocking Pill.
Previously, with no demon lifespan to spare, he hadn't been able to continue deducing the Wild Wind Sword Technique and open his fifth meridian.
Now, he'd try ten years to start with.
Shen Lin took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
In his consciousness, the system panel slowly unfolded.
[Year One, you swallowed the Meridian Unblocking Pill. It melted as soon as it entered your mouth, and its surging medicinal power wrapped around your Qi and Blood Force before slamming into your blocked meridian. The meridian, which had previously seemed as immovable as solid rock, was easily forced open by the medicinal power. Your Qi and Blood Force surged through it, and by the time the medicinal power ran out, you had opened two-thirds of your fifth meridian.] [Year Ten, thanks to your efforts, your Qi and Blood Force had nearly run through your fifth meridian. You felt that only a paper-thin membrane remained between you and breaking through it.] [Deduction complete!]
Shen Lin opened his eyes and found that the Meridian Unblocking Pill, which had been in his hand, had disappeared at some point.
Its effect was also plain to see.
A single pill had helped him open two-thirds of his fifth meridian, saving him more than a hundred years of arduous cultivation.
No wonder it was nearly impossible for other martial artists to reach the Opening Meridians Realm without a Meridian Unblocking Pill.
Without the slightest hesitation, Shen Lin chose to pour in more lifespan.
[Year One, you carefully studied the situation and mobilized the Qi and Blood Force in your body to strike the meridian countless times. The membrane trembled as if about to give way, but in the end, it remained intact.]
He had poured in a year of demon lifespan, yet still hadn't broken through. But Shen Lin didn't lose heart.
"Again!"
Another year of demon lifespan poured in.
After pouring in demon lifespan for four years in a row, the content displayed on the system panel finally changed.
[Year One, you continued mobilizing your Qi and Blood Force to strike your fifth meridian. Countless attempts had left your heart as still as water, free of joy or sorrow. But this time, when your Qi and Blood Force broke through the barrier and surged into your fifth meridian, your face still lit up with wild delight.]
His fifth meridian was open!
Shen Lin's consciousness returned to reality. He lowered his head and looked at his hands.
After opening his fifth meridian, the Qi and Blood Force in his body had risen to another level.
His arms looked somewhat thin, but now they were filled with enough strength to wrestle wolves and tear tigers apart.
He still had three hundred and eighty-seven years of demon lifespan.
So...
He should first deduce the Qingqiu Body Tempering Technique to perfection and see which meridians it was linked to.
As he thought, the system panel appeared again.
But a moment later, Shen Lin shook his head and abandoned the idea of continuing the deduction.
Before you continue