Entry-Grade Martial Arts

"Where'd this idiot come from? Does he think our County Office is his home?"

"Hey, that's the Li family's Attendant, Cheng Shanhe. He's always been clueless. He trained in martial arts until his brain turned to muscle."

Inside the prison, Shen Lin and Hu Dongxing seemed to be whispering to each other, but their voices were loud enough to carry outside.

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

Seeing this, Hu Dongxing shook his head regretfully.

He'd thought a little provocation would make the man lose control and cause trouble.

Then he could have sent him packing with every justification.

Sighing, Prefect Hu asked Shen Lin, "What brings you to the County Office in the middle of the night?"

"Hey, my cat at home is too clingy, so I came out for some air. I was walking along when I ran into that guy's disciple. He actually dared to draw his sword on me inside the County Office..."

Judging by Shen Lin's indignant expression, you'd think he'd suffered some great loss.

Hu Dongxing was at a loss for words. "You... But I've never liked that guy either. You did well this time. I'm pleased."

Shen Lin chuckled, then asked in confusion, "Prefect Hu, what's going on? That guy and the other Opening Meridians Realm expert aren't from our County Office, are they?"

At that, Hu Dongxing's face fell. He said in a low voice, "After that Demon Cultivator was silenced last time, the County Magistrate was deeply dissatisfied with me. This time, we caught an important figure, and he didn't trust me to guard him, so he invited Attendants from the Li and Zhang families to help secure the prison."

"What important figure?"

Shen Lin asked, feigning curiosity.

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

"That Flying Thief who caused such a commotion!"

Shen Lin turned and looked. The person bound to the wooden frame had hair hanging loose and his head bowed, obscuring his face. Shen Lin couldn't help asking, "This Flying Thief... is he an outsider?"

Hu Dongxing's expression turned strange. He lowered his voice. "One of our own!"

Just then, the person in the prison seemed to come around. He slowly raised his head, letting Shen Lin see his face.

Shen Lin was instantly stunned.

"Inspector Cheng???"

Although he'd taken Zijing's commission to investigate the situation, she hadn't told him the identity of the person who'd been arrested.

Her so-called subordinate was actually Cheng Yi, an Opening Meridians Realm expert and the Inspector of Qiulin County.

Cheng Yi was in charge of the Inspectorate. Not only was his cultivation at the Opening Meridians Realm, but his standing was also on par with Hu Dongxing's.

And a man like that was a Flying Thief???

No wonder Hu Dongxing had looked so conflicted earlier.

"Are you sure?"

Shen Lin asked quietly.

Hu Dongxing lowered his voice too. "Caught red-handed!"

"Ah!"

Shen Lin sighed, then changed the subject and began sticking up for Hu Dongxing.

"The County Magistrate... Come on, they're not even our own people. What business do they have in our prison?"

Hu Dongxing's face was rueful. He said helplessly, "It's not that big a deal. I did botch the job before, after all. That Demon Cultivator was silenced right before my eyes."

"Even so, he can't let outsiders stay in our prison. If anything happens, can we really count on that guy's brains? They even share a surname. For all we know, they're secretly related..."

"Shen! I've put up with you long enough!!!"

Cheng Shanhe finally lost his patience. He roared and lunged forward.

In the end, another Opening Meridians Realm Attendant managed to talk him down and lead him away.

Shen Lin curled his lip and said to Hu Dongxing, "Just thinking about having to see his face every day at the County Office 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. "So soon?"

"The wealthy families who were robbed have all joined forces to push for it, and the County Magistrate doesn't dare delay. They questioned him all day today, but got nothing useful, so they've decided to execute him tomorrow."

"They got nothing?" Shen Lin asked curiously. "Is there no one else behind him?"

Hu Dongxing shook his head helplessly. "Cheng Yi's a real man! We tried every method we had, but he didn't even groan."

After a brief sigh, he continued, "The County Magistrate is also worried there's someone behind him. Executing him early is actually a way to see if anyone will come out of hiding."

Shen Lin smiled. "Tomorrow's execution ground is bound to be crawling with guards."

"Of course!"

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

Before leaving the County Office, he casually checked the area around it and noticed that the candles in several houses nearby were still burning.

Not only would the execution ground be heavily guarded tomorrow, but the prison at the County Office was already under tight security tonight.

Creak~

When Shen Lin pushed the door open, Zijing immediately came over and asked anxiously, "Well? Is he still alive?"

Shen Lin nodded but didn't speak. He simply stared at Zijing.

Zijing froze for a moment, then seemed to realize what he was thinking. Gritting her teeth, she said, "I desperately need the Meridian Unblocking Pill, so I can't give it to you. But once this is done, I can give you a martial art."

As if afraid Shen Lin would refuse, she hurriedly added, "Not an ordinary martial art. It's a high-grade Black-tier one."

"High-grade Black-tier?"

Shen Lin was confused. Martial arts had different grades?

Understanding his confusion, Zijing continued explaining, "Once you reach the Xiantian Realm and successfully absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, you'll find that the martial arts you use now, powered by Qi and Blood Force, can no longer keep up. Martial arts powered by the spiritual energy inside a Xiantian expert's body are called entry-grade martial arts. Heaven, Earth, Black, Yellow—the Heaven tier is the highest, and the Yellow tier is the lowest!"

Shen Lin hadn't known any of this before. But after hearing Zijing's explanation, it seemed that a martial art might be more useful than a Meridian Unblocking Pill.

After all, he had more than seven hundred years of demon lifespan at his disposal. Even without the pill, he should be able to break through the remaining two meridians.

As for these so-called entry-grade martial arts, he had no way of getting his hands on one right now.

Thinking it over, he slowly nodded, accepting Zijing's offer. Then he said, "Get ready. We're leaving soon!"

"We're acting tonight?"

Zijing looked puzzled.

This was far too sudden. She hadn't had time to put many of her plans in motion.

"We could act tomorrow night instead. It'd be easier, too—assuming you know a way to bring the dead back to life."

Zijing's pupils shrank. "They're executing him tomorrow?"

When Shen Lin nodded, she immediately understood what he had in mind.

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

Glancing at the sky, Shen Lin said, "You must have other people working for you. Go out now and have them make some trouble around the city in an hour. Try to draw away some of the County Office's men. Hurry. In half an hour, we'll meet at the County Office."

Zijing nodded and left. He got up and headed for the study.

He had preparations to make, too.