Entry-Level Martial Arts

"What kind of idiot is this, treating our County Office like his own home?"

"Tch, he's one of the Li family's retainers, Cheng Shanhe. That guy never had any sense, his brain turned to muscle from practicing martial arts."

Inside the prison, Shen Lin and Hu Dongxing seemed to be whispering, but their voices were so loud they could be heard outside the cells.

Not far away, Cheng Shanhe stood with veins bulging on his forehead, but he finally snorted and managed to endure it.

Seeing this, Hu Dongxing shook his head with a hint of regret.

He thought a few provocations would make the guy lose control and cause trouble.

That way, he could have a legitimate reason to kick him out.

Sighing, Prefect Hu turned to Shen Lin and asked, "Why are you here at the County Office in the middle of the night?"

"Ah, my cat at home is too clingy, so I came out for some air. As I was walking, I ran into that guy's disciple. He actually drew a sword on me inside the County Office..."

Seeing Shen Lin's indignant look, anyone would think he had suffered a great injustice.

Hu Dongxing said speechlessly, "You... but I've had my eye on that guy for a long time. You did well this time, I'm very satisfied."

Shen Lin chuckled, then asked with some confusion, "Prefect Hu, what's going on? That guy has another Opening Meridians Realm expert, and they aren't even from our County Office, are they?"

When this was brought up, Hu Dongxing's face fell. He said gravely, "After the incident where the Demon Cultivator was silenced last time, the County Magistrate was very displeased with me. This time, we caught an important figure, and he didn't trust me to watch over him, so he invited retainers from the Li and Zhang families to help guard the prison."

"Who's this important figure?"

Shen Lin asked with feigned curiosity.

Hu Dongxing pointed towards the depths of the prison and sighed with emotion.

"The Flying Thief who caused all that commotion!"

Shen Lin turned his head to look. The person tied to the wooden frame had their hair covering their face, head bowed, so he couldn't see their features. He asked, "Is this Flying Thief... an outsider?"

Hu Dongxing's expression was strange, and he whispered, "A home-grown thief!"

Just then, the person in the cell seemed to wake up and slowly raised their head, allowing Shen Lin to see their face clearly.

At that moment, Shen Lin was stunned.

"Inspector Cheng???"

Although he had accepted Zijing's commission to investigate the situation, Zijing hadn't actually told him the identity of the arrested person.

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

Cheng Yi was in charge of the Inspectorate. Not only was his own cultivation at the Opening Meridians Realm, but his status was also not much lower than Hu Dongxing's.

Such a person was actually the Flying Thief???

No wonder Hu Dongxing's expression had been so complicated earlier.

"Can you confirm it?"

Shen Lin asked quietly.

Hu Dongxing also lowered his voice, "Caught red-handed!"

"Sigh!"

Shen Lin sighed, then changed the subject, starting to defend Hu Dongxing.

"The County Magistrate... even so, they aren't our own people, are they? Our prison, what business do they have here?"

Hu Dongxing's expression was bitter and helpless. "It's not that big of a deal. After all, I didn't handle things well before and let that Demon Cultivator be silenced right before my eyes."

"Even so, you shouldn't let these outsiders stay in our prison. If something really happens, with that guy's brain, can he be trusted? They even have the same surname, who knows if there's some hidden family relationship..."

"Shen! I've tolerated you for a long time!!!"

Cheng Shanhe finally couldn't stand it anymore and roared, about to make a move.

In the end, another Opening Meridians Realm retainer persuaded him and led him away.

Shen Lin pouted and said to Hu Dongxing, "Just thinking that I'll have to see his face every day in 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 feigned surprise, "So soon?"

"The wealthy families who were robbed are pushing for it. The County Magistrate doesn't dare to delay. After questioning him all day today and not getting any useful information, he decided to execute him tomorrow."

"Didn't get any useful information?" Shen Lin asked curiously, "Are there no others behind him?"

Hu Dongxing shook his head helplessly, "Cheng Yi is a tough man! We used all our methods, and he didn't even groan."

After a moment of reflection, he changed the subject and said, "The County Magistrate is also afraid that he has people behind him, so executing him early is actually a way to see if they'll reveal themselves."

Shen Lin smiled, "The execution ground tomorrow will surely be heavily guarded."

"Naturally!"

After chatting for a while longer, Shen Lin yawned and told Hu Dongxing he was leaving.

Before leaving the County Office, he casually inquired about the surroundings. He noticed that in the rooms surrounding the County Office, the candles were still lit.

Not only the execution ground tomorrow, but even the County Office prison today was under strict guard.

Creak~

Seeing Shen Lin push the door open, Zijing immediately stepped forward, asking anxiously, "How is it? Is the person still alive?"

Shen Lin nodded, but didn't speak. Instead, he stared directly at Zijing.

Zijing was stunned at first, then as if she thought of something, she gritted her teeth and said, "The Meridian Unblocking Pill, I desperately need it, so I can't give it to you. But after this is done, I can give you a martial art."

As if afraid Shen Lin wouldn't agree, she quickly added, "It's not just any martial art, it's a top-grade Profound-tier martial art."

"Top-grade Profound-tier?"

Shen Lin was a little confused. Were martial arts also categorized?

Understanding Shen Lin's confusion, Zijing continued to explain, "Once you reach the Xiantian realm and successfully absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, you'll find that the martial arts currently powered by Qi and Blood Force are no longer powerful enough. Martial arts powered by the spiritual energy within the Xiantian realm are called graded martial arts. Heaven, Earth, Profound, Yellow – Heaven-tier is the highest, Yellow-tier is the lowest!"

Shen Lin hadn't really known this before, but after Zijing's explanation, it seemed that martial arts were better than the Meridian Unblocking Pill.

After all, he now possessed over seven hundred years of Demon lifespan. Even without the Meridian Unblocking Pill, he should be able to unblock the remaining two meridians.

However, he currently had no way to obtain these so-called graded martial arts.

Thinking this, he slowly nodded, agreeing to Zijing's terms, and then said, "Get ready. We'll set off in a while!"

"We're acting tonight?"

Zijing was a little confused.

This was too sudden. She hadn't had time to arrange many things.

"Acting tomorrow night is also fine, and it will be simpler. That's if you know the art of bringing the dead back to life."

Zijing's pupils contracted, and she exclaimed in surprise, "The execution is tomorrow?"

Seeing Shen Lin nod, she immediately understood his intentions.

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

Looking at the sky, Shen Lin said, "You should have other people. Go out immediately and have them cause some commotion in the city within an hour to draw away some of the County Office's manpower. Be quick. We'll meet at the County Office in half an hour."

Seeing Zijing nod and leave, he got up and walked towards the study.

He also needed to make some preparations.