Left Commander

For the sake of procedural justice.

First, Zuo Qianqiu promoted Chen Fan from Zongqi Officer at Ping'an County's Jinyiwei Baihu Office to Baihu, then transferred him to Longyuan Prefecture to become the Deputy Commander in charge of logistics.

That was because both Deputy Commanders at the Longyuan Prefecture Jinyiwei Commander's Office had been promoted from within.

To avoid any appearance of favoritism, Zuo Qianqiu had promised long ago that this third Deputy Commander would be selected from the Baihu Offices in the counties under Longyuan Prefecture.

So Chen Fan's promotion to Deputy Commander was reasonable, legal, compliant, and entirely procedurally just.

If he hadn't already made agreements with the many Baihu who guarded the county towns, the Deputy Commander position in Longyuan Prefecture would never have gone to any of them.

Generally speaking, Baihu who guarded county towns were mostly at the fifth stage of the Spirit Concealment Realm. Few had reached the Spirit Aperture Realm, and even those who had were at the very bottom of the food chain among Spirit Aperture Realm Martial Artists.

By contrast, the frontline Baihu at the Longyuan Prefecture Jinyiwei Commander's Office were all Spirit Aperture Realm Martial Artists. At the Commander's Office, one could be promoted to Baihu by accumulating merit without breaking through to the Spirit Aperture Realm.

But Baihu like that couldn't lead a large squad on the front lines. In logistics, they could be put in charge of certain duties and follow the orders of the Deputy Commander overseeing logistics.

This was as much for his own sake as for the Jinyiwei brothers who risked their lives alongside him.

Without reaching the Spirit Aperture Realm, don't even think about leading a squad to Purple Mountain to slay Demonic Creatures. You'd just be delivering yourselves to them on a platter.

"Not bad. It's a private courtyard, clean as a whistle, with all the daily necessities provided—and everything's new."

"You can cook for yourself here, or eat at the Commander's Office camp."

Chen Fan looked around. The Separate Courtyard wasn't large, but it had two courtyards, one behind the other. The front courtyard had a kitchen, a storeroom, and a servants' room; the rear had two bedrooms and a reception room.

Though the sparrow was small, it had all its vital organs.

For him alone, it was already more than spacious enough. Even if he took another wife and hired a cook and a beautiful maid, there'd still be room.

As he strolled around the courtyard, Wang Teng and a middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties or fifties knocked and entered the front courtyard.

Though Wang Teng was a Deputy Commander, he walked half a step behind the middle-aged man. The visitor's identity was obvious.

The Jinyiwei Commander of Longyuan Prefecture, Zuo Qianqiu, a peak Spirit Aperture Realm expert!

"Your subordinate Chen Fan greets Left Commander!"

Chen Fan stepped forward to greet him, clasped his hands, and bowed.

"Deputy Commander Chen, you truly are a young talent."

"You turned the tide and saved tens of thousands of people in Ping'an County. You deserve the greatest credit!"

"If you have any trouble settling in or anything you're unfamiliar with at the Longyuan Prefecture Commander's Office, don't hesitate to ask Xuening or Wang Teng. And if I'm at the Commander's Office, you can come straight to me."

"But I'm stationed at Purple Mountain for most of the year, facing off against its Demonic Creatures. I'm often gone for months at a time and rarely at the Commander's Office. I hope you'll understand."

Zuo Qianqiu had a thin moustache and a goatee. He looked gaunt, but Chen Fan sensed a deadly threat from him.

This Jinyiwei Commander of Longyuan Prefecture might be even stronger than an ordinary peak Spirit Aperture Realm expert. Otherwise, the Yun Prefecture Myriad Household Office wouldn't have entrusted him with the important task of guarding an entire prefecture.

"I wouldn't dare trouble you, Left Commander. I'm doing just fine here."

Chen Fan replied.

"I heard from Xuening that you risked cultivating the Blood Sha Skill to save the people of Ping'an County, and that you mastered it in an extremely short time, opening all thirty-six of your body's acupoints."

"May I examine your body? I might be able to think of a way to break the curse."

Zuo Qianqiu asked.

He was actually quite puzzled by Chen Fan. He'd seen Martial Artists cultivate the Blood Sha Skill before. Their eyes turned bloodshot, and the deeper their cultivation, the more they looked as if they had a bad case of red-eye.

But Chen Fan's eyes were clear and dark. He showed no sign of Blood Sha having invaded his body at all. It was truly strange!

"Thank you, Left Commander!"

Chen Fan nodded.

He felt he couldn't refuse the Left Commander's offer. In Zuo Qianqiu's eyes, he saw four words: a man of his word.

Clearly, the other man was worried that cultivating the Blood Sha Skill might leave Chen Fan with severe aftereffects. He wasn't concerned for Chen Fan's health so much as the possibility that Blood Sha might enter his body, drive him mad, and make him a menace to all.

"Forgive me."

Left Commander laid a hand on Chen Fan's shoulder. Chen Fan felt a bone-chilling stream of true qi burst from his hand and enter his body, coursing through his extraordinary meridians before a thread of icy energy flowed into his dantian and vanished completely!

"Innate Body. His physical strength far exceeds that of ordinary people. He may even have a hidden special constitution."

"All thirty-six acupoints throughout his body have been opened, yet there isn't the slightest trace of Blood Sha Qi corroding his body, let alone Blood Sha invading his brain and driving him mad."

"But the black-red energy in his dantian clings like a maggot to the bone. It seems his dantian has already begun to be corroded. If this continues, it may spread from his dantian to every part of his body in just a few years, eventually invading his brain and driving him mad."

"But if his body keeps growing stronger and produces even greater physical power, perhaps he can suppress the Blood Sha Qi in his dantian and stop it from corroding the rest of his body."

"Besides, Chen Fan has an Innate Body. If he also has a hidden special constitution or bloodline, he can keep strengthening his body."

"If he manages to forge a path to Body Become Saint, a mere trace of Blood Sha could be wiped out with a wave of his hand. He might even turn the Blood Sha Qi into nourishment to strengthen his body!"

"Also, I suspect the Blood Sha Qi has had such little effect on him because he used his own vital essence to aid in cultivating it."

"The Blood Sha Qi is highly corrosive, but since it was cultivated using his own vital essence, the damage it does to his body has been reduced to a minimum."

"This might be a way for Jinyiwei with poor aptitude, who can't break through to the Spirit Aperture Realm, to advance in their martial cultivation."

"They could use their own vital essence as an aid to cultivate the Blood Sha Skill, break through to the Spirit Aperture Realm, and then stop cultivating it immediately. That would extend their lifespans and improve their strength."

"This may truly be a viable path."

"Chen Fan is far more remarkable than he seems. By sheer accident, he may have opened up a way to put the Blood Sha Skill to use instead of wasting it. If some senior expert refined the Blood Sha Skill along these lines and spread it, how many more Spirit Aperture Realm experts could Great Zhou gain in a year?"

"Though those who broke through this way would generally be weak, with almost no room to improve, that would still be enough."

"If they didn't take this path, they'd be trapped at the fifth stage of the Spirit Concealment Realm and live only a little over a hundred years."

"By taking it, they could break through to the Spirit Aperture Realm. Even if they became the weakest Spirit Aperture Realm experts in history, they'd still grow stronger and their lifespans would increase considerably. They'd live at least two hundred years."

As he examined Chen Fan's body, Zuo Qianqiu's thoughts drifted far away.

"Ahem, ahem."

"Left Commander, is that enough?"

Chen Fan gave a couple of light coughs, unable to keep from asking.

Only then did Zuo Qianqiu come back to himself. He nodded and said:

"Chen Fan, you're a genius."

"I don't know how you did it, but even though you mastered the Blood Sha Skill, the Blood Sha Qi has only corroded part of your dantian. So far, it hasn't had any adverse effects on your body."