Airborne Chief Instructor

The next morning, in front of the station elevator.

Shen Qing let out a yawn; after tossing and turning half the night yesterday, his body wasn't tired, but his mind was exhausted. Looking at Chen Chen, who wore an expression of pure excitement beside him, he figured this guy probably hadn't slept a wink all night.

Even though they had already been here once yesterday.

Chen Chen looked around, asking curiously, "Shen Qing, Brother Qing, what position do you hold in the bureau?"

Shen Qing replied offhandedly, "Same as you, intern. I only joined two weeks ago."

"Really?!"

Chen Chen's eyes lit up instantly, his mouth curling into a grin. Did that mean it wouldn't be long before he could also split demons with his bare hands?

Xie Chong, standing nearby, saw his expression and smiled without a word.

What intern, barely two weeks in, could have strength rivaling a veteran at the Captain level?

Newcomers, indeed; they only realize their own level after getting hit with a dose of reality.

Following the elevator down to the basement, the three had just stepped out when they were met by a middle-aged man with neatly combed hair, holding a thermos cup.

Shen Qing's footsteps faltered, and he instantly sobered up.

No way, was he continuing the lecture he hadn't finished yesterday? Since when was the Bureau Chief so idle? Then again, he usually just stayed in his office anyway.

Xu Weimin, Bureau Chief of the Binhai Branch.

He wasn't a powerhouse, just an ordinary person, but the Binhai Branch had been built from the ground up by him when they were severely understaffed.

"Little Shen, good morning."

Seeing Xu Weimin greeting him with a cheerful smile, Shen Qing could only brace himself and walk over.

"B-Bureau Chief, good morning."

As expected, Xu Weimin's expression turned serious immediately. "Little Shen, how many times have I told you? You must remember to clock in and out. This is the most important thing.

Clocking in isn't for anything else; it's to help you develop a sense of discipline. An organization cannot function without rules..."

As Shen Qing listened, his eyes began to glaze over. What kind of decent leader obsessed over clocking in every single day?

"Last time you forgot to clock in, and it took so much effort to correct it. This time, you took your service pistol out while off-duty. Tell me, how dangerous is that?

What if you lost it, or if the public saw it..."

The Bureau Chief rarely scolded people, but this nagging was far more lethal than a straightforward reprimand.

After a full ten minutes, Shen Qing felt his soul leaving his body.

Xu Weimin finally stopped, opened his thermos to take a sip of tea to moisten his throat, and then the corners of his mouth turned up.

"However, your missions over the past few days are indeed worthy of commendation."

He patted Shen Qing on the shoulder and turned his gaze toward Chen Chen. "You must be the new recruit, Little Chen, right?"

Chen Chen jumped to attention. "Good morning, Bureau Chief!"

"Not bad, good energy."

The Bureau Chief nodded with a smile. He had another trait: he could remember almost everyone's name, and the newcomers were no exception.

"Alright, that's all I have to say for now. You two go ahead and gather in the main hall; there's an announcement today."

"Uh, I haven't even had breakfast yet."

Shen Qing arrived at the base's main hall, feeling like life had lost its meaning. Including the Night Owl members, there were about fifty people present—every single field agent had actually shown up.

"Captain Li is out of the hospital?"

Xie Chong's voice drifted over. Shen Qing followed his gaze to see a burly man with a buzz cut, dressed in heavy gear and standing a full two meters tall.

It looked like he had been on the front line; no wonder he had been the most severely injured.

The group chatted idly, and Xie Chong took the opportunity to introduce all seven captains to them.

Not long after, the Bureau Chief walked onto the platform at the front of the hall, followed by someone else.

Shen Qing froze. It was the young man in traditional clothing from the day before.

He wore a moon-white long robe and a jade crown, looking completely out of place with everyone else... as if he were a figure who had walked straight out of ancient times.

"Alright, everyone, quiet down." Xu Weimin clapped his hands to signal. "We are holding this morning meeting to introduce a new member."

The hall went quiet for a moment, followed by hushed whispers erupting from every corner. What kind of new member required such a grand introduction?

Almost the entire top-tier leadership was present?

Xu Weimin stepped aside, yielding the center spot.

"Li Jianghan, a D-rank Supernaturalist. From now on, he will be the Chief Instructor of our Binhai Branch. If you have any questions regarding cultivation or combat, feel free to consult him."

The hall fell deathly silent.

D-rank. Across the entire Binhai Branch, there were only two or three D-rank Supernaturalists, right?

Li Jianghan waved his hand, a smile on his face. "Hello everyone, my name is Li Jianghan. I look forward to working with you all."

He smiled as he greeted them, his tone gentle.

Yet that smile gave people a feeling of being perfectly measured, his eyes indifferent, as if an adult were watching a child at play.

The morning meeting ended quickly; it was truly just a matter of introducing people and calling it a day.

Watching Li Jianghan's retreating back as he stepped off the stage, Shen Qing was momentarily distracted.

D-Rank, Seventh Rank?

It was normal for such a person to have an air of arrogance.

But he couldn't help but feel that the look in those eyes wasn't just simple arrogance; it was a constant, high-and-mighty disregard, as if there were a sense of superiority. Was he being too sensitive?

"It's you. Good talent, keep it up."

Li Jianghan happened to walk by, tossed out a casual greeting, and left without slowing his pace.

This only confirmed Shen Qing's suspicions.

The other man's encouragement was just like that... like a wealthy young master passing by on the street, casually tossing a few hundred bucks into a beggar's bowl.

It didn't seem to carry any malice, yet it gave one such an awkward feeling.

"Damn, this guy is so full of himself."

Once Li Jianghan was far away, Chen Chen couldn't help but start complaining.

Just now, when Li Jianghan passed by him, his gaze had lingered for a split second, as if curious how a normal person could be here.

But that look felt as if he were observing a different species.

"Well, his strength is right there. You just arrived, so you don't know—there aren't many D-Ranks in the entire base."

Xie Chong said casually, "Alright, time to go on patrol."

Having spent time in Night Owl, he was somewhat familiar with this attitude; some people, upon becoming a Supernaturalist, would start to believe they were fundamentally different.

They weren't the same as the masses, which was exactly why the organization had ideological training.

This one before them seemed to have taken that mindset to the extreme. Where did such a D-Rank even pop out from?

"Wait, what about me?" Chen Chen interrupted their thoughts.

Shen Qing patted him on the shoulder. "Your ability hasn't even fully awakened yet, so just honestly go train your body."

Ignoring Chen Chen's crestfallen expression, the two walked toward the elevator.

It was another peaceful day. After four or five days, the demon incident had finally been mostly dealt with.

In the training room, Shen Qing felt the blood qi within his body, stabilizing his cultivation one last time.

Before reaching the Organ Refining stage, the body's blood qi was like duckweed on water—rootless and scattered, unable to be contained within the body.

But now, it was different.

Starting from the heart as the source, it flowed throughout his entire body, constantly tempering his physique while the blood qi slowly grew stronger, until it could open up the meridians.

As long as one was opened, he could truly break through to the Eighth Rank Meridian Opening.

However, he needed to slow down a bit; having taken two Blood Qi Pills in four days, even he was starting to reach his limit.

With a "bang," Shen Qing stepped in front of the force tester to test his strength once more, and the numbers on the screen began to flicker.

"Time to go!"

Xie Chong poked his head in from the training room doorway. Shen Qing nodded; it was time for them to consider checking on the situation at that construction site.

The two left the training room, and the numbers on the force tester behind them finally stabilized.

1512 kilograms.

Opening one meridian increased strength by two hundred kilograms; this was already comparable to an Eighth Rank who had opened three meridians—the limit of the early Eighth Rank stage.