Handling

In the inner hall.

The lamplight still flickered.

Zhao Fang sat quietly with his head lowered, a dagger buried in his chest. His somewhat aged hand gripped the hilt tightly as bright red blood flowed down from the wound.

The man who had served as Lin'an City's magistrate for twenty years had ultimately died by his own hand.

Shen Changqing's expression was calm, and his heart scarcely stirred.

In his eyes,

from the moment Zhao Fang had betrayed humanity and colluded with demons and evil spirits, he had already committed a capital crime.

The fact that Zhao Fang had killed himself meant he understood he was at the end of the road. Any resistance would have been nothing but futile struggle.

Taking out the Pure Spirit Jade Pendant,

Shen Changqing saw that there were still only two black lines on it.

"It seems Zhao Fang truly had not become one of those demons or evil spirits." The last trace of doubt in Shen Changqing's heart was finally swept away.

The Pure Spirit Jade Pendant had not reacted.

That proved Zhao Fang had not, like Zhuang Mingyuan, discarded his human shell and begun transforming into a demon or evil spirit.

He glanced at the corpse twice.

Shen Changqing did not touch it. He merely rose and headed for the study behind the inner hall.

The study was not small.

Its furnishings were also quite refined, suffused with a faint scent of ink.

Sitting in the place Zhao Fang usually occupied, Shen Changqing took a sheet of white paper and laid it flat before himself.

He ground the ink.

He picked up the brush.

He recorded everything that had happened that day.

Though he had only arrived in Lin'an City two days ago, quite a lot had happened.

First came Zhang Long and Zhao Fang's betrayal, then the killing of the Wraith-rank strange creature, as well as Zhuang Mingyuan and the Eternal Life Alliance. All this information mixed together left Shen Changqing feeling some pressure.

These matters

all had to be reported to the Demon Suppression Bureau one by one.

There was no choice but to report them.

If he had merely killed a demonized human and a strange creature, he could have found some excuse to muddle through. But the death of a city magistrate was no small matter.

If he did not explain everything exactly as it had happened, then even as a member of the Demon Suppression Bureau, he would face serious trouble.

Of course,

while writing,

Shen Changqing had glossed over certain details.

For example,

the Wraith-rank strange creature's strength had not been close to breaking through to the Resentment rank. It had merely been somewhat stronger than an ordinary newly advanced Wraith-rank creature.

There was no helping it.

If he did not write it that way, his own strength would be difficult to explain.

He had now broken through to the Innate Realm. Yet among all the peerless geniuses and monstrous talents in the Demon Suppression Bureau, not a single one had broken through to the Innate Realm within a year.

Therefore,

Shen Changqing needed to conceal a little of his strength to avoid drawing too much trouble.

The Innate Realm

might appear much stronger than the Meridian Opening Realm, but within the Demon Suppression Bureau it only placed one at the level of a Profound-rank Demon Slayer. Above the Profound rank were still the Earth-rank and Heaven-rank Demon Slayers.

Besides that,

above the Demon Slayers were the Guardians.

They were the strongest existences in the entire Demon Suppression Bureau, and the powerful foundation that had allowed Great Qin to resist demons for over three hundred years without falling.

He had reached the Innate Realm within a year.

He could perhaps brush it off as talent, but if certain interested parties noticed him, trouble would be inevitable.

It was worth mentioning that

the writing implements in this world did not differ greatly from those Shen Changqing had known in his previous life.

It took nearly half an hour

before he finished writing everything that needed to be written.

He released a faint surge of true qi to dry all the ink, folded the letter simply, tucked it into his robes, and rose to leave.

At this time,

the sound of the night watchman's clapper rang out.

"Third watch!"

Shen Changqing looked into the darkness around him and immediately found the few constables who had remained behind at the yamen.

The yamen was an important place.

The constables had to patrol it day and night.

Since one person's energy was limited, the day-and-night patrols required occasional shifts. Thus, separate side rooms had been set up in the yamen for them to rest.

Such a huge incident had occurred during the night. No matter how carefree someone was, they could not have slept through it.

When Shen Changqing arrived, the few of them were simply sitting there in silence.

"L-Lord Shen!"

A somewhat older-looking constable stood up trembling, his voice shaking as well.

Zhao Fang had colluded with demons and evil spirits. As fellow members of the yamen, they might very well be implicated too.

They had heard that the Demon Suppression Bureau's people were ruthless and treated human lives like blades of grass. If Shen Changqing took out his anger on them, they might be walking straight into a dead end.

Shen Changqing had no idea what wild thoughts the man was entertaining. His gaze remained calm.

"What is your name?"

"R-Reporting to Lord Shen, this humble one's name is Hong Cheng!"

"How many years have you served in Lin'an City? Is there anyone in the yamen with more seniority than you?"

"This humble one has served in Lin'an City for nearly ten years. Aside from Lord Zhao and Constable Chief Zhang, no one has worked here longer than I have."

Hong Cheng answered honestly.

Shen Changqing nodded. "Very well. From today onward, you will temporarily serve as constable chief until the court's appointment arrives. For now, I need you to do a few things."

"Ah, oh, please speak, Lord Shen!"

Hong Cheng stood there blankly for a moment, then quickly came back to himself. Uncontainable delight appeared on his face.

Temporarily serving as constable chief meant he would not be implicated.

Moreover,

once the new magistrate arrived, he might truly become the constable chief.

This inexplicable promotion was like a pie falling from the sky.

"Zhao Fang has now confessed his crimes and killed himself. Send someone to deal with his body. Do not bury it for the time being; wait until people from the Demon Suppression Bureau or the court arrive before making further arrangements."

Shen Changqing considered for a moment, then continued.

"Also, take some men and seal off the Zhao Family residence. Do not allow a single person to leave. Otherwise, all your heads will roll!"

His expression turned fierce with that final sentence.

Hong Cheng's heart trembled, and he hurriedly nodded. "Rest assured, Lord Shen. I will absolutely not let a single member of the Zhao Family escape."

"That would be best. Go."

Shen Changqing waved his hand and turned to leave the room.

He did not go anywhere else.

After leaving the yamen, he headed straight back to the inn where he had been staying.

He had labored the entire day

and gone through several battles.

Even an Innate martial artist could be worn down. The exhaustion was not merely physical, but mental as well.

The next day.

Shen Changqing rose on time and absorbed the first thread of purple qi between heaven and earth.

His biological clock had become completely fixed. No matter how exhausted he had been the day before, it would not affect him much.

After absorbing the purple qi,

his Pure Yang true qi did not change.

In truth,

the Pure Yang Art had only nine levels. Once one reached the ninth level, it was considered complete. Shen Changqing had forcibly broken through to the eleventh level, utterly shattering the limits of the Pure Yang Art.

The current Pure Yang Art

could no longer be compared to its former self.

The Pure Yang true qi cultivated within it had likewise undergone a powerful transformation, becoming completely distinct from genuine Pure Yang true qi.

After all—

even the ninth level of the Pure Yang Art could not possibly use Pure Yang true qi to kindle flames from thin air.