Heavenly Martial Astral Qi

Shen Changqing rose to his feet, looked at him, and said, "I do not intend to meddle too much in the yamen's affairs. After Zhao Fang's death, handle things exactly as you did before."

"Thank you for your trust, my lord!"

"But I have one request: replace everything in the inner hall residence. While I am acting county magistrate, I will be living here."

"Rest assured, Lord Shen. This subordinate will send people to handle it at once!"

Shi Qingsheng nodded in agreement to every one of Shen Changqing's requests.

The other man was the acting county magistrate. Living inside the yamen was no issue at all.

Afterward.

Shi Qingsheng immediately sent people to replace everything in the inner hall according to Shen Changqing's instructions.

In less than half a day, everything had been taken care of.

"Lord Shen, please have a look. Do you have any further instructions?" Shi Qingsheng stood to one side and asked with his head lowered.

"Well done."

Looking at the completely renewed furnishings around him, Shen Changqing nodded slightly in approval.

"Does Lord Shen have any other instructions?"

"Not for now. Go attend to your duties."

"This subordinate takes his leave!"

Shi Qingsheng respectfully withdrew. Shen Changqing also rose from his seat and began familiarizing himself with the yamen's surroundings.

The yamen was divided into the outer hall and the inner hall.

The outer hall was where cases were handled. There was also a prison beneath it for conveniently detaining criminals. As for the inner hall, it was entirely meant for living quarters.

The term "inner hall" was merely a surface designation.

In truth.

The inner hall was comparable to a small residential estate. Aside from the main reception hall, there were quite a few side rooms, and it also came equipped with a study.

But because this was a yamen, there were no servants or maidservants here.

"The place is large, and the living quarters are spacious. A county magistrate of a city truly holds no low position!"

After strolling around once, Shen Changqing could not help but sigh with feeling.

By comparison.

The place he lived in at the Demon Suppression Bureau was utterly outclassed by this.

Study.

After familiarizing himself with the surroundings, Shen Changqing came here.

He needed to properly digest the things he had received from the Demon Suppression Bureau today.

There was no need to mention the Pure Spirit Jade Pendant. It was proof of an extermination envoy's killing of demons and evil spirits. So long as one held the Pure Spirit Jade Pendant, every demon or evil spirit they had slain would be recorded within it.

Likewise.

With a Pure Spirit Jade Pendant containing such records, one could offset part of their assignments at the Demon Suppression Bureau.

Once an extermination envoy advanced to Yellow Rank, they would have fixed annual assignment requirements.

A Yellow Rank extermination envoy was required to complete at least ten assignments every year. In other words, they had to eliminate at least ten demons or evil spirits.

One had to know.

The locations for every assignment were different. When Shen Changqing had come to Lin'an City, the journey alone had taken quite some time. Ten assignments a year consumed no small amount of time.

Therefore.

The Demon Suppression Bureau's arrangement for him to guard Lin'an City, offsetting the following year's assignments, was quite a major convenience.

But correspondingly.

The assignment of guarding Lin'an City was countless times more difficult than ordinary assignments.

The gains and losses within it depended on the person.

Once one advanced to a Profound Rank extermination envoy, the minimum annual requirement would only be five assignments.

Though the number was reduced, the difficulty had increased.

In truth, the further an extermination envoy advanced, the fewer minimum assignments they were required to complete each year, but the difficulty would continually rise.

"So be it, then. I'll guard it!"

Shen Changqing sighed, then turned his gaze to the porcelain bottle.

Inside was the Meridian-Passing Pill.

He had not heard much about what a Meridian-Passing Pill was before, but Jiang Zuo's letter had solemnly introduced it in detail.

Meridian-Passing Pill!

As its name implied, it was mainly used to open the meridians.

The transformation from Meridian Opening to the Innate Realm required opening many meridians. Taking a Meridian-Passing Pill could open one's meridians faster and shorten the time needed for a martial artist to advance to the Innate Realm.

"Did the Demon Suppression Bureau give me the Meridian-Passing Pill because they were worried my strength was insufficient?"

Qin Shujian's expression was strange.

The Meridian-Passing Pill truly was a treasure. At the very least, it was difficult for any Meridian Opening martial artist to refuse such a thing.

Not to mention Meridian Opening.

Even Innate Realm martial artists could benefit from taking a Meridian-Passing Pill, though its effects would be somewhat weaker.

Because whether one was at Meridian Opening or in the Innate Realm, one still needed to open meridians and acupoints.

Finally, Shen Changqing looked at the neither-thick-nor-thin book.

Heavenly Martial Astral Qi!

Just hearing the name made it sound lofty and grand.

At the very least, it sounded far better than the Thirteen Guardians Body-Hardening Art and the Pure Yang Art.

In truth, Heavenly Martial Astral Qi was indeed a level higher than both, because it was a martial art from the second floor of the Archive Pavilion.

Opening Heavenly Martial Astral Qi.

After casually reading two lines, Shen Changqing's attention was instantly drawn into it.

Without realizing it, day had already turned into night.

Shen Changqing remained seated at his desk, still reading through Heavenly Martial Astral Qi.

After a long while.

He rolled his neck.

He gathered Pure Yang True Qi at the tip of one finger and lit the oil lamp on the desk. The dimness was immediately driven back by quite a bit.

"Heavenly Martial Astral Qi truly deserves to be a martial art from the second floor. It is far more profound than the Pure Yang Art and can already be considered among the superior arts!"

Shen Changqing's face was filled with emotion.

Heavenly Martial Astral Qi was likewise a martial art for condensing True Qi and opening meridians, but unlike the Pure Yang Art, it was far more advanced.

The nine levels of the Pure Yang Art stopped at the peak of Meridian Opening.

But the twelve levels of Heavenly Martial Astral Qi could point directly to the Innate Realm.

Besides that.

The cultivation methods of Heavenly Martial Astral Qi and the Pure Yang Art also differed greatly.

The greatest difference was that the meridians opened by the two martial arts were not entirely the same.

No one had ever known how many meridians and acupoints the human body possessed.

The meridians that each martial art could open were likewise different.

For example, advancing to the Innate Realm required opening the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and the Ren and Du Meridians. Thus, every martial artist whose path involved the Innate Realm would touch upon this point.

But upon that necessary foundation, some martial arts would also involve other meridians.

The more meridians one opened.

The stronger the martial artist became.

Whether a martial art was good or bad depended on how many meridians it involved.

Clearly.

The areas involved by Heavenly Martial Astral Qi were much more comprehensive than those of the Pure Yang Art. Aside from a small portion overlapping with the Pure Yang Art, most were quite different.

That meant.

With the Pure Yang Art already cultivated, Shen Changqing could cultivate Heavenly Martial Astral Qi without any conflict.

Not only would there be no conflict.

On the contrary, because he would open more meridians, his strength would also increase to a certain extent.

"Originally, because the Pure Yang Art had broken through its limits, there was no martial art left for me to cultivate. Now, Heavenly Martial Astral Qi happens to fill that gap. A martial art pointing directly to the Innate Realm—if I can cultivate it to success, its use will certainly be no small matter."

Looking at the book on the desk, Shen Changqing circulated his True Qi, and flames immediately surged forth.

Read it, then burn it.

That was also a requirement of the Demon Suppression Bureau.