Meridian Opening (Seeking Favorites and Votes)

"Did you discover anything unusual?"

"No."

At the exit of the first level of the Demon Suppression Prison, the person speaking with Shen Changqing was the one who had stopped him earlier.

After a brief inquiry,

Shen Changqing handed the Demon Suppression Prison Manual to the other man.

The manual was the credential required to enter the Demon Suppression Prison.

Any Demon Slayer who left the Demon Suppression Prison had to hand the manual over to its guards.

Only in this way

could they ensure that the Demon Suppression Prison Manual would not be lost.

It also prevented others from obtaining the manual and secretly entering the Demon Suppression Prison to do something improper.

After leaving the Demon Suppression Prison,

Shen Changqing returned to the Demon-Slaying Institute.

This trip to the Demon Suppression Prison had brought him enormous gains.

Not to mention anything else.

A single visit to the Demon Suppression Prison had directly raised his Thirteen Guardians Body-Hardening Art from the third level to the fifteenth.

His realm had also transformed from the Body Tempering Realm to the Meridian Opening Realm.

What was Meridian Opening?

It was the nurturing of true qi, granting a martial artist strength beyond the ordinary.

If the Body Tempering Realm still fell within the bounds of ordinary people,

then the Meridian Opening Realm was where a martial artist began transforming toward the extraordinary.

Shen Changqing was certain

that among all trainee Demon Slayers, no one could rival his realm.

For anyone who had opened their meridians

was already an official Demon Slayer.

"My Kill Value has been used up for now. I collected all the Kill Value that may have existed on the second and third levels of the Demon Suppression Prison. The fourth and fifth levels may hold even more Kill Value—"

At the thought of the fourth level, Shen Changqing shook his head helplessly.

With his current strength, he was simply unqualified to collect Kill Value on the fourth level.

He had nearly died on the spot merely by stepping inside.

From this, it was clear that the Meridian Opening Realm was not some powerful realm.

One could also guess

just what kind of formidable demons, evil spirits, and monsters were imprisoned on the fourth level.

"I need to make up for my lack of knowledge about demons, evil spirits, and monsters. Otherwise, when I encounter them in the future, I won't even know how I died." Shen Changqing silently made his decision.

Having entered the Demon Suppression Bureau, he would inevitably have to deal with demons, evil spirits, and monsters in the future.

His understanding of such things could only be described as superficial.

Upon returning to his small courtyard,

Shen Changqing looked at the stone lock in the yard, and an idea suddenly struck him. He casually grabbed it.

The stone lock had once been so heavy that he could not lift it even an inch.

Now, in his hands, it was not as light as a feather, but lifting it was still effortless.

"A stone lock weighs around three or four hundred jin. I can lift it with ease, so my strength has reached an extremely formidable level."

Shen Changqing secretly estimated

that his current strength was at least eight hundred jin, if not a thousand.

And that was without using true qi.

Once he used true qi,

his strength would increase even further.

Setting down the stone lock,

Shen Changqing shut himself in and did not emerge. Only two days later did he open the courtyard gate and head toward the dining hall.

Although the Demon-Slaying Institute was the residence of all Demon Slayers, it also had a dining hall.

The dining hall of the Demon-Slaying Institute

existed solely to provide food for Demon Slayers.

No Demon Slayer would waste time cooking for themselves, and the Demon-Slaying Institute likewise did not have the conditions for it.

Therefore,

the establishment of a dining hall was very necessary.

After displaying his identity token, Shen Changqing easily entered the dining hall.

There were already quite a few people inside.

After getting his food, he chose an empty seat and sat down.

It was worth mentioning that

the food provided by the Demon Suppression Bureau was truly not bad at all. Even trainee Demon Slayers had fish and meat at every meal, along with soup stewed from the bones of some unknown animal.

After finishing everything,

even Shen Changqing, whose appetite had greatly increased after his breakthrough in the Thirteen Guardians Body-Hardening Art, felt full.

"Sure enough!"

"Only after eating and drinking one's fill can one have enough confidence to cultivate."

"The dining halls established by the Demon Suppression Bureau provide all their food according to the standards of martial artists. It is more than enough to replenish one's daily expenditure."

Full and satisfied, Shen Changqing left contentedly.

According to the original owner's memories, a meal of comparable quality outside the Demon Suppression Bureau would cost a considerable amount of silver, something ordinary commoners simply could not afford.

Yet in the Demon Suppression Bureau,

one could eat freely.

Moreover, he was only receiving the standard allotted to trainee Demon Slayers. Official Demon Slayers would receive even higher-quality provisions.

After returning to his residence,

Shen Changqing essentially lived in seclusion.

Aside from going to the dining hall each day when necessary, he remained in his quarters, continuously familiarizing himself with his suddenly increased strength.

The enhancement from Kill Value

merely raised one's martial arts.

It did not mean

the body could immediately adapt.

According to Shen Changqing's speculation,

if it were some offensive technique, then enhancement through Kill Value would most likely include complete mastery of it.

Trainee Demon Slayers

had to complete one mission every five days.

Likewise,

trainee Demon Slayers could enter the Archive Pavilion once every five days.

When the fifth day arrived,

Liu Chang came as scheduled.

"Have you made another breakthrough in the Thirteen Guardians Body-Hardening Art?"

The moment he saw Shen Changqing, Liu Chang noticed something was off.

Compared with five days ago,

the surging vitality and blood within Shen Changqing's body faintly revealed themselves. It was obvious that he had attained no shallow accomplishment in the Thirteen Guardians Body-Hardening Art.

Of course,

he had not considered that Shen Changqing had reached the fifteenth level.

The Thirteen Guardians Body-Hardening Art peaked at the thirteenth level. Once the thirteenth level was perfected, the physical body would approach perfection, and one's vitality and blood would no longer leak out easily.

However,

Shen Changqing's advancement had broken through the perfection of this martial art and upset the balance of his physical body. That was why Liu Chang had detected the leakage of his vitality and blood.

Had it been at the beginning,

the vitality and blood leaking from Shen Changqing would certainly not have been so faint.

But after several days of secluded cultivation,

he had become much more familiar with himself, and the vitality and blood that had originally leaked out had also been suppressed.

By the time Liu Chang looked again, it had already returned to a normal level.

Hearing the question,

Shen Changqing smiled. "I gained a little from several days of secluded cultivation. It is nothing before Steward Liu."

"Body tempering is only the beginning. Once you have laid a solid foundation, you may consider going to the Archive Pavilion and exchanging for a martial art of the Meridian Passage Realm.

"Although a martial artist can naturally step into Meridian Opening after perfecting the Thirteen Guardians Body-Hardening Art,

doing so takes far too long.

"For an introductory martial art, you only need to temper your foundation. When the time is right, changing to a more advanced martial art will allow you to enter the Meridian Passage Realm more quickly.

"As long as you enter Meridian Opening, your chances of becoming an official Demon Slayer will increase greatly."

Liu Chang explained patiently.

He had secretly taken notice of Shen Changqing and considered him a talent.

Now that he saw him again,

the other man had indeed not proven him wrong. In only five days, he had achieved remarkable progress in the Thirteen Guardians Body-Hardening Art once more.

So long as nothing unexpected happened,

Shen Changqing would certainly become a true Demon Slayer.

As the steward of the Demon-Slaying Institute,

if a trainee Demon Slayer grew into a true Demon Slayer, Liu Chang would also gain some benefits.

Yet the elimination rate in the transformation from trainee Demon Slayer to true Demon Slayer was extraordinarily high. Very few people could reach that stage.

Therefore,

Liu Chang had no desire to pay much attention to ordinary trainee Demon Slayers and merely handled matters according to the rules.

"Thank you for your guidance, Steward Liu. If I achieve anything in the future, I will certainly not forget it!"

"Haha, it is enough that you have the intention."

Liu Chang smiled faintly, a rare smile appearing on his face.

Immediately afterward,

he took out the Demon Suppression Prison Manual again.

"You have already been to the Demon Suppression Prison several times, so you should be quite familiar with it. This time, you will continue patrolling the Demon Suppression Prison."

"Yes!"

Shen Changqing did not refuse. He accepted the Demon Suppression Prison Manual and put it away.

In truth,

he had no right to request a change of mission.

Whatever mission Liu Chang assigned, he had to carry it out.

It was clear

that Liu Chang had, as always, assigned him the same mission, one of relatively low difficulty. He was also doing Shen Changqing a favor.

Shen Changqing understood this

in his heart.

After receiving the Demon Suppression Prison Manual and bidding Liu Chang farewell, he headed straight for the Demon Suppression Prison.

Since he had no intention of searching for Kill Value,

this patrol of the Demon Suppression Prison went very quickly.

In less than an hour,

Shen Changqing emerged from the Demon Suppression Prison and then headed toward the Archive Pavilion.

Liu Chang's words

had suddenly made him realize something.

That was, the martial arts he possessed were still far too few.

The Thirteen Guardians Body-Hardening Art was good, but just as Liu Chang had said, it was only an introductory martial art, among the lowest tier of all martial arts.

If Kill Value was used to enhance them all the same,

then using more profound martial arts would undoubtedly grant him much greater strength.

"Trainee Demon Slayer Shen Changqing of the Yellow Division requests entry to the Archive Pavilion!"

Shen Changqing directly handed over his identity token, saving the other man from having to ask.

The elderly man stationed at the Archive Pavilion opened his eyes. That familiar glint of bloody light flashed and vanished once more.

But compared to last time,

when Shen Changqing met the old man's gaze now, the fear in his heart had diminished greatly.

"Mm—"

The old man returned the token, casually explained the precautions, and closed his eyes again.

Seeing this,

Shen Changqing put away the token, offered his thanks, and walked toward the bookshelves packed with books.

On the first floor of the Archive Pavilion,

there were not only records of martial arts, but also many strange tales and accounts concerning demons, evil spirits, and monsters.

But different books were divided into different sections.

Although he wanted to learn more about demons, monsters, and strange creatures,

after Liu Chang's reminder,

Shen Changqing still decided to improve his martial arts first. As for everything else, he could slowly learn about it when he had the chance in the future.

Standing before the bookshelves in the martial arts section,

he casually pulled out a book.

Several large characters were written on it: Iron Crotch Art!

Shen Changqing's mouth twitched slightly as he put the book back.

The Iron Crotch Art was also an introductory martial art, roughly the same kind as the Thirteen Guardians Body-Hardening Art.

But if the two were truly compared,

the former fell who knew how many leagues short of the latter.