The Troupe's Touting

Zhou An had been so pleased with his recent improvement that he had not paid attention to the changes in his qi. He only knew that it had grown as thick as four fingers.

But after sensing it carefully now, he discovered that the shape of his qi had changed.

Inside his body, his qi was still as thick as four fingers.

This time, it had strengthened, but it had completely lost its previous shape.

At that moment, the qi lurking in his dantian was slightly curved.

Its two ends seemed about to join together, while the bend in the middle gave it a somewhat torn appearance.

"If the ends join together, the middle will become a circle. If I fill that circle in, can I form a Qi Sphere?"

Zhou An thought to himself.

Whether one was an expert in cultivation methods or combat techniques, refining qi into a Qi Sphere was ultimately the same destination.

Once qi formed a Qi Sphere, it would become purer, and its power would surpass what it had been before.

An ordinary Third-Rate Expert had virtually no ability to resist a Second-Rate Expert, precisely because of the difference in the purity of their qi.

A flash of realization crossed Zhou An's mind.

He knew that he was now approaching the level of a Second-Rate Expert.

As long as the two ends of his qi joined together and the empty space in the middle was filled, he would become a true Second-Rate Expert.

"Proficiency is my real trump card. With it, I can raise my realm flawlessly."

Zhou An's heart burned with excitement, and he wished he could immediately keep grinding away.

But it was already time to clock out. Staying any longer would not look good.

Zhou An temporarily suppressed his thoughts, left the kitchen, and closed the door behind him. Just then, he ran into Yu Hang, who was coming out of his room.

"Come on, let's head home," Yu Hang said.

Ever since his private tutor had died, he had not sought out another.

In Yu Hang's words, no one else was more learned than he was.

There was no point in finding one. It would only waste money.

Zhou An nodded and left the yamen with Yu Hang, heading home.

The two walked down the street and bought some vegetables along the way.

By chance, Zhou An overheard an old farmer selling vegetables chatting with someone nearby.

"Have you heard? Quite a few counties have started their selections recently."

"Of course I've heard. Seems the lords from the Surveillance Division are personally conducting them."

"I wonder what's going on with our county magistrate. We haven't seen him in ages."

"Talk less. We common folk are just here for the excitement. Don't meddle in the affairs of the officials."

Listening to their conversation, Zhou An remembered that the selections were drawing closer and closer.

The selections took place before the Imperial Examination and were meant to free up some positions.

Those who failed would be eliminated, while those who passed could continue climbing upward. It was considered relatively fair.

There would not only be a written test; the conditions throughout the areas under their jurisdiction would also be assessed.

The ones responsible for the inspections were the Surveillance Division, which monitored civil and military officials.

The Surveillance Division was made up of Qi Refiners.

Qi Refiners possessed all sorts of methods and were the most suitable organization for supervising the officials.

There had been too many things going on lately, and Zhou An had nearly forgotten about it.

The two carried their vegetables and continued home.

"Old Zhou, I'm afraid our County Magistrate will come out of seclusion early," Yu Hang said.

"Oh? Why do you say that?" Zhou An asked with some interest.

Yu Hang looked left and right like a thief, then lowered his voice. "Wasn't it always the written test first, followed by inspection? But now His Majesty suddenly changed his mind. They have to pass the inspection before they're allowed to take the written test."

"They say it's because, during the previous written test, some officials were so focused on preparing for it that they even neglected the places under their jurisdiction, only scrambling to make up for it after the written test."

"His Majesty got angry and said that learning must be put to use. If it can't be put to use, what good is even the finest writing?"

"So now, the overall evaluation of the areas under their jurisdiction has become the standard for entering the written test. And the news was only issued not long ago."

Hearing this, Zhou An rubbed his chin, thinking that this arrangement was more reasonable.

Take An Ding County's county magistrate, for example. For the sake of a written test, he had even handed the Beast Cult matter over entirely for others to handle.

Fortunately, nothing had happened this time. If something really had happened, it would have become a huge mess.

"Qi Refiners..." Zhou An muttered.

Among the Four Great Gates, Qi Refiners encompassed an enormous range.

The most famous were the Daoist and Buddhist branches.

There were also all kinds of miscellaneous schools and sects, many of which fell under the category of Qi Refiners.

Among the Four Great Gates, miscellaneous schools were the most numerous, martial artists came second, Qi Refiners third, and Scholars last.

"What's wrong, Old Zhou? This has nothing to do with us anyway." Yu Hang shrugged.

"Nothing." Zhou An shook his head.

He truly did not think much of it.

He only needed to grind proficiency; he had no connection to any other organizations.

If others did not provoke him, he would not provoke them.

If they did provoke him, he would find a way to eradicate them completely.

Just as he had thought before, even if he wanted to keep a low profile, he still had to eliminate potential threats.

The two did not discuss the matter further and went home separately.

Zhou An ate a little, then focused on grinding Soaring Dragon Steps and Object Juggling.

It was not until the next day that he rose early, ate breakfast, got dressed, and headed out to report for duty.

On the way to report for duty today, he came across something interesting.

On one of An Ding County's streets, quite a few people were setting up a stage.

Zhou An happened to be passing by, so he went over for a look and discovered that it was a theater troupe.

These days, theater troupes had to travel everywhere to make a living.

Wherever there was a performance to be held and money to be earned, they would go.

Making a living was not easy for anyone.

If a troupe stayed in one place all year round, people would eventually grow tired of hearing them, and then they would no longer make money.

"This troupe is pretty large."

The stage alone looked big enough to hold more than twenty people. It must have cost quite a lot—certainly more than Zhou An's salary could afford.

Zhou An wondered who had hired them.

Unexpectedly, as soon as they finished setting up the stage and began to sing, he could tell that something was off.

He could not understand much of it, but he understood some.

Why were they singing about the virtues of An Ding County, both onstage and off?

The play's content practically praised An Ding County to the heavens.

The commoners were stunned as well. They had only come to watch the excitement, never expecting to hear this.

Zhou An only listened for a short while before heading to the county yamen.

On the way there, he figured out the reason.

Perhaps the county magistrate of An Ding County had hired them.

After all, the Surveillance Division was about to arrive, so he probably had to put on a show.

At the very least, having a troupe publicly sing his praises for the Surveillance Division to see could earn him quite a few points.

"He's quite good at dealing with things," Zhou An thought.

Of course, it had nothing to do with him. He was only a lowly constable, so why should he concern himself with so many matters of officialdom?

After arriving at the yamen, Zhou An planned to report for duty as usual, then head to the kitchen to grind some skills.

But before he could reach the kitchen, he saw a shocking sight in the front courtyard.