The Qi-Reading Technique

The instant Zhou Yi saw the fish demon's image, a series of scenes surfaced in his mind.

The Southern Frontier of Great Qian.

The upper reaches of the Yangning River.

An ignorant blue carp accidentally swallowed a Spirit Pearl nurtured by a thousand-year-old clam and gained sentience.

A hundred years later, the blue carp took human form. Dissatisfied with its slow cultivation, it sought out the Blood Sacrifice Method to refine its demonic qi.

Threatened by the fish demon, the villagers along both banks of the Yangning River offered up ten pairs of young boys and girls every year for it to practice its evil arts.

Thirteen years later, a demon-slaying captain discovered the fish demon's crimes and joined forces with a Yaksha serving the Water God of the Yangning River to capture it and bring it to justice.

After the Ministry of Justice tried its crimes and passed sentence, it was thrown into the Demon-Slaying Bureau's Death Prison, Cell C-25.

Zhou Yi emerged from his daze to find a medicinal pill in his hand.

A Water-Softening Pill.

Deep blue, about the size of the pad of his thumb.

Refined from the blood essence and souls of water-aligned members of the demon race, it increased the magical power of water-aligned cultivators who consumed it. For mortals, it cleansed their essence and marrow, slightly improving their affinity for water spiritual qi.

"The Demon and Monster Compendium, slaying demons, rewards..."

Zhou Yi murmured to himself, "Isn't this... a system?"

Recovering from his shock and delight, Zhou Yi tossed the Water-Softening Pill straight into his mouth.

The pill melted on his tongue, flowing like a gentle stream into every limb and bone. It continually washed through his muscles and skeleton, expelling layer after layer of impurities from his body.

Zhou Yi sat cross-legged in a corner of the cell. For a mortal, carving up a demon was an extremely exhausting task, so each person was assigned only one demon or monster a day.

Two hours later.

As the medicinal power gradually faded, Zhou Yi clenched his fists and discovered that his strength had more than doubled.

"Truly a miraculous elixir worthy of immortals."

Zhou Yi smelled the strong, strange odor coming from his body, but he paid it no mind and had no intention of deliberately washing it off.

If a spotless executioner appeared in the Demon-Slaying Bureau's prison, he would almost certainly be taken for someone possessed by a demon.

Previously, Zhou Yi would have tried every possible means to escape the Demon-Slaying Bureau. Now he would not leave even if they chased him out. No one could escape the law of "actually, this is great."

Demons ran rampant outside, making it incredibly dangerous. How could it compare to the safety of the Demon-Slaying Bureau? Great Qian's finest bodyguards were gathered here, and he could keep slaying sealed demons to earn rewards. It was practically paradise on earth.

Zhou Yi was brimming with motivation now. He had to do his job properly.

The materials harvested from the fish demon had to be delivered to the Ministry of Works while still fresh, after which its remains had to be thrown into the Demon Refining Cavern.

The Ministry of Works lay beyond the B-tier prison, closer to the surface, and stored all manner of bizarre demon remains.

Zhou Yi carefully sealed the fish demon's parts and delivered them to the Ministry of Works. Then he returned to Cell C-25, shouldered the fish demon's remains, and headed deeper underground.

The fish demon was only half a head taller than an ordinary person, yet it weighed over five hundred jin. After taking the Water-Softening Pill, Zhou Yi's strength had increased enormously, making the task much easier than usual.

The Demon Refining Cavern lay more than a hundred zhang underground. No one was there when Zhou Yi arrived. Standing at its edge, he looked down into an abyss whose bottom was nowhere in sight.

Legend had it that immortals had inscribed a Demon Refining Formation at the bottom of the abyss. It could dissolve the killing intent in demonic creatures, preventing them from turning into evil fiends and continuing to harm humanity.

Zhou Yi threw the fish demon's remains into the abyss and silently counted to nineteen before hearing an echo.

"If the speed of sound and gravitational acceleration in this world are the same as in my previous life, and I ignore any discrepancy in counting seconds, the bottom of the Demon Refining Cavern should be about nineteen hundred meters down."

"A Demon Refining Cavern built entirely by human hands would be an enormous engineering project even on Blue Star, without the mighty power of immortals and gods."

"This world is far too dangerous. Better to hide safely in the Demon-Slaying Bureau..."

He returned to Room A-3.

The room was empty. Zhou Yi glanced at the water clock.

Dissecting the fish demon, taking the Water-Softening Pill, and transporting the remains had taken more than twelve hours.

Zhou Yi had deliberately restrained his pace, yet he had still finished four hours earlier than usual. Even so, he felt no hunger, and the strength in his limbs and bones seemed inexhaustible.

The Water-Softening Pill's effects were far too potent for a mortal. Even though most of its power had gone into cleansing his essence and marrow, some remained, subtly transforming Zhou Yi's body.

"I have to act no differently from everyone else. I'll eat first."

Zhou Yi went to the dining hall, where a scattering of executioners were already feasting.

How quickly an executioner finished his assignment depended directly on the target. Creatures like the fish demon were the most troublesome, while humans who practiced evil and Outer Dao cultivation arts were the easiest.

The demon race had tough sinews, bones, and muscles. Without their demonic qi being sealed and specially made instruments of punishment, an ordinary person could not even cut through a demon's skin.

Though demonic practitioners were easy to kill, they were the assignments executioners least wanted. Who knew whether they might unleash some secret art before dying?

Even with their magical power crippled and their essence, qi, and spirit sealed, there was no telling whether they still had the strength for one final strike.

One executioner from Zhou Yi's intake had been assigned to kill a demonic practitioner. Despite proceeding with the utmost caution, both had died in the end.

Zhou Yi collected a dozen or so steamed buns and a large basin of food, found a corner, and began eating by himself.

Even before having his essence and marrow cleansed, he could have finished it all. Now his appetite had increased greatly, and he could eat twice as much again.

The executioners' quarters provided plenty of food, allowing them to eat their fill. In that respect, it more than fulfilled the terms of their indenture contracts.

As Zhou Yi ate, he kept gathering information from the conversations around him. He was no longer the illiterate refugee he had once been, and he could not continue muddling through life only to die without even knowing how it had happened.

Useful information could be hidden in anyone's conversation.

The executioners in the dining hall belonged to the other eight divisions. Some talked in pairs, while others gathered around tables in small groups.

The executioners' quarters were organized into the Nine Divisions, each with thirty to a hundred men. Zhou Yi belonged to the First A Division.

"I nearly bought it today, brothers. That devil actually offered to teach me a cultivation art that would make me invincible under heaven. Luckily..."

"Have you heard? Zhang Dashan from the Sixth Division got an assignment in the A-tier prison. That demon actually broke free of its seal and swallowed him whole..."

"I heard from a demonic practitioner that our A-, B-, and C-tier prisons are divided according to some kind of ranks..."

"..."

Zhou Yi silently sifted out the useful information, sorting and organizing it. If he encountered such situations later, it might save his life.

Executioners came and went as they ate, but no one noticed Zhou Yi listening in the corner.

Only late that night did Zhou Yi return to Room A-3. The seven executioners sharing his room were already snoring, the sound loud enough to shake the heavens.

The next day.

Zhou Yi's assignment was a rat spirit in Cell C-27.

It had impersonated the local earth god of a village in Chuxian County, erected unauthorized obscene shrines and sacrifices, and collected incense and fire prayer power from ignorant men and women.

At first, it had duped believers in several villages. Later, it extended its reach into the county seat of Chuxian County, where a local Day-Patrolling Ghost Officer discovered it and reported it to the City God and the Demon-Slaying Bureau. They joined forces to capture the Rat Spirit and bring him to justice.

Great Qian Law strictly forbade the unauthorized gathering of incense offerings. Violators were killed without mercy.

Through the Rat Spirit's memories, Zhou Yi learned that the City Gods and earth gods within Great Qian were actually appointed by the imperial court.

"Great Qian is even stronger than I expected. That means the Demon-Slaying Bureau... is even safer!"

After slaying the rat spirit, Zhou Yi obtained a spell.

The Qi-Reading Technique.

Every living being, building, mountain, and river had its own aura. The Qi-Reading Technique could judge its strength or weakness, fortune or peril, through the rise and decline of that aura.

Having just acquired the Qi-Reading Technique, Zhou Yi tried to examine the aura of the Demon-Slaying Bureau's penal department.

Killing intent that spanned heaven and earth instantly blinded him.