The various cultivation systems

The tallest building in the Nightwatchers's office is the Haoqi Tower in the central courtyard. It has a pyramidal roof and layers of flying eaves, looking the same from all sides.

The lower four floors have an outer corridor, and the corridor on the fifth and sixth floors can be used as a lookout hall, overlooking the entire Nightwatchers's office.

The powerful eunuch known in the martial arts world as "Wei Qingyi" lived in the building.

In the tea room on the seventh floor, a man dressed in blue robes leaned against a soft couch, holding a scroll in his hand.

The sky-blue robe was embroidered with intricate cloud patterns, and the workmanship was exquisite. Her black hair was tied up with a jade hairpin, her temples were frosty white, her face was clean and beardless, and her eyes were deep and profound, revealing the vicissitudes of time.

Wei Yuan was a man of both refined temperament and handsome appearance; he was elegant, refined, and reserved.

There were two other people in the tea room. The one accompanying Wei Yuan while he drank tea and read was a serious-looking man with stiff, sculpted features, showing no emotion whatsoever.

The other person had a feminine demeanor, handsome features, phoenix eyes, willow-leaf eyebrows, and thin, rosy lips; at first glance, one might suspect that he was a woman disguised as a man.

The man with an effeminate air stood in the watchtower, bathed in the warm sunlight, one hand resting on the hilt of the sword hanging at his waist, and said:

"The sun is shining brightly, and the sky is cloudless. Isn't enjoying the scenery here more interesting than hiding indoors reading a book?"

Wei Yuan put down the book in his hand and smiled, "There are fewer and fewer books to read these days. I recently heard that the Bureau of Astronomy has acquired a blue book that records the essence of all things in the universe. I'm quite curious about it."

"Yang Yan, in ten days it will be the day His Majesty worships his ancestors. Issue a notice to increase patrols within the inner city and reduce trade within the inner city."

The man, his face stiff, gave a curt "hmm".

The effeminate-looking man exhaled, "Godfather, you really don't intend to vie for the position of Ministry of Revenue and place your own people there?"

"This is a necessary concession," Wei Qingyi said, glancing towards the entrance of the tea room, where a clerk in blue robes bowed and entered.

"Duke Wei, these are the qualification test results and household registration information for the newly appointed gong-bearers. Please make your judgment."

The clerk handed over a stack of documents.

Wei Yuan opened the household registration book and glanced at it. The newly promoted gong was named Xu Qi'an, formerly a fast-paced performer in Changle County. His father and uncle were both from military backgrounds.

This information is both important and unimportant.

The key reason is that the Nightwatchers has a special status; his ancestors must have a clean record for at least three generations. Xu Qi'an is from the capital of the Great Feng Dynasty, a native of the city.

Therefore, Xu Qi'an's identity is valid.

What is unimportant is that every Nightwatchers has a similarly innocent background.

Beneath the household registration was the result of the "intelligence" test. Wei Yuan glanced at it, a smile playing on his lips, "Qianrou, how many breaths did you take to answer the questions back then?"

The man, with his delicate features and striking good looks, raised his chin slightly upon hearing this. "Fifteen breaths, Yang Yan is nineteen breaths."

"This newly appointed gong player is twelve breaths."

After twelve breaths, the man with an effeminate air raised an eyebrow and arrogantly commented, "Not bad."

The man, his face stiff and expressionless, said, "It's not surprising that he could solve the tax evasion case in such a short time."

Wei Yuan smiled, his gaze fixed on the subsequent notes, and added, "The clerk carrying the box was stunned for about five breaths."

"Impossible." The man with an effeminate demeanor suddenly turned around and walked into the tea room.

Yang Yan frowned.

In other words, the time to think was only seven breaths—what a sharp mind!

Yang Yan stood up, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Godfather, give this man to me."

"He's under your name. He works for Li Yuchun, the Silver Gong." Wei Yuan put down his teacup and looked at the man with a effeminate air. "You've seen him before, that day at the Bureau of Astronomy."

The eccentric man from the Bureau of Astronomy pondered for a few seconds, then chuckled and said, "Him? What a boastful brat."

Upon hearing that this newly promoted gong was working under Li Yuchun, Yang Yan nodded in satisfaction.

Each gold gong master supervised seven silver gong masters, and Li Yuchun was one of them.

"Godfather, how is his combat strength?" Yang Yan asked.

"Peak Essence Refining, there's no need for testing." Wei Yuan laughed, "This person was recommended by the Eldest Princess. I saw that he was quick-witted and capable, so I specially invited him to join the Nightwatchers."

The eldest princess?!

Yang Yan and the man with the effeminate air exchanged a glance; Wei Yuan hadn't told them this news.

Wei Yuan continued browsing the results of the "Questioning the Heart" assessment. Gradually, his gentle expression turned serious, and his deep eyes became sharp.

Yang Yan straightened his back and looked at the paper.

The effeminate-looking man swaggered over to Wei Qingyi, peeked inside, and immediately laughed, "It's a brat even more arrogant than me, Godfather. What should we do with him?"

His smile held a hint of schadenfreude.

Wei Yuan pulled out the bottom sheet of paper, which was written in ugly handwriting:

Your food and your salary are the people's hard-earned wealth.

The common people are easily oppressed, but Heaven is hard to deceive.

Wei Qingyi's pupils suddenly froze as she stared at the two passages of text, remaining silent for a long time.

"The common people are easy to oppress, but Heaven is hard to deceive," Yang Yan repeated this phrase.

The man with the effeminate demeanor's eyes flickered slightly as he recovered from his brief moment of surprise, his attention shifting in the exact opposite direction to that of the expressionless Yang Yan:

"You eat your own food and your own salary, the people's blood and sweat, hey, so this little rascal thinks he's eating the people's blood and sweat, not the emperor's."

Yang Yan thought for a moment and asked, "What does Godfather think?"

Wei Yuan countered, "What do you think?"

Yang Yan considered carefully before replying, "I eat the emperor's food, and I bear the emperor's worries."

The implication is that they do not agree with that statement.

Wei Yuan nodded. "When that little bronze gong is upgraded to a gold gong someday, you can debate it with him yourself."

The effeminate man raised an eyebrow. "Does Godfather think that kid has the potential to become a Golden Rooster?"

"As long as he is a martial artist, there is no problem." Wei Yuan smiled gently, "The three religions each have their own rules. Warlock are burdened by human fortune, and so are witchcraft. In this world, only martial artists are the purest."

"Although I despise martial artists who break the law with force, I must admit that the more unruly a martial artist is, the more courageous and diligent they can be."

Only those who have no reverence and no fear in their hearts dare to overturn the world.

At this point, Wei Yuan took out a new inkstone from under the table, poured in cinnabar and water, ground it into red ink, and dipped his brush in it.

The household registration document reads "Jia Shang".

"The unruly are warriors, the chivalrous are those with a heart for the world. The greatest chivalrous are those who serve their country and its people."

A on!

Since the establishment of the Nightwatchers, very few have received this evaluation.

A secret room.

Li Yuchun pointed to the wooden tub and said, "Take off your clothes and sit inside."

Finally, he was about to step into the Qi Refining Realm. Xu Qi'an suppressed his excitement and glanced at the pungent-smelling bath tub, which was filled with dark green liquid.

This stuff is called Marrow Cleansing Liquid. Just this one bucket costs about 150 taels of silver.

He quickly took off his clothes, pants, and shoes, and sat naked in the bathtub.

Li Yuchun asked, "You haven't lost your virginity, have you?"

Xu Qi'an nodded. "My second uncle is a centurion of the Imperial Saber Guard, and he told me that one cannot break one's virginity before Qi Refining Realm."

He leaned comfortably back in the bathtub and asked, "Boss, are you at the Spirit Refining Realm?"

Li Yuchun hummed in agreement.

"So, the Spirit Refining Realm is followed by a body of copper and iron, right?"

Li Yuchun hummed in agreement again.

Xu Qi'an laughed and said, "The name doesn't sound good. Why not call it Vajra Realm?"

Having a copper skin and iron bones is too low-class; it makes us martial artists look like uncultured peasants.

"The three grades in Buddhist School are called Vajra," Li Yuchun explained.

"I see!" Xu Qi'an nodded, then earnestly inquired, "Boss, among the many cultivation systems in the world, which is the strongest?"

Li Yuchun answered without hesitation, "The Daoist School says they are the strongest."

"What about the other systems?"

"Every other system believes itself to be the strongest."

"Oh, I understand."

"However, all systems in the world share a consensus: martial arts are the most vulgar and the least respectable."

"I do know a little about that, because warriors only possess superhuman strength, not supernatural abilities."

It's still not flashy enough.

"This is just the surface; there's a much bigger secret hidden within, involving the upper limit of the cultivation system."

Xu Qi'an straightened his back and tentatively asked, "Boss, can you tell me?"

PS: This lawsuit lasted for six or seven hours.