Chapter 55: Whether or not to be promoted is a question

For half a day.

Shen Changqing did not leave his bedroom even for a step.

During this time, Shi Qingsheng entered and exited several times, bringing large amounts of food each time.

Inside the bedroom.

Shen Changqing finally finished his cultivation and began to check his status panel.

Name: Shen Changqing

Faction: Great Qin Demon Suppression Division

Identity: Yellow-grade Demon Suppressor

Martial Arts: Thirteen Grand Protectors Hard Qi Training (Level 20, cannot be upgraded), Heavenly Martial Astral Qi (Level 13, cannot be upgraded), Seven Kills Saber Technique (Level 3), Iron Sand Palm (Level 2)

Slaughter: 0

Just as Shen Changqing had suspected.

When the Thirteen Grand Protectors Hard Qi Training was between levels sixteen and nineteen, the cost was five slaughter points per level, but upon breaking through to level twenty, the cost directly doubled.

Of course.

While the cost had doubled, the effect on his physical enhancement had also increased significantly.

Out of forty-one slaughter points, twenty-five were consumed solely by the Thirteen Grand Protectors Hard Qi Training, leaving only sixteen points, which only raised his Heavenly Martial Astral Qi by two levels.

"Level twelve of the Heavenly Martial Astral Qi is perfection, allowing a martial artist to enter the Outer Astral Realm. I am currently at level thirteen, so I should be close to the peak of the Outer Astral Realm, but there is still a gap to bridge to reach the Grandmaster Realm.

On the contrary, the level twenty Thirteen Grand Protectors Hard Qi Training has made my physical defense extremely strong.

Now, even without using Astral Qi to defend, it would likely be difficult for an ordinary Meridian-clearing martial artist to break through my physical defense."

Shen Changqing mused to himself.

Without a real fight, he did not dare to be one hundred percent certain whether his physical defense could truly sweep through the Meridian-clearing Realm.

However, this was not his primary concern at the moment.

What Shen Changqing cared about most now was how to break through to the Grandmaster Realm.

To be honest.

He did not know much about Grandmasters.

When he was on the first floor of the Library Pavilion, he had only a superficial understanding of even the Xiantian Realm; at most, the names of the realms were familiar to him.

It wasn't until the Demon Suppression Division sent him the Heavenly Martial Astral Qi that he truly understood the Xiantian Realm.

But regarding the Grandmaster Realm and beyond, Shen Changqing was completely in the dark.

What was a Grandmaster!

How to break through to the Grandmaster Realm!

He had no clue whatsoever.

"The second floor of the Library Pavilion might contain records of Grandmasters, but martial arts techniques involving Grandmasters are likely located on the third floor. With my status as a Yellow-grade Demon Suppressor, entering the second floor is the absolute limit.

Unless—I can be promoted to a Black-grade Demon Suppressor, then it would be a different story!"

Shen Changqing toyed with the Clear Spirit Jade Pendant in his hand. If he submitted this item, there was a high possibility he would be promoted directly to a Black-grade Demon Suppressor.

As long as he successfully promoted, his benefits in all aspects would increase.

Correspondingly.

The danger of his future missions would also rise sharply.

Yellow-grade Demon Suppressors mostly executed missions involving Ghost-grade anomalies; the most dangerous task was assisting Black-grade Demon Suppressors in dealing with Resentment-grade anomalies.

For Shen Changqing.

Whether it was a Ghost-grade or a Resentment-grade anomaly, with his current methods, it wouldn't be a major problem.

But if he were promoted to a Black-grade Demon Suppressor.

If luck was poor, his missions might involve even higher-ranking demons and evils.

Just like Liu Chang.

A perfectly fine manager of the Yellow Division and a Black-grade Demon Suppressor himself, who should have been as steady as an old dog, yet ended up dying at the hands of a Slaughter-grade anomaly.

From this, it was evident.

While promotion brought many benefits, it also brought significant danger.

Should he remain quietly at the Yellow grade, performing missions and only harvesting low-level demons to ensure a steady, long-term flow, or should he promote his rank to face powerful demons and harvest massive waves of slaughter points?

This—was a difficult choice.

After all, a Ghost-grade anomaly might provide only eight or ten slaughter points when weak, or perhaps a dozen when strong.

But if it were a Resentment-grade anomaly, the slaughter points provided would be much higher.

Someone as strong as Wen Rong provided thirty slaughter points directly, comparable to the effort of painstakingly slaying two or three Ghost-grade anomalies.

However.

The inherent risk was also not low.

"I'll wait and see!"

"Everything can wait until I return to the Demon Suppression Division."

Shen Changqing took a deep breath. His current task was still to guard Lin'an City.

According to the information obtained from the Heaven-Sensing Guards, the demon essence should emerge in a few days.

And calculating the time.

The official County Magistrate appointed by the imperial court should also be arriving soon.

"The news of me killing the Zhang family cultists has already reached the Heaven-Sensing Guards. My breakthrough to the Xiantian Realm will likely be impossible to hide, but with the Meridian-clearing Pill as a precedent, breaking through to Xiantian is somewhat plausible.

My foundation is ultimately too shallow. I want to increase my strength quickly, yet I also want to avoid attracting attention. Where in this world is there such a perfect solution!"

Shen Changqing had long since prepared himself mentally for the current situation.

Acting low-key within the Demon Suppression Division and silently accumulating slaughter points to raise his realm was indeed feasible, but the progress would be too slow.

Therefore, exposure was only a matter of time.

Since he had the Meridian-clearing Pill as an excuse, although breaking through to Xiantian was somewhat shocking, it wasn't entirely inexplicable.

Furthermore.

Breaking through to Xiantian did not mean he had to be promoted to a Black-grade Demon Suppressor.

Just like trainee suppressors, the promotion from Yellow-grade to Black-grade required passing assessment missions.

Moreover.

Yellow-grade Demon Suppressors had a five-year grace period.

Any Yellow-grade Demon Suppressor could choose not to participate in assessments for five years to silently build strength; only when the five years expired would the assessment be forcibly implemented.

If successful, they would naturally be promoted to Black-grade.

But if they failed, they might die if they were unlucky; if they were fortunate enough to survive, their next mission would still be an assessment mission.

In this regard.

The Demon Suppression Division displayed sufficient bloodthirst and cruelty.

But similarly, before the five-year limit, the Demon Suppression Division would not normally force a Yellow-grade Demon Suppressor to participate in assessment missions.

As for what constituted an "abnormal" situation, Shen Changqing did not know.

Rising from his seat, he left the bedroom.

Shen Changqing found Shi Qingsheng: "Registrar Shi, draft an announcement immediately and post it to explain what happened to the Zhang family yesterday."

The appearance of evil in the Zhang family, followed by the entire place being burned to the ground.

For the people of Lin'an City, this was a major event, so the yamen had to provide a reasonable explanation to serve the purpose of pacifying the public.

At the same time.

Shen Changqing also went to the study to begin writing down the events of the Zhang family to send back to the Demon Suppression Division.

If it were merely the destruction of a single family, there would be no need to report it to the Division.

However.

The Zhang family was a stronghold for the Eternal Life Alliance in Lin'an City. Anything involving an Eternal Life Alliance stronghold could be a matter of great significance.

To be safe.

Shen Changqing decided to send the news back.

In the letter, he wrote everything truthfully.

However, he did not fully reveal the extent of the Zhang family cultists' strength.

After finishing, Shen Changqing changed into plain clothes and went to the Yongfu Pawnshop to hand the letter to Situ Bei, asking him to use the Heaven-Sensing Guards to deliver the news back to the Demon Suppression Division.

At the same time.

The yamen's announcement was officially posted.

Immediately.

Many citizens gathered around, discussing the announcement fervently.

"Is there anyone who can read? Help us interpret this."

"I didn't expect the Zhang family to be wiped out by evil! What a tragedy!"

"Yeah, I was just chatting with Steward Zhang a few days ago. I didn't expect that after just a few days, they'd be gone—"

The onlookers shook their heads and sighed.

Some had connections to the Zhang family, while others were simply lamenting the fragility of human life.

"Was the Zhang family wiped out by evil only yesterday?"

In the crowd, Cui Cheng frowned slightly as he looked at the posted announcement.

He had originally thought that the Zhang family had colluded with evil and was subsequently slaughtered by Shen Changqing, but looking at the content of the announcement, it seemed more like the Zhang family had suddenly been massacred by evil, and the yamen had received news and rushed there to exterminate the evil.

The content of the announcement appeared reasonable.

But in Cui Cheng's eyes, it was full of loopholes.

As early as when Shen Changqing had summoned them, it was evident that the Zhang family serving as an Eternal Life Alliance stronghold was not a recent development.

If the Zhang family had not colluded with evil, they should have died a miserable death at the hands of evil long ago.

But the discussions of the citizens around him refuted the theory that the Zhang family had been destroyed long ago.

It wasn't just Cui Cheng who was puzzled.

Beside him, Zhao Yue also showed much confusion on her face.

"Senior Brother, was the Zhang family not colluding with evil, but rather just recently massacred by them?" She turned her head toward her senior brother, meeting Cui Cheng's solemn expression.

"It's hard to say!"

Cui Cheng shook his head; he was also completely bewildered.

"Let's leave first!"

He pulled Zhao Yue away.

The other citizens continued to crowd around the announcement, discussing it incessantly.

***

Inner Hall.

Just as Shen Changqing sat down, Cui Cheng and his companion arrived to visit.

"Why have you two come?"

"Lord Shen, I wish to ask about the Zhang family matter—" Cui Cheng spoke impatiently, but halfway through, he didn't know how to continue.

"Please, sit!"

Shen Changqing gestured with his eyes.

The two cupped their fists: "Thank you, Lord Shen!"

With that, they took their seats.

Shen Changqing looked at them with a calm expression: "The reason you two are here is because of the announcement posted by the yamen, isn't it? If you have any questions, feel free to ask; there is no need to beat around the bush."

"Since that is the case, I will speak plainly!"

Cui Cheng cupped his hands and asked the doubt in his heart.

"From what Lord Shen said yesterday, it was clear that the Zhang family had been an Eternal Life Alliance stronghold for some time. But according to the yamen's announcement, the Zhang family doesn't seem like a stronghold at all, but rather a family that has just been victimized by evil. What exactly is going on here?"

"The Zhang family was indeed a stronghold for the Eternal Life Alliance, but they did not collude with the evil. In fact, long ago, the Zhang family was wiped out by the cultists of the Eternal Life Alliance."

After Shen Changqing finished speaking.

He paused briefly before shifting the topic and asking a question.

"I wonder if the Guiyuan Sword Sect has ever heard of Corpse Puppets?"

"Corpse Puppets!"

Cui Cheng was puzzled for a moment, but he quickly remembered something, and his expression changed drastically.

"Lord Shen, are you saying that the members of the Zhang family were all refined into Corpse Puppets!"