Chapter 37: The First Wisp of True Qi

Name: Shen Changqing

Faction: Great Qin Demon Suppression Division

Identity: Yellow-grade Demon Suppressor

Martial Arts: Thirteen Grand Protectors Hard Qi Training (15th Layer, cannot be upgraded), Pure Yang Art (11th Layer, cannot be upgraded), Heavenly Martial Astral Qi (Not yet initiated, cannot be upgraded), Seven Kills Saber Technique (2nd Layer), Iron Sand Palm (2nd Layer)

Kill Count: 4

Compared to his previous concise panel, Shen Changqing's current status panel had become much more magnificent.

He possessed five martial arts.

Two had broken through their limits, and two could be considered to have reached a level of proficiency.

As for the remaining Heavenly Martial Astral Qi, although he had not yet initiated it, he was confident that he could officially step into the first layer within a short period.

Calming his mind.

Following the memories in his head, Shen Changqing began to cultivate the first layer of the Heavenly Martial Astral Qi.

The minimum requirement for cultivating the Heavenly Martial Astral Qi was for a martial artist to birth True Qi and enter the Meridian-Opening Realm.

The first layer of the Heavenly Martial Astral Qi involved converting True Qi into Heavenly Martial True Qi.

Once one broke through to the Xiantian Realm, the Heavenly Martial True Qi would derive a powerful form of astral qi known as Heavenly Martial Astral Qi.

This was also the origin of the name of the martial art.

"Currently, I possess two types of True Qi in my body: one is Pure Yang True Qi, and the other is the True Qi from the Thirteen Grand Protectors Hard Qi Training. However, the latter is merely nourishment for the former; it is swallowed by the Pure Yang True Qi the moment it is born."

Shen Changqing settled his mind. After breaking through to the Xiantian Realm, he was already able to perform internal inspection.

Within his Dantian.

The Pure Yang True Qi was like a great sun furnace, emitting scorching temperatures.

Every time True Qi from the Thirteen Grand Protectors Hard Qi Training was born, it was immediately devoured clean by the Pure Yang True Qi.

With the Pure Yang Art having broken through to the eleventh layer, the strength of the Pure Yang True Qi was incomparable to what it had been before.

Although some True Qi would be converted from the Thirteen Grand Protectors Hard Qi Training every so often, it served no significant purpose for the Pure Yang True Qi.

Just like that wisp of True Qi just now.

After being swallowed by the Pure Yang True Qi, there wasn't even a slight increase in its strength.

Withdrawing from his internal inspection.

Shen Changqing gained a better understanding of his own condition: "The Thirteen Grand Protectors Hard Qi Training is ultimately a bit too low-end. Even though I have broken its limits, I cannot improve it much further. It also fails to provide as much nourishment to the Pure Yang True Qi as it used to. If I don't cultivate and only rely on True Qi conversion to nourish the Pure Yang True Qi, it might take decades to evolve to the next level."

Clearly, while there were benefits to mastering external arts, once a martial artist reached a profound level, the benefits provided by external arts became negligible.

Unless it was a high-grade external art, but such martial arts were not easily obtained.

In Shen Changqing's view, such martial arts should exist within the Library Pavilion.

However, since he could not return there for now, he could only think about it.

Gathering his focus.

Shen Changqing sat motionlessly in his seat, silently observing the changes in his Dantian.

Time passed.

Another wisp of True Qi was born.

With a single thought, he prevented the Pure Yang True Qi from devouring it, and then, following the cultivation method of the Heavenly Martial Astral Qi, he manipulated that wisp of True Qi to leave the Dantian and head toward a specific part of his body.

The True Qi was like a silver snake.

Driven by his will, it laboriously cleared a tiny meridian.

——

The night passed quickly.

Shen Changqing emerged from his state of cultivation. A night of bitter training had not left him feeling exhausted; instead, he felt energetic and refreshed.

At this moment, in addition to the Pure Yang True Qi, the Heavenly Martial True Qi now existed within his Dantian.

However, compared to the Pure Yang True Qi, which was like a great sun furnace, the Heavenly Martial True Qi was much weaker, forced into a small corner of the Dantian where it could barely move.

Shen Changqing did not pay much attention to this.

As long as the Heavenly Martial True Qi was not devoured by the Pure Yang True Qi, it would be fine.

Looking at the panel.

In the span of one night, the Heavenly Martial Astral Qi had officially been initiated, reaching the first layer, which was close to what he had expected.

For a powerful martial artist, once the foundation was laid, initiating any martial art would not be overly difficult.

The real difficulty lay in mastery.

"Once the Heavenly Martial True Qi becomes stronger, I can directly convert the Pure Yang True Qi into Heavenly Martial True Qi. That way, the cultivation of the Heavenly Martial Astral Qi will be much faster, and the quality of the True Qi will be much stronger than having only Pure Yang True Qi," Shen Changqing mused.

Converting True Qi was a necessary process.

A single Dantian could not hold too many powerful types of True Qi simultaneously, otherwise, it would cause intense conflict. The reason no conflict had occurred yet was that the Heavenly Martial True Qi was too weak to pose a threat to the Pure Yang True Qi.

Once it truly became a threat, the two different types of True Qi would erupt into a violent conflict.

Therefore, he would need to preserve one type of True Qi when the conflict erupted, while using the other as nourishment.

Because the Heavenly Martial Astral Qi itself was of a high grade, Shen Changqing did not hesitate to choose the Pure Yang True Qi as the sacrificial target.

"Converting eleventh-layer Pure Yang True Qi into Heavenly Martial True Qi... then my Heavenly Martial True Qi will definitely be different from anyone else's!"

Rising from his seat, he walked toward the exit of the study.

As soon as he opened the door, he saw the Registrar, Shi Qingsheng, standing there, holding a set of green official robes with a black official hat resting on top.

"My Lord!"

"Registrar Shi, what is the matter?" Shen Changqing frowned.

"I forgot something yesterday. Although you are temporarily acting as the County Magistrate, you should rightfully have your own official uniform. Therefore, I have brought it to you today," Shi Qingsheng replied truthfully.

"Official uniform?"

Shen Changqing's gaze fell upon the black hat, and he reached out to take it.

"You are thoughtful."

Shen Changqing was not entirely sure of Registrar Shi's capabilities, but judging by the attention to detail in his work, he was quite competent.

"It is my duty, My Lord," Shi Qingsheng said with a smile, then added, "You have not left the study all night, so you must be hungry. I have prepared breakfast; please follow me."

"Lead the way."

"This way, My Lord!"

——

After eating his fill.

The food was much more abundant than when Shen Changqing was at the Demon Suppression Division.

Thinking about it, it made sense. After all, when he was at the Demon Suppression Division, he was merely an apprentice Demon Suppressor; how could his meals compare to those of a County Magistrate?

Throughout the entire process, Shen Changqing ate while Shi Qingsheng stood by waiting.

Once he finished, the latter bowed and asked, "May I ask where My Lord intends to go next, or if there is anything you wish to command?"

Wiping his mouth.

Shen Changqing's expression remained calm. "Have Hong Cheng come see me."

"Yes!"

Shi Qingsheng took his orders and withdrew.

Shen Changqing looked at the mess on the table but paid it little mind as he turned to leave.

He didn't need to clean up after himself; someone would naturally handle it.

(End of Chapter)