Chapter 36: Tianwu Astral Qi

Shen Changqing stood up and looked at him, saying, "Regarding the affairs of the yamen, I do not intend to interfere too much. How you handled things after Zhao Fang's death is how you should continue to handle them now."

"Thank you for your trust, Excellency!"

"But I have one requirement: everything within the inner hall's residence must be replaced. During my temporary tenure as Magistrate, I will be living here."

"Rest assured, Excellency Shen, I will dispatch men to handle it immediately!"

Shi Qingsheng nodded in agreement to Shen Changqing's request.

Since the other party was the acting Magistrate, there was no issue with him residing within the yamen.

Subsequently, Shi Qingsheng immediately sent men to replace everything in the inner hall according to Shen Changqing's requirements.

The entire task was completed in less than half a day.

"Excellency Shen, please take a look. Do you have any other instructions?" Shi Qingsheng asked with a bowed head, standing to the side.

"Well done."

Looking at the refreshed surroundings, Shen Changqing nodded slightly in approval.

"Does Excellency Shen have any further orders?"

"Not for now. You may go back to your duties."

"This subordinate takes his leave!"

As Shi Qingsheng respectfully withdrew, Shen Changqing rose from his seat and began to familiarize himself with the environment of the yamen.

The yamen was divided into the outer hall and the inner hall.

The outer hall was the place for handling cases, and it also contained a dungeon underneath for the convenience of detaining prisoners. As for the inner hall, it was entirely a residential area.

The term "inner hall" was merely a superficial designation.

In reality, the inner hall was comparable to a small manor. Aside from the main hall for receiving guests, there were many side rooms, and a study was also provided.

However, because it was a government office, there were no servants or maids here.

"The place is large enough and the living quarters are spacious. The status of a city Magistrate is indeed not low!"

After taking a stroll around, Shen Changqing couldn't help but feel a sense of wonder.

By comparison, the place where he lived in the Demon Suppression Division was completely outclassed.

***

The Study.

After familiarizing himself with the environment, Shen Changqing arrived here.

Having received the items from the Demon Suppression Division today, he needed to digest them thoroughly.

Setting aside the Clear Spirit Jade Pendant—which served as proof of an Exorcist's kills; as long as one held the pendant, every demon slain would be recorded—the pendant could also be used to offset certain missions within the Division.

Once an Exorcist promoted to the Yellow Rank, they would have fixed mission requirements every year.

A Yellow Rank Exorcist was required to complete at least ten missions annually; in other words, they had to eliminate at least ten demons.

One must realize that the location of each mission was different. For instance, when arriving in Lin'an City, Shen Changqing had spent a significant amount of time just traveling. The requirement of ten missions a year would consume a considerable amount of time.

Therefore, the Demon Suppression Division's decision to let him guard Lin'an City to offset his missions for the coming year was a great convenience.

However, relatively speaking, the task of guarding Lin'an City was many times more difficult than an ordinary mission.

The gains and losses depended on the individual.

Once promoted to an Earth Rank Exorcist, the minimum requirement would drop to only five missions per year.

Although the frequency decreased, the difficulty increased.

In practice, the higher the rank of an Exorcist, the fewer the required minimum missions each year, but the difficulty would continuously escalate.

"I might as well just guard it then!"

Shen Changqing sighed, then turned his gaze toward a porcelain bottle.

Inside lay the Pulse-Opening Pill.

He hadn't heard much about the Pulse-Opening Pill before, but Jiang Zuo had provided a solemn introduction in his letter.

The Pulse-Opening Pill!

As the name suggested, its primary function was to open the meridians.

The transformation from the Pulse-Opening stage to the Xiantian stage required the clearing of numerous meridians. Taking the Pulse-Opening Pill could clear the meridians faster, shortening the time a martial artist needed to advance to the Xiantian realm.

"Is the Demon Suppression Division giving me the Pulse-Opening Pill because they worry my strength is insufficient?"

Shen Changqing's expression turned peculiar.

The Pulse-Opening Pill was indeed a treasure; at the very least, it would be difficult for any Pulse-Opening martial artist to refuse such a thing.

Even for a Xiantian martial artist, taking the pill would yield benefits, though the effects would be less pronounced.

This was because both the Pulse-Opening and Xiantian stages required the clearing of meridians and acupoints.

Finally, Shen Changqing looked at a book of moderate thickness.

The Heavenly Martial Astral Qi!

The name alone sounded grand.

It certainly sounded much better than the Thirteen Grand Protectors' Hard Qigong or the Pure Yang Art.

In reality, the Heavenly Martial Astral Qi was indeed on a higher level than the other two, as it was a martial art from the second floor of the Library Pavilion.

Opening the book, Shen Changqing's attention was instantly captured after a brief glance.

***

Unknowingly, day had turned into night.

Sitting motionless in his seat, Shen Changqing was still leafing through the Heavenly Martial Astral Qi.

After a long time, he stretched his neck.

Using a single finger to condense Pure Yang True Qi, he lit the oil lamp on the desk, dispelling much of the gloom.

"The Heavenly Martial Astral Qi truly lives up to its reputation as a second-floor martial art. It is much deeper than the Pure Yang Art; it can already be considered a top-tier technique!"

Shen Changqing remarked with emotion.

The Heavenly Martial Astral Qi was also a technique for condensing True Qi and clearing meridians, but the difference was that it was far more advanced than the Pure Yang Art.

The nine layers of the Pure Yang Art stopped at the peak of the Pulse-Opening stage.

However, the twelve layers of the Heavenly Martial Astral Qi could lead directly to the Xiantian Astral Realm.

Furthermore, the cultivation methods of the Heavenly Martial Astral Qi and the Pure Yang Art were vastly different.

The greatest difference lay in the fact that the meridians cleared by the two techniques were not entirely identical.

No one truly knew how many meridians and acupoints the human body possessed.

Each martial art cleared a different set of meridians.

For example, to advance to the Xiantian realm, one needed to clear the Eight Extraordinary Meridians as well as the Ren and Du vessels; thus, all martial artists involved in the Xiantian stage would touch upon these.

However, on that necessary foundation, some martial arts would also involve other meridians.

The more meridians cleared, the stronger the martial artist's strength would be.

The quality of a martial art depended on how many meridians it involved.

Clearly, the Heavenly Martial Astral Qi was much more comprehensive than the Pure Yang Art. Aside from a small portion overlapping with the Pure Yang Art, most of it was quite different.

In other words, even with the Pure Yang Art already mastered, practicing the Heavenly Martial Astral Qi would not cause any conflict.

Not only would there be no conflict, but because more meridians would be cleared, his strength would receive a certain boost.

"Originally, because the Pure Yang Art had broken my limits, I had no martial arts left to practice. Now, the Heavenly Martial Astral Qi happens to fill that void perfectly. A technique that leads directly to the Xiantian realm—if I can successfully master it, the impact will certainly be significant."

Looking at the book on the desk, Shen Changqing channeled his True Qi, and flames instantly erupted.

To burn it after reading—that was also a requirement of the Demon Suppression Division.