Chapter 45: The Bloodstained Executioner

Advancing from the third layer to the eighth layer consumed a total of twenty Slaughter Points.

Looking at the remaining twelve Slaughter Points, Shen Changqing did not use them further.

Calming his mind, he stirred the Tianwu True Qi within his dantian. Instantly, a thick surge of power rose, and a thin layer of astral qi condensed on the surface of his body, spanning a range of about one foot.

"Tianwu Astral Qi!"

Seeing the pale white protective shield, Shen Changqing understood that this was the Tianwu Astral Qi derived after this martial art broke through to the Xiantian realm. The martial art was named Tianwu Astral Qi because of this very phenomenon.

"The Xiantian realm is divided into Inner Astral and Outer Astral."

"The current Tianwu Astral Qi is somewhat similar to the Outer Astral, but I wonder how it compares to true Outer Astral in terms of strength."

Looking at that layer of astral qi, Shen Changqing smiled slightly.

Tianwu Astral Qi.

Breaking through to the eighth layer meant reaching the Xiantian realm; if he continued to reach perfection, he could step directly into the Outer Astral realm. When that time came, the combination of Outer Astral and Tianwu Astral Qi would result in a staggering level of defense.

At this moment, the Tianwu True Qi in his dantian clashed with the Pure Yang True Qi, neither side willing to yield.

The resulting vibration caused the smile on Shen Changqing's face to vanish.

"I forgot. When different types of True Qi reach the same level, they form an incompatible conflict."

Calming his mind once more, Shen Changqing communicated between the two currents of True Qi, barely managing to suppress them. Thus, the issue of the True Qi conflict was temporarily resolved.

"As long as I don't use True Qi excessively, there won't be much trouble," Shen Changqing thought to himself. He then looked up at the sky; the horizon was just beginning to turn white like a fish's belly.

Shi Qingsheng, who had gone out to search for people, had also returned. Not all bailiffs remained at the yamen; they worked in daily shifts. It was because of this that the bailiffs within the yamen had not been wiped out last night.

Seeing Shi Qingsheng return, Shen Changqing spoke immediately: "Prepare some food to replenish my blood and qi right away, and deliver it all to my bedroom!"

"Yes!" Although Shi Qingsheng was confused, he responded respectfully.

Subsequently, Shen Changqing looked toward all the bailiffs: "A portion of you stay here to guard; ensure nothing goes wrong. The rest of you, handle the corpses within the yamen."

"We obey your command!"

Although the bailiffs were terrified when they saw Hong Cheng's corpse, they followed orders faithfully.

After giving his instructions, Shen Changqing returned directly to his bedroom. The sky had brightened, and the escaped evil was likely back to report its findings; leaving a few bailiffs to guard the place would not cause any major issues.

***

Half an hour later, Shi Qingsheng had delivered everything. A vast amount of blood-replenishing food filled the table to capacity.

With no one else around, Shen Changqing didn't need to be cautious. He grabbed the food and began to gorge himself. His blood and qi were depleted; he just needed to replenish them.

Soon, more than half of the table was cleared by Shen Changqing.

Settling his mind, he began the next round of advancement. However, this time the target was not the Tianwu Astral Qi, but the Thirteen Grand Protectors Hard Qigong.

The fifteenth layer of the Thirteen Grand Protectors Hard Qigong could provide the blood and qi necessary for a direct promotion to the Xiantian realm, but for advancements beyond Xiantian, it was somewhat insufficient. If he continued to upgrade his Tianwu Astral Qi without strengthening his blood and qi foundation, Shen Changqing worried he might be sucked dry by that power before he could replenish his vitality.

Making his decision, his Slaughter Points dropped from twelve to seven, and the Thirteen Grand Protectors Hard Qigong transformed directly to the sixteenth layer.

In an instant, his bones and muscles chimed in unison. A surging wave of blood and qi erupted from a certain part of his body. The injury on his back suddenly felt itchy. Shen Changqing reached back and saw the scabs falling off.

With this, the advancement of the Thirteen Grand Protectors Hard Qigong concluded.

At the same time, a slight sensation of hunger struck, causing Shen Changqing's expression to tighten.

"Hunger?"

"Does the advancement of the Thirteen Grand Protectors Hard Qigong also have a cost?"

He had always thought that hard qigong was different from internal arts and wouldn't involve much consumption, as previous advancements hadn't caused significant loss. But now, the hunger proved that the Thirteen Grand Protectors Hard Qigong did indeed have a cost.

The difference was that previous advancements had low energy consumption, and since Shen Changqing hadn't paid much attention, he had overlooked it. The breakthrough from the fifteenth to the sixteenth layer was another major transformation, so the consumption naturally increased. Even without looking at anything else, the fact that the Slaughter Point cost had risen from three to five was proof enough.

Fortunately, the food on the table wasn't finished; those blood-replenishing foods would serve fine to stave off the hunger. Shen Changqing quickly ate another half of the remaining food, and the hunger immediately vanished.

Looking at the panel, Shen Changqing immediately entered the next round of advancement.

Four Slaughter Points were consumed. The Tianwu Astral Qi broke through directly from the eighth layer to the ninth layer.

A powerful suction force rose from his dantian, and his blood and qi were instantly depleted by more than half. From the outside, one could clearly see Shen Changqing's pale, bloodless face.

Without hesitation, Shen Changqing hurriedly grabbed the remaining food on the table and stuffed it all into his mouth. The True Qi ground down the food, continuously converting it into blood and qi. Only then was the deficit somewhat replenished.

"Whew!"

Shen Changqing let out a long breath. Looking at the remaining three Slaughter Points, he did not use them again. There was no choice; even the lowest advancement now required four points, so there was nowhere to use the remaining three.

"The ninth layer of Tianwu Astral Qi is considered to have completely surpassed the eleventh layer of Pure Yang Art!"

"With this, I can use the Tianwu Astral Qi to begin devouring the Pure Yang True Qi."

Shen Changqing went to his bed and sat cross-legged. The conflict of True Qi was serious and had to be resolved immediately. The eighth-layer Tianwu Astral Qi was merely equal to the Pure Yang True Qi and could not devour it, but the ninth-layer Tianwu Astral Qi posed no problem.

Calming his mind, Shen Changqing controlled the Tianwu Astral Qi to surge toward and devour the Pure Yang True Qi.

***

Normally, although the Tianwu Astral Qi was a step stronger than the Pure Yang True Qi, devouring it entirely would not be easy. However, with Shen Changqing acting as the primary force, the Pure Yang True Qi took direct critical damage.

At first, the Pure Yang True Qi could still struggle slightly, but as more and more Tianwu True Qi was refined, the balance shifted, and the speed of devouring accelerated significantly.

In two hours, the Pure Yang True Qi was devoured completely.

At this point, the Tianwu True Qi had become extremely powerful. Subsequently, under Shen Changqing's control, it began to strike toward the other meridians and acupoints in his body.

*Rumble!!*

The surging True Qi was like a torrential river, the sound of crashing waves echoing incessantly. As the Tianwu True Qi broke through, the temperature in the room rose sharply.

After an unknown amount of time, there was a knock on the door.

*Knock, knock!*

Shen Changqing immediately ceased his cultivation: "Who is it!"

"My Lord, noon is approaching. The Zhao family is to be executed in the East City today; you are required to oversee the execution!" Shi Qingsheng's voice drifted in from outside.

Oversee the execution? Shen Changqing remembered this matter.

"I understand!"

"This subordinate takes his leave!" Shi Qingsheng said, and then Shen Changqing heard footsteps receding.

Once the other party had left, he turned his attention back to himself.

**Name:** Shen Changqing **Faction:** Great Qin Demon Suppression Division **Identity:** Yellow-grade Demon Suppressor **Martial Arts:** Thirteen Grand Protectors Hard Qigong (16th Layer, cannot be upgraded), Tianwu Astral Qi (11th Layer, cannot be upgraded), Seven Kills Saber Technique (2nd Layer), Iron Sand Palm (2nd Layer) **Slaughter:** 3

The words "Pure Yang Art" had completely disappeared from the panel. Even though the memory of the Pure Yang Art existed in Shen Changqing's mind, it could no longer be displayed on the panel.

"Since the Pure Yang True Qi was devoured, does that mean the Pure Yang Art is permanently consumed?"

"No, I have the memory of the Pure Yang Art, which means I can still practice it again. But since it doesn't show on the panel, it proves that the Pure Yang Art can no longer be upgraded using Slaughter Points!"

Looking at the attributes on the panel, Shen Changqing realized he understood a bit more about this "cheat." A martial art could only appear on the panel once. Once a martial art was discarded or lost, it would never appear on the panel again. One could still practice it according to memory, but there was no way to take the shortcut again.

Shen Changqing could accept this. Although the Pure Yang Art was gone, the Xiantian-level Pure Yang True Qi had nourished the Tianwu True Qi, directly pulling the Tianwu Astral Qi from the ninth layer up to the eleventh layer.

The eleventh layer of Tianwu Astral Qi was nearly at the point of perfection. Once he reached the twelfth layer, he would completely step into the Outer Astral realm.

"And—"

"The Pure Yang Art hasn't completely vanished!"

Shen Changqing extended a hand. As True Qi erupted within, his palm instantly turned bright red, like a glowing iron. Devouring the Pure Yang True Qi had caused the Tianwu True Qi itself to take on the attributes of the Pure Yang True Qi. That scorching temperature was the best proof.

Such a harvest was an unexpected surprise.

"The greatest advantage of Pure Yang True Qi is its suppression of evil. Now that this advantage has been grafted onto the Tianwu True Qi, the Tianwu Astral Qi will also have a great suppressive effect against evil. In that sense, sacrificing the Pure Yang Art was actually a massive profit!"

Shen Changqing smiled. Not only did the Tianwu Astral Qi grow by two layers, saving ten Slaughter Points, but the True Qi attribute also gained the Pure Yang effect, greatly increasing its power. Compared to before, his strength had increased significantly.

Stepping down from the bed, Shen Changqing took out the official uniform Shi Qingsheng had given him and changed into it. Standing before the mirror, he looked at himself wearing the official cap; he possessed a certain heroic air.

"I look quite heroic, but even in official robes, I might not be a righteous official reborn; I might just be a bloodstained executioner!"