Liu Chang's death.
Made Shen Changqing fully realize that the death rate in the Demon-Subduing Division was no joke.
The stench of blood, which had once seemed distant, now lingered around him and refused to dissipate.
In the Demon-Subduing Division,
Other Demon Hunters could die, and so could Liu Chang.
The Pulse Condensation Realm was not weak, but in the face of life and death, there was no right to decide anything.
In that moment,
Shen Changqing felt an enormous increase in pressure.
After returning from the Demon-Subduing Prison, he simply stopped going to the Scripture Pavilion and went straight back to his own quarters, starting a new round of secluded cultivation.
For ten months,
Shen Changqing entered the Scripture Pavilion no less than fifty or sixty times.
The materials that needed reading, and the martial arts that needed studying, were already memorized thoroughly.
As for the rest,
There was nothing left worth researching.
Unless he could enter the second level of the Scripture Pavilion.
But the second level of the Scripture Pavilion was only open to official Demon Hunters; unofficial Demon Hunters could only linger on the first level.
With four martial arts—Thirteen Guardians Tempering Art, Pure Yang Technique, Seven Kills Blade Technique, and Iron Sand Palm—on his body, Shen Changqing felt it was already enough.
After all, one's energy is limited.
Being able to simultaneously major in several martial arts had already occupied all his time.
It's just that the Thirteen Guardians Tempering Art had broken through to an unprecedented fifteenth layer; from then on, further breakthrough was impossible through bitter cultivation alone and could only be achieved by Slaughter Value.
With that,
Shen Changqing only needed to focus on cultivating three martial arts.
Among them,
He focused on Pure Yang Technique.
If you train the body but not the qi, in the end it's all in vain.
True Qi is the foundation of the realm, the very source of a Demon Hunter's strength.
With True Qi strong enough, one could kill others even empty-handed.
On the other hand,
The Seven Kills Blade Technique and Iron Sand Palm were both secondary support methods.
"Within two months, the Pure Yang Technique must break through to the seventh layer—ideally to the eighth. The second layer of the Seven Kills Blade Technique is about the limit; further improvement is difficult without actual combat.
As for the Iron Sand Palm, there's still some room for progress."
Shen Changqing set a plan for his future cultivation.
For now, breaking through the Pure Yang Technique takes priority; the Iron Sand Palm can be improved as well.
The Seven Kills Blade Technique,
Was a martial art based on actual combat, divided into seven layers, with each subsequent layer adding significant power.
But without actual combat as a foundation, relying on bitter cultivation alone, reaching the second layer was already not easy.
As for Iron Sand Palm, Shen Changqing was confident about pushing it further.
After deciding,
He stayed in his small courtyard, and unless necessary, did not step outside even once.
The first month,
Jiang Zuo came by a few times as well.
The purpose was merely to issue tasks; the two exchanged little conversation.
Shen Changqing was not familiar with Jiang Zuo, and he was not the enthusiastic type, so he would not take the initiative to chat.
The newly promoted Huang Department Demon Hunting Court Steward seemed much the same.
Thus,
Both of them seldom spoke unnecessarily.
Only after a few more missions did the two become a bit more familiar.
Taking advantage,
Shen Changqing deliberately inquired about the cause of Liu Chang's death, and got his answer from Jiang Zuo.
Not only that,
He also learned some other information from Jiang Zuo.
"Fiend Level Strange Monster!"
Shen Changqing murmured softly.
The one who killed Liu Chang was a Fiend Level Strange Monster, which stood above Resentment Level Monsters—a far more powerful existence.
The 382nd year of Great Qin, second month.
Strange Monsters ran rampant, causing great calamity and disastrous losses to the living.
To stabilize the situation,
The Demon-Subduing Division sent many Demon Hunters to quell the disasters everywhere; for a time, countless Strange Monsters were suppressed and the disasters curbed.
Though most of the disasters were subdued, the Demon-Subduing Division paid a heavy price.
Many Demon Hunters died at the hands of Strange Monsters, and Liu Chang was among them.
Because of this,
The Demon-Subduing Division faced a massive personnel gap and had to recruit suitable people from everywhere to fill the ranks again.
Shen Changqing recalled the many unfamiliar faces at the Huang Department's Demon Hunting Court lately and understood.
"Even the Demon-Subduing Division in the capital is like this; the losses in the others must be even worse!" Shen Changqing sighed.
Great Qin's Demon Suppression Division,
Is the general term for all Demon-Subduing Divisions.
In fact,
Apart from the capital, as long as a city in Great Qin is important enough, it has a Demon-Subduing Division to keep the peace.
Because the lands of Great Qin are vast,
If the Demon-Subduing Division only existed in the capital, it would be impossible to deal with disasters in other regions quickly.
With the killing speed of demon evil and strange monsters,
If one or two days late, the resulting damage would be incalculable.
Therefore,
Everywhere in Great Qin is equipped with a Demon-Subduing Division.
But the regional divisions are subordinate to the capital's Demon-Subduing Division.
From Jiang Zuo, Shen Changqing saw how severe the situation was in Great Qin; just one strange monster catastrophe cost so many Demon Hunters their lives.
Even though he was presently only a Probationary Demon Hunter, and it seemed not to affect him,
In reality,
If the time came with no way out,
Even probationary Demon Hunters would have to step forward.
When the nest is overturned, no egg can remain intact.
If it truly became uncontrollable, Shen Changqing sensed he would have no path of survival either.
"Sigh—"
With a sigh, Shen Changqing calmed his heart and began a new round of cultivation.
His Pure Yang Technique had already broken through to the seventh layer.
In other words,
Shen Changqing's realm had officially stepped from mid Pulse Condensation to late Pulse Condensation stage.
Though it was just a minor leap in layers,
Shen Changqing discovered that the Pure Yang True Qi at the seventh layer was much more robust than at the sixth.
Moreover,
The quality had also changed significantly.
In the past, when he struck a wooden stake with his Pure Yang True Qi, he would only leave a charred handprint, but now, using Pure Yang True Qi would nearly burn a hole through the stake.
If it were flesh,
One strike of Pure Yang True Qi, Shen Changqing believed, unless the person had perfected Thirteen Guardians Tempering Art, would mean either death or disability.
Having spent almost a year in the Demon-Subduing Division,
He had come to understand much.
Take the Thirteen Guardians Tempering Art, for instance; many trained in it, but no one had truly cultivated it to perfection.
Because perfecting an outer technique would take much longer than a year.
Many probationary Demon Hunters used it to lay their foundation and then transitioned to a new cultivation technique at an appropriate time to break through the Pulse Condensation Realm.
But if they never reached perfection, they would never realize the benefits it could bring.
Even so,
If they used the time spent on outer techniques on cultivating inner strength, they could also reap great gains.
The pros and cons depend entirely on the individual.
Now that Pure Yang Technique had reached the seventh layer, what Shen Changqing needed was to keep pushing further.
Not much time remained.
The ninth layer was out of reach.
But he felt confident about reaching the eighth layer.
Soon,
A whole night passed.
The rising sun dispelled all the darkness.
Shen Changqing deliberately walked into the courtyard, facing the sunrise, and began a new round of cultivation along the Pure Yang Technique's meridian paths.
"Exhale! Inhale!"
His chest rose and fell rhythmically.
All of a sudden,
A faint violet energy surged at the horizon.
Shen Changqing opened his mouth and swallowed the violet energy in one go.
Violet energy entered his belly!
Pure Yang True Qi immediately resonated.
The Pure Yang Technique's circulation, as if fiercely stimulated, suddenly accelerated greatly.
Rumble!!
True Qi rushed through his meridians; he seemed to hear the thunderous roar of a river, charging towards some point.
Once!
Twice!
Each surge made Shen Changqing's face twist in pain, as if enduring tremendous agony, causing his body to tremble.
As time passed,
Sweat beaded on his brow.
After half an hour, Shen Changqing's body suddenly shuddered, as though something broke inside, emitting a faint crack.
Immediately,
The sound swelled, like rapids crashing through.
"Hoo!"
Shen Changqing opened his tightly shut eyes.
He broke through!
The eighth layer of Pure Yang Technique, which had troubled him for so long, was finally conquered.
At this realm,
He was only one step away from reaching the limit of Pulse Condensation.
The successful breakthrough eased the long-suppressed tension in Shen Changqing's heart.
"Pure Yang Technique, eighth layer; late Pulse Condensation; plus the fifteenth layer of Thirteen Guardians Tempering Art—my overall strength is now at the peak of Pulse Condensation. The only thing lacking is combat experience!"
The greatest benefit of having perfected outer techniques was increased defense, with every aspect of the body's quality rising swiftly.
Not to mention,
The Thirteen Guardians Tempering Art had already surpassed the limit of thirteen layers, stepping into the fifteenth layer.
Combined with the eighth layer of Pure Yang Technique,
Shen Changqing estimated that he had a great chance of crushing most martial artists at the Pulse Condensation Realm.
But estimation is just estimation.
Without real combat, nothing is certain.
Suppressing the excitement of breaking through, Shen Changqing glanced at his own panel.
Thirteen Guardians Tempering Art, fifteenth layer!
Pure Yang Technique, eighth layer!
Seven Kills Blade Technique, second layer!
Iron Sand Palm, second layer!
The Iron Sand Palm had five layers in total, slightly fewer than the Seven Kills Blade Technique's seven layers, but the power of a martial art cannot be judged purely by the number of layers.
If Iron Sand Palm reached the fifth layer of perfection, it would not necessarily be weaker than the perfected Seven Kills Blade Technique.
Almost a year,
From mastering no martial art to now grasping four, his strength had grown so much he could almost sweep through the Pulse Condensation Realm.
Shen Changqing was quite satisfied with this.
"Probationary Demon Hunters only have a year of buffer. If I'm right, it's already more than eleven months since I joined the Demon-Subduing Division. With the next mission, I'll become an official Demon Hunter—"
At this thought,
He felt a burning excitement in his heart as well.