As for Meinv.
Shen Changqing was already very familiar with her.
He came to the Demon-Subduing Prison six times every month, and every time he entered, the first thing he saw was this Strange Monster.
But what was speechless was—
Every time Meinv appeared, her appearance was always the same as before, not changing at all.
As time went by—
Shen Changqing almost thought that the woman's enchantingly seductive look was truly Meinv's actual form.
In two months—
He went to the Scripture Pavilion exactly once every five days.
Besides searching for other martial arts, the rest of the time was spent looking for information related to Demon Evils and Strange Monsters.
These things,
in theory, could be understood just by asking some official Demon Hunters.
Unfortunately,
the Huang Department's Demon Hunting Court is large, but Shen Changqing doesn't know any official Demon Hunters, so he has no way to inquire about anything.
As for Liu Chang, he was actually a suitable candidate.
However, even though the man's attitude was mild, he never answered Shen Changqing's questions—he would only say things he wanted to say.
Regarding this,
Shen Changqing was quite impressed with the Demon-Subduing Division's "free-range" approach.
They recruit newcomers, only tell them some basic rules, and teach nothing else—everything else had to be figured out on your own.
Therefore,
he could only rely on himself and found some information in the Scripture Pavilion.
Luckily, the Scripture Pavilion may lack other things, but records on Demon Evils and Strange Monsters were far from lacking.
Any time he went to the relevant section and randomly pulled a book off the shelf, the contents were similar.
In this way,
Shen Changqing had gained a lot of understanding of Demon Evils and supernatural beings.
"In the thirty-first year of Great Qin, the sun and moon lost their light, a meteor fell from the skies, accompanied by flowing fire. On that same day, Demon Evils and Strange Monsters rampaged throughout the world, throwing it into chaos and turmoil.
To maintain stability, Great Qin established the Demon-Subduing Division, taking the slaying of Demon Evils and suppressing Strange Monsters as their mission, cleansing the world to ensure peace!"
Looking at the Meinv before him, Shen Changqing recalled the information recorded in his mind.
It could be seen—
Demon Evils and Strange Monsters were not things that had existed since ancient times, but rather appeared out of thin air in the thirty-first year of Great Qin.
Now, it is the three hundred and eighty-first year of Great Qin.
In other words, Demon Evils and Strange Monsters have existed for over three hundred years.
And the Demon-Subduing Division was founded only after the appearance of these Demon Evils and Strange Monsters. Although its history is a bit shorter than theirs, it has also been around nearly three centuries.
"To think I always believed that so-called Demon Evils and Strange Monsters were born from all sorts of mishaps after people's deaths—but it turns out I was overthinking it—"
Shen Changqing shook his head slightly and then left the front of Meinv's cell.
Three hundred years—
Great Qin still hasn't figured out the origin of these things. Even though he's very curious, there's no way for him to know too much.
However, there is one possibility—
That is, Great Qin had long since figured out where Demon Evils and Strange Monsters come from, but for some reason kept it hidden.
But whichever the case,
it's not something a lowly Probationary Demon Hunter like himself can get involved in.
Passing Meinv's cell, Shen Changqing walked past one cell after another. In under half an hour, he finished patrolling the second floor.
After completing his patrol,
he had no intention of leaving and walked straight toward the third floor.
As soon as he set foot on the third floor,
a black shadow entered his vision.
Shen Changqing's expression tightened, and instinctively he raised his Pure Yang True Qi as he stared intently at the shadow.
The shadow, however, turned out not to be the expected Demon Evil or Strange Monster, but a Demon Hunter.
Looking at the other's robes,
Shen Changqing understood immediately—the newcomer was just like him, a Probationary Demon Hunter.
"That's strange. Isn't today my turn to patrol the third floor? Why is there another Probationary Demon Hunter here!"
Meng Shan frowned as he looked at Shen Changqing.
Only one person is needed to patrol each floor of the Demon-Subduing Prison.
Every time he took up the patrol task, he had never seen another Probationary Demon Hunter on the third floor.
Though he was curious,
Meng Shan didn't show it; he simply cupped his fists slightly, "Probationary Demon Hunter Meng Shan of the Xuan Department. May I ask who you are?"
"Probationary Demon Hunter Shen Changqing of the Huang Department!"
Shen Changqing also cupped his fists in return.
He hadn't expected to encounter someone from the Xuan Department's Demon Hunting Court here.
After a brief greeting,
the two said nothing more to each other. After nodding slightly, they passed by each other.
Standing at the third floor's exit,
Meng Shan couldn't help but turn his head to glance back and saw that Shen Changqing didn't stop at all, going straight to the entrance of the fourth floor.
This scene—
made his heart tremble.
"To dare to go to the fourth floor—this is not something an ordinary Pulse Condensation Realm can do. Since when did the Huang Department's Demon Hunting Court have such a formidable Probationary Demon Hunter!?"
As a veteran who's been here for more than half a year, Meng Shan knew very well just how dangerous the fourth floor of the Demon-Subduing Prison was.
Even now, with just one step short of reaching the Pulse Condensation Realm, he didn't dare enter the fourth floor.
Yet this Probationary Demon Hunter dares to do just that.
Either the other person is seeking death, or his strength is formidable enough to rival a true Demon Hunter.
"Huang Department's Demon Hunting Court, Shen Changqing!"
Meng Shan silently recited the name in his heart, having now committed it to memory.
A Probationary Demon Hunter qualified to go to the fourth floor—if he doesn't die, his strength is definitely not ordinary.
After he becomes a formal Demon Hunter, they may even cross paths in the future.
However,
he had no intention of investigating too much in secret.
In the Demon-Subduing Division, probing into others' private affairs without permission could easily lead to death.
Not to mention, in Meng Shan's eyes, Shen Changqing's strength far surpassed his own.
Unless he has a death wish,
he wouldn't be stupid enough to run headlong into a wall.
On the other side—
Shen Changqing had already stepped onto the fourth floor.
The Probationary Demon Hunter from the Xuan Department just now was nothing to be worried about.
He made a mental note of Meng Shan's name but had no further plans for now.
He'd been to the Demon-Subduing Prison no less than ten times, but Shen Changqing had never tried to enter the fourth floor.
This time was different.
Just two days ago, his Pure Yang Technique had broken through to the third layer—among the nine layers, reaching the third was already a modest achievement.
Shen Changqing could feel that the Pure Yang True Qi within his own Dantian was almost twice as thick as the True Qi from the Thirteen Protectors' Body Tempering Technique he had practiced before.
Therefore,
he was willing to step onto the fourth floor.
"It's been a long time since I earned any Slaughter Value. The fourth floor better not disappoint me!"
Withstanding the assault of the cold air, his Pure Yang True Qi activated automatically, dispelling the chill from his body as Shen Changqing walked toward the first cell.
The layout on the fourth floor
was similar to that of the previous two floors.
Upon reaching the first cell, a heavy stench of blood immediately assaulted his senses.
The intensity of it made even Shen Changqing, who was used to bloody smells, feel a wave of overwhelming discomfort.
He stepped back slightly, fixed his gaze on the inside of the cell.
He saw something roughly human-sized but covered in bluish scales, its arms twisted unnaturally long, its face devoid of features—this creature was tightly bound there.
Its limbs, head, and other parts of its body were all nailed in place with thick iron spikes, forcibly fixing it there.
There was an obvious struggle, but not a single drop of blood seeped from any wounds.
"Demon Evil!"
Shen Changqing's face changed instantly when he saw the creature nailed inside the cell.
Demon Evil—these are existences higher than Strange Monsters.
Any Demon Evil, if left unchecked, would have the potential to slaughter an entire city.
He'd only ever seen pictures of Demon Evils in the Scripture Pavilion, and had never witnessed one alive before.
This was the first one.
Looking at it, Shen Changqing could clearly feel the violent aura emanating from the creature and the nauseating stench of blood.
The longer he stared,
the more an uncontrollable sense of fear threatened to rise in his heart.
Shen Changqing forced himself to remain calm, struggling to resist the changes in his heart.
Demon Evils may be strong,
but the cells in the Demon-Subduing Prison were not so easily broken out of.
Although they looked simple, the cells were covered with all sorts of wards and seals for isolation and suppression.
Otherwise,
the Demon Evils and Strange Monsters kept here would have escaped long ago.
Although his eyes stayed on the Demon Evil, Shen Changqing's attention had shifted to his own attribute panel.
"That's strange!"
"How can there be nothing?"
Half an incense stick of time passed.
The Slaughter Value on his panel still hadn't changed, and Shen Changqing's expression grew more and more unsightly.
Previously, the Slaughter Value
was always obtained from the Demon Evil's corpse—
"Wait, Demon Evil corpse!"
Shen Changqing realized the crux of the matter. He withdrew his focus from his panel and observed the Demon Evil before him again.
Demon Evil corpses could provide Slaughter Value.
But the Demon Evil before him couldn't provide any Slaughter Value.
So that leads to the question—
There must be some difference between the two that prevented him from gaining Slaughter Value.
The most obvious difference:
Demon Evil corpses, strictly speaking, are dead things. Even though they might look alive, in truth they can't be considered truly alive.
As for this,
Shen Changqing had learned that from the Scripture Pavilion.
Demon Evil corpses are not alive, but the Demon Evil in front of him was clearly a living one.
Seeing through the knot,
Shen Changqing confirmed one thing in his mind.
"Slaughter Value can only be obtained from dead Demon Evils, but not from living ones—"
"Likewise, if it can't be gained from living Demon Evils, then it certainly can't be gained from living Strange Monsters either. That's why I never got any Slaughter Value from those on the second floor."
Sorting out the logic, Shen Changqing now understood a lot more about his own attribute panel.
At the very least, he had roughly figured out how to gain Slaughter Value.
The rest,
would have to be confirmed through practice.
But Shen Changqing also understood that he currently had no way to test his theory.
Since all the Demon Evils and Strange Monsters in the Demon-Subduing Prison are not his to kill, and with his ability, he doesn't have the power to kill anything kept here anyway.
"This is something that can only be dealt with in the future!"
Shen Changqing took a deep breath; unwilling to give up, he made another round through the other cells on the fourth floor.
Unfortunately,
all the fourth-floor inmates were living Demon Evils.
In the end, he could only leave helplessly.
PS: Still didn't get into the top ten of the signing boards. Feels like I'm about to be done for, please vote, please vote!