After leaving the Demon-Subduing Prison, Shen Changqing didn't return to his residence, but instead turned and headed toward the Scripture Pavilion.
The interval between tasks.
Was exactly the same as the interval for entering the Scripture Pavilion.
Every time he left the Demon-Subduing Prison,
Shen Changqing would immediately make his way to the Scripture Pavilion.
In two months' time,
not only did he memorize the Pure Yang Technique by heart in the Scripture Pavilion, he also spent much effort researching everything related to demon evils and strange monsters.
As a Demon Hunter,
if he had no understanding at all of demon evils and strange monsters, then in future missions, he would definitely be courting death.
——
Two hours flashed by in the blink of an eye.
After leaving the Scripture Pavilion, Shen Changqing returned to his residence.
Once inside,
he stayed there for five days straight.
Aside from necessary meals, he didn't take a single step out of his house, focusing entirely on studying the martial arts he'd obtained from the Scripture Pavilion.
Soon, Liu Chang came to visit again.
The tasks hadn't changed; they still centered on patrolling the Demon-Subduing Prison.
After Shen Changqing completed his task, he went to the Scripture Pavilion as usual, reviewed the martial arts he needed to memorize, and then returned home.
Time passed swiftly.
In the blink of an eye,
Shen Changqing had already been a part of the Demon-Subduing Division for ten months.
In ten months,
among all probationary Demon Hunters, his status could be considered truly senior.
By this point,
most of those probationary Demon Hunters had already started taking on missions—either they were promoted to full Demon Hunters, or they died on missions, disappearing without a trace.
Within the Demon-Subduing Division, the Demon Hunting Court was split into Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow four parts.
Shen Changqing didn't know much about the other three courts, but as for the one he was in, he had discovered many familiar faces were already gone.
Even though he hadn't spoken much with those people,
since his strength improved, anyone he had met even once left some impression.
As for those who disappeared,
there was really only one possibility—they were dead.
Regarding this,
Shen Changqing was calm inside and didn't feel much.
The death of others didn't matter to him; what truly mattered was his own changes.
It's worth mentioning,
not counting the month wasted by his predecessor, in the remaining months, Shen Changqing had made considerable progress in martial arts as well.
Looking at his stats panel again, it was already vastly different than in the beginning.
Name: Shen Changqing
Faction: Great Qin's Demon Suppression Division
Identity: Probationary Demon Hunter
Martial arts: Thirteen Protectors Body Tempering Technique (Fifteenth Layer, cannot improve), Pure Yang Technique (Sixth Layer, cannot improve), Seven Kills Blade Technique (Second Layer), Iron Sand Palm (First Layer)
Slaughter Value: 0
——
Nine-layer Pure Yang Technique—Shen Changqing spent eight or nine months to successfully reach the Sixth Layer.
Such results—
he didn't rely on slaughter value, but on his own hard training.
Even Shen Changqing himself hadn't expected such fast progress while cultivating the Pure Yang Technique.
Although he didn't think his talent was bad, he also never believed it could be so overwhelmingly strong.
In eight or nine months,
he managed to advance the Pure Yang Technique from nothing straight to the Sixth Layer.
This kind of progress is beyond what the word "genius" can describe.
In Shen Changqing's opinion,
the breakthrough in the Pure Yang Technique was likely due to the Thirteen Protectors Body Tempering Technique.
Because at the fifteenth layer, the Thirteen Protectors Body Tempering Technique produced True Qi in his dantian every day, and that True Qi was then converted by the Pure Yang Technique into an even higher-level Pure Yang True Qi.
In this way,
the Pure Yang Technique had a powerful source of supplementation, constantly increasing the quantity of Pure Yang True Qi.
Therefore,
he was able to reach the Sixth Layer of the Pure Yang Technique in just a few short months.
The Pulse Condensation Realm was measured by whether one possessed True Qi; any martial artist who had True Qi was considered an expert in this realm.
But even within the Pulse Condensation Realm,
there were differences in the strength of True Qi.
At the Sixth Layer of the Pure Yang Technique, by Shen Changqing's estimate, he should be even stronger than some fully accredited Demon Hunters.
Of course,
without actually fighting, he couldn't be one hundred percent sure.
But beating all the probationary Demon Hunters would be no problem.
Aside from the Pure Yang Technique,
Shen Changqing also took the opportunity to practice a blade technique and a palm technique.
After all, now that he possessed True Qi, he needed corresponding offensive means; otherwise, all that strength would be mostly wasted.
The Seven Kills Blade Technique!
It was considered one of the stronger blade techniques on the first floor of the Scripture Pavilion.
It emphasized "killing to stop killing," which made it quite appropriate for a Demon Hunter.
The Iron Sand Palm, on the other hand, was something Shen Changqing picked at random.
No other reason,
the name just felt familiar.
After learning both martial arts, he discovered a problem—their status didn't say "cannot improve," which likely meant slaughter value couldn't be used to enhance them.
As for this,
Shen Changqing needed time to verify.
After all, he didn't have any slaughter value at the moment, so he couldn't be completely sure.
"It's already been ten months. In another two months, I'll be forced to take on real missions!"
"With the remaining two months, I might be able to break through with the Pure Yang Technique to the Seventh Layer. Once I succeed, my strength will increase greatly—"
Shen Changqing glanced at his stat panel, musing to himself.
The nine-layer Pure Yang Technique had a division every three layers, corresponding to early, middle, and late stages of the Pulse Condensation Realm.
Now at the Sixth Layer, he was stuck at the top of the mid-phase of the Pulse Condensation Realm.
If he broke through with the Pure Yang Technique to the Seventh Layer, his own realm would naturally advance to the late Pulse Condensation phase.
Suddenly,
Shen Changqing's ears twitched.
He turned his head toward the firmly closed courtyard gate, his brows unwittingly knitting together.
At this moment,
someone knocked at the gate.
Shen Changqing opened the door and was greeted by an unfamiliar face.
"Who are you?"
"I am Jiang Zuo, the new steward of Huang Department's Demon Hunters."
"Jiang Zuo?"
Shen Changqing frowned again: "I remember the steward of Huang Department's Demon Hunting Court was Steward Liu, Liu Chang."
"Liu Chang died on a mission, killed by a strange monster, so the Demon-Subduing Division appointed me as the new steward. You must be Shen Changqing, right!"
Jiang Zuo's expression stayed calm, but his gaze toward Shen Changqing shifted ever so slightly.
True Qi!
To be qualified as a steward of the Demon Hunting Court, his realm was naturally extraordinary.
At a glance, he could see through many things about Shen Changqing.
When he took over as steward, Jiang Zuo received all materials for the Huang Department Demon Hunting Court, and saw that among the probationary Demon Hunters, Shen Changqing had the most seniority.
Ten months' time—
and able to advance to Pulse Condensation, his talent was decent.
Noticing Jiang Zuo's gaze,
Shen Changqing nodded, "I'm Shen Changqing. Steward Jiang, are you here to issue a task? What mission will I be assigned this time?"
"Your task is to patrol the Demon-Subduing Prison."
Jiang Zuo took out the Demon-Subduing Prison Manual and handed it to Shen Changqing.
"Understood!"
Shen Changqing said nothing more, carefully put away the manual, and headed straight for the Demon-Subduing Prison.
Watching his departing figure,
Jiang Zuo's expression shifted once again.
Since taking over Huang Department's Demon Hunting Court, he had received data on every probationary Demon Hunter and each mission they'd performed.
Shen Changqing's records were quite unique.
Apart from the first month, when he took on some extra assignments,
the rest of the time,
all his missions were without exception patrols of the Demon-Subduing Prison.
Jiang Zuo was no fool, and could tell from these records that Liu Chang had looked after Shen Changqing especially well.
The Demon-Subduing Division rarely dealt in favors.
And upon investigation, Liu Chang and Shen Changqing were not related in any way.
Therefore,
that Liu Chang had intentionally favored Shen Changqing was something to ponder.
"A probationary Demon Hunter with no background, being given such attention by Liu Chang, must have had some quality that stood out—most likely, it was talent!"
"Advancing to Pulse Condensation in ten months is respectable, but not enough to be called a genius."
"Of course, maybe he's hiding his strength. He could've advanced earlier. With so many people in the Demon-Subduing Division, it's not impossible for one or two exceptional talents to emerge."
Jiang Zuo mused to himself.
He didn't know Shen Changqing well, only gleaning some clues from the files Liu Chang left behind.
Because of that,
when assigning tasks, Jiang Zuo didn't go out of his way to make things difficult for Shen Changqing.
After all, Liu Chang had already done him a favor; why shouldn't he?
Anyway, for probationary Demon Hunters, the task assignments wouldn't make much of a difference. There was no need to offend an uncertain variable over trivialities.
"Sigh!"
Whatever he was thinking, Jiang Zuo let out a heavy sigh before leaving.
On the other side,
Shen Changqing walked straight toward the Demon-Subduing Prison without so much as a glance back.
He could feel Jiang Zuo's gaze on his back, but he didn't turn around.
The calm on his face had now grown a bit darker.
Liu Chang was dead!
This was something that caught Shen Changqing completely off guard.
In his mind, Liu Chang's strength was incredibly superior to his own.
Even after reaching the Sixth Layer of the Pure Yang Technique, he couldn't see through Liu Chang at all.
Which showed that,
Liu Chang's strength had reached a truly profound level.
Yet,
for all his power, Liu Chang still died on a mission.
When he received the news, Shen Changqing felt a huge amount of pressure inside.
The faint pride he'd felt at his own rapid progress vanished completely.
Others might have disappeared or died, and he'd heard such news about other Demon Hunters before.
But those people he wasn't familiar with, so he didn't care.
Until Liu Chang died,
a different kind of emotion finally surfaced in his heart.
After all,
Liu Chang was the person he knew best in this unfamiliar world, and the one he'd interacted with most.
Strictly speaking,
he owed Liu Chang quite a lot.
Now that Liu Chang was dead, Shen Changqing felt something indescribable.
Standing at the gate to the Demon-Subduing Prison,
he let out a long breath, as a single thought emerged in his heart.
"After entering the Demon-Subduing Division, life and death are no longer mine to decide!"