CHAPTER 96: CHAPTER 96: 15TH LAYER OF HEAVENLY MARTIAL GANG QI

In Jincheng, a Demon Hunter was already present. Under normal circumstances, when the Heavenly Inspection Guard required the Demon-Subduing Division to send an additional Demon Hunter, there was no need to report to the existing one. However, in Zhong Chi’s eyes, Shen Changqing was different from ordinary Demon Hunters. He was only at the Yellow Rank, but in terms of strength, even those at the Profound Rank could not easily outmatch him. Moreover, considering his potential, it was possible for him to reach the Earth Rank, Heaven Rank, and even become a Defender Envoy in the future. It was unnecessary to upset such a potential future powerhouse over a trivial matter.

"As for the matters of the Heavenly Inspection Guard, Lord Zhong can decide on his own," Shen Changqing said, not objecting. "The area around Wanhua Building is silent; I suspect something has happened. How many Pulse Condensation Realm experts does the Heavenly Inspection Guard have at its disposal now?"

To deal with Demon Evil, one generally needed to reach the Pulse Condensation Realm to be of any significant use. However, this did not mean that Martial Artists at the Body Tempering Realm were completely incapable of dealing with Demon Evil; the difficulty would simply be much greater.

Zhong Chi shook his head. "The Heavenly Inspection Guard doesn’t have many powerhouses. Here in the Jincheng stronghold, including myself, there were originally only two Pulse Condensation Realm Martial Artists. One of them died while collecting intelligence some time ago. So now, in the vast Tianyi Tower, I am the only one at the Pulse Condensation Realm."

"I understand now." Shen Changqing closed his eyes briefly before reopening them. The strength of the Heavenly Inspection Guard was even weaker than he had expected. But it was also understandable. Intelligence personnel did not require great strength; those who were strong were mostly reassigned to the Demon-Subduing Division to become Demon Hunters. After all, as important as the Heavenly Inspection Guard was, it only served to assist the Demon-Subduing Division in slaying Demon Evil. Everything was primarily focused on the extermination of Demon Evil.

"The Black Tiger Army is stationed outside the city and can be called into the city for assistance if necessary," Zhong Chi said solemnly. "There are many strong individuals among the Black Tiger Army. Although they may not compare to Lord Shen, dealing with ordinary Demon Evil should not be an issue. Moreover, the men of the army possess a natural killing aura. This, in itself, is a significant restraint for some Demon Evils."

Shen Changqing nodded slightly. Indeed, with the Black Tiger Army stationed outside the city, the strength of a military force was certainly formidable.

"Let the Heavenly Inspection Guard closely monitor any changes in Jincheng. I just clashed with that Demon Evil and sustained quite serious injuries, which require recuperation."

"Does Lord Shen need any healing elixirs?"

"No need." Shen Changqing shook his head to refuse. Free healing elixirs certainly wouldn’t be very good, and those that cost money were definitely expensive. Rather than that, he preferred to heal naturally. His Invincible Golden Body at the seventh layer had already made his Flesh incredibly resilient, with self-healing abilities far beyond those of ordinary people.

"Then I’ll take my leave, Lord Shen, please heal at your own pace."

Zhong Chi exited the room. As he closed the door behind him, his calm face once again darkened. The changes in Jincheng put a lot of pressure on him. The Heavenly Inspection Guard was the Demon-Subduing Division’s eyes and ears in a city. Now that such an incident had occurred and he hadn’t detected it in advance, it was undoubtedly a failure on his part. Even though it was a sudden situation he couldn’t have anticipated, if the impact widened and the Demon-Subduing Division investigated, Zhong Chi felt he could not escape punishment. "I can only report the situation quickly before it spirals out of control," he thought, "and then try to stabilize the situation in the city."

Zhong Chi felt a bit weary.

As he left, Shen Changqing quickly cleaned the blood off his body, got out of the bathing tub, and dressed in the clothes Zhong Chi had prepared for him. They fit perfectly in every way. Because he moved vigorously while dressing, the wound on the left side of his chest sent waves of sharp pain through him.

HISS!

During the fight, even more intense pain hadn’t fazed Shen Changqing much. But now, just the twinge from the motion made him suck in a sharp breath. Damn, that hurts!

Hongyi’s methods were too cunning. Coupled with the extreme speed characteristic of Demonfolk, he wouldn’t have been sure he could inflict serious damage on her quickly without trading injury for injury. Therefore, Shen Changqing had deliberately avoided the vital areas around his heart, intent on trading blows with her.

Hongyi has fled, and the Eternal Alliance surely has other moves planned. But whatever comes next is no longer something a Demon Hunter alone can influence. Whether it’s the Heavenly Inspection Guard or the officials from the Yamen, their means within Jincheng are stronger than mine alone. Furthermore, with the Black Tiger Army outside the city, they will lead the response in the event of an emergency, and I’ll just be assisting at most. To assist, but one must also be strong enough. Otherwise, one might end up as cannon fodder without even realizing it.

In the end, it’s a matter of insufficient strength. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have had to fight in such a self-destructive way tonight. Next time, I will take your life— Shen Changqing’s eyes turned cold. He had no notion of pity or mercy for women. Since Hongyi had wounded him, he definitely would not let things slide.

Seated cross-legged on the bed, Shen Changqing calmed his mind.

Name: Shen Changqing

Force: Great Qin’s Demon-Subduing Division

Identity: Yellow Rank Demon Hunter

Martial Arts: Invincible Golden Body (7th Level, upgradeable), Heavenly Martial Gang Qi (14th Level, upgradeable), Hundred Battles Blade Technique (3rd Level), Iron Sand Palm (5th Level, fusion possible), Snare Trampling Gang Step (5th Level, fusion possible), Mountain Splitting Palm Technique (Uninitiated, fusion possible), Willow Catkin Body Technique (Uninitiated, fusion possible)

Slaughter Value: 10

Previously, upgrading the Invincible Golden Body had consumed eight Slaughter Value points, which should have left only two on the panel. But tonight, severing one of Hongyi’s arms had reaped him another eight points, bringing his Slaughter Value back to ten.

His attention resting on the panel, Shen Changqing very quickly locked onto the Heavenly Martial Gang Qi. It couldn’t be helped. With the current ten points of Slaughter Value, the only things he could enhance were the Heavenly Martial Gang Qi and the Invincible Golden Body. As for fusing Martial Arts, it wouldn’t provide much improvement to his strength in the short term. A Hundred Battles Blade Technique, as well as the Great Achievement level of Iron Sand Palm, were enough for the time being. Moving forward, there did not seem to be a necessity to enhance further for now. Therefore, all the enhancements were focused on Inner Strength.

Will reaching the 15th Level of Heavenly Martial Gang Qi allow me to break through to the Grandmaster Realm? Carrying great curiosity, Shen Changqing began the new round of enhancement.

Before enhancing, he took out a bottle of Qi and Blood Pills and swallowed all eight pills inside. This time, for convenience during travel, Shen Changqing had only brought ten bottles of Qi and Blood Pills and ten bottles of Satiety Pills. Accounting for previous consumption, he still had a decent amount of Qi and Blood Pills left.

Once the elixirs were swallowed, they immediately dissolved. The powerful Qi and Blood rampaged through his body, causing his skin to swell and redden. Without hesitation, taking advantage of the abundance and peak of his Qi and Blood, Shen Changqing chose to enhance.

Eight Slaughter Value points were consumed, and the Heavenly Martial Gang Qi evolved from the 14th Level to the 15th Level.

Immediately after, an unprecedented, intense Suction Power burst forth from his Dantian, draining the abundant Qi and Blood at a visually perceptible rate. As the Qi and Blood depleted, a burgeoning True Qi took their place within the Dantian.

Shen Changqing calmed his mind and, using his inner sight, observed the changes occurring in his Dantian. He saw a transparent liquid flowing within; this was the state of True Qi after liquefaction. Above the Liquefied True Qi was a condensation of dense True Qi. When the vaporized True Qi accumulated to a certain degree, new droplets immediately fell, increasing the volume of Liquefied True Qi. At the same time, the Dantian trembled slightly; the already sizable Dantian was gradually expanding and growing with the help of the Liquefied True Qi. As the Dantian expanded, it could accommodate even more True Qi.

This intense Suction Power lasted less than fifteen minutes before Shen Changqing felt his body enter an extremely weakened state. From the outside, his previously swollen and flushed skin had now shriveled, a sign of severe depletion of Essence Blood. Without time to think, Shen Changqing took out another bottle of Qi and Blood Pills, swallowing it whole. Eight Qi and Blood Pills entered his stomach, and just as the powerful Qi and Blood were being converted, they were instantly absorbed by the Dantian’s Suction Power.

The surging True Qi within the Dantian swelled and then, like a torrent, surged towards the other meridians in his body.

POP!

A soft, barely perceptible noise sounded as True Qi abruptly penetrated a blocked meridian. Soon, a second meridian was penetrated.

Shen Changqing reined in his mind, following the direction of the circulating True Qi, not daring to relax in the slightest. The impact of True Qi on the meridians was a very rigorous matter. Although opening up meridians could enhance a Martial Artist’s strength, if the True Qi used to impact the meridians lost control, it could easily sever them, causing severe injury. Even with the help of the panel guiding the True Qi like an invisible hand, methodically penetrating the blocked meridians, Shen Changqing still dared not relax.

As time passed, more meridians were opened. With every opened meridian, the True Qi would weaken slightly. When all that powerful True Qi was completely exhausted, numerous meridians had been opened in his body.

Quickly, new True Qi was born within those opened meridians. All the True Qi converged, forming a more powerful torrent, which flowed back into the Dantian. For a moment, the True Qi in the Dantian became more abundant than ever.

At this point, the breakthrough of Heavenly Martial Gang Qi was complete.

Shen Changqing opened his tightly shut eyes. The eight Qi and Blood Pills he had just consumed had been significantly depleted, causing some weakness in his body. In response, he swallowed two more Qi and Blood Pills, completely alleviating the sense of weakness.

"Heavenly Martial Gang Qi at the 15th Level!" Shen Changqing clenched his fists, feeling the unceasing power surging within his body, and a smile spread across his face.

Now, his strength had risen to another level. If he were to confront Hongyi in his current state, perhaps he wouldn’t need to resort to a tactic that wounded himself just to severely injure her.