Chapter 161: Arrival

For the next two days, Shen Changqing remained secluded within his courtyard.

When his mind grew weary, he would partake of the Enlightenment Tea to nourish his spirit.

It was during this time that he discovered a peculiar limitation.

The Enlightenment Tea could not be consumed excessively, for its potency would diminish.

Therefore, Shen Changqing limited himself to one serving per day, enough to replenish his daily expenditure and allow him to comprehend the Hundred Battle True Intent.

The rest of his time was spent within the courtyard, diligently practicing the Celestial Luo Stepping Gait.

His reason for not leaving was to await the arrival of those from the Seclusion Pavilion.

Besides that, there was nowhere else he wished to go.

Now that he had the opportunity to enter the Seclusion Pavilion without the burden of assigned tasks, Shen Changqing felt he could afford to adjust himself.

Otherwise, constantly being immersed in slaughter would eventually lead to weariness and exhaustion.

During these two days, Shen Changqing also considered visiting the Scripture Repository, but he postponed it for the time being.

He decided to wait until he had met the people from the Seclusion Pavilion before making any other plans.

To be honest, Shen Changqing felt a great deal of curiosity about this place he had only just heard of, and was also slightly nervous about the events to come.

As he executed the Celestial Luo Stepping Gait, his body moved with ghostly speed, leaving behind fleeting afterimages that lingered on the ground.

With each repetition of the footwork, Shen Changqing’s understanding of this martial art deepened.

Although he had yet to achieve a breakthrough, it felt as though he was on the verge of it.

Suddenly, Shen Changqing halted his movements, all the afterimages vanished, and the Celestial Luo Stepping Gait, which he was about to complete, came to an abrupt stop.

He turned his head towards the gate.

His senses told him that a terrifying beast was approaching.

Soon after, the presence stopped.

Someone was at the gate!

And that someone possessed great strength!

Even through the courtyard walls, Shen Changqing could clearly sense the immensely vigorous Qi and blood emanating from the person.

After cultivating the Martial Arts True Intent, his senses had become significantly sharper.

Previously, he would have only been able to detect someone outside the gate, but now he could discern the depth of their strength.

"Vigorous Qi and blood, no weaker than mine, no, possibly even stronger!"

"Who is it? Could it be someone from the Seclusion Pavilion?"

Shen Changqing immediately associated the visitor with that mysterious place.

But he didn’t dwell on it for long, for the courtyard door was already being knocked.

After calming himself, he walked towards the gate and opened it from the inside.

Outside, a brocade-robed old man with a ruddy complexion and a faint smile stood with his hands clasped behind his back. At first glance, he appeared to be an ordinary elderly man.

But Shen Changqing could sense that the old man’s Qi and blood was incredibly vigorous, like a sleeping beast, ready to unleash earth-shattering power at any moment.

A powerhouse!

His eyes narrowed slightly.

In his imagination, someone with such vigorous Qi and blood should have been a burly giant, a far cry from the old man before him.

As Shen Changqing sized him up, the old man was also scrutinizing him.

He nodded as he looked him up and down.

"Hmm, vigorous Qi and blood, powerful physical body, reaching the Tiger Roar Leopard Thunder stage at such a young age, truly a good seedling, not bad, not bad. I thought that brat Dongfang Zhao was trying to foist off some rotten wood on the Seclusion Pavilion again."

After his assessment, the old man became more and more pleased.

In this day and age, those with such talent were exceedingly rare.

According to the information he had, the person before him was only in his early twenties, about twenty-three or twenty-four. Even if he doubled that age, there would still be few martial artists in the Jianghu who had entered the physical body system.

Beside him, Shen Changqing was speechless upon hearing the old man’s words.

However, he didn’t interrupt him and allowed him to ramble on.

After a while, the old man seemed to realize himself, looked at Shen Changqing, and introduced himself solemnly.

"Let me introduce myself, my name is Zhong Ning, and I am an elder of the Seclusion Pavilion. You must be Shen Changqing, the one Dongfang Zhao, Guardian Dongfang, mentioned!"

"Shen Changqing greets you, Senior!"

Shen Changqing clasped his fist politely.

Aside from his age, the person before him seemed to be stronger than him, and judging by how he casually referred to a Guardian as a "brat," his status was likely extraordinary.

Therefore, he couldn’t afford to be disrespectful.

Seeing this, Zhong Ning stroked his beard and nodded.

"You don’t have to be so polite. Once you enter my Seclusion Pavilion, you will be one of us. Do you know anything about the Seclusion Pavilion?"

"Um."

The sudden question surprised Shen Changqing, but he then spoke.

"I—"

"You’re just going to let this old man stand here? Won’t you invite me in for a seat?"

"—Senior, please!"

Shen Changqing was speechless, but he stepped aside to let the old man in.

Zhong Ning didn’t stand on ceremony and strode inside. Looking at the layout of the courtyard, he shook his head.

"This place is too small. Those who can enter my Seclusion Pavilion are all people of status. Food, clothing, shelter, and transportation cannot be neglected. Living in such a place will embarrass my Seclusion Pavilion."

After belittling the place, his gaze fell upon the white jade tea tray, and he noticed that the teacup placed beside it was still warm.

"Hmm?"

"This tea tray isn’t bad, the quality is excellent, barely acceptable, you’re drinking Enlightenment Tea, I see, not bad taste, Enlightenment Tea is among the best of spiritual teas, the Demon Suppression Division doesn’t have much in stock each year.

But the Enlightenment Tea and this white jade tea tray don’t quite match."

Standing behind Zhong Ning, Shen Changqing was rendered speechless.

The other party’s personality differed somewhat from what he had imagined.

However, Shen Changqing didn’t show any displeasure and instead answered Zhong Ning’s previous question.

"I’ve heard Guardian Dongfang say that the Seclusion Pavilion conducts research on how to break through the martial artist’s limit; beyond that, I’m not so clear."

"Not bad."

Hearing this, Zhong Ning retracted his gaze from the courtyard, stopped, and turned to look at Shen Changqing.

"The Seclusion Pavilion is indeed researching how to break through the martial artist’s limit, or rather, the martial artist’s limit is not entirely accurate. Strictly speaking, it should be how to break through the limits of the human race itself.

Many people think that when one steps through the door of martial arts, they have already broken through the limits of ordinary people.

But in my opinion, that’s not right."

Shen Changqing remained calm, waiting for Zhong Ning to continue.

This elder of the Seclusion Pavilion clearly had his own views.

"When martial artists cultivate, they are not breaking the limits of the human body, but developing the potential of the human body. The difference between ordinary people and martial artists lies in whether they have tapped into their own potential.

The deeper the excavation, the stronger their strength becomes.

The so-called Qi Passage, Innate, and even Grandmaster stages are all processes of tapping into the body’s potential."

"However—"

"Everything has its limits, and the human body also has its limits. When the human body reaches its limit, there is no way to develop new potential, and this limit is what you call the martial artist’s limit."

The human body limit.

The martial artist’s limit.

They were just different words, but the meaning was the same, and Shen Changqing had no intention of arguing about it.

"The human body has its limits, so after reaching the limit, it is no longer possible to improve one’s strength. Over the years, the Seclusion Pavilion has been researching how to break through the human body’s limits and allow the human race to master even greater power.

Aside from this exception, the Seclusion Pavilion also researches many things."

Many things?

Shen Changqing looked puzzled.

Zhong Ning smiled: "You’ve been to the Demon Slaying Hall, right!"

"I have."

Shen Changqing nodded frankly.

Zhong Ning said: "You must have seen some small toys used to measure merit points in the Demon Slaying Hall, as well as the Clear Spirit Jade Pendant that every Demon Slaying Envoy carries; those are all creations of the Seclusion Pavilion.

The main purpose of the Seclusion Pavilion is to research various aspects.

In other words, the Seclusion Pavilion will dabble in anything that is beneficial to the human race and Great Qin."

The words of this Seclusion Pavilion elder reminded Shen Changqing of something.

"What about the evil?"

"Evil?"

Zhong Ning looked at him strangely, and the atmosphere in the courtyard became serious. After a long time, he smiled, breaking the heavy atmosphere.

Then, he nodded.

"That’s right, evil are also within the scope of the Seclusion Pavilion’s research. You’ll understand some things once you truly enter the Seclusion Pavilion."

"Am I not considered to have entered the Seclusion Pavilion yet?"

"Not yet. I’m just here to take a look at you. Although the Guardians only have the right to allow people to try to join the Seclusion Pavilion, they don’t have the right to forcibly insert people. Whether you can successfully enter depends on our assessment."

Speaking of this, Zhong Ning paused.

"However, you don’t need to be assessed. With your talent, you are qualified to enter the Seclusion Pavilion. Your strength is also good. You can kill a Barbarian General in the midst of the army. Not many Demon Slaying Envoys can do that.

If you don’t have anything else to do, come with me now, and I’ll take you to the Seclusion Pavilion.

Once you’re officially registered, you’ll be a member of the Seclusion Pavilion."

"Alright!"

Shen Changqing didn’t refuse. He had already decided to enter the Seclusion Pavilion, whether sooner or later.

As for the previous question.

He was only thinking about the evil imprisoned in the Demon Prison. He didn’t know the purpose of the imprisonment before, but now he had gotten the answer from Zhong Ning.

Although Zhong Ning didn’t directly state it, the evil imprisoned in the Demon Prison were used for research.

But the truth of the matter was unlikely to deviate much.

"You’re quite decisive, you don’t even ask about the benefits and drawbacks of entering the Seclusion Pavilion." Zhong Ning smiled noncommittally.

"Since Guardian Dongfang wants me to enter the Seclusion Pavilion, it shouldn’t be a bad thing."

"That’s true, although those Guardians aren’t good people, they’re mostly good on major issues. You’re not wrong to trust Guardian Dongfang."

Zhong Ning wasn’t surprised by Shen Changqing’s answer.

He looked at the layout of the courtyard again, then turned and walked outside.

"Come with me!"

End of Chapter