Chapter 177: You Broke Through?

The capital city.

Ever since the news of Great Zhou attacking Luo’an Prefecture spread, the atmosphere here had grown noticeably heavy.

The villagers’ after-dinner conversations revolved around Great Zhou and the Barbarians.

Inside the teahouse, commoners and Jianghu martial artists in close-fitting attire sat side-by-side.

The place buzzed with activity, but the topics of discussion were largely the same.

"I heard the Barbarians and Great Zhou secretly formed an alliance. The Barbarians’ attack on Dahuang Prefecture was supported by Great Zhou. Now, Great Zhou’s invasion of Luo’an Prefecture is meant to relieve pressure on the Barbarians."

After finishing his statement, a young man downed a cup of wine.

Those at his table shook their heads.

"Great Zhou’s attack is aggressive, aiming to join forces with the Barbarians to conquer our Great Qin. Relying solely on Luo’an Prefecture’s strength, I’m afraid they won’t be able to resist."

"Hey, Luo’an Prefecture borders Great Zhou, how could the Imperial Court be unprepared? No matter how strong Great Zhou is, the possibility of them breaching Luo’an Prefecture in a short time is slim."

"That’s right. Our Great Qin has stood for over three hundred years, weathering countless storms. Great Zhou and the Barbarians uniting is certainly not enough to break the Imperial Court."

"Let’s hope so—"

Someone sighed.

As Qin people, none wished to see Great Qin fall.

For when no nest is left intact, no egg remains unbroken.

If the nation fell, they would suffer considerably.

Just as when Great Qin was founded, it was precarious, taking many years to stabilize, with countless lives lost during the turmoil.

Right now, Great Qin was relatively stable, and no one wanted to fall into that situation again.

A rumbling sound echoed.

The ground trembled.

The large teahouse seemed to be affected.

Someone’s expression changed drastically. "What’s happening? Could it be an earth dragon turning over?"

"Impossible. This is the capital, with the Emperor seated here. How could an earth dragon turn over?"

A Confucian scholar rebuked angrily.

The capital was where Great Qin’s luck converged. In the past, any Celestial Disasters in other regions had never affected the capital even slightly.

The reason being:

The capital was Great Qin’s lifeline.

Hearing this, the fear on the faces of others faded.

Then someone peered outside, seeing soldiers passing by.

"Imperial Court army!"

"Where are these troops going? Surely not to support Luo’an Prefecture?"

"Unlikely. Didn’t the Imperial Court already dispatch a large army?"

"The ones dispatched earlier were the Azure Dragon Army. This current force is a regular army. News has it that the Imperial Court plans to send two million reinforcements to Luo’an Prefecture. Such a number can’t be mobilized in just a day or two."

"Two million troops—"

Someone couldn’t help but gasp, shocked by the scale.

Two million troops!

It was clear that the Imperial Court was truly going all out this time.

The army stretched like a dragon before them, with no end in sight.

The villagers on the street scurried to both sides, not daring to block the path.

Five days passed in the blink of an eye.

Shen Changqing had been staying indoors, rarely leaving his courtyard, silently converting Great Sun True Qi and cultivating the Hundred Battle True Intent.

It was worth mentioning that:

The conversion of Great Sun True Qi went smoothly.

With his spiritual power as support, it took less than three days to completely convert and devour all of his Heavenly Martial True Qi.

Likewise, the Great Sun True Qi had undergone a significant breakthrough.

Great Sun Scripture (Thirteenth Level, Cannot Be Improved)

After fully converting his Seventeenth Level Heavenly Martial Gang Qi, his Great Sun Scripture directly ascended from uninitiated to the Thirteenth Level.

The difference between the two martial arts was four levels.

To this, Shen Changqing was understanding.

The conversion of martial arts true Qi would inevitably involve some loss.

Moreover, the grade of Great Sun True Qi was higher, while Heavenly Martial True Qi was slightly lower. Converting from low to high grade would improve quality, but the quantity would definitely decrease.

Overall, Thirteenth Level Great Sun True Qi had likely reduced Shen Changqing’s strength by about ten percent.

This reduction was within his expectations.

"Less true Qi, though the quality has improved, can’t fully compensate for the gap. But a ten percent decrease in strength isn’t a big deal. Moreover, the Great Sun True Qi has greater room for improvement in the future.

Before my internal energy reaches perfection, I can cultivate it directly.

Once the Great Sun Scripture breaks through to the Fourteenth Level, I should be able to close this gap."

Shen Changqing secretly calculated.

Fourteenth Level Great Sun Scripture would be no weaker than Seventeenth Level Heavenly Martial Gang Qi.

Furthermore—

He felt the heat in his Dantian, as if he had swallowed a blazing sun, ready to unleash terrifying power at any moment.

"Worth it!"

Shen Changqing smiled slightly.

Suddenly.

He looked at the artificial mountain before him, lunged forward, and struck out with his palm.

Without using any Qi and blood power.

He simply mobilized his Great Sun True Qi.

A stream of extremely hot energy rose from his Dantian, flowing into his arm.

Buzz—

The air seemed to distort slightly, and the surrounding temperature rose rapidly.

Shen Changqing’s palm imprinted on the artificial mountain, and then he retreated.

He saw a black palm print deeply etched into the mountain, as if it had been there for many years.

Looking closely, one could see a faint red glow within the blackness.

"Putting aside everything else, the attribute of Great Sun True Qi alone is something that Heavenly Martial Gang Qi and Pure Yang Skill can’t compare to."

Shen Changqing was very satisfied.

When Pure Yang Skill broke through, the blazing aura was also very powerful, but compared to the current Great Sun True Qi, it was nothing.

As for Heavenly Martial Gang Qi.

Although it had devoured the Pure Yang Skill, possessing similar attributes.

When it came to pure Yang’s blazing power, it was a step behind.

Thus.

There was no way to compare it to the Great Sun Scripture.

Evil is extremely Yin.

Great Sun Scripture was clearly extremely effective against evil.

This was another reason why Shen Changqing had chosen the Great Sun Scripture.

As a member of the Demon Suppression Division, he would likely deal with evil more often in the future.

Moreover.

Great Sun Scripture was not only effective against evil. Its domineering attribute meant that even Jianghu people could not withstand it.

"It’s about time. I should head to the Martial Pavilion, lest the Demon Subjugation Pavilion gets impatient. Ten merit points may not be much, but it’s not little either—"

In the past.

Ten merit points would have been a lot for Shen Changqing.

But after obtaining three hundred merit points and advancing in rank, his perspective had broadened.

Even so.

Shen Changqing didn’t want to give up the ten merit points.

Going to the Demon Prison to strengthen the seal would grant ten merit points, which was incomparable to ordinary missions.

In front of the Martial Pavilion.

Tan Tianji still sat there, looking composed.

Standing beside him was a youth in white, with sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, a handsome face, lacking the ferocity expected of someone from the Demon Suppression Division, instead possessing the gentle and refined air of a scholar.

"Elder Tan, when will the Martial Pavilion person arrive?"

Looking at the sky, Jiang An’s face showed some helplessness.

He didn’t have much time and had specifically chosen today to go to the Demon Prison to reinforce the seal.

If he missed today, he wouldn’t be able to find time to go to the Demon Prison again anytime soon.

If the seal in the Demon Prison wasn’t reinforced for a long time, no one could guarantee that there wouldn’t be any problems.

If there really were problems.

The Demon Subjugation Pavilion would not be able to escape responsibility.

After all.

The Demon Prison was under the Demon Subjugation Pavilion’s care. In the past, no problems meant fulfilling their duties, but if problems arose, the Demon Subjugation Pavilion would have to bear the responsibility.

If a demon broke the seal and caused a major disaster, then the Demon Subjugation Pavilion would be in trouble.

Tan Tianji spoke slowly and calmly, smiling faintly.

"No need to rush. Why are you people from the Demon Subjugation Pavilion always so anxious? Just wait patiently. It’s only midday now at most. Wait a little longer, and that kid should be arriving soon!"

He didn’t feel rushed by Jiang An’s urging.

Anyway, it was the Demon Subjugation Pavilion’s business, which had nothing to do with his Internal Affairs Pavilion.

Moreover.

Tan Tianji didn’t think that Shen Changqing would give up those ten merit points.

After all, it was common knowledge that the people in the Martial Pavilion were poor.

Don’t look at their annual resource subsidies. In reality, the consumption of cultivation couldn’t be compensated by that little subsidy at all.

Thus.

Most of the time, the people in the Martial Pavilion were training outside.

So-called training was just a fancy name. The true explanation was that they were carrying out Demon Suppression Division missions.

Although.

Once you entered the Seclusion Pavilion, the Demon Suppression Division would not force you to carry out missions under normal circumstances.

But—

If you lacked merit points, you would still have to obediently carry out missions. No one could avoid it.

It was precisely because he saw through this point that the Demon Suppression Division generously allowed the people in the Seclusion Pavilion not to carry out missions.

Hearing this.

Jiang An opened his mouth, but in the end, he didn’t say anything.

Since Tan Tianji had said so, he could only wait silently.

In terms of identity.

He was just an Official Member of the Demon Subjugation Pavilion, one level lower than the Elder of the Internal Affairs Pavilion.

Moreover.

The Elder of the Internal Affairs Pavilion was different from the Elder of other Pavilions. To some extent, the Elder of the Internal Affairs Pavilion had a higher status.

Time passed.

About another hour later, Shen Changqing leisurely walked over.

When he arrived.

Tan Tianji, who had been dozing off, suddenly opened his eyes. A fleeting glimmer of light flashed past.

"You broke through?"

"Uh, no, I just had some harvest in martial arts."

Shen Changqing was a little dazed by the sudden question, but he quickly regained his senses and shook his head in denial.

Hearing this.

Tan Tianji sat up, carefully looking him up and down, and then nodded.

"Your aura is scorching, very different from before. It seems that you have switched to cultivating other martial arts these past few days."

End of Chapter