CH 70

Chapter 70: Merit.

Edited by: Mochiusagi 

Jiang Fu's words were not hurried, nor did Shen Changqing have the intention of urging the former. Instead, he just sat there quietly and listened.

"The biggest difference between an Innate Realm and a Grandmaster lies in the True Intent of Martial Arts!"

"The so-called Grandmaster Realm is actually a spiritual metamorphosis. In order to comprehend the True Intent of Martial Arts, a Cultivator must find his or her own path, and then comprehend the true meaning of it."

"There are many kinds of True Intents, so I can't give you a detailed explanation of them all."

Jiang Fu gave out his own insights about the Grandmaster Realm.

"The True Intent of Martial Arts..."

Shen Changqing murmured.

It turned out that the biggest difference between the Innate Realm and the Grandmaster Realm was this True Intent.

"In this case, a Grandmaster can use spiritual attacks. The methods of the monsters are mainly reflected in the spiritual level, with illusions being the most representative, right?"

"Correct."

Jiang Fu affirmed, then patiently explained.

"Cultivators below the Grandmaster Realm do not have any advantage when facing monsters. Some Cultivators may be physically strong, their muscles packed with power, but their mind is fragile. By this point, their raw strength is basically rendered useless, as they can easily fall into illusions and couldn't extricate themselves from it."

"However, once a Cultivator breaks through the Grandmaster Realm, they would have a degree of immunity against the illusions."

"As for exactly how much, I am also not clear."

Jiang Fu had a regrettable look on his face.

He was only a Red Black Official Slayer, and still had a long way from reaching the Grandmaster Realm.

Shen Changqing silently digested the information he had just received, before cupping his hands: "Steward Jiang's explanation has helped me widen my horizon, but I still have a question that I hope you can answer."

"Speak."

"Is there a big difference between the records on the third floor and second floor of the Library? And are there specific Martial Arts that can help a Cultivator break through to the Grandmaster Realm? If so, which floor are these Martial Arts placed in the Library?"

Shen Changqing asked.

This was a significant matter for him, as it had to do with whether or not he wanted to be promoted to a Red Black Official Slayer as soon as possible.

Jiang Fu replied: "Any Martial Arts could allow you to realize True Intent, whether it is the basic Martial Arts on the first floor or some of the more profound ones. All of them have a chance in giving you an epiphany in True Intent."

"Of course, the more profound the Martial Arts, the easier it will be to comprehend True Intent."

"The only difference between the Martial Arts on the third floor and the second floor is that there are some notes left on the Martial Arts by experts on the third floor."

"Some people are not able to comprehend True Intent by themselves, so they could use the notes left by their predecessors. Hence, making their probability of breaking through higher."

"The one you're Cultivating, the [Heavenly Martial Astral Qi], is considered a top Martial Art on the second floor. It also does not fare that badly if placed among the Martial Arts on the third floor."

Shen Changqing nodded.

So, the second and third floors were actually not that different from each other, as Jiang Fu said.

At most, the third floor just had notes left by experts that one could use to comprehend True Intent.

"If there are any problems, you can come here anytime as long as I am not on duty."

"If I am on duty, you can look for the Deputy Steward of the Yellow Court."

Jiang Fu had signaled that it was time to leave. 

"Then I'll be going first!"

Shen Changqing also got up and left.

There wasn't just a Steward for the Courts. There's actually a main Steward and several Deputy Stewards. This was to avoid any conflict of schedule and lack of management when a Steward had to go on a mission.

Speaking of, Jiang Fu was also a Deputy Steward before. When Liu Chang died, he stood out from the other Deputy Stewards, and finally became the main Steward.

Right after leaving the Steward's courtyard, Shen Changqing went straight to the Slayer Hall.

The Slayer Hall was located between the courtyards and the Library. It was the place where Official Slayers received their missions. It's also the place where they could exchange their merit.

The 'hall' in its name made it sound like it's a lobby, when in fact, it was just a general term. It was actually divided into several side halls.

Outside each hall was a plaque, which was inscribed with words...

Yellow Rank!

Red Black Rank!

Earth Rank!

Heaven Rank!

Merit Hall!

Treasure Hall!

Six plaques, representing six different side halls.

Shen Changqing looked through them twice, before walking into the Merit Hall.

When he entered the Merit Hall, his field of vision immediately broadened. There were several windows lined up, similar to those used for business in his previous life.

He came to an empty window manned by a middle-aged man.

"Please show me your identity token, and the Clear Spirit Jade Pendant."

Seeing the visitor, the middle-aged man immediately said in a very skilled manner.

Shen Changqing then handed over his identity token and Clear Spirit Jade Pendant as instructed.

The middle-aged man reached out and took it, first looking at the identity token.

"Yellow Rank Official Slayer Shen Changqing?"

"That is me!"

Shen Changqing slightly nodded and answered the inquiry.

It was only after receiving the confirmation, did the middle-aged man retract his gaze, now looking at the Clear Spirit Jade Pendant.

However, his pupils suddenly shrunk.

The originally white jade pendant was now completely rendered black.

This was how many monsters had been killed!

After the initial shock, the middle-aged man could not help but look at Shen Changqing again. As if he wanted to see something from the latter.

A Yellow Rank Official Slayer being able to kill so many monsters would inevitably shock people.

But soon, he recovered.

"Are you sure you want to convert all of the Evil Aura on the jade pendant into merit?"

The middle-aged man double-checked.

The concentration of Evil Aura on the jade pendant could not only allow Shen Changqing to be promoted to the Red Black Rank, there would also be a huge surplus left over!

After all, killing a Grudge Level monster could promote one to being a Red Black Rank Official Slayer.

The current color of the Clear Spirit Jade Pendant showed that Shen Changqing had killed more than just a Grudge Level monster.

Shen Changqing nodded: "Convert all of it!"

After a detailed discussion with Jiang Fu, Shen Changqing no longer needed to advance to the Red Black Rank.

Instead, he could use the merit he had just converted to exchange for things that would increase his strength!

If he wanted to get promoted, he could just go and take an exam.

Hearing this, the middle-aged man stopped talking and took out a white jade ruler from under the counter, along with a scale that Shen Changqing could not understand.

Upon putting the ruler on the surface of the jade pendant, the black lines surged while the white jade ruler's meter began to fill.

Soon, the black line on the ruler stopped at a certain scale on the upper end.

The middle-aged man looked at it twice, before reporting, "There is a total of one foot and five inches of Evil Aura, and the total merit points is 15. Do you have any objections?"

[T/N: it's 15 in the raws]

"What does one foot and five inches mean?"

Shen Changqing asked.

He did not know much about merit.

The middle-aged man explained, "Every time you kill a Ghost Level monster, you can get one to two inches of Evil Aura. For a Grudge Level monster, it's three to five inches. Each inch of Evil Aura corresponds to one merit point."

"I see, so that's how the measurements worked!"

Shen Changqing understood.

Calculating it, not counting the ones before when he handed his Clear Spirit Jade Pendant, he had killed three Grudge Level monsters.

Although a Grudge Level monster could give, at most, five inches of Evil Aura, it only applied to those who were in the late stage.

Combined with the Ghost Level monsters he had killed, the measurement given by the middle-aged man was not much different than his estimate.

At this time, the middle-aged man took out a jade bottle that had some strange patterns engraved on its surface. Shen Changqing then saw the other side circulating his True Qi into the bottle, making the patterns seem to come to life.

In an instant, the Evil Aura on the jade pendant flowed down to the jade bottle.

In just a few breaths of time, the black jade pendant turned back into its original white color.

The middle-aged man solemnly sealed the jade bottle, then took out one silver and five black coins from under the counter, which looked nothing like the ordinary currency.

"This is a Demon Suppression Division (DSD) Coin. Silver represents 10 merit points, while black represents 1 merit point, please keep it."

As if he could see that Shen Changqing was a first-time visitor, he explained.

The middle-aged man handed over the identity token, the Clear Spirit Jade Pendant and the DSD Coins to Shen Changqing.

The DSD Coins felt cold to the touch. It was similar to the identity token, but at the same time, somewhat different.

Seeing the strange look on Shen Changqing's face, the middle-aged man smiled: "It's your first time seeing the DSD Coins, right? The material used to make them is very special, it can even store True Qi inside."

"Some Cultivators use it to store their True Qi for later use or when they need it."

"It can store True Qi?"

Shen Changqing was astonished and seriously examined the DSD Coins in his hand.

It was indeed the first time he had seen something that could store True Qi.

It seemed that the longer he stayed in the Demon Suppression Division, the more he found this place magical.

Whether it's the Clear Spirit Jade Pendant that collected the Evil Aura of monsters and demons, or the white jade ruler and jade bottle that he just saw. Now, there's also these DSD Coins in his hand. All of the above were beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.

Leaving the Merit Hall, Shen Changqing proceeded to the Treasure Hall.

As their name suggests, the Merit Hall was where one exchanges for merit while the Treasure Hall was where one exchanges for treasures.

The layout of the Treasure Hall was a bit different from that of the Merit Hall. When Shen Changqing first entered, he almost thought he was in a marketplace, with noise ringing all around.

In front of each counter were many people gathered together.

Some of them were dressed in the uniform of the Demon Suppression Division, while others were wearing casual clothes.

But if one looked carefully, they could see that all the counters were divided into four areas. After a little inquiry, Shen Changqing came to the Yellow Area and finally stopped at a less crowded counter.

Showing his identity token, the middle-aged man manning the counter handed Shen Changqing a pamphlet.

This held the list of the things that could be exchanged and the corresponding merit points needed, aka the price.

Opening the first page, Shen Changqing saw Clear Meridian Pills.

#####

Clear Meridian Pill (one): 1 merit point

Clear Meridian Pills (one bottle): 6 merit points

#####

The 6 merit points made Shen Changqing's mouth corners twitch slightly. But he also understood that the bottle of Clear Meridian Pills he got was an extra benefit given by the Demon Suppression Division.

Page by page, Shen Changqing flipped through the catalogue of items.

Finally, something caught Shen Changqing's eyes.