Chapter 98

Looking at the panel, Shen Changqing felt both happy and a bit regretful.

Unfortunately.

The Heavenly Martial Qi on the fifteenth floor also failed to give birth to the true meaning of martial arts.

In other words.

He is still not considered a master of martial arts.

However.

Shen Changqing felt the abundant Heavenly Martial Qi in his dantian, and now he was more powerful than before his breakthrough.

In short.

Even without the true meaning of martial arts, with his current foundation, there should be no one at the innate realm who could match him.

The only question is.

Whether he can now contend with a martial arts master.

"The main issue with a master is the true meaning of martial arts, which means that a master's true strength lies in mental attacks.

Without considering the mental aspect, just in terms of physical strength and the concentration of true qi, they may not be much stronger than me now."

Shen Changqing pondered.

He was very familiar with his own situation and had a deep understanding of the martial arts world.

In the martial world, the vast majority of people focus on internal cultivation.

External cultivation is only used to build a foundation during the Body Tempering stage.

After reaching the Meridian Unblocking stage, internal cultivation becomes the main focus.

Moreover.

To achieve something in external cultivation requires a lot of time and resources.

Even if the consumption is high, the achievements in external cultivation are incomparable to those of internal cultivation at the same level.

As a result.

The number of people who diligently study external cultivation is very few.

The Seventh Level of the Invincible Golden Body.

This gave Shen Changqing confidence that there would be very few people who could match him in physical strength.

In that case.

The gap between him and a master might just be the true meaning of martial arts.

"True meaning of martial arts!"

Shen Changqing murmured softly.

Even though he had heard Jiang Zuo talk about it, he still had no clear idea of how to comprehend the true meaning of martial arts.

The Hundred Battles Saber Technique, when perfected, can point directly to the realm of the true meaning of martial arts.

But so far.

His comprehension of the Hundred Battles Saber Technique is only at the third level, and he hasn't even reached the fourth level, let alone the fifth level of perfection.

"Killing points!"

"I need more killing points now."

Putting aside unnecessary thoughts, Shen Changqing was very clear about what he needed.

The true meaning of martial arts is hard to comprehend, but that doesn't mean he has to be stuck at the innate realm forever.

The division of realms.

Is just a way to show the level of strength.

In other words.

If his true qi is strong enough to kill a martial arts master with one punch, who would dare to say he is at the innate realm?

"In short, the division of realms is just a way to distinguish strength. What truly matters is one's overall strength."

Shen Changqing understood clearly.

If he can't comprehend the true meaning of martial arts, he will focus on enhancing his Heavenly Martial Qi and the Invincible Golden Body.

If the fifteenth level of Heavenly Martial Qi can't contend with a master, then the twenty-fifth level might be able to kill a master with one punch.

At that time.

What realm he is in will be up to him to decide.

"The street of the Ten Thousand Flowers Building may still have other demons, but if the Red-robed One has retreated, any other demons are likely to have retreated as well.

For now, we can only wait for news from the Heavenly Inspection Guard."

Shen Changqing calmed his mind and stopped thinking about it.

Outside the eastern city.

There was a wide open space where tents were set up, and many soldiers could be seen patrolling.

This was the camp of the Black Tiger Army.

Due to the geographical location of the Great Wasteland Prefecture, almost every city and region had a large army stationed.

Now that night had fallen.

Torches were lit in the camp, driving away the darkness.

In the main tent, a burly man in iron armor sat at the head of the table, with two people sitting below him.

One was Zhong Chi.

The other was Nie Xu.

But Zhong Chi was different from his appearance at the Heavenly One Building; he had changed his appearance and was now disguised as a young scholar.

The atmosphere in the tent was very tense.

Zhong Chi said, "The Ten Thousand Flowers Building is indeed a stronghold of the Eternal Alliance. Today, a strong expert from the Demon Suppression Bureau infiltrated the Ten Thousand Flowers Building and engaged in combat with the demons there, discovering that all the people in the Ten Thousand Flowers Building were undead puppets.

The leading demon was quite powerful.

One of the purposes of the Ten Thousand Flowers Building is to collect the essence of living people to help the demon advance to the master realm."

After he finished speaking.

Nie Xu's face turned furious: "The demons of the Eternal Alliance truly deserve death. How dare they use such methods right under my nose? Those missing people are definitely the work of the Ten Thousand Flowers Building.

If the Ten Thousand Flowers Building hadn't been destroyed, I would have led my troops to raid it tomorrow."

He was really angry.

It turned out that under his nose, the seemingly peaceful Jin City was hiding such a thing.

After his anger subsided, Nie Xu's expression towards Zhong Chi was not very pleasant.

"Did you, Lord Zhong, know the details of the Ten Thousand Flowers Building from the beginning?"

As he spoke, he already showed his dissatisfaction.

What did that mean?

You, the Heavenly Inspection Guard, knew about the Ten Thousand Flowers Building but didn't inform my office, leaving everyone in the dark.

Just thinking about it.

Made Nie Xu feel quite angry.

Facing the questioning, Zhong Chi remained calm and replied slowly, "Lord Nie, the Heavenly Inspection Guard was not sure that the Ten Thousand Flowers Building was involved with the Eternal Alliance.

It was only when Lord Shen infiltrated the Ten Thousand Flowers Building that this issue was discovered.

Moreover, the information about the Eternal Alliance's stronghold should not be widely publicized, as it would cause panic among the people and alert the demons.

But I didn't expect the Ten Thousand Flowers Building to act so recklessly, leading to the situation getting out of control."

Regarding Zhong Chi's explanation.

Nie Xu was not very satisfied. He grunted heavily but did not ask any more questions.

Unlike Shen Changqing.

Zhong Chi was a Demon Suppression Envoy of the Demon Suppression Bureau, with a high status, so he had to be polite to him.

But towards Zhong Chi, he had no such reservations.

Although the Heavenly Inspection Guard belonged to the Demon Suppression Bureau, it was still a step below the Demon Suppression Envoy.

As the governor of the city, his status was not much lower than that of the Heavenly Inspection Guard, so he didn't need to be overly polite or respectful.

Just as the two were arguing.

The person sitting above spoke, his voice authoritative.

"Lord Zhong and Lord Nie, there's no point in arguing. Now that the situation has come to this, we need to think of ways to solve the problem."

Hearing this.

Zhong Chi nodded, "General Chu is right."

"Lord Zhong, the Heavenly Inspection Guard is the strongest intelligence agency of the Demon Suppression Bureau. Do you have any information on the specific actions and intentions of the Eternal Alliance?"

Chu Ding asked solemnly.

Zhong Chi pondered for a moment and replied with a bow, "The Heavenly Inspection Guard is currently relaying the information. I believe it won't be long before the Heavenly Inspection Guards in other regions send back some relevant information.

In my view, the situation in Jin City may not be unique."

"What do you mean by that?"

Chu Ding raised an eyebrow, his gaze becoming stern.

Under his gaze.

Zhong Chi felt some pressure but remained calm.

"Jin City's geographical location is not particularly important. If the Eternal Alliance only acted in Jin City, it would be suppressed by the Demon Suppression Bureau before causing any major disturbance.

Moreover, the Black Tiger Army is stationed outside Jin City, which would not allow the Eternal Alliance to cause any significant trouble.

If the Eternal Alliance wants to disrupt the situation in Jin City, they must have other plans, which would require cooperation from other regions.

But the information is not yet available, so I can't make too many speculations."

"Lord Zhong is right."

Chu Ding nodded.

At this moment.

Nie Xu suddenly said, "Do you think the Eternal Alliance might have some connection with the barbarians?"

"Barbarians!"

Chu Ding and Zhong Chi both instinctively frowned.

Especially Chu Ding, who emitted a fierce aura, showing his deep hatred for the barbarians.

"It's not yet winter, so it's unlikely to be related to the barbarians. Moreover, the armies guarding the borders of the Great Wasteland Prefecture have not shown any unusual activity.

If the barbarians were planning an attack, the border guards would not remain silent."

After his anger subsided, Chu Ding shook his head calmly.

The barbarians invade the Great Wasteland Prefecture every year, aiming to plunder enough resources to ensure they can survive the winter.

Sometimes.

To obtain enough resources, the barbarians might even venture deep into enemy territory.

However.

Each time they do this, the barbarians suffer heavy losses.

Even if they manage to plunder some resources, many more barbarians end up buried in the land of the Great Qin.

In terms of losses.

It's like killing eight hundred enemies but losing a thousand of your own.

Despite this, the barbarians never stop. Every year, at a certain time, they launch a forced attack.

However.

The time when the barbarians usually attack is usually close to winter. It is not yet autumn, and winter is still far away.

Nie Xu nodded and smiled, "I was just speculating. After all, the Great Wasteland Prefecture's position is quite awkward. The Eternal Alliance's actions here without any apparent reason made me think of the barbarians."

At this point, his expression became serious.

"Let's not talk about other things for now. Yesterday, the Zhou family in Jin City was destroyed, and today, the demons of the Eternal Alliance caused chaos. The resources of the office are not enough to maintain order in the city.

To avoid panic among the people and to prevent other demons from causing trouble, I hope General Chu can send troops to assist the office in stabilizing the situation."

After speaking.

He stood up and bowed to Chu Ding.

Chu Ding pondered for a moment and then nodded in agreement.

"Agreed!"