CHAPTER 38: CHAPTER 38: THE METHOD TO REVERSE GANG QI

The drizzle stopped, and there was no moon in the night sky.

The return journey was unbelievably smooth.

Tang Lingwei, leading her weary subordinates, returned to the Evil Extermination Bureau.

Several colleagues noticed and cast their gaze briefly before quickly averting their eyes.

As people of the Evil Extermination Bureau, they were long accustomed to this scene.

Getting injured was a minor matter; worse were those carried back covered in white cloth.

"Gao Quan, summarize today’s events and report them," Tang Lingwei said with a complicated expression.

Upon returning, she had already come to a realization.

With Qin An’s talent and methods, she could not retain him.

Today’s achievements largely belonged to Qin An.

He decisively slew two enemies at Body Realm Perfection; perhaps by tomorrow, Qin An could be considered her equal.

To be promoted from state official to bronze state guard, one needs to achieve great merit, and having the blood of demons or pseudo-gods on hand is essential.

When state officials undertake a task together, performances are reported according to their efforts post-task.

Much like today, if they have overcome hardships and risked their lives to slay demons, the merit would be distributed among everyone.

The merits of two Body Realm enemies are significant, but divided among the group, it becomes much less.

However, in this battle, the main credit belonged to Qin An, as he alone slew the pseudo-god among the demons, leaving very little for others, with Qin An taking the lion’s share.

Such opportunities for advancement require not only luck, encountering two Body Realm enemies but also strength.

Without Qin An’s strength, how could he claim such merit?

As for embezzling merit, such a thing cannot happen within the Evil Extermination Bureau.

There is a clear decree from above.

All are people risking their lives for the common folk; anyone daring to steal credit would chill his colleagues’ hearts, and even with noble contacts, they would be publicly executed.

Gao Quan glanced fearfully at Qin An, nodded in agreement, and quietly left the courtyard.

He recalled when he considered Qin An a brother, now thinking of the power of Qin An’s black blade, he wished he could slap himself twice.

How could he dare to associate with such a person?

Qin An asked, "How long until the cultivation techniques can be exchanged?"

Rank isn’t important; what matters are the cultivation techniques.

Currently, he stored a significant amount of blood and energy, intending to use new cultivation techniques for deductions.

Tang Lingwei said, "Tomorrow, someone from the Internal Affairs Department will come to find you; you’re tired today, go rest for a while."

Qin An nodded and turned towards his room.

Tang Lingwei watched his back, remaining lost in thought for a long time.

...

Back at his place, Qin An removed the black blade and placed it beside his bed.

The gains were substantial today, but there were no cultivation techniques; all he could do was wait for their arrival tomorrow to study them well.

The night was already deep.

Qin An didn’t like staying up late and preferred to maintain ample energy.

Even if proficient, he preferred to train during the day.

Moreover, there was the monkey demon from Cangyun Valley and the tree lord to consider; he needed to remain at peak state at all times.

Staying in the Evil Extermination Bureau wasn’t necessarily safe; to ensure safety, he could only rely on himself.

The oil lamp flickered, casting mottled shadows.

After blowing out the oil lamp, Qin An went to sleep early...

The next day.

A knock sounded at the door.

Qin An suddenly opened his eyes, gripping his black blade: "Who is it?"

A voice came from outside.

"Internal Affairs Department, bringing rewards."

Upon hearing this, Qin An got up, opened the door, but did not sheath his blade.

Outside stood a young man in dark attire, lacking any aura of evil or malice that the Foreign Affairs people had.

Upon seeing Qin An open the door, the young man handed over a tray.

Taking it, Qin An looked and saw a copper waist badge on it.

A dragon coiled on the badge, exuding a fierce and ominous aura.

Besides that, there were also two sets of spare dark clothes.

With a brief reflection, Qin An hung the badge on his waist.

The young man immediately folded his fists in salute: "The humble servant greets Mr. Qin."

The title of bronze state guard represented Lingzhou status, having dealt with enough blood of demons and pseudo-gods for advancement.

Although from sects and clans, even Internal Affairs must greet bronze state guards from Foreign Affairs respectfully.

Qin An nodded and asked, "Can I go to the Confidential Library to exchange rewards?"

With achievements registered, and now as a bronze state guard, Qin An needed cultivation techniques.

Cultivation techniques and intel were stored in the Confidential Library, which Qin An knew well.

The young man bowed: "Merit is recorded, Mr. Qin can naturally go, and also to the Resource Hall to receive the monthly stipend for a bronze state guard."

Being those who lick the blood off blades, money was not scarce; the monthly stipend sufficed for luxurious indulgence.

Qin An nodded and stepped out of his door.

First, he went to the Resource Hall. After collecting the month’s stipend, he proceeded to the Confidential Library.

As before, Qin An handed over his badge.

This time, the state official from Internal Affairs didn’t underestimate it, respectfully returning his badge.

"Sir, you may select three Body-Encompassing Realm Skills, and bring them out once transcribed," the state official said.

By rules, state officials could select only two things.

Bronze state guards differed; they could select an additional one, a privilege of sorts.

Retrieving his badge, Qin An entered the Confidential Library and began to carefully select one by one.

The books on the shelves had names and descriptions but no content.

This was to prevent those with photographic memory from memorizing everything.

Beforehand, Qin An knew what he should choose.

Currently, his sword and heart methods were nearly perfect, but his body technique lagged, still a Hidden Qi Realm Body Skill.

Aside from this, he needed a defensive method and a fist technique.

His fist technique was basic; he wanted to advance further.

Defense was always Qin An’s weakness, an essential necessity.

The Confidential Library had a significant number of cultivation techniques, but the state official thoughtfully categorized them, making it easy to find.

Qin An looked for fist and body techniques first.

The fist technique was called the Long Sky Fist.

This fist technique was incredibly fierce, reminiscent of Qin An’s Red Flame Mountain-Breaking Hand.

The body technique was titled Snake Form Body Skill, emphasizing movement in confined spaces.

The Bluebird Leap had wide application, much like swallows gliding, but lacked confined maneuverability.

If Qin An analyzed it along with Bluebird Leap, he might compensate for Bluebird Leap’s shortcomings.

With fist and body techniques chosen, he struggled with selecting a defensive method.

Standing before the bookshelf, Qin An pondered: "I have no profession related to defensive methods; if the deduction fails, I’d need to start a new profession."

After a moment of decision, Qin An chose an easily activated defensive method.

Each cultivation technique was thoroughly annotated, and Qin An patiently reviewed each.

Before long, one appeared in his hands.

——Reverse Gang Qi.

Just then, a bronze state guard from Foreign Affairs passed by.

Seeing the technique in Qin An’s hands, he kindly shook his head: "Don’t choose that; it’s very difficult."

Reverse Gang Qi required transforming Qi into small needles to pierce major acupoints and generate Gang Qi, protecting oneself with it.

The difficult part of this technique was the immense pain during cultivation, the kind that pierces to the bone, unbearable for most.

Qin An read it once, then picked up the three techniques and headed forward.

The bronze state guard, feeling curious, saw Qin An’s disregard and spoke no more.

A wrong choice was one’s fate; no one else could be blamed.

He gave a kind reminder; if ignored, so be it.

After registering everything and obtaining the replicated techniques from the Internal Affairs’ state official, Qin An quietly left.

He already had a new profession plan in mind, deciding to deduce the body and fist techniques first.