I became a martial arts saint while playing games.

Cold poison that seals meridians!

Everyone's expression changed upon hearing this.

This poison was secretly concocted by a heretical sect in the Southern Frontier, made by combining extremely cold poisonous herbs with the sap of yin insects. It is infamous because it enters the meridians upon contact with blood, freezing and locking away vital energy. Once contaminated, the meridians are immediately and severely damaged by the cold energy, destroying the foundation of one's cultivation.

Only masters with abundant internal energy and a full Qi Sea can be immune to this poison. But clearly, judging from the current situation, this young master Zhao's Qi Sea is not full enough.

What makes this poison even more insidious is that there is no antidote.

This is natural. Ordinary poisons only require the removal of the toxins, and the medicinal properties will dissipate on their own. However, the Cold Poison that seals the meridians damages the meridians, and how can destroyed meridians be repaired and restored? Therefore, once damage is caused, it is irreversible and there is no cure.

Once Zhao Linyuan was poisoned, his vital energy was damaged. Even if he later found a divine physician and was fortunate enough to repair his vital energy, the internal energy he had painstakingly cultivated until now would inevitably dissipate, and he would have to start from scratch.

Moreover, even if one's Qi and blood are restored, there will often be aftereffects, and one's aptitude will be greatly reduced compared to before. How easy is it to start training from scratch?

The Zhao family servants knew the severity of this cold poison. One of the older servants glared angrily at Gu Yan: "You arrogant brat! Do you know who my young master is? How dare you use such a vicious attack?!"

Gu Yan said, "I don't understand what you mean, sir. The dagger was hidden on Young Master Zhao's person, and he personally applied the poison. Even when he was poisoned, the knife was still in Young Master Zhao's hands."

I neither poisoned him nor took his weapon; I was unarmed. How can you say it was my fault?

The old man watched as Young Master Zhao suffered a loss in his fight with Gu Yan. However, firstly, the technique of shifting the universe was incredibly skillful, and secondly, everyone was busy fighting their own opponents in the midst of the melee, so no one had time to observe the battles of others. Therefore, he really couldn't explain how Zhao Linyuan had poisoned himself.

Everyone knew that Zhao Linyuan had been fighting Gu Yan before he collapsed, and given Zhao's cultivation level, it would be ridiculous to say that he accidentally injured himself. Therefore, everyone in the Zhao family believed that it was related to Gu Yan, but they were all confused and no one knew the details.

Fu Qinghe and the others had many disagreements with the Zhao family, but they never expected things to escalate to this extent, and they were all greatly shocked.

But Fu Qinghe quickly recovered. Although he was not familiar with Gu Yan, today's conflict was related to the feud between his Fu Zhaoliang family. His colleagues present had all helped him, so he naturally had to step forward and take responsibility for what happened.

Fu Qinghe sneered, "Zhao Linyuan failed to injure anyone and clumsily injured himself instead; that's his own fault. But he actually concealed a poisoned dagger, intending to harm my Demon Suppression Division officials. This debt must be settled with your Zhao family."

The Zhao family members were all taken aback and couldn't help but look Gu Yan up and down. The young man was dressed in a coarse cloth outer garment, his clothes were ordinary and simple, and even by the standards of ordinary people in Xuancang City, he looked rather shabby. He didn't look like a government official at all.

Fu Qinghe said, "This young man is a trainee constable I recruited on this trip. Because the incident happened so suddenly, although he hasn't officially started working yet, he has already killed a powerful demon. I'm returning to the city to complete his official induction."

The Zhao family members' eyes widened upon hearing this.

Trainee police officer?

Slay the Qi-Controlling Demon?

No, these two sentences can be used together?

The Zhao family servants looked at Gu Yan again, their eyes now scrutinizing him as if he were a monster. But Fu Qinghe seemed to think that wasn't enough.

Fu Qinghe sneered: "It's not just one. He killed several Qi-controlling demons, and even a peak Qi-controlling demon died at his hands. I'm not saying this lightly, although he is nominally a trainee constable now, with his accumulated merits, it's not impossible for him to be promoted to captain directly after entering headquarters."

Upon hearing this, the servants of the Zhao family gradually opened their mouths, their shock far exceeding a simple "Holy crap!"

What! ?

Trainee constable... promoted to captain...

No, these two words can be used together?

Starting as a trainee patrol officer, one must pass an observation and assessment period before being promoted to a regular position. Afterward, one must go on missions to slay demons and accumulate experience. Once one has accumulated enough merit and seniority, one must compete with many others in the same position for a chance to be promoted to the rank of Captain—roughly equivalent to a squad leader.

From the rank of Commandant, one must go on missions, accumulate merits, and build up seniority. There must also be vacancies available, and one must go through many hardships to be promoted to the rank of Demon Suppression Captain.

Most people at the grassroots level of the Demon Suppression Division will never reach the rank of Captain in their entire lives, and Captain is the ultimate goal that countless people strive for.

Going directly from trainee to captain is like ascending to heaven in one step; it's truly unbelievable.

But upon further reflection, slaying several powerful demons at the Qi Control level, including those at the peak of the Qi Control realm, was an achievement far beyond what a trainee constable could attain. Even a regular officer, killing just one Qi Control demon would practically guarantee a promotion to captain.

Therefore, from the perspective of merit, Fu Qinghe's guess that Gu Yan might be able to directly become a captain in one step is not unreasonable.

The servants were shocked and complained bitterly.

If Zhao Gongzi had known beforehand that this person was such a freak and a reserve captain, he probably wouldn't have dared to do anything so cruel, even if his superiors had objected.

The group glared angrily, but ultimately dared not utter a word. Their young master had been poisoned by their own family's poison; his vital energy was damaged, his body was convulsing, and a chill was almost emanating from his body. They dared not delay any longer, hurriedly hoisted their young master onto their backs, and the group hastily left the shop, fleeing into the city.

After driving away the group, Fu Qinghe finally breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Gu Yan with a wry smile, saying, "Personally, I've long disliked that guy surnamed Zhao. Just because you helped me vent my anger, we're brothers who share weal and woe."

But for you, brother, this is very bad news.

Shen Qinghan said, "The knife belonged to Zhao Linyuan, and so did the poison. Gu Yan didn't know the knife was poisoned, nor did he try to kill him. Is it wrong to defend oneself after being ambushed?"

Fu Qinghe shook his head and said, "That's indeed the case within the Demon Suppression Division. Zhao Linyuan brought this upon himself. Even if the Zhao family seeks an explanation from the Demon Suppression Division, the Division will only tell them this, and will never pursue Brother Gu's guilt."

But Zhao Linyuan is the most valued eldest son of the Zhao family, and they won't listen to reason. The Zhao family head is already a master of the Qi Condensation Realm, and he should not be underestimated.

The so-called "condensing qi" is the next realm after mastering qi.

Once a martial artist cultivates to the point of mastering Qi, they can draw Qi into their body and use it to injure others, making them a master in the ordinary martial arts world. However, the condensation of Qi is another watershed moment.

Masters at this level can draw upon the internal energy in their dantian, refine and condense it into an invisible protective aura that surrounds their body like armor.

The Condensing Qi Realm requires a deeper level of internal energy cultivation, representing a qualitative leap compared to the Controlling Qi Realm. At this level, martial artists circulate their internal energy throughout their bodies at a speed sufficient to outpace the daily depletion of their protective qi, thus maintaining constant qi throughout their bodies day and night, forming an instinctive muscle function.

Simply put, automatic mana regeneration is faster than the consumption of protective qi.

Therefore, once the Qi Condensation is achieved, there is no need to deliberately activate it, as there will always be layers of Qi protecting the body.

Even if a cultivator at the Condensing Qi Realm is asleep and lying there, they are virtually invulnerable to weapons and attacks. A low-level cultivator who attempts a sneak attack will instead be repelled by the Qi backlash, potentially suffering severe injuries.

Having a master of the Qi Condensation Realm in charge is also one of the important factors contributing to the Zhao family's invincibility.

Shen Qinghan said, "Even so, my Demon Suppression Division has no fear of the Zhao family."

"Within the Demon Suppression Division, that's fine. As long as Brother Gu stays within the Demon Suppression Division, the Zhao family, though powerful, cannot extend their reach into the Demon Suppression Division," Fu Qinghe said. "But if Brother Gu leaves the Demon Suppression Division to go out on business, then we must be careful."

I just said you could be promoted to captain, intentionally making them hesitant to act rashly. If the Zhao family is rational, they shouldn't make things difficult for the Demon-Suppressing Captain.

But what I fear is that Old Master Zhao's beloved son might become crippled and act impulsively and erratically. And when you're out in the world, it's easy to dodge a spear in the open but hard to guard against a hidden arrow, let alone a hidden arrow from a master of Qi Condensation..."

Fu Qinghe sighed and shook his head.

What he said wasn't entirely unreasonable. While rationally speaking, the Zhao family shouldn't make things difficult for a Demon Suppression Captain, Gu Yan wasn't actually a Demon Suppression Captain, and one couldn't expect everyone to act rationally.

Who can remain rational and avoid impulsiveness throughout their life?

In fact, if everyone's parents hadn't acted impulsively back then, many people wouldn't have been born at all.

Shen Qinghan knew Fu Qinghe was right, and she frowned. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that Gu Yan had initially stopped Zhao Linyuan for her sake, and it seemed as if she owed him something. If he were to be in danger because of this, she would truly have no way to repay him.

But when she looked at Gu Yan again, she felt that he still seemed to be as calm and composed as ever.

Yes, ever since we met, he's always been like this. Confident and collected, as if everything is under control...

However, judging from his experience of spending time with Qingxi and fighting demons along the way, it seems that it shouldn't be "seems" but rather that he really had everything under control.

Over the past few days, Shen Qinghan herself didn't realize that, for some reason, whenever she saw Gu Yan and his calm yet somewhat lazy expression, she would feel inexplicably at ease no matter what kind of crisis she encountered.

It was as if a voice in her subconscious was telling her that there was nothing to worry about, and that everything would be alright.

Lie down and get some sleep. When you wake up, you'll find that everything has been taken care of perfectly, and there's nothing he can't handle.

Gu Yan turned around and walked into the store behind him.

Fu Qinghe was still troubled by the Zhao family's affairs, fearing that Gu Yan might be assassinated. Seeing Gu Yan turn around, he asked in surprise, "Where are you going, Brother Gu?"

"Let's eat."

Gu Yan said matter-of-factly.

"Didn't we come here to eat?"

Those who aren't enthusiastic about eating have a problem with their thinking. We've all traveled a long way to rest here, isn't it all for a meal?

Fu Qinghe: "..."

What time is it? You're still thinking about food.

He just made such a huge mess, why is he so calm?