The Heavenly Court is gone, I don't want to be a True Lord.

Before we knew it, the year-end was approaching.

During this period, the Provincial Administration Commission punished those who committed crimes in the city with exceptional severity, and even the slightest disagreement could result in execution.

Most people believe that the city lord Murong Qiong has returned, but so far the city lord has not appeared in any public occasion.

Zuo Qi and others also received their first salary from the Six Doors.

It's not enough. Relying solely on a salary, starving to death is no joke.

Zuo Qi's Jade Tower Twelve Levels have finally been restored to the third level. His Qi circulation is becoming more and more perfect. Relying solely on cultivation, he can condense a stream of refined blood and Qi almost every two days. Moreover, because the Jade Tower Twelve Levels can gather cloud Qi, the resources required for daily cultivation are almost the same as before.

What Zuo Qi didn't expect was that the Jade Tower Twelve Levels were a combination of internal and external cultivation, with cloud energy continuously enhancing the strength of the physical body, although not as effective as those fundamental methods that specialized in physical training.

[Jade Tower Twelve Levels, Third Level, Effect: Daily cultivation yields 500 basic Qi and Blood, with the Qi and Blood attribute freely rotating between Ice and Cold attributes (each rotation consumes 10% of Qi and Blood). Daily cultivation allows the collection of Cloud Qi and its storage within the Jade Tower, slowly increasing physical strength.]

The difference between the fundamental laws is truly astounding.

With only two days left until the end of the year, Zuo Qi was about to go out to work as a blacksmith when he was suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Leading the group was Lu, a centurion from the Six Doors' Zhuoshi Mansion.

"Left Banner Officer, do you know Wang Zheng?"

Wang Zheng?

Zuo Qi recalled the boy who had punched and kicked him when he met Shang Yingying that day.

"He's dead. The Wang family found some books related to you in his room!"

Wang Zheng is dead!?

"Commander Lu, are you sure the dead person is Wang Zheng from the Wang family?"

"Do you think I would mistake someone for someone else?" Commander Lu's voice was somewhat unfriendly.

"I wouldn't dare. I only met Young Master Wang Zheng once. Although some things happened, as a servant of the Tian Ce Prefecture, I know the laws are strict. How could I kill someone?"

Lu Baihu remained noncommittal.

……

We arrived at the Six Doors.

Zuo Qi learned some more details.

Wang Zheng died three days ago in the early morning. The murderer was also unusually familiar with Wang Zheng's route. On that day, when Wang Zheng came out of the Provincial Administration Office and was about to go home, the murderer launched a surprise attack. The attack was ruthless and decisive. Wang Zheng's spine was broken and his sternum pierced his heart.

In addition, the murderer harbored a deep hatred for Wang Zheng, and intentionally disfigured his face after his death.

Soon, Lu Baihu found out that Zuo Qi had been on duty at Baoyue Lake that day, and had gone to Ou Ji's place at 3:45 AM, and had personally gone to Ou Ji's place to confirm.

Zuo Qi's suspicions have finally been cleared.

As for the booklet in Wang Zheng's room concerning the investigation of Zuo Qi, Zuo Qi truthfully confessed that he had a past relationship with Shang Yingying, the young lady of Feiyun Ranch. She came to deliver a cultivation technique, and Wang Zheng had feelings for Shang Yingying. They had had some minor conflicts before.

Lu Baihu looked at Zuo Qi with a strange expression.

This person's background is truly complicated.

After he brought Zuo Qi back to the Six Doors, He Xiao went to find Lin Yuchan and, together with Shou Lu Xun, personally sent people to inquire.

Now, a young lady from the Shang family in Yuncheng has emerged.

……

Zuo Qi returned home, his mind heavy with worries.

Wang Zheng, who had just reached the third level of skill, died so suddenly. Just how many masters were hidden in Fushan City?

He originally thought he had made rapid progress during this period, but now it seems that he is still far from it.

Besides worrying about his own safety, he suddenly remembered something.

Before entering the demon's lair, he had sacrificed a hundred points of Heavenly Luck and received a blessing from a secret in the wind. Although the secret on the first day was eavesdropping, it seemed that Wang Zheng's name was mentioned.

It is suspected that Qin Chen is having an affair with a woman.

and so…

Could the murderer be Qin Chen?

It is very likely that Qin Chen is quite strong. When they first met, Lin Yulian said that he had broken through to the second level of cultivation a year ago, and it is not surprising that he recently broke through to the third level. In addition, he is suspected of possessing a life bone.

In the same realm, Qin Chen, who possesses the Life Bone, has a very high success rate in launching a surprise attack on the unsuspecting Wang Zheng!

Wang Zheng was a man of exceptional ability, born into the Wang family, and held the official position of Provincial Administration Commissioner. His death was naturally a major case.

Is there any benefit I can gain from this?

Zuo Qi called He Xiao over and asked him to help analyze the situation.

He had no grudge against the Wang family, but he suspected that Liu Chong's targeting of him was related to Qin Chen, so he was still inclined to help the Wang family, but only if there were sufficient benefits.

"Brother Qi, we can help, but we have to wait until the Wang family can't find anything for a long time before sending some clues to them through Miss Yu Chan. This way, we won't get involved, and we can also get some benefits."

Just like Zuo Qi thought, it's always better to offer help in times of need than to add to someone's good fortune. If the Wang family can find out about Qin Chen on their own, then he won't add to their good fortune.

It's much better to offer help only when you can't find the answer.

But before that, we need to find out who the woman who hangs out with Qin Chen is.

This matter can only be entrusted to He Xiao. When investigating Liu Chong before, he had ordered some birds to follow him. Although they were not very intelligent, they were still capable of completing the task.

……

in the afternoon.

"I never knew that you, Mr. Yuan, had traveled all over the world in your youth. You are truly amazing."

In Zuo Qi's courtyard, Mr. Yuan sat at the head of the table, with Zuo Qi's three brothers, Lin Yujun, Chunniang, and Chen Xun sitting below him.

The students appeared to be of varying ages, which was quite odd.

At this moment, Mr. Yuan is talking about what he encountered when he traveled in the Kingdom of Le.

He saw the vast and mighty river of the Li Kingdom, where a python-dragon with a hundred years of cultivation was transforming into a dragon to undergo tribulation, churning the river and overturning the sea.

Upon hearing this, Lin Yujun couldn't help but raise her hand and ask, "Mr. Yuan, are there really immortals in this world?"

Mr. Yuan shook his head slightly. "In my opinion, the so-called immortals are nothing more than martial artists above the Yuantai stage. When I was in Xikun Kingdom, I saw the people praying to the city god to avoid the calamity of demons. I was curious and learned that there are five paths in the world: heaven, earth, gods, humans, and ghosts. All of them are formed from Yuantai martial artists breaking through the barriers."

As for the differences between the five paths, Mr. Yuan was not very clear about them. At his peak, he was only a fourth-level martial artist.

Spirits and monsters, after a hundred years of cultivation, need to undergo tribulation. They can choose to shed their demonic bodies and transform into humans, or they can physically overcome the demonic tribulation and become great demons.

Ni Heng seemed to be deep in thought. He inexplicably felt that his possession of life blood should be beneficial to the tribulations of spirits.

However, his cultivation level is currently low, and he is unaware of the true effects yet.

Zuo Qi saw that Mr. Yuan was knowledgeable and experienced, and suddenly remembered that Master Ou had mentioned the way of cultivating humanity. Was it the way of humanity among the five paths that Mr. Yuan mentioned?

Lin Yuchan's willingness to invite Mr. Yuan to give a lecture to the group was truly commendable.

Today was the last lecture, and Mr. Yuan said a lot more than usual. Before leaving, he also gave He Xiaoliang a scroll that he had obtained during his travels around the world.

He Xiao casually flipped through the pages and was deeply moved when he saw the signature at the end.

Both authors are masters of the Five Refinements of Divine Forging.

One is "Reflections on Forging the Spirit" and the other is "Miscellaneous Notes from Yipintang".

The former's content is similar to its title, compiling the author's insights from years of spiritual cultivation into a book.

The latter mainly tells the story of Yipintang's years of research on pharmacology, which has uncovered some previously undiscovered pharmacological properties of drugs.

"In my life, I have never been able to achieve the level of a god. These past few days, my young friend has shown remarkable intelligence and quick wit. His future achievements are limitless. When we achieve the level of a god in the future, I hope that you will be able to debate with me."

Mr. Yuan smiled and looked at He Xiao, his voice very serious.

Among these people, He Xiao is undoubtedly the most skilled in reading.

It's quite normal for Mr. Yuan to value He Xiao.

In the days that followed, Lin Yuchan invited another teacher to impart a wide range of knowledge to Zuo Qi and the others, covering everything from the customs of various countries to the legends of demons and monsters from different places, as well as astronomy and geography.

It was just a dry explanation, not as good as what Mr. Yuan said.

With the last day of the Lunar New Year approaching, the management of the Six Doors relaxed somewhat. Ni Heng stayed behind at Baoyue Lake to keep watch, while Zuo Qi and the other man went home to prepare.

This was the first time the three of them had celebrated the Lunar New Year in Fushan City, and it was also a year that brought about a complete upheaval in their lives, so everyone took it very seriously.

The entire city of Fushan seemed to be immersed in a sea of ​​joy. The various opera troupes were extremely busy, and even the price of dried firecrackers had increased by 20% during this period.

Just as Zuo Qi bought some pastries from Xianghefang and arrived home with his nephew Chen Xun, they heard dogs barking outside.

Da Hong brought Ni Heng's secret letter.

Two mysterious people entered the Xu family ancestral home!

Zuo Qi was overjoyed; the opportunity he had been waiting for was finally about to arrive!