If you don't bring disaster to the world, what kind of henchman are you to be?

His gaze was full of scrutiny, but Zhu Qing remained unfazed.

"Your Excellency, the people who attacked me last night were from the Five Poisons Sect. They must have received a bounty from the White Lotus Sect. I was lucky to escape with my life."

"I just never expected that after I survived by the skin of my teeth, my third brother would... sigh."

"We will find out the truth."

Yang Ting gave him a meaningful look, then grinned and sneered, "Commander Zhu is still on duty despite his injuries, it must be tough. If there's nothing else today, you should go back and rest early."

"Thank you for your concern, Lord Yang."

"Commander Zhang, Guo Zhendong is your sworn brother. You are in charge of this case. Give me an answer within three days."

Zhang Sanshi nodded solemnly: "Yes!"

After Yang Ting left, Zhu Qing lingered at the crime scene for a moment, making sure she hadn't left any clues the night before returning to the Right Guard Post.

One night, the entire family of a deputy centurion of the Northern Garrison was slaughtered, and a newly promoted centurion was attacked and seriously injured. Such a series of cases has made everyone in the Right Guard Station on edge and the atmosphere is heavy.

Zhu Qing had barely returned and hadn't even warmed his seat when Qi Yunfei strode up to him and respectfully said, "Lord Zhu, Eunuch Xu from the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs has arrived."

Xu Ran.

Zhu Qing put down the case file of Yanzhitang in her hand, her eyes turning colder, but she quickly regained her composure and got up to go out to greet them.

At the entrance, Xu Ran walked with faltering steps, and everyone he passed bowed respectfully to him, while he responded with kindness and gentleness.

Judging solely from his outward appearance, he certainly doesn't seem like the treacherous and cunning person who would poison medicine.

At least Zhu Qing was initially fooled by his friendly demeanor.

"Eunuch Xu!" Zhu Qing smiled and stepped forward to help him up.

"Hehe, Little Zhu, I heard you were almost poisoned last night?"

Xu Ran looked concerned and held Zhu Qing's hand tightly.

This seemingly insignificant action, however, set off alarm bells in Zhu Qing's mind.

He had already sensed that Xu Ran's action was not unintentional, but rather an unintentional test to see if he possessed the wisp of cold, yin energy that Xu Ran had transplanted into his body.

A moment later, a barely perceptible hint of affirmation flashed in Xu Ran's eyes before he patted Zhu Qing's hand imperceptibly: "You've done a great job, you've done a great job."

"You flatter me, Eunuch Xu. Please come in!"

The old eunuch's purpose in coming here was simply to confirm whether Zhu Qing had taken the Disheng Pearl as he had predicted and transplanted the Yin Cold True Qi he had left behind.

Therefore, after receiving a clear answer, he only lingered for a moment before making an excuse to get into his sedan chair and leave. Before leaving, he only left behind some precious medicinal herbs such as blood ginseng, ostensibly to help Zhu Qing recuperate.

As his sedan chair drove further and further away, the smile on Zhu Qing's face slowly faded, replaced by a chilling expression.

Xu Ran came today to test his strength. After learning that he was already under Xu Ran's control, he would most likely make Xu Ran do some shady things for him before long.

If you end up being controlled by others, you probably won't have any reason to refuse.

This shows that my situation will only become more difficult in the future.

"We need to find a way to get our hands on the Dragon Python Divine Skill as soon as possible!"

As Zhu Qing pondered this, she looked at the valuable items Xu Ran had left behind. After witnessing his hypocritical nature, she no longer cared about the gifts he had given her and casually tossed them into the nearby stinking ditch.

……

Time flies, another day has passed.

At noon, Zhu Qing stood in the martial arts training ground of the Northern Garrison. By this time, his external injuries had healed somewhat, and his movements were no longer restricted, so he could finally begin his formal cultivation.

[Attribute value: 50]

After the battle the night before last, Zhu Qing's attribute value had soared to 50. Without hesitation, he put all of it into his cultivation.

[White Ape Skill +48]

【White Ape Skill (Mastery 1/100)】

[Realm Level: Late Stage of Flesh Refining (1/100)]

In an instant, the long-dormant Qi and blood in Zhu Qing's body surged and became frenzied once again, with large swathes of Qi and blood appearing out of thin air and expanding.

The essence of the White Ape Skill at its peak was also deeply imprinted in Zhu Qing's mind.

The entire lifting process lasted for nearly 15 minutes before it stopped.

At that moment, Zhu Qing breathed a sigh of relief and felt that her body was much lighter than before, and the feeling of fullness of qi and blood in her body was stronger than ever before.

He slowly clenched his fist, and immediately a series of explosive sounds rang out. As he punched out, a powerful gust of wind howled out, blowing the new buds on the branches five zhang away.

"This is the power of the late stage of flesh refining."

Zhu Qing smiled slightly and reached out to pinch the muscles on her arm again, noticing that they were much firmer than before.

"The Flesh Refining Realm focuses on increasing muscle strength; in this later stage, muscles become as hard as rock."

"If I were to encounter those Five Poisons Sect scum again with my current cultivation level, I would kill them all with a single strike, without sustaining any injuries."

He murmured softly, then another thought began to come to mind.

He has now mastered the White Ape Skill to a high level. Once he reaches the peak, he will need a martial arts technique that strengthens bones to break through to the next level.

Many martial arts internal skills in the world have progressive inheritance from low to high levels. For example, the White Ape Skill has the Old Ape Fist in the skin-refining stage and the Vajra Eighteen Fists in the bone-strengthening stage.

This is also a Xuan-level martial art, a bone-strengthening martial art commonly used by court officials, which can be exchanged for with sufficient silver and merit points.

With his current savings and the merits he has accumulated in handling cases, he is already able to redeem the money ahead of schedule.

only……

"Before that, it would be even better if I could obtain a low-level internal martial arts technique," Zhu Qing thought to himself.

He was well aware of the advantages that the quality of one's Qi and Blood brought in battle.

If one were to cultivate the Vajra Eighteen Fists step by step, the quality of one's Qi and blood would only be at the Profound level. Even with the enhancement from the Red Jade Cicada, the highest one could reach would be the threshold of the Earth level.

Therefore, Zhu Qing had a slight expectation in his heart at this moment, hoping to see if he would have the opportunity to obtain a level-one internal martial art before advancing to the Strong Bone Realm.

……

In the remaining days, the impact of the murder of Guo Zhendong's entire family was also quite significant, and the number of patrol officers on the streets of the capital increased several times over, day and night.

Zhang Sanshi was in charge of the investigation, but he couldn't find Zhu Qing's involvement within those three days. When the deadline arrived, he had no choice but to pass the case on to the White Lotus Sect.

The authorities didn't say anything about this result, which is just another familiar topic.

Yang Ting, on the other hand, has been in a terrible mood these past few days. He often smashes teacups and berates his subordinates. The entire Right Guard knows that he has been extremely agitated these past few days.

While things were bustling outside, Zhu Qing had been completely oblivious to what was happening, focusing solely on her cultivation.

The medicinal patches that Duanmu Yun had prescribed to help the red jade cicada develop had worked well. He had taken two more doses in the past few days and had been working on digestion day and night.

Inside the Huichun Pharmacy.

The strange light in Duanmu Yun's eyes gradually dimmed, and then a hint of satisfaction flashed across her face: "Not bad. You have cultivated properly these past few days and have finished digesting the medicinal effects. Now your blood and qi are thick and viscous. One strand of your blood and qi is equivalent to four or five strands of ordinary blood and qi. You have already reached the threshold of the Earth Rank blood and qi."

Zhu Qing slowly put on her clothes, and upon hearing the news, she was also delighted: "Thanks to Senior Duanmu's guidance."

"Do you have any clues about the Dragon Python Divine Skill now?" she asked, changing the subject.

Zhu Qing shook his head slightly: "There's no way to get in yet. My only hope right now is to solve a major case, make a great contribution, and try to get a Rank 1 Armory Token."

Duanmu Yun nodded slightly and then said, "A major event occurred in the martial arts world last month. Have you heard of it?"

"What is it? Is it related to the Dragon Python Divine Skill I want?"