Terran Guardian

"Brother Shen!"

"En!"

Shen Changqing passed by some familiar people as he walked along the road and they would greet each other or nod their heads.

But regardless of who it was...

There was no extra expression on everyone's face, as if they were indifferent to everything.

For this, Shen Changqing was already used to it.

It's because this was the Demon Suppression Division, whose job was to maintain the stability of Great Qin. Its main duty was to kill monsters and demons. Of course, there were some other side businesses as well.

It can be said that everyone in the Demon Suppression Division had their hands stained with blood.

When a person was used to seeing life and death, they would usually become indifferent to other things.

When he first came to this world, Shen Changqing was a little uncomfortable, but over time, he got used to it.

The Demon Suppression Division was large.

The people who could stay in the Devil Suppression Division were either experts or people who have the potential to become experts.

Shen Changqing belongs to the latter.

Of which, the Demon Suppression Division was divided into two groups: first were the Guardians and the other were Slayers.

Anyone who enters the Demon Suppression Division starts from the lowest level Slayer, and then advances step by step, until eventually becoming a Guardian.

Shen Changqing's predecessor was an Apprentice Slayer in the Demon Suppression Division, which was also the lowest level.

The Demon Suppression Division (territory-wise) was neither big nor small.

Along with the predecessor's memory, Shen Changqing was very familiar with the environment.

It didn't take too long for Shen Changqing to arrive in front of a pavilion.

Unlike other places in the Demon Suppression Division that's full of slaughter, the pavilion sticks out like a sore thumb – being the odd one out, presenting tranquility amidst this blood-soaked place.

At this time the pavilion door was open, with people occasionally going in and out.

Shen Changqing only hesitated for a moment before stepping in.

Upon entering the pavilion, there was a sudden change in environment.

A burst of ink fragrance mixed with the faint smell of blood came to his face, making his brow instinctively frowned, but it quickly relaxed.

Each person in the Demon Suppression Division's hands were stained with a large amount of blood.

So the smell of blood was almost impossible to cleanse!

In order to stay in the Demon Suppression Division, part of the necessary conditions was getting used to blood.

Others were like this, and so was Shen Changqing.

"Yellow Court Apprentice Slayer Shen Changqing, requesting to enter the Library!"

"Hmm."

An old man was dozing off in front of the pavilion. He opened his cloudy eyes, and a faint, untraceable bloody light flickered past.

At that moment, Shen Changqing felt like he had been stared at by a beast and broke out in cold sweat.

If it was not for his strong mental fortitude, he would've turned around and fled already.

However, Shen Changqing understood that the person who was guarding the pavilion was an expert in the Demon Suppression Division.

The crisis that was given to him was only a slight leak of the aura of the other party.

"Present your identity token."

"Please!"

"Apprentice Slayers are allowed to enter the first floor of the library for a maximum of two hours, do not overstay."

"Many thanks!"

Shen Changqing kept his token while the old man closed his eyes again, as if he was already sound asleep.

Shen Changqing didn't pay attention too much, and went straight past the old man to formally enter the Library.

There were not many rules in the Demon Suppression Division.

But in every rule, once violated, there was the possibility of death.

One of the rules was not to pry into the privacy of others without permission.　　

Throughout the years, there were many examples of Slayers who were too curious and angered others by being nosy, and were eventually killed.

Although in the Demon Suppression Division, it was strictly forbidden to kill.

But to kill a person, it doesn't necessarily have to be done in the open.

Furthermore, although the people here were not crazy, there were many who you shouldn't get on their nerves. Otherwise, prepare for possible death.

Shen Changqing only arrived at the Demon Suppression Division five days ago and had not seen such examples.

But his predecessor had already been here for almost a month.

In his month's stay, the predecessor heard of some such cases occurring.

As the person who inherited the predecessor's memory, Shen Changqing knew of this taboo.

The Library.

It was where the entire Demon Suppression Division's Martial Arts collection was placed.

It was impossible for ordinary people to deal with monsters and demons with just their body.

Only if they Cultivated profound Martial Arts, can they have the capital to oppose them.

Therefore, the existence of the Library allows the people of the Demon Suppression Division to be able to improve their strength as much as possible.

The Demon Suppression Division was the one that protected the Great Qin, they naturally needed to cultivate enough experts to do so.

As for entering the Library, there was no huge requirement.

As long as one has an identity token, then one can go in and out of the Library at will, without being charged additional fees.

However, in order to prevent some people from always staying in the Library, instead of doing their tasks or becoming proficient in Martial Arts, but have no combat experience and thus wasting their potential, the Demon Suppression Division has set up rules that limit the time and number of times each person can enter the Library.

The first floor of the Library was very large.

When Shen Changqing arrived, there were already quite a few people lingering inside, flipping through the books available.

For those people.

Some of them he knew, and some of them were complete strangers.

After all, the Demon Suppression Division was just too big for one person, and fresh blood (aka new recruits) changed very frequently. So despite the predecessor already being here for a month, he had limited acquaintances.

No one paid any heed to the arrival of Shen Changqing.

Everyone was using their limited time to memorize the Martial Arts they need to Cultivate as much as possible.

Shen Changqing also just ignored the others and came to a bookshelf. Among the many arranged books, he skillfully drew out one of them.

On the cover of the book were a few words.

[Thirteen Cross Practice]!

The words were written in a language unique to the Great Qin. It was very different from the languages that Shen Changqing knew in his previous life.

But with his predecessor's memory, he had no difficulty in reading the words on it.

Taking out the [Thirteen Cross Practice], Shen Changqing sat down directly next to the bookshelf on his knees and began flipping through the book silently with his head down.

Soon, two hours passed in the blink of an eye.

Shen Changqing put the book back to its original position, then he got up and walked outside.

As he was leaving, the old man who was guarding the Library opened his cloudy eyes for a moment, before closing them again.

At that moment, Shen Changqing felt a particular sharpness on his back, forcing him to speed up the pace of his departure by a few points.

It didn't take long before he arrived at his residence.

For the reason that once you enter the Demon Suppression Division, there's a high chance of you not coming out alive, every person in the Division, even the lowest-ranking Slayer, was treated in an extraordinary manner.

It's like saying, enjoy it while it lasts...

The place where Shen Changqing currently lives was an independent courtyard with wooden dummies, stone locks and other tools for Martial Arts training.

After returning to his residence, he did not immediately Cultivate, and instead sank deep into his mind –

•×•×•×•

Name: Shen Changqing

Power: Great Qin Demon Suppression Division

Status: Apprentice Slayer

Martial Arts: Thirteen Cross Practice (not yet activated, can be upgraded)

Killing Value: 3

•×•×•×•

"Success!"

Seeing the 'can be upgraded' on the panel, a smile appeared on Shen Changqing's face.

After coming to this world, the reason why he still had the courage to continue to stay in the Demon Suppression Division was because of his Golden Finger (aka a cheat).

It was a panel that looked very ordinary and simple.

But Shen Changqing was able to understand that this was the foundation for his future foothold in this world.

There was no hesitation.

He moved his thoughts to the [Thirteen Cross Practice] and then silently recited the word: Upgrade!

As soon as his thoughts fell, his Killing Value decreased by one point, and the words [Thirteen Cross Practice] distorted. It changed from 'not yet activated' to Level 1.

At the same time, a powerful force flowed within Shen Changqing's body, followed by a surge of qi and blood. His bones emitted crisp noises, as if he was under some kind of powerful pressure.

Not waiting for him to react too much, there was another powerful force that acted on his five organs.

"Poof~!"

Shen Changqing spat out a mouthful of black blood. The expression on his face was distorted because of the sudden and severe pain.

But soon, the painful feeling disappeared and an unprecedented sense of comfort completely washed his body.

"Whew~!"

That comfortable feeling made Shen Changqing forget all about the unbearable pain that he had just suffered.

Coming back to his senses, he began moving his arms and legs, and began to adapt to this new state after the breakthrough.

"My strength and speed have both improved a little. The increase is not great, but it shouldn't be too difficult beating the me before the breakthrough!"

"Anyways, the main effect of the [Thirteen Cross Practice] is to improve the defense of one's body."

"After successfully upgrading it to Level 1, the increase in my body's defense should be more than that of the increase in strength and speed. However, if I want to resist a sword, I am still a distance away."

Shen Changqing pinched his skin and began inspecting it. His skin color did not change much, but its toughness was much stronger.

Such an improvement made him very satisfied.

"It is indeed true that only when one has really memorized a Martial Art fully, can one really start Cultivating it. Just reading a little bit in the middle and then rashly Cultivating it will only do harm to others and oneself."

Thinking of his predecessor's risky practice of the [Thirteen Cross Practice], which led to his death because of the backlash of the technique, Shen Changqing could only helplessly shake his head.

Too impulsive!

Not knowing the Martial Art and practicing it… One can only blame himself for the consequences.

Shen Changqing then sunk into his mind again and focused on the panel.

•×•×•×•

Name: Shen Changqing

Power: Great Qin Demon Suppression Division

Status: Apprentice Slayer

Martial Arts: Thirteen Cross Practice (Level 1, can be upgraded)

Killing Value: 2

•×•×•×•

"Raising the [Thirteen Cross Practice] by one level surprisingly only consumes a little bit of Killing Value, it seems that the consumption of upgrading Martial Arts is a little bit lower than I expected. With this, I can raise my strength quite a bit again in a short period of time."

Shen Changqing was satisfied.

He didn't waste any time and continued with his thoughts, and started the next round of upgrades.