Terran Guardian

"The [Thirteen Cross Practice] is divided into thirteen levels, and many Official Slayers will reach the perfection of this Martial Art. There's still a gap between me and an Official Slayer."

Despite his own breakthrough, Shen Changqing did not dare to be complacent.

Level 6 of [Thirteen Cross Practice] only presented a bit of prestige among Apprentice Slayers. If he wanted to compare to Official Slayers, he simply did not have that qualification. At least, not for now.

He collected his mind and his gaze landed back inside the cell where the flesh was being kept.

After confirming that it could no longer provide himself with Killing Value, Shen Changqing went to the next cell.

The next cell, inside, was another demon's body part.

But unlike the previous arm and flesh, this time the cell held an eye.

A dark green eye.

The moment Shen Changqing saw the eye, his surroundings changed.

At this time, there was a horrifying demon pouncing on him. Endless fear welled up from deep inside him. He wanted to escape, but just as his feet lifted, Shen Changqing realized something.

"I am in the Demon Suppression Prison!"

"In the Demon Suppression Prison, all of the demons and monsters are sealed, so how could there be a demon attacking me?!"

"Besides, even if there's a demon attacking me, with my current strength, I should be able to escape. Meaning, this is an illusion. Everything is an illusion!"

Shen Changqing inwardly consoled himself. His body stood still, as he watched the demon coming towards him.

Due to the short distance between them, Shen Changqing can clearly see the demon's body, like each individual piece of its scale, as well as the pungent smell of blood.

The scene really looked too real.

Shen Changqing had barely calmed down, but now he was starting to feel fear again.

Just that–

No matter how scared he was, he never moved an inch.

Finally, the demon passed through him but he felt no pain.

The next second, the illusion disappeared.

Shen Changqing had cold sweat on his back. He no longer dared to look directly into the demon eye in the cell. Instead, he sank his mind and looked at his panel.

As expected, the Killing Value on the panel, which had already gone to zero, had turned into two points.

"Only two points?"

Shen Changqing slightly frowned.

The first two times it was three points, but this time it was only two points. Could it be related to the strength of the demon?

But then again, having two points was better than not having any at all.

His frown was immediately soothed.

Without daring to look at the eye again, he headed to the next cell.

•×•×•×•

In less than an hour, Shen Changqing walked through the third layer.

Unlike the second layer, the third layer did not hold a single monster. All that was held here were the demons' remnants.

Compared with the number of cells on the second layer, the number of cells on the third layer was smaller.

When he finished checking the last cell of the third layer, Shen Changqing looked at the panel.

He had gained two more points of Killing Value and it brought the total to 15 points.

The reason for this was because some demon remnants only gave a small amount of Killing Value. With such a small amount, he was forced to browse through all over the third layer, but still only got 15 points in the end.

Of course, the 15 points of Killing Value, in Shen Changqing's opinion, was a considerable harvest.

If the upgrade requirements for the [Thirteen Cross Practice] had not changed, these 15 points would be enough for him to upgrade this Martial Art to perfection, and there would even be quite a bit left over.

Standing at the entrance of the fourth layer, Shen Changqing thought about the risk of entering just the third layer and did not dare to enter easily. Instead, he started digesting his harvest in place.

Consume one point of Killing Value!

[Thirteen Cross Practice] upgraded to Level 7!

Consume one point of Killing Value!

[Thirteen Cross Practice] upgraded to Level 8!

Consume–

Soon, the [Thirteen Cross Practice] was upgraded to Level 12.

At this point, Shen Changqing's body's defense has been strengthened considerably. His strength and speed also increased by a lot.

Looking at the nine points of Killing Value left, he did not hesitate and directly chose to use it.

[Boom~]

As soon as his thoughts fell, his Killing Value instantly decreased by three points, followed by an extremely strong power rising from inside that soon swept across his whole body.

Blood boiling!

Bones cracking!

Flesh and blood trembling!

At this moment, Shen Changqing felt that his entire body had undergone a change that could be described as a transformation.

Unlike the pain of his previous upgrades, this time, not only was there no pain, but on the contrary, it was very comfortable.

Time passed.

Just as his transformation gradually calmed down, a warm aura appeared in his dantian. It was as thin as a piece of hair, flowing through his limbs and bones.

In a flash, the warm aura returned to his dantian and there was no more movement.

It's over!

Shen Changqing woke up from his breakthrough.

The first thing he did was open the panel to check his stats.

•×•×•×•

Name: Shen Changqing

Power: Great Qin Demon Suppression Division

Status: Apprentice Slayer

Martial Arts: [Thirteen Cross Practice] (Level 13, can be upgraded)

Killing Value: 6

•×•×•×•

"Hmm?"

Shen Changqing looked at the Martial Arts column on the panel and his heart shook.

The highest level of the [Thirteen Cross Practice] was Level 13. He had never heard of the existence of a Level 14.

However, the words on the panel were saying, "can be upgraded."

It was clearly telling him that the [Thirteen Cross Practice] still had room for improvement.

"Could it be–"

"Does the [Thirteen Cross Practice] really have subsequent levels?"

Shen Changqing was shocked and uncertain.

But looking at the words 'can be upgraded,' he still chose to upgrade.

Another three points was consumed from his Killing Value and the [Thirteen Cross Practice] broke through from Level 13 to Level 14.

After the upgrade was completed.

There were three points of Killing Value left, and there was still the words 'can be upgraded' in the Martial Arts column.

With the idea of improving his strength as much as possible, Shen Changqing did not hesitate for long and chose to upgrade again.

His flesh vibrated and his Killing Value was instantly cleared to zero.

At this moment, when he looked at the panel again, the [Thirteen Cross Practice] had reached Level 15, and the words 'can be upgraded' had changed to 'cannot be upgraded.'

"A Level 15 [Thirteen Cross Practice]!"

Shen Changqing stood in place and closed his eyes to feel the changes inside him.

According to the secret manual he had read, when the [Thirteen Cross Practice] was upgraded to Level 13, the body would reach a stage of perfection.

The body would be complete and True Qi would be born!

As a Martial Art that refines the body and lays the foundation of the user, once it was truly complete, a faint True Qi would be born in one's flesh.

Once True Qi was born, it proved that a person had crossed the threshold of the Body Forging Realm and reached the rumored Qi Circulation Realm.

The hair-sized warm aura in his dantian, had now become the same thickness of a pinky finger when the [Thirteen Cross Practice] reached Level 15.

"This is the True Qi that will be born only after the [Thirteen Cross Practice] has been completed!"

Shen Changqing came back to his senses with a smile on his face.

True Qi!

If monsters have different levels, so do Cultivators (Martial Artists).

Among Apprentice Slayers, some did not break past the Body Forging Realm, and some were hovering within it.

Official Slayers' strength was at the Qi Circulation Realm and above.

In other words, after the birth of True Qi, Shen Changqing was no longer weaker than an Official Slayer realm-wise.

As early as a day ago, Shen Changqing was still just a person who had not been able to cross the threshold of the Body Forging Realm, but now he had already a perfected the [Thirteen Cross Practice], directly crossing over to the Qi Circulation Realm, which was equal to Official Slayers.

Such a transformation!

To say that he was not happy would be a lie.

But he could also understand that crossing into the Qi Circulation Realm was just a new beginning. Compared to the experts in the Demon Suppression Division, the Qi Circulation Realm was nothing.

"Although the Qi Circulation Realm is just the beginning, I have already left the ranks of the Apprentice Slayers and left behind the fellow Apprentice Slayers in my batch."

"To achieve such a state in just one day will definitely arouse suspicion, I can't reveal too much–"

Shen Changqing's smile narrowed.

Completing the [Thirteen Cross Practice] within a year was normal talent.

Half a year was considered genius.

Two or three months was peerless genius.

If it was a month, then that's just a monster.

But for one day–

Shen Changqing shook his head, even a monster cannot be used to describe it.

He did not want to become a target too quickly before he had grown to the point where he was not afraid of anyone, so being low key was key.

"But I also do not need to hide too deeply. I'll just find a reason to stay in seclusion for about a month and then announce that my [Thirteen Cross Practice] is complete."

"If I hide myself too deeply, my development won't be apparent in the Demon Suppression Division and I won't gain anything!"

He can not be too shocking as it will provoke the scourge of death, but there was also no need to hide too much. As long as his explanation makes sense, there should be no problem.

Moreover, Shen Changqing believed that if his talent was known, he would gain some special treatment in the Demon Suppression Division.

After all, no genius will be treated haphazardly.

As long as he does not take the initiative in fighting someone, no one should be able to tell that he had already practiced the [Thirteen Cross Practice] to perfection and that he had True Qi.

There were only thirteen levels of the [Thirteen Cross Practice] and the fact that he can upgrade to Level 15 and possibly higher was the advantage of the Killing Value.

Shen Changqing looked at the empty Killing Value and looked at the entrance of the fourth layer.

In the end, he still walked down.

The Killing Value in the third layer was all collected. If he wanted to get more Killing Value, then he could only head to the fourth layer.

By the time he entered the fourth layer, terrifying coldness rushed towards him.

In that instant, even with Shen Changqing's upgraded strength, he still froze instantly. Fortunately, the True Qi in his dantian surged and barely managed to disperse the coldness.

"Hiss~ what a powerful coldness!"

Shen Changqing secretly sucked in a cold breath.

When he was about to step into the fourth layer, he had already had his guesses.

But it seems that he still underestimated it.

If it wasn't for the [Thirteen Cross Practice] being upgraded to Level 15, he would've perished instantly when he stepped into the fourth layer.

He can only rely on his True Qi to temporarily resist the cold.

But Shen Changqing felt that he wouldn't be able to last much longer.