"Go check if there are any survivors."
At Du Chen's command, the constables quickly scattered throughout the Lei Family Fort, searching carefully inch by inch.
Half a two-hour period later, the constables returned one after another to report.
"Chief Constable, the entire Lei Family Fort has been burned to ashes," a constable reported. "There are no survivors, but we found charred corpses everywhere—roughly two to three hundred of them.
"These people likely died before the fire. We examined the wounds on some of the better-preserved bodies. They were killed by swift, fatal saber strikes. The killer was incredibly fast.
"However, there is something puzzling. The bodies are densely clustered around a single courtyard, suggesting they were besieging whoever was inside before they died..."
These constables were true professionals. The entire Lei Family Fort had been razed by a massive fire, reducing the buildings to ruins and the bodies to charcoal, yet they still managed to deduce so much.
Du Chen listened, his expression turning cold. "We received intelligence that Ji Qing had come to the Lei Family Fort, but unfortunately, we arrived a step too late. To think he was deranged enough to slaughter the entire fort!"
Hearing Du Chen directly pin the blame on Ji Qing as the main culprit, several constables were taken aback.
"Officer Du, although we received word that Ji Qing came here, there are still many suspicious points regarding what happened. It might not have been his doing. For such a massive crime, wouldn't it be too rash to pin it on him just like that...?"
"What, are you speaking up for a Demon?" Du Chen snapped. "Ji Qing murdered his own parents. He is guilty of the most heinous crimes and is listed on the Evil People List. He is a Great Demon in every sense of the word, and only someone like him could commit such an atrocity. Why shouldn't I say it was him?
"Besides, we have concrete evidence that he was indeed here. That is enough!
"My sole purpose in leaving the Government Office this time was to hunt down the fugitive Ji Qing and bring him to justice. I never expected him to commit another gruesome massacre! Issue a Sea Arrest Warrant immediately and raise the bounty. I want his latest whereabouts!"
With just a few words, Du Chen had conclusively defined the nature of the Lei Family Fort massacre. Many of the constables exchanged looks of dismay, profoundly shocked. Normally, they idolized him, viewing him as the ultimate role model for everyone in the Government Office. Whenever Du Chen took action, he always succeeded and apprehended the fugitives. They never expected that his reputation of "never failing" was built like this. Still, none of them dared to speak up.
To Du Chen, the actual truth behind the massacre did not matter. His reason for pinning it on Ji Qing was simple: the more heinous Ji Qing's crimes were, and the more public outrage he incited, the greater Du Chen's fame and prestige would be once he caught him! Therefore, even if Ji Qing had nothing to do with it, he had to take the fall. After all, the man was already an unforgivable fugitive; taking the blame for one more tragedy wouldn't change anything.
"Yes, Chief Constable!"
The constables quickly returned to the Government Office and reported the details of the incident. Consequently, the Government Office issued a new Sea Arrest Warrant.
"On the twenty-sixth day of the eighth month, in the tenth year of Yongchang, Qingzhou Chief Constable Du Chen tracked the Liang City fugitive, Ji Qing, to the Lei Family Fort. There, it was discovered that over two hundred innocent members of the fort were brutally massacred by Ji Qing, leaving no survivors. His absolute inhumanity is utterly intolerable to the heavens! A bounty of three thousand taels of silver is now offered for any clues regarding the fugitive..."
The release of this Sea Arrest Warrant sent shockwaves across the realm!
Not only had Ji Qing struck again, but he had committed an incredibly terrifying atrocity. The bounty had even been raised to three thousand taels of silver!
Rumors also spread through the Martial World that Qingzhou's number one constable, the Wind Chasing Saber Du Chen, had already set out. He was determined to personally apprehend Ji Qing and bring him to justice!
In Anyang City, Ji Qing had secretly purchased a courtyard house.
He had no interest in the outside world's commotions. Right now, only one thing occupied his mind: the Cultivation of the Pure Essence Skill. With plenty of Source Points at his disposal, he just needed to successfully initiate the skill. However, this step wasn't that easy. The Inner Power cultivated from the Pure Essence Skill was exceedingly pure. While it wasn't overly difficult to initiate, it required a considerable amount of time. Mastering the basics in just a few two-hour periods, or even a day or two, was simply impossible.
Around ten days passed.
Ji Qing finally achieved initial mastery of the Pure Essence Skill. Now that he had crossed the threshold, he could use his Source Points to upgrade it. This was his third Third-class Inner Strength, and it directly determined whether he could advance to a Second-class Martial Artist. The stakes were high, and he treated the matter with the utmost importance.
"Upgrade the Pure Essence Skill," he commanded.
"One Source Point consumed. Pure Essence Skill has reached Small Success."
Scenes flooded Ji Qing's mind, showing him accumulating progress in the Pure Essence Skill day after day, month after month. The Pure Essence Skill truly lived up to its reputation as an upright and balanced Inner Strength. It was incredibly stable, without a single mishap during the process. However, it was far too time-consuming. Reaching merely Small Success took twelve years' worth of effort.
"Continue."
Another Source Point was consumed, and the Pure Essence Skill advanced to Great Success. At Great Success, the Inner Power flowed vast and mighty, remarkably pure. However, reaching this stage cost twenty-three years of virtual time. If someone were to cultivate the skill step by step in reality, it would take a total of thirty-five years. Even after achieving Great Success, one would still only be a Third-class Martial Artist.
This was the norm in the Martial World. The vast majority of Martial Artists remained stuck in the Third-class for their entire lives. Those who managed to reach the Second-class either encountered miraculous fortuitous events, or came from Noble Families and large Sects that showered them with abundant resources from a young age. There were also those born with extraordinary talent, but such individuals were far too rare.
Under normal circumstances, with the Pure Essence Skill at Great Success, Ji Qing would now merge all the Inner Power within his body and attempt to break through to the Second-class. However, he still had Source Points left, meaning he could push the Pure Essence Skill even further. Without hesitation, he upgraded it to Perfection.
He wondered what kind of transformation would occur once an Inner Strength known for producing such exceptionally pure Inner Power reached Perfection.
"One Source Point consumed. Pure Essence Skill has reached Perfection. Your Pure Essence Skill has attained Mastery, and you have comprehended Inner Power Purification! Any Inner Power can now be purified to its absolute limit!"
A new sequence of memories surfaced in his mind. He saw himself practicing the Pure Essence Skill day in and day out for years. Then, one day, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he successfully utilized a Compression Technique to refine his Inner Power to an extreme level of purity!
What was the benefit of exceptionally pure Inner Power? The advantages were immense. If Inner Power were compared to a stream of water, having a vast amount of it would turn a small creek into a raging, devastating flood. But if the Inner Power was completely pure, that same stream could be condensed into a solid, impenetrable icicle, capable of piercing through anything!
This was especially true when breaking through to a new level of Cultivation; the purer the Inner Power, the easier the breakthrough. Advancing from the Third-class to the Second-class required clearing specific meridians within the body to establish a Grand Circulation. Once accomplished, the Inner Power would flow through the Circulation in a vast, overwhelming surge, far surpassing that of any Third-class Martial Artist.
Relying on the sheer volume of three different types of Inner Power to forcefully push through a Cultivation bottleneck actually had a low success rate. The main issue was a lack of purity, making it incredibly difficult to break open the blocked meridians. One careless mistake, and all prior efforts would be wasted.
However, Ji Qing was perfectly calm right now. He opened the Demon Monster Record to check his current status.
Ji Qing: Third-class Martial Artist
Supreme Yang Rising Sun Skill: Perfection (Supreme Yang Inner Power, Inner Power burst increased by thirty percent)
Pure Essence Skill: Perfection (Inner Power Purification)
Thirteen Paths of Swift Saber: Perfection (Ultimate Technique Heavenly Line)
Cao Shangfei: Perfection (Ultimate Technique Void Leverage)
Source Point: 4 points
Now, Ji Qing needed to fuse his Supreme Yang Inner Power and Pure Essence Inner Power, twisting them together like a tightly wound rope to begin clearing the meridians for his Grand Circulation. For any Third-class Martial Artist, this was the most crucial moment!
"Let's begin."
Ji Qing immediately mobilized his Supreme Yang Inner Power and Pure Essence Inner Power.
BOOM.
The two distinct streams of Inner Power officially began their Integration!