Human Clan Defender

The Demon Evil disturbances across the Great Wilderness Prefecture and the battle in Ningshan City were beyond Shen Changqing's anticipation.

He had spent the entire night roaming through all the possible places in the city where Demon Evils might lurk. The final result was that he had slain four Demon Evils, reaping a considerable amount of Slaughter Value.

Upon returning to Tianyi Tower, Shen Changqing didn't take the usual path. Finding an open window to his room, he leaped right in and then closed it.

Sitting on the stool, Shen Changqing took out all the Satiety Pills and Qi and Blood Pills he was carrying and neatly arranged them on the table.

Then, he calmed his mind and looked at his status panel.

Name: Shen Changqing

Affiliation: Great Qin's Demon Suppression Division

Rank: Yellow Rank Demon Hunter

Martial Arts: Invincible Golden Body (Level 7, upgradable), Heavenly Martial Gang Qi (Level 15, upgradable), Hundred-Battle Saber Technique (Level 3), Iron Sand Palm (Level 5, fusible), Snare Trampling Gang Step (Level 5, fusible), Mountain Splitting Palm Technique (Not started, fusible), Willow Catkin Body Technique (Not started, fusible)

Slaughter Value: 47

Excluding his original two points of Slaughter Value, the four Demon Evils had contributed a total of forty-five points. On average, each Demon Evil contributed about eleven or twelve points.

Shen Changqing was quite satisfied with this. A Demon Evil at the peak of Ghostly Level, about to break into Resentment Level, contributed only about fifteen points of Slaughter Value. The Demon Evils hidden in Jincheng were not strong. Forty-five points of Slaughter Value from four Demon Evils was already quite good.

Forty-seven points of Slaughter Value... enough to significantly increase my strength. But I wonder if I can use this opportunity to step directly into the Grandmaster Realm...

Gazing at the panel, Shen Changqing mused.

The Grandmaster Realm was his greatest ambition. Breaking through to Grandmaster would definitely increase his strength considerably. In the current situation, where Defender Envoys were dealing with Fiend Level Strange Monsters, a Grandmaster could sweep through an entire city's worth of Demon Evils.

Without wasting time, Shen Changqing first swallowed a few Satiety Pills to infuse his body with sufficient energy, then began to upgrade his Invincible Golden Body. Inner Strength was the priority, but the augmentation of Qi and Blood by Outer Techniques was also indispensable.

Eight points of Slaughter Value were consumed as the Invincible Golden Body entered a phase of improvement.

In an instant, the Satiety Pills he had just swallowed were completely depleted. An intense hunger surged within him, forcing Shen Changqing to swallow several more Satiety Pills to balance the consumption. The Elixirs were digested in short order.

The resources required to break through to the eighth level of the Invincible Golden Body were considerably greater than for the seventh level. During the breakthrough process, Shen Changqing had to swallow two bottles of Satiety Pills just to barely balance the consumption.

At this moment, his Martial Arts broke through. He felt an itch in his Flesh, and soon dead skin began to fall from his body, the new skin underneath becoming tougher than before.

RUMBLE!

His Qi and Blood roared like a raging river. The Invincible Golden Body not only strengthened his Flesh's defense but also made his Qi and Blood more vigorous. The eighth level of the Invincible Golden Body marked a further transformation of Shen Changqing's Qi and Blood.

Right now, he felt as though he had inexhaustible strength within his body.

"Invincible Golden Body, level eight!"

Shen Changqing opened his eyes, feeling the Qi and Blood Force in his body, a faint smile appearing on his face.

But he was aware. His current sensation is merely an illusion brought on by the breakthrough. An eighth-level Invincible Golden Body is far from making my Qi and Blood endlessly inexhaustible.

There are still thirty-nine points of Slaughter Value left, which can be used for further improvement.

With a settled mind, Shen Changqing began another round of upgrades.

If it were in the past, with Heavenly Martial Gang Qi's current consumption, the Qi and Blood gained from a single level of Outer Technique advancement would not have been enough to offset the Inner Strength's consumption. But now it was different. The Invincible Golden Body was of a higher rank, and each level of advancement brought considerable Qi and Blood. Although it couldn't fully offset the consumption of upgrading Heavenly Martial Gang Qi, it could barely maintain a balance.

As usual, Shen Changqing swallowed a few Qi and Blood Pills, then focused his thoughts on Heavenly Martial Gang Qi.

Upgrade!

Instantly, the Slaughter Value plummeted from thirty-nine points to twenty-three. At the same time, a frantic Suction Power rose from his Dantian, and all the Qi and Blood in his Flesh depleted rapidly.

In less than a single breath, the ingested Qi and Blood Pills were completely used up.

So fast!

Shen Changqing took a deep breath, immediately took out a new bottle, and swallowed an entire bottle of Qi and Blood Pills. As the Elixirs entered his stomach, they were consumed by that powerful Suction Power.

In less than ten breaths, the Elixirs' power was exhausted, and a wave of weakness swept over him. Soon, he swallowed another bottle of Elixirs. Each bottle could only last about ten breaths, forcing Shen Changqing to swallow a bottle of Qi and Blood Pills every ten breaths.

Dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of breaths might have passed. Gradually, the Suction Power in his Dantian disappeared, replaced by True Qi that almost overflowed within it.

The brimming True Qi broke through the Dantian and surged into the meridians throughout his body. One by one, the meridians were cleared. When that surge of True Qi was exhausted, new True Qi emerged from the cleared meridians and flowed back into the Dantian.

By now, the Liquefied True Qi in his Dantian had reached a completely full state. This sensation made Shen Changqing feel uncomfortably bloated, as if he had overeaten. After introspecting for a moment, his consciousness withdrew from his Dantian, his expression turning grim.

The Dantian is full... Yes! The Dantian is full! During introspection, I can clearly see that the Liquefied True Qi has completely filled my Dantian, even showing faint signs of wanting to burst through it.

It was precisely because of this that he now felt that uncomfortable, bloated sensation, as if he had overeaten.

Before this, Shen Changqing had never imagined that a day would come when his True Qi would completely fill his Dantian. But now, with the reality laid bare before him, an ominous premonition arose in his heart.

If my True Qi has filled the Dantian, and I try to forcefully increase it further, it's very likely the entire Dantian will burst... Impossible! At this point, my True Qi is at best comparable to the Grandmaster Realm, and it might not even reach that level. How could it have already filled my Dantian?

His brows furrowed deeply.

The Grandmaster Realm is definitely not the peak for Martial Artists. After all, Grandmaster-level experts are only Earth Rank Demon Hunters in the Demon Suppression Division. The higher-level Heaven Rank Demon Hunters and the Defender Envoys must be existences of even higher Realms. If that's the case, then there's all the more reason I shouldn't have reached my limit so quickly. There must be something I've overlooked!

Shen Changqing's mind raced as he recalled all the Martial Arts knowledge he had perused, wondering if he had forgotten something.

After a long while, the thoughts in his mind gradually calmed. Regrettably, even after perusing numerous books in the Scripture Pavilion, Shen Changqing had not found any information about a Dantian being completely filled with True Qi.

If I were in the Demon Suppression Division, I could consult others. But here, there's no way to do that. Could it be I need to further compress the True Qi?

At this thought, Shen Changqing couldn't help but try. He attempted to use his will to control the Liquefied True Qi and compress it further.

However, no sooner had the thought emerged than a sharp pain shot from his Dantian. It felt as if his Dantian was about to rupture. Instantly, he abandoned the idea of compressing the True Qi.

The Liquefied True Qi cannot be compressed any further. The Dantian is too fragile; if I attempt to compress it forcibly, the True Qi might not be successfully compressed, and I could burst the Dantian instead.

Shen Changqing's brows were tightly knitted.

What was happening in his body was completely beyond his expectations.

Glancing at his remaining Slaughter Value, Shen Changqing decided to temporarily set aside the issue of his True Qi and instead focus on upgrading his Invincible Golden Body. As for the True Qi problem, I'll consult the experts in the Demon Suppression Division when I return. I refuse to believe that no other expert in the Demon Suppression Division has ever faced this issue.

After making his decision, he began to upgrade his Invincible Golden Body. At the same time, Shen Changqing continuously consumed Satiety Pills to sustain the Invincible Golden Body's energy demands.

Before long, the Invincible Golden Body upgrade was complete. The swollen feeling in his Dantian had now receded significantly.

Hm?

The reduction in the swelling sensation in his Dantian immediately drew Shen Changqing's attention. He calmed his mind and once again introspected his body. Within his range of perception, the Liquefied True Qi in his Dantian remained plentiful, but the earlier sense of it being on the verge of overflowing was gone.

Has the True Qi decreased? No! It's not that the True Qi has decreased, but the capacity of my Dantian has increased! No sooner had the initial thought emerged in Shen Changqing's mind than he dismissed it, arriving at the new conclusion.

The capacity of my Dantian has increased! This means that upgrading Outer Techniques can indeed expand the Dantian's capacity...

Shen Changqing felt a surge of excitement at this discovery. Previously, he had not paid attention to how upgrading Outer Techniques might affect his Dantian, focusing entirely on Qi and Blood and the defense of his Flesh. Moreover, at that time, his True Qi had not overflowed, so even if his Dantian had expanded, he would not have felt much difference.

But now it was different. With his True Qi brimming to the point of nearly bursting his Dantian, even the slightest expansion of the Dantian could not escape Shen Changqing's perception.

If my Dantian is overflowing, then as long as I continue to upgrade the Invincible Golden Body and expand my Dantian further, it will accommodate more True Qi. This means... I need to completely overturn my previous conjectures about Grandmasters. Perhaps every Grandmaster's Flesh is extremely strong; otherwise, what would qualify them to hold such surging True Qi?

Shen Changqing's gaze was profound.

He had always assumed that Grandmasters would focus on Inner Strength and wouldn't necessarily waste time training their physique. Now it seems I've been completely shortsighted. If Grandmasters didn't have a strong physique, they fundamentally wouldn't be able to contain so much True Qi.

PHEW!

He let out a long breath. Calming his mind, Shen Changqing looked at his remaining Slaughter Value and commenced another round of upgrades.