Human Clan Defender

Demon Slaying Hall.

This is both the place where Demon Hunters take on missions, as well as the place where they advance in rank.

This isn't Shen Changqing's first time at the Demon Slaying Hall, so he's already quite familiar with the process.

He entered the Demon Slaying Hall.

Then walked into the Profound Rank Sub-Hall.

Arriving at the counter, he directly presented his Identity Token, along with his Pure Spirit Jade Pendant as proof.

"I want to advance my rank."

"Alright."

At the counter, Chen Chuan, who had been utterly bored, perked up at this.

Rank advancement wasn't anything rare; Demon Hunters came for it often.

His first glance was at the Pure Spirit Jade Pendant.

When he saw the thick Yin Evil Aura on the Pure Spirit Jade Pendant, his breathing noticeably slowed for a few beats.

Such a dense Yin Evil Aura!

Chen Chuan asked himself, in all his years working in the Profound Rank Sub-Hall, he could count the number of times he'd seen Yin Evil Aura this dense on one hand.

After all—

The Profound Rank Sub-Hall mainly handles matters for Profound Rank Demon Hunters.

Profound Rank only corresponds to those at or above the Innate Realm.

However—

When Chen Chuan looked down at the Identity Token, his expression finally changed.

"Shen Changqing!"

"You are Shen Changqing, the one who slew the Barbarian Clan General!"

Chen Chuan's exclamation was a bit loud, making sure that everyone else in the sub-hall heard it clearly.

Immediately—

All eyes turned to Shen Changqing.

"So that's Shen Changqing!"

"Hiss, I can't believe I have the fortune to see him with my own eyes today. This trip wasn't wasted."

"What a powerful presence—no wonder he could slay the Barbarian Clan General."

Some people whispered among themselves, and their gazes towards Shen Changqing were filled with awe and respect.

However—

Not everyone had heard Shen Changqing's name before.

Some Profound Rank Demon Hunters who had just returned from missions looked confused.

"Is he really that famous? Why don't I remember the Demon-Subduing Division ever having such a person before?"

Hearing this—

Someone nearby explained.

"A while back, when the Barbarian Clan invaded Great Wilderness Prefecture, the Barbarian Clan General, Mairba, was killed by him. This has already spread throughout the Jianghu, and many people in the Demon-Subduing Division have heard his name."

"He slew Barbarian Clan General Mairba—"

That man couldn't help but feel a shock at heart, and when he looked at Shen Changqing, his gaze finally transformed as well.

With everyone staring, Shen Changqing frowned slightly but said nothing, only looking at the shocked Chen Chuan and repeating himself.

"Sorry for the trouble."

"Uh, oh, apologies, I'll handle it for you right away."

Chen Chuan snapped out of his shock, realizing he'd been a bit out of line.

That outburst had apparently brought some trouble to Shen Changqing.

With an apologetic smile, he grabbed the Identity Token and Pure Spirit Jade Pendant, his demeanor now much more serious.

Under Shen Changqing's gaze—

He first fetched a familiar-looking white jade ruler. But unlike last time, the patterning seemed a little different this time.

The Pure Spirit Jade Pendant was placed inside.

Soon—

Black energy started creeping upward.

As the blackness crept up, the top of the white jade ruler also emitted a faint glow.

"Yin Evil Aura: one inch and five-tenths, Demon Evil Level: late Ghostly Level, does not meet promotion standard."

As Chen Chuan spoke—

The black energy faded, but quickly a new wave of blackness crept upward again.

"Yin Evil Aura: one inch and six-tenths, Demon Evil Level: late Ghostly Level, does not meet promotion standard."

Then—

The black faded again.

Shen Changqing watched Chen Chuan's actions in silence, a glimmer of curiosity in his eyes.

It was clear—

This white jade ruler was different from the last one.

Last time, when measuring Yin Evil Aura, all auric traces were combined, and Yin Evil Aura total was used as the conversion standard for Merits.

This time, however—

The white jade ruler separated each trace of Yin Evil Aura, and the glowing spots on the ruler—in Shen Changqing's eyes—were likely the indicators for rank-judgment.

"The Demon-Subduing Division really has a lot of bizarre tools. I'll have to properly study them when I get the chance."

Shen Changqing thought calmly to himself.

After coming to the Demon Slaying Hall a few times, he always found the things here quite out of the ordinary.

Though—

Martial Artists need only focus on improving their own strength; there's no need to bother with too many other things.

Yet Shen Changqing found himself quite curious about all of this regardless.

Soon—

Another wave of blackness shot straight up.

But this time, the flickering glow became far more intense.

"Yin Evil Aura: three inches and nine-tenths, Demon Evil Level: middle Resentment Level, can be used for rank advancement!"

Immediately after—

An even stronger blast of Yin Evil Aura surged up, at the peak of which the glow was nearly pitch black.

"Hiss!"

Even though Chen Chuan had expected it, he couldn't help but take a sharp breath.

Right after—

His voice came out low and steady:

"Yin Evil Aura: five inches, Demon Evil Level: Resentment Level Peak, can be used for rank advancement!"

At this—

The blackness faded, and the white jade ruler settled into silence.

Chen Chuan looked up at Shen Changqing.

"To be promoted from Yellow Rank Demon Hunter to Profound Rank Demon Hunter, the minimum requirement is to have slain a Resentment Level Strange Monster. Right now, you have two qualifying traces of Yin Evil Aura in your Pure Spirit Jade Pendant: one is three inches and nine-tenths, the other is five inches.

Which one would you like to use for your rank advancement?"

"The three inches and nine-tenths one."

Shen Changqing answered without hesitation.

Anyone in their right mind would know how to choose—the five-inch one is obviously best saved for promotion to Earth Rank Demon Hunter.

It's simple.

Some Earth Rank Demon Hunters actually haven't even reached the Grandmaster Realm, since breaking through to Grandmaster isn't that easy.

And time spent at Profound Rank is also limited.

Once your time is up, even if you haven't broken through to Grandmaster, you still have to take on an assessment mission.

But Professor Rank Demon Hunters are valuable, after all, it's not hard to cultivate an ordinary Innate Realm Martial Artist, but producing a powerhouse at Innate Peak is not so easy.

So, the requirements for advancing to Earth Rank Demon Hunter are lowered somewhat. You don't need to have slain a Fiend Level Demon Evil; as long as you slay either a Demonfolk at Innate Peak, or a Resentment Level Peak Strange Monster, that's enough.

Yet—

Even so—

Earth Rank Demon Hunters are not weak—at worst, they exist at the Innate Peak.

"Alright!"

Receiving the answer, Chen Chuan didn't delay further.

He took out a Jade Pendant nearly identical to the Pure Spirit Jade Pendant, then brought out a white jade balance scale.

Then he placed the Pure Spirit Jade Pendant on one end of the scale, and the new Jade Pendant on the other.

The next moment—

Chen Chuan adjusted something on the scale, then circulated his True Yuan onto it, activating the mysterious engraved symbols on the surface.

Shoo—

Black threads from the Pure Spirit Jade Pendant were drawn out, flowing through the scale into the new Jade Pendant on the other side.

The whole process—

Lasted only a few breaths.

Before long—

The black aura on the Pure Spirit Jade Pendant had already diminished.

"Please keep this safe."

Chen Chuan returned the Pure Spirit Jade Pendant, then exchanged Shen Changqing's Identity Token for a new one.

It's worth mentioning—

The exchange of Identity Tokens doesn't mean you get a brand new one. Rather, they simply alter the character for "Yellow" to "Profound" using special methods while keeping the original token.

The procedure is so simple, it's almost hard to believe.

Soon after—

The Identity Token was handed back.

"Thank you!"

Putting away his Pure Spirit Jade Pendant and Identity Token, Shen Changqing gave a word of thanks before turning to leave.

Profound Rank is just the beginning.

Today's real goal is promotion to Earth Rank.

Watching Shen Changqing leave, Chen Chuan didn't say anything further, only watching his figure disappear into the Profound Rank Sub-Hall.

——

Very soon—

Shen Changqing repeated the process in the Earth Rank Sub-Hall and also upgraded his title.

"May I ask, what are the annual mission requirements for Earth Rank Demon Hunters?"

He looked at the elderly man in front of him and asked his question.

Evidently—

The old man had heard Shen Changqing's name as well and held great respect for this newly promoted Earth Rank Demon Hunter.

As Shen Changqing voiced his doubts, the elder patiently explained.

"According to the regulations, Earth Rank Demon Hunters only need to complete three missions annually. Additionally, there is no time limit for promotion from Earth Rank to Heaven Rank. Whether you advance or not is entirely up to you."

"No time limit!"

Shen Changqing's expression changed slightly.

He hadn't expected this.

From Probationary Demon Hunter to Profound Rank Demon Hunter, every promotion has a time limit—the only difference is how long it is.

However—

Shen Changqing hadn't anticipated that for Earth Rank Demon Hunters, there's no time constraint for rank advancement.

No restrictions.

That means Earth Rank Demon Hunters have much more time, and don't need to continually strengthen themselves out of fear for assessment missions when the time comes.

"Is it because the difficulty after Grandmaster increases so much that there is no time restriction?"

Shen Changqing asked again.

To this—

The old man shook his head.

"I'm not sure on that point either. Affairs of the Earth Rank Demon Hunters aren't something lower-level Demon Hunters can fully understand. Lord Shen, perhaps you could ask the Defender Envoys; they should be able to answer your question.

I may work in the Earth Rank Sub-Hall, but I only barely qualify as Profound Rank myself."

He works at the Earth Rank Sub-Hall, but that doesn't mean he's an Earth Rank Demon Hunter himself.

Shen Changqing felt at ease.

Indeed—

Judging by the way he addressed him, his status was clearly lower than his own.

Afterwards, he submitted the mission he had originally accepted.

Since the mission records for the different sub-halls of the Demon Slaying Hall are somewhat interconnected, there was no need for Shen Changqing to return to the Yellow Rank Sub-Hall; he could claim the previous mission's rewards right here in the Earth Rank Sub-Hall.

The original mission reward was fifteen Merit Points, but since those Probationary Demon Hunters died, two points were forfeited, leaving thirteen points in the end.

After receiving his reward, he left the Earth Rank Sub-Hall.

Then Shen Changqing made his way to the Hall of Merits, where he exchanged all the remaining Yin Evil Aura in his Pure Spirit Jade Pendant for Merit Points.

The Merit Points weren't much. All told, only four.

Adding the one point he already had plus the thirteen from the mission,

By the time he finished exchanging everything, Shen Changqing already had eighteen Demon-Subduing Coins in his pouch.

With all that done, he headed for the Treasure Repository Hall.

He showed his Identity Token, then asked directly,

"Do you have an Earth Rank exchange list here? I'd like to take a look."

"We do."

An old man nodded, turned to search for a moment, then handed Shen Changqing a book that was neither thick nor thin.

"If Lord Shen wishes to make any exchanges, everything is clearly recorded within."

"Alright."