Human Clan Defender

Martial Arts fusion was an inevitable matter. However, blind fusion was likely to result in a loss. The fusion of Martial Arts itself required the consumption of Slaughter Value; moreover, the higher the rank of the Martial Arts being fused, the higher the rank of the resulting Martial Arts would be. However, the higher the rank of a Martial Art, the greater the Slaughter Value consumed in its early stages of improvement. This meant there was some trick to it.

According to my speculation, fusing Martial Arts after raising them to about Level Twenty is the most Slaughter Value-efficient, Shen Changqing thought. But— looking at the three Slaughter Value points on the panel, he completely abandoned the plan in his mind. This amount of Slaughter Value... isn't even enough to fill the gaps between my teeth.

Right now, I don't need to worry about the Physical System; instead, the Spiritual System is a big problem. The Hundred Battles True Intent is only at ten percent, just a start. I don't know to what extent it needs to reach to achieve True Intent Manifestation, Shen Changqing mused, looking at the data on the panel. He hadn't asked Dongfang Zhao about this issue. He had forgotten earlier, and now, there was no need to ask.

Not everyone has a panel, so not everyone can be accurate to a specific numerical value. If I were to go out and talk about ten percent Martial Dao True Intent, many people would be utterly confused and wouldn't understand what I mean. Therefore, Shen Changqing could only research for himself what level of Martial Dao True Intent was needed to achieve True Intent Manifestation. However, from what he saw on the panel, it seemed very likely that one hundred percent True Intent would be enough to achieve True Intent Manifestation, or perhaps even less might suffice. But True Intent involved the spiritual level and was not easy to cultivate.

After transforming the Hundred Battles Blade Technique into the Hundred Battles True Intent, Shen Changqing hadn't received any additional memories about True Intent. It was just that when he broke through, he had retained the comprehension; the nascent True Intent had taken root in his mind.

Discarding all distractions, Shen Changqing sat cross-legged on the bed, all his attention concentrated inside his mind. Before long, a hazy space appeared before his 'sight'. Upon scrutiny, the hazy space appeared boundless. In the center of the space, where the gray mist receded, a blood-red lotus bloomed, taking root amidst the haziness. The lotus was in bloom, yet it had only one petal.

When Shen Changqing tried to 'approach' the blood-red lotus, an overwhelming aura of slaughter assaulted him, followed by what seemed like the clash of iron cavalry and the thundering charge of a thousand troops, causing an irresistible tremor in his spirit.

This hazy space is the Martial Artist's spiritual world, also known as the Sea of Consciousness. And the blood-red lotus... is the Martial Dao True Intent nurtured within the Sea of Consciousness.

Before the Hundred Battles True Intent had been nurtured, Shen Changqing had been unable to enter his Sea of Consciousness. However, with the birth of the Hundred Battles True Intent, the Sea of Consciousness seemed to have transitioned from a sealed state to an accessible one, allowing him to enter by leveraging his connection with the Hundred Battles True Intent.

If the blood-red lotus represents the Hundred Battles True Intent, then does one petal signify ten percent True Intent? And with each additional ten percent of understanding, will another petal emerge? Shen Changqing couldn't be one hundred percent certain. Yet, the appearance of the blood-red lotus before him aligned with the description of the Hundred Battles True Intent on the panel, with no significant discrepancies.

His mind immersed, he distinctly felt the power of that True Intent. In a split second, the scene shifted, and he found himself within a world bathed in blood-red hues. This world was entirely blood-red, as if doomsday had arrived. An aura of destruction and ill omen lingered, refusing to dissipate from his mind. Shortly after, he saw a charge of Bloody Iron Cavalry. Blood-red horses, Blood Armor, Bloody Masks. They wielded seven-foot-long blood-red blades, appearing like a source of annihilation, destroying everything that obstructed their path.

Upon closer inspection, however, the Bloody Iron Cavalry seemed illusory, almost unreal. Yet, the shocking impact of that desolate slaughter resonated deeply within Shen Changqing's spirit.

Then, the scene changed once more. At some unknown point, he found himself as one of the Bloody Iron Cavalry, mounted on a blood-red horse, his vision obstructed by a Bloody Mask. His mind was filled with an overwhelming drive to exterminate everything.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The warhorses charged. In the Bloody Heaven and Earth, a powerful horde of beasts appeared. The very moment the Bloody Iron Cavalry emerged, the beast horde attacked them. In response, the charge of the warhorses did not slow in the slightest. Kill! The seven-foot-long blades swung, tearing through the beasts' hides and flesh. As blood spilled, the blood-red blades absorbed much of it. In that instant, Shen Changqing felt his own strength seemed to have grown somewhat.

The battle happened quickly and ended just as quickly. Before he could make out too much, he felt a sharp pain in his mind, and in the next moment, he had retreated from the Bloody Heaven and Earth.

「In the small courtyard, within the bedroom.」

Shen Changqing sat cross-legged on the bed, his eyes tightly closed. Suddenly, they snapped open, a flash of blood-red light flickering for an instant before disappearing. Then, a stabbing pain, neither too light nor too heavy, emanated from his mind. After waiting for a while, the pain began to subside.

It seems that when I just entered the realm of the Hundred Battles True Intent, my spiritual energy was significantly consumed, Shen Changqing thought. However… He closed his eyes, savoring the feeling from moments ago. After a long while, he reopened them, a faint smile on his face. Although a lot of spiritual energy had been consumed, he found that his understanding of the Hundred Battles True Intent seemed to have deepened a bit. The improvement was so subtle that it would go unnoticed without careful perception. But an improvement was still an improvement; this was undeniable.

So the Hundred Battles True Intent can be improved in this way! But this method of improvement is too time-consuming, and the spiritual consumption is extraordinary… Shen Changqing's brow furrowed slightly. He looked around the bedroom. Light penetrating through the gaps in the window indicated that a whole night had passed. When he had entered his Sea of Consciousness, it had clearly been nighttime. But now, it was already daytime.

A significant amount of time had passed, but to Shen Changqing, it felt as though only a short while had gone by. One night, just to gain a tiny bit more insight into the Hundred Battles True Intent. If I want to advance the Hundred Battles True Intent to the second stage, I'll need at least half a year to a year. Under such conditions, I would have to enter my Sea of Consciousness every day to contemplate the Hundred Battles True Intent. However, Shen Changqing felt the stabbing pain in his mind. Considering the current rate of consumption, it would take at least two or three days to recover. If a year of uninterrupted contemplation can raise the Hundred Battles True Intent to the second stage, then considering the time needed for recovery and rest, the duration would have to be at least doubled or even tripled. One year would become two to three years. And this is just to advance the Hundred Battles True Intent from the first stage to the second stage…

Understanding the consumption involved, his smile stiffened. Is two to three years a long time? For an average person, perhaps not. But for me, two to three years is almost equivalent to an entire cycle. It had been just over two years since his arrival in this world, not yet three. In this span of time, his own strength had progressed from not even having stepped into the Body Tempering Realm to his current Grandmaster Realm. If I were to use the same amount of time in the future just to make such a negligible breakthrough in the Spiritual System, it would take far, far too long. Unless… I could take something to replenish spiritual consumption. That would shorten the time needed to recover from the spiritual deficit, and I could speed up my breakthrough. Making a breakthrough in a year is better than two or three years. Even though it's still much slower compared to my current rate of improvement, if it can be shortened several-fold, it might be reluctantly acceptable.

As for items that could supplement spiritual exhaustion, Shen Changqing recalled the exchange list he had seen in the Demon Slaying Hall. It recorded many treasures, including items that replenished the spirit. When he visited yesterday, he didn't have any Merit Points, so he had only taken a quick look without any intention of making an exchange. But now, it was different. Dongfang Zhao had given him three hundred Merit Points; he had become rich overnight.

However, from Dongfang Zhao's reaction, Shen Changqing seemed to understand something else. I intercepted tens of thousands of the Barbarian Clan Army and even killed a Barbarian Clan General. On a battlefield, this would be considered outstanding military merit. Even if the Imperial Court's situation is dire, they wouldn't leave such an achievement unrewarded. Therefore, there's only one possibility left: the Imperial Court doesn't want to reward me. Not wanting to reward me… There must be a reason why the Imperial Court doesn't wish to do so. Shen Changqing pondered. I have no issues with the Imperial Court, and they wouldn't target a mere Demon Hunter like me. Thus, the only remaining possibility involves my backing, the Demon-Subduing Division.

Immediately, a conjecture formed in his mind. The Imperial Court is targeting the Demon-Subduing Division! No, perhaps not 'targeting' directly, but they might be secretly suppressing the Demon-Subduing Division. That's why my merits were stripped away… Shen Changqing felt quite sure of this guess. Then, he thought of something else. The Imperial Court didn't provide a reward, but Dongfang Zhao gave me one on behalf of the Demon-Subduing Division. This was likely to prevent me from harboring any dissatisfaction. However, his words also carried another implication: what the Imperial Court didn't give, the Demon-Subduing Division did. There's something intriguing about that.

Shen Changqing's eyes flickered. He was not a foolish man; he could infer a great deal from such subtle clues. If that's really the case, then it's a power struggle between the Imperial Court and the Demon-Subduing Division. It doesn't have much to do with me—at least not at my current level. The Defender Envoys are the ones who truly have to face this.

Shaking his head, he cast aside these distracting thoughts. Given the current situation, even if the Imperial Court is secretly suppressing the Demon-Subduing Division, they are unlikely to make any major moves. The threat of Demon Evil has always been present. Without resolving this fundamental problem, the Demon-Subduing Division is unlikely to fall.

After leaving the room and freshening up in the courtyard, Shen Changqing, with three hundred Merit Points in hand, headed straight for the Demon Slaying Hall.