Chapter 104: Flattering to Kill, the Raven Hand Grenade 【Seeking Monthly Votes!】

"This kid, have you ever entered the Third Prince Temple outside the capital?"

The Deputy Supervisor, in white robes fluttering without a breeze, squinted at the divine statue calmly set on the tea table.

Although… it is only at the ten‑du rank, its divine nature is quite weak.

But for a master woodcarver, a single carving can convey what the sculptor intends; it is a meaning stitched together by skill, lines, and patterns.

A master is a master because they have mastered a craft to the extreme; to seek a breakthrough, they can only present and express it differently in intention.

Some master ink‑wash painters, with a few strokes that at first glance seem like random splashes, reveal a unique beauty and a beauty of meaning upon close study.

Carving… is the same.

Gongyang Liancheng and the beautiful lady Gong Yunli were both bewildered by the Deputy Supervisor's single sentence.

"Did the Deputy Supervisor mean… the 'Eight‑Armed Prison Lotus Furious Third Prince' Guiyi Miao outside the city?" Gong Yunli couldn't help but ask.

The Deputy, in a white robe, looking delicate as if a handsome seventeen‑ or eighteen‑year‑old, cast an irritated glance at Gong Yunli: "Little Gong, don't be big‑breasted and clueless…"

"Outside the city, are there other Prince Temples?"

Gong Yunli heard that and blushed; she glanced down at her prominent chest, thinking the Deputy always liked to speak half‑truths.

"Then surely you haven't gone in, haven't seen the temple deity…"

"Li Che's Qi‑and‑blood cultivation is only at the blood‑transmutation stage, his divine nature is as gentle as a stream… he can't even enter the Guiqu, let alone the Guiyi Miao…"

"Even if we… even bearing the temple deity's pressure into the Guiyi Miao, we might not reach the altar to see that Eight‑Armed Furious Third Prince temple deity."

From beside him, Gongyang Liancheng spoke in a deep voice.

"That does make sense…"

"Even if that kid hid his cultivation, he couldn't conceal that much."

The Deputy nodded, stepped up to the woodcarving, raised his finger, and gently rubbed the carved grooves with his fingertip.

He closed his eyes; each inch his finger slid over the carving gave him a strange sensation that made his hair stand on end.

"This woodcarving test was set by me; I spent a few breaths to roughly chisel the blank, yet this kid… not only perfectly continued my carving concept and technique, but also in the latter part infused his own understanding and feeling."

"He must have never seen a true deity, yet he could, with his imagination, sketch a deity almost spot‑on."

"This kid… is like me."

The Deputy slowly opened his eyes, a gentle smile curling at his lips.

He added, "This kid… has the talent of a Special‑Class Guest Minister."

Those words instantly shocked Gongyang Liancheng and Gong Yunli.

This appraisal… is way too high!

Guest Ministers are usually divided into three grades—third, second, and first. A First‑Class Guest Minister placed in the capital's Qintianjian holds a rank that even surpasses these junior supervisors.

Because of the First‑Class status, even if placed in other prefectural cities or even a state city's Qintianjian Treasure Hall, it still works.

But they are merely junior supervisors of the Jinguangfu Qintianjian Treasure Hall; leaving Jinguangfu for another prefectural city drops them naturally by one level, and going to a state city, or even to Dàjǐng Shendu, drops them two or three levels!

So it's even more impossible to speak of a Special‑Class Guest Minister!

Gong Yunli shook her head in disbelief, the little hill on her chest trembling.

"Deputy Supervisor, you're… killing a newcomer with false praise! You can't sarcastically flatter him just because Li Qingshan recommended him!"

Gongyang Liancheng snapped back to his senses, his face darkening.

"Oh, little Yunli, how can you speak to a superior like that? Could you even say such a thing?"

"You can't just gain weight; you also need… to grow a brain."

Sure enough, the Deputy frowned, "Flattering to kill? I'm killing a newcomer because of Li Qingshan?"

"Little Gong, can you recall how many articles the Divine Supervisor and Deputy of the Shendu Qintianjian Divine Treasure Hall jointly drafted for the official regulations of Qintianjian?"

Gong Yunli: "There are a total of 108 Qintianjian regulations."

"Well remembered. Copy them twenty times and bring them to me tomorrow; any single error will cost you a ten‑du divine crystal."

Gong Yunli was instantly shocked, gritting her teeth, taking personal revenge, "That's over the line, you pretentious old fool!"

The Deputy's eyes narrowed, glaring at Gong Yunli.

"Thirty copies!"

Gong Yunli immediately lowered her unwilling head, forgetting that the old man possessed a mind‑linking divine technique.

"Deputy, I must say, boasting about a Special‑Class Guest Minister cannot be spoken of lightly… you're overly flattering a newcomer!"

Gong Yunli still held Li Che in high regard; a fine woodcarving master, easygoing and gentle‑tempered, she liked him a lot.

But saying Li Che has Special‑Class Guest Minister talent… would crush this young man.

Having said that, Gong Yunli lifted her white robe's hem and slipped away quickly.

The Deputy was speechless.

He looked at Gongyang Liancheng.

"Deputy, you have a keen eye for talent, your words are reasonable; from my perspective, I also see this kid's future as boundless, indeed he has Special‑Class Guest Minister talent!"

Gongyang Liancheng shouted loudly, lest he be as big‑breasted and clueless as Gong Yunli, with his mind filled with iron.

What's the point of bumping heads with a superior?

Gongyang Liancheng's main aim is a…

Flattery rings, and ten thousand gold pieces!

"Tell little Gong not to spread this appraisal; one after another flattering kill… I'm afraid she'll slip up first."

The Deputy felt exhausted; one subordinate is stubborn to death, the other flatters to death…

It truly is both fragrant and foul.

Gongyang Liancheng, of course, knew the situation, and solemnly nodded: "Deputy's foresight is truly preemptive, no wonder he can be Deputy; we subordinates are sincerely pleased…"

"Shut up, go down if there's nothing else."

Gongyang Liancheng made a deep bow, lowered his hands to the ground, and slowly withdrew.

Within the tea room, tea fragrance lingered.

Tranquil as usual.

The deputy supervisor's fingers rubbed the statue; in a dazed moment, he seemed to see a figure holding up a red silk sash, stirring the vast sea……

"Recommended by Li Qingshan……"

"With such talent, why not send him to the Divine Sect but instead to the Imperial Astronomy Bureau as a guest officer…… What for? In five years…… it will again be the time when the Hall of the Three Wrathful Princes of the Four Emperors trembles, forming a strange calamity……"

"Corpse God Sect……"

"Troubled autumn, huh."

The deputy withdrew his hand from touching the statue, closed his eyes, and rubbed his temples.

Suddenly, his finger paused, and his narrow eyes opened.

"Or perhaps… this Li Qingshan fellow is doubting the Divine Sect's branch?"

……

……

After the rain, the sky cleared; sunshine rarely broke through the heavy leaden clouds, falling on the world, casting a shimmering rippling light.

Li Che left the Imperial Astronomy Bureau's Treasure Pavilion, feeling extremely good.

Having become a third-rank guest officer of the Imperial Astronomy Bureau, he enjoyed its resources and also gained many good things.

Most importantly, he obtained a tiger pelt, formidable enough to make many forces in the capital wary; it could protect his small family, letting them live peacefully for some years.

For Li Che, that was enough.

He wanted little—just calm winds and waves, a peaceful era.

Quietly watch his daughter grow up, watch her cultivation succeed.

This is the simple, modest wish of an old father.

Li Che was in high spirits; leaving the Imperial Astronomy Bureau, he walked straight onto the capital's broad street after the rain, wide enough for ten carriages to ride side by side.

He smelled the fresh air, bathed in the spring breeze that soothed the mind.

Li Che planned to go to Liu Xiang Pavilion, order a table of fine food and drink to celebrate; especially the pavilion's roast duck, have a few more, as Xixi and his wife love it.

However, Li Che did not let his guard down; Qin Yuqing… after all, was someone he killed.

Although he left no clues linking himself, even if the Qin clan came knocking, without evidence his status as an Imperial Astronomy Bureau guest officer would protect him; they likely would not dare act against him.

But nothing is absolute; what if the Qin clan produced another venomous woman like Qin Yuqing?

The kind who thinks: if they want to kill you, they must kill you, even a passing dog would get a stab……

Thus, Li Che must stay vigilant, cannot relax.

Even in the capital, this world is not safe; perhaps for a long time he must tread as if on thin ice.

Right, Li Che's mind stirred; the Chess Sage Dao Fruit trembled, the heavenly-earth chessboard net spread out.

Indeed, the three gray-faced covert investigators from the Qin manor who had been tailing him vanished without trace.

With Qin Yuqing dead, these three likely returned to the Qin manor to report the situation.

Conveniently, they could provide him proof of entry into the Imperial Astronomy Bureau, and proof that he could not have acted against Qin Yuqing.

After all, he shot Qin Yuqing from another direction within the Imperial Astronomy Bureau's Treasure Pavilion.

Having prepared the food and drink, Li Che did not immediately return to his modest home; instead, he went first to another courtyard he had purchased, the workshop courtyard.

He sat on a chair, boiled water, and brewed a pot of tea.

Amid the swaying spring breeze, he sipped a fine tea, his mood growing ever more lovely.

Afterward, he began to sort the gains from this time becoming a third-rank guest officer of the Imperial Astronomy Bureau.

His mind stirred.

……

【Name: Li Che】

【Bond: Li Nuanxi (daughter)】

【Dao Fruit: Immortal Craft (lv3, 68%), Dragon Elephant Golden Body (lv3, 13%), Immaculate Heart (LV2, 18%), Chess Sage (LV2, 7%)】

【Divine Ability Embryo: Immortal Craft·Thousand Analysis Hand, Dragon Elephant Golden Body·Ascend the Tower】

……

Huh?

Li Che glanced at the Dao Fruit feedback, only to see that the Immortal Craft Dao Fruit had suddenly increased its maturity by 20%.

His heart gave a slight start; could it be that the statue he carved in the Imperial Astronomy Bureau gave such feedback?

No, it should be due to completing the "Namo Immortal Craft Bodhi Barrett" plus carving that statue in the Imperial Astronomy Bureau.

Li Che had not never carved a ten-metre-level divine statue, but gaining this much maturity is strange; there must be a reason.

Could it be related to the divine image he imagined—stepping on a golden wheel, red silk dancing across the four seas—integrated into the wood carving?

Li Che's eyes flickered, his heart warmed slightly; if so, perhaps he had found a quick way to raise the Immortal Craft Dao Fruit's maturity.

He also did not rush to test it, for it was already late; carving another four-armed wrathful three-prince divine wood statue might be too late.

He clenched his fingers, taking from his Qiankun space the other gains from becoming a third-rank guest officer.

A crystal stone flashing with faint light fell into his hand.

A warm, moist sensation emanated from the crystal.

"Divinity crystal… a divine object obtainable only in the strange fissure; Miss Shangguan said, higher-tier divine objects, elixirs, divine weapons, etc., of the Imperial Astronomy Bureau cannot be bought with mundane gold and silver, but with… divinity crystal!"

Li Che pinched this crystal; what most stirred his emotions was the divinity contained within the divinity crystal……

It seemed a pure white, milky divinity sharing the same source as the Immaculate Heart!

"Are they of the same source? All are pure and flawless divinity?"

Li Che's eyes narrowed, and in the next instant his divine sense surged out, drawing the divinity from the divinity crystal; however, the moment his divine sense touched that divinity within the crystal, the 【Immaculate Heart】 in his chest suddenly began to throb violently.

Like a famished creature waiting to be fed, it suddenly opened its huge mouth.

The divinity within the Ten Capital Divinity Crystal……

It was drawn out with incomparable smoothness, all merging into the 【Immaculate Heart】.

【Dao Fruit: Immaculate Heart (lv2, 20%)】

Li Che: "!!!"

No need for the Thousand Dissecting Hands; it directly sucked in the divinity from the divinity crystal, enjoying a smooth, voracious inhalation.

The maturity of the Immaculate Heart Dao Fruit rose directly by 2%!

This is unbelievable!

One Ten Capital Divinity Crystal raises maturity by 2%; with forty more, wouldn't the Immaculate Heart Dao Fruit be able to ripen to level 3?!

What a shortcut!

In the small courtyard, Li Che's eyes shone brightly, or rather… this is the correct way to unlock the 【Immaculate Heart】 Dao Fruit!

In Fēiléichéng, he basically had no access to divinity crystals; he could only diligently cultivate, drawing divinity from heaven and earth to nurture the Immaculate Heart.

But upon reaching the prefectural city… with resources abundant, things are different.

Unfortunately, the monthly stipend of a third-rank guest official is only three Ten Capital Divinity Crystals.

To gather forty divinity crystals would take a year……

Li Che exhaled: "No problem… take it slow, no rush."

With his mind settled, Li Che was instead calm and composed.

"Moreover, now that I've become a third-rank guest official, besides the stipend, I should also be able to earn divinity crystals through divinity woodcarving…"

Li Che smiled, feeling that the future was becoming ever more beautiful.

"Nowadays, my Immaculate Heart's divinity has roughly reached the level of nurturing nature like a river; to condense an Immaculate Heart divine foundation, I likely need to reach level 3…"

If it were before, Li Che wouldn't know how long he'd need to accumulate; now that he has divinity crystals, the speed will surely be much faster.

Taking out the second divinity crystal, Li Che activated the Immaculate Heart to draw in its divinity.

In just three or four breaths, the divinity within the Ten Capital Divinity Crystal was completely devoured, leaving only a dim, lusterless crystal.

"This is merely a Ten Capital Divinity Crystal; there are higher-quality divinity crystals…"

Li Che couldn't help but grow ever more anticipatory.

Mainly, this incomparably smooth process of drawing in the divinity from the divinity crystal made Li Che's pores relax all over, feeling extremely comfortable.

The absorbed divinity not only entered the Immaculate Heart Dao Fruit, but also washed and scoured his flesh!

The three divinity crystals were quickly devoured by Li Che.

The maturity of the Immaculate Heart Dao Fruit also piled up to 24%; such rapid maturation made Li Che's mood ever more buoyant.

Gazing at the three empty crystals, Li Che felt a momentary sense of loss.

"A divinity crystal devoid of divinity loses its monetary function, becoming just an ordinary crystal."

"But…"

Li Che suddenly thought of something, picking up a divinity crystal, lost in thought.

He erupted with the divinity from the 【Three-Eyed Fury True Lord】 divine foundation.

Yet he discovered that this attributed divinity strike, upon the crystal of the divinity crystal, was as if shielded, making its release and activation much more difficult.

"The empty shell of a divinity crystal… is a fine conductive material for immaculate divinity; if infused into the 'Spirit Wood Passage Raven,' it can be detonated via divinity to enhance explosive power…"

"Furthermore, if the powdered crystal of an exploded divinity crystal is detonated, it can even form a field that weakens an opponent's divinity…"

Ideas spontaneously surfaced in Li Che's mind.

His eyes glimmered slightly; the reason divine cultivators are strong is the oppression of their divinity rank.

If divinity were restricted, relying solely on qi and blood cultivation for combat…

Li Che possesses the 【Dragon Elephant Golden Body】 Dao Fruit, unrivaled in external training, and with the addition of ascending the tower…

Ordinary divine meridians could likely be easily crushed; however, facing a master might require some effort.

Mainly, his martial cultivation is only at the Mystic Pulse, still somewhat weak; he must urgently train to reach the Divine Pulse, even to charge toward the True Qi Grandmaster.

If external training cannot suppress the opponent, within the divinity crystal field the opponent's attributed divinity is weakened, yet Li Che… possesses the 【Immaculate Heart】 divinity that can be employed.

"That could be considered a small trump card."

Li Che smiled.

Immediately, he exerted force with his five fingers, crushing the incredibly tough divinity crystal into fine fragments, then took out the Nine Luminaries-level Flowing Blood Piercing Shock Spear, gave it a few pounds, grinding it into a powder as fine as lime.

"It can be combined with the craft of the Wood Passage Raven, hiding this divinity crystal powder within it; in battle, when thrown out, it explodes to form a crystal powder field…"

"Ha… let's call it the 'Passage Raven Hand Grenade.'"

……

……

The sky had just grown dim.

Li Che then returned home; Xixi sat bored under the eaves, no longer playing with her twist car, having exhausted her energy.

She really wanted to go set off fireworks, but her father would surely not allow it.

Xixi lifted her head; her small face was actually filled with a gloominess not befitting her age.

"I really wish school would start."

Xixi missed those days at the Xu Ji Divine Cultivation Academy.

After Li Che returned, he saw Xixi pondering life under the eaves and couldn't help but pull out the candied haws he had bought.

Xixi's eyes lit up at once, and she went 'ni ni ni' running toward her father.

Li Che picked her up, handed her a candied haw, and if Xixi had candied haws every day, she wouldn't be so eager to go to school.

At night, the attendant of Lingering Fragrance Pavilion sent over a lavish meal.

Chen Lao, astonished, gripped his wine gourd: "You little rascal, ordering dishes outside again… So extravagant? Making a living in the prefecture city isn't easy—spend less."

His wife Zhang Ya was also somewhat surprised, but seeing the table full of delicious dishes, she thought her husband must have some happy news to celebrate.

Li Che also summoned his uncle's family; his uncle's family lived in a nearby small courtyard, which Li Che bought so that his uncle and cousin's family could reside there.

Given Li Che's current wealth, this amount is nothing; his uncle's family raised him, so this sum is trivial.

Uncle, aunt, and cousin Li Zhengran's family all came to attend the feast.

After the feast was well underway, Li Che raised his cup and announced that he had become a third-rank guest official of the Imperial Astronomy Bureau.

After the announcement, everyone was stunned.

Chen Lao nearly choked on his wine: "Imperial Astronomy Bureau? Third-rank guest official?!"

"Li Che, you brat, are you eating government food now?!"

Uncle Li Liang was overjoyed and thrilled; as a man with scholarly credentials, he was most excited that Li Che could enter the Imperial Astronomy Bureau.

This is completely different from Li Che's former role as a woodcarver at Xu Ji Mu diao Pu!

After all, that is governmental power; although a guest official is not an official, it counts as half an official status……

As for becoming an official, his uncle's scholarly obsession runs deep!

"Good, good, good!" his uncle downed several cups of strong liquor in quick succession, instantly getting drunk, his eyes involuntarily moistening……

"Second brother, your son has made something of himself!"

After Li Che made the announcement, he meanwhile broke off a roasted duck leg for Xixi, then quietly drank and ate.

Under the candlelight, the atmosphere was harmonious and joyful.

Li Che smiled gently, but soon furrowed his brow.

Because, in the perception of the Heaven and Earth Chessboard…

Two powerful auras were rapidly approaching.

Soon the sound of knocking came from the courtyard, and the courtyard instantly fell silent.

"I'll come, I'll come…"

"I'll go open the door."

Uncle wiped the grease from his mouth corner, swayed as he rose, and intended to go open the door.

Li Che, however, appeared at his side at some point and pressed him back into his chair.

"Uncle, drink slowly; I'll handle it."

"Seeking monthly votes, recommendation votes, and readership support! Everyone, did you see that burst-update badge? Lao Li got it—keep bursting updates, everyone keep reading, don't stop! Lao Li thanks you!"