Chapter 114: Breaking Through Three Levels, Eighth Layer of Grand Master Realm

In the following two days, the miserable screams in the Pacification Office's great prison never ceased.

Because those several traitors each had at least the cultivation of the eighth or ninth layer of Grand Master Realm, even if they were flayed they wouldn't die for a short while.

As for the wokou pirates, their cultivation had reached the sixth layer of Great Grand Master Realm; even if flayed, they would have to wail for half a month before dying.

These past few days, North Cloud City has been quiet; not to mention the wokou pirates, even all the various forces have settled down.

The envoy from Azure Prefecture also rode a Grand Master Realm avian feral beast to deliver the precious medicine into Shen Qing's hands.

Shen Qing saw off the envoy who brought the precious medicine, and instructed the scholar at his side.

"Scholar, I'll be in seclusion these few days; don't disturb me unless there's nothing, and if there's a case, take it on first."

"Got it, Lao Da, I'll handle things; you can rest easy."

"By the way, Lao Da, I just made a soy‑scented duck, it's really fragrant; want to try a bite before your seclusion?"

"Bring it."

After returning to the room, Shen Qing opened the box of precious medicine that had been sent, and also took out the Wisteria Treasure Fruit he had snatched from Xu Han.

Shen Qing had been wanting to eat this blueberry‑flavored Wisteria Treasure Fruit for a long time.

This time, the precious medicine box contained seven kinds of precious medicine.

They were all fruit‑type, no elixirs, each with a different fragrance.

Shen Qing didn't bother with more talk, just stuffed them in big mouthfuls.

Immediately after, as his technique circulated, his domineering true qi frenziedly seized the medicinal potency of the precious medicine like bandits.

If one says cultivation is walking a labyrinth, each layer of realm is a labyrinth.

What a martial practitioner must do is find the exit, passing through countless turns and forks, finally locating the true exit to break through the realm.

But Shen Qing is different.

Shen Qing's labyrinth has no forks; you stand at the start, lift your head and look.

Hey, guess what? Walking straight ahead is the exit.

All Shen Qing needs to do is stride forward with big steps.

As the medicinal potency was absorbed, his domineering true qi hovered over the Pacification Office like a sharp divine blade.

Shen Qing's sea of qi constantly boiled and surged, each breath expanding and swelling it further.

At the same time, south of North Cloud City lies Great Net Mountain.

A troop had just retreated from the front line.

From afar, a sense of loss could be seen, and over eighty percent of the troops bore wounds.

This was Cao Shen's Majestic Army.

In the general's tent, Cao Shen and several colonels were discussing.

"Old Han, have the supplies from above arrived?"

The colonel called Old Han shook his head, then sharply pounded the table.

"No, it's definitely Zhao Wanshu that brat blocking our application!"

Another colonel, missing a hand, his gaze sinister, said: "It's definitely him; if he hadn't stolen a hundred thousand taels of silver from us and then kept blocking our application, our missions wouldn't be so much harder than before."

"It's definitely Zhao Wanshu that brat messing with us."

"Old Han, check how much silver remains in the accounts."

Old Han didn't even open his ledger, just said: "I've already calculated; there are eight thousand five hundred sixty‑one taels left."

When that number was announced, the whole tent fell silent; the Majestic Army had returned to Jia Shui Jun less than twenty days ago, yet had already faced several major battles, with casualties increasing daily, and the application blocked by the superiors caused the funds in the account to disappear like flowing water.

Cao Shen sighed: "We can't wait any longer; the wounded can't hold out. Old Han, take the money to buy medicinal herbs; if it's not enough, we brothers will chip in."

"Zhao Wanshu isn't far from here; I'll go see if I can get him to loosen the procedures."

One colonel stood up: "No way, General! You can't go see that brat; who knows how he'll humiliate you!"

"I heard Lord Shen has been transferred to Jia Shui Jun as Pacification Commissioner; he's now in North Cloud City. Why don't we go ask Lord Shen for help? His vast abilities surely have a way to assist us."

Cao Shen's eyes lit up, but then quickly dimmed.

"Never mind, we can't bother people for everything. I'll go see Zhao Wanshu first; if that really doesn't work, we'll go ask Lord Shen."

At the Pacification Office in North Cloud City, Shen Qing's breakthrough was nearing its end.

Having broken through three levels, he reached the eighth layer of Grand Master Realm.

His aura gradually stabilized and deepened.

In the Grand Master Realm, cultivation focuses on the sea of qi; to others, the sea of qi is merely a noun.

For Shen Qing, it is an adjective—a sea formed by gathered true qi.

After reaching the eighth layer of Grand Master Realm, Shen Qing's sea of qi can truly be described as vast—it is practically a real great sea.

If a Grand Master Realm martial practitioner were to pit their seas of qi against each other,

then Shen Qing's sea of qi would be a hundred‑ton king, crushing others' seas of qi with no feeling of feedback at all—it would feel like a speed bump.

The Shen family's records contain much on high realms, and Shen Qing recalls that in the Grand Master Realm, the larger the sea of qi, the greater the later advantage.

He truly didn't know what his sea‑like sea of qi would become.

Shen Qing chuckled: "The future is promising."

Shen Qing rose, tidied himself a bit, and walked out of the room.

At a glance he saw the scholar dozing in the courtyard; obviously, after Shen Qing's seclusion, the scholar had been guarding the courtyard.

Shen Qing walked over and draped his robe over the scholar, then went to look for something to eat.

But as soon as the robe covered him, the scholar woke up and looked at Shen Qing with some surprise.

"Boss, you've finished your seclusion!"

Shen Qing nodded, took back his robe, and said: "Want to get some sleep first?"

The scholar hurriedly got up and shook his head: "No need, no need, I just slept for a while."

"Alright, I've been in seclusion these two days; has anything happened in North Cloud City? Any cases?"

The scholar shook his head: "Nothing, it's been very quiet these days; not to mention cases, the Guard Command has been very quiet these days, and all the Companies of a Hundred Households are the same."

"Even the Japanese pirates have calmed down."

"Then Young Master Jiang has already left; he received an urgent order and left in a hurry, saying he didn't have time to personally say goodbye to you, boss, and that next time you come to Azure Prefecture we can drink again."

"Oh, by the way, recently an old acquaintance came to Great Luo Mountain from the south—it's General Cao Shen, who has retreated from the front lines to rest."

Shen Qing raised his eyebrows: "Wasn't he just returned to Jia Shui Jun? He withdrew so quickly?"

"It's just right that it's been quiet these days; let's go check out Great Luo Mountain."