Chapter 61: Master Realm, Young Master I'm Coming!

The sky was just lightening, and the battle of the Double Absolute Sect had completely ended.

After a night of fighting, all the Innate Realm cultivators of the Double Absolute Sect were slaughtered, the Master Realm experts had their heads cut off and hung on the mountain gate, and as for the five hundred disciples inside the sect, most were killed or wounded, with the survivors bound and dragged behind horses.

But they wouldn't feel lucky to be alive—years of evil deeds had gone unpunished only because the court had not settled accounts; now the court has settled accounts, and on top of that, harboring White Dragon Cult rebels and attacking the Embroidered Uniform Guard are two enormous crimes, so the best outcome for them is to have their cultivation abolished and be sent to the frontier as forced labor.

At the foot of the mountain, the Embroidered Uniform Guard packed the sect's loot onto wagons; the two hundred horses of the Embroidered Uniform Guard were all fully loaded, yet there was still more stuff that wouldn't fit.

The scholar frowned and spat: 'Just how much has this damned Double Absolute Sect been eating over the years?'

Shen Qing walked over and patted the scholar's shoulder: 'We've only just begun; the Double Absolute Sect's properties haven't even been sealed yet—once we finish sealing them all, we'll still need to increase this by at least thirty percent.'

Scholar, move a few boxes of silver to divide among the brothers; you'll have to work hard these days—we need to sweep through the entire Yongning Prefecture and finish sealing everything before they get the news and flee.

Shen Qing suddenly thought of something, pointed to the place where the Red Cloud Sect was resting, and said: 'They also contributed; send them a box as well.'

Also, go ask Ding Yi and the others if they'd like to become chief constables at the West City Office—being guards at the Shennong Institute would be a waste of their talent.

The scholar noted everything down: 'Got it, boss, I'll go take care of it right away.'

At that moment, Zhang Shan walked over holding two secret manuals: 'Shen Qing, take a look—I really found them.'

Shen Qing took them and saw that one was the Mountain-Splitting Fist and the other the Water-Breaking Palm.

This is why the Double Absolute Sect is called the Double Absolute of Fist and Palm; a hundred years ago the sect was an obscure little school, but after accidentally obtaining these two techniques it transformed into one of the leaders of the Yongning Prefecture martial world.

Shen Qing looked: 'Perfect, two manuals—we each take one.'

Zhang Shan rubbed his palms and chuckled: 'Hehe, this is what you said, so I won't stand on ceremony.'

Although it's called the Double Absolute, the Mountain-Splitting Fist is actually a notch better than the Water-Breaking Palm.

So I'll take the Water-Breaking Palm.

Shen Qing smiled: 'You sure?'

Zhang Shan took the Water-Breaking Palm and tucked it into his chest.

No need to say more—your talent is far superior to mine and you progress faster; in the future just look after me a bit more.

Shen Qing didn't haggle and just handed the Water-Breaking Palm to Zhang Shan.

To be honest, I happen to be lacking a close-combat technique; the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill has brute strength but no technique, which also won't do.

But having one is enough; fist and palm techniques aren't that different.

Meanwhile, Su Zhen was staring in astonishment at a chest of silver before him.

'This... do we also get some?'

The scholar nodded, his face beaming.

'Sect Leader Su, just accept it—our boss treats his own people well.'

'You've really gotten lucky by defecting over.'

Su Zhen only felt his mouth dry: 'But we haven't contributed much—isn't this inappropriate?'

The scholar waved his hand: 'Just keep it; from now on just obey our boss's orders.'

'We've only just begun; there will be plenty of good days ahead.'

Behind the Red Cloud Sect's encampment, the Third Elder of the Red Cloud Sect gave Su Zhen a somewhat disdainful look.

'Jiudie, look at your father's worthless appearance—how will he ever accomplish great things in the future?'

Su Jiudie hurriedly defended her father: 'What are you talking about? This is my father understanding the bigger picture; we've only just declared our loyalty, we haven't done anything yet—on the contrary, we first accepted the benefactor's favor. If we take it with a clear conscience, what will become of us later?'

The Third Elder thought, and indeed that seemed to be the case: 'Forget it, your third uncle I also don't understand all this scheming; whatever you say to do, I'll just listen.'

Su Jiudie turned and glanced at the Third Elder: 'Third Uncle, what does 'listen to me' mean? It means listen to the benefactor!'

'Oh, right, right, right! Listen to Lord Shen.'

'Hey, by the way, that white tiger is indeed Lord Shen's tamed mount, right?'

Su Jiudie propped her chin, nodding, her ponytail swaying: 'Yeah, looking at it it's indeed pretty scary; another day I'll bring some meat to go see it.'

The Third Elder ground his teeth: 'You still dare to go look? Do you know what level of cultivation it has?'

'Don't know? Is it very high?'

The Third Elder pondered a moment: 'Let me just tell you like this.'

'If that white tiger swipes with one paw, I, your third uncle, would end up owing it three lives.'

Shen Qing glanced around—basically the loading was done—leapt onto the white tiger, and his voice, infused with true qi, reached everyone's ears.

'The operation to exterminate the Double Absolute Sect has perfectly concluded.'

'Let's return to the city!'

Deep in the Egret Marsh.

Commandant Qin Chuan, Captain Lu Tong and the others sat around a campfire roasting meat; they had been pursuing Wei Jing for almost a month.

Lu Tong took a bite of the roasted meat and furrowed his brow.

'How can Wei Jing run so well? It's been a month, and each time we're just a step short.'

Qin Chuan downed the last sip of wine from the flask: 'Don't complain—Wei Jing is your man; if you can't catch him, watch out, the court might take your official hat.'

Lu Tong immediately felt the meat in his mouth lose its flavor, and casually set it aside.

'If only they'd just take my official hat—Wei Jing has been in the Commandant's Office for a full twenty-eight years; heaven knows how much intel he's passed on. If we can't catch him, I'm afraid I'll end up eating prison food.'

Qin Chuan also let out a sigh.

Lu Tong felt bad, and he wouldn't get any better either.

Just then, the lookout lieutenant discovered something and turned to speak.

'Commandant Qin, your golden eagle has arrived.'

An Innate Realm golden eagle tore through the clouds and swooped down swiftly, apparently with something tied to its legs, landing precisely beside Qin Chuan.

Qin Chuan gently stroked the golden eagle's head, fed it a piece of meat, then took the letter from its legs.

He opened it, glanced a few times, first stunned, set the letter down, then rubbed his eyes hard—it seemed the contents were hard to believe.

Lu Tong also noticed: "Qin Sir, is there something up with the Pacification Office?"

Qin Chuan's face looked strange: "Situation? There really is a situation? Take a look yourself."

Lu Tong took the letter with a suspicious expression, merely glancing at it; his reaction was even more exaggerated than Qin Chuan's—he jumped straight up three feet high, almost sprouting wings to fly off.

Damn!

"Wei Jing got caught? How the hell did he end up in the Double Absolute Sect? And what were we doing all these days at White Egret Marsh then?"

Qin Chuan chuckled: "Just means we've got good stamina!"

Lu Tong's voice rose even higher: "No, where the heck did this Shen Qing even come from?"

"We've only been out for a month? To anyone unaware, it'd feel like we've been gone for years."

"Holy cow, in just one month he's taken down the Luo River City Deputy Magistrate and Judicial Assistant, captured the Exploring Cloud Hand, wiped out a nest of Wokou pirates, and even wiped out the Virtue Correct Pavilion, Black Water Gang, and Double Absolute Sect to boot."

"Is he a superhero?"

Qin Chuan patted his butt, unable to wipe the smile off his face: "I don't even know if Shen Qing is a superhero."

"But this time we two owe him a favor, so you'd better think about how to repay it."

Meanwhile, at the Luo River City Pacification Office.

Shen Qing strode out of the Hall of Merit, full of excitement.

Over the past month, the cases he'd solved had netted him nearly two thousand merit points, which he blew all at once, exchanging them for several precious pills.

They were respectively the duck‑flavored Five Spirit Pill, the orange‑flavored Orange Elixir, and the five‑spice‑flavored Nine Treasure Plum...

Shen Qing's lips curled up: "I really want to see what's going on."

This breakthrough, Shen Qing wasn't satisfied with just the Innate Realm.

Grand Master Realm!

Young Master, I'm coming!