Chapter 618: What School (10/10, for 'Ruichi Tianxia')

Because of the strange attack, the young mistress had already sent people to report to the Qing Si and Lan Shan.

Qing Si handles strange incidents.

Lan Shan handles murder cases.

Unlike Qingsi County or villages like Gu Yue Cun below, a single Guard Team or Qing Si handles everything.

In big cities, with sufficient personnel, each government department strictly performs its own duties and never crosses that line.

Qing Si, from its very founding, was established specifically to deal with the strange.

Among Qing Guo's four major government departments, Qing Si is one with the most extreme lower and upper limits; its personnel composition is wildly diverse, ranging from ordinary villagers to royal nobility, all of whom might serve in Qing Si.

Lan Shan, by contrast, is relatively stable, similar to the constables Fang Yue knows from ancient times.

If a strange incident injuring people occurs in a city, Qing Si must be deployed.

If a murder case occurs in a city, then Lan Shan must be deployed.

Due to their differing responsibilities, their internal training and selection of Martial Techniques and Heart Methods differ greatly.

In low-tier counties like Qingsi County on the Heiqing Shanmai, Qing Si is better off—far from the emperor's gaze, no one to mind one's business, whatever one wants to learn, one learns; sometimes there isn't even any Martial Arts to learn, causing stagnation in cultivation.

But in a city like Chunuan City, Qing Si no longer allows random learning of Martial Arts; instead, it has a customized set of Martial Arts specifically designed against the strange, with wide, sweeping movements aimed at maximizing output and inflicting damage on the strange.

Besides the customized Martial Arts, if one earns Merit Points, one can exchange them for other Martial Arts; however, compared to Qing Si's exclusive Martial Arts, most of those exchanged with Merit Points lack clear advancement paths—they're like digging one pit at a time: raise one realm, then relearn a new Martial Art, rather than upgrading the old one continuously.

Between the two, not even considering the difficulty of learning, just the time cost is utterly hopeless.

This is the advantage of a complete set of Martial Arts.

Qing Si's internal customized Martial Arts set can be cultivated from zero all the way up.

Rumor has it this set can even reach Rain Level!

Of course, as Lord Han said, once one climbs to a certain level within Qing Si and reaches a certain point in the customized Martial Arts, one's cultivation will be blocked; to obtain higher-level advanced Martial Arts, one must face various power struggles.

In short, it's about picking sides!

Pick the right side, keep pushing, earn Merit Points, achieve major accomplishments, and perhaps you'll earn the royal family's bestowed Rain-Level advanced Martial Arts for Qing Si.

But the odds… those who understand, understand.

All one can say is: why not me, the one who wins the lottery?

Only by learning Qing Si's internal customized Martial Arts does one truly enter Qing Si's upward system and become a true insider.

Someone like Fang Yue, a self-taught outsider, isn't even considered a Qing Si member—he'll be sidelined by superiors and excluded from the inner circle unless he relearns his Heart Method to match everyone else and blend into that circle.

This is a common problem for Qing Guards promoted from rural areas.

Those with backbone would rather be demoted and return than submit to this clique-based, exclusionary culture.

Those without backbone just accept their bad luck, waste time and energy relearning Martial Arts to squeeze into that circle and climb higher.

At this level, Qing Si is not only a government force protecting the people, but also a circle of bureaucratic power struggles.

If Fang Yue had no inheritance from Lord Han and no other way to obtain a complete Human-Level Heart Method, he'd have no choice but to relearn Martial Arts and join one of Qing Si's ranks.

In a sense, this is already one of the most accessible and attainable upward paths for most people at the bottom.

Over the years, due to its specialization against the strange, its Martial Arts inflict slightly less damage on other cultivators—a minor flaw.

As for the government force known as Lan Shan, it is very similar to Qing Si—both handle cases, but Lan Shan investigates crimes committed by humans.

For example, wanted fugitives like Night Thieves fall under Lan Shan's jurisdiction.

Also, the daily murder cases or trivial matters.

Anything involving humans is Lan Shan's business.

Thus, Lan Shan's lower limit is also very low—even if someone's cat or dog is stolen and eaten, that's still Lan Shan's case.

Yet while the tasks are lowly, its personnel composition is far nobler than Qing Si's.

Aside from its core and leadership members, who handle real work, most others are children of wealthy gentry and nobles, here to gain prestige.

Sweeping floors or searching for lost cats and dogs are the favorite tasks of these low-tier prestige-seekers—leisurely and easy to earn Merit Points.

So whether in prestige or practical ability, Lan Shan is actually inferior to Qing Si; yet due to their status and background, Qing Si rarely dares to provoke Lan Shan's people.

Just as Qing Si specializes in customized Martial Arts against the strange.

As one of Qing Guo's four official organizations, Lan Shan also possesses a complete set of Heart Methods, rumored capable of reaching Rain Level, obtainable only through royal bestowal.

Lan Shan's set of techniques specializes in targeting humans.

Since its purpose is to capture and even kill criminals, its Martial Arts are unmistakably lethal.

Lan Shan members certainly cannot match the strange—their Martial Arts inflict minimal damage on them: a small wound, or perhaps some poison—barely effective against the strange.

But turn around to face other cultivators, and their effectiveness becomes immediately obvious!

Every strike is deadly, every step presses forward, attacks dense as a sudden storm, leaving no defense possible.

This is the consequence of departmental specialization.

Martial Arts enhance one-sided ability but sacrifice something else.

If Fang Yue has no Human-Level advancement path, he'll have to decide which of these two departments to join.

After all, Qing Si does allow transfers between departments, but requires Merit Points and historical achievements as support.

Fang Yue, aside from other things, the Merit Points from saving Qingsi County might even remain after exchanging for the Haijiao Pills; as for historical achievements, that's effortless.

But Fang Yue already has Lord Han's inheritance, so he doesn't need to ponder whether to apply to Tsinghua or Peking University—he'll just teleport straight to Florida.

If not for his low cultivation level, he'd probably already be practicing Lord Han's inherited Heart Method.

As for the other two core Martial Arts in Lord Han's inheritance, Fang Yue has also given them thought.

Thank you to the second Silver Grand Patron of Ruichi Tianxia!!

First, finish these 120 chapters, then immediately continue with the second Silver Patron's 100 chapters. Aim to complete them this month.

PS: Slept today, rested up—tomorrow I'll write during the day and resume 10-chapter bursts.

(End of Chapter)