Becoming a martial arts god starting from the mortician.

Inside the carriage, Shen Qi's hand, which was holding up the curtain, froze, and her eyes were fixed on the top of the student named Yan Qing outside the window.

He wasn't unfamiliar with life threads. Since awakening his divine eyes, he had clearly seen the grayish-white mortal threads of hundreds and thousands of people in Qingping Town, the thick and bright crimson life threads of Zhou Wenyuan and Wang Laosan, and even the pure black life threads of that evil cultivator after they were corrupted.

But regardless of grade or color, the essence of these life-giving threads is still "silk thread." They may be thick or thin, scattered or clustered.

But the life-giving threads on Yan Qing's head were different.

The crimson and blue threads were so numerous that they rose up in dense clusters, intertwining and weaving in mid-air, vaguely forming a specific outline!

It resembled a half-unrolled bamboo scroll, or a phantom official seal, constantly shifting in the interplay of red and blue light.

Life threads with shape.

This completely overturned Shen Qi's understanding of the Fate Threads. Fate Threads were supposed to be the carriers of destiny, so how could they be formed into the shape of an object? What did this represent?

I need to figure this out. Shen Qi felt a wave of doubt.

Zhou Wenyuan noticed his unusual behavior. He simply moved closer to the window and, through the gap in the curtain that Shen Qi had lifted, his gaze fell on the group of students on the street.

"Yan Qing." Zhou Wenyuan smiled and called out the name of the leading student.

Shen Qi withdrew her gaze and turned to look at him: "Does Your Excellency recognize him?"

"In this Chengping County, there are few who don't know him." Zhou Wenyuan leaned back against the wall, his tone tinged with admiration. "This Yan Qing has been learned and knowledgeable since childhood. He passed the county examination at the age of thirteen and became the top scholar. He just turned sixteen this year and has already become the top scholar in the provincial examination of Pingzhou Province. With his talent, his name will surely be on the list of successful candidates in next year's spring examination."

Shen Qi feigned surprise, frowning slightly: "Does Your Excellency also hold scholars in such high regard?"

Zhou Wenyuan chuckled upon hearing this and waved his hand.

"The Great Yan Dynasty has been passed down for thousands of years. If we were just relying on a group of martial arts practitioners who only wield fists and draw swords, how could we have survived to this day?"

Shen Qi then feigned a bewildered expression.

"Civil and military achievements are both indispensable." Zhou Wenyuan explained patiently, "The founding emperor established laws that granted scholars the privilege of obtaining official titles and high positions, thus bestowing upon them a kind of human fortune. If someone like Yan Qing, a future pillar of the court, were to be harmed without cause, not only would ordinary martial artists suffer a backlash of fortune, but even someone like me at the Golden Body Realm would be left with no place to stand in the entire Dayan Dynasty."

Shen Qi's eyelids twitched.

The red and blue bamboo slip phantoms are most likely related to this destiny. Yan Qing is just a scholar, and before he has even entered officialdom, the threads of his fate have already taken shape—doesn't that mean he is destined to be an official?

"What if a civil official is corrupt and breaks the law?" Shen Qi asked.

"Those who inherit the nation's destiny have their lives tied to the dynasty," Zhou Wenyuan continued to explain. "Those who embezzle or disregard the law will either fall seriously ill or die suddenly. The officials of the Astronomical Bureau will naturally find out."

He paused, his tone resolute.

"There have never been any treacherous or sycophantic officials in the upper echelons of our dynasty."

Shen Qi leaned back against the wall of the room and didn't say anything more.

Those born with martial talents were gathered and brought under the jurisdiction of the imperial court. Those with quick wit and literary talent entered the court as officials, protected by their destiny. As for ordinary people, they lived their lives in a plain and uneventful manner.

……

"Whoa—"

The carriage came to a sudden stop, and the driver shouted from outside.

"My lord, the Observatory has arrived."

Zhou Wenyuan straightened his clothes, opened the car door, and got out. Shen Qi quickly grabbed his gray cloth bundle and followed closely behind.

As soon as Shen Qi's feet touched the smooth bluestone slab, he looked up and saw a huge plaque with gold characters on a black background.

"Chengping County Astronomical Bureau".

The handwriting was strong and vigorous, exuding an indescribable chilling aura. Shen Qi only glanced at it a couple more times before feeling a stinging pain between his brows and quickly looked away.

On either side of the gate stood eight heavily armored soldiers, their bodies clad in dark armor, revealing only pairs of indifferent eyes.

Shen Qi glanced quickly at the tops of their heads.

Eight men, all clad in pure red life-force threads. Though not as robust as Wang Laosan's, there was no doubt that these eight gatekeepers were all martial artists.

Shen Qi obediently hunched his shoulders and followed Zhou Wenyuan up the steps.

I just stepped onto the stairs.

"My lord, wait a moment."

A voice came from inside the door.

A middle-aged official in a dark blue robe stepped out of the gate and stood firmly in front of the two. A small bronze seal hung at his waist, his face was cold and stern, and his scrutinizing gaze swept over Shen Qi.

Zhou Wenyuan stopped and bowed slightly.

"Registrar Lin. Zhou has returned from official duties."

"Lord Zhou, you must have had a long journey."

The official, referred to as Registrar Lin, returned the greeting but did not move an inch.

"It is only right that you return to the company to report on your duties. But who is this person? Judging from his attire, he is not one of our employees. According to regulations, outsiders are not allowed to enter without permission, and we must strictly investigate and verify him in accordance with the law."

Shen Qi stood at the bottom of the steps, obediently hunching his back.

"Please forgive me, Registrar Lin. This was not an intentional breach of the rules by me; there was a reason for it." Zhou Wenyuan's tone became more somber. "Wang Shou, the third-class vein-finding envoy stationed in Qingping Town, has died in the line of duty."

Lin, the registrar, had a change in expression.

"It was the work of evil cultivators. Although the Pulse Tracker was recovered, two people were still killed." Zhou Wenyuan took out the thin booklet stained with dark, dried blood from his pocket and handed it over.

Lin, the registrar, took the booklet, flipped through a couple of pages at random, and his face turned completely cold.

Killing an official of the imperial court was absolutely intolerable in the eyes of the Imperial Observatory.

If the evil cultivators had not been eliminated, they would never have given up.

Zhou Wenyuan turned around and pointed at Shen Qi.

"This boy's name is Shen Qi. He was discovered by Wang Shousheng before he died, and he possessed martial arts skills, but he hadn't been registered in the register yet. When I arrived, the evil cultivators were about to kill him. After I killed them, I brought this kid back."

Lin, the registrar, looked Shen Qi over again.

"It's him?" A hint of surprise flashed in Clerk Lin's eyes. "Judging from his frame and blood, he certainly possesses martial meridians. But why does he have such a heavy aura of yin energy around him?"

"My lord, you may not know this, but Shen Qi has been involved in the mortal world since childhood, and his Yin energy has been stagnant in his meridians. A few days ago, he was tormented by the evil cultivator's malevolent energy, which caused a clash between Yin and Yang, which in turn opened up the stagnant energy and made his martial meridians manifest."

Shen Qi noticed that Zhou Wenyuan had deliberately omitted many details.

"Registrar Lin, this young man possesses exceptionally strong blood and energy; he is a rare and promising talent. Please do me the favor of allowing me to take him to have his martial vein grade tested."

Lin, the registrar, pondered for a moment.

"In that case, verify his identity according to the rules." Registrar Lin stepped aside and beckoned a clerk inside the door. "Take him to the Martial Arts Examination Hall to test his martial arts pulse. Lord Zhou, leave the register here. You must first report the details of Wang Shouyi's case to the Pulse-Seeking Envoy."

"That's only right." Zhou Wenyuan turned to Shen Qi, giving him a reassuring look. "Go with him. Don't be nervous, it's just a check of your qualifications to decide where you'll go in the future."

Shen Qi obediently nodded in agreement.

He followed the clerk and crossed the high threshold of the Observatory.

The courtyard was paved with blue bricks, and the officials who came and went all walked in a hurry, without a smile on their faces.

After passing through two corridors, a grand hall entirely built of black stone came into view. Above the hall's entrance hung two characters: "Martial Arts Test".

"Go in." The clerk pushed open the heavy black wooden door.

The room was dark and windowless. In the center stood a black iron table about half a person's height, on which was inlaid a flawless, round white jade stone the size of a millstone.

A faint milky white shimmering light moves within the jade.

"Put your hand on it."