Becoming a martial arts god starting from the mortician.

Shen Qi placed his right hand flat on the white jade stone.

It was cool to the touch, and a slight suction force emanated from the palm of my hand.

The milky-white light inside the jade quickly converged below Shen Qi's palm. In the blink of an eye, the light below Shen Qi's palm changed color.

The pure red light emanated from the center and spread rapidly outwards along the texture of the jade.

The clerk beside him had his hands tucked into his sleeves and watched expressionlessly.

%.

Two percent.

The rate at which the red light spread began to slow down visibly.

When it reached the 30% mark, the red light could no longer move even an inch further.

The red blush at the edges flickered faintly, then faded.

The remaining 70% retains its original color, with a clear distinction between red and white.

"That's enough, you can let go now." The clerk withdrew his gaze. "While there is vitality, the foundation is not deep. The red light covering the jade is 30%, the martial vein rating is C-level."

Shen Qi took a half step back at the opportune moment, his shoulders slumped, perfectly portraying a country boy who was full of hope but fell into despair.

In truth, a huge weight had been lifted from his heart. If the tests had truly revealed his exceptional talent, it wouldn't have been a good thing. Being registered with the Observatory and obtaining this status was the best outcome for him.

"Take this." The clerk handed over a waist tag that was neither gold nor wood, with the character "丙" engraved on it. "Go outside and wait. Lord Zhou will arrange your whereabouts."

Shen Qi accepted the waist token with both hands, bowed respectfully, and turned to leave the dark room.

A breeze had picked up outside the hall. Shen Qi stood at the bottom of the stone steps, pulling his blue cloth robe tighter around himself. The martial arts testing hall was secluded, and the few officials who occasionally passed by ignored him completely.

After waiting for half an hour, a series of slightly heavy footsteps finally came from the side corridor.

Zhou Wenyuan strode over, a hint of fatigue in his eyes, as if he had just been arguing with someone.

"My lord." Shen Qi hurriedly stepped forward to greet him.

Zhou Wenyuan stopped and his gaze fell on the "Bing" character waist tag in Shen Qi's hand. He sighed deeply and beckoned, "Come with me, let's talk in the backyard."

The two walked one after the other along the covered corridor towards the backyard of the Observatory. Only when they turned into a quiet, secluded courtyard, where no one was around, did Zhou Wenyuan stop and turn around to look at Shen Qi.

"I already know the results." Zhou Wenyuan's tone revealed a hint of regret. "It seems that even my eyes can be wrong sometimes."

Shen Qi immediately lowered his head: "It is my fault for being so disappointing and failing to live up to your expectations."

"No wonder." Zhou Wenyuan waved his hand. "Registrar Lin is right. You've been staying in the cold morgue for years, and the yin energy has accumulated in your meridians. When you were hit by the evil energy, the yin energy dissipated as good and evil clashed, causing a rebound in the blood and qi in your body. That's what gave me the illusion. I was just too impatient."

Hearing that Zhou Wenyuan had even come up with a reason for him, Shen Qi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, saving him from having to rack his brains to make up lies.

"Actually, being a C-rank isn't necessarily a bad thing." Seeing Shen Qi's lowered head and meek expression, Zhou Wenyuan comforted him instead. "The path of martial arts is incredibly cruel. If you have A-rank talent, you'll naturally be a treasure of the imperial court; but if you have B-rank talent, you'll often be sent to the army, rolling around in piles of corpses, with a nine-out-of-ten chance of dying. With your C-rank talent, although you won't get any great resources, at least you won't have to fight in the army. You can live a peaceful life in this Chengping County without any problems."

Shen Qi bowed deeply: "I will remember your kindness, sir."

These words came from the bottom of his heart. What he needed now was safety; only by living could he touch the corpses, and if he died, he would truly have nothing left.

Zhou Wenyuan paced back and forth in the courtyard, his gaze suddenly drifting away. "That brat Wang Shou, all alone. I was originally planning that if you could determine a Grade A martial vein, I would register you under his name. I could use your merit in discovering a Grade A martial vein to ask for a favor from the higher-ups and get him a posthumous title. What a pity..."

"Please accept my condolences, sir," Shen Qi said softly.

"So be it, it's fate." Zhou Wenyuan quickly composed himself and changed the subject. "Since we can't rely on resources, I'll have to find you a job. Although your talent isn't exceptional, after some martial arts training, you'll be more than capable of finding work as a bodyguard or镖师 (bodyguard/escort) in the outer city. If you want to work in the yamen (government office), I can arrange that for you. What do you think?"

Shen Qi gripped the straps of his bundle tightly, hunching his back even lower.

"My lord... I'm timid and lack experience. I'm afraid I can't handle the kind of dangerous escort work that involves fighting with knives and guns. The only skill my father taught me is mortuary work. I still want to make a living as a mortuary worker."

Zhou Wenyuan frowned: "Do you know that mortuary work is a lowly profession?"

"I understand," Shen Qi said, lowering his posture even further. "But this is all I know how to do, and I don't want to cause you any more trouble."

Zhou Wenyuan stared at him for a long time. Seeing the stubbornness in Shen Qi's eyes, he finally sighed helplessly.

"Very well, everyone has their own fate." Zhou Wenyuan compromised. "Since you insist on this, then I will arrange for you to go to the government-run mortuary in the south of the outer city. They happen to be short-staffed there."

Shen Qi feigned ignorance: "Sir, in our large prefecture, does the government really need to set up a special mortuary?"

Zhou Wenyuan patiently explained, "You don't understand. Although the Great Yan Dynasty controls all the martial arts sects in the world, it mainly controls the first and second tiers. Those of the third tier can at most barely reach the Treasure Body Realm; as for the fourth tier, they may never be able to break through to the Gang Sha Realm even if they spend their entire lives."

"The imperial court naturally looked down on these people. Apart from restricting them from leaving the city at will, practicing evil martial arts, and oppressing the common people, they didn't care about anything else. As a result, these people formed gangs, opened martial arts schools, and established guilds within the city. Various rudimentary body-strengthening techniques circulated within the city, and fighting for territory and resources was commonplace."

He paused, his tone turning cold: "Of the hundreds of thousands of people in the outer city, quite a few martial artists die violently in the streets every day. Corpse handling is a lowly job that brings bad luck, and there's always a shortage of people. That's why the prefect set up an official mortuary."

Hearing these words, Shen Qi lowered his head even further.

There's constant fighting and killing! Deaths and injuries are frequent!

He desperately suppressed the smile on his lips and continued listening to Zhou Wenyuan speak.

"But don't worry, the government's treatment isn't bad," Zhou Wenyuan continued. "You get two days off every ten days, and you only have to clock in for four hours each day. There's a dedicated living quarters in the backyard of the mortuary, much better than that old house in your town."

"Thank you so much for your kindness, sir!" Shen Qi's thanks came from the bottom of his heart and were truly heartfelt.

"Don't thank me yet." Zhou Wenyuan looked at his spineless appearance with a hint of exasperation. "Going to the mortuary is fine, but your martial arts can't be neglected. Come with me first to collect the 'Tiger Subduing Fist' manual and your rations. If one day you can cultivate there to the Gang Sha Realm..."

"I will have someone transfer you back to the Observatory to serve as a Suppressor of Evil."