Becoming a martial arts god starting from the mortician.

Shen Qi withdrew his gaze; the important matter at hand was more pressing.

He walked and pondered. Above Yan Qing's head were the half-open bamboo slips and the illusory official seal.

Most likely, it is the vaguely described "primary and secondary destiny" in "Yuanming Sui".

Unfortunately, the tattered scroll in his hand was missing words and pages, and he couldn't find any record that could corroborate it.

He continued walking along the long street toward the inner city.

The checks at the inner city checkpoints today were far more stringent than in the past few days. Two rows of armored soldiers, each carrying a long spear, were checking the identification tokens of everyone entering the city. Even the carts carrying manure out of the inner city were poked twice with iron spikes. Shen Qi showed his Observatory token and had his identity carefully verified before being allowed to pass.

He navigated the alleys with practiced ease and arrived at the gate of the Zhou residence. The servants recognized this favorite of their master and eagerly led him into the backyard.

Zhou Wenyuan was sitting at the stone table in the center of the courtyard. On the stone table was a pot of hot tea, still emitting wisps of white steam.

His brows were slightly furrowed, and his fingers were stroking the rim of the teacup, as if something had caught his attention.

Hearing footsteps, Zhou Wenyuan looked up and scanned Shen Qi from head to toe.

"Have you neglected to practice 'Spring Wood Skill' and 'Tiger Subduing Fist' while you were in the outer city these past few days?"

"Your Excellency, I dare not slacken my efforts for even a moment." Shen Qi immediately bowed his head and clasped his hands in greeting.

"Speaking nicely is useless." Zhou Wenyuan stood up and slammed his teacup on the table. "Practice a set and let me see. If your progress is too slow and your qi and blood become weak, you'll stay obediently in the inner city and not go anywhere else."

"Watch closely, sir." Shen Qi didn't waste any words, took two steps back, lowered his legs, and assumed a fighting stance.

The punch moves in a straight line, with unparalleled power and ferocity.

As the nine moves of the "Tiger Subduing Fist" unfolded in succession, Shen Qi's bones cracked and popped. His thin cotton clothes were stretched taut by his muscles, and a wisp of white smoke rose from the top of his head.

Whoosh! After finishing the last move, Shen Qi stomped his feet on the ground, using the force to finish his stance. The plum tree in the courtyard was swept by the force of his punch, its trunk swayed, and a few withered leaves gently fell.

Zhou Wenyuan's previously stern face immediately relaxed.

He nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad! Solid foundation, strong blood and qi. At your current rate of progress, as long as you keep up with the blood-replenishing herbs, you might be able to touch the threshold of the Gang Sha Realm by this time next year."

Next year's Gang Sha? Shen Qi lowered his eyelids, concealing the strange look in his eyes. As long as the dead bodies in the morgue kept coming, as long as he could continue to examine corpses, why wait a whole year? But he still honestly agreed, "It's all thanks to your guidance and training these past few days, sir."

"Alright, stop flattering me." Zhou Wenyuan said with a laugh, then turned and shouted into the inner hall.

An old servant strode out, carrying a cloth bag, and respectfully placed it on the stone table.

"These are blood-refining herbs to aid your internal energy cultivation." Zhou Wenyuan's tone turned stern again. "Take them back to the outer city. Brew one batch every three days. The path of martial arts is like rowing against the current; if you don't advance, you fall behind. Don't think that just because your talent far surpasses that of ordinary people, you can become complacent. Do you understand?"

"I will keep it in mind." Shen Qi stepped forward and took the medicine packet in his hand.

After putting away the medicine bag, Shen Qi did not take his leave immediately, but instead took the initiative to start a conversation: "Sir, this morning I walked all the way from the outer city and found that the streets were much quieter. There were armored soldiers patrolling every few steps, and those gangsters and idlers usually didn't dare to show their faces."

He asked in bewilderment, "So many people died in the outer city before, and the government never cared. Why are they suddenly cleaning up the mess this time?"

This is indeed strange. The chaos in the outer city has been going on for a while now, and the government has ignored it all along, but they chose this critical juncture to launch a major crackdown. There must be more to it than meets the eye.

Zhou Wenyuan picked up the tea that had gone a little cold from the table, took a sip, and said with a smile.

"These people are just engaging in minor disturbances in the outer city. As long as it doesn't affect people's livelihoods, it's fine. After all, if we really captured them and sent them to the northern army camp, we would have to subsidize their food and medicine, which would be too wasteful. If we moved them to the south to garrison, it would be time-consuming and laborious, and the higher-ups didn't know what to do. So we simply let them stay in the outer city."

"But this time is different."

Zhou Wenyuan's brows furrowed with deep worry. "The north side is almost destroyed."

He stood up, put his hands behind his back, and looked up at the northern sky. His voice was deep: "I don't know what kind of extraordinary artifact has appeared over there. These people are constantly fighting, and no one has emerged victorious yet. This has caused continuous natural disasters and chaos. There are also unorthodox sects using corpses to practice magic, causing a plague to spread outside the border. Even low-level martial artists can't withstand it. In just half a month, it has already affected several important towns in the north. Now, the refugees in the north are fleeing south like madmen, taking the chaos all the way south with them."

"With the situation deteriorating to this point, and given that the remnants of the Hidden Nether Sect may also be lurking in the north, His Majesty has decided to dispatch the Imperial Guards to Pingzhou. They will then march directly beyond the border and use ruthless methods to sweep away all the chaos in the north."

"Our Chengping County Astronomical Bureau has received an urgent document from the Ministry of War. As a strategically important location in Pingzhou, Chengping County is a necessary stop for Your Excellency on your way to the border pass."

Zhou Wenyuan snorted coldly, his eyes revealing a murderous aura: "At this critical juncture, there is absolutely no room for complacency. Therefore, the Prefectural Governor's Office and the Patrol Battalion have issued a direct order to use swift and decisive measures to clear the outer city. Anyone who dares to show their face at this time will be killed on the spot!"

The two remained silent for a moment. Zhou Wenyuan seemed to feel that the atmosphere was a bit too heavy. He waved his hand, sat back down on the stone bench, and poured some tea into his empty cup.

"Alright, these matters of state are none of your concern, you're just a kid who's only just entered the Body Tempering Realm. If the sky falls, someone taller will hold it up." Zhou Wenyuan said, holding his teacup. He then changed the subject, "By the way, I went to the department to report for duty the other day and casually mentioned your matter to the department head."

Shen Qi was taken aback. Mention me? Mention me for what?

"I told the adults, you're neglecting your proper internal cultivation techniques and instead trying to learn from others by getting your hands on a copy of 'Yuanming Sui' and tinkering with it." Zhou Wenyuan shook his head, seemingly still somewhat resentful of Shen Qi's unproductive behavior.

Before Shen Qi could speak in defense, Zhou Wenyuan continued, "However, the Master didn't blame you. He even said that if you have any questions you can't understand, you can always go to him for answers."

Should I seek his help anytime for answers?

"Thank you so much for helping me out, sir!" Shen Qi immediately bowed.

"Don't be too happy yet. The Master is extremely busy. It's your good fortune that he's willing to give you guidance. You should be careful not to bother him with trivial matters." Zhou Wenyuan said irritably, then waved his hand. "Alright, go back and practice your skills properly. Come back to check on me in ten days."

"I understand. Take care, sir."

Shen Qi carefully put away the medicinal herbs, turned around, and strode out of the Zhou residence.

Back to the outer city?

He rubbed his chin and turned his toes around without hesitation.

Go to the Observatory and find Jiang Xinyue.