The divine manifestations began at the Gongwei Division.

"Brother Zhou, I have a reason why I must become a spy."

Lu Zian bowed to Zhou Heng with his hands clasped and said solemnly.

"Moreover, thanks to you, Brother Zhou, I have received the divine talisman bestowed upon me by the department, and I will soon become a ninth-rank divine official. I will certainly not hold you back."

"A talisman?"

Zhou Heng's face showed curiosity.

"As a demon-slaying captain, you don't even know about divine registers?"

Chen Zhaowu asked, "How did you cultivate to the eighth-rank assassin realm?"

His tone was full of resentment, clearly still dissatisfied with his defeat to Zhou Heng.

"Smoke is rising from the ancestral graves."

Zhou Heng said calmly.

Chen Zhaowu: "..."

Seeing that the two had started to disagree after just a few words, and fearing that they might come to blows, Lü Zian quickly said something.

"The divine register is the foundation of a priest's cultivation. With the divine register, one can open up the divine court and become a priest."

Could you elaborate?

Zhou Heng asked curiously.

He knew that the Guardian Division was divided into warriors, immortal officials, and divine officials, but he did not know the specifics.

The main reason was that the original owner's aptitude was too poor. He focused on practicing swordsmanship but still couldn't make a name for himself. Therefore, the original owner's father didn't tell him too much about celestial officials and divine officials.

The affairs of celestial officials, divine officials, and even martial artists are kept secret from ordinary people.

But Zhou Heng was already a demon-slaying captain, so these things were naturally no secret to him.

Lu Zian didn't hide anything and spoke up.

"Brother Zhou, you are a martial artist. Practicing martial arts is a way to master extraordinary abilities."

Besides this route, are there two other paths?

Those are celestial officials and divine officials.

These are the three paths: Heaven, Earth, and Humanity.

"In heaven, they are immortals; on earth, they are gods; as men, they are warriors."

Lu Zian recounted the story in detail, while Chen Zhaowu, with a touch of showing off, occasionally added his own comments.

Zhou Heng gradually came to understand the differences between the three paths of cultivation.

"There are folk tales about immortal officials refining qi, gods refining spirit, and martial artists refining essence."

Chen Zhaowu said, "That's just a rumor. Cultivation is not that simple."

The three paths of Heaven, Earth, and Man all involve essence, energy, and spirit, only with different emphases.

Lu Zian nodded and said, "I don't have the qualifications of a celestial official or a martial artist, so I can only take the path of a divine official."

The difference between the priesthood path and the other two paths is that it is closely related to the dynasty's fortune. To take this path, one must first have a divine register conferred by the imperial court.

Furthermore, any future promotions will require official appointment from the imperial court at each stage.

"The three ranks of the gods are the ninth-rank Night Wanderer, the eighth-rank Earth God, and the seventh-rank Merit Officer."

Although they lack combat prowess, they are adept at gathering intelligence.

Lu Zian said with a smile.

In terms of combat power, at the lower three ranks, neither celestial officials nor divine officials can compare with martial artists.

"Enough with the nonsense, let me tell you about our mission this time."

Chen Zhaowu tapped the table to attract Zhou Heng and Lü Zi'an's attention and then spoke.

As he spoke, he took out a porcelain bottle from his pocket, placed it on the table, and pushed it towards Zhou Heng.

Zhou Heng picked up the porcelain bottle, opened it, and took a look.

The porcelain bottle contained some bluish-green medicinal powder, which had a faint, pleasant fragrance.

"Brother Zhou, I—"

Lü Zian was eager to try.

Zhou Heng handed the porcelain bottle to Lü Zi'an.

Lu Zian took it, examined it carefully for a while, then poured some of the powder from the porcelain bottle onto his palm and licked a little with his tongue.

"Pah, pah."

Lu Zian spat a few times, then turned his head and said, "Could this be the legendary 'Free and Easy Powder'?"

"That's right."

Chen Zhaowu nodded and said, "A year ago, this Xiaoyao Powder suddenly appeared in the capital."

After consuming it, one can experience a feeling of euphoria.

If a cultivator were to consume it, their cultivation level could even advance by leaps and bounds in a short period of time.

"Harmful to people?"

Zhou Heng pondered for a moment.

Chen Zhaowu nodded.

"If a person consumes too much of this substance, he will go mad and become bloodthirsty."

Chen Zhaowu said, "After analysis, the alchemists in the department determined that this Xiaoyao Powder contains the blood of some kind of demon."

After investigation, it has now been determined that the source of Xiaoyao San (逍遥散) is in Dajin County, southwest of Mount Tai.

"Dajin County is only eighty li away from here."

Lü Zian said.

"Our mission is to find the person who made the Carefree Powder."

Chen Zhaowu said in a deep voice, "Of course, it could also be a demon."

"Just the two of us?"

Zhou Heng pondered for a moment.

The fact that they were able to refine the "Free and Easy Powder" and sell it in the capital, whether by humans or demons, suggests that this was an organized operation.

This is probably more difficult to deal with than the demons in Ningyang County.

An unnatural look flashed across Chen Zhaowu's face.

There are four people.

Chen Zhaowu said, "You, me, Lu Xiucai, and another celestial official."

I went ahead, and she will soon arrive in Dajin County to meet us.

Zhou Heng glanced at him, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Lu Zian scratched his head, knowing better than to say anything.

Chen Zhaowu stiffly turned his head away, avoiding eye contact with the two of them.

Actually, he got this mission through connections.

After being promoted to two-star captain, he was now qualified to form his own squad.

However, he was inexperienced and not very strong. Even though he had some family connections, the veteran demon-slaying captains in the department were unwilling to join his team.

Zhou Heng and Lü Zi'an were both newcomers and were unfamiliar with the internal workings of the Imperial Guard.

So Chen Zhaowu made some arrangements to get the two of them to carry out this mission with him.

While showcasing their achievements, we'll also put these two to the test.

If it's suitable, then that will be Chen Zhaowu's team.

of course.

Chen Zhaowu no longer intends to test Zhou Heng.

He was even a little worried that if those old guys in the department found out Zhou Heng's true strength, they might try to take him away from him.

"I will cover all expenses during this mission."

Chen Zhaowu said, "You can tell me what you need, and I'll figure something out."

He glanced at the long sword that Zhou Heng had placed across his knees and continued.

"The Guardian Division issues ordinary steel swords to the Demon-Slaying Captains, but I selected a fine sword from my home."

Chen Zhaowu felt a pang of heartache.

However, considering the strength Zhou Heng had demonstrated, he felt it was worth it.

If Zhou Heng can be kept in the team, he should be able to be promoted to three-star captain very soon.

"Zhou Heng, this knife is for you."

Chen Zhaowu handed over the knife in his hand.

"No need, I have a knife."

Zhou Heng shook his head.

"What kind of good knife could yours be?"

Chen Zhaowu said, "This knife of mine was made by a master craftsman!"

Although we had some unpleasantness before, it was all a misunderstanding.

From now on, we're brothers fighting side by side, so don't stand on ceremony with me.

"It's not that I'm being polite, it's just that I really don't need it."

Zhou Heng shook his head again.

The Dragon Sparrow Blade is excellent; he has no intention of changing his blade for the time being.

"All right."

Chen Zhaowu was slightly disappointed when his first attempt to win him over failed, but he wasn't in a hurry.

When Zhou Heng encountered a formidable enemy later, he realized just how important a good sword was.

"There's no time to lose, scholar, you should break through tonight."

We will protect you.

Zhou Heng said, "If all goes well, we can set off for Dajin County early tomorrow morning."

Chen Zhaowu: "..."

I'm the captain, okay?

However, Zhou Heng's words were also what he wanted to say, but now that Zhou Heng had spoken first, he could only nod reluctantly.

Next time, I'll definitely speak first!

Chen Zhaowu thought to himself.