High-level martial arts: Long spear with black flames to suppress demons.

The fully enclosed training ground underground at the Zhenye Division branch in Qingzhou District.

Two days ago, Li Xiwan officially completed the discharge procedures and underwent a comprehensive talent test by the Town Night Division.

The result was exactly as Lao Zhao and Shen Chang'an had predicted. Li Xiwan's physical fitness was only at the passing grade for an ordinary person, but she displayed astonishing talent in the spiritual perception of the "magic lineage".

For safety reasons, Lao Zhao simply arranged for her to stay in the branch's staff dormitory. He has been letting her stay here for the past few days and has personally taken on the role of her mentor, preparing her to follow the "magic style" route that specializes in remote control.

At this moment, in the empty training field.

Old Zhao, wearing a fitted combat vest and with his hands behind his back, solemnly explained the basic knowledge of the cultivation world to Li Xiwan, who was dressed in a black training uniform.

"Now that you've decided to enter this circle, you must understand our cultivator's power system. The path of cultivation is strictly divided into realms. Today, I'll first explain the five realms to you."

Old Zhao's voice echoed in the empty training field.

"The first realm is called the [Spirit Summoning Realm]."

Old Zhao held up one finger: "Knock on the hidden door, light the lamp and see the spirit. The core sign of this realm is to sense the spiritual energy between heaven and earth, let the spiritual energy enter your body like mist, ignite the soul lamp within you, and thus open 'spiritual vision'. Reaching this realm, your physical body will break through the limits of humanity, and your eyes will be able to see through the filth hidden in the dark night, which means you have one foot in the threshold of the extraordinary."

Li Xiwan listened attentively, taking notes rapidly in a small notebook.

"The second realm, the [Spirit Spring Realm]."

"The judgment reads: The mist transforms into a cold pool, nourishing the mortal body. The gaseous spiritual energy liquefies within your body, forming a spiritual spring in your dantian. At this stage, your spiritual power can be enchanted onto weapons, making them as sharp as mud, and you can formally learn various advanced combat techniques of our Night Guard."

Old Zhao paused, then suddenly unleashed a powerful spiritual pressure, with pale blue spiritual light flowing across his body.

"The third realm, which is the realm you, Uncle Zhao, am currently at, is called the [Spirit Stream Realm]."

"The spiritual stream flows through the meridians, endlessly regenerating. The spring water within the body overflows into streams, connecting the twelve main meridians of the body. The greatest combat power at this level is the true 'outward projection' of spiritual energy. Blade and sword energy can leave the body to injure others, and its endurance is terrifying, capable of sustaining prolonged battles."

Looking at the almost tangible spiritual energy emanating from Old Zhao, Li Xiwan's eyes were filled with longing: "Uncle Zhao, what about the fourth realm?"

Old Zhao withdrew his spiritual pressure, his gaze turning serious as he recalled the fierce battle a few days prior: "The fourth realm, the [Spirit River Realm]. Those four evil cultivators who surrounded and killed you that night were at this realm."

"Their energy soars to the heavens, and their spiritual rivers roar! Their meridians expand like great rivers, and even their every move is accompanied by the roar of rivers. Upon reaching the fourth realm, they will form a terrifying 'spiritual pressure' that can directly intimidate lower-level cultivators; it can also counteract gravity, allowing them to glide briefly; most terrifyingly, they possess the explosive power to destroy buildings."

"As for the peak of the lower five realms..."

A hint of awe unconsciously crept into Old Zhao's eyes. "The fifth realm, the [Spirit Sea Realm]."

"Waves arise in the sea of ​​qi, borrowing the power of heaven and earth. The dantian transforms into a vast spiritual sea, from which spiritual energy will give birth to 'attribute manifestations.' For example, the black flames you saw that night were the most advanced type of attribute manifestation."

Old Zhao pointed towards the training ground gate and grinned, "Look, that's a living monster at the Spirit Sea Realm. An eighteen-year-old at the Fifth Realm. Follow him around from now on, and I guarantee you'll be able to walk all over Qingzhou District like a tyrant."

Li Xiwan turned her head following Lao Zhao's finger.

The heavy metal gates of the training ground slid open to both sides with a "beep".

Shen Chang'an, still wearing that black trench coat, carrying a guitar case in one hand, walked in unhurriedly from outside the door, accompanied by Bai Yin, who had just changed into her combat uniform.

Looking at that familiar figure, Li Xiwan closed her notebook, a bright smile unconsciously spreading across her lips.

"Shen, you're here."

Shen Chang'an led Bai Yin closer, nodded to Li Xiwan as a greeting, and then pointed to the girl beside him: "Let me introduce you, this is Bai Yin, our team's scout and support."

Li Xiwan looked at Bai Yin, who had changed into a sharp black combat uniform, and a clear look of surprise flashed in her eyes. She had seen Bai Yin many times at school and couldn't help but say, "Bai Yin... I didn't expect you to be a member of the Zhenye Division. You're a top student who always ranks at the top of our school's exams."

"Hehe, a good student in school, but just a wage earner in the bureau!"

Bai Yin approached without any hesitation, her big eyes crinkling into crescent moons with a cheerful smile. She waved lively, "Welcome to our Qingzhou District team! You can call me Yinyin or Xiaobai from now on!"

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Shen Chang'an and Bai Yin sat down on a bench at the edge of the training field. Bai Yin grabbed a can of carbonated drink from the nearby freezer, pulled the tab with a "click," and started drinking.

Old Zhao cleared his throat and continued his lesson: "Alright, let's get back to it. Currently, the Night Guard uses a mature and universal breathing technique. This technique is balanced and gentle; how far one can go and how fast one can cultivate it depends entirely on individual talent."

Old Zhao gestured with his hands as if guiding the flow of energy: "In the lower five realms, the most common and basic cultivation method is meditation, which involves breathing exercises to draw the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into the body."

Upon hearing the word "meditation," Li Xiwan diligently took notes, but then, as if remembering something, she turned to look at Shen Chang'an sitting on the bench with some confusion: "Uncle Zhao, meditation takes a lot of time, doesn't it? But... I see Shen either sleeping or handling various dangerous missions for the bureau at school; he doesn't seem to have any time for meditation at all?"

Hearing someone call on him, Shen Chang'an looked up and explained, "The fifth realm is a crucial watershed. Once you reach this realm, the focus of cultivation is no longer simply accumulating spiritual energy, but rather 'expanding the spiritual sea'."

He pointed to his dantian: "Because of my constitution and cultivation method, which are rather... special. My spiritual sea expands on its own during daily activities and even while I sleep, so I don't usually need to sit in meditation like a regular cultivator."

Li Xiwan nodded as if she understood, though she didn't quite grasp the specific principles. The word "special" was enough to summarize Shen Chang'an's abnormality.

Old Zhao tapped the blackboard to bring Li Xiwan's attention back: "Alright, don't use him as a reference. You can't learn his methods. For you, the primary goal now is to guide Qi into your body and enter the first realm. Once you become a first-realm cultivator, you can officially register as a trainee lamplighter, and the bureau will teach you a few basic spells for free."

"If you want to learn more profound and advanced spells in the future, you'll have to earn contribution points by completing missions to exchange for them."

Speaking of magic, Old Zhao turned to Shen Chang'an and beckoned, "Chang'an, come here. Although Xiwan has a talent for magic, she has never seen what real magic looks like. Demonstrate a few basic ones for her, so she can broaden her horizons."

Shen Chang'an stood up helplessly and walked to the empty alloy floor in the center of the training field.

"Let's start with an earth-type one."

Shen Chang'an formed a hand seal and lightly stomped one foot on the ground.

[Earth element draws a line in the sand and imprisons itself!]

With a few muffled booms, the hard alloy floor of the training ground cracked instantly, and thick earthen walls rose from the ground, forming an airtight square cage.

Immediately afterwards, Shen Chang'an waved his hand.

[Wind-type blower]!

Suddenly, a fierce wind arose in the originally enclosed underground training ground, and a small, sharp tornado rose from the ground, instantly turning the newly raised earthen prison into a cloud of dust.

"This is control and assistance," Shen Chang'an explained calmly, then flicked his finger.

[Fireball Technique]!

A fireball the size of a washbasin, radiating intense heat, shot out and slammed into a special target in the distance, exploding into a dazzling burst of sparks.

"This is a very common attack."

Then, Shen Chang'an suddenly raised his right hand upwards.

[Earth wall]!

A massive earthen wall, half a meter thick and gleaming with the luster of hard rock, instantly blocked his path, perfectly demonstrating basic defensive magic.

Li Xiwan stared in disbelief, not daring to blink. These scenes, which she usually only saw in movie special effects, were now unfolding before her very eyes.

"These are all simple, basic spells."

Shen Chang'an lowered his hand, his tone becoming more serious.

"But the most terrifying aspect of magic lies in the accumulation and combination of attributes."

As soon as he finished speaking, a dark red flame ignited in Shen Chang'an's eyes.

He took a deep breath and clasped his hands together sharply in front of his chest.

[Combination Spell: Wind and Fire Barrier]!

The raging wind-elemental spiritual power, carrying his unique black flames, roared out from his body like a black ancient beast that had been fully awakened!

"boom--!!!"

Even though Shen Chang'an had tried his best to restrain his strength, the overwhelming black flames, propelled by the gale, covered half of the training ground in an instant! The terrifying high temperature distorted the air violently, and the gale, mixed with black flames, carried a destructive aura that seemed to burn everything in the world.

Li Xiwan was forced to retreat repeatedly by this terrifying spiritual pressure, and even her breathing stopped. Her face turned pale, and her eyes were filled with undisguised shock and horror.

Is this the destructive power of the Five Realms?!

"Slap! Slap! Slap!"

Old Zhao clapped his hands in satisfaction, a burst of spiritual energy dispelling the onslaught of heat. He turned to Li Xiwan, who was still in a daze, and said, "See? This kid is a complete freak. If you don't reach his level of world-destroying power in the future, don't feel pressured, because that's the standard for normal people."

Shen Chang'an withdrew his spiritual power, and the black flames that filled the sky instantly vanished without a trace.

He scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed, and walked back to the bench: "Actually, I'm not very good at magic. I haven't had time to study many high-level elemental spells. In comparison, I prefer to grab a spear and go into close combat. That feeling of each punch landing is more real."

Upon hearing this, Baiyin, who was sitting on a bench drinking a beverage, suddenly froze.

She silently crushed the empty soda can in her hand, then flicked her wrist, sending the can flying in a violent arc before crashing into a trash can a few meters away with a loud thud.

The little cat demon rolled its eyes dramatically and complained in frustration:

"You call it 'mediocre' when you can just throw out a basic combo spell to wipe out the enemy? You prefer 'melee combat'? Boss, can you stop this Versailles nonsense and stop making life impossible for us lowly laborers?!"