Tianjin, starting with unorthodox methods to achieve immortality

Chapter 106, Lesson 1

"Zhu Zilu".

"arrive.

"

"Ma Shicai".

"arrive."

Then two more boys were called and followed Chen Mo outside the classroom.

"Come with me, your school is elsewhere."

A male instructor in his thirties was already waiting for them in the corridor.

Chen Mo glanced at the other two people whose names were called. One of them was thin and had droopy eyelids, as if he hadn't woken up yet.

The other one was robust, but his face was bluish, clearly indicating a lack of blood and energy.

The three followed the instructor who was leading the way, passing through rows of classrooms, and went further and further into the remote area.

The surrounding noise gradually faded away.

"We've arrived." The instructor stopped in front of a classroom, opened the door, and said, "Go in, we've been waiting for you few."

Chen Mo looked inside and was slightly taken aback.

This classroom was much larger than the previous one, with forty or fifty people sitting sparsely.

There were both men and women, around the same age, all between eighteen or nineteen and their early twenties.

Chen Mo glanced around and had a vague idea of ​​what was going on.

Like him, this group of people all carried a certain amount of yin energy.

"What are you standing there for? Find a place to sit," the instructor who was leading the way urged.

Chen Mo and the other two walked a few steps inside and found an empty seat in the back row.

The burly boy with a pale face sat down next to him, while the thin boy went to the other side.

No one spoke loudly in the classroom, only occasional whispers.

As Chen Mo was looking around, he suddenly heard a voice beside him: "Hey, which department are you from?"

He turned his head and saw the burly boy with a pale face. The closer he got, the more obvious the cold feeling emanating from the boy became.

"East Third Hospital," Chen Mo replied briefly.

"Oh, Dong San." He nodded and introduced himself, "My name is Ma Shicai, from Dong Liu Hospital."

Chen Mo remembered that this name had been called during roll call, so he also gave his name: "Chen Mo".

Ma Shicai grinned, his face was pale, but his smile was quite honest.

"Do you know what our class does?" he asked in a low voice.

Chen Mo shook his head.

Ma Shicai gestured with his chin to the surroundings, "I heard that our class is called the Left-Way Class."

"The Left-hand Team?" Chen Mo raised an eyebrow.

"Yes." A complex look flashed in Ma Shicai's eyes. "They accept students from unorthodox schools, and they don't teach qi and blood techniques."

He spoke vaguely, but Chen Mo understood.

Unorthodox or unorthodox methods are not good terms.

In the Department of Suppressing Strange Things, only the martial arts of Qi and Blood are considered orthodox, while dealing with evil spirits and ghosts is considered unorthodox.

Before he could even ask a question, the front door of the classroom was pushed open.

Chen Mo subconsciously looked up and saw two people walk in through the door.

The old man at the front, around seventy years old, was slightly hunched over, wearing a faded gray cloth long gown, and holding a purple clay teapot in his hands.

Chen Mo's pupils contracted; he recognized the old man.

That was the day on the tram when he mocked the old man who, despite his age, still acted like a sycophant.

What a small world! Is Jinshi really that small?

The old man walked to the front of the stage, placed the purple clay teapot on the table, and casually glanced around at the audience.

My gaze swept across his face, seemed to pause for a moment, and then moved away.

Only then did Chen Mo notice that there was another person following behind the old man.

a woman.

The moment she walked in, the suppressed whispers in the classroom vanished instantly, becoming so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The sounds of people inhaling rose and fell.

Chen Mo glanced at it and suddenly realized.

This woman, how should I put it, at first glance, you don't even need to look at her face.

She was dressed in a tight black outfit, the fabric stretched taut, and her chest area was so bulging it looked like it was about to burst.

Her waist was slender, and the belt made it appear even more delicate.

Further down, her legs were long and straight, encased in black trousers, giving her a powerful and indescribable gait.

A phrase flashed through Chen Mo's mind: a human weapon.

She walked up to the podium, stood next to the old man, glanced at the audience, her eyes slightly upturned, her gaze indifferent.

Chen Mo heard Ma Shicai mutter softly beside him, "Goodness gracious."

Although he didn't turn around, Ma Shicai's eyes were probably wide open.

The old man coughed, picked up the purple clay teapot and took a sip. "Alright, have you all seen enough? If you have, I'll speak."

The students in the audience awkwardly looked away.

The old man put down the purple clay teapot. "My surname is Zhou, and my given name is Ya. You can call me Mr. Zhou."

He pointed to the side, "This is your instructor, surnamed Su, given name Mei, Su Mei."

Su Mei.

Chen Mo repeated the name in his mind.

As her name suggests, she is indeed very charming.

Su Mei took a step forward. "I know you have many questions in your hearts."

"7

Her voice was clear and cool, like well water in late autumn, yet surprisingly pleasant to hear.

Do you know why we put you guys in a separate class?

"Because the Bureau of Suppression of Evil has discovered that you are actually more talented at dealing with those evil spirits."

"I know that some of you have been taught from a young age that unorthodox and heretical paths are evil and cannot be brought to the table."

Su Mei's tone was tinged with sarcasm, "But I'm telling you, those are all lies made up by orthodox martial artists."

""

She stepped down, getting closer to the students in the first row.

"What is Qi and Blood Martial Arts? It is about tempering the physical body and using one's own Qi and Blood to overcome evil."

"But what are evil spirits? They are the gathering of yin energy, born from the human heart. Of course, you can kill a ghost with your fists, but it's not the only way."

"Unorthodox techniques, when practiced to a high level, can still kill and exterminate evil. Do you know who tops the annual list of those who exterminate evil in the Bureau of Suppressing Strange Things and the Bureau of Suppressing Evil?"

No one uttered a sound.

"His surname is Zhao, and his name is Zhao Wujiu." Su Mei's lips curled up. "He started out as a paper craftsman. When he was eighteen, he used a paper figure to suppress and kill a vengeful ghost. Now he is forty-seven years old and is one of the eight great demon-suppressing envoys of the Department of Suppressing Evil."

97

A low gasp filled the classroom.

Can a paper craftsman also act as a slayer of evil spirits?

"Do you know how many unorthodox and secret arts are stored in the Zhenyi Division's secret vault?" Su Mei continued, "Thirteen thousand seven hundred scrolls. Seventy percent of them are about making paper figures, feng shui, shamanic dances, Nuo opera performances, invoking gods, and divination. Each of these arts has produced a grandmaster."

She held up one finger and pointed towards the audience.

"You are not trash, but buried mines. Zuo Daoban is here to dig you out and forge you into steel."

Upon hearing this, Ma Shicai's eyes lit up.

Chen Mo frowned slightly.

That's a nice way to put it, but he still felt something was off.

Su Mei walked back to the podium, leaned against the edge of the table, her posture both languid and sharp.

"And you think the Bureau of Suppression of Strange Things only has these?"

"The secret vault contains not only ancient cultivation techniques and secret arts, but also all kinds of elixirs and magical treasures, including those that increase qi and blood, strengthen the soul, and even prolong life."

"Do you have to pay for the pills?" someone couldn't help but ask.

"Money? In Zhenyi Division, money is the most useless thing."

"The Suppression Division doesn't care about money, it cares about merit." Su Mei glanced at everyone. "Going on missions, killing evil spirits, and making contributions all count as merit points."

"Cultivation techniques, elixirs, magical artifacts, and rare and precious materials for prolonging life must all be exchanged for merit points."

Prolong life?

These three words are like a stone thrown into still water, creating ripples.

A thin boy next to Chen Mo couldn't help but ask, "Instructor, is there really something that can extend lifespan?"

"Yes." Su Mei glanced at him. "In the Zhenyi Division's Hall of Worship, there is an old man who is 137 years old this year."

"He should have died thirty years ago, but he has survived until now thanks to a life-extending pill made from a thousand-year-old He Shou Wu (Polygonum multiflorum)."

"If you accumulate enough merit points, these things will be yours."

The classroom was quiet for a moment, then a buzz of discussion broke out.

Ma Shicai leaned close to Chen Mo's ear and whispered, "Wow, they even have things that extend lifespan? The Zhenyi Division is really good at hiding things—"

Chen Mo didn't reply. Extending one's lifespan isn't that easy; otherwise, the Martial Saint wouldn't have bothered to covet the Life Cauldron of the Moon Worship Cult.

But he was thinking about something else entirely: merit points.

This sounds fair, but when you think about it, it's something that comes at the cost of lives.

He followed Yue Shan on two missions and only earned a little over two hundred points.

How many missions do I need to complete to accumulate enough to exchange for a Life-Extending Pill?

Su Mei seemed to see through their thoughts and added casually, "Merit points are not easy to earn, but they are not difficult either. The Zhenyi Division has no shortage of missions; it just depends on whether you have the ability."

Old Zhou then put down the purple clay teapot and slowly said, "Did you understand what Instructor Su said?"

There were many more people responding below, with scattered "I understand"s rising and falling.

Old Zhou took a sip of tea and continued, "Good that you understand. I'm your team leader, in charge of miscellaneous matters, while Instructor Su is your martial arts instructor, teaching you real skills."

He glanced at Chen Mo, then quickly looked away.

"Alright, Instructor Su, you can continue."

Su Mei nodded and picked up a list from the podium.

"Now, those whose names I call, stand up and tell us about your family's secret techniques. Be honest and don't hide anything."

""

She read out the first name: "Zhu Zilu".

The thin boy stood up, his eyelids still drooping. "East Seventh Courtyard, Zhu Zilu, a family heirloom for divination of yin dwellings, able to see ghosts."

Su Mei nodded and wrote it down on the list: "Next, Ma Shicai."

The burly boy next to Chen Mo quickly stood up, a simple and honest smile on his face: "East Sixth Academy, Ma Shicai, my mother is a disciple of a shaman. I've been with her since I was a child, and I have some celestial energy on me. I can summon spirits."

"Invite a god?" Su Mei raised an eyebrow. "Which god?"

Ma Shicai scratched his head: "It's the Hu family and the Huang family, they're all minor spirits, they can't invite the big ones."

Su Mei hummed in agreement, gesturing for him to sit down, and then focused her light on Chen Mo.

"Chen Mo".

"Chen Mo from the Third East Hospital, my ancestors passed down the art of paper-making, but I can only control some low-level paper figures now, I can't do the high-level ones yet."

Chen Mo spoke calmly, not intending to reveal everything he knew.

He doesn't even fully trust Chen Dachuan anymore, let alone anyone else.

I joined the Bureau of Strange Things mainly because of the circumstances at the time, as well as the strange locations and information.

If I could get some benefits from it, that would be even better.