「The next day.」

Early in the morning, all of Qingshan County was in an uproar.

For many, it was the first time they had ever seen so many corpses outside the city walls.

They practically covered the ground outside the city.

It was a gruesome sight, too horrible to look at.

The Government Office dug a massive pit outside the city, a grave for ten thousand men. All the corpses were gathered and incinerated, and the thick black smoke nearly dyed the sky black.

The cremation lasted for a full two days before it was over.

The ashes of the incinerated bodies were collected and buried together, forming a new mass grave.

None of this, however, had anything to do with Fang Xing.

The crisis of the White Lotus Rebel Army was resolved.

Over the next few days, the Five Great Forces visited one after another, presenting all sorts of lavish gifts.

Fang Xing accepted them all.

Since the Five Great Forces were willing to be obedient, he naturally wouldn’t act against them rashly.

The Evil Cultivator method was a fast way to advance, but he still had his limits.

He hadn’t become so depraved as to lose all reason just for the sake of Enhancement Points.

The people he killed were all people who deserved to die.

Although the Five Great Forces weren’t entirely clean, they were generally well-behaved.

Another point was that the Five Great Forces all had some connections within the Prefecture City and the province.

There was no need for him to take the risk of acting against them. A steady rise in power was the most important thing.

Most importantly, he currently had more than enough Enhancement Points.

After the harvest from the White Lotus Rebel Army, he wouldn’t need to take action again, at least not until he broke through to the True Qi Realm.

If he could be stable, that was naturally for the best.

...

Over the next few days, aside from Cultivation, he spent his time enhancing items.

The Five Great Forces had sent many good things, including all sorts of rare Treasure Medicines, Elixirs, and Exotic Beast Flesh.

Fang Xing selected a few to enhance.

He used them all to enhance his Cultivation.

But there were too many items. Even after enhancing a portion, there were still many good things left.

He had another goal as well, which was mainly to raise his Enhancement Level.

Raising his Enhancement Level would allow him to perform a random self-enhancement, and that was the key.

After a few days of enhancing, he had consumed nearly four thousand Enhancement Points, and his Enhancement Level had reached the point of a star breakthrough.

[Enhancement Level increased. You can now perform one random self-enhancement.]

"A star breakthrough..."

Looking at the prompt before him, Fang Xing couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement.

The first random enhancement was Comprehension, the second was Perception Ability.

’What will it be this time?!’

With a thought, he immediately summoned his panel. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Name: Fang Xing

Cultivation: Peak of Neutralizing Force!

Enhancement Level: Three-Star (0%)

Enhancement Points: 14,158

(A random self-enhancement is available. Enhance?)

Staring at the prompt at the bottom of the panel, Fang Xing took a deep breath to calm his excitement, then acted with a thought.

In the next instant, a peculiar sensation spread through his body. The circulation of his Longevity Technique seemed to quicken considerably, and with each breath, he felt a sense of exhilaration.

[You have enhanced your Root Bone. Enhancement successful. Your Root Bone has been upgraded to Top-Grade Root Bone.]

"Root Bone enhancement!"

Seeing the crimson prompt, Fang Xing’s pupils couldn’t help but contract.

This time, the random enhancement was his Root Bone.

’Awesome!’

He had gone from a Lower Grade Root Bone straight to a Top-Grade Root Bone.

His cultivation speed would now be much faster than before.

At the same time, the probability of breaking through to the True Qi Realm had also increased significantly.

"Top-Grade Root Bone... Not bad."

Fang Xing was very satisfied.

This wave of enhancement was well worth it.

Root Bone and Comprehension were both extremely important for Martial Arts cultivation.

Comprehension greatly improved one’s understanding and mastery of Martial Arts, while the function of the Root Bone was reflected in one’s cultivation speed.

Especially when it came to realm breakthroughs, the importance of the Root Bone was self-evident.

A Top-Grade Root Bone would greatly increase the chances of a breakthrough.

One’s Root Bone was determined at birth.

Whatever Root Bone you were born with was the Root Bone you were stuck with, unchangeable.

Of course, it wasn’t as if there weren’t heaven-defying items that could change it, but such a heaven-defying change would come at an equally steep price.

At the very least, it was not something an ordinary Martial Artist could even covet.

His Lower Grade Root Bone had been enhanced to a Top-Grade Root Bone.

The power of his enhancement superpower was beyond imagination!

"With a Top-Grade Root Bone, hmm, things are much more stable. At least breaking through to the True Qi Realm shouldn’t be too much of a problem."

Fang Xing lifted his eyes to the sky, then glanced at his panel again.

’Three-Star... I wonder how many Enhancement Points it’ll take to reach Four-Star.’

The thought flashed through Fang Xing’s mind.

From the first star enhancement to the current Three-Star, the higher the Enhancement Level, the more Enhancement Points were required.

From One-Star to Two-Star, it had cost over a thousand Enhancement Points.

But from Two-Star to Three-Star, it had cost over ten thousand.

A tenfold increase!

He estimated that going from Three-Star to Four-Star would require at least another tenfold increase.

Perhaps even more.

’One step at a time. As my strength increases, I’ll be able to obtain Enhancement Points faster in the future.’

Letting out a soft breath, Fang Xing steadied his mind.

Obtaining Enhancement Points was both easy and difficult.

His daily base Enhancement Points were currently eight. To increase this base, the only way was to break through to a new realm.

He didn’t know how much of an increase crossing the Extraordinary Dragon Gate of the True Qi Realm would bring, but he estimated it would likely double.

The fastest way to obtain them was undoubtedly the Evil Cultivator method.

However, this method also came with certain risks.

At least for now, there was basically no one left in Qingshan County for him to target.

As for other places, he would have to wait until after he broke through to the True Qi Realm to consider them.

This world was full of masters. Besides the Court, there were also Cult Demons, and in the Jianghu, there were powerful Martial Dao Sects.

Sects were not something the martial arts schools in the city could compare to. To establish a sect, one had to at least have reached the Martial Dao God stage.

Some top-tier Sects were so powerful that even the Court had to tread carefully around them.

Their power and foundation were, in some cases, even more formidable and astonishing than the Court’s.

A Sect ruling over a region was equivalent to a small country, only nominally subservient to the Court.

Without sufficient strength, even if the Court issued a decree, these powerful Sects would ignore it.

In short: they would answer a call to arms, but not a summons.

In the golden age of the Great Jing, the Court’s decrees might have been effective, but in the current era, their usefulness was not guaranteed.

In the territories governed by Sects, the Sect’s orders were even more effective than the Court’s decrees.

The local Province Mansion officials didn’t even dare to offend the Sects.

The only department of the Court that could make the major Sects feel apprehensive was a single institution.

The Observatory!

One could also understand the Observatory as the Court’s own Sect or Sacred Land.

Local government offices could be ignored, but when it came to people from the Observatory, even the Sects throughout the Great Jing had to be cautious.

A decree from the Court delivered by a Government Office might lack deterrent force.

But if it was delivered by the Observatory, it was a completely different matter.

The Observatory not only had Heaven-Reaching power.

More importantly, it had Heaven-Reaching strength.

Compared to other departments of the Court, its authority and strength were far superior.

The more Fang Xing learned about the Observatory, the more he wanted to join.

In this day and age, if you didn’t have the strength to dominate the world, having a powerful backer was extremely important!

Take Shen Ye, for example. His strength was perhaps only comparable to a County Magistrate, and his official rank might not have even been equal to a Seventh Grade County Magistrate.

However, with his identity from the Observatory, forget a mere County Magistrate—even a Prefect would have to treat him seriously.

This was what made the Observatory special!

Granted special imperial authority to oversee the world!

’I shouldn’t overthink it. Increasing my strength is what’s most important.’ Casting aside his stray thoughts, Fang Xing immediately began to practice his Martial Arts.

Top-Grade Root Bone.

His cultivation became smoother, and even his ability to absorb medicinal power increased significantly.

"Hoo~"

After a round of Demon Suppression Fist, Fang Xing felt a sense of lightness pervading his entire body.

Clarity!

The sensation came from within, as if his entire body had been thoroughly cleansed and reborn.

After practicing just one set of Demon Suppression Fist, he could feel his internal Power increase by a sliver.

"A Top-Grade Root Bone is truly extraordinary..."

Feeling the change in his cultivation, Fang Xing’s eyes sparkled.

This amplification, when accumulated over time, would result in a change that far surpassed ordinary people!

Although Root Bone was only one part of the equation... its influence on one’s later Martial Dao cultivation was not to be underestimated.

The stronger one’s Root Bone, the greater the probability of stepping into a High Realm.

Now, with his natural talent, Root Bone, and Comprehension combined, he was undoubtedly a bona fide genius.

"Once I’ve accumulated enough... perhaps I can try to knock on the Dragon Gate."

Looking up at the sky, a thought flashed through Fang Xing’s mind.

With his current resources and improved Root Bone, he had a high probability of being able to challenge the Dragon Gate and step into the True Realm within a few months.