Eternal Life: I Rely on Fortune Points for Improvement-Chapter 42: Fourth Grade

Better safe than sorry.

Han Dong is far too clever, so Jiang Feng has to be more cautious—if something must be given up, then he must give it up.

The next morning, just as the sky brightened.

News quickly spread about the newly promoted Vice Commander of Zhenbei Prison, Yuan Tiangang, being shot dead in the street, and Chief Lei being killed by arrows in his own home.

The Court was enraged.

The Dragon Capital Government Office was reprimanded and punished.

The Emperor gave orders: the Dragon Capital Government Office must find the true culprit within one month.

And root out all the rebel faction members hiding in Dragon Capital.

For a while, the pressure on the Dragon Capital Government Office multiplied.

The Government Director applied for a joint search with the armed forces and received the Emperor’s approval.

So, in the days that followed, a large number of people were sent into every major prison in Dragon Capital every day. Some truly were rebels, others were wronged or simply implicated.

But more were suspected individuals of unclear guilt or innocence.

Uncle Huo and the others working on the first floor were run off their feet, busy from dawn to dusk, barely having time to drink a sip of water.

Suspected criminals filled the first floor to bursting.

The staff on the first floor had to keep the prisoners from starving, and also help escort them back and forth between their cells and the torture chambers.

For a while, the entire Zhenbei Prison was filled with complaints and grievances.

There were anguished shouts from innocent civilians dragged into the mess.

There was mocking laughter from rebel faction members.

There were pleas for mercy from roaming warriors and thieves.

And, even more so, the whining of fellow little prison guards.

Meanwhile, Jiang Feng, working on the third floor, just did his job as always.

Most of the people arbitrarily rounded up as suspects were powerless nobodies, so the number of prisoners locked on the third floor barely changed in the short term.

Jiang Feng’s job had been pretty idle throughout.

In the blink of an eye, ten days passed.

The first floor of Zhenbei Prison was crammed to capacity.

Every day, people from the Dragon Capital Government Office came to interrogate prisoners. The torture chamber ran red with blood, prisoners came and went, one batch released, another dragged in, and so on, day after day.

After so much torment,

even Uncle Huo and the others, let alone the prisoners, had lost several belt sizes and were hoarse from shouting. When they truly couldn’t take it anymore, and yelling didn’t work, Uncle Huo and his men would simply use their whips on incoming suspects—anyone accused of being a rebel would get a few lashes to keep them in order.

Only then did the curses and shouts on the first floor subside a bit.

But the cells were still packed to the brim.

Another ten days passed.

Every prison guard on the first floor now wore a fierce scowl. Even the little prison guards delivering meals couldn’t stand the prisoners’ yells; sometimes, angered, they would fling porridge into the cells for the inmates to fight over, causing all sorts of cursing and brawling inside.

Jiang Feng stayed obediently on the third floor.

He hadn’t been out in twenty straight days, eating and drinking all within Zhenbei Prison.

Now and then, he’d go down to the first floor to check in on Uncle Huo, having Li Minhe bring him a flask of wine to give Uncle Huo, to help him relax.

After drinking, Uncle Huo would be in high spirits, tossing aside the leather whip for an iron one and flogging the prisoners with that instead.

Jiang Feng then hid away the wine, rarely bringing any more to see him.

Yet another ten days passed.

The Emperor’s time limit for the Dragon Capital Government Office was up.

Wouldn’t you know,

after a month’s hunt, the Dragon Capital Government Office had caught several Red Lotus Sect rebels and, following the trail, destroyed a small hideout within Dragon Capital itself.

However, during the arrest operation, several dangerous major offenders managed to break out.

The Dragon Capital Government Office then pinned the murders of Yuan Tiangang, Lei Laohu and others on the rebels who escaped.

This morning’s Court assembly—

The Government Director, together with Chief Huang, reported every detail of the month’s achievements to the Emperor in court.

The main offenders escaped; the Emperor was clearly displeased.

The Government Director was docked three years’ salary and demoted one rank.

Chief Huang had it even worse.

He fell from Chief Constable to Junior Constable, his rank dropping to the same as Junior Prison Guard Captain, and was also flogged thirty times. Dragged back to the Dragon Capital Government Office, he now truly understood the fickleness of human relationships.

Because of the Yang Qi case, he had been promoted to Chief of Dragon Capital, ranking the same as Han Dong.

For a while, he was riding high, right-hand man to Government Director Lai Asheng, entering and leaving with government guards and attendants in tow, and pocketed plenty in just a few months.

Now, degraded to a Junior Constable, all those he had offended were gearing up for payback.

Especially those from Minister Yang’s old party, plotting how best to destroy Chief Huang once and for all.

The waves outside were tumultuous.

Jiang Feng stayed at Zhenbei Prison throughout.

An entire month passed without him stepping outside once.

Lacking sunlight, his complexion grew much paler.

Early that morning, news of the Emperor’s punishment for the Dragon Capital Government Office and the findings of their month-long investigation spread to Zhenbei Prison. The first floor was cleared of many prisoners, but many still remained.

Jiang Feng sat in his workroom.

He checked his status panel.

Name: Jiang Feng

Fortune: 5997

Cultivation Technique: Prison Guard Health Care Skill (Great Success+)

Skills: Prison Guard Long Fist (Minor Achievement+) Divine Arrow (Mastery+) Monkey Escape (Great Success+)

Realm: Fifth Grade (Blood Refining)

Divine Power: Immortality

Jiang Feng was pleasantly surprised.

As the Dragon Capital Government Office pinned the murders of Yuan Tiangang and Lei Laohu on those escaped Red Lotus Sect rebels, his own risk as the true culprit had been erased.

His Fortune Points had shot up another two thousand or so.

Now at 5997.

Prison Guard Health Care Skill now had a plus sign by it.

At last, he could again upgrade his realm and power.

With no hesitation at all,

Jiang Feng immediately poured five thousand Fortune Points into the Prison Guard Health Care Skill.

The panel information shifted.

Name: Jiang Feng

Fortune: 997

Cultivation Technique: Prison Guard Health Care Skill (Perfection)

Skills: Prison Guard Long Fist (Great Success) Divine Arrow (Great Success) Monkey Escape (Great Success)

Realm: Fourth Grade (Essence Refining)

Divine Power: Immortality

"Finally, Fourth Grade!"

Jiang Feng was overjoyed.

He found that not only was his Qi Blood far more robust at Fourth Grade Essence Refining Realm, but a Divine Sea appeared in his mind. His vision stretched further, hearing reached wider, and with his eyes closed, he could sense all the fluctuations of nearby auras.

He could detect people drawing near,

as well as threats lurking close by.

He finally understood why, when Yuan Tiangang sat in the sedan chair, he sensed Jiang Feng’s first arrow and burst out in time.

If not for his archery being at the level of Divine Communication, Human-Arrow Unity,

and his consecutive arrows unleashed in sequence,

Yuan Tiangang, relying on that perception power alone, could have fought him to a standstill.

Thinking back, it had taken great luck to kill him successfully at all.

No wonder, after killing him, his Fortune Points jumped by more than three thousand at once.

All in all, Jiang Feng felt lingering fear in his heart.

The higher one’s power, the greater the gap with each level up.

From now on, he must be even more careful, avoid getting into trouble, and especially never again commit such overreaching killings; who knows what kind of monster an Upper Third-Grade Martial Artist could be?

"Jiang Feng!"

Suddenly, Han Dong’s voice sounded.