Human Clan Defender-Chapter 686 - s 47 to 50: Spirituality and Resentment, New Rules (Four in One, Seeking Monthly Tickets)_7

As for that Calamity-level demon,

he'd once fought it, and knew its strength wasn't all that formidable.

In this situation,

letting it be for now wouldn't cause any major problems.

Since Shen Changqing was confident, he might as well let him handle it.

For such a small matter,

there was no need for anyone to lose face over it.

Soon after,

Shen Changqing left the main hall and entered the Hidden Heart Pavilion.

Since the last martial arts lecture,

the Martial Hall's members had stayed within the Demon-Subduing Division, never stepping outside, nearly all absorbed in comprehending the mysteries within the Martial Arts Codex.

For those Grandmasters,

the Martial Arts Codex was like opening a door to a whole new world.

"Pavilion Master, you've come!"

At the Martial Hall gates, Zhong Ning greeted him with respect.

After the lecture, his reverence for Shen Changqing only deepened.

There is no distinction in learning, the capable are teachers.

If the other could lead the way and blaze a new trail in the Martial Dao, he deserved absolute respect.

Looking at the man before him,

although Shen Changqing could not see through everything at a glance, he could tell a few things.

"Elder Zhong, you're about to break through to the Great Grandmaster Realm, aren't you?"

The Great Grandmaster he spoke of

was not the previous Jianghu's Great Grandmaster, but the new system's Grandmaster Realm.

In other words,

it was equivalent to the old Grandmaster Peak.

Zhong Ning had become a Martial Pavilion Elder by virtue of truly solid achievements in the Martial Dao.

Within the late Grandmaster stage,

his foundation was extremely deep.

Now, after acquiring the Martial Arts Codex and gaining insights from it, directly stepping into the Great Grandmaster Realm was by no means impossible.

Upon hearing this,

Zhong Ning smiled: "It's all thanks to the Pavilion Master's lecture that I managed to touch the threshold of that realm. With another year or so, I believe I'll be able to break through!"

Once the breakthrough succeeded,

whether in the Demon-Subduing Division or looking across the whole Jianghu, he might not be at the very top, but would certainly rank among the true powerhouses.

"Elder Zhong, keep selecting good prospects for the Martial Hall. Anyone with outstanding talent and a clean background can be considered for recruitment into the Martial Hall.

Once admitted and after a period of assessment, they may be taught the Martial Arts Codex.

I hope that one day, the Martial Hall is filled with strong experts."

Shen Changqing said calmly.

For now, the Martial Arts Codex could not be widely distributed, but the Martial Hall could first train a batch of people.

By selecting some with outstanding talent and pairing that with the Codex,

he believed

that in ten or twenty years, it could considerably strengthen Great Qin's foundation.

In truth,

not just the Martial Hall—such a vast Demon-Subduing Division—was a place for cultivating powerhouses for Great Qin.

Yet with the heavy demonic disasters over the years, many Demon Hunters perished to demon evils before they could truly grow.

Thus,

the Demon-Subduing Division suffered a shortage of new blood.

As an institution meant to train the strong, it instead became Great Qin's suicide squad.

Whenever there was a demonic disaster,

with a shortage of manpower, even newcomers who'd just joined the Demon-Subduing Division would get sent out to deal with demon evils.

In such circumstances,

eighty percent of the probationary Demon Hunters could not survive the demons' hands.

The remaining twenty percent only barely completed their missions.

However,

among those who completed their tasks and became Yellow Rank Demon Hunters, a large portion would die on subsequent missions.

This method was really drinking poison to quench thirst.

Yet there was no other way.

Great Qin's foundation had been severely depleted, and demonic disasters were rampant.

Without sufficient power to combat demon evils, the entire situation would collapse completely.

By comparison,

though this approach was still drinking poison to quench thirst,

at least it bought Great Qin some time, allowing for the possibility of recovery in the future.

But now it's different.

With the Star Plate set up, ninety-nine percent of demon evils across Great Qin had been removed.

The Eternal Alliance's demonfolk had also withdrawn from Great Qin's territory.

All at once,

the problem of demonic disasters throughout Great Qin had drastically lessened, and the number of Demon Hunters in the Demon-Subduing Division was, ironically, now excessive.

In Shen Changqing's view,

this was no bad thing.

With demonic disasters sharply reduced, the Demon-Subduing Division no longer needed to solve the issue through human sacrifice, but could actually spend time cultivating these people.

To join the Demon-Subduing Division,

everyone had considerable talent.

Given a year or two, even those new to the Martial Dao could reach the Pulse Condensation Realm.

In three to five years, to reach the Innate Realm was not impossible.

As for what happens after Innate—whether one could become a Grandmaster—remained to be seen for now.

But one thing,

Shen Changqing was certain of.

Anyone entering the Demon-Subduing Division had, at minimum, the potential to become Innate, and if fate favored them, could even become Grandmasters.

Beyond Grandmaster,

it was no longer a matter of ordinary talent or destiny alone.

However,

once the Martial Arts Codex was widely spread, it would greatly reduce the difficulty for others to enter the Martial Dao or break through to higher realms.

Until then,

the Demon-Subduing Division could focus on cultivating newcomers to lay a solid foundation.

These matters,

he didn't share with Zhong Ning.

An Elder of the Martial Hall didn't need to know too much.

If these plans were to be truly implemented in the Demon-Subduing Division, he would discuss them with Dongfang Zhao and Gu Xing.

The former was the Division's Dominator,

and the latter Great Qin's Saint Emperor.

Only these two,

could truly influence the major decisions of the Demon-Subduing Division.

Of course,

as Great Qin's Defender Envoy,

Shen Changqing was confident he was qualified to make such decisions as well.

But it was always wise to discuss important matters.

Zhong Ning said earnestly, "Rest assured, Pavilion Master. The Demon-Subduing Division already has many with good talent. If we truly need to select some for the Martial Hall, I believe it won't be a trouble."

After he spoke,

he hesitated a bit.

"But… does the Pavilion Master have any requirements or restrictions on the number of people?"

"No restrictions whatsoever."

Shen Changqing shook his head.

Then, he added,

"However, starting today, the Martial Hall will be further divided. Below the Pavilion Master are the Elders, and below Elders are Stewards.

All current Martial Hall members will be classified as Stewards; their resource allocations and regulations will remain unchanged.

Anyone entering the Martial Hall from now on will be considered formal members, but fixed resource allocation will be abolished. However, if someone can create new Grandmaster Martial Arts, they will be rewarded accordingly.

You and Zhao Bai should discuss these matters amongst yourselves.

After reaching a consensus, report the outcome to me."

The Hidden Heart Pavilion is one of the Demon-Subduing Division's major resource consumers.

Even in recent years, the Martial Hall's resource allocation has already been greatly reduced.

However,

if the Martial Hall staff were rapidly expanded, it would place an enormous burden on the Demon-Subduing Division.

Such a situation was something Shen Changqing wanted to avoid if at all possible.

Moreover,

the original purpose of establishing the Martial Hall was to nurture those who could break through the old limits of the Martial Dao.

Because of this, the Demon-Subduing Division provided massive resources.

Now that issue had been resolved.

There was no longer any need for the Division to lavish the Martial Hall with resources as before.

However,

some rules, once established, shouldn't be changed hastily, as that could cause needless issues.

Right now, with the Martial Hall stable,

Shen Changqing did not plan to harm the interests of existing members.

After all,

compared to before, the Martial Hall already had far fewer members.

With the Division's foundation, supporting these people wouldn't be a big problem.

So long as resource distribution didn't further expand later, the Demon-Subduing Division's foundation would not be shaken.

Therefore,

he decided to single out the current Martial Hall members and establish a completely new category for them.

Anyone joining the Martial Hall in the future would not enjoy these privileges.

Zhong Ning was in full agreement with this decision as well.

After all, according to his words, if they truly recruited more talent, the Martial Hall's numbers could increase several times over.

If they still operated by the old rules, the resulting consumption would be massive.

Devising new rules for future members while preserving the benefits of senior members was thus most appropriate.

——

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