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Yanyan from Eastnether Isle was now locked up in the Celestial Bureau. Despite being constrained with ten dharma shackles, she hadn’t shown any signs of submission. In fact, she constantly came up with all sorts of inventive curses, all of them directed at Xu Qing. Of course, her voice couldn’t penetrate through the walls of the prison to the outside. But she was full of energy. After the week passed, and it became obvious Seven Blood Eyes wasn’t going to free her, she seemed to go mad.

When Xu Qing heard what was happening, he issued orders to add ten more shackles to her. However, the increased force of suppression just seemed to drive her even more insane with fury. That said, her energy eventually waned, and her cursing grew more infrequent.

Xu Qing didn’t personally go to see her. He just scanned the reports about her, then moved on to other matters. He wasn’t in a hurry to free her. The sect’s attitude about the whole thing was intriguing. Other than the instructions on the day of the incident, there hadn’t been a single request made about her. For the time being, they really were letting him have full authority on the matter. It was Xu Qing’s first time experiencing something like that.

Is it because I’m in the echelon?

That said, he knew his place, and wouldn’t do anything foolish like kill her. That would have to wait until she was free and he could do it without anyone realizing what happened.

Therefore, his plan was to wait until the sect notified him of what to do next. There was no way the matter was over. After all, Seven Blood Eyes was in the right, and wouldn’t allow any losses in face. That was especially true during wartime.

Xu Qing was confident in that assessment; all he had to do was maintain the status quo to convey that he was in agreement with the sect.

During the week that passed, Xu Qing had to carry out envoy disciple duties twice by welcoming delegates from other species into the sect. He was becoming more and more well-known, although not necessarily because of his status as an envoy disciple.

There were some occasions in which the visiting nonhuman women would specifically ask the Captain to bring Xu Qing along so they could get a look at him. And every single time, they were stunned at how breathtaking he was.

Species were different in physical appearance, but everyone knew that humans had once been the sovereigns of Revered Ancient. Though the human species had declined since then, the lasting impression humans had made on the aesthetics and preferences of nonhumans still lingered.

Because of that, Xu Qing’s bag of holding was full of gifts. Ding Xue and Gu Muqing were very aware of that, and were keeping a close eye on everything. The envoy disciple arrangement had originally annoyed Xu Qing, but now he was warming up to it considering how valuable all the gifts were.

However, good things never last. The craze over the zombie ancestor’s nose eventually reached an apex, and then it started dying down, and the nonhuman visitors started leaving.

Eventually, only a few random allies, including the Seastars, remained to do business. The young Seastar princess seemed particularly interested in Xu Qing, and came to visit him on multiple occasions. However, she only gave him a gift on the first meeting. She didn’t bring gifts on subsequent occasions. And when she did come, she innocently asked all sorts of random questions about him. It really seemed like she wanted to get to know him personally.

Xu Qing eventually refused to see her.

Around this time, both Xu Qing and the Captain got new assignments as part of their award. As for Xu Qing, he was promoted. No longer was he a deputy director in the Violent Crimes Division. Instead, he was the full director!

He was now in charge of the entire Seventh Peak Violent Crimes Division!

As for the Captain, according to the normal process of promotions, he should have been appointed as the deputy minister of the Violent Crimes Ministry. In Seven Blood Eyes, there was a big difference between a division and a ministry. All of the seven peaks had a Violent Crimes Division, but above them was the Violent Crimes Ministry, which oversaw all seven of the divisions. However, for whatever reason, the Captain didn’t take that promotion. Instead, he transferred to the Seventh Peak’s Intelligence Division, where he would serve as the director.

On his first day as the director of the Intelligence Division, the Captain called Zhang San over to Xu Qing’s place for drinks. They gathered on the shore by his dharmaskiff.

“Only an idiot would choose to work in one of the ministries,” the Captain said. “The Intelligence Division is going to be great! I’ve been dreaming about working there for a long time. I’ll basically be omniscient! I’ll be assigning missions to spies outside the sect, running counterintelligence against traitors within the sect, gathering information about nonhumans, et cetera. I’m an expert in all those things! This is going to lead to some really good opportunities!”

Zhang San was happy to see that Xu Qing and the Captain had been promoted, but at the same time, was slightly annoyed.

“Next time the two of you go do something crazy,” he said, trying to sound casual, “don’t forget about me. Am I right, Captain? At the very least, if you lose half your body again, I’ll be there to carry you on my back.”

Taking a bite of an apple, the Captain slapped Zhang San’s shoulder. “Don’t get jealous, Lil’ Third. Big bro still loves you!” The Captain then looked at Xu Qing, who seemed lost in thought. Suddenly curious, he asked, “What’s up, Lil’ Second?”

Xu Qing looked at the Captain, then glanced at Zhang San. “Well, Erniu, I’m thinking about how to improve my poisons. I want them to be dangerous even to Gold Core cultivators.”

Xu Qing had been pondering this issue for a while, and was inclined to start working more on his black beetles. During his fight with Yanyan, he had used almost his entire stockpile. Thankfully, he had managed to save some. Unfortunately, they just seemed too weak. He was getting the sense he hadn’t fully unlocked the potential of the little beetles. After all... they had been created by a Gold Core expert, so it didn’t make sense for them to be so ineffective when he recreated them. After all, they didn’t even seem capable of crushing a three-flame cultivator.

Upon hearing Xu Qing’s words, Zhang San inhaled sharply. To him, Xu Qing was obviously very different from before. He was already starting to think about fighting Gold Core experts! Then Zhang San thought about Xu Qing’s poisons, and he instinctively edged a bit further away from Xu Qing.

As for the Captain, his eyes went wide. As far as he was concerned, Xu Qing’s statement was brilliant. They were the type of words uttered by someone who wanted to stand out without making a fuss, and the Captain immediately committed them to memory. At the same time, he cleared his throat, then consumed a few medicinal pills just to be safe.

“Just take your time doing your research,” the Captain said. “Now, let’s get down to business. I’m the new director of the Intelligence Division, and you, Xu Qing, are the director of the Violent Crimes Division. In the past, those two divisions didn’t work very well together. But now, we’re one big family.

“I have a plan I’m working on, and the fact that we run both divisions plays right into it. We need to accomplish something really big, and do it before the war is over. We need to use our positions in our departments to dominate the Seventh Peak! We need to get everyone to stop thinking they need the peaklords for everything!

“That way, once the old man and the others are back from the war, they won’t be able to do anything about us. At least not quickly. The two of us need to become real cultivators and accomplish big things!”

Xu Qing frowned slightly. “Captain, I was planning to go into seclusion to research poisons.”

“Researching poisons costs money, doesn’t it?” the Captain said.

“I have plenty of money,” Xu Qing said, shaking his head.

The Captain obviously wasn’t ready to give up. Taking out an apple, he continued, “Don’t you need people to experiment on? You’re always looking for test subjects, right?”

“I have plenty,” Xu Qing said, shaking his head.

The Captain was starting to feel a bit discouraged at how difficult it was to hoodwink Xu Qing. Xu Qing was definitely not like he was back in the early days, when the Captain could dupe him with ease. The Captain’s mind raced as he tried to think of a better idea to drag Xu Qing into his plan, when Xu Qing’s eyes suddenly glittered. He had just thought of a great way to improve his black beetles.

Getting to his feet, he said, “Captain. Elder Brother Zhang San. I need to take my leave now. Let’s meet up again later.”

Clasping hands and bowing, he hurried onto his dharmaskiff. Once inside the cabin, he activated the defenses, sat down cross-legged, and took out a large amount of medicinal plants, as well as his bottle of black beetles. Then he started working according to the idea he’d just been struck with.

Meanwhile, Zhang San and the Captain exchanged glances.

“Captain, I think we need to get out of here,” Zhang San said. “I’m not sure if it’s safe.”

“What the hell are you scared of? I don’t—”

He was interrupted by a muffled boom from inside Xu Qing’s dharmaskiff. Then, a cloud of poison gas billowed out of the cabin. Thankfully, the dharmaskiff’s defenses prevented it from escaping.

The Captain sat there silently for a few breaths’ worth of time. Then he stood, laughing heartily. “Come on, Zhang San, let’s move along. I haven’t been to the Transportation Division for a long time. Let’s keep drinking there instead of here.”

Zhang San stood, and the two of them hurried away.

Not long after they left, more booms rang out from the cabin.

The black beetles were the only thing Xu Qing had that could pose a threat to Gold Core cultivators. He had hoped they would be a trump card, but they had proven disappointing in his fight with Yanyan. He worked the whole night, using all sorts of medicinal plants and poison elements to try to catalyze the potential of the beetles. Nothing really worked, although the flesh of the Gold Core octopus did seem to make the black beetles slightly stronger.

If the only way to improve them is to feed them Gold Core flesh and blood, then they’re worthless. They can’t hurt Gold Core experts, and can only eat, not attack. Useless! I need something that I can use as a trump card to threaten a Gold Core enemy. That said... I feel like it’s because I haven’t explored the right direction.

With that, he took out the old medicinal codex Grandmaster Bai had given him so long ago. He had always treasured that book, and had studied it on many occasions. In fact, the pages were so well-worn that many were starting to fall apart, forcing him to be very careful when leafing through it.

That book was a gift from Grandmaster Bai, and was a physical reminder of how thankful he was to his teacher. Grandmaster Bai was his first true Master. He had introduced Xu Qing to the dao of plants and vegetation, which led to his exploration of the dao of poison, both of which were crucially important to him. Without Grandmaster Bai, Xu Qing wouldn’t know anything about plants and vegetation, and would not have his poisons, which were one of his biggest assets.

“I wonder how Grandmaster Bai is doing nowadays,” he murmured.

After reaching Foundation Establishment, Xu Qing had looked into Grandmaster Bai. However, the grandmaster was always traveling, and only stayed in the Violet Lands for short periods of time.

Dragging himself out of his memories, Xu Qing started leafing through the medicinal codex, hoping to find something to stir up some inspiration.

Grandmaster Bai once mentioned that although the dao of alchemy and the dao of bugs seem different, they’re built on the same foundation, and actually complement each other....

Eventually, one particular medicinal plant description caught his attention.

“Duskthorn lily?” he murmured, looking thoughtful. It was a medicinal plant favored by vicious beasts, but generally useless to cultivators. When unintelligent beasts consumed it, they would gain a measure of intelligence. They were also a key ingredient in shapeshifting pills.

This might work!

Xu Qing left his dharmaskiff and went to one of the medicinal shops in Harbor 176. Of course, he attracted quite a bit of attention when he walked in. The shopkeeper reverentially asked how he could help, and then immediately prepared the items Xu Qing asked for. Before long, Xu Qing left with a bag of holding, looking a bit regretful.

These things are expensive!

He didn’t just have the duskthorn lily. He also had all sorts of medicinal plants required for raising animals, as well as a whole host of poisonous plants. Some were cheap, others were expensive.

Xu Qing wasn’t going to let himself worry about money. He really needed something that could pose a threat to a Gold Core cultivator. Back at his dharmaskiff, he started doing more research and experimentation.

Seven more days passed.

During that time, all of the divisions in Seven Blood Eyes were on edge. That was because Chen Erniu, the new director of the Intelligence Division, made it his priority to root out traitors in the sect. The Patrol Division provided the muscle. And all the other divisions were required to do a full audit of all their members, even those in the Foundation Establishment level. All of a sudden, the Captain seemed like a wild dog. However, he had such a high status that all other disciples were forced to bow their heads and submit to the investigation.

During the seven days that passed, Xu Qing bought even more medicinal plants to experiment with. Eventually, he identified seven types of plants that would stimulate growth in the black beetles.

Not even that was enough, though. Xu Qing finally realized... that if he wanted to raise these black beetles, and also make them stronger, he needed to feed them meat!

Thankfully, as long as I add the right medicinal plants into the food, I don’t need to give them Gold Core flesh....

Xu Qing’s eyes shone brightly as he stepped out into the evening and headed toward the cell block in the Celestial Bureau.

Back when the Captain asked if he had enough people to experiment on, Xu Qing had said he had plenty. And what he was thinking of at the time were all those inmates. The people locked up in that prison were those guilty of the most monstrous crimes. For example, the Night Dove criminals were incarcerated there. The prisoners included many Foundation Establishment cultivators, and were made up of both humans and nonhumans.

What a pity Violent Crimes doesn’t have any Gold Core prisoners locked up. If I have the opportunity, I’ll have to arrest a few.

The mere thought of doing something so audacious caused his heart to beat a bit faster.