Grinding Cultivation Toward Martial Saint

However, in Luoshui County, even a Secondary Eighth-Rank Official was truly a notable figure.

The Chief Arrest Officer at the government office was merely a Secondary Eighth-Rank Official.

True Standard Eighth-Rank Officials were so rare in all of Luoshui County that they could be counted on one's fingers.

The County Magistrate was one, a Standard Eighth-Rank.

The Senior Officer of the City Guard Department was another, also a Standard Eighth-Rank.

...

As for those above the Eighth Rank, there were only two Seventh-Rank high officials in all of Luoshui County.

The Master Wang outside the city, and the County Lord inside the city.

And who were these two people?

One was a prominent figure wielding military power, in charge of the stationed troops and capable of mobilizing the City Guard Department.

The other was the sky of Luoshui County, the local emperor of Luoshui County, a true overweening presence capable of compelling the three long-time established families—Cao, Liu, and Xie—to unite against him.

*From this, it was clear what status an Eighth-Rank Official held?*

*They were only slightly below these two in status.*

*If he could seize the position of Deputy Commander, holding the title of a Secondary Eighth-Rank Official, it would be akin to reaching the sky in a single bound.*

He knew that the Inspection Office was a true violent institution.

Based on Jiang Ning's understanding, it could be compared to the Jinyi Guard from his previous life.

But in actuality, the power of the Inspection Office far exceeded that of the Jinyi Guard.

*All of this was because the ruler of the Inspection Office was the Martial Saint who had overwhelmed the world for eight hundred years.*

*The only Martial Saint in the world at present.*

*Therefore, any officials of the Inspection Office were officials with real authority.*

*Having substantial power was a symbol of status.*

*However, Jiang Ning also knew it was very difficult for him to seize the Secondary Eighth-Rank position.*

*Because according to the intelligence reports, these positions were almost entirely reserved for those from noble families graduating from the Martial Arts Garden.*

The Martial Arts Garden was located in the County City of Dongling County, within Dongling City.

This was the place where Great Xia cultivated martial arts talents.

Anyone who could join the Martial Arts Garden was either of noble origin or had outstanding martial arts talent.

In addition to this, even children from wealthy families found it difficult to pass through the gates of the Martial Arts Garden.

*In the path of martial arts, one's background was exceptionally important.*

*Lacking talent?*

*There was always the great medicinal tonics for that.*

*Qi and blood not strong?*

*There were also great medicinal tonics for enhancing blood power.*

And those extremely precious things were hard to buy without status, no matter how wealthy one was.

Like the Leopard Embryo Shaping Body Pill from the Medicine King Valley.

*Therefore, even the average, noble-born might become extraordinary.*

*Under these circumstances, to join the Martial Arts Garden as an ordinary person and become a student there, one could only imagine how extraordinary their talent must be.*

*Such talent would inevitably attract the recognition and cultivation of many prominent figures.*

*In this regard, Jiang Ning had deep feelings.*

*If not for showcasing extraordinary talent himself, how else could he have gained the favor of Wang Jin, Shen Congyun, and Lin Qingyi?*

*Therefore, he clearly understood that competing with the contemporary elites from the Martial Arts Garden for the Deputy Commander position would not be so simple.*

*Moreover, there was no fairness in competing with them for the Deputy Commander position.*

*But regardless of how difficult it would be, Jiang Ning wanted to give it a try.*

*Wearing the mantle of officialdom would mean immense benefits.*

*Today, this world was still the world of Great Xia.*

*Within the bounds of Great Xia, government officials represented justice and truth.*

*Without invincible strength, justice and truth were extremely important things.*

*Moreover, joining the Inspection Office, acquiring the Deputy Commander's position.*

*Even if the Medicine King Valley incident were to come to light, there would be no need for excessive concern.*

*The matter could be easily resolved since he would at that time rely on Great Xia and the towering tree that was the Inspection Office.*

*How would the Medicine King Valley dare to recklessly move against an official of the Great Xia Court?*

*Especially still an official of the Inspection Office.*

*Today, this world was ultimately still the world of Great Xia.*

*To recklessly move against a court official could make them the target of the Inspection Office's killing as a warning to others.*

*In this regard, Jiang Ning was somewhat confident.*

*Furthermore, joining the Inspection Office, he would not lack subsequent martial arts advancement techniques.*

*This was why Jiang Ning so desired joining the Inspection Office.*

*The benefits were too numerous.*

*The only downside was that by joining the Inspection Office, he could not truly stay out of things; inevitably, he would have to engage in some matters.*

*But there were still other benefits, such as having a truly secure resting place.*

*No matter how chaotic the world became, a place with a Martial Saint holding court would always fall into chaos later.*

*A suitable resting place could allow him more time to grow.*

*Time was what he lacked most.*

*As long as there was enough time, his cultivation technique continually breaking limits, with more and more traits, his strength would ultimately become increasingly exaggerated.*

*A month ago, comparing himself to now, his strength was vastly different.*

...

After saying goodbye to Lin Qingyi, he came out of the Wanhua Building.

Jiang Ning turned back to look at the rooftop once more.

He could see the figures of Little Lv and Lin Jiaer kneeling outside the pavilion.

With one glance, he withdrew his gaze.

*Originally, if Little Lv knelt for two hours, to save Little Lv's life, he had considered using the Cloud Formation and Rainfall Divine Skill again.*

*After all, he and Little Lv had met many times; every time he visited the Wanhua Building, Little Lv attentively received him, so naturally, he felt some reluctance.*

But now, with Lin Qingyi's reduced punishment, half an hour would not take her life.

Thinking of this, Jiang Ning decided to let it be.

Then.

Jiang Ning headed straight home.

Having accomplished everything, he only wanted to return quickly to digest the resources he had acquired over the past few days and raise his strength as soon as possible.

The stronger he was, the greater the likelihood he would secure the Deputy Commander position.

...

In the blink of an eye.

Two days had passed.

[Name]: Jiang Ning

[Source Energy]: 143.7

[Skills]:

Reading and Writing (Second Limit Breaking 1833/3000) (Trait: unforgettable, Extraordinary Five Senses)

Five Animals Fist (First Limit Breaking 322/2000) (Trait: Five Internal Organs Store Essence)

Chopping Wood Blade Skill (Fourth Limit Breaking 5000/5000) (Trait: touch and understand, Blade like the Wind, God-like Blade Control, Man and Sword as One)

Inner Elixir Cultivation Skill (Master 1644/2000)

Canglang Blade Skill (Great Success 48/1000)

Vajra Immortal Body (small success 453/5000)

Swimming (Fourth Limit Breaking 3873/5000) (Trait: Underwater Breathing, Water Manipulation Technique, Water Spirit Affinity, Cloud Formation and Rainfall)

These past two days had been exceptionally fulfilling for Jiang Ning.

Every day, aside from practicing, he was digesting the resources he had obtained in the previous days.

The Vajra Pill had already been completely refined by him.

*And he had witnessed the power of this pill.*

It had elevated his strength to three thousand five hundred catties, which was the effect of the Vajra Pill.

And now he possessed a strength of three thousand seven hundred catties.

*At this level of strength, he discovered that the muscle groups in his arms had been refined to an extreme.*

*To improve his strength further, he could only refine muscle groups in other parts of his body.*

*Strength circulated throughout the body, and the human body was a whole.*

*The metamorphosis of all muscle groups naturally allowed his arms to possess strength at a new height.*

*Besides the significant changes in strength over these two days,*

*The most significant improvement was the increase in Source Energy Points.*

*From the previous 51.8 Source Energy Points, it jumped to 143.7 Source Energy Points.*

*Such a drastic change was largely due to his relentless eating over the past two days.*

The White Dragon Fish's meat had mostly been eaten by him in those two days, leaving less than thirty catties of fish meat now.

Coupled with his constant immersion in water these days, receiving the nourishment of Water Spirit.

*His body's condition continually recovered, equivalent to frequently using tonic medicine.*

*Completely unafraid of physical depletion.*

*Even though Qi Blood Power was being consumed quickly, his body condition was recovering just as quickly.*

*Stamina and energy were nearly inexhaustible, pushing his efficiency to a new height.*

*Even if Qi Blood Power was exhausted, it recovered at a speed far exceeding the norm.*

*Therefore, each day he visualized the furnace, using internal Qi Blood Power as fuelwood, employing the Molten Furnace Pill Secret Skill several times daily to refine the pills within.*

*As a result, not only had the Vajra Pill been completely refined, but the Strength Pill had been too.*

*However, he discovered that as his strength exceeded three thousand catties, the effect of the Strength Pill was not as great as before and was significantly reduced.*

*In contrast, the boost from the Vajra Pill was still very pronounced.*

*Additionally, the Vajra Pill had another effect.*

*When digesting the medicinal power, it unexpectedly had an effect of refining the skin in conjunction with the Vajra Immortal Body.*

*It directly boosted his Vajra Immortal Body Experience Value by over four hundred points.*

*These over four hundred points, though not causing substantial changes, did enhance his skin strength by at least 30%.*

*A 30% improvement undoubtedly had a significant effect.*

*Ordinary weapons could no longer penetrate his body surface.*

*It could truly be described as being impervious to sword or spear.*

*In addition, the Leopard Embryo Shaping Body Pill within his body was also largely refined.*

*By tomorrow, he would be able to completely refine the first Leopard Embryo Shaping Body Pill, further boosting his strength.*

*Thus, these two days, his Source Energy Points had increased so dramatically precisely because of this!*