190: Chapter 190 The Aloof Senior Brother

The moment Marshal Gu Qinglin landed, he stirred up a surge of astral wind.

Many people around were blown away directly by this land tornado.

However, they quickly scrambled back to their feet, looking at Marshal Gu Qinglin with fervent eyes, as if he were their embodiment of faith.

"Greetings, Marshal Gu!"

"Greetings, Marshal Gu!"

"..."

Many people began to bow, paying their respects to this legendary figure.

Although Marshal Gu Qinglin had only recently entered the Xiang Realm and his combat strength could not yet compare with veteran powerhouses like Yu Juezhi,

his future was bound to be brilliant.

When he reached full mastery, even the current Marshal Yu might not be able to overshadow his brilliance.

Shen Xingchen also politely greeted, "Greetings, Senior Brother Gu."

This was the first time Shen Xingchen had met Marshal Gu Qinglin.

This Eldest Senior Brother, whose life was like a legend, exuded an extremely cold and stern aura.

He was like a sharp sword that would slay all enemies the moment it left its scabbard.

Marshal Gu Qinglin offered a smile. "Good."

His smile was somewhat stiff, looking like one forced out by a robot.

This unnaturalness was simply because he had not made this expression in far too long.

Someone nearby exclaimed in shock, "Marshal Gu can actually smile?!"

Marshal Gu must have been in Snowfield Dragon City for ten years now, yet had anyone ever seen him smile?!

By now, almost everyone believed that Marshal Gu would forever remain that cold and icy figure.

Shen Xingchen saw through his senior brother's stiff exterior to the caring heart beneath.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "Senior Brother, you actually look pretty good when you smile."

Marshal Gu Qinglin's smile appeared once more. "How is Master doing?"

Shen Xingchen replied, "Master is doing great. These past years, he's just been lounging at the Law Enforcement Bureau, safe from wind and rain, just waiting to get off work and go back to Jingwu Mountain for dinner."

"Good."

As soon as he spoke that word, Marshal Gu Qinglin reverted to his icy demeanor.

The two stared at each other in silence.

The onlookers chuckled.

"Hahaha, Marshal Gu definitely looks much more normal like this."

"Otherwise, why do you think Marshal Gu never commands large military formations and always charges into battle alone..."

"If Marshal Gu were in command, how would that be any different from having no commander at all?"

"..."

Keeping a straight face, Marshal Gu Qinglin said, "I'm leaving first. If you need anything, come find me at the city walls."

With that, Marshal Gu Qinglin turned back into a streak of teal light and swiftly sped away.

Watching Eldest Senior Brother leave, Shen Xingchen thought to himself: So Eldest Senior Brother only appears aloof and cold because of social anxiety.

...

Over the next while,

Wang Xian led Shen Xingchen as they walked along the main avenue of Yumo City.

Qiyuan followed behind them, looking around at everything like a country bumpkin who had just entered the city for the first time.

This drew many glances from passersby.

In fact, when they first disembarked from the warship, people had also looked at Qiyuan, only looking away after realizing she didn't seem like a "living person."

Furthermore,

Shen Xingchen's status as Elder Xue's last personal disciple was far too eye-catching, so the conversation had revolved around him non-stop.

Under these circumstances, naturally fewer people paid attention to Qiyuan.

Up ahead,

Wang Xian introduced as they walked, "This is the Weapon Pavilion. Inside, there are finished standard weapons, and it regularly supplies weapons to the army. There are also master blacksmiths inside who can forge weapons according to your specifications, though it comes at a price."

Shen Xingchen looked at the storefront of the Weapon Pavilion.

Scorching flames glowed through the windows—the furnaces melting divine iron were burning bright.

The rhythmic clanging of blacksmithing echoed from inside.

Shen Xingchen recalled when he bought weapons before; if a spear originated from Snowfield Dragon City, it would naturally be significantly more expensive.

Besides the "brand effect," the more important reason was that the blacksmithing masters in this Weapon Pavilion possessed exceptional craftsmanship.

Grandmaster-level blacksmiths like these were in extremely high demand.

Wang Xian then pointed to the other side. "That's the Alchemy Room. Strange as it sounds, most of the medicinal herbs needed to treat soldiers injured by the Demons come from north of the Northern Border, in the region where the Demons live. So we regularly have to send people on secret missions to gather herbs."

Shen Xingchen gave a slight nod.

Where venomous snakes abounded, antidotal herbs were usually found nearby—it was the same principle.

Posted outside the doorway of the Alchemy Room was a list of "scarce herbs."

Shen Xingchen asked, "General Wang, I heard Marshal Yu say that the cultivation of soldiers in our Twelve Corps ranges from Rank 4 to Rank 7. Where do the Rank 8 and Rank 9 combatants go?"

"Please don't call me general! I'm only at Rank 6, barely managing to serve as a centurion."

Wang Xian modestly waved it off before explaining, "Rank 8 and Rank 9 martial artists are rare even in Snowfield Dragon City, not nearly enough to form an army-scale force."

Shen Xingchen listened attentively.

Having just arrived, his understanding of this city was still far too limited.

Wang Xian continued, "Therefore, Rank 8 and Rank 9 martial artists form hunting squads, serving as special operations groups to execute high-difficulty missions. At the same time, this structure is much more flexible on the battlefield, so they aren't bogged down by coordinating with large armies, allowing them to fully unleash their power."

Shen Xingchen nodded thoughtfully. "I see."

Wang Xian smiled. "The hunting squads are ranked as well. Currently, the strongest squad is called [God Concealment], and all of its members are Rank 9."

Shen Xingchen could tell that as Wang Xian spoke, his eyes were full of yearning.

A look of fascination came over Wang Xian's eyes. "The vice captain of the [God Concealment] squad, Ye Qingrou, is a gorgeous beauty. Those long, fair legs of hers... if I could touch them just once, I'd die happy..."

"And the captain of the [Fengwu] squad, Chen Meier... oh man, that face of hers is literally a divine work of art..."

"And Song He from the [Zhouming] squad... her charm and grace are unmatched too..."

Shen Xingchen's face darkened with black lines.

So that's what you were yearning for.

Bro, seriously, if you put even half the effort you spend fantasizing about women into cultivation, you'd have freaking reached Rank 7 ages ago.

Shen Xingchen made a stop gesture and asked, "I encountered a Tuitian Demon Snake before. Could you tell me more about the Demon Race in detail?"

Wang Xian paused for a moment. "Are you really sure you don't want to hear Song He's story?"

Shen Xingchen's face turned purple. "No thanks. Tell me about the Demon Race."

Wang Xian looked unsatisfied, but explained, "The Demons are fundamentally different from humans on a life-tier level. Half an hour after birth, they are already capable of being independent and possess a certain amount of combat strength. At this stage, we call them juveniles, which generally corresponds to Rank 2 to Rank 5."

"Their growth process isn't through cultivation either, but through simple eating—consuming anything infused with spiritual energy, including humans."

"After growing for a while longer, they reach the adult form, which is the stage where the vast majority of Demons stop, corresponding to Rank 5 to Rank 7."

"Beyond that, a rare few lucky Demons or mutated Demons reach a new level that we call the super form. These Demons have reached Rank 8, or even Rank 9."

Shen Xingchen asked again, "What about Demon royalty, like the Tuitian Demon Snake's combat strength? Are they born at Rank 7?"

Wang Xian nodded. "Tuitian Demon Snakes are also divided into common variants and royal variants. Common variants are born at Rank 5, while royals are born at Rank 7.

However, there's no need to worry excessively; the more precious a Demon's bloodline, the harder it is for them to produce offspring."