Chapter 157: The Aspirations of an Eighth Rank Official

Chapter 157: The Aspirations of an Eighth Rank Official

At the Wan Hua Tower.

On the open-air gallery at the top floor.

When Lin Qingyi spoke those words, Lin Jiaye's heart trembled.

The next moment, Lin Qingyi continued, "Lin Jiaye, for taking items from the tower without permission, you will kneel under the sun for three hours."

"Yes, Auntie!" Lin Jiaye's delicate body trembled, and she silently agreed.

Then, Lin Qingyi turned to Xiao Lu, "Xiao Lu, you violated the rules. Go outside and kneel for two hours."

"Yes, Tower Master!" Xiao Lu respectfully knelt down.

Seeing Xiao Lu's lowered posture, Jiang Ning's heart softened, and he felt a twinge of reluctance.

The sun blazed overhead.

Kneeling for two hours—for a martial artist like Lin Jiaye, it wouldn't be a problem.

With her robust physique, she could endure it.

But for someone like Xiao Lu, an ordinary person who hadn't trained in martial arts, kneeling under the scorching sun for two hours might lead to heatstroke or even fainting, endangering her life.

Jiang Ning pondered for a moment, then hesitated.

As an outsider, he didn't have the right to interfere in the affairs of the Wan Hua Tower.

He shook his head inwardly and tucked the silver bill into his pocket.

"What? Do you want to plead for them?" Lin Qingyi looked into Jiang Ning's eyes, and from his gaze and expression, she discerned his intentions.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning spoke frankly, "Sister Lin, I'd like to plead for Miss Xiao Lu!"

"You do know how to cherish beauty!" Lin Qingyi glanced at Jiang Ning, "Fine! Since you call me sister, I can't refuse you this favor!"

Then, Lin Qingyi called out to Xiao Lu, who was walking towards the sun, "Xiao Lu, considering that Jiang Ning pleaded for you, kneel outside for half an hour and then come back."

"Remember, you are a member of the tower, and from now on, tower items must not be given to outsiders."

"Yes, Tower Master!" Xiao Lu respectfully knelt on the ground, "Thank you, Tower Master, for sparing my life!"

Then, she turned to Jiang Ning and knelt, "Thank you, Mr. Jiang."

"No need for such a grand gesture!" Jiang Ning shook his head.

Xiao Lu didn't say more but stood up and silently walked towards the blazing sun.

At that moment, Lin Jiaye also stopped and looked at Jiang Ning with hopeful eyes.

Kneeling under the sun for three hours—with her ninth-rank strength, it wouldn't cause any real harm.

But she loved her beauty.

Direct exposure to the sun for three hours would tan her skin.

Witnessing this scene, she realized how highly regarded Jiang Ning was by her aunt.

Just a few words on behalf of a servant made her aunt relent.

If Jiang Ning could speak up for her, she believed her punishment would be as light as the servant's.

However, at that moment, Jiang Ning addressed Lin Qingyi, "Sister Lin, you truly are beautiful inside and out!"

Lin Qingyi smiled gently.

"Since you're so sweet-tongued, I'll give you another piece of information about the Inspection Office."

As her words fell, Lin Qingyi raised her hand towards her room.

A white paper flew towards her.

"Inner Breath is truly profound!" Seeing this, Jiang Ning's heart filled with yearning.

This mysterious power held an irresistible allure in his eyes.

It was so unscientific! And it was this very unscientific nature in his eyes that made it so enticing.

No matter how strong his power, speed, or defense were, he was still mortal, flesh and blood.

But Inner Breath, in Jiang Ning's eyes, was a truly extraordinary power.

A tangible, extraordinary power—after seeing so many fantasy works in his previous life, how could he not desire it?"

Then, the white paper that Lin Qingyi had summoned through the air seemed to be supported by an invisible force and slowly descended into her hand.

"Take it! This is something I prepared for you early on! It contains most of the information about the Inspection Office. If you can reach the eighth rank before this, you'll have a chance to become a captain."

"According to the structure of the Inspection Office, any captain is a ninth-rank official of the Xia Dynasty! You'll have an official position."

"This should be attractive to you!"

Hearing Lin Qingyi's words, Jiang Ning immediately took the white paper that she handed over.

"Thank you, Sister Lin!" He expressed his gratitude.

Just then,

"Jiaye, why are you still standing there? Go and kneel outside!" Lin Qingyi spoke to Lin Jiaye.

At this moment, Lin Jiaye saw Jiang Ning's gaze turn towards her, and her eyes filled with anger.

Being ignored for so long would make anyone upset.

Especially for someone like her, who had always been favored and treated like a shining star.

"Auntie, I'll go now!" Lin Jiaye said.

As her words fell, Lin Jiaye lowered her head and walked towards the sun.

"Alright, you should go too!" Lin Qingyi patted her mouth and yawned as she looked at Jiang Ning.

"Then I'll take my leave." Jiang Ning bowed.

Lin Qingyi waved at Jiang Ning, turned, and gracefully walked towards her room.

Her thin silk robe revealed her graceful figure.

But at this moment, Jiang Ning was not paying attention to this scene, as his gaze fell on the white paper in his hand, and instantly, one of the statements on it captured all his attention.

"Eighth Rank, can participate in the Inspection Office's Captain Assessment."

"As long as you pass the assessment, you can not only join the Inspection Office but also hold a Ninth Rank official position!"

"Moreover, there's also the position of Deputy Commander that can be competed for!"

Jiang Ning looked at the white paper in his hand and muttered to himself.

A gleam of brilliance flashed in his eyes.

His mind instantly locked onto the position of Deputy Commander.

Winning the position of Deputy Commander would grant him an Eighth Rank official position.

Although this Eighth Rank was from the Eighth Rank, not the true Eighth Rank.

However, in Luo Water County, even a from the Eighth Rank was a truly influential figure.

The Head of the Yamen's Law Enforcement, was also only an Eighth Rank official.

The true Eighth Rank officials were few and far between in the entire Luo Water County.

The County Governor, was one of them, a true Eighth Rank.

The Commander of the City Guard, was another, also a true Eighth Rank.

As for above the Eighth Rank, the entire Luo Water County had only two Seventh Rank officials.

The Head of the City's Outer Guard, and the County Governor.

And who were these two people?

One held military power, commanding the City Guard, a formidable figure.

The other was the ruler of Luo Water County, the local emperor, and a powerful figure who could make the three major families of Cao, Liu, and Xie, who had been operating here for many years, join forces to deal with him.

From this, it was clear how high the status of an Eighth Rank official was? It was only below the status of these two people.

If he could win the position of Deputy Commander and hold a from the Eighth Rank official position, it would be like ascending to heaven in one step.

It was common knowledge that the Inspection Office was a truly powerful institution.

According to Jiang Ning's understanding, it could be compared to the Jinyiwei of his previous life.

But in reality, the power of the Inspection Office far surpassed that of the Jinyiwei.

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

Any official of the Inspection Office was a true authority figure.

Having authority was a symbol of status.

However, Jiang Ning also knew that it wouldn't be easy for him to win the from the Eighth Rank position.

According to the intelligence, these positions were almost monopolized by those from the Martial Academy.

The Martial Academy was located in the county town of Dongling County, within Dongling City.

This was the place where the Great Xia nurtured martial talent.

Those who could join the Martial Academy were either of noble birth or possessed unparalleled martial talent.

Aside from this, even the children of wealthy families struggled to enter the Martial Academy.

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

Lacking talent?

There were always ways to compensate with acquired means.

Weak qi and blood?

There were also ways to strengthen them.

But those extremely precious things, without status, were not easily obtainable.

Take, for example, the Panther Embryo Transformation Body Pill from Medicine King Valley.

The flawless version is available at 69shu! 69+shu_bar, the first to release this novel.

So, with a noble background, even if one was ordinary, they would become extraordinary.

In such a situation, being able to join the Martial Academy as an ordinary person, becoming a part of it, one could imagine how exceptional their talent was.

Such talent would undoubtedly attract the favor and cultivation of many influential figures.

Jiang Ning deeply understood this.

If he hadn't displayed extraordinary talent, how could he have gained the favor of Wang Jin, Shen Congyun, Lin Qingyi, and others?

So, he clearly understood that competing for the position of Deputy Commander with the geniuses from the Martial Academy wouldn't be simple.

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

But no matter the difficulty, Jiang Ning wanted to try his best.

Holding an official position had countless advantages.

Currently, the world still belonged to the Great Xia.

Within the Great Xia's territory, official personnel represented righteousness and truth.

Without invincible power to conquer the world, righteousness and truth were two crucial things.

Moreover, joining the Inspection Office and winning the position of Deputy Commander would resolve the Medicine King Valley incident.

With the backing of the Great Xia and the towering tree of the Inspection Office, Medicine King Valley wouldn't dare to act rashly.

How could they dare to touch an official of the Great Xia court, especially one from the Inspection Office?

In this world, it was still the Great Xia's domain.

Acting against a court official might not avoid becoming a target of the Inspection Office.

Jiang Ning was still confident about this.

Furthermore, joining the Inspection Office would provide him with endless martial cultivation methods.

This was why Jiang Ning wanted to join the Inspection Office.

There were too many advantages.

The only disadvantage was that he couldn't truly stay out of affairs, and he would have to do some work.

However, there was another advantage, which was having a true place to call home.

Even if the world became chaotic, with a Martial Saint in residence, it would take longer for chaos to arrive.

A suitable place to settle down would allow him more time to grow.

Time was the most scarce resource he had.

As long as he had enough time, his cultivation technique would continue to break through limits, unlocking more attributes, and his strength would inevitably become more formidable.

Comparing his current self to who he was a month ago, the difference in their strengths was like night and day.

After bidding farewell to Lin Qingyi, he exited Wan Hua Tower.

Jiang Ning turned back to glance at the rooftop.

He could see the kneeling figures of Xiao Lu and Lin Jiaye outside the tower.

After a quick look, he averted his gaze.

If Xiao Lu had been kneeling for two hours, he would have used the Sky and Rain Summoning Technique again to save her life.

After all, they had become acquainted, and every time he visited Wan Hua Tower, Xiao Lu would attend to him with meticulous care, so naturally, he couldn't bear to see her punished.

However, now that Lin Qingyi had intervened to reduce her punishment, half an hour wouldn't be enough to take her life.

It was at this thought that Jiang Ning decided to let it go.

Subsequently, Jiang Ning headed straight home.

This trip had been fruitful, and he only wanted to return as soon as possible, digest the resources he had acquired over the past few days, and quickly enhance his strength.

The stronger he became, the greater his chances of securing the position of Deputy Commander.

In the blink of an eye, two days had passed.

Name: Jiang Ning

Essence Energy: 143.7

Skills:

Literacy and Comprehension (Limit Break twice, 1833/3000) (Attribute: Photographic Memory, Extraordinary Senses)



Five Beasts Fist (Limit Break once, 322/2000) (Attribute: Five Viscera Essence Storage)



Firewood Splitting Blade Technique (Limit Break four times, 5000/5000) (Attribute: Cross-Reference, Blades Like Gusts, Divine Swordplay, Sword-Body Fusion)



Inner Core Nourishing Technique (Proficiency 1644/2000)



Vajra Indestructible Body (Minor Mastery 453/5000)



Water Affinity (Limit Break four times, 3873/5000) (Attribute: Aquatic Breathing, Water Manipulation, Water Spirit Affinity, Sky and Rain Summoning Technique)



These past two days, Jiang Ning could be said to have lived an extraordinarily fulfilling life.

Every day, besides cultivating, he would digest the resources he had acquired earlier.

The Vajra Pill had already been thoroughly refined by him.

And he had witnessed the power of this pill.

It boosted his strength to three thousand jin, which was the effect of the Vajra Pill.

Now, he even possessed a strength of three thousand seven hundred jin.

At this level of strength, he also found that the muscle groups in his arms had been tempered to their limit.

To further increase his strength, he could only temper the muscle groups in other parts of his body.

With strength coursing through his entire body, the human body was a unified whole.

Naturally, by tempering the muscle groups throughout his body, he could reach new heights with the strength his arms could possess.

Besides the significant change in his strength, the most notable improvement over these two days was the growth of his Essence Energy points.

His Essence Energy points had soared from 51.8 to 143.7.

The reason for this drastic change was his relentless consumption of food.

In just two days, he had devoured most of the White Dragon Fish meat, leaving less than thirty jin of fish meat remaining.

Moreover, during these two days, he had been immersed in water, constantly nourished by the Water Spirit.

His physical state was recovering moment by moment, and under such circumstances, it was as if he was continuously using restorative items.

He had no fear of depleting his body's resources.

Although his Qi and Blood Force was consumed rapidly, his physical state recovered just as swiftly.

His stamina and energy were almost inexhaustible, elevating his efficiency to new heights.

Even when his Qi and Blood Force was exhausted, it recovered at an extraordinary rate.

Therefore, every day, he visualized the furnace, using his internal Qi and Blood Force as fuel, and employed the Furnace Transformation Secret Technique to refine the pills within his body.

As a result, not only had he completely refined the Vajra Pill, but the Strength Enhancing Pill had also been refined.

However, he discovered that as his strength surpassed three thousand jin, the effect of the Strength Enhancing Pill had diminished significantly, reducing its effectiveness.

In contrast, the Vajra Pill continued to provide him with noticeable enhancements.

Simultaneously, the Vajra Pill had another effect.

When digesting the pill's power, combined with the Vajra Indestructible Body tempering his skin membrane, it produced an unexpected outcome.

His Vajra Indestructible Body experience points skyrocketed by over four hundred points.

Although these four hundred points didn't bring about a qualitative change, he found that the strength of his skin membrane had increased by at least thirty percent.

A thirty percent increase undoubtedly had a substantial effect.

Ordinary weapons were unable to penetrate his skin.

He had truly become impervious to blades and arrows.

Additionally, the Panther Embryo Transformation Body Pill within his body had also been refined to a great extent.

At most, by tomorrow, he would refine the first Panther Embryo Transformation Body Pill, further elevating his strength.

These two days were precisely the reason why his Essence Energy points had increased so dramatically!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end