77: I have so many resources to redeem, I envy you so much!

Li Dong sat cross-legged on the bed, introspecting.

The spiritual energy surging through his Meridians was much more robust than before. The great battle had consumed a huge amount of energy, but after breaking through and establishing himself, he had vaguely touched the peak of the Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment. He seemed to be only separated from the Late Stage by a thin sheet of paper.

“Thump, thump, thump.”

The knocking was neither hurried nor slow.

“Who is it?” Li Dong opened his eyes.

“Centurion Li, the Prefecture Demon Suppression Division’s commendation order has arrived.” A slightly unfamiliar voice came from outside the door, steady and somewhat polite.

Centurion? Li Dong raised an eyebrow, got up, and opened the door.

Outside the door stood a middle-aged man dressed in the Demon Suppression Division’s green warden uniform. His face was square, and his eyes were sharp, completely different from the temperament of those under Inspector Zhou. He looked more like an official who dealt with documents all year round.

“Centurion Li, I am Qian Ming, a warden from the Demon Suppression Division’s Merit Department.” The middle-aged man handed over a gilded scroll. “By order of Vice Commander Sun and several department heads, I have specially come to read and deliver the commendation.”

Vice Commander Sun? Not from Luo Yi’s faction. Li Dong understood in his heart.

Qian Ming unrolled the scroll and read aloud: “Demon Suppression Guard Li Dong, at a time of crisis for the Prefecture, ventured alone into danger, broke the great demon-attracting formation, captured the chief culprit Lin Yunzhi, and saved the lives of the entire city from peril. His achievements are immense! Therefore, he is hereby awarded ten thousand points of special merit by the Prefecture Demon Suppression Division, promoted to the position of Centurion of the Prefecture Demon Suppression Division, and granted one hundred High-Grade Spirit Stones, a bottle of Solid Foundation and Vitality Pills…”

A series of rewards were read out, which surprised even Li Dong. Especially the ten thousand merit points—that was no small sum.

“Centurion Li, this is your Centurion token and merit record Jade Slip.” Qian Ming presented two Jade Slips with both hands. “With this token, you can freely enter most areas of the Demon Suppression Division, including the Class B and Class C archives and Cultivation quiet rooms. Merit points have been recorded on the Jade Slip, and you can exchange for what you need at the Merit Hall at any time.”

“Thank you, Warden Qian.” Li Dong accepted them.

“Centurion Li is young and promising, with boundless prospects. Vice Commander Sun also highly praises you.” Qian Ming’s face showed a hint of a smile. “If you have leisure, you can visit Vice Commander Sun’s residence. He is happy to promote rising talents.”

This was an olive branch. Li Dong was noncommittal: “I will.”

Qian Ming exchanged a few more polite words, then bid farewell and left.

Li Dong weighed the Centurion token in his hand. It was slightly heavy and engraved with an ancient character “ Hundred” (hundred). It was an honorary position with no real power, but his status had indeed been elevated. At least the access privileges were much more convenient.

“Ten thousand merit points…” He looked at the merit Jade Slip, his Divine Sense probing it. A long string of “zeros” almost dazzled his eyes.

“Now, I’ve upgraded my gear,” he murmured. His injuries were no longer a major issue; it was time to go to the Merit Hall to “stock up.”

The Merit Hall of the Prefecture Demon Suppression Division was more imposing than that of Mu Shi County by more than one grade. People came and went inside the hall, most of them in a hurry.

As soon as Li Dong stepped through the hall entrance, he felt several gazes sweep over him—some curious, some scrutinizing, and also a faint trace of… awe?

It seemed his reputation as “Heavenly God Li Descended” had already spread throughout the Demon Suppression Division.

The person in charge of the exchange area was an old man with a goatee, surnamed Wang, known as Warden Wang. It was said that he had a bad temper. When Li Dong was still an unknown in the New Recruit Camp, he had seen him reprimand others from afar, and he was absolutely merciless.

At this moment, Warden Wang was organizing Jade Slips with his head down, not even lifting his eyelids, and his tone was flat: “What do you want to exchange? State your name and show your merit Jade Slip.”

“Li Dong.”

Warden Wang’s hand, holding the Jade Slip, paused. He seemed to recall something and slowly looked up. When he clearly saw that the person was Li Dong, his originally half-closed eyes suddenly widened a few degrees, and the wrinkles on his face seemed to smooth out a bit.

“Ahem… So it’s Centurion Li!” Warden Wang quickly put down the Jade Slip, a chrysanthemum-like smile plastered on his face, his attitude extraordinarily enthusiastic, “Centurion Li, what an honor! I apologize for not welcoming you sooner, my apologies!”

Li Dong looked at his 180-degree change in attitude and felt a little like laughing. Was this the change brought by strength?

“Warden Wang, you’re too kind.”

“Not at all, not at all!” Warden Wang rubbed his hands. “Centurion Li, what would you like to exchange for? Just say it! As long as you have enough merit, you can pick anything from our Merit Hall’s treasures!”

He took Li Dong’s merit Jade Slip, and with a sweep of his Divine Sense, his goatee almost curled up: “O-one… thirteen thousand points?!” His voice even trembled a little.

The entire exchange area instantly fell silent. Everyone’s gaze “swish” focused on Li Dong, their eyes like they were looking at some rare treasure.

“So many merit points?!”

“Did I hear that right? Is he that Li Dong?”

“Hiss—he alone crushed the prestige of the Lin Family’s young master. Truly extraordinary!”

Envy, jealousy, and a hint of fear intertwined in the air.

Li Dong acted as if he hadn’t heard these gazes and spoke directly: “I need a Pill Formula for the ‘Seven Apertures Exquisite Pill,’ and the Materials to refine three batches.” This Medicinal Pill could purify the Divine Soul and assist in breaking through the Late Foundation Establishment Bottleneck, which was exactly what he urgently needed at the moment.

“Yes, yes, yes! Seven Apertures Exquisite Pill, High Grade Pill Formula, worth one thousand five hundred merit points. Materials for three batches… that will be three thousand merit points!” Warden Wang quickly began searching.

“Also, an advanced Cultivation Technique related to lightning spells, preferably an Incomplete Manual; a complete one is too expensive.” Li Dong continued. The Heavenly Pill Rifting Demon Seal he Cultivated was powerful, but he always felt it could go further. If he could find a suitable lightning spell, it might give him some inspiration.

“Lightning spell Incomplete Manual…” Warden Wang’s eyes darted around. “Yes! We happen to have the last three volumes of the Incomplete Manual for the Purple Firmament Divine Lightning Body Tempering Art here. It is said to be related to ancient lightning spells, but the Cultivation conditions are harsh, so no one has ever shown interest. What do you think…”

“That’s the one. How many merit points?”

“Well… The original price is two thousand, but since it’s Centurion Li, I’ll give you a discount: one thousand eight hundred merit points!” Warden Wang smiled even more brightly.

Li Dong then said: “As for ancient texts on ‘Spirituality’ or ‘Item Sentience,’ I want as many as you have.” He was very interested in the mysterious Spirit Transformation Demon Suppression Seal and wanted to learn more about it.

“We have those too! ‘Records of All Things Having Spirit,’ ‘Secrets of Forging Spirit,’ ‘Miscellaneous Talks on Profoundness’… seven books in total, all rare Incomplete Manuals. I’ll give them to you for five hundred merit points as a package deal!”

Li Dong didn’t even frown: “I’ll take them all.”

Then, he exchanged for a large number of detailed maps of the core areas of the Prefecture Demon Suppression Division, including even the outer layouts of some Forbidden Grounds. He also acquired simple information Jade Slips about the major forces in the Prefecture and the backgrounds of important figures. These would be his reliance for his upcoming actions.

All in all, Li Dong’s astonishing more than ten thousand merit points flowed out like water.

Several scions from influential families nearby, who had also wanted to exchange for some good things, watched with their eyes almost popping out. The merit points they had painstakingly accumulated for a year or a year and a half were not even enough for a fraction of what Li Dong bought.

“Is this guy… treating the Merit Hall as his own backyard?” one person muttered sourly.

“Shh! Keep it down! Didn’t you see Warden Wang’s fawning expression? This Li Dong is a big shot in the Prefecture now!”

“Big shot? I think he’s a jinx! The Lin Family was utterly humiliated by him, and Commander Luo probably hates him to the bone.”

Li Dong put a large pile of Jade Slips, Medicinal Pills, and Materials into his Storage Pouch, feeling refreshed.

【Ding! Detected that the Incomplete Manual of the Purple Firmament Divine Lightning Body Tempering Art has a high resonance with the host’s Cultivation Technique, the Heavenly Pill Rifting Demon Seal. You can attempt to integrate and analyze it, with a chance to unlock new Cultivation Technique characteristics or derivative Divine Abilities.】

The System’s notification sounded at the right time.

“Oh? Such a good thing?” Li Dong’s mood improved further.

Just as he was about to leave, the corner of his eye caught two people in ordinary Demon Suppression Guard uniforms talking in low voices in a corner.

“…Did you hear? The rumors in the market on the west side of the city say that there seems to be some incredible place connected to the secret warehouse under the Lin Family…”

“What place? Don’t talk nonsense! The Lin Family has fallen, why bring them up?”

“No, I heard it from my third uncle. He used to work in the city defense camp and said there was a legend about an ‘Earth Abyss’ entrance under the Prefecture, and the news was jointly suppressed by several major families and high-ranking officials of the Demon Suppression Division…”

“Earth Abyss?! Isn’t that the legendary passage connecting to the Demon Realm?! Is it true?!”

“Keep it down! You can’t talk about this carelessly! Although Lin Xiaotian has been suspended, Commander Luo is still around! In the past, any news related to ‘Earth Abyss’ or ‘Forbidden Experiment’ was strictly suppressed. Anyone who dared to speak out wouldn’t even know how they died…”

The two men’s voices grew softer and softer, and soon they changed the subject.

Li Dong’s footsteps paused slightly. Earth Abyss? Forbidden Experiment?

It seemed the Lin Family’s secrets ran deeper than he had imagined. The waters of this Prefecture city were also very murky.

He walked out of the Merit Hall thoughtfully, first finding a secluded spot to send some Medicinal Pills, Spirit Stones, and several basic Cultivation Technique Jade Slips suitable for his father Li Changgen and sister Li Qingyan to Mu Shi County, via a secret channel he had learned from Inspector Zhou.

After doing all this, Li Dong returned to the temporary residence arranged by the Demon Suppression Division.

“Father, Qingyan, the Prefecture is full of storms and dangers. You must also become strong as soon as possible.”

He looked at the Prefecture city outside the window, still bustling but also with undercurrents, his gaze profound.

Tonight, he would first study the Purple Firmament Divine Lightning Body Tempering Art and the ancient texts on “Spirituality,” to see if he could add some “material” to his Heavenly Pill Rifting Demon Seal.

As for other matters, he would deal with them as they came.