601: Be careful

This Demon Slaying operation progressed even more smoothly than Shen Bei had imagined.

Because Team Leader Shen's name had already shaken the Imperial City, and he held the two trump cards of the Prince of Wei and the great ancestor's sacred edict, no one in the entire Imperial City dared to disobey him.

Furthermore, the Night Watchers' lightning-fast actions, striking in separate groups, caught these nobles off guard.

The vast majority of noble clans received no intelligence whatsoever and were directly confronted by the Night Watchers at their doors.

As for the other noble clans, they barely managed to get news and were just about to prepare or send warnings when the Night Watchers were already blocking their entrances.

The advantage of such swift action was that the nobles had no time to collude with each other, nor could they protect each other through official channels.

Ren Chuan and others, holding the great ancestor's sacred edict and acting on the orders of Team Leader Shen Bei, cleansed the entire Imperial Capital of demons, and no one dared to stop them.

The nobles were all in fear for their own safety, plunged into intense panic and unease.

The common people, however, celebrated with joy and shed tears of gratitude.

For many years, the people of the Imperial City had suffered greatly from demons.

Countless women were imprisoned and tortured by the Demonic Path, and countless children were snatched by the Demonic Path to be used as blood sacrifices.

The common people were ravaged by the demonic practitioners of the Demonic Path, their families shattered, living in unbearable pain, yet had nowhere to seek justice.

This was because the Demonic Path was protected by nobles and clans, and in the past, they were utterly helpless.

It was almost a common understanding among the people that officials in the court either colluded with demons or remained coldly indifferent and inactive.

Even the Night Watchers, who claimed to eliminate demons and uphold the Dao, were willing but unable, as they previously dared not assault noble residences.

However, after this young Team Leader Shen took charge of the Night Watchers, the common people finally saw hope.

After this night's Demon Slaying operation, listening to the wailing and howling of the Demon Path cultivators, the common people were moved to tears of joy.

From now on, they finally wouldn't need to live in constant fear, worrying every day that they and their loved ones would become resources for the cultivation of Demonic Path Practitioners.

All of this was bestowed upon them by Team Leader Shen.

Especially the people in the slums, one by one, they knelt on the ground; the street full of flowers from that day was still vivid in their minds, and his words from that day still echoed in their ears.

They hadn't taken it seriously at the time, but now… as Shen Bei's reputation grew louder, they also went to report some clues about the Demonic Path, and for everyone who reported, Shen Bei helped them resolve it.

Many people wept in pain because of this; he avenged their loved ones and gave them some hope.

…

As the Demon Path cultivators were slain one by one, the common people spontaneously came out to the streets, respectfully bowing and worshipping.

"Team Leader Shen is mighty!"

"Team Leader Shen is awe-inspiring!"

"Team Leader Shen's Karma is boundless, shining for a thousand autumns!"

"Long live Team Leader Shen!"

"Shut up, do you want to harm Team Leader Shen…?"

…

Shen Bei sat on the couch, closing his eyes to rest.

This night's Demon Slaying operation yielded significant gains.

Of course, what Shen Bei referred to was not the capture of Demonic Path Practitioners, which was merely a stepping stone for refreshing the daily settlement panel.

Shen Bei also didn't care for the money he incidentally acquired; rather, Fu Jian was quite fond of it.

What Shen Bei cared about most was still the settlement panel.

At this moment, in Shen Bei's vision, a large stream of data was frantically refreshing.

[Captured Demon Path Wood Lin, daily settlement rewards are as follows:]

[Strength +5, Physique +5, Agility +5, Resistance to Devilish Qi erosion +20%.]

[Captured Demon Path Huang Tian, daily settlement rewards are as follows:]

[Strength +5, Agility +5, Spirit +5.]

[Captured Demon Path…]

…

The countless entries refreshed for almost half an hour before finally stopping.

Whether it was an inconspicuous Demon Path or a Great Demon Path, all activated settlement rewards.

Shen Bei no longer knew how many attribute points he had gained in this wave.

Many.

Too many!

Completely uncountable.

At the same time, as the attributes increased.

Blood rushed back, and Shen Bei's body surface took on the color of molten iron.

A warm current slowly rose from Shen Bei's Dantian, like a spring bubbling within his body, rapidly circulating through his limbs and bones.

Wherever it went, it felt as if countless tiny needlepoints were gently touching every inch of skin, every bone, bringing an indescribable sensation of tingling and exhilaration.

Shen Bei was startled.

This is… a sign of Breakthrough to Martial God?

Immediately, Shen Bei sat cross-legged and circulated the Seven-Colored Divine Radiance.

Under the guidance of the Seven-Colored Divine Radiance, the surging power, like a rushing river, gradually calmed, eventually transforming into a gentle yet powerful Qi flow, slowly filling his body.

After an unknown period, Shen Bei could distinctly feel that the power within him had reached an unprecedented state of fullness at this moment.

Snap…

Shen Bei shivered, his bones cracking like thunder.

His entire being seemed to transcend.

Martial God, achieved!

There wasn't much joy; for Shen Bei, he had long anticipated this step.

It would be an outrage if he didn't Breakthrough to Martial God!

And now, to move to a higher level, was to enter the Great Cultivator of Divine Power Realm.

This required two hard conditions.

First: Martial God Realm.

Second: To have a Celestial Human Attraction.

And Shen Bei's Celestial Human Attraction was the Seven-Colored Divine Radiance.

The basic conditions for Breakthrough to the Great Cultivator of Divine Power Realm were already met.

The only thing he didn't understand was… how to Breakthrough, how to achieve it.

If one were on earth's surface, and you asked how to ascend from ninth-rank to Martial God, someone could still explain it.

But for a Martial God to Breakthrough further, let alone the method, even within Martial God circles, very few people knew that there was a Realm beyond Martial God.

After all, the strongest Martial Artist visible on the surface was a Martial God.

This all indicated that the method for Breakthrough to the Great Cultivator of Divine Power did not exist on earth's surface.

This reminded Shen Bei of the continent across the great ocean.

According to the information Shen Bei had gathered, all Martial Gods who ascended to the Divine Power Realm had to cross the ocean to do so.

It's just that Shen Bei was not in a hurry to depart at the moment.

The matter of the Gestalt Collapse was not yet resolved.

These days, Shen Bei had reduced his outings, and the effects of the Gestalt Collapse were becoming more frequent.

Especially when sleeping, he would suddenly feel like he was falling into an abyss and wake up startled.

This severely affected his vital energy and spirit.

"I wonder how Fu Jian's progress is," Shen Bei mumbled.

Just then.

Ren Chuan, Bi Tuo, Fu Jian, and others, having returned triumphantly, stood before Shen Bei to report their results.

"Team Leader, currently, ninety percent of the Demon Path cultivators in the entire Imperial City have been completely eliminated by our lightning-fast operation.

"The remaining less than ten percent are all severely wounded and have fled the Imperial City.

"This Demon Slaying operation has achieved unprecedented and outstanding results, and can be said to have established an unparalleled Merit for the people of the Imperial City.

"Shouldn't we write a summary of this matter and report it to Your Highness the Prince of Wei and Your Majesty?"

Logically speaking, it was indeed time to claim credit.

But Shen Bei didn't want to waste this opportunity right now, and subtly glanced at Fu Jian.

Then he said to the others, "Understood, you may withdraw."

Ren Chuan was utterly bewildered.

Not claiming credit now? Be careful, delays can lead to complications.

However, Ren Chuan knew his place and status; he was only offering a suggestion, and naturally, whatever Shen Bei said, went.

…