Chapter 47: Human-Faced Giant Crocodile, Clan-Exterminating Scholar!
Luoxia City.
Since he’d already sent word ahead by carrier pigeon, Gu Lin quickly found the Gu family residence.
This particular district was home mostly to the families of Eastern Temple members. The Gu family’s new home was a grand estate with 3 successive courtyards, a Fortune-and-Prosperity spirit wall, sweeping eaves curving skyward, and jade-green bamboo and flowering trees planted throughout the courtyard.
Though living well in Chu Province was no easy feat, thanks to the fortune he’d won gambling everything on the selection trial at the betting houses—a staggering 59,000 taels of silver—building a residence within Luoxia City, where land came at a premium beyond measure, hadn’t posed any real difficulty, especially with the 30 percent discount extended to sacred grounds members’ families.
“Lin’er!”
Hearing the commotion, Zhou Man rushed outside at once.
She was dressed head to toe in gleaming pearls and jewels, adorned with earrings, necklaces, and bracelets of every kind, her face powdered with rouge, her robes lavish and resplendent.
Gu Changchuan came hurrying out at the sound of her voice.
“Father, how’s your official position coming along?” Gu Lin asked.
Gu Changchuan couldn’t help but puff out his chest, clasping his hands behind his back, and declared loudly:
“8th-grade Junior Levy Officer of Chu Province.”
Having said this, he cupped his hands and bowed toward the heavens, “Living off the Divine Dynasty’s stipend, blessed by the nation’s grace, I shall naturally devote myself wholeheartedly to serving the common people, fulfilling every duty befitting my station…”
Gu Lin cut in with a smile:
“From the sound of that title alone, it’s clearly an honorary post with no real duties.”
At once, Gu Changchuan shook his head with a sigh:
“Indeed, it’s purely honorary, with not a shred of real authority. I don’t even need to report for duty, let alone handle any official documents. Living off the Divine Dynasty’s stipend for nothing at all—this official truly feels he doesn’t deserve it.”
“Oh, enough of that.” Zhou Man shot him a sidelong glance.
“Do you even understand the twists and turns of official politics? An honorary post is the best possible arrangement—no work to do, no responsibility to bear, and you still carry the title of an 8th-grade official when you walk about outside.”
“Come along and help me prepare a proper feast for Lin’er.”
Gu Changchuan’s face showed a trace of genuine regret as he sighed:
“There’s nothing wrong with an honorary post—it’s comfortable, carefree. But if I could hold even a sliver of real authority, that would open up a much broader world for me.”
No one could entirely escape such feelings—he, too, wished to pursue advancement and fulfill his own ambitions, yet having been granted only an honorary post out of favor, that path had simply come to an end for him.
Still, all of this depended entirely on having such an exceptional son. In truth, perhaps an honorary post suited him better after all—were he to actually hold real power and authority, a single careless mistake on his part might end up causing his son no end of trouble.
Half an hour later, the family sat down together for a meal, filled with warmth and laughter.
During the meal, Gu Changchuan raised a suggestion:
“Jingming, Escort Chief Lin wrote back to me. He said he’s willing to relocate and build his career here in Chu Province, so I’m planning to open an escort agency together with him in the provincial capital. The chubby young Wang Mu wants to invest as a partner too.”
“I already checked with the provincial officials, and an honorary Junior Levy Officer engaging in business doesn’t violate any laws or regulations.”
“Sitting idle all day, I really ought to find something to occupy my time.”
He gazed earnestly at his son.
These days, he deferred to his son’s judgment on nearly everything.
Gu Lin nodded:
“Father, go ahead and make the arrangements as you see fit.”
Gu Changchuan’s face broke into a smile.
***
A good night’s sleep followed.
The next day, as dawn broke faintly during the Hour of the Rabbit, Gu Lin washed up and headed toward Luoxia Mountain.
Arriving at the Eastern Temple’s administrative complex, with several colleagues pointing the way, Gu Lin made his way to the central hall at the very peak of Luoxia Mountain, where mist rose like steam over a vast marsh above, a hazy drizzle drifting through the air.
That wasn’t rain at all—it was the purest spiritual energy condensing into liquid form!
Within the hall, everyone who passed wore the official robe patterned with sun, moon, and stars. The Spirit-Cleansing Pool fell entirely under the Daoist Court System’s jurisdiction.
Gu Lin presented his golden waist token and identification credentials.
“Only just now getting here?”
A graceful, elegant woman remarked after recording his details, unable to hold back a note of reproach.
She then led Gu Lin toward the meditation chambers.
After roughly an incense-stick’s worth of time walking, the graceful woman arrived at a narrow, cramped meditation chamber.
“This is your room.”
Gu Lin bowed respectfully before stepping inside.
Within was a well, just large enough to fit a single person, bubbling with a faint, sizzling sound, the noise crisp and clear as though it were the most beautiful melody in all the world. The well’s water carried thick, dense spiritual energy, and peering down into its depths, one could make out milky-white spirit salamanders drifting about within.
This, then, was the Spirit-Cleansing Pool that drove martial artists across the world to madness in pursuit of it, capable of fully unlocking one’s innate talent and potential.
Gu Lin had already prepared dried provisions, fruit, and tea in advance. He now shed his official robes and stepped, entirely bare, into the well’s spring waters. In an instant, warmth surged through every limb and joint of his body, spirit salamanders wriggling across his skin, settling directly onto the positions of his apertures.
***
10 days passed in the blink of an eye, and Gu Lin emerged from the spring waters.
Not the slightest surprise awaited him—the Spirit-Cleansing Pool had produced no effect on him whatsoever, or at most, an effect so minimal it barely registered.
Gu Lin felt not the slightest discouragement. He’d expected exactly this all along—his own cultivation talent was, at its core, thoroughly mediocre.
If he’d never possessed real talent to begin with, how could there be any potential left to unlock?
The only reason he’d remained at the Spirit-Cleansing Pool for a full 10 days was simply to avoid drawing unwanted attention.
“Time to head to the Mission Hall.” Gu Lin left the meditation chamber.
The Spirit-Cleansing Pool’s rules allowed a 3-month window, after which it would close entirely, but members were free to come and go as they pleased throughout that period.
Returning to the Eastern Temple, Gu Lin made his way toward the Mission Hall.
The towering, magnificent structure stood a full 17 stories tall, the Xiezhi statue crowning its peak rendered with lifelike precision.
Before the hall stood 2 middle-aged men, both bearing an air of refined, scholarly elegance.
Gu Lin presented his identification token.
One of the men, with handsome, well-groomed sideburns, offered a reminder:
“Braves are restricted to the first and second floors only.”
Gu Lin nodded.
Across all four sacred grounds, members without an official rank were collectively referred to as Braves—in truth, nothing more than foot soldiers.
Of course, once outside Luoxia Mountain, ordinary people addressed them as Venerable Ones instead.
Gu Lin stepped into the Mission Hall, where several dozen Braves already wandered before the wooden display racks, the oldest among them appearing to be somewhere around 33 or 34 years of age.
He found himself musing inwardly.
Everyone here had joined the sacred grounds at around 20 years old, and yet others had spent over a decade drifting along as mere foot soldiers, while Centurion Cao, at most 40 years old himself, already wielded tremendous authority as a centurion.
Setting aside these stray thoughts, Gu Lin began sorting through the case files.
Most of them were demon-elimination assignments.
An 8-foot venomous spider, a mountain dog-demon lurking deep in the wilds, a giant python coiled at the bottom of a pool…
Each case file listed its corresponding contribution points at the very end.
Gu Lin frowned deeply.
The files clearly recorded that most of these demonic creatures had only just recently entered the mortal realm.
Recently entering the mortal realm meant their sins remained shallow.
Taking such lives yielded little merit in return.
“Here I am, being picky.”
Gu Lin couldn’t help but laugh softly to himself.
Thinking back to before the selection trial, when he’d been willing to use his own body as bait without a second thought, purely for the sake of accumulating merit—and now here he stood, being selective about his choices.
But it couldn’t be helped. He was, after all, working entirely alone, and these various assignments were scattered across every corner of Chu Province—a single trip could easily take 10 days to half a month at minimum.
He had to choose the assignment best suited to his needs.
If he were a Squad Leader or Company Leader, with skilled subordinates handling matters on his behalf, contribution points would come flooding in like a river in full flow.
Wandering before the 20 bamboo display racks, sorting through file after file, Gu Lin finally found a case file that satisfied him.
“A human-faced giant crocodile lurks along the Wei River at Chu Province’s border, 1st Rank, Lower Tier, having achieved sentience and possessing a demon core. 3 days ago, a civilian vessel carrying 32 passengers was lost entirely, devoured within the beast’s belly.”
Completing the assignment: 76 contribution points.
“This one, then!”
Gu Lin took the case file at once.
A 1st Rank, Lower Tier demonic creature that had achieved sentience and possessed a demon core roughly corresponded to somewhere between Cavern Mystery Third Level and Cavern Mystery Fourth Level.
He felt fully confident in eliminating it!
As for the contribution points, they were admittedly on the lower side, enough to exchange for at most 3 mid-grade Spirit Stones.
Gu Lin had already come to understand that sacred grounds members hoping to accumulate contribution points purely through eliminating minor demons, in pursuit of promotion, faced a genuinely difficult road.
Below the rank of centurion, the key to promotion lay in eliminating creatures of “Royal-Grade Bloodline” among demons and “Heavenly Demon Bloodline” among devils.
Demonic creatures carrying either of these two bloodlines were born with inherent nobility and limitless potential, and should they be allowed to mature and grow into their full strength, they would pose a tremendous threat to the Divine Dynasty.
Should fortune favor him enough to eliminate a young, still-weak demon carrying Royal-Grade Bloodline, that alone could earn him enough merit for promotion.
Of course, the Eastern Temple’s Heavenly Mystery Guard operated somewhat differently, able to earn promotion by eliminating corrupt officials of the Divine Dynasty holding higher rank and greater authority as well.
After circling the Mission Hall’s first floor several times, Gu Lin made his way up to the second floor.
After searching for roughly an incense-stick’s worth of time, he picked up a case file and broke into a smile.
A Confucian Dao cultivator by the name of Shen Deyang had committed crimes beyond measure, having orchestrated a massacre wiping out an entire family purely to satisfy his own selfish desires. 2 days ago, his whereabouts had surfaced in a small border town straddling Chu Province and Jiang Province.
His cultivation stood at Confucian Scholar, Spirit Nurturing Second Level, though his true combat strength likely rivaled that of Cavern Mystery Fourth Level.
The case file listed a mere 23 contribution points at the very end.
Barely worth mentioning.
Yet Gu Lin felt his spirits rise regardless—this Confucian cultivator absolutely had to be eliminated.
His own Confucian Dao cultivation had stalled entirely, and killing Shen Deyang was exactly the kind of merit he needed to break through that stagnation.
Taking both case files with him, Gu Lin wrote his name at the front desk and stamped his official seal upon them.
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