My Cultivation Has a Progress Bar

In a military tent used by the army’s provisional Commander of the Imperial Guard, a middle-aged man in the official robes of a Fifth-Grade Civil Officer of the Court sat at a desk, meticulously organizing documents.

To his left, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator from the Daoist Scripture Hall sat quietly in a Grandmaster’s Chair. His face was fair, and he looked to be in his twenties, his hair held up by a jade coronet bearing the insignia of the Daoist Scripture Hall.

To the right were two of the army’s Eighth-Grade Chief Historians, who were in charge of keeping records. They were carefully grinding ink, obviously preparing to record something important shortly.

"Daoist Hongchen, I am ready. I’ll... step outside and invite him in. What are your thoughts?" After finishing with the documents, the civil officer politely asked the Foundation Establishment Cultivator to his left for his opinion.

"Fine."

The Cultivator just gave a slight nod.

Upon receiving the reply, the civil officer took a deep breath, straightened his official robes, and strode to the entrance of the tent. He politely invited Wang Ping, who was already waiting outside, "Daoist Changqing, this way, please..."

Wang Ping gave an even more courteous nod and followed the civil officer into the military tent.

The disturbance in the Demon Race’s main camp had subsided. The preliminary investigation concluded that the Mountain God of Taipeng Mountain had gone into a sudden frenzy after ingesting an overdose of a hallucinogenic substance. He had killed three Human Cultivators and several Little Demons on the spot before rampaging through the camp, causing chaos in several sectors.

The Mountain God himself had been killed by a flurry of blades during the chaotic battle, which had also resulted in hundreds of casualties among the Little Demons.

"Bring a chair..."

The civil officer first called for the guards outside to bring in a chair and place it on the left, not in the center. Then he introduced himself, "My name is Zhang Li. I am temporarily serving as the Commander of the Imperial Guard for the Commanding Army Camp, and I have been ordered to ask you, Daoist Changqing, a few questions..."

After his introduction, he gestured to the Foundation Establishment Cultivator from the Daoist Scripture Hall. "This is Daoist Hongchen. He is here to observe and will report directly to his superiors afterward."

"Fellow Daoist Changqing." Hongchen was much more courteous toward Wang Ping, rising immediately and clasping his fist after Zhang Li’s introduction.

"Fellow Daoist Hongchen."

After the pleasantries, they sat down. Zhang Li clasped his fist in the direction of the Central Army Camp and said, "By order of the Governor, I ask Daoist Changqing the first question: what was your purpose for going to the Demon Race’s main camp?"

"My friend and I had nothing to do, so we decided to go for a walk. I’m not sure how we ended up at the Demon Race’s main camp," Wang Ping answered earnestly.

Zhang Li nodded without questioning the answer. After seeing the Chief Historian finish writing, he glanced at Hongchen, who had already closed his eyes in meditation. He then clasped his fist toward the Central Army Camp again and said, "By order of the Governor, I ask Daoist Changqing the second question: there is a report that you orchestrated the ambush and murder of Daoist Gao Ding. Is this true?"

"That’s not true."

Wang Ping’s denial was exceptionally crisp. The Chief Historian’s brush moved without pause, Hongchen remained in meditation with his eyes closed, and Zhang Li simply gave another slight nod, not probing the matter any further.

"By order of the Governor, I ask Daoist Changqing the third question. I have here... a written statement from the Government Soldiers near the Demon Race army, detailing the course of events. Is the content recorded here true?"

After asking, Zhang Li handed the bamboo slip he was holding to a Chief Historian, who then passed it to Wang Ping.

Wang Ping quickly read the contents recorded on the bamboo slip and said, "It is true!" After his answer, the demeanor of everyone in the tent remained unchanged.

Once the two Chief Historians had finished writing, Zhang Li’s serious expression vanished. He smiled, stood up, and clasped his fist. "Alright, that’s all. Just those three questions. Daoist Changqing, you may leave."

As he spoke, he walked out from behind his desk and, along with Hongchen who had also risen, escorted Wang Ping out of the tent.

Hongchen watched Wang Ping walk away, then accepted a copy of the interrogation record. He strode quickly to another military tent, received another interrogation record, and after giving them a brief read-through, headed toward the Central Army Camp.

His pace was fast. In less than a quarter of an hour, he reached the Central Army Camp and entered a very ordinary-looking military tent.

"Master..." he said, standing at the entrance and bowing to a Secret Technique Cultivator in the center of the tent.

"How did it go?"

"How could we get any real answers by asking like that..." Hongchen started to say, but trailed off.

"But... this *is* the result. The matter is settled. This is a minor issue; the Taiyin Evil Cultivator is the real crisis."

"Yes!"

...

After Wang Ping returned to the Qianmu Temple encampment, Guangxuan sought him out immediately. They had both been summoned for questioning, and Guangxuan, like Wang Ping, had been faced with three questions.

’Three idiotic questions. Any normal person would know how to answer them, yet the higher-ups went through with it anyway.’

"It’s just the Daoist Scripture Hall’s procedure," Guangxuan said. "With Liu Qi’s help, we pulled it off without a trace. The Daoist Scripture Hall won’t waste time investigating something without evidence, even if it really does look like you did it."

Guangxuan left him with those words and returned to the Sanhe Temple’s encampment.

Wang Ping stepped out of his tent and looked up at the sky. It would be dark soon...

"What are you thinking about? Didn’t you just get rid of a villain?" Yu Lian asked quietly. She saw Gao Ding as a villain from one of the folk tales she’d read.

"There are no heroes and villains in the real world. Our fight with the White Water Sect is a struggle for momentum. Only by gaining the upper hand can we get the resources to pursue higher realms. Every move in this game is a matter of life and death!"

As Wang Ping was speaking, he saw Liu Shuang and Zhao Qing walking over quickly. Before the three of them could greet each other, a disciple guarding the camp gate ran over to report, "Senior Uncle, Daoist Hong’an of the White Water Sect requests an audience."

All three of them were stunned.

Hong’an came alone. As he approached, Yu Lian warned, "His emotions are filled with anger and killing intent."

But his actual demeanor was calm. He calmly clasped his fist in a salute to Wang Ping and said, "Fellow Daoist, what a brilliant move. I’m genuinely impressed."

Wang Ping simply returned the salute but did not speak.

"At the conclusion of this incident, we will likely be tasked with exploring that Evil Cultivator’s underground palace. The Daoist Scripture Hall won’t be so meddlesome then. Oh, right. You have to live until then, of course."

After speaking, he performed a solemn Taoist Family salute, then turned and left without a backward glance.

The next morning, a volley of drumbeats pulled Wang Ping from his meditative state. After leaving his tent, he received news from Zhao Qing that the White Water Sect, the Iron Art Sect, and two other Taoist Family sects had relocated their encampments the previous night.

「Late Morning.」

Spurred on by the drums, earth-shattering horns blared from within the Demon Race’s main camp. The ground began to tremble as tens of thousands of Demon Race soldiers, driven by the horns, charged like a tidal wave toward the Corpse Soldiers amassed outside Yongming Port.

Wang Ping led the Qi Cultivators of Qianmu Temple, following closely along the right flank of the main army. The Qi Cultivators of Sanhe Temple were nearby, providing support.

As the Demon Race vanguard clashed with the Corpse Soldiers, the sky, which had been gloomy for days, was once again lit by a blazing sun.

’It had to be a great power from the Yuqing Sect taking action again. Just like the operation in Yuma County, the higher-ups were probably making another major move—a move that would undoubtedly place the Qi Cultivators on the front lines in grave danger.’

"Tell all the disciples to be extra cautious!"

After relaying the message to Liu Shuang and Zhao Qing using a Sound Transmission Technique, Wang Ping had Yu Lian execute the Cloud Soaring Technique to fly at a low altitude for a better view of the battlefield ahead.