Chapter 6: Seizing the Final Strike

Chu Chen jumped down from the carriage and immediately saw Xu Xiaoyao beating a little demon. She raised the sword in her hand, about to strike the demon on the head.

Chu Chen had no time to find a stone, so he casually grabbed a raw stone from the novice gift pack and rushed forward recklessly. Before the little demon could die, he successfully landed the final blow.

Until its last breath, the little demon’s eyes were fixed on Chu Chen.

"I am a toad demon who has cultivated for a hundred years. I’ve never harmed anyone, always busy eating pests, and never dared to trample on flowers or grass. I only heard from other demons that eating humans can quickly increase one’s demonic power. Everyone has an ambitious heart; humans are like that, and so are demons. This is my first time venturing out to harm people, and I just happened to run into the Demon Suppression Bureau—bad luck for me. But... I’m almost dead already. You beast, I’m nearly dying, and I can see you’re too strong already. So why do you come over looking so excited, greedy, and anxious, just to hit me with a stone? Did I throw your child into a well?"

The century-old toad demon died reluctantly amidst a wave of shame and anger.

Xu Xiaoyao sheathed her sword and said coldly, "Recklessness is not courage. I hope you can recognize your own limits and don’t cause trouble for others, harming both yourself and them."

Chu Chen nodded quickly. "Understood."

Back in the carriage, Chu Chen sank his consciousness into the Illustrated Corridor. A golden toad demon, first-tier quality, with a killing reward of a gold needle for locating veins and acupuncture points. This needle could be used to find hidden gold mines in the mountains and wilderness.

An extra reward was activated. Because Chu Chen delivered the final blow to the demon beast, the Illustrated Corridor granted him an additional raw stone.

Chu Chen held the gold-seeking needle in his hand. It was entirely golden, about the size and thickness of chopsticks, slightly thicker at one end and thinner at the other. He glanced at the raw stone—square and jet black with a metallic sheen, just like the other raw stones in the novice gift pack.

He didn’t know what use the raw stone had, but it fit comfortably in his hand. It would be perfect for cracking walnuts or sharpening knives—he decided to keep it for now.

After collecting the rewards, Chu Chen’s consciousness returned to the carriage. He immediately heard the others inside discussing what had just happened.

Zhao Xiaoshi, small and slender, leaned over one person to look at Xu Xiaoyao. "Sister Xiaoyao truly is the fastest among our peers to reach the pinnacle of Qi refinement, effortlessly slaying that demon."

"I wanted to get out and help..." the second man inside, Dong Qin, suddenly said, then continued, "but unfortunately, the fight was already over before I got off."

"Dong, don’t blame yourself. You did nothing wrong," Zhao Xiaoshi responded, glancing sideways at Chu Chen sitting diagonally across. "If we had rashly engaged the demon, it would have distracted Sister Xiaoyao. It was just a minor demon; with Sister Xiaoyao’s skills, she could easily kill it. When we face a third-tier demon, Sister Xiaoyao will need to concentrate fully. At that time, some people must not cause trouble."

Raising her voice, Zhao Xiaoshi added, "So, don’t mess things up."

"Xiaoshi is right. We just need to avoid causing trouble," Cheng Meimei agreed.

"Ah..." Dong Qin sighed.

"Chu Chen," Xu Xiaoyao suddenly called his name.

Chu Chen looked up at her. Xu Xiaoyao had unusually large, exaggerated eyes, making her face appear small and delicate.

"Yes?"

"Did General Bai Ning give you any protective magic treasures on this mission?"

The question awakened everyone in the carriage.

Of course—Bai Ning was a half-god body at the Small Zhou Dynasty level. The demons killed by her could line up around Jinnan County ten times. She must have many cultivation treasures.

She must have given Chu Chen some treasures; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been sent on a mission.

Everyone looked at Chu Chen at the edge of the carriage with expectant eyes.

Chu Chen opened his hands and shrugged. "No."

Xu Xiaoyao didn’t press further, feeling this was typical of General Bai Ning’s style. But she fell into thought again.

The Jinnan Demon Suppression Bureau never lacked exceptionally talented rising stars, including some prodigies. Bai Ning once took on a disciple with extraordinary cultivation talent. Yet she forbade this disciple from ever revealing the master-disciple relationship to anyone, absurdly claiming the disciple was too foolish and that being her disciple was shameful.

Now this disciple had become the youngest general in the Ningbei County Demon Suppression Bureau, reaching the peak of the Spiritualization stage in less than fifty years. No one in the entire bureau could compare.

Yet such a person could not gain Bai Ning’s favor.

Xu Xiaoyao looked at Chu Chen again. What reason did he have to make General Bai Ning publicly acknowledge the master-disciple relationship? Was it just because of his reckless nature?

Xu Xiaoyao still couldn’t forget the figure rushing at a breakneck speed when she was slashing the demon—like a starving wild dog sniffing out meat on the road, one step slower and it would have starved to death.

He seemed eager to fight demons.

Xu Xiaoyao felt troubled. What would happen if he faced a high-tier demon with such a reckless personality?

Her father’s task to her was to protect Chu Chen. If he sought death himself, what could she do?

If Chu Chen truly died by the demon’s hand, Xu Xiaoyao didn’t worry that General Bai Ning would blame her. But her father would certainly scold her.

After returning from Beishan Village, her father excitedly told her he had found a good disciple for Bai Ning. From now on, Bai Ning wouldn’t be alone.

At first, Xu Xiaoyao didn’t pay much attention. No matter what kind of disciple, none could gain Bai Ning’s favor. Talented or exceptional, in the end, they either left on their own or were cast aside.

But the next day, Bai Ning loudly announced she had taken a disciple and enthusiastically went to the mission hall with her newly initiated apprentice.

Xu Xiaoyao truly couldn’t see what was so special about Chu Chen that made the usually aloof General Bai Ning accept him so willingly.

The carriage slowly stopped. The driver exchanged a few words with the city gate soldiers and then opened the gate.

"We’ve arrived," Xu Xiaoyao said.

When the carriage reached its destination, the moon had risen to its zenith. The local government office was already crowded with reception staff.

They had been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Demon Suppression Bureau.

Chu Chen and the others jumped down from the carriage. The county magistrate’s face showed a strange expression.

Except for a woman in green robes, everyone else wore white long robes. That meant only this woman had cultivation beyond the mid-Qi refinement stage.

Such situations had occurred before, but usually, there were a few in green robes accompanied by one or two inexperienced novices in white robes.

With so many novices, could they slay the demons appearing on Huangling Mountain?

Since this demon appeared, many had been eaten by demons on Huangling Mountain. Since Huangling was the only southeastern exit of the county, if not resolved promptly, the locals would struggle to go out.

What was the Demon Suppression Bureau thinking? Did they look down on our small county? Or did they have to wait until demons entered the city to pay attention?

County Deputy Liu thought this but showed no sign of it on his face.

"Honored members of the Demon Suppression Bureau, please come inside."