Within Tianyin Workshop, saber light flashed fiercely and demonic qi roiled. Lin Baichuan joined forces with Yang Zhan and the others, forming a battle formation to forcibly suppress the demon that had possessed Miaoyin.
By then, Tianyin Workshop had long since descended into utter chaos. The moment everyone saw Miaoyin transform into a demon, they screamed without end and fled outside in blind panic.
Some of the more timid ones were so frightened that their entire bodies went weak. They wanted to run, but their legs would not obey them, and they collapsed straight to the ground.
Quite a few people had even wet themselves in terror. Waves of urine stench mingled with piercing screams, while cries for help rang out without cease.
"Damn Demon Suppression Division, damn little bastard! You ruined my plans—you must die..."
Within the already ruined main hall, the demon was being tightly suppressed by Lin Baichuan and the others. Its expression grew increasingly savage as demonic qi surged from its body, eerie and sinister black mist swirling around it.
Its pair of bloodthirsty eyes glared fixedly at Lin Baichuan. With a raise of its hand, an eerie black light actually radiated from the scaled claw.
As its claw swept out, a powerful burst of force rolled forth, forcibly driving Yang Zhan and the others back several steps. At that very moment, its massive body swayed, and with venomous resentment and killing intent, it charged straight at Lin Baichuan.
It had originally possessed Miaoyin and hidden within Tianyin Workshop for the sake of an important matter.
Who would have thought that Lin Baichuan would see through its identity?
Not only had it now exposed itself, it had also had its plans ruined. How could it not be enraged? It wished it could drink Lin Baichuan's blood and eat his flesh.
Pshht...
The eerie sharp claw, carrying a chillingly sinister aura, arrived before Lin Baichuan in an instant. It went straight for his throat, tearing through the air with piercing shrieks.
If that claw strike landed solidly, even iron and steel would likely be torn apart.
Lin Baichuan's pupils contracted. The claw rapidly enlarged in his vision, yet he remained unafraid in the face of danger, his heart as still as water.
Clang!
The next moment, saber light flashed. The battle saber in Lin Baichuan's hand somehow struck after yet arrived first, carrying an eerie ripple as it slashed three inches from the demon's claw.
Clang... Riiip...
In an instant, the battle saber first stilled, then seemed to tremble madly at a terrifying frequency. It forcefully tore through the demon's iron-like scaled defense, and amid a dull explosive sound, cleaved off the demon's claw.
"Ah..."
A scream rang throughout Tianyin Workshop.
With one claw severed, the demon's strength was greatly diminished. A trace of fear appeared on its originally savage, bloodthirsty face, and it immediately turned to flee.
Lin Baichuan's ferocity had exceeded its expectations. If it continued to tangle with him, not only would it fail to kill Lin Baichuan, it would lose its own life here. It had to leave. So long as it escaped, someone would meet it, and its life could be preserved.
But if it wanted to flee, how could Lin Baichuan let it have its way?
It was not easy to encounter a demon. In his eyes, this was mobile merit, and he had to seize it.
"Demon, die!"
Lin Baichuan roared, his voice like the howl of tigers and wolves. He suddenly leaped into the air, catching up to the demon in an instant as the battle saber in his hand slashed out like a streak of light.
Seven Kill Saber Art: Fury of the Army Breaker.
This was a killing move within the Seven Kill Saber Art, one that could only be used after cultivating the Seven Kill Saber Art to the perfected realm. With one slash, it mobilized the qi and blood throughout the body, unleashing three hundred percent of one's own strength.
Lin Baichuan's physical strength had already surpassed three thousand jin. With this threefold amplification, it was nearly ten thousand jin of raw physical power.
This slash was overwhelmingly powerful and heavy, like splitting mountains and severing peaks.
The demon had already lost one claw, and its fighting spirit had been shattered. Its heart was set only on escape. Now that Lin Baichuan had caught up and struck with a slash, it could not even unleash thirty percent of its strength in its hasty defense. How could it possibly withstand the might of this blade?
Boom... Pshht...
A flash of cold light streaked through the air. The battle saber's sharp radiance forcibly broke through the scales covering its entire body, cleaving it in two.
For a moment, blood sprayed everywhere.
The blood containing demonic power was a deep green like black ink, giving off waves of foul stench. The moment it fell to the ground, it instantly corroded fist-sized pits into the stone floor, making people's scalps tingle.
Lin Baichuan sheathed his saber, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes.
At that moment, a mechanical system notification sounded in his mind.
Congratulations, Host. You have obtained 30 points of merit.
Thirty points of merit? This demon was also only Soldier Rank 1, but compared to the wolf demon I killed in Demon Suppression Division Prison, it was clearly much stronger. It should have reached the late stage of Soldier Rank 1.
Lin Baichuan's eyes lit up as he silently thought, Demons are generally stronger than martial artists of the same realm. A late Soldier Rank 1 demon probably possessed combat strength comparable to a peak ninth-rank martial artist, perhaps even some weaker eighth-rank ones.
If I had not cultivated the Seven Kill Saber Art to perfection, and if Yang Zhan and the others had not helped me, I truly could not have killed this beast.
Lin Baichuan knew very well that with his own strength, killing this demon alone would still have been somewhat difficult. The others had contributed greatly, especially Yang Zhan. That fellow was at the eighth-rank Bone Forging Realm, and his cultivation was the strongest among their group.
However, that fellow's martial techniques were nothing special. If it truly came down to a fight to the death, Lin Baichuan was confident that he would be the one to win in the end.
Yang Zhan had been born into wealth and privilege, and his path of martial cultivation had been too smooth. He lacked that ruthless edge.
Moreover, Lin Baichuan's perfected Seven Kill Saber Art was enough to support him in fighting across realms.
Thirty points of merit are enough to raise Golden Bell Shield to the third level. And the Seven Kill Saber Art—I have already reached the perfected realm, but the panel clearly shows that it can still be improved. What realm lies above perfection for a martial technique?
As Lin Baichuan muttered inwardly, his gaze fell upon the demon's corpse on the ground.
Killing a demon, especially in a place like Tianyin Workshop without a single casualty, was absolutely a great merit. He just did not know how many Contribution Points it would earn.
"Damn, Baichuan... you're too fierce! That slash just now, you... what realm has your Seven Kill Saber Art reached?"
Just as countless thoughts flashed through Lin Baichuan's mind, Yang Zhan's voice rang out beside him. The fellow rushed over, first looking Lin Baichuan up and down before patting him on the shoulder. "You really are astonishing, kid!
"This time, we've rendered great merit. Who would have thought that we'd come out just to drink flower wine and actually run into a demon..."
"This wasn't just a demon. There was also someone colluding with the demon." Lin Baichuan sneered, his gaze turning toward Lu Changkong, who was still sitting on the ground.
That fool seemed to have truly been scared witless. Even now, he had not come back to his senses.
Colluding with demons, and obstructing the Demon Suppression Division in the handling of a case.
Either of those crimes was enough to send him to Demon Suppression Division Prison. Put together, not only was he finished, even the Lu Family behind him would suffer along with him.
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