The Demon Suppression Division

"When did the big shots from the Demon Suppression Division have time to come to a small place like ours for tea?" Ma Ruhu's expression changed, and his tone was no longer as relaxed as before.

The dark-faced big man beside him also looked displeased. Although the government and the Demon Suppression Division were both organizations under the Dynasty, their relationship was actually quite poor.

Seeing these people appear now, knowing that the situation was beyond their control, he let out a cold snort and actually turned to leave.

It wasn't that they were being overly dramatic.

Currently, Cloud City's main powers were roughly divided into three: the Demon Suppression Division, the government, and the martial arts halls. As for the scattered gangs and such, they were basically insignificant.

On the surface, the government held authority over the martial arts halls, but the various martial arts halls were interconnected and united against common enemies. Therefore, the two sides generally kept to themselves and lived in peace.

After all, both sides needed Cloud City to maintain stable order, and a falling out would benefit neither. This was why Ma Ruhu had been so casual in his attitude towards the dark-faced man earlier.

But the Demon Suppression Division was the sole exception.

It was a special force personally created by the first emperor at the very beginning of the Great Radiance Dynasty's establishment.

Its sole purpose was to ensure the stability of the Great Radiance Dynasty, and it was even granted the privilege of acting first and reporting later.

With this "Son of Heaven's Sword" in hand, these people had always acted arrogantly and unscrupulously to achieve their goals, notorious throughout Cloud City and even the entire Dynasty.

But it had to be said, these guys were indeed very strong, and the Demon Suppression Envoys under them possessed various strange abilities, which was the main reason other factions did not want to provoke them.

Ling Yun lowered his head, scanning these so-called Demon Suppression Envoys from the corner of his eye.

He didn't know if it was an illusion, but Ling Yun felt a familiar aura from these people, somewhat similar to Situ Ying, whom he had killed last night!

"Do all Demon Suppression Envoys have a similar aura, or is there some other special reason?" Ling Yun's eyes darted around, unable to figure it out for the moment.

He quickly collected himself and refocused his attention on the group.

All four were very young, three men and one woman.

The one leading them appeared to be no older than twenty.

A familiar bronze token was hanging from his waist, clearly inscribed with "Eight-Star Demon Subduer - Qing Li."

Eight-Star Demon Subduer? Ling Yun withdrew his gaze, lost in thought.

Given this guy's current age, reaching such a level was already considered quite outstanding.

Last night, he had learned some basic information about this world from Zhang Mu.

Demon Suppression Envoys were a very special group of individuals.

First and foremost, to become a Demon Suppression Envoy, one had to possess a certain special talent.

However, people with such talents were extremely rare, usually fewer than one in a hundred could be found.

As for the division of strength, it ranged from the lowest Nine-Star to the highest One-Star.

The realms of martial artists were divided into three stages: Force Conduit, Intent Conduit, and Spirit Conduit, corresponding to the first, second, and third layers of the Tiger Blade Technique, respectively.

The so-called Force Conduit meant that blood and strength flowed through the entire body, allowing each move and stance to exert power far exceeding that of ordinary people.

Intent Conduit referred to the integration of mind and intent, enhancing senses like sight and hearing. Ordinary weapons like bows and arrows were useless against martial artists at this stage; they could detect danger before their opponents even made a move.

Spirit Conduit martial artists had abundant Blood Essence, were impervious to cold and heat, and their essence, energy, and spirit were unified, granting them maximum endurance and the ability to unleash astonishing power.

Although he had improved the Tiger Blade Technique to the fourth layer through the system, it didn't seem to have undergone a qualitative change, and he was still stuck in the Spirit Conduit realm.

As for whether he had reached another level after activating Tiger's Might, he had no way of knowing without a comparison.

After all, in the entire Cloud City, martial artists in the Intent Conduit realm were already considered quite renowned experts, while those in the Spirit Conduit realm were fully qualified to establish a new martial arts hall.

As for realms above Spirit Conduit, there had been no rumors of such existences in Cloud City so far.

However, even martial artists in the Spirit Conduit realm were merely equivalent to an Eight-Star Demon Subduer!

In fact, if a real fight broke out, they might even be at a disadvantage due to the opponent's various strange techniques!

From this perspective, the other party indeed had the capital to be arrogant.

At this moment, the Eight-Star Demon Subduer named Qing Li looked at Ma Ruhu and said disdainfully, "How our Demon Suppression Division operates is not for a mere Intent Conduit martial artist like you to question?"

"Where is that old fellow Yan Tu? Have him come out and speak with me."

Yan Tu, the master of the Black Tiger Martial Hall, was an elder expert in the Spirit Conduit realm, but Qing Li spoke of him with no respect, as if he were some nobody that could be ordered around at will.

Facing Qing Li's arrogant demeanor, Ma Ruhu's face turned grim, his fists clenching so hard they creaked. He finally understood how the dark-faced man had felt earlier.

But since the situation was unfavorable, he could only swallow his pride and say, "The master is out on business and is not in the martial arts hall at the moment."

Qing Li snorted upon hearing this, "Out on business? I think he's hiding and afraid to come out?"

He then glanced at Ling Yun and the other person, "Fine, I don't care if that old fellow Yan Tu is here or not. I'm taking these two with me today, you have no objections, right?"

Although it sounded like a question, his tone was completely unyielding.

Ma Ruhu's face darkened, feeling extremely stifled.

He also couldn't understand why, even though this matter had caused quite a stir, these arrogant individuals shouldn't have bothered to intervene.

Yet, not only did they personally get involved, they even dispatched four Demon Suppression Envoys at once!

Such a high-profile approach, if it were just for two martial artists who were at most in the Force Conduit realm, he wouldn't believe it even if he were killed!

Therefore, there must be some other hidden agenda behind these people.

But even knowing something was wrong, what good would it do? As the saying goes, the Black Tiger Martial Hall couldn't afford to offend the Demon Suppression Division.

Even if the Hall Master were here today, he absolutely wouldn't dare to offend the ascendant Demon Suppression Division for the sake of two disciples.

With that thought, Ma Ruhu took a deep breath and clasped his hands in greeting towards Qing Li, saying, "Since it's the request of you esteemed Demon Suppression Envoys, our Black Tiger Martial Hall will naturally cooperate fully."

As soon as these words were spoken, it was essentially a declaration of abandonment for Ling Yun and the other disciple.

Ling Yun's expression remained unchanged upon hearing this.

From the moment the people from the Demon Suppression Division appeared, he had already anticipated this outcome.

In the end, it all came down to his own lack of strength.

If he possessed the power to obliterate everyone present with a single punch, would he even be bothered with such troubles?

Qing Li was not surprised by Ma Ruhu's answer. He glanced at him dismissively and said, "Since that's the case, I'll be taking them now."

Only after everyone had left the room did Ma Ruhu's expression turn grim. After a moment of silence, he suddenly slammed his palm onto the wooden table.

The poor wooden table, having endured repeated abuse, finally gave out. With a "crack," it snapped and broke on the spot.