Brightstone Pavilion.
It was the tallest building in Cloud City.
At this moment, Ling Yun stood atop the building, using the faint moonlight to overlook the entirety of Cloud City from above.
Shrouded by the night, Cloud City no longer possessed its daytime bustle, instead appearing somewhat lifeless and deathly still.
Other than people like him who had confidence in their own strength, there were probably only those...
At that moment, Ling Yun's expression shifted. Several black shadows suddenly flashed across a distant rooftop before vanishing in the blink of an eye.
"They're those people from the Demon Suppression Division!"
Though separated by layers of night, Ling Yun's terrifying eyesight still allowed him to recognize their identities with ease.
Unlike ordinary martial artists, who feared the darkness, Demon Suppression Envoys instead particularly liked operating under the cover of night.
Ling Yun's gaze flickered as he looked in the direction they had vanished. Rather than wandering around here like a headless fly, he might as well go see what the excitement was about.
With a flicker of his figure, he silently followed after them.
Cloud City's eastern district.
On a long-abandoned street, three Demon Suppression Envoys dressed in black dark-patterned uniforms slowly emerged from the shadows.
Leading them was a stern-faced middle-aged man.
A faint green glow radiated from his eyes as he vigilantly scanned the surroundings.
"According to the intelligence, that thing should be nearby. You two, be careful!"
Behind him stood a young man and woman whose faces still retained a trace of youthfulness.
Unlike the wary middle-aged man, the pair looked relaxed, as though they had come out on an outing, curiously studying everything around them.
"Hehe, Uncle Ma, it's only a newly born Mortal-Grade Evil Spirit. With our strength, wouldn't catching it be as easy as taking something from our hands?" the young woman said with a giggle, paying no heed at all to the middle-aged man's warning.
"Right, right, right! Sister Rou is right!"
The young man beside her immediately echoed her words. His eyes never left the girl's delicate face. Judging from the infatuation in his gaze, though still young, he already had the makings of a devoted lapdog.
Seeing their casual attitude, Ma Xiu's face darkened.
But there was nothing he could do. The girl behind him had a father who was his superior's superior!
Tonight's operation had been entirely arranged by her side. Not only had they specifically "picked out" an Evil Spirit, they had even made him, a veteran Eight-Star Demon Subduer, accompany them.
They said he was here to train newcomers, but in reality, he was merely acting as a bodyguard.
"Even the weakest Evil Spirit must be treated with caution!" Ma Xiu said with a solemn face, trying to establish his authority within the team.
Yet the two behind him clearly did not take it seriously, continuing to do as they pleased.
Ma Xiu's eye twitched at the sight, but he could only sigh helplessly.
Forget it. He had already taught them what he should have taught them. Even if that old fellow questioned him afterward, he would have an explanation. For now, he should settle this quickly and send these two little ancestors away as soon as possible!
As he thought this, he came to a stop.
"Shadowfiend!" Ma Xiu called out in a low voice.
The next moment, a mass of twisted black shadow suddenly crawled out from the shadow beneath his feet.
Under the moonlight, the black shadow slowly wriggled over the ground, extending countless tentacle-like appendages. The sight was exceedingly strange.
Yet when the other two saw this, not only were they not afraid, they looked thoroughly intrigued.
"Uncle Ma, is this your spirit? What can it do?" The young woman crouched down and extended a fair, tender finger toward the black shadow.
As though angered by her action, the black shadow suddenly condensed a spike and stabbed at her, but she dodged it with a giggle.
The young man beside her gave a light cough, seemingly wanting to show off. "What's so impressive about that? It's only a Mortal-Grade spirit. Once I pass the Demon Suppression Envoy assessment this time, my father promised to give me a Fiend-Grade spirit!"
Yet the girl's reaction to his deliberate boasting was lackluster. She did not even glance at him, merely responding with a perfunctory, "Oh."
Ma Xiu ignored the two of them. No one knew what he did, but the black shadow that had been slowly wriggling across the ground suddenly split into two.
Then four, eight, sixteen... In the blink of an eye, hundreds of tiny black shadows spread outward in all directions like a swarm of locusts!
The shadows slipped through every crack and crevice. Even a tiny fissure in a wall could not stop them; as though they had no physical forms, they all vanished from the trio's sight in an instant.
Seeing the astonishment in the two youths' eyes, Ma Xiu kept his expression unchanged, though inwardly he could not help feeling somewhat pleased with himself.
This was the ability of his spirit—Shadowfiend. Its attack power was nothing remarkable, but when it came to scouting, even some Fiend-Grade spirits might not compare to it!
It was precisely this skill that had earned him a modest reputation among the Demon Suppression Envoys.
Very soon, waves of furious roars came from a house not far away.
"Found it!" Ma Xiu's expression brightened. In the next instant, the mass of black shadows returned to his body from all directions.
His spirit could not remain away from his body for too long, so every time he used it, he had to retrieve it as quickly as possible.
Yet just as the final mass of black shadow merged into his body, a trace of puzzlement suddenly flashed through Ma Xiu's eyes. He turned to look toward a nearby street corner.
"Was that just my imagination?" Ma Xiu stared at the empty street corner. After hesitating for a moment, he planned to use his spirit to investigate once more.
But the two people beside him, who had long been unable to contain themselves, had already rushed out one after the other.
Before long, they had already exchanged blows with the Evil Spirit lurking in the darkness.
"Damn it!" Hearing the young woman's repeated cries of alarm, Ma Xiu cursed inwardly. He could no longer spare attention for anything else and hurried after them.
Not long after the group left, a burly figure slowly emerged from the shadows. It was Ling Yun, who had followed them all the way here.
Looking in the direction the three had departed, Ling Yun narrowed his eyes. After a moment of silence, he lowered his gaze to his palm. Between two of his fingers, he was surprisingly holding a constantly twisting, shifting mass of black shadow!
"This is... an Evil Spirit?" Ling Yun's eyes were filled with uncertainty as he watched the strange black shadow continuously extend spikes toward his fingers.
Then he gently pinched his fingers together. With a sharp hiss, the strange black shadow seemed unable to withstand the enormous pressure and instantly collapsed into a cloud of black ash.
Though the panel showed no reaction, the familiar scene before him left no doubt: this strange mass of black shadow was indeed an Evil Spirit.
But why did a Demon Suppression Envoy have an Evil Spirit inside his body? Were their true identities Evil Spirits or humans?
The sight of Situ Ying transforming into a monster at the end surfaced in his mind once more. He had originally thought it was caused by cultivating an evil art, but now it seemed there was another hidden truth behind it.
At that moment, more shouts and curses, along with the thunderous sounds of battle, came from afar. The fight appeared to be at its height.
"I'll find out by taking a look."
Ling Yun's gaze flickered. His figure flashed, and he vanished from the spot.
Before you continue