Obtaining a Precious Blade

"Caught a petty thief! No need for everyone to get involved!"

The commotion from Wei Fan and Han Qian's fight had already alarmed the nearby neighbors. Some opened their doors and came out to ask Wei Fan whether he needed help, but he persuaded them to go back inside.

He lowered his head to look at the subdued Han Qian. "Still refusing to talk? Are you forcing me to make this painful for you?"

Han Qian's expression changed. The next moment, a piercing pain shot through his hand, twisting his features.

Wei Fan had crushed one of his fingers, turning it into a bloody mess.

Han Qian gritted his teeth. "I admit defeat. Sooner or later, someone will avenge this blood debt for me!"

He was tough indeed. Even with a finger crushed, he did not cry out.

Crack...

Seeing this, Wei Fan crushed Han Qian's remaining fingers one after another. "You have one last chance!"

Han Qian's face twisted in agony, sweat pouring all over his body, yet he still said nothing.

"Your mouth is pretty hard. Then I'll send you on your way!"

Even now, Han Qian refused to speak. Wei Fan knew he likely could not pry anything useful from him, so he immediately crushed Han Qian's neck with one hand.

Slain Han Qian, gained 40 years of cultivation

Current cultivation: 331 years

His accumulated cultivation had broken through three hundred years!

Wei Fan began searching the body. After feeling around for a while, he found nothing useful on Han Qian besides some money.

"Forget it. Unless those people decide not to avenge him, I'll find out sooner or later who wants me dead."

Wei Fan went over and picked up Han Qian's precious blade, which had been blasted away.

The blade was made of excellent material. Although it had not hurt him, it had not shattered or even chipped under the strike of his single arm's hundred-thousand-jin force.

"Cold Moon Blade?!"

Looking closely, he discovered that the blade even had a name. The two tiny characters "Cold Moon" were engraved on its hilt.

"From now on, you'll be my personal blade!"

He drew the constable captain's saber he had just received and struck it against the Cold Moon Blade. A nick was instantly cut into it.

After finding several night patrol runners to carry away Han Qian's corpse, Wei Fan finally went home to sleep.

Early the next morning, Wei Fan entered the constables' office with his saber at his waist.

"Constable Captain Wei!"

"Greetings, Lord Wei!"

Wei Fan nodded to each person who greeted him, then walked over and sat down at his spot.

Not long after he sat down, squad leader Luo Wen appeared.

"We've found some leads on Han Qian, the man who tried to assassinate you last night!"

Luo Wen sat down without ceremony. He had still been asleep last night when he heard that Wei Fan had been attacked, and had rushed over to handle the matter overnight. By now, he had already uncovered some information. "Only because it was you, Wei Fan, who was attacked were the citizens across the city so eager to identify the corpse.

"Someone just reported that Han Qian arrived in Cloud City yesterday. He brought two people into the City Lord's residence. Afterward, those two left Cloud City with the City Lord's and Second Young Master's corpses.

"This matter should be connected to the City Lord's death."

The City Lord?

The City Lord had been killed by demons, which could also be counted as Wei Fan's doing.

Luo Wen continued, "I checked. The City Lord's hometown is around Su City. Be more careful in the future. The man is dead, so there's no way to pursue the matter further."

Wei Fan nodded. It was enough to know where they came from.

When he went to Su City in the future, he could investigate Han Qian's background further.

"Right, is there still no news about the new City Lord?"

If he had not forcefully swept away the monsters and demons of Cloud City, the city would have fallen into chaos after the City Lord's death.

Luo Wen said, "Su City has already been notified. The new City Lord should take office within seven or eight days. With your merits, you're guaranteed a constable captain's position."

Wei Fan shook his head. Luo Wen still did not know that he would soon be entering the Demon Suppressing Division.

What was a mere constable captain of Cloud City compared to the prestige of the Demon Suppressing Division?

The day passed quickly. After work, he ate at a restaurant, changed out of his constable captain's uniform, and met up with Ning Xuan and Su Xuerong before heading toward Black Wind Stronghold.

Black Wind Stronghold's lair lay deep in a stretch of steep, treacherous mountains outside Cloud City. It was a place where one man could hold the pass against ten thousand, perched alone upon a precipitous mountainside.

By the time Wei Fan's group of three arrived, the sky was already beginning to darken.

"With terrain like this, there's no way to sneak quietly into the stronghold. They said all we need to do is kill the Crocodile Demon, but with this setup, there's no chance to kill it except through a frontal assault."

Ning Xuan frowned as he looked over the terrain surrounding Black Wind Stronghold.

Even if they managed to slip into Black Wind Stronghold unnoticed, how could they possibly avoid alerting the others once they fought the Crocodile Demon?

"We should have a chance to sneak into the stronghold after dark. You two only need to protect yourselves. Leave everything else to me!"

After observing for a long while, Wei Fan realized that apart from directly taking on all the bandits of Black Wind Stronghold, there was no way to kill the Crocodile Demon alone.

"Then we'll trouble Brother Wei."

The three found two concealed spots to sit and conserve their strength. Before long, it was deep in the night.

By then, the guards of Black Wind Stronghold had begun to slack off, no longer as alert as before.

"They're changing shifts. Now!"

When they noticed that the sentries had disappeared at a certain moment, the three sprang into action. They climbed up a hidden cliff face and smoothly entered the stronghold.

Though this was a platform halfway up the mountain, it was extraordinarily vast. Many buildings had been constructed there, and there was even a training ground.

"You two stay here. I'll capture someone and ask where the Crocodile Demon is. If I run into danger, come support me!"

After discussing it with Su Xuerong and Ning Xuan, Wei Fan flashed away into the darkness. Before long, he captured a patrolling minion.

"Tell me where your chief's room is, and I'll spare your life. Don't shout. I can kill you before you make a sound!"

Wei Fan released his hand.

The minion looked utterly terrified. He did not shout, instead pointing Wei Fan in a direction.

"Don't kill me! The chief is over there!"

"Now go to sleep."

He knocked the minion unconscious with a slap, but did not kill him.

Although the man was a bandit, the panel gave no reaction for this minion, which meant the evil he had done was negligible.

In truth, aside from a small number who were genuinely wicked, most people in Black Wind Stronghold had been mountain villagers driven to desperation before they became bandits.

If they had enough food and clothing, few would willingly take to the mountains and become outlaws.

Under cover of night, Wei Fan drifted like a wisp of green smoke toward the room the minion had indicated.

Clang...

The moment he approached the room, a deep, resounding bell rang out.

"I've been discovered!"

Wei Fan frowned and stopped.

Immediately afterward, torches lit up in every direction. In the blink of an eye, dozens of archers and crossbowmen appeared, surrounding him layer upon layer.

"Ha ha... Wei Fan, you finally came. Are you satisfied with this gift of welcome?"

The door to that room opened, and a burly man walked out.

His face was covered in a thick beard, but like the Crocodile Demon Wei Fan had killed before, he was completely bald. His hands and feet were equally short and thick, making him look terribly disproportionate.

Crocodile Demon: True Realm Fourth Grade, chief of Black Wind Stronghold, has eaten over a hundred people

Kill him to gain 160 years of cultivation

Wei Fan's mouth twitched.

He had just been praising the Demon Suppressing Division's intelligence network for being terrifyingly thorough. Now it seemed it was only so-so.

The Reception Envoy had said that the chief of Black Wind Stronghold was merely a True Realm Third Grade great demon, but the panel showed Fourth Grade. If Wei Fan had not joined this mission, Ning Xuan and Su Xuerong might well have been led straight into a death trap.