Arrival at Su City

On the road, Wei Fan, Ning Xuan, and the others galloped wildly on horseback, kicking up clouds of dust that filled the sky.

The Reception Envoy glanced back at Wei Fan and said, "The Demon Suppressing Division not only recruits accomplished experts like Ning Xuan and the rest of you, but also takes in promising seedlings to train itself.

"Hu Qing's cultivation may not be high right now, but her foundation is good. With one or two years of training from the Demon Suppressing Division, she can become an official member capable of undertaking missions.

"In fact, most members of the Demon Suppressing Division are trained in the Preparatory Camp. People like you, recruited from outside, are rare.

"Good seedlings are usually discovered and taken away by the Demon Suppressing Division very early on. Your case is rather special."

He was puzzled as well. With Wei Fan's abilities, he should have made a name for himself long ago.

Yet after looking into it, he found that apart from being upright and incorruptible, the former Wei Fan had shown little edge.

It was not until Yang Jun of the Fierce Tiger Gang sought revenge over the matter of the Lu Family, using Old Man Zhang's granddaughter's innocence to force Wei Fan to kneel, that Wei Fan flew into a rage and killed. From then on, he kept killing, until not a single demon or monster remained in Cloud City.

"The Demon Suppressing Division can make her an official member in one or two years?"

Wei Fan's gaze narrowed slightly.

Hu Qing was only at the fifth level of True Qi. As far as he knew, the minimum requirement for members of the Demon Suppressing Division who could undertake missions was to be an Aperture Opening martial artist.

Could the Demon Suppressing Division train Hu Qing into an Aperture Opening martial artist within one or two years?

Ning Xuan's voice rang out. "Brother Wei, you still do not understand the Demon Suppressing Division well enough. Martial artists throughout the realm long to enter it, not only because it possesses all kinds of lost martial arts, but also because of its abundant resources—every sort of pill that people outside would fight tooth and nail to obtain.

"If the Demon Suppressing Division wished, it would not even take one or two years. In just two or three months, it could train Miss Hu Qing into an Aperture Opening martial artist.

"There may be only a few Aperture Opening martial artists in Cloud City, but in a place like Su City, while they are not exactly everywhere, they are certainly not rare.

"I am fairly familiar with Cloud City, yet there is not even a single shop on its streets specifically for martial artists.

"But in Su City, weapons, manuals, pills—so long as you have money, you can buy them. The martial arts here are simply incomplete.

"To be honest, if someone with your talent had entered the Demon Suppressing Division earlier and taken a commander as his master, you might already have become a Heavenly Human Martial Master who awed an entire region."

Wei Fan listened with his heart stirred. This was the place martial artists dreamed of.

Compared with Su City, Cloud City was practically a backwater. Other than a few blacksmith shops that could barely be considered related to martial artists, there was nothing else connected to them.

The Lu Family had colluded with demons because they lacked things like medicinal pills and had no choice but to procure Human Pills, those demonic-path pills despised by all.

"Tell me about the Demon Suppressing Division!"

He was already considered one of its people, yet his understanding of it remained superficial.

The Reception Envoy nodded at this. "The Demon Suppressing Division is divided into five main camps. The Preparatory Camp is where Hu Qing will be going.

"I belong to the Internal Affairs Camp, which handles all logistical matters, miscellaneous affairs, intelligence, and the like.

"There is also the Military Camp!

"You need not concern yourselves with any of those. What you mainly need to understand is the Combat Camp you will be joining next.

"The Combat Camp has three Demon Suppressing Commanders, eight Demon Suppressing Generals, dozens of Demon Suppressing Captains, and beneath them are Black Clothed Demon Suppressors, Red Clothed Demon Suppressors, Silver Clothed Demon Suppressors, Gold Clothed Demon Suppressors, and Purple Clothed Demon Suppressors!

"Black Clothed Demon Suppressors are the lowest rank. Under normal circumstances, they must be led by Red Clothed Demon Suppressors when undertaking missions..."

As they sped onward and talked, a rough outline of the Demon Suppressing Division gradually took shape in Wei Fan's mind.

Simply put, the Demon Suppressing Division was responsible for everything related to demons and monsters. Aside from basic allowances, every meritorious deed performed on a mission would earn corresponding merits recorded in the register. These merits could be exchanged within the Demon Suppressing Division for martial arts manuals, cultivation resources, and more.

Wei Fan flicked his riding whip. "There must be something to consider when choosing which commander or general to serve under, right?"

Since there were different commanders and generals, there would naturally be differences among them.

If he was choosing, he would naturally choose the best one to rely on. Beneath a great tree, one found welcome shade.

It was not that he feared too many missions or too much danger. Those who entered the Demon Suppressing Division were not the sort to seek a quiet life, and his circumstances destined him to fight demons and monsters.

It was simply that his killing intent ran deep. He needed to find someone capable of covering for him and protecting their own.

The Reception Envoy looked at Wei Fan again and shook his head. "For Ning Xuan and Su Xuerong, they do indeed need to choose carefully which commander to serve under.

"But you are different. What you should be considering is not which commander to serve under, but which commander would be suitable to take as your master.

"Either way, it would be a single step to the heavens for you. The only difference is which direction you wish to climb from."

Ning Xuan fell silent, sighing inwardly.

When he had first met Wei Fan, they had already been candidates of the Demon Suppressing Division, carrying out an assessment mission. They had even been the ones to report Wei Fan's information to the Demon Suppressing Division.

Now, he was still considering which commander to serve under, while Wei Fan was considering which commander to take as his master, and which direction to climb to heaven from.

Moreover, Wei Fan looked rather uninterested in taking a master. He probably did not think much of those commanders.

They traveled day and night, barely sleeping at all except for the occasional stop to eat dried provisions and let the horses rest.

There were simply no homes along the way, not even a single village or town.

Two days later, a vast bank of fog appeared before Wei Fan. Within the mist, majestic mountain ranges could be vaguely seen.

"Once we pass through this fog, we will have reached Su City."

After passing through the fog, a land of boundless grandeur appeared in Wei Fan's sight.

"What a place of outstanding people and blessed land!"

Wei Fan sat astride his horse, somewhat shaken. After passing through the fog, he could clearly feel the True Qi within him growing more active.

Mountains rose and fell ahead. At the end of the horizon stood a majestic giant city, stretching across the earth for who knew how many kilometers.

Ning Xuan rode over and traveled alongside Wei Fan. "It is indeed a land of outstanding people and blessed earth, but it has also nurtured countless Great Demons. No one knows how many demons and monsters lie hidden, ready to choose a victim and devour them at any moment.

"Su City governs twelve cities and one hundred eighty-two large towns. Every day, a great many people are eaten by demons and monsters."

Wei Fan's heart tightened. In a place like this, the demons and monsters were bound to be terrifying. It would not be surprising if there were ancient demons that had lived for hundreds or even thousands of years.

"We have finally reached Su City!"

After another half hour of hard riding, they arrived beneath an imposing city wall. Carriages and horses streamed past in an unbroken flow, while people came and went in bustling crowds.

"Dismount. Unless they are carrying out urgent official business, no one is allowed to ride horses within Su City!"

The Reception Envoy, Ning Xuan, and the others were the first to leap down from their horses, reminding Wei Fan and Hu Qing, who were visiting Su City for the first time.

The two of them also dismounted and led their horses onward.

Wei Fan looked up. Three gates had been carved into the towering city wall. The central gate was tightly shut, with only the two side gates open.

Yet even these side gates were over ten meters wide, larger than Cloud City's main gate.

"So many martial artists!"

What drew Wei Fan's attention most were the people entering and leaving with sabers on their backs and swords in their hands. Nearly one-third were dressed as martial artists, every one of them with bulging temples.