When Working, Address People by Their Titles!

"I've finally been promoted to a Brocade Guard Hundred-Household Officer."

"And I can slay demons and vanquish evil alongside Chen Fan again!"

Lu Xuening spoke with great delight upon hearing this.

"Cough, cough, cough."

"Officer Lu, mind your influence."

Wang Teng coughed lightly twice, then glanced at Chen Fan and found that the latter remained calm and composed.

Perhaps he was only pretending to be calm.

This time, Chen Fan had indeed rendered great merit. Promotion to Brocade Guard Hundred-Household Officer and transfer to Dragon Abyss Prefecture to await assignment was already the best possible outcome.

But he was a genius martial artist. To save the tens of thousands of people in Ping An County, he had ruined his own future by cultivating the "Blood Fiend Art." He might remain forever stuck at the third level of the Divine Aperture Realm.

To compensate him, his master Zuo Qianqiu had brushed aside all objections and promoted him two ranks in a row, appointing him Vice Chiliarch of the Dragon Abyss Prefecture Brocade Guard Chiliarch Garrison, in charge of logistics.

Logistics was comfortable, and there was plenty of profit to be skimmed.

His master had also considered that Chen Fan was still young, that the hot blood in his heart had not yet cooled, and that he might long to go to the front lines to slay demons and vanquish evil. Thus, he had him concurrently lead a Brocade Guard battalion.

It had to be said that, in caring for Chen Fan's feelings, his master had thought of every aspect.

Yet Wang Teng still felt that Chen Fan's situation was a pity.

If this had not happened, Chen Fan might have been accepted as his master's disciple and carefully nurtured.

With his talent, it would not have been impossible for him to one day succeed as Chiliarch of the Dragon Abyss Prefecture Brocade Guard Chiliarch Garrison, or even be promoted to Chiliarch Officer of the Cloud Prefecture Brocade Guard Myriad Household Garrison.

But now, he might only be able to remain in the Dragon Abyss Prefecture Brocade Guard Chiliarch Garrison as a Vice Chiliarch for the rest of his life, until he died of old age.

But he was still far too young.

To live counting down the days like this, watching those his age leave him far behind while his own martial cultivation could only mark time in place—this was torture for a genius martial artist like him.

"What a pitiful man!"

Wang Teng could not help sighing inwardly.

Chen Fan did not know what Wang Teng was thinking, and there was no need for him to take a peak Divine Aperture Realm martial artist as his master. What he needed were profound cultivation arts to raise his strength.

Even if he truly wanted to take a master, he would have to find a genuine big shot!

After the matter in Ping An County came to a close, Chen Fan followed Wang Teng and the others as they set out for Dragon Abyss Prefecture.

The group was exceptionally strong. Riding at full gallop, they raced through a day and a night before finally arriving at Dragon Abyss Prefecture City.

Dragon Abyss Prefecture City was nestled against mountains and waters, situated on the vast alluvial fan plain at the foot of Purple Mountain.

The prefectural city covered an enormous area. Its walls were a zhang thick and ten zhang high, with the inner and outer cities interlocking as one, capable of withstanding beast tides.

The Dragon Abyss Prefecture Brocade Guard Chiliarch Garrison lay in the northern district of the outer city, directly facing Purple Mountain. After entering through the north gate, they soon saw the garrison's grounds.

The garrison occupied a large area and could house over a thousand people. It had barracks, a Martial Arts Field, a grand mess hall, office areas, and other facilities. It looked like an enlarged version of a Brocade Guard Precinct.

To Chen Fan, it gave him a strangely unfamiliar sense of familiarity.

Along the way, Lu Xuening told Chen Fan much about Dragon Abyss Prefecture. Overall, the situation there was far from optimistic.

Cloud Prefecture lay in the north of the Great Zhou Dynasty, within the northern borderlands. Further north was a savage wilderness, a land of demons and monsters, so demons and monsters often invaded Cloud Prefecture.

The Great Zhou Dynasty and the land of demons and monsters were separated by the Demon Beast Mountain Range. Purple Mountain, where Dragon Abyss Prefecture was located, was in truth a naturally extending branch of the Demon Beast Mountain Range.

From this, it was clear that all of Dragon Abyss Prefecture had effectively been built at the foot of the Demon Beast Mountain Range, surviving right beneath the watchful eyes of countless demons and monsters.

Demons prowled all around Purple Mountain. Zuo Qianqiu led the Dragon Abyss Prefecture Brocade Guard Chiliarch Garrison in guarding Purple Mountain, confronting the demons and monsters of Purple Mountain!

Unlike Cao De, Zuo Qianqiu hated evil as if it were a personal enemy. He was upright and impartial, irreconcilable with demons and monsters, and would never collude with them or harm the common people.

Yet the countless clashes with the demons and monsters of Purple Mountain had also caused grievous casualties among the Brocade Guards of the Dragon Abyss Prefecture Brocade Guard Chiliarch Garrison. Those with ability rose quickly—and died quickly too.

Perhaps today you were still an ordinary Brocade Guard. Tomorrow, when Purple Mountain was attacked, your immediate superior and your superior's superior might both die, and the day after tomorrow you would leap straight into the position of Chief Squad Leader.

The Brocade Guard Hundred-Household Officers on the front lines of Dragon Abyss Prefecture were all Divine Aperture Realm martial artists, so they were not easily killed. Still, it was unavoidable for one or two Hundred-Household Officers leading ten battalions on the front lines to be killed or wounded each year.

Take Lu Xuening. She had now been promoted to Hundred-Household Officer of the Dragon Abyss Prefecture Brocade Guard Chiliarch Garrison, commanding the Tenth Battalion. So where had the previous Hundred-Household Officer of the Tenth Battalion gone?

He had been seriously wounded during a recent campaign to suppress the demons and monsters of Purple Mountain and had gone to logistics to recover. If he recovered and could still return to the front lines, he could command another battalion. If his severe injuries left behind grave lasting complications and he could no longer fight, then he would retire in logistics.

Such an outcome was already considered exceptionally fortunate. Many Hundred-Household Officers had died in battle on Purple Mountain, their corpses impossible to piece together whole.

Dragon Abyss Prefecture.

Brocade Guard Chiliarch Garrison.

Zuo Qianqiu's office.

Zuo Qianqiu looked somewhat lean, even gaunt. A few silver strands were mixed into his jet-black hair, and he wore a goatee. His eyes shone brightly, and without anger, he inspired awe.

"Your disciples Wang Teng and Lu Xuening pay respects to Master!"

After temporarily settling Chen Fan in the residence courtyard of the Brocade Guard Vice Chiliarch, Wang Teng and Lu Xuening went to report back to Zuo Qianqiu first.

"Alas!"

"How many times have I told you? When working, address people by their titles!"

Zuo Qianqiu looked at his two disciples and let out a long sigh.

"Yes!"

"This subordinate pays respects to Lord Chiliarch!"

Wang Teng and Lu Xuening clasped their fists and bowed again, calling out loudly.

"Have you met Chen Fan?"

"What did you think of him?"

Zuo Qianqiu looked at his eldest disciple Wang Teng and asked.

"He is young, two years younger than Xuening, yet very steady. Perhaps because he came from Ping An County, his horizons are too limited, and he does not yet understand the severity of the matter."

"According to Xuening, he cultivated the 'Blood Fiend Art' without using Essence Blood of Ten Thousand Spirits, instead using his own essence blood. In a very short time, he cultivated the 'Blood Fiend Art' to perfection and opened all thirty-six acupoints throughout his body."

"From this, he is a true peerless genius!"

"What a pity that he stumbled in a tiny place like Ping An County!"

Wang Teng could not help voicing his regret.

"Does he show any signs of falling to demonic cultivation?"

Zuo Qianqiu asked with a grave expression.

He knew the cultivation art known as the "Blood Fiend Art" very well. Its threshold was low and its cultivation speed fast. Anyone with even a little talent could break through to the Divine Aperture Realm before turning forty.

But after entering the Divine Aperture Realm, the longer one cultivated and the more acupoints one opened, the more easily one's mind would be eroded by Baleful Intent, ultimately causing one to lose control and fall into demonic cultivation.

Although Chen Fan had cultivated the "Blood Fiend Art" for only a short time, he had opened too many acupoints. He had already cultivated the "Blood Fiend Art" to perfection. By all reason, he should have begun going mad from time to time by now.

Could it be that he had concealed it too well?

That was why he had sent his eldest disciple, an expert at the seventh level of the Divine Aperture Realm, all the way to Ping An County to bring Chen Fan back.

First, it demonstrated how much importance he placed on Chen Fan. Second, if Chen Fan showed signs of losing control and falling into demonic cultivation, Wang Teng could immediately subdue him!

If his mind had already been eroded by Baleful Intent and he had lost control, then Wang Teng would personally act and end his life!

The Brocade Guard monitored Aristocratic Clans and sects, slaughtered demons, monsters, ghosts, and freaks. Whoever fell into demonic cultivation had to be slain!

Chen Fan could not be allowed to fall into demonic cultivation because of his merits, especially when he was a monstrous genius. Once he fell into demonic cultivation and walked the old path of the Blood Demon, it would become a disaster for all of Dragon Abyss Prefecture.