The case of the Zhang Manor massacre and fire in Qingyang County was ultimately closed with the verdict: "Moon Worship Cult fiends caused trouble, were annihilated by Constable Lin's heavenly might, and set themselves ablaze out of fear of punishment."
The case file was written simply, but the waves it stirred far exceeded everyone's imagination.
A tiny Qingyang County had actually become entangled with a demon cult, and a second-tier demon had even died. This was no longer within the scope of what the County Office could handle.
County magistrate Zhao Dehai did not dare delay in the slightest and reported the entire matter to the Nan Yan Commandery authorities.
Three days later, outside Qingyang County's gates, three swift horses came racing through a cloud of dust.
At their head was a woman dressed in fitted black clothes, a cloak of the same color draped over her shoulders.
She was around twenty, breathtakingly beautiful, yet her bearing was as cold as an ice mountain that had stood for ten thousand years. Her phoenix eyes were sharp as blades, as though they could see through the human heart.
At her waist hung a black iron token, upon which an ancient character for "Suppression" had been inscribed in cinnabar. A ring of red copper lined its edges, gleaming with an icy sheen beneath the sun.
Red copper as ornamentation—this was the symbol of a Bronze Token Demon Slayer from the Nan Yan Commandery's Demon Suppression Division!
Behind her stood two burly men also dressed in black. Their expressions were solemn and their gazes fierce. At their waists hung iron tokens forged from black iron.
The temples of both men bulged high, their breaths deep and unhurried. With every gesture, there was the distinct rhythm of True Qi circulating through them.
They were astonishingly both martial arts experts of the Meridian Opening Realm!
The moment the three entered the city, an invisible aura of grim slaughter spread through the air.
The pedestrians and commoners on the streets seemed to sense the pressure of those above them. They all kept their distance, watching these three uninvited visitors with awe.
"What dense blood-soaked Baleful Intent and resentment."
The Iron Token Demon Slayer named Zhao Tie on the left spoke in a deep, booming voice.
He sniffed the lingering scent in the air, and a trace of gravity flashed through his eyes.
"It seems quite a few people really did die here a few days ago, and there are also traces of demons causing trouble."
"The Moon Worship Cult's methods have always been like this."
The leaner man on the right, Li Rui, cut in, his sharp gaze sweeping over their surroundings.
"Boss, should we go straight to the ruins of Zhang Manor, or visit the County Office first?"
The leading woman, Chu Mengxi, the Bronze Token Demon Slayer leading this operation, parted her vermilion lips.
"To the County Office. I want to meet that Lin Feng."
In the archives of the Nan Yan Commandery Demon Suppression Division, Qingyang County was merely an inconspicuous subordinate county. A case requiring the Demon Suppression Division to act personally might not arise there even once in a hundred years.
Yet within this short month, several major incidents had occurred one after another in this little place.
Bandits had been killed, Zombies had been beheaded, a Water Ghost had been executed, the Black Tiger Gang had been wiped out overnight, and now a Moon Worship Cult stronghold had been implicated... Every incident pointed to the same name.
Lin Feng.
A newly appointed constable from an orphan's background, who had taken office less than a month ago.
The case files described him as "extraordinarily gifted, peerlessly brave," but Chu Mengxi sensed something unusual from those simple eight characters.
She did not believe that a Body Tempering martial artist could accomplish all this.
There had to be another hidden truth behind it.
Inside the County Office, Lin Feng was resting with his eyes closed.
After reaching the Ninth Level of Body Tempering, the power within him had reached a bottleneck. The basic cultivation method, the Qi Guiding Art, had become as useless as chicken ribs to him, no longer able to provide even the slightest benefit.
He desperately needed a higher-level cultivation method to break into the legendary Meridian Opening Realm.
Opening the Bridge of Heaven and Earth, drawing True Qi into the body, and letting it travel through the meridians—that was the true path of a martial artist.
And the only ones who could provide him with all that were the Demon Suppression Division.
He knew they would definitely come.
"Constable!"
A bailiff rushed in with a panicked expression. "Outside... there are three people outside. They claim to be from the Demon Suppression Division in the commandery city and wish to see you."
"Understood."
Lin Feng opened his eyes, his gaze calm and undisturbed. "Invite them in."
A moment later, Chu Mengxi and the other two entered the constable's office.
The instant Chu Mengxi laid eyes on Lin Feng, a flicker of surprise involuntarily crossed her cold phoenix eyes.
The young man before her was far younger than she had imagined, and far more handsome as well.
He merely sat there quietly, yet it seemed as though a faint mist shrouded him, making even her, an expert of the True Qi Realm, unable to see through him clearly.
Especially those eyes—deep as an Ancient Well. They lacked the sharp brilliance one would expect from a young man and held only the calm of someone who had weathered countless vicissitudes.
This was a man with a story.
That was Chu Mengxi's first impression of Lin Feng.
"Nan Yan Commandery Demon Suppression Division, Bronze Token Demon Slayer, Chu Mengxi."
Chu Mengxi went straight to the point, announcing her identity in a cold voice.
"Iron Token Demon Slayer, Zhao Tie."
"Iron Token Demon Slayer, Li Rui."
The two men behind her also announced their names in turn.
Lin Feng slowly rose and calmly cupped his hands. "Qingyang County Constable Lin Feng. You three have traveled a long way. You must have had a hard journey."
His attitude was neither servile nor overbearing. He possessed neither the fawning manner of a local official meeting a superior envoy nor the arrogance of a youth who had found early success.
This raised Chu Mengxi's assessment of him by another degree.
"We came because of the Zhang Manor massacre."
Chu Mengxi went straight to the point and cut directly to the heart of the matter. "The case file says you alone destroyed a Moon Worship Cult stronghold and also slew a second-tier demon, the Three-Eyed Demon Ape?"
"By luck, that was all."
"By luck?"
Zhao Tie, who had a fiery temper, could not help but let out a derisive laugh.
"Do you know what a second-tier demon means? It is equivalent to a human martial artist of the Meridian Opening Realm! You, a Body Tempering martial artist who has not even reached the Meridian Opening Realm, are telling me you killed it by luck? Are you telling us a mythological tale?"
In Zhao Tie's eyes, this kid was lying. There had to be some expert aiding him from the shadows.
Chu Mengxi did not stop Zhao Tie's questioning. Her phoenix eyes were fixed tightly upon Lin Feng as well, seeking even the slightest flaw in his expression.
Yet Lin Feng's expression remained as still as an Ancient Well untouched by wind.
"The facts are as they are. Whether you believe them is up to you."
"You!"
Zhao Tie was enraged by his impervious attitude and was just about to flare up.
"Zhao Tie."
Chu Mengxi's cold voice rang out, stopping him.
"When the Demon Suppression Division handles cases, we value evidence and strength. No matter how beautifully the case file is written, it cannot compare to seeing it with one's own eyes. I want to know whether your strength is worthy of your achievements."
"How do you wish to see it?" Lin Feng asked.
"Very simply."
The corner of Chu Mengxi's lips curved into an almost imperceptible arc. "Take three moves from Zhao Tie. If you can withstand them, I will believe seven parts out of ten regarding the Zhang Manor case. I will also personally recommend you to the Commandery Division and recruit you into our Demon Suppression Division. If you cannot withstand them..."
She did not finish her sentence, but its meaning was self-evident.
If he could not withstand them, then every one of his prior accomplishments would likely have a huge question mark stamped upon it.
This was both a test and a warning.
"Boss, why use three moves? To deal with a kid who boasts so shamelessly, one move is enough!"
Zhao Tie cracked his knuckles. He was a first-level Meridian Opening Realm martial artist, his True Qi incomparably robust. In his eyes, dealing with a Body Tempering martial artist was like using a butcher's cleaver to kill a chicken.
"No need."
At that moment, Lin Feng shook his head.
Zhao Tie thought he was afraid and sneered disdainfully. "What? Now you know fear? Too late!"
But Lin Feng looked at Chu Mengxi and spoke calmly. "What I mean is, it is too troublesome."
"Have both of them come at me together."
"So we do not waste time."
The instant those words fell, the air in the entire office froze solid.
Zhao Tie and Li Rui both froze, then boundless fury surged onto their faces.
Too arrogant!
As Iron Token Demon Slayers of the Demon Suppression Division and experts of the Meridian Opening Realm, wherever they went, they were treated with respect and admiration.
Yet today, they were being so openly slighted by a Body Tempering constable from a remote little county!
Even Chu Mengxi, who had always been cold and aloof, had a flash of anger pass through her phoenix eyes.
She had seen arrogant people before, but never anyone so ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth.
"Good! Good! Good!"
Zhao Tie laughed in extreme anger. "Kid, you brought this upon yourself! Today, I will let you know that between the Meridian Opening Realm and the Body Tempering Realm lies a heavenly chasm you will never be able to cross!"
"Li Rui, attack with me! Give this kid a lesson he will never forget!"
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