Recaps

Xu Longxuan secured Su Fei a centurion's position in the Demon Suppression Bureau despite Zhang Bo's concerns about his cultivation and prestige. Su Fei received his uniform and command token, determined to prove himself to his new subordinates.

• Xu Longxuan asked Zhang Bo to appoint Su Fei as a centurion, but Zhang Bo proposed starting him as a squad leader instead.
• Xu Longxuan pressured Zhang Bo by invoking his promise to Su Fei and the Xu Family's influence.
• Zhang Bo agreed to make an exception and appoint Su Fei as a centurion, warning that he would be demoted if he failed to command his guards or complete assigned tasks.
• Su Fei resolved to earn the guards' respect and prove Xu Longxuan's trust was well placed.
• A clerk brought Su Fei a Demon Suppression Bureau uniform and a centurion's command token.

Su Fei received an acting centurion’s post in the Demon Suppression Bureau and headed to the Ninth Barracks. As Xiao Ma explained the bureau’s duties and warned that the guards might not accept him, Su Fei considered the dangers of demons and the need to prove himself.

• Zhang Bo appointed Su Fei acting centurion of the Ninth Barracks for a three-month trial and gave him an official uniform and token.
• Zhang Bo assigned Xiao Ma to escort Su Fei to the barracks and explain the bureau’s rules and operations.
• Xiao Ma told Su Fei that his rapid promotion made others envious, but Su Fei resolved to earn his place through strength and merit.
• Xiao Ma explained that the Demon Suppression Bureau hunted human-eating spirits that could disguise themselves as people, as well as violent criminals and traitors who collaborated with demons.
• Xiao Ma warned Su Fei that the Ninth Barracks’ squad leaders might resist taking orders from a centurion with less cultivation and fewer merits than their peers.

Su Fei arrived at the Ninth Barracks and introduced himself as its new centurion, but the Demon Suppression Guards questioned his appointment because he was an outsider with no experience in the Bureau. He agreed to face the squad leaders in battle the next day to prove he deserved their respect.

• Xiao Ma explained the Demon Suppression Bureau's rules and warned Su Fei that centurions shared responsibility for their subordinates' major mistakes.
• Xiao Ma brought Su Fei to the Ninth Barracks, where guards greeted their new centurion and led him into the courtyard.
• Su Fei introduced himself as a fourth-level Nirvana Realm martial artist and ordered the guards to follow Bureau rules and his commands.
• A tall Demon Suppression Guard said the Ninth Barracks' experienced squad leaders deserved consideration and that the guards would follow strength rather than status.
• Su Fei accepted that the squad leaders might challenge him and promised to prove himself in battle.

Su Fei settled into the Ninth Barracks’ centurion quarters and learned that the previous centurion had died protecting his men, deepening his sense of the job’s dangers. As Su Fei prepared for the next day’s fight, news of his appointment spread through the Demon Suppression Bureau, drawing envy and doubts about his strength.

• Su Fei agreed to face the squad leaders, then asked to see the centurion’s quarters and followed a plump Demon Suppression Guard there.
• The guard told Su Fei that the previous centurion had been killed by a wolf demon while covering his men’s retreat.
• Su Fei examined the previous centurion’s notes on demons, then cultivated to consolidate his Nirvana Realm Fourth Level before the next day’s fight.
• A clerk delivered Su Fei’s appointment documents to the personnel office, where the staff learned that he came from the Southwestern Lesser Continent and had backing from the Xu Family and Zhang Bo.
• News of Su Fei’s appointment spread through the bureau, prompting some guards to envy him and others to question whether he deserved the position.

Chen Tianjun learned that Su Fei had become a Hundred-Man Commander and ordered his disciple Fang Muqing to challenge and cripple him. Fang Muqing was shown training his body in the Demon Suppression Bureau as the challenge was set in motion.

• Chen Tianjun angrily blamed the White Lotus Sect elders after Su Fei joined the Demon Suppression Bureau as a Hundred-Man Commander.
• Chen Tianjun feared Su Fei would grow powerful and use the Bureau’s authority against him and the White Lotus Sect.
• Chen Tianjun ordered a disciple to tell Fang Muqing to challenge Su Fei and cripple his martial cultivation.
• Chen Tianjun argued that Su Fei would lose face if he refused the challenge and would likely lose if he accepted it.
• Fang Muqing trained in a Demon Suppression Bureau training room while four Grandmaster Realm men struck him with iron rods.

Fang Muqing prepared to challenge Su Fei for a centurion position, but he arrived at the Ninth Barracks first and defeated the two squad leaders who had come to test Su Fei. The crowd watched in stunned silence as Fang Muqing declared the captains weak.

• Fang Muqing received a note instructing him to challenge Su Fei and preferably cripple him, then decided to seize the opportunity to make a name for himself.
• Fang Muqing trained through the night and planned to challenge Su Fei the following morning.
• Hu Jing and Qiu Xu gathered with Ninth Barracks guards outside Su Fei’s courtyard to challenge him and judge whether he deserved their obedience.
• As Su Fei emerged to accept their challenge, Fang Muqing arrived and claimed that Hu Jing and Qiu Xu had no right to challenge his opponent.
• Fang Muqing unleashed his black tiger tattoo and defeated Hu Jing and Qiu Xu with a single attack, then mocked their weakness.

Fang Muqing, a powerful squad leader from another barracks, challenged Su Fei and mocked the Ninth Barracks. Su Fei accepted, and the Ninth Barracks’ guards stood by him as the two prepared to fight.

• Fang Muqing defeated Hu Jing and Qiu Xu in one move, and the guards identified him as a fifth-level Nirvana Realm squad leader from Li Cheng’s Third Barracks.
• Fang Muqing declared that he had come to challenge Su Fei, calling him a weakling who had become centurion through connections.
• Su Fei accepted the challenge, deciding that defeating Fang Muqing would establish his authority more effectively than defeating the Ninth Barracks’ squad leaders.
• Fang Muqing mocked Su Fei and the Ninth Barracks, but the guards stepped forward to protect their centurion and warned him that Fang Muqing was dangerous.
• Su Fei thanked the guards, faced Fang Muqing, and said he was confident he could win.
• Fang Muqing threatened to cripple Su Fei and invoked the Xu Family as the confrontation began.

Su Fei faced Fang Muqing in the Ninth Barracks arena and used his perfected Three Saber Strikes of the Avici Path to gravely wound Fang Muqing’s Black Tiger Tattoo with one slash. The Demon Suppression Guards cheered for Su Fei, who remained calm as he confronted the pale Fang Muqing.

• Fang Muqing unleashed his peak fifth-level Nirvana Realm power and sent his Black Tiger Tattoo phantom charging at Su Fei.
• Su Fei’s netherworld killing intent made the black tiger phantom falter, and he drew his saber to slash it.
• Su Fei’s single strike tore a deep wound into the black tiger phantom, causing it to fall and rapidly lose its form.
• Fang Muqing reacted in disbelief as the onlookers recognized Su Fei’s strength and cheered for him.
• Su Fei held his saber and calmly looked at Fang Muqing without showing any smugness.

Fang Muqing refused to concede and used the Blood-Burning Secret Art to strengthen himself and his black tiger phantom, despite the risk of crippling his martial foundation. Su Fei met the blood tiger’s charge with the first strike of the Three Saber Strikes of the Avici Path, and their attacks collided.

• Fang Muqing rejected Su Fei’s challenge outcome and decided he had to win to protect his standing and future.
• Fang Muqing activated the Blood-Burning Secret Art, forcing his blood essence into the black tiger tattoo and raising his strength to the Nirvana Realm sixth level.
• The Demon Suppression Guards recognized the forbidden art, while Hu Jing and Qiu Xu worried that Fang Muqing’s boosted power could threaten Su Fei.
• Fang Muqing unleashed Blood Tiger Soul Devouring and sent the strengthened blood tiger phantom lunging at Su Fei.
• Su Fei gathered his netherworld aura and struck with Avici Path, clashing his saber energy against the blood tiger’s savage aura.

Su Fei defeated Fang Muqing after destroying the blood tiger phantom, leaving Fang Muqing gravely injured and his martial foundation damaged. The stewards took Fang Muqing away for punishment, and the Ninth Barracks accepted Su Fei as their leader.

• Su Fei shattered Fang Muqing’s blood tiger phantom with a slash, and Fang Muqing collapsed with severe injuries and a damaged martial foundation.
• Su Fei told Fang Muqing that he had lost, and Fang Muqing regretted challenging him and using the Blood-Burning Secret Art.
• Demon Suppression Bureau stewards arrived and took Fang Muqing to the Law Enforcement Hall for challenging his superior and violating bureau discipline.
• Hu Jing and Qiu Xu bowed to Su Fei and pledged to obey his commands.
• The Demon Suppression Guards of the Ninth Barracks paid their respects to Su Fei and pledged to follow him.

After defeating Fang Muqing and winning the Ninth Barracks’ recognition, Su Fei accepted Hu Jing and Qiu Xu’s apology and offered to treat the whole barracks to dinner. As evening arrived, the guards rode with him toward Water Melody Pavilion.

• Su Fei thanked the Ninth Barracks for supporting him, and the guards pledged to follow him in fighting the Demon Sect.
• Hu Jing and Qiu Xu apologized for challenging Su Fei and invited him to Water Melody Pavilion.
• Su Fei proposed inviting all the Ninth Barracks and paying for the meal himself, delighting the guards.
• Qiu Xu offered to share the cost, but Su Fei said he had plenty of spirit stones and Qiu Xu arranged the outing.
• At evening, the Ninth Barracks mounted Crimson Flame Horses and followed Su Fei toward Water Melody Pavilion.

Su Fei led the Ninth Barracks to celebrate at the Water Melody Pavilion after arriving in the imperial capital. Meanwhile, Zhang Bo learned that Su Fei had defeated Fang Muqing despite Fang’s higher cultivation and Blood-Burning Secret Art, and he praised Su Fei’s talent.

• Su Fei and the Ninth Barracks entered the imperial capital and rode to the Water Melody Pavilion on Black Tortoise Avenue.
• Su Fei toasted the Demon Suppression Guards, and they pledged to follow him and fight the Demon Sect.
• Xiao Ma reported to Zhang Bo that Fang Muqing had challenged Su Fei, used the Blood-Burning Secret Art, and lost; the Law Enforcement Hall had taken Fang Muqing away.
• Xiao Ma told Zhang Bo that Fang Muqing was at the Nirvana Realm fifth level peak and had reached the sixth level with the secret art, while Su Fei had previously been at the fourth level.
• Zhang Bo was astonished that Su Fei had won and praised his ability, decisiveness, and future prospects.

After Su Fei defeated Fang Muqing, Zhang Bo awarded him a minor merit, while Li Cheng dismissed Fang Muqing’s fate and took an interest in Su Fei. Su Fei bonded with the Ninth Barracks and oversaw their training the next morning, when Xiao Ma arrived with a message from Zhang Bo.

• Zhang Bo ordered Xiao Ma to credit Su Fei with one minor merit for repelling Fang Muqing’s provocation.
• Li Cheng refused to intervene for Fang Muqing and told his guard to let the Law Enforcement Hall handle the case by the rules.
• Li Cheng recognized Su Fei’s strength and said he hoped to meet him in person.
• Su Fei celebrated with the Ninth Barracks, whose guards pledged to follow his lead, and he arranged their return before riding back to the barracks.
• Hu Jing and Qiu Xu led the Ninth Barracks in training the next morning while Su Fei supervised.
• Xiao Ma entered the courtyard, prompting Hu Jing and Qiu Xu to pause the training as he approached Su Fei.

Xiao Ma awarded Su Fei a minor merit and delivered a mission for the Ninth Barracks to investigate the disappearances in Hu Family Village and eliminate the suspected demon. Su Fei accepted the mission, learned that completing it would earn him the Divine-Grade Sensing Technique and 230 years of cultivation, and ordered the barracks to prepare to leave.

• Xiao Ma told Su Fei that Thousand-Man Commander Zhang had awarded him one minor merit for repelling Fang Muqing’s provocation.
• Xiao Ma reported that villagers had been disappearing from Hu Family Village and that a demon was suspected of causing the disappearances.
• Su Fei accepted the mission to find and eliminate the demon and restore peace to Hu Family Village.
• Su Fei received a system mission offering the Divine-Grade Sensing Technique and 230 years of cultivation for resolving the case.
• Su Fei rallied the Demon Suppression Guards and ordered Hu Jing and Qiu Xu to prepare the Ninth Barracks to depart in one hour.

Su Fei led the Ninth Barracks Demon Suppression Guards to Hu Family Village to investigate the villagers’ disappearances and the demons behind them. He left most of the force guarding the village entrance and entered with Hu Jing and Qiu Xu to question the village head.

• Su Fei assembled the Demon Suppression Guards and led them from the bureau toward Hu Family Village.
• Su Fei and his party saw that the village’s spirit fields had fallen partly into disrepair, while villagers worked under a cloud of fear and vigilance.
• Su Fei ordered the Demon Suppression Guards to guard the village entrance, stay in pairs, and use signal fireworks if demons appeared or anything unusual happened.
• Su Fei, Hu Jing, and Qiu Xu rode into the village to find the village head and learn about the disappearances and the demons’ activity.
• The villagers stopped working and regarded Su Fei, Hu Jing, and Qiu Xu with curiosity and wariness as they entered.

Su Fei, Hu Jing, and Qiu Xu arrived in Hu Family Village to investigate the disappearances and questioned village chief Hu Guangnian. Hu Guangnian began recounting how the missing villagers’ cases started, leaving the full scope of the disappearances unresolved.

• Su Fei and his companions rode through Hu Family Village, where frightened villagers watched them and hurried to finish their work before dark.
• Su Fei introduced himself to village chief Hu Guangnian and promised the Demon Suppression Bureau would investigate the disappearances and eliminate the demon.
• Hu Guangnian showed Su Fei and his subordinates a ledger of missing villagers, then told them that Old Man Zhang had vanished after leaving a friend’s house two months earlier.
• Hu Guangnian explained that villagers began disappearing every five or six days, including eighteen-year-old tofu seller Zhang Erya.

Hu Guangnian told Su Fei that dozens of Hu Family Village residents had vanished without a trace, leaving the Demon Suppression Bureau with no clear leads. Su Fei began organizing a systematic investigation, and the chapter ended as the villagers gathered to be questioned.

• Hu Guangnian described how villagers including the tofu seller, Pockmarked Chen, and Li the Second disappeared, and said he believed a demon was responsible.
• Su Fei concluded that the disappearances shared no clear pattern and that Hu Guangnian's account offered no direct clues.
• Su Fei asked Hu Guangnian to gather villagers who had heard strange noises and arrange guides to take the investigators to the disappearance sites and nearby areas.
• Su Fei instructed Hu Jing and Qiu Xu to question villagers about strange figures, unusual sounds, and the missing people's behavior, while watching for evasive answers.
• Hu Guangnian returned with a dozen or so frightened villagers, who gathered around Su Fei, Hu Jing, and Qiu Xu.

Su Fei and the Demon Suppression Bureau questioned Hu Family Village’s residents and followed several clues to an old well and the northern spirit fields. After finding no clear evidence at either site, Su Fei sent Hu Jing and Qiu Xu to continue investigating while he remained near the old locust tree.

• Su Fei had Hu Jing and Qiu Xu question and record the villagers’ accounts while he watched for suspicious behavior.
• Qiu Xu reported clues about knocking near the western old well, a large black shadow by the northern spirit fields, and a figure seen near the old locust tree.
• Su Fei asked Village Chief Hu to provide guides, then led Hu Jing and Qiu Xu to inspect the old well.
• Su Fei found no obvious tracks or living aura in the well, but sensed its air was unusually cold and sinister, and refused to send anyone down.
• At the northern end, Su Fei examined the old locust tree and found no unusual tracks or marks before assigning Qiu Xu to search the grass and Hu Jing to question the field workers.

Su Fei and his guards followed fresh demonic traces from Hu Family Village’s northern spirit fields into the mountain forest, where they discovered a cave that appeared to be the demon’s lair. Su Fei left Hu Jing and Qiu Xu on guard and prepared to investigate alone.

• Qiu Xu found crushed grass and cold, foul-smelling black stains, which Su Fei identified as traces left by a demon.
• Su Fei told Hu Guangnian to send the villagers away from the northern spirit fields and ordered Hu Jing and Qiu Xu to help follow the traces.
• Su Fei, Hu Jing, and Qiu Xu tracked the increasingly strong stains and odor from the spirit fields into the mountain forest.
• Qiu Xu spotted a concealed cave entrance marked by black stains, crushed trails, and scratches, and Su Fei identified it as the demon’s lair.
• Su Fei ordered Hu Jing and Qiu Xu to guard the entrance while he entered the cave alone.

Su Fei, Hu Jing, and Qiu Xu searched the demon’s old cave but found neither the demon nor fresh traces of the missing villagers. They returned to Hu Family Village, where Su Fei began organizing the Demon Suppression Guards to protect the village and its spirit fields.

• Su Fei searched the cave and found old signs of a demon lair and tattered garments, but no demon or villagers.
• Su Fei concluded that the demon had left its former lair but likely remained active near Hu Family Village.
• Su Fei, Hu Jing, and Qiu Xu searched around the cave, found no fresh tracks, and decided to return to the village and set up defenses.
• Su Fei returned to the village entrance and assembled the Demon Suppression Guards of the Ninth Barracks.
• Su Fei ordered the hundred guards to divide into ten groups, each with a Squad Leader and Demon Suppression Bureau distress fireworks.

Su Fei organized the Demon Suppression Guards into ten groups to patrol Hu Family Village and prepare to respond if the demon returned. The guards settled into their posts, while Su Fei, Hu Jing, and Qiu Xu lodged at Hu Guangnian’s home as night fell.

• Su Fei assigned ten groups of Demon Suppression Guards to watch the village, its spirit fields, and the wooded hills, and ordered them to signal for help and converge if the demon appeared.
• Su Fei, Hu Jing, and Qiu Xu planned to stay at Hu Guangnian’s home so they could quickly respond to distress fireworks.
• The guards took up posts throughout Hu Family Village, easing the villagers’ fears and encouraging them to return to cultivating their spirit fields.
• Su Fei told Hu Guangnian that the demon’s former lair was empty and asked him to reassure the villagers and warn them against going out late at night.
• Hu Guangnian arranged rooms for the three officers and hurried off to notify the villagers as Su Fei surveyed the village at nightfall.

After fifteen days without a demon attack, Su Fei suspected it was hiding and devised a plan with Hu Jing and Qiu Xu. He pretended to Hu Guangnian that the Demon Suppression Guards had been ordered away and that the demon had left, while Hu Guangnian pleaded with them to stay.

• Su Fei, Hu Jing, and Qiu Xu guarded Hu Family Village overnight, and villagers returned to their spirit fields the next morning.
• Over fifteen or sixteen days, the village recovered and no one disappeared, but Su Fei grew suspicious that the demon was hiding from the guards.
• Su Fei concluded the demon was likely waiting for the guards to leave and secretly instructed Hu Jing and Qiu Xu on a plan for the next day.
• Hu Jing and Qiu Xu passed Su Fei's instructions to the Demon Suppression Guards in each group.
• Su Fei told Hu Guangnian that an urgent order required the Ninth Barracks to leave and claimed the demon had already fled, asking him to reassure the villagers.
• Hu Guangnian worried the demon would return and grabbed Su Fei's sleeve, urging him to stay and investigate further.

Su Fei led the Ninth Barracks out of Hu Family Village after fifteen days without a demon attack, reassuring the villagers that they could report any new trouble to the Demon Suppression Bureau. Several dozen li from the village, he stopped and prepared to split the guards into two groups to wait for the demon.

• Su Fei refused Hu Guangnian's request to keep the guards in Hu Family Village and ordered the Ninth Barracks to depart.
• Hu Guangnian gathered the villagers, who thanked Su Fei, Hu Jing, Qiu Xu, and the Demon Suppression Guards and gave them provisions.
• Su Fei addressed the villagers, mounted his horse, and led the Ninth Barracks out of the village as its residents waved farewell.
• After the guards had traveled several dozen li, Su Fei stopped and Hu Jing asked whether they should split into two groups and hide to wait for the demon.

Su Fei set a trap around Hu Family Village, expecting a demon to return after the Demon Suppression Guards appeared to leave. As night fell, Hu Laosan stayed alone in the spirit fields to earn money for his son’s wedding, while a disguised guard watched anxiously nearby.

• Su Fei sent disguised Demon Suppression Guards into Hu Family Village and positioned Hu Jing, Qiu Xu, and other guards in the forests to ambush the demon.
• Su Fei hid on an earthen slope with two guards and waited for the demon to appear.
• As darkness fell, the villagers remembered Su Fei’s warning and left the spirit fields for home.
• Wang Si urged Hu Laosan to leave, but Hu Laosan chose to keep working so he could save more for his son’s wedding.
• A disguised Demon Suppression Guard watched Hu Laosan from the grass, readying his distress firework but remaining hidden to protect Su Fei’s plan.

A Demon Suppression Guard fired a distress signal when the Jackal Demon attacked Hu Laosan, bringing Hu Jing, Qiu Xu, Su Fei, and their forces to the northern spirit fields. The Jackal Demon fought off the first assault, but Hu Jing’s arrival completed the encirclement, leaving it surrounded by the Demon Suppression Guards.

• A Demon Suppression Guard spotted the Jackal Demon sneaking up on Hu Laosan and fired a distress firework.
• Hu Jing and Qiu Xu mobilized their Demon Suppression Guards, while Su Fei rode toward the northern spirit fields with two guards.
• The Jackal Demon struck Hu Laosan and approached him as he lay injured in the spirit field.
• Qiu Xu and his guards arrived and attacked the Jackal Demon, but its iron-hard hide and speed let it break through their encirclement.
• The Jackal Demon taunted the guards and threatened to eat them, then Hu Jing arrived with forty guards and helped seal off its escape routes.