Conflict Caused by a Demon Body

Killed Enlightened Ape Demon, not yet in the Innate Realm. Lifespan: one hundred and fifty years. Remaining lifespan: fifty-three years. Absorption complete.

Shen Lin

Mastered martial arts: Blood Battle Saber Technique (Perfected)

Mastered cultivation technique: None

Remaining lifespan: one year

Demon Lifespan: fifty-three years

As the system prompt sounded, Shen Lin finally let out a long breath.

It was not that he feared Squad Leader Wu would snatch this ape demon from him, but...

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Amid heavy, muffled footsteps, a squad of soldiers clad in armor and holding long spears ran over from nearby.

Seeing this, Squad Leader Wu forced himself to stay alert and stepped up beside Shen Lin.

"The demons within the city should be handled by our Patrol Inspection Division. You've crossed the line!"

A tall man clad in black iron armor rode up before the two of them.

Shen Lin frowned, silently cursing the trouble.

When the Great Wei Dynasty was first established, Patrol Inspection Divisions had been set up in every county to deal with the demon scourge. Each had fifty men, all armored.

Ordinary minor demons simply could not break through the defenses of these armored soldiers.

Even stronger demons, such as the ape demon just now and the Mantis Demon from before—once these creatures that had cultivated demon qi were surrounded by armored soldiers, they could only die with hatred in their hearts.

After all, they were still unable to use their flesh alone to withstand blades and weapons.

And the Patrol Inspection Division possessed powerful crossbows.

Even Shen Lin, now in the Meridian Opening Realm, did not dare claim he could escape unscathed beneath a barrage of powerful crossbows.

Squad Leader Wu took a deep breath and smiled. "Inspector Cheng, that's not quite right. Though it was a demon, it did commit a crime. Maintaining order and arresting criminals are the duties of our Criminal Affairs Office."

More than a dozen gleaming spearheads stood before him, yet he showed no fear whatsoever.

Although local inspectors had held lofty status at the founding of the dynasty, things were no longer the same.

After the demon scourge had subsided, demons had become rare in this age of peace. The Patrol Inspection Division had long since lost its former dominance.

These dozen or so armored men before them even had a crossbow cart, but in truth, they had already brought out their entire fortune.

Besides, it was their Criminal Affairs Office that had slain the ape demon. Naturally, Squad Leader Wu was full of confidence.

Cheng Yi fell silent for a moment, then suddenly drew a deep breath and shouted, "Patrol Inspection Division, heed my command! Step forward and collect the demon corpse. Do not allow it to alarm the common folk!"

"Yes!"

The armored soldiers shouted in unison and marched forward in step.

Squad Leader Wu's expression changed at the sight.

This bastard intended to force the issue.

Had he gone mad?

"Cheng Yi! Are you going to attack your colleagues?"

"Colleagues?" Cheng Yi smiled, looking at Squad Leader Wu with faint contempt. "The soldiers of the Patrol Inspection Division are troops officially registered under the Great Wei. Are you worthy of being called our colleagues?"

Those words angered Squad Leader Wu so much that he laughed instead.

"Fine, fine, fine! Then today, step over my corpse and submit it along with this demon body!"

Cheng Yi's expression remained unchanged, and he gave no response.

The armored soldiers did not pause in the slightest, continuing forward.

Seeing this, Shen Lin took a deep breath and placed his hand on the saber hilt.

Until now, he had only displayed the strength of an ordinary Martial Artist.

But now, it seemed he could no longer conceal his Meridian Opening Realm strength.

Because the Blood Qi Power fluctuations faintly emanating from Inspector Cheng's body were on par with Shen Lin's current strength.

Just as the tension reached a breaking point, a vigorous voice suddenly rang out from nearby.

"Inspector Cheng, what imposing authority you have!"

Upon hearing this, Inspector Cheng abruptly turned around, a trace of wariness appearing on his face.

Three figures came sprinting down the street.

Shen Lin saw the newcomers and carefully searched through the memories of the original owner of this body. At last, he matched them to their identities.

The superior of the Criminal Affairs Office, Hu Dongxing, the county commandant of Qiulin County.

He was in the Meridian Opening Realm, the strongest person in Qiulin County according to the original owner's memories.

Behind him followed two other squad leaders from the Criminal Affairs Office.

One of them was actually Sun Zhi.

After Sun Zhi had brought the tiger demon's corpse back to the County Yamen, he saw that no one reacted strangely to him and understood that his affair had not been exposed.

But did Shen Lin and the other man truly not know, or were they deliberately concealing it?

He had just wanted to test Kong Yu when the county commandant summoned him and brought him here.

At this moment, he and Shen Lin locked eyes across the crowd.

When Sun Zhi saw that inexplicable smile at the corner of Shen Lin's lips, his heart skipped a beat. He instantly understood that Shen Lin had discovered his secret.

Yet with the situation so complicated, he could not communicate with Shen Lin. He could only bury the matter in his heart for now.

"Inspector Cheng, our Criminal Affairs Office discovered this demon first, and it was also slain by one of our men. You are trying to seize it by force—aren't you afraid we'll confront the county magistrate over this?"

Hu Dongxing's face was stern, and he looked thoroughly displeased.

Realizing there was no room to turn things around, Cheng Yi was equally decisive. Without replying, he merely called his men back.

Before leaving, he looked at Shen Lin and asked, "What is your name?"

Shen Lin froze for a moment, unable to understand why Cheng Yi ignored even the county commandant yet specifically asked for his name.

With no time to think further, he cupped his fists and said, "This junior is Shen Lin. Greetings, Inspector Cheng."

Cheng Yi nodded and said thoughtfully, "You... are quite good!"

After leaving behind that baffling remark, he turned and departed.

"More than quite good. Brother Shen is my lucky star!"

Hu Dongxing muttered, then walked over and patted Shen Lin on the shoulder. He praised him, "In a single day, you've slain another demon. Not bad, not bad! Young and promising indeed."

After praising Shen Lin, he turned to Sun Zhi and smiled. "But the greatest merit is yours. Not only did you bring us a new Martial Artist, but this time you also brought back a tiger demon with a rare bloodline. At the Demon Suppression Division, I will personally request credit for you!"

At that moment, the constables under Squad Leader Wu hurried over as well.

Hu Dongxing merely glanced at them and did not blame them.

After all, they were ordinary people who had yet to cultivate Blood Qi Power. Naturally, they could not keep pace with the ape demon and Squad Leader Wu.

"Boys, follow me! I'm in a good mood today! We're going to Yanbin Tower for drinks!!!"

Sun Zhi added from the side, "Sir, Steward Qian is still at the County Yamen. Should I go call him over?"

"Right, right, right! Call Old Qian over. And that pretty boy who came back with this kid earlier, what was his name again... damn it, what was it?"

"Kong Yu!"

"That's right! Kong Yu! Zhang the landlord's live-in... son-in-law! Call him too. He deserves credit this time as well!"

Sun Zhi lowered his head in acknowledgment and returned to the County Yamen alone to fetch them.

The others followed Hu Dongxing as he swaggered toward the finest restaurant in Qiulin County.