Seriously Hooked

Two days on the road.

Lu Jun had finally arrived within Yun Province.

At the same time, he had finally reached the... mountain gate of the Demon Slaying Division.

That was right—the mountain gate.

This was beyond Lu Jun's expectations.

He had thought it would be built in the center of the city as the most conspicuous department there. He had never expected Yun Province's Demon Slaying Division to be built deep in the mountains.

Seeing Lu Jun's surprise, Old Man Yun explained, "When we Law Seekers cultivate and use our abilities, the commotion can be quite considerable. It will inevitably disturb the lives of Yun Province's residents. Besides, the city is cramped and densely populated, so we built Yun Province's headquarters of the Demon Slaying Division directly in these Yun Mountains, making cultivation more convenient."

"Of course, there is also a branch in Yun Province City. The headquarters in the mountains are high and far away, so information can easily become isolated. Most intelligence is therefore collected by the city branch before being transferred to headquarters."

Lu Jun nodded. He found the arrangement quite reasonable.

Looking up at the dense clouds over the Yun Mountains, Lu Jun couldn't help clicking his tongue in amazement.

The Yun Mountains certainly lived up to their name. It was clearly still autumn, just after Frost's Descent and before the beginning of winter, yet from afar, the mountains were already blanketed in thick, dense clouds.

"Let's head up."

Old Man Yun called out, then gently patted the white horse beneath him on the flank.

With the clatter of hooves, the four of them followed the winding path toward the mountain.

Lu Jun saw few people during the first half of the mountain road.

It was only in the second half, after they entered the deep mountains, that people gradually became more numerous.

Quite a few people respectfully saluted Old Man Yun upon seeing him.

Li Tuo also explained to Lu Jun, "Old Man Yun is a Gold Envoy. Generally speaking, each province has three Gold Envoys stationed there, equivalent to three Gold Envoys jointly managing all the Demon Slayer Envoys in the province."

"After that comes the prefectures. Each prefecture has a Commander stationed there. Above them are the Division Masters and Grand Executioners."

"There are only four Division Masters. Each guards an important strategic location. The Grand Executioner, meanwhile, is stationed in the imperial city at Jingzhao Prefecture."

"Our Tannan Province isn't on the border and has no particularly dangerous strategic locations, so there is no Division Master stationed here. The highest-ranking official in the entire Tannan Province is that one Commander."

Lu Jun nodded.

So Old Man Yun really did have a high status.

Throughout Tannan Province, aside from that Commander, Old Man Yun, as a Gold Envoy, was among those with the highest standing.

They finally arrived at the entrance of the Demon Slaying Division.

Rather than a demon-extermination department established by the imperial court, this place looked more like a Daoist temple for cultivating the Way.

Everything, from the architecture to the facilities, carried a distinctly Daoist air—immortal bearing and extraordinary charm. There was not even the slightest hint of the imperial court about it.

Old Man Yun instructed Li Tuo, "A-Tuo, take A-Jun to register as a reserve Demon Slayer Envoy and arrange his living quarters while you're at it."

Li Tuo nodded.

Li Tuo took Lu Jun to collect his waist token and uniform, register his information, and then brought him to a courtyard.

He said with a smile, "You'll live in the same courtyard as me. I'm the only one living here anyway."

Lu Jun nodded and did not refuse.

By now, he had more or less figured out Li Tuo's personality.

He was a little boisterous, but broad-minded, straightforward, not overly calculating, and quite warm-hearted. He was a good person to associate with.

Moreover, his family background seemed anything but ordinary.

For a Gold Envoy to keep him by his side for tempering, and for him to have an entire courtyard to himself within the Demon Slaying Division... No matter how one looked at it, it was unusual.

Seeing Lu Jun agree, Li Tuo's eyes merely revealed a trace of wild delight.

Li Tuo had his own little calculations.

His feelings toward Lu Jun were complicated. It would be fair to say that he both respected and feared him.

He had witnessed the other's strength. Despite having only just begun cultivating, Lu Jun had clearly surpassed him by a great deal. He had slaughtered an entire village of demons alone, hated evil as if it were his mortal enemy, and hacked down every demon he saw.

His talent was also heaven-defying. An Innate Divine Ability user was a rare prodigy even among prodigies.

Later, whenever the other carried out missions, Li Tuo could also ride his coattails and earn some merit, complete the task assigned by the old man at home sooner, and return to Jingzhao Prefecture earlier.

"Now that I've joined, can I go chop up demons?"

Lu Jun's eyes gleamed with eager excitement.

With the intelligence network of the Demon Slaying Division, he no longer had to search the world for demons. How delightful.

Lu Jun could hardly wait another moment.

The thought that demons were still wandering around the world, happily enjoying their wonderful lives, made Lu Jun so uncomfortable that it felt as though ants were crawling all over his body!

Li Tuo couldn't help shivering. For a moment, he actually regretted bringing Lu Jun here to live with him.

Li Tuo continued introducing things to Lu Jun.

"Lu Jun, you're only a reserve member for now. You still have to take the examination to officially join the Demon Slaying Division and receive a rank and position. After that, the division will assign you missions according to your strength."

"This is also to reduce unnecessary casualties among the Demon Slayer Envoys. After all, every Law Seeker is an indispensable treasure to the world."

Lu Jun said, "Then what are we waiting for? The examination..."

Come on, man!

Do you have to be this eager?

You just got back!

And didn't you kill a jiangshi two days ago?

You're really addicted!

Li Tuo paused, then still answered, "Er... The examination has a fixed schedule. It's held on the first and fifteenth days of every month—the days of the New Moon and Full Moon. Today is the ninth, so the next examination is six days away."

Why is it scheduled on the same days as the offerings to the Huang Pi Dao Master at Huang Family Village? Why does it have to be such a lousy schedule?

Lu Jun thought it over and decided he could not simply sit around and wait.

Every day he slacked off, a demon would be living happily in this world.

Lu Jun could not tolerate that.

Suddenly, an idea struck him, and Lu Jun asked, "Can a higher-ranking Demon Slayer Envoy take a lower-ranking one along on missions for tempering?"

Li Tuo nodded. "Of course. Just like when the Gold Envoy took us to Huang Family Village for tempering..."

"Although in the end not a single demon was killed, since you chopped them all up, it still counted as tempering." Naturally, Li Tuo did not say the latter half aloud.

Lu Jun's eyes flashed.

"Then it's simple. You go accept a mission, and we'll go exterminate demons together! The contribution points go to you, and the demon heads go to me. How about it?"

Li Tuo's eyes lit up. "How did I not think of that?"

Come on, man. You're giving me that much?

This is letting me lie down while the money rolls in!

Sure enough, bringing Lu Jun in as his neighbor was the wisest decision he had ever made.

Lu Jun really was a fascinating person!

He did not want the contribution points. He was simply addicted, fond of hacking demons apart, tormenting them, and admiring the sight of their anguished howls before death.

Most importantly, this man's combat strength was insanely powerful. Bronze Envoy missions were basically effortless slaughter for him.

Thinking of this, Li Tuo still felt somewhat embarrassed. "How about we split it thirty-seventy? You take seventy, and I'll take thirty..."

"Stop rambling. We're leaving now!" Lu Jun cut him off.

He hoisted Li Tuo onto his shoulder and ran toward the mission office.