Demon Slayer Division Headquarters

Great Yu Dynasty, Royal City, Si family estate.

This ancient estate situated in the Royal City was magnificent and imposing, extraordinarily grand.

Within the estate, the courtyards and gardens had been exquisitely tended, dotted with lush green plants.

Pavilions, terraces, towers, upturned eaves, and blue tiles intertwined and wound about one another, refined and elegant without losing their majestic grandeur.

In the Si family's rear courtyard, inside a luxuriously furnished sitting room.

"Thinking about that genius martial artist from Pei Province again?"

The beautiful woman, dressed in splendid court attire, poured royal tribute black tea into a teacup with her well-maintained, fair jade-like hands.

The rich fragrance of tea spread through the entire room along with the curling mist.

Her sudden words startled the young woman seated by the window.

Si Miaoyin wore a pale pink ruqun embroidered with exquisite peach blossoms. Bright-eyed and fine-toothed, she was like a bewitching spring breeze.

Her long hair cascaded loosely down her back, while her graceful, upright posture revealed the curves of her exceptionally slender figure.

Her calves, exposed beneath her skirt, were even more fair and jade-smooth, revealing broad swathes of crystalline, tender skin.

Upon seeing the beautiful woman, Si Miaoyin gave a slight bow. "Mother."

The beautiful woman smiled faintly. "Ever since you returned from Pei Province, you've always been staring out the window in a daze. Thinking about your little lover again?"

A blush rose to Si Miaoyin's delicate face as she protested with a tiny flare of anger, "Mother! When have I ever done that?"

"I'm only worried about the situation in Pei Province!"

"Now that demons are invading our Great Yu in force, and a foreign New Demon Emperor has descended upon Pei Province..."

"I'm worried about Uncle and the others' safety."

"As for Li Xuanxiao... I'm only worried about him in passing, that's all."

Trying to cover it up only made it more obvious... The beautiful woman chuckled softly and set down her teacup with dignified poise. "Your father will be returning from the Demon Slayer Division today."

"When the time comes, you can ask him directly about Pei Province. Why sit here letting your imagination run wild and wasting your energy for nothing?"

"Really!?"

Si Miaoyin's eyes lit up at once.

The beautiful woman smiled indulgently. "When has Mother ever lied to you?"

Si Miaoyin immediately beamed like a flower and hurriedly climbed to her feet, planting a loud kiss on the beautiful woman's cheek. "Thank you, Mother!"

Li Xuanxiao landed before the Royal City's towering gates.

Even while he was still high in the air, the immense scale and magnificent presence of the Royal City had left him shaken.

As expected of the Great Yu Royal City. None of the cities he had seen before could compare.

Even ten Pei Province Cities put together would be nothing more than a little brother before the Royal City.

As he passed through the gate passage, Li Xuanxiao was repeatedly astonished.

In the Royal City, even an ordinary gate guard was at the Extreme Realm, while Mystic Realm martial artists were exceedingly common.

And this was only the outermost area!

At the center of the Royal City, wouldn't Mystic Realm experts be as common as dogs, with Sublime Realm experts walking everywhere?

Li Xuanxiao did not dare dwell on it. He only felt that his modest cultivation had once again become rather unimpressive in the Royal City.

Following the directions, he arrived at the Demon Slayer Division headquarters in the Royal City.

After he presented his identification, the staff member raised his brows in surprise and looked Li Xuanxiao up and down.

"You came from Pei Province?"

Li Xuanxiao nodded. "That is correct."

"I heard the demon scourge in Pei Province is extremely severe, to the point that even the local Demon Slayer Division was nearly destroyed?"

Li Xuanxiao was surprised. He had not expected the Royal City's intelligence to be so well-informed that it had learned of what happened in Pei Province so quickly.

But upon further thought, he immediately understood.

After all, the personnel allocations and hall arrangements of each province's Demon Slayer Division branch were all determined by the Demon Slayer Division headquarters.

Since the Pei Province Demon Slayer Division had the Flying Eagle Hall specially tasked with gathering intelligence, the headquarters naturally had one as well.

He promptly bowed again. "To be honest, sir, I came this time precisely to request support from headquarters."

The staff member nodded. "You've worked hard. Come with me; I'll arrange lodging for you first..."

Under the staff member's guidance, Li Xuanxiao gained a small place of his own at the Demon Slayer Division headquarters.

"You can stay here for now. These past few days, the higher-ups have been dealing with matters in Yu Province."

Li Xuanxiao cupped his fists in salute. "May I ask, sir, is the demon scourge in Yu Province also very severe?"

The staff member sighed softly. "More than severe!"

"The entirety of Yu Province has fallen. All the martial artists who were at the Yu Province Demon Slayer Division at the time, along with the Commander-in-Chief, died in battle!"

"The Commander-in-Chief's head was even cut off by the demons, skewered through with a long spear, and mounted atop the city wall."

"Those damned demons!"

Li Xuanxiao's heart jolted. He bowed once more. "Thank you, sir, for clearing up my doubts."

The staff member nodded. Quite satisfied with Li Xuanxiao's respectful manner, he was willing to say a few more words.

"You needn't worry. The Commander-in-Chief of the Pei Province Demon Slayer Division is the biological younger brother of the current Si family head!"

"And the Si family head serves as the Hall Master of the Demon Slaying Hall in our Demon Slayer Division. He will not ignore his own younger brother!"

"Just put your mind at ease!"

Li Xuanxiao's eyes widened involuntarily. The Si family head was actually also the Hall Master of the Demon Slayer Division headquarters' Demon Slaying Hall!

Then what was he waiting for? He had to meet him as soon as possible!

Li Xuanxiao had not forgotten that Si Yiwu had lost an arm and was being pursued by several Demon Emperors. Even now, his fate remained unknown.

This was not something that could be taken slowly!

"Sir, please take me to see the Hall Master of the Demon Slaying Hall at once!"

"Our Commander-in-Chief is currently being hunted by several Demon Emperors. The situation is critical!"

"I fear that if we delay any longer, a great calamity will result!"

Hearing this, the staff member understood the gravity of the situation as well. "All right, come with me!"

As they passed through the courtyards of the Demon Slayer Division headquarters, the martial artists Li Xuanxiao saw along the way all possessed abundant True Qi, most of them at the middle or late Mystic Realm.

Li Xuanxiao was secretly shocked. As expected of the Demon Slayer Division headquarters—the overall standard of its martial artists was indeed a great deal higher.

They stopped outside a grand and imposing courtyard. The staff member spoke to the gate guard, then left on his own.

The gate guard led Li Xuanxiao into the hall. "Hall Master, a martial artist from the Pei Province Demon Slayer Division requests an audience."

The middle-aged man seated upright within the hall had a resolute face and bore some resemblance to Si Yiwu.

Upon hearing the words "Pei Province," he raised his brows and shifted his gaze away from the map in his hands. "Let him enter."

The gate guard respectfully acknowledged the order, slowly backed away, and gave Li Xuanxiao a meaningful look.

Li Xuanxiao thanked him quietly and entered the hall.

"I am Li Xuanxiao, a martial artist of the Pei Province Mission Hall. Greetings, Lord Hall Master of the Demon Slaying Hall!"

The middle-aged man looked at Li Xuanxiao. "What do you seek from me?"

Li Xuanxiao bowed again. "Our Pei Province Demon Slayer Division was attacked by more than ten Demon Emperors!"

"Of the Demon Slayer Division's eight Hall Masters, six died in battle!"

"Commander-in-Chief Si Yiwu fought bathed in blood, but two fists could not defeat four hands, and one of his arms was severed."

"Afterward, he was pursued by the Demon Emperors, and his fate remains unknown even now!"

"The Pei Province Demon Slayer Division is now completely paralyzed. Personnel deployment, logistical supplies, intelligence transmission, and everything else have become problems."

"Although the demons have retreated for now, they may return in a rolling tide at any moment."

"I humbly beg you, sir, to save Commander-in-Chief Si Yiwu and save Pei Province!"