Li Xuanxiao sat by the window in a restaurant, taking a sip of tea.
After the magistrate agreed to the demons' unreasonable demands, the yamen had essentially ground to a halt. There was no need to report for duty either.
Li Xuanxiao was pondering the fastest way to earn Demon Points when bursts of startled cries reached him.
He turned his head and saw many people practically fleeing the restaurant.
Two towering figures entered through the restaurant doors.
Ignoring the crowd scattering in all directions, they swaggered into the main hall. "Waiter, bring out all your best wine and meat!"
The waiter instinctively called out, "Coming right up!"
But when he turned around, he was struck as if by lightning!
Standing before him were clearly a Boar Demon and an Ox Demon!
The waiter's body trembled like a sieve, and his face instantly turned several shades paler.
Yet he did not dare defy the two demons. He could only force a smile uglier than crying and step forward.
"Y-you two... heroes, what would you like to eat?"
The Boar Demon snorted. "Waiter, do you have meat here? Bring us however much you have!"
The waiter shuddered. "Y-yes, yes! We have pork..."
He suddenly realized something, and the Boar Demon cast him a dark look.
The waiter's heart skipped a beat. Mentioning pork in front of a Boar Demon—wasn't he courting death?
So he hurriedly changed his words. "We have beef..."
But from the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the taciturn Ox Demon beside him.
The waiter immediately found the words lodged in his throat, his smile uglier than if he had eaten shit.
The restaurant only had three kinds of meat: fish, pork, and beef.
And wouldn't you know it, the ones who had come were a Boar Demon and an Ox Demon.
How was he supposed to say anything?
He could only mention fish.
"You two heroes, we... we have fish."
The waiter spoke with utmost caution.
He had no choice. He could not afford to offend either one.
"Who the hell eats fish? Bring us some real meat!"
The Boar Demon frowned in dissatisfaction.
"Then... if you won't eat fish, our restaurant... has no other meat."
The Boar Demon slammed a hand down, shattering the table beside him to pieces.
"You brat, are you tired of living? Are you fooling around with Lord Pig?"
"Your restaurant has no meat? Then what were all these people eating just now?"
The waiter stammered, too afraid to answer.
The Boar Demon suddenly leaned in, shoving his snout against the waiter's face.
Thick, slick fluid ran down the waiter's face.
"I'd say you're quite tender-skinned and delectable. Why doesn't Lord Pig eat you first?"
The moment he finished speaking, the Boar Demon reached out and grabbed for the waiter.
Shing—
The sound of a blade leaving its sheath rang out in an instant.
The Boar Demon only felt a chill at its neck, and the world suddenly tipped over.
"What happened!?"
Its final sight froze upon a headless body.
Seeing those familiar clothes, terror finally surfaced on the Boar Demon's face.
That was... me?
As its consciousness faded, the Boar Demon saw only a cold-faced young man holding a blade step over its body and walk toward the Ox Demon behind it.
The Ox Demon's eyes were wide as bronze bells. This constable looked quite young, yet his blade had been incomparably swift!
It had not even seen the trajectory before the Boar Demon was slain on the spot.
Can't afford to provoke him, can't afford to provoke him—I need to run!
Yet Li Xuanxiao's expression remained indifferent as he advanced step by step.
Cold sweat dripped from the Ox Demon as it backed away again and again, its face full of terror. "Y-you... don't come over! Don't come over!"
Li Xuanxiao gave a contemptuous smile and slashed out again.
The Ox Demon was soon separated from its head, meeting the same end as the Boar Demon.
Everything had happened in the blink of an eye.
The waiter only felt a blur before his eyes, followed by a layer of warm liquid splashing across his face.
He blankly raised a hand to touch it, only to see it covered in scarlet.
"Awoo—"
After letting out a ghostly shriek, the waiter collapsed onto the floor and fainted.
Tsk, tsk, tsk. Being young was nice—falling asleep as soon as your head hit the ground... Li Xuanxiao remarked as the system screen appeared.
You have slain a sixth-layer Profound Realm Boar Demon and gained 3 Demon Points! You have slain a sixth-layer Profound Realm Ox Demon and gained 3 Demon Points!
Li Xuanxiao casually flicked the blood from his blade, sheathed it, and revealed a faint smile.
Added to the previous 4 points, he now had another ten Demon Points.
He could choose to bring the Silent Heart Sutra, at the entry-level extreme, into the fold, or raise both Profound Realm martial arts to Lesser Mastery.
After a brief consideration, Li Xuanxiao decided to invest his Demon Points in the Profound Realm martial arts that could directly improve his combat strength first.
The Silent Heart Sutra primarily concerned control over one's aura and True Qi. Those were loftier pursuits, but not an immediate necessity.
Once he had an ample supply of Demon Points, it would not be too late to improve it.
Consumed 5 Demon Points. Soaring Hawk Nine Steps has reached Lesser Mastery! Consumed 5 Demon Points. Thousand Peaks Ruin Blade has reached Lesser Mastery!
His Demon Points returned to zero once more.
After allocating the points, Li Xuanxiao no longer had any desire to continue drinking tea.
After wandering about, he still ended up at the yamen. But the moment he stepped through the gates, a colleague grabbed hold of him.
"Why are you still here? Several Constables have led teams to Tai'an Alley. I heard they found quite a few dead demons there!"
Tai'an Alley?
Li Xuanxiao froze, then suddenly remembered. Hadn't the Rat Demons he killed earlier been in Tai'an Alley?
Ning'an City, Tai'an Alley.
"Hiss—who could have killed so many demons?"
"One, two, three, four, five... eleven. Eleven in total, and all of them are Rat Demons!"
"Not just these. I heard that many demons have also died in Taihua Alley and Taikang Alley on the southern side of the city."
Several Constables examined the scene within the courtyard.
The surrounding townspeople stood on tiptoe at the entrance to peer inside, while some simply climbed onto nearby rooftops for a better view.
For a time, discussion buzzed everywhere.
The Constables surveyed the scene as they exchanged words.
"Among the demons killed this time, the one with the highest cultivation was a sixth-layer Profound Realm Boar Demon!"
"They all died from blade wounds, and the wounds are extremely similar. It looks very much like one person's work!"
One person's work?
The Constables exchanged glances, their eyes all revealing grave expressions.
To slaughter so many demons in such a short span of time,
one's cultivation technique would need to be at least at the perfected realm, and one's martial arts would need to be at least at Greater Mastery!
Both required years of deep cultivation, study, and tempering through real combat!
If Ning'an City had someone like that, there was no way they would not know.
"Could someone from the Demon Slayer Division have arrived?"
One constable guessed excitedly. If someone from the Demon Slayer Division had truly come, Ning'an City's crisis would be over.
Those able to enter the Demon Slayer Division were all martial artists of considerable talent upon the martial path!
Killing a few Profound Realm demons would be as easy as turning over one's hand!
Wang Debiao did not join his colleagues' discussion. He crouched on the ground, carefully examining the wounds on the Rat Demon corpses.
A trace of surprise appeared in his eyes.
From the wounds, he sensed something familiar.
This seemed to be... Focused Spirit Slash?
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