Wang Debiao had gone through his time as a constable himself. He had also cultivated Focused Spirit Slash, and had done fairly well with it.
He had now reached Greater Mastery.
Yet what puzzled him was that although the wounds on the Rat Demons and the wounds on the Boar Demon were entirely different matters, both bore traces of Focused Spirit Slash.
It was like the gap between Focused Spirit Slash at Lesser Mastery and Greater Mastery.
No, more than that!
The wounds on the Boar Demon were far too terrifying. Even Focused Spirit Slash at Greater Mastery probably could not produce such an effect!
Perfection!?
Hiss—
At that thought, Wang Debiao could not help drawing in a sharp breath.
Achieving perfection in both cultivation arts and martial skills was no small matter!
After cultivating for many years, he himself had only brought his cultivation art to perfection.
The martial skill he had cultivated best was Focused Spirit Slash, and he had only just barely stepped into Greater Mastery.
Having experienced it himself, he knew all too well how difficult it was to advance the realms of cultivation arts and martial skills.
Cultivation arts were comparatively easier to deal with. Martial skills truly required tempering through countless real battles.
He had experienced no small number of battles in his life. Reaching Greater Mastery already counted as talent.
As for perfection, he did not even dare dream of it.
When had Ning'an City produced such a figure?
A question rose in his heart.
Yet after turning it over and over in his mind, he truly could not think of anyone who fit the conditions.
Someone suddenly entered from outside the courtyard.
Several constables looked over and found that the magistrate himself had arrived.
After what had happened yesterday, the constables all harbored considerable grievances against the magistrate.
Out of respect for his status, they could not openly vent them, but their words and actions made it clear that they no longer held the respect they once had.
They merely gave the magistrate a perfunctory salute.
Ignoring the constables, the magistrate hurried into the courtyard in some panic.
When he saw the Rat Demon corpses scattered across the ground, the blood immediately drained from his face. He collapsed to the ground. "It's over, it's all over!"
"Who was it? Who disobeyed my orders and acted on their own?"
"Do you want everyone in Ning'an City to be buried with you?"
The magistrate looked as though he had gone mad.
He had compromised again and again, willing to bear infamy and be looked down upon by his subordinates, all to preserve the superficial peace of Ning'an City.
It was all so that, once his three-year term ended, he could be transferred to a city in the interior.
Now, with the end of those three years in sight, the Demon Slayer Division's inspector was due to arrive next month.
Yet something like this had happened.
Only yesterday, he had reached an agreement with several demons. He had never expected to see such a scene today.
With so many demons dead, would they simply let the matter rest?
They would definitely retaliate—retaliate like mad!
Once that happened, the peace would be shattered, and his path to promotion would be completely cut off!
And promotion failing was one thing. If his luck was bad, he could die!
The magistrate's eyes nearly split with rage as his gaze swept viciously over the constables.
It had to be one of them—or perhaps they had acted together—who had killed these demons behind his back.
They had utterly ruined him!
Screech—
Just as the magistrate flew into a rage, a piercing cry abruptly rang out.
A massive rat leaped down from the eaves and instantly transformed into a human body with a rat's head.
It was the Rat Demon that had rushed over.
The nearby townsfolk watching the excitement immediately scattered like birds and beasts. Only a few bold ones remained hidden in the corners, stealing glances.
Looking at the corpses covering the ground, the Rat Demon's expression grew darker and darker.
Wang Debiao and the others immediately drew their blades against it.
Their brows knitted and eyes wide, they faced it as though confronting a great enemy.
"You have some nerve! You negotiated with me on the surface, yet dared slaughter my descendants behind my back?"
Its peak Profound Realm cultivation burst forth without restraint, and a heavy pressure descended.
The constable with the lowest cultivation broke out in cold sweat, and even the hand gripping his blade trembled slightly.
The magistrate's face was even whiter than paper.
The Rat Demon walked up to the corpse of one young Rat Demon after another, seemingly checking something.
"Not this one... not this one either... this one!"
It picked up the corpse of a young Rat Demon, its eyes reddening slightly.
"My most beloved grandson, my most gifted grandson, died just like this!"
It turned its head and glared viciously at the crowd. "I want every one of you buried with my grandson!"
"The previous agreement is void. From now on, we will bathe all of Ning'an City in blood!"
"Not a single one will be spared!"
The magistrate's expression changed drastically, while a chill rose in the hearts of the constables.
"Give me time, give me a chance to make amends! I will give you an explanation, I will find the killer!"
The magistrate hurriedly spoke, hoping to salvage the situation.
Hearing this, the Rat Demon looked at the magistrate and revealed a savage smile. "You've reminded me. That's right—the killer hasn't been caught yet!"
"Today, I'll make him the first one under my blade!"
"You needn't investigate either. I know who it is!"
"He works in your yamen!"
Everyone froze when they heard this. They had not expected the Rat Demon to know who had killed its descendants.
And the killer actually worked in their yamen!
Now everyone present was curious.
They had investigated for half a day themselves, yet could not come up with a suitable suspect no matter what.
Now that the Rat Demon said this, they became even more curious.
"Someone from our yamen?"
"With that kind of strength, not one of us knew he even existed..."
"This guy has hidden himself deeply!"
"I'd like to see just what kind of god he is!"
The magistrate was curious as well. He had originally decided that the killer was one of the constables below him, or perhaps several of them.
Yet he had not expected there to be someone else!
Someone else from his own yamen?
There was a martial artist at late-stage Profound Realm in his yamen?
Such a person had been working right under his nose, and he had not even known. What the hell!
The Rat Demon's nose twitched several times, then a cruel smile appeared at the corner of its mouth. "Heaven is truly helping me. He actually delivered himself right to my doorstep!"
Delivered himself to its doorstep?
The constables, including the magistrate, all looked outside the courtyard gate in unison.
A few seconds later, steady, powerful footsteps approached from afar.
A figure appeared in everyone's sight.
Wang Debiao was the first to go blank, and he nearly shouted uncontrollably, "Li Xuanxiao!?"
His eyes were round as copper bells, utterly unable to believe what he was seeing.
This was the damn killer???
But Li Xuanxiao was only at the first level of the Profound Realm!
A martial artist at the first level of the Profound Realm had slaughtered so many Rat Demons, and even killed a Boar Demon at the sixth level of the Profound Realm?
What kind of international joke was this!
Even if the Boar Demon stood there and let him chop, he would blunt his blade, numb his hands, and leave his tiger's mouth aching from the vibrations!
This kid had followed him ever since entering the yamen. How could he not know exactly what he was capable of?
Killed a Boar Demon? He doubted the kid had ever even killed a pig!
The other constables were equally shocked, but unlike Wang Debiao, what shocked them most was Li Xuanxiao's age.
He looked completely like a green-faced youth!
At the very most—
He had just turned eighteen~
And you're telling me his cultivation art and martial skill have both reached perfection, and he suppressed a pack of demons all by himself?
When I was his age, being able to enter the beginner stage in both cultivation arts and martial skills already made me exceptionally talented.
If his cultivation art and martial skill have truly both reached perfection, then what am I? Huh!
Am I not even human? What the hell am I, then!
Before you continue