Heavenly Dragon Guard

"Oh! To have such strength at such a young age—you're truly a rare talent, little brother. Would you like to join our Heavenly Dragon Guard?" Seeing that Qin Hao possessed such strength at only twelve years old, Zhong Li Dao invited him.

"Heavenly Dragon Guard? What is that?" Qin Hao truly had never heard the name before.

"The Heavenly Dragon Guard is an organization established by the Dragon Mountain Empire specifically to deal with ghosts and demon beasts." Zhong Li Dao patiently explained it to Qin Hao.

"So, little brother, would you like to join our Heavenly Dragon Guard? The treatment is exceptionally good. Human-level Heavenly Dragon Guards like us receive one hundred Spirit Stones every year for cultivation. The Heavenly Dragon Guard also possesses all kinds of cultivation techniques and resources—naturally including the body-refining techniques you need."

"What are Spirit Stones?" Qin Hao had never heard of such things.

"You don't know? Cultivators must sense the Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth in order to cultivate. Spirit Stones are rocks filled with Spiritual Energy, and that Spiritual Energy can help cultivators cultivate faster," the young woman beside him said.

Qin Hao pondered for a while. He truly needed more cultivation techniques now, as well as more ghosts and demon beasts to kill in order to raise his strength. Back in Mangshan Village, he had no chance at all to encounter demon beasts or ghosts that could provide him with attribute points.

So joining the Heavenly Dragon Guard was his best choice right now. Not only could he obtain Spirit Stones to temper his body, but he would also have more body-refining techniques to choose from.

"Alright, I'll join." Qin Hao did not think too much about it. Joining the Heavenly Dragon Guard was his best option.

"Haha, very good. Your choice is a wise one, little brother." With that, Zhong Li Dao tossed Qin Hao a token.

"Keep it safe. This is the identity token of the Heavenly Dragon Guard. As long as you drip a drop of blood onto it, your identity verification will be complete. As for the rest, I'll personally report you to the Heavenly Dragon Guard."

"What does this thing do?" Qin Hao fiddled with it for a while before asking.

"This token can record the ghosts and demon beasts you kill. Based on the number you kill, it will exchange them for corresponding contribution points. You can use those points to exchange for cultivation techniques and cultivation resources," Zhang Xiang explained from the side.

Hearing that, Qin Hao immediately prepared to drip blood onto it. He bit his finger for quite a while before finally breaking the skin, then quickly squeezed out a drop and let it fall onto the token before the wound healed again.

The instant the blood landed on it, the token gave off a faint glow. The verification was complete.

Seeing Qin Hao successfully verified and officially join the Heavenly Dragon Guard, Zhong Li Dao was very pleased.

"Qin Hao, I'm glad you could join the Heavenly Dragon Guard. Go home and make your preparations first. Once we finish our mission, we'll come find you and take you to the Imperial Capital together," Zhong Li Dao said, intending to finish the remaining mission before bringing Qin Hao to the Heavenly Dragon Guard branch in the Imperial Capital.

"Finish the mission? Does that mean there are still ghosts that haven't been cleared out?"

"Yes. That one just now was merely a Second-tier lackey. Our target this time is a Ghost Nest with a group of ghosts inside. There may even be Fourth-tier ghosts." After Zhong Li Dao spoke, a grave expression appeared on his face. A Fourth-tier ghost was equivalent to a human cultivator at the Core Formation realm. Zhong Li Dao happened to be at the Core Formation realm, which was why their squad had been dispatched for this mission.

That ghost from before had been sent out from the nest on patrol, so they had planned to deal with it along the way. They had not expected it to flee as soon as they found it, only to be slapped to death by the passing Qin Hao while it was escaping.

"Captain Zhong, can I come too?" The moment Qin Hao heard they were going to eliminate a Ghost Nest, his spirits soared. He happened to need attribute points—wasn't this like a pillow delivered just as he was dozing off?

"You..." Zhong Li Dao still hesitated. It was not that Qin Hao was weak, but he had only just joined and had no experience. Zhong Li Dao feared something might happen to him.

"Captain, you don't need to worry. I may be young, but I'm very strong. You don't have to worry about my safety either—I'm thick-skinned and tough. Nothing will happen to me." As he spoke, he pulled out a pair of great iron hammers and slammed them together, producing a sonic blast. The force behind them was self-evident.

Zhong Li Dao saw Qin Hao casually wielding two massive hammers weighing over a thousand jin each. He was also a body-tempering martial artist, and he had just slapped a Second-tier ghost to death. He should have the ability to protect himself. After pondering for a moment, Zhong Li Dao agreed to Qin Hao's request.

Hearing that Zhong Li Dao had agreed, Qin Hao was overjoyed. "Captain, then let's hurry and go!"

As long as Zhong Li Dao held off the strongest ghost, he could harvest the rest.

"Little brat, why are you so excited? We're not going out to play. Ghosts are dangerous. That one earlier was only a Second-tier ghost, so don't let your guard down," Bai Ling reminded him helplessly from the side when she saw how excited he was.

"Second tier, Third tier—it's all the same. Just wait and see how I use my big hammers to smash every last one of them into meat paste! Hahaha!" Qin Hao could not suppress his excitement. Ever since obtaining the system, he had never truly displayed his real strength. Now, at last, he could unleash a grand slaughter.

He felt like Li Yuanba from the novels of his previous life.

Perhaps because he had awakened the Divine Thunder Barbarian Dragon bloodline, Qin Hao felt that the beastliness within him was becoming harder and harder to control.

"Little brat," Bai Ling scoffed.

"Let's go." Seeing Qin Hao like this, Zhong Li Dao and the others helplessly shook their heads. They thought the boy was simply overly excited because he had just joined, and did not think much else of it.

With that, they dashed toward the depths of a mountain range.

Qin Hao followed with his hammers in hand. Although he carried a pair of great iron hammers, they did not affect his speed in the slightest.

Very soon, they arrived at a valley shrouded in black mist.

Qin Hao looked at the entire valley, blanketed by black fog, with killing intent shooting into the sky. Even Body Tempering cultivators would likely lose their minds after touching that black mist for only a short while.

Zhong Li Dao's face immediately turned extremely grim at the sight.

"It seems to be even more serious than we imagined. This killing intent... there are likely hundreds of fierce ghosts inside, perhaps even more. With only the few of us, it will be difficult to deal with them."

"Captain, why don't we withdraw first? There are so many ghosts—we can't handle them by ourselves," Zhang Xiang said fearfully.

"Zhang Xiang, what did you say? Flee without even fighting? Have you gone cowardly, kid?" Yang Jie mocked him unhappily from the side.

"That's simply the truth! How can just the two of us deal with hundreds of fierce ghosts?" Zhang Xiang retorted.

"You—" Yang Jie had just been about to say something when Zhong Li Dao interrupted him.

"Enough. We have no way out. If we do not act now, then once all the fierce ghosts in the valley rush out, every living thing within a hundred li will be plunged into misery. Even if we run, do you think we can still live after becoming deserters?" Zhong Li Dao said, looking at Zhang Xiang.

Zhang Xiang could only lower his head silently. It was indeed true. If they fled without fighting and allowed the fierce ghosts to slaughter the people nearby, they would be punished as well.

"Bai Ling, use the Hundred Spirits Bird to notify the nearest Heavenly Dragon Guard to support us. Tell them we have discovered a Ghost Nest with at least several hundred ghosts. Ask them to send reinforcements as quickly as possible," Zhong Li Dao ordered Bai Ling.