Perhaps this fellow is truly Bright Sun Talent!

Lin Guanhuo didn't even think before refusing outright: "I work for the yamen, I eat the yamen's rice. Not your rice, Foreman Zhao."

On ordinary days, he toiled in the Miscellaneous Room Courtyard, putting up with the dirt and exhaustion without complaint. After all, he'd crossed over with no one to rely on, and this place had held him for a while.

But who the hell did Zhao Sihai think he was?

With that said, Lin Guanhuo turned to leave.

Only then did he catch those words.

Zhao Sihai's hand, holding the teapot, froze.

He hadn't expected that the usual mute would dare talk back to him like this.

"You've gone too far!"

Smack!!

Zhao Sihai's teacup shattered on the ground.

He shot to his feet, his face dark as thunder: "Lin Guanhuo, don't think just because you've got some popularity in the Miscellaneous Room that I can't touch you! Believe me, I'll strip that uniform off you right now and kick you out of Blackwater County!"

Zhao Sihai's eyes bulged, his voice rising with every word: "Damn it, looks like you're tired of living, not even putting me in your sights anymore?!"

Lin Guanhuo turned around, meeting Zhao Sihai's gaze directly.

He took a step forward.

Now that he was at the Third Rank Body Tempering Realm.

The oppressive pressure from that terrifying blood energy crashed down on Zhao Sihai in an instant.

"What, you got a problem?" Lin Guanhuo asked, his voice calm.

"You!!"

In that moment, Zhao Sihai felt like he wasn't facing a young man at all.

But a ferocious beast that had just crawled out of a pile of corpses!

'This...'

Zhao Sihai, who usually did whatever he wanted in the Miscellaneous Room Courtyard—hitting whoever he pleased, bullying whoever he pleased—

Now felt his legs go weak, an unprecedented wave of fear engulfing his entire body.

Crunch!!

Zhao Sihai stumbled and fell flat on his ass.

The shards of the teacup he'd smashed earlier jabbed into his backside.

Pain shot through him, making him grimace and writhe in utter disgrace.

"Ow!! Ow!! You've gone mad!! Mad!!"

Humiliated and furious, Zhao Sihai scrambled to get up and retaliate.

Clop clop clop~

Just then.

The sound of horse hooves came from outside the gate, and soon a black carriage pulled up at the entrance, a banner from the Demon Suppressing Division hanging from the horse.

Seeing this, two White Servants on guard duty rushed in frantically, shouting: "Chief Zhao... an official from the Demon Suppressing Division is here!"

Demon Suppressing Division?!

Hearing that, Zhao Sihai jolted.

Forgetting all about settling scores with Lin Guanhuo, he scrambled to his feet, put on a flattering smile, and hurried out.

Outside the courtyard gate, the carriage curtain lifted, and a man in black robes dismounted, sword in hand, walking forward step by step.

It was Chen Jianxing, the Bronze Badge Walker of the Demon Suppressing Division, back after recovering from his injuries.

"Oh! Official Chen!"

Seeing Chen Jianxing, Zhao Sihai's face twisted into a sycophantic grin: "What wind blows you here?"

"This Miscellaneous Room Courtyard is filthy and messy, don't let it dirty your eyes. Let's go to the front hall, it's clean there..."

But Chen Jianxing didn't spare Zhao Sihai a single glance, treating him like thin air.

His gaze passed over Zhao Sihai and landed precisely on the young man standing in the middle of the yard.

Then he clasped his hands in greeting: "Brother Lin, it's good to see you well!"

What??

At those words.

Zhao Sihai's mind went blank, utterly dumbfounded.

Brother... Brother Lin?!

A dignified Walker of the Demon Suppressing Division.

Calling a sweeping White Servant his brother?!

"Brother Chen has recovered well." Lin Guanhuo returned the clasped-hand salute.

"Thanks to Brother Lin's blessing, I managed to cling to life." Chen Jianxing laughed heartily. "This isn't the place for talk. Shall we step aside?"

"Please."

The two walked toward the front hall as if no one else existed.

Zhao Sihai stood frozen in place, his face cycling through shades of green and white.

But he was, after all, a seasoned veteran of officialdom. Reacting swiftly, he scurried after them, bent over, and ushered them into the front hall's living room.

"Gentlemen, please take the seats of honor! The seats of honor!"

The same Zhao Sihai who had been cursing Lin Guanhuo moments ago now addressed him as 'sir.'

He wiped the table and poured tea with brisk efficiency, his fawning attentiveness more diligent than if he were serving his own father.

Once the tea was poured, Zhao Sihai lingered, hoping to eavesdrop on their conversation and curry favor.

But then...

"Foreman Zhao."

Chen Jianxing lifted his teacup and gave him a cold glance. "You're not needed here. Go wait outside."

For someone like Zhao Sihai, who only knew how to flatter and grovel, Chen Jianxing held nothing but contempt from the marrow of his bones.

"Ah? Yes... yes..."

The smile on Zhao Sihai's face stiffened. Awkward and embarrassed, he could only obey and leave.

Standing outside the door, Zhao Sihai's expression was grim beyond measure.

He couldn't fathom how Lin Guanhuo—a White Servant idling away his days in the Miscellaneous Room—had become a sworn brother to a lord of the Demon Suppressing Division.

And judging by Chen Jianxing's attitude, he treated Lin Guanhuo with more respect than Wang Bai, the head of the Miscellaneous Room!

With connections like that, why was this brat still holed up in the Miscellaneous Room as a White Servant?

Could he be some young master from a noble family slumming it to experience life?

He didn't get it.

The moment he recalled how he'd just told the man to come work as a live-in laborer at his home, Zhao Sihai felt a chill run down his spine, cold sweat pouring out.

Inside the Miscellaneous Room's front hall reception room.

"Last time was rushed, and I never got to properly thank Brother Lin." Chen Jianxing raised his tea as a substitute for wine and offered a toast.

After exchanging pleasantries, Chen Jianxing set down his cup and asked, "Brother Lin, if I may be so bold—how old are you?"

"This year, I've just turned eighteen." Lin Guanhuo didn't hide it.

"Eighteen..."

Hearing this, even though he'd braced himself, Chen Jianxing was still deeply shaken. "An eighteen-year-old Ranked Martial Artist... and judging by Brother Lin's aura, I suspect you're no longer just First Rank, are you?"

Lin Guanhuo smiled, neither confirming nor denying it.

But Chen Jianxing's heart was a storm of shock.

Eighteen!

In all of Blackwater City, counting every martial arts school and noble family.

Anyone who became a Ranked Martial Artist before eighteen was a genius nurtured as a core seed.

"Brother Lin, do you know? I, Chen, come from a modestly well-off local family. I started martial arts as a child, entered a martial arts school at sixteen, trained hard for seven years, and barely reached First Rank at twenty-three."

"At twenty-five, I joined the Demon Suppressing Division. After five years of fighting and killing, I'm thirty now and only managed to become a Badge Walker. Among ordinary men, that's already rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns... but compared to you, my whole life might as well have been lived by a dog."

He looked at Lin Guanhuo, his tone growing serious. "Brother Lin, with your skill and talent, you could shine brilliantly in Blackwater City, even in Kaiyang Prefecture. How can you be content doing odd jobs here?"

"I'm used to it..." Lin Guanhuo gave a wry smile. In truth, he'd only awakened his Golden Finger recently. Before that, he couldn't even eat his fill.

With a Golden Finger, one still had to be cautious. Without one, going out and showing off was just asking for death.

Chen Jianxing continued, "On the Martial Path, from eighteen to twenty-eight is the decade of peak blood and qi, known as the Golden Foundation Establishment Period. How great your future achievements are depends entirely on the accumulation of these ten years."

"Brother Lin, you might not even realize it yourself, but your future is blindingly bright."

Lin Guanhuo was silent for a moment, then said slowly, "So what does Brother Chen suggest?"

"Join the Demon Suppressing Division!"

This was, in fact, the very purpose of Chen Jianxing's visit today.

Lin Guanhuo was so young, of low birth, yet possessed such martial prowess.

Who knew—this guy might really be a Bright Sun Talent!

Chen Jianxing said, "The Blackwater City Demon Suppressing Division is one of the eight sub-divisions under the Kaiyang Prefectural Division. The Number One Expert of Blackwater City is none other than our Blackwater Division's Commander."

"In this region, the Blackwater Division stands shoulder to shoulder with top-tier family forces like the Luohe Martial Arts School, the Martial Xu Family, and the Blood Spear Sect. It absolutely won't bury Brother Lin's talent."

As he spoke, Chen Jianxing pulled a letter of recommendation from his bosom and pushed it in front of Lin Guanhuo. "This is my personal letter of recommendation. According to the rules, to join the Demon Suppressing Division, one must have a personal recommendation from a second-rate or higher local force."

"The tenth of this month is the Demon Suppressing Division's annual recruitment day for new members. When the time comes, Brother Lin can take this letter and join the Demon Suppressing Division directly."

Chen Jianxing looked at Lin Guanhuo and urged him earnestly, "Brother Lin, a man's ambitions span the four seas. Now that we're in a chaotic world and the human race is in decline, it's all the more reason to slay demons and eradicate evil, to prove that the human path of martial arts will never be extinguished."

"Don't bury your talent. I urge you to give this serious consideration."

Lin Guanhuo stared at the letter of recommendation on the table.

After a moment, he said, "Then allow me a couple of days to think it over."