After parting ways with Chen Jianxing, the atmosphere in the Miscellaneous Room Courtyard changed completely over the next few days.
Zhao Sihai no longer dared put on his stinking Foreman's airs in front of Lin Guanhuo.
Whenever he saw Lin Guanhuo, he practically wanted to carve the words "eager to please" into his forehead. He stopped assigning Lin Guanhuo chores, too.
Lin Guanhuo knew exactly what was going on.
The man hadn't become Deputy Foreman through ability.
It was all thanks to his knack for reading the wind and sucking up to people.
Late at night.
Inside his little room.
Lin Guanhuo sliced up a plate of Braised Beef and took a sip from his wine flask.
"At this point, there's no future in staying in the Miscellaneous Room Courtyard. Now that I have my Golden Finger, I need to keep up with the cultivation resources, or I'll only hold myself back."
"Looks like I really need to find somewhere else to go." Lin Guanhuo considered the matter.
He had spent the last couple of days thinking about where to go next.
Noble Families generally didn't take in disciples with different surnames.
His only real options were the various martial arts schools and sects.
The problem was, Lin Guanhuo didn't have a good impression of those factions.
School owners took in disciples to make money and expand their influence. Some were even like the Mad Saber Martial Arts School, which had plotted to rob and kill him.
By comparison, the Demon Suppressing Division was dangerous, but at least it had a shred of humanity.
"I'll join the Demon Suppressing Division."
A look of resolve flashed through Lin Guanhuo's eyes.
A week later, on the tenth day of the first lunar month.
It was the day the Blackwater County Demon Suppressing Division held its annual recruitment drive for new blood.
Early that morning, Lin Guanhuo packed his things.
There wasn't much to pack. Aside from a few changes of clothes, all he had left was his long saber.
He didn't alert anyone. He quietly walked out of the Miscellaneous Room Courtyard where he had lived for almost half a year.
The Blackwater City Demon Suppressing Division was in the southern part of the city.
Its grounds were vast.
Its two vermilion gates were even more imposing than the County Office. Inside the walls stood row upon row of buildings, and the sounds of training and the crisp clashing of weapons could be heard from within.
They said it had not only a dedicated Martial Arts Arena and a library, but even its own apothecary and smithy. It was practically a city in its own right.
With the world now in chaos, the Demon Suppressing Division maintained security across hundreds of miles. It was a vital stronghold in the city.
If the Demon Suppressing Division fell, the city wouldn't be far behind.
Lin Guanhuo blended into the crowd and flowed through the gates with the throng, arriving at a small plaza.
This was the Demon Suppressing Division's Apprentice Plaza, where it trained newcomers.
By now, several hundred people had already gathered there.
They ranged widely in age, from spirited young men of eighteen or nineteen to weather-beaten middle-aged men in their thirties and forties.
"Silence!"
A shout suddenly rang out.
The entire plaza fell silent in an instant.
On the raised platform at the front stood a burly, one-eyed man in black-and-red official robes. He looked to be in his forties or fifties.
His gaze was sharp as lightning as he coldly surveyed the crowd.
He was an Instructor in the Demon Suppressing Division named Zhou Cang.
In his younger days, he had been a ruthless figure in the Division, having slain at least eight or nine hundred demons.
Now retired from the front lines and serving as an Instructor, he was still putting his remaining strength to use.
"This year, the Blackwater Division is expanding its recruitment. We have fifty openings."
Zhou Cang got straight to the point. "The rules are the same as always. First, you must be under forty. Second, you must be a Ranked Martial Artist!"
The first two requirements were nothing unusual. They were standard practice.
But the Instructor's third requirement was like a basin of cold water, dousing the hopes of most people present.
"Third, this year's recruitment is internal. Anyone without a letter of recommendation may leave now."
The crowd erupted.
The moment he said that, the plaza exploded.
One protest after another rang out. "What?! You need a letter of recommendation again?"
"My lord! This isn't fair! I've already reached Body Tempering first-grade. Why can't I join?"
"Exactly! I trained hard for twenty years to become a Ranked Martial Artist. Just because my family is poor and I have no connections, I'm barred from the door?"
Many people wore unwilling expressions.
Zhou Cang's expression remained cold as he looked down at them. "Rules are rules. The Demon Suppressing Division doesn't support idlers, nor does it accept people of unknown background. Without someone to vouch for you, how do we know you aren't spies sent by the demons?"
Hearing this, the crowd hung their heads, each of them looking like a defeated rooster.
"Ah, let's go. We'll try our luck with another sect... The Demon Suppressing Division isn't an option anymore." In the end, those without recommendation letters could only shake their heads helplessly.
Then they began to leave, one by one.
As they walked, some shook their heads and sighed. "These martial arts clans and powerful factions monopolize the cultivation resources. They don't leave ordinary people a way to live..."
"The bigwigs control the path to advancement because they don't want poor people to get ahead. What if one of us paupers turned out to be a genius and founded a sect? Then we'd be carving up the masters' meat, wouldn't we?"
"So that's what these recruitment drives really are: an exchange of favors between the major factions. No connections? Even if you're a genius, you still have to kneel outside the gate!"
As the voices gradually faded into the distance,
Zhou Cang heard what they were saying, but offered no explanation.
He simply shouted, "Those with letters of recommendation, come forward to register!"
By now, the once-crowded plaza had emptied by more than half.
Only a few dozen people remained where they stood.
Lin Guanhuo stepped forward, took the letter of recommendation from inside his robe, and handed it to the clerk in charge of registration.
The clerk took the letter and glanced at the name on its cover.
Then he asked, "Name?"
"Lin Guanhuo."
The clerk didn't ask any questions. Only a fool would be bold enough to forge a letter of recommendation.
He picked up his brush and wrote down three characters in the register.
Lin Guanhuo.
"Go inside. From today onward, you're part of the Demon Suppressing Division," the clerk said.
Lin Guanhuo walked farther into the plaza. There were several small Martial Arts Arenas here, along with training equipment such as dummies and sandbags.
Once everyone had gathered,
Instructor Zhou Cang stood with two sabers strapped to his back, surveying the dozens of young people who had just passed the selection.
Then he suddenly asked in a grave voice, "Do you know what it means to stand here?"
The group exchanged glances.
Some said they were there to exterminate demons and defend the Dao. Others said they wanted to bring honor to their families.
Zhou Cang only shook his head.
His voice grew louder. "Humanity's martial arts flourished for ten thousand years."
"Many years ago, a Martial Saint lived among us. He stood at the end of the Star River, and his blade would not return to its sheath until a thousand enemies lay slain. With a Martial Saint among us, humanity could enjoy Peace and Stability."
"There was also a Human Immortal who cultivated for ten thousand years. He spat out a single righteous Sword Qi that pierced the river of time and slew the Demon Ancestor in the distant past."
"There were martial immortals who reached the pinnacle of the Martial Dao, guarding entire nations alone, their physical bodies lasting ten thousand years without perishing."
"In those days, the Martial Dao flourished, and geniuses rose one after another."
The people below listened, entranced. What a glorious age that must have been!
But Zhou Cang's tone suddenly changed. "Now, the world has undergone a transformation, and demons run rampant. The Martial Saints have fallen in battle, and humanity has declined. To stop the final calamity from erupting, a Martial Saint used his own body to block the source of the demons, forcibly buying humanity a hundred years of national fortune."
"And even so, humanity's living space is now less than one-tenth of what it was at its height. Dynasties fall every day, and homes and nations are shattered every day."
A deathly silence fell over the crowd.
Zhou Cang's gaze was iron-hard as he looked at them. "That is why the Demon Suppressing Division exists."
"Perhaps you still don't understand what I'm saying. What you need to know is that we are the watchers in the long night, the last wall standing between the common people and disaster."
He suddenly drew the saber from his back. "As members of the Demon Suppressing Division, we have only one goal: slay every demon in the world!"
"If anyone must die, I'll be the first!"
"If anyone is to live, it will be the common people behind me!"
Hearing those words, the people below
were all stirred, and shouted in unison, "Slay every demon! Slay every demon!"
Lin Guanhuo glanced at the people around him.
Most of those who had secured letters of recommendation were either young masters from well-off families or Martial Artists with some backing.
They could have enjoyed wealth and luxury behind high walls and grand courtyards, yet they had chosen to risk their lives here.
It was clear that the people present still held some ideals as Martial Dao practitioners, and some concern for their home and country.
After all, the world couldn't be full of cowards who feared death and scoundrels who dodged responsibility.
"However..."
Zhou Cang sheathed his saber.
He coldly doused the crowd's enthusiasm. "None of that has anything to do with you yet."
"You're a bunch of rookies who don't even qualify as cannon fodder. You have only one thing to do: survive, then find a way to kill more demons!"
"Next, I'll teach you some of the Demon Suppressing Division's basic moves. You'll eat and sleep here in the Division."
"There will be a Monthly Exam every month. The standard is simple: either lift more than seven hundred and fifty catties in the strength test, or train one martial art to the entry level."
"Meet the standard, and you'll become an official Division Servant, draw a salary from the imperial treasury, and wear official robes."
"If you still haven't passed after six months... you'll be dismissed! The Demon Suppressing Division doesn't support useless people!"
Seven hundred and fifty catties?
Hearing this,
Lin Guanhuo silently did the math.
An ordinary first-grade Body Tempering Realm Martial Artist could probably unleash six hundred catties of force.
To reach seven hundred and fifty catties meant getting close to the threshold of a Second Rank Martial Artist.
For most of the newcomers who had only just become Ranked Martial Artists,
gaining another hundred and fifty catties of strength within six months would indeed be difficult.
But for him...
Lin Guanhuo felt the power inside him, surging like a mighty river.
He was now at Body Tempering third-grade, with a thousand catties of strength.
He should have no trouble becoming a full member by the end of the month.
After the speech, a manager led everyone to their lodgings.
The apprentices' dormitory was a three-story wooden building, where dozens of people lived together in the old structure.
Lin Guanhuo was assigned a room on the second floor. It wasn't large, with only a bed and a table, but it was clean and quiet.
After he finished unpacking, night had fallen.
"Dinner's ready!"
At the sound of a gong, Lin Guanhuo followed the crowd to the canteen.
The Demon Suppressing Division's apprentice canteen was spacious and bright, with dozens of long tables lined up.
Although it was meant for apprentices, the food was several levels better than what they served in the Miscellaneous Room Courtyard.
To put it simply, it was a leap from swill to human food—a truly moving transformation.
Steamed buns and vegetable buns were unlimited, and everyone also got a large bowl of glistening stewed pork.
It wasn't as nourishing as beef, but it was free, and that was enough.
"People are iron, rice is steel!"
Lin Guanhuo took his tray to a corner of the canteen and dug in.
He had spent the last few days focusing on cultivation, and had recently broken through to Body Tempering third-grade. His body was badly in need of energy.
After all, qi and blood didn't appear out of thin air. They were built one bite at a time.
He wolfed down more than ten buns, then drained the bowl of stewed meat, broth and all.
Ugh...
Lin Guanhuo still didn't feel quite full.
He quickly calculated that a Ranked Martial Artist training at high intensity every day needed thirty thousand calories.
Even when he had been eating several catties of beef a day, he had only been scraping by.
Before you continue