After receiving Captain Chen's praise, Squad Leader Li felt immensely pleased with himself.
At the Body Tempering Ninth Layer, being able to slay a First-Order Demon alone was already quite impressive.
After all, demons had nature's gifts on their side. At the same level, they were stronger than many Martial Artists.
Their strength, defense, speed, and everything else surpassed those of Martial Artists at the same level.
Slaying a demon of equal rank alone was no small feat!
"The Demon Suppression Division's assessment is coming up soon. With your strength, you can achieve a better result."
Captain Chen said, "You might even make the reserve pool for squad leaders!"
To motivate the Demon Suppression Guards to keep improving, the Demon Suppression Division held an assessment every year.
The higher the ranking, the richer the rewards.
And the more likely it was that an important figure would take notice of them early, perhaps selecting them for the reserve pool for squad leaders or team leaders.
Although Squad Leader Li was still at the Body Tempering Ninth Layer, he had yet to reach the level required to become a team leader.
But as long as his assessment results were good enough, he could be granted cultivation resources and break through to the Houtian Realm.
Squad Leader Li's face lit up. Then he said solemnly, "Thank you for thinking so highly of me, Captain Chen!"
Afterward, he stood to one side with his chin slightly raised, looking utterly smug.
He had been the first to return, which meant he had also dealt with the demon the fastest.
Captain Chen and the others continued to wait.
Teams returned one after another along the road to the Demon Suppression Division.
But their condition was far worse than Squad Leader Li's team.
Although they had killed their demons, they had suffered heavy losses. Only three or four people had returned.
Those who made it back were also badly injured, and no one knew how long they would need to recover.
Compared with Squad Leader Li's team, theirs were worlds apart.
Who knew how much time passed?
Including Squad Leader Li's team, five teams had returned.
Only the last team, led by Hu Biao, had yet to come back.
Glancing at the time, Captain Chen frowned slightly. "They still haven't returned? It seems..."
He didn't finish the sentence.
But everyone present knew what Captain Chen was about to say.
They had been gone this long. It seemed they had met with disaster.
Of course, none of the Demon Suppression Guards present showed much reaction.
Hu Biao's team had the weakest average strength.
Even their strongest member, the Squad Leader, was only at the Body Tempering Seventh Level.
If they ran into one of those tough, powerful First-Order Demons, it wouldn't be surprising if the whole team were wiped out.
So their failure to return hadn't surprised many people.
At that moment, Captain Chen looked at the five teams and said solemnly, "Hu Biao and the others probably aren't coming back."
"By the way, who among you had a newcomer kill one of the five demons you hunted?"
No one answered Captain Chen's question.
Captain Chen shook his head slightly.
All he could say was that this year's batch of newcomers to the Demon Suppression Division was rather poor.
In previous years, there had been many promising newcomers.
Some had managed to land the killing blow against a demon during their very first hunt.
But this year, there wasn't a single one.
If things continued like this, the Wancheng Demon Suppression Division's talent pool wouldn't be up to par. They risked ending up with a gap between generations!
"All right, drag the demons to the Heavenly Prison," Captain Chen said.
Everyone nodded.
Just as they were about to get moving,
heavy footsteps suddenly sounded along the road.
The steps were weighty, as though whoever made them was carrying something heavy.
Captain Chen had keen senses and was the first to notice. His gaze swept over in a flash.
He saw two people, one in front of the other, carrying a Snake Demon that looked to weigh a thousand catties or so. They were slowly making their way toward them.
Taking a closer look,
Captain Chen found the person in front vaguely familiar.
It was Lin Feng, the newcomer with a calm expression and not the slightest hint of fear—even daring to meet his gaze!
The person behind him was Hu Biao.
By then, the others had also noticed and turned to look down the road.
They all saw Lin Feng and Lu Gang.
The brows of the members of all five teams rose.
They had thought Hu Biao's team had been swallowed up by the demons.
Who would have thought they had actually managed to hunt one?
And two of them had even survived!
"It's good that you made it back alive." Captain Chen gave a slight nod.
Although Hu Biao's team had survived, they had gone out to hunt a First-Order Demon and only two people had returned. What a miserable state they were in.
There was nothing to celebrate.
Of everyone present, Lu Gang was undoubtedly the most shaken.
Because he alone knew the whole story.
For example, this Snake Demon wasn't a First-Order Demon at all.
It was a Second-Order Demon!
"What?!"
"Why is this guy still alive?!"
Lu Gang's eyes widened. He gritted his teeth fiercely!
This was a Second-Order Demon!
An existence comparable to a Houtian Realm Martial Artist!
Lin Feng's team had the weakest average strength. Even their Squad Leader was only at the mere Body Tempering Seventh Level!
They wouldn't last three moves against the Snake Demon before it killed them outright!
As for Lin Feng, Lu Gang had assumed the Snake Demon would swallow him whole in a single encounter.
How could he possibly have survived a Second-Order Demon?!
Lu Gang was utterly baffled. He stood there in a daze, his mind going blank for a moment.
Just then, Captain Chen let out a surprised exclamation.
Now that the Snake Demon was closer, he could see something was wrong with it.
Its eye sockets were studded with countless arrows.
Its head had also been pierced right through.
It wasn't hard to guess that the Snake Demon had died from being shot with arrows.
The reason Captain Chen was surprised was that there had only been one archer in Hu Biao's team.
That was Lin Feng, who was only at the Body Tempering Triple Layer!
Could he have been the one to kill the Snake Demon?
A flicker of interest appeared on Captain Chen's face. If that were true, then at last this year's newcomers had produced a promising talent.
By then, Lin Feng and the other man had reached the entrance to the Demon Suppression Division.
With a crash, the Snake Demon's enormous body was thrown to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Captain Chen, we've completed the mission."
Lin Feng and Hu Biao clasped their hands toward Captain Chen in greeting.
Captain Chen gave a slight nod and said, "Hu Biao, this time you've disappointed me."
Hu Biao froze. He was just about to argue when Captain Chen continued.
"Four newcomers died on your team this time, and you were badly injured too, weren't you?"
"Though your cultivation is a little low, only at the Body Tempering Seventh Level, things shouldn't have turned out this badly while hunting a First-Order Demon!"
Captain Chen spoke coolly, a trace of displeasure in his voice.
Nearby, Squad Leader Li looked completely unbothered.
They had suffered such heavy losses hunting a First-Order Demon.
All he could say was that Hu Biao was useless!
But then again, it was only natural. Not everyone was as strong as he was.
Just then,
under Captain Chen's reproachful gaze, Hu Biao couldn't help but say, "Captain Chen, there's a reason we suffered such heavy losses. The intelligence was wrong!"
"This Snake Demon wasn't a First-Order Demon at all. It was a Second-Order Demon!"
The words fell.
Captain Chen froze.
Nearby, the usually composed Squad Leader Li heard this and narrowed his eyes, staring hard at Hu Biao.
What had he said? This Snake Demon was a Second-Order Demon?
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