Captain Chen's Rebuke, It's a Second-Order Demon!

Captain Chen's praise filled Squad Leader Li with immense pride.

Being at Body Tempering Ninth Layer and able to single-handedly slay a First-Order Demon was already quite impressive in terms of strength.

After all, demons were blessed by heaven—at the same cultivation level, they were stronger than most martial artists.

Whether in power, defense, speed, or anything else, they surpassed martial artists of the same rank.

Killing a demon of equal cultivation alone carried serious weight!

"With the Demon Suppression Division's assessment coming up, your strength should earn you an even better result," Captain Chen said. "You might even make it into the Squad Leader reserve!"

To keep the Demon Suppression Guards motivated to improve, the division held annual assessments.

The higher the ranking, the richer the rewards.

Moreover, those who performed well could catch the eye of higher-ups and enter the reserve pool for Squad Leaders or even higher positions.

Although Squad Leader Li was still at Body Tempering Ninth Layer and hadn't met the realm requirement for Squad Leader, if his assessment results were outstanding enough, he could be rewarded with cultivation resources to break through directly to the Houtian Realm.

Squad Leader Li's face lit up with joy, then he said in a steady voice, "Thank you for your faith in me, Captain Chen!"

After that, he stood to the side, chin slightly raised, brimming with pride.

He was the first to return, meaning he had also been the fastest to deal with the demon.

Next, Captain Chen and the others continued to wait.

On the road leading back to the Demon Suppression Division, teams trickled in one after another.

But their conditions were far more brutal than Squad Leader Li's team!

Though they had killed their demons, they had suffered heavy losses—only three or four people came back.

Those who returned were severely wounded, and no one knew how long it would take them to recover.

Compared to Squad Leader Li's situation, it was like night and day.

Time passed, and no one knew how long it had been.

Counting Squad Leader Li's team, five groups had already returned.

Only one remained—the team led by Hu Biao—still nowhere to be seen.

Checking the time, Captain Chen frowned slightly. "Still not back yet... Looks like..."

He didn't finish the sentence.

But everyone present knew what Captain Chen meant.

Coming back this late—it seemed they had met with misfortune!

Of course, the expressions of the Demon Suppression Guards on site barely shifted.

Hu Biao's team had the weakest average strength.

The strongest among them, the Squad Leader himself, was only at Body Tempering Seventh Level.

If they ran into a troublesome, powerful First-Order Demon, total annihilation wouldn't be anything surprising.

So the fact that they hadn't returned didn't shock many people.

At that moment, Captain Chen looked at the five teams and said solemnly, "Hu Biao and his men probably aren't coming back."

"By the way, among these five demons you hunted, which one was killed by a rookie?"

Faced with Captain Chen's question, no one in the crowd spoke up.

Captain Chen shook his head slightly.

It seemed the quality of this year's Demon Suppression Division rookies was somewhat lacking.

In previous years, there had still been plenty of outstanding newcomers.

They could land the killing blow on a demon during their very first group hunt.

But this year, not a single one had managed it.

At this rate, Wancheng Demon Suppression Division's talent reserves were looking thin—there might even be a gap!

"Alright, drag the demons into the Heavenly Prison," Captain Chen said.

Everyone nodded.

Just as they were about to move, suddenly, heavy footsteps echoed from the road.

The sound was very weighty, as if caused by carrying something heavy.

Captain Chen, with his sharp senses, noticed it first and swept his gaze over like lightning.

He saw two people, one in front and one behind, carrying a snake demon that must have weighed a thousand jin, slowly approaching.

Taking a closer look—

The person at the very front, Captain Chen, was somewhat familiar.

It was Lin Feng, the newcomer who had worn a calm expression, showing no trace of fear, and had even dared to meet his gaze!

And the one behind him was Hu Biao.

At this moment, the others also reacted, their gazes turning toward the road.

They all saw Lin Feng and Lu Gang.

The members of the five squads all raised their eyebrows.

They had originally thought that Hu Biao's squad had been devoured by the demon.

Unexpectedly, they had actually succeeded in hunting the demon?

And two of them had survived!

"It's good that they survived." Captain Chen nodded slightly.

Although Hu Biao's squad had survived, hunting a First-Order Demon and ending up with only two people left—how tragic was that?

There was no reason to be happy.

The one whose emotions shifted the most was undoubtedly Lu Gang.

Because only he knew the full truth.

For instance, this Snake Demon was not a First-Order Demon at all.

It was a Second-Order!

"What?!"

"This bastard, why isn't he dead!!"

Lu Gang's eyes bulged wide, and he gritted his teeth fiercely!

This was a Second-Order Demon!

A being comparable to a Houtian Realm Martial Artist!

Lin Feng's squad had the weakest average strength; even the Squad Leader was only at Body Tempering Seventh Level!

In front of the Snake Demon, they couldn't last three moves before being killed outright!

As for Lin Feng, in Lu Gang's speculation, the Snake Demon would swallow him whole in a single encounter.

How could he possibly survive from the mouth of a Second-Order Demon?!

Lu Gang was filled with utter disbelief, his whole being stunned, his mind momentarily blank.

Just then, Captain Chen suddenly let out a surprised sound.

Because upon getting closer, he noticed something strange about this Snake Demon.

That was, the Snake Demon's eye sockets were filled with countless arrows.

Its head was also completely pierced through.

It wasn't hard to guess that the Snake Demon had died from being shot by arrows.

The reason Captain Chen was surprised was that Hu Biao's squad only had one archer.

And that was Lin Feng, who was at Body Tempering Triple Layer!

Could it be that the Snake Demon was killed by him?

A flicker of interest appeared on Captain Chen's face. If that were true, this batch of newcomers finally had a promising seedling.

At this moment, Lin Feng and the others had already arrived at the entrance of the Demon Suppression Division.

With a crash, the Snake Demon's massive body was thrown directly to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Captain Chen, we have fulfilled our mission."

Lin Feng and Hu Biao cupped their hands toward Captain Chen.

Captain Chen nodded slightly and said, "Hu Biao, you've disappointed me this time!"

Hu Biao's expression stiffened, and just as he was about to argue, Captain Chen continued.

"This time, your squad lost four newcomers, and you've taken quite a bit of damage yourself, haven't you?"

"Although your cultivation is slightly lower, only at Body Tempering Seventh Level, hunting a First-Order Demon shouldn't have resulted in such heavy losses!"

Captain Chen spoke calmly, his tone carrying a hint of dissatisfaction.

Not far away, Squad Leader Li wore a calm expression.

Hunting a First-Order Demon and suffering such heavy losses.

It only showed how useless Hu Biao was!

But thinking about it, it was normal; not everyone was as strong as him.

Just then.

Facing Captain Chen's reprimand, Hu Biao couldn't help but say, "Captain Chen, the reason for our heavy losses this time is because the intelligence was wrong!"

"This Snake Demon isn't First-Order at all—it's a Second-Order Demon!!"

The words landed.

Captain Chen's face froze.

And at that moment, Squad Leader Li, who had been wearing a calm expression not far off, narrowed his eyes and stared hard at Hu Biao.

What did he say? This Snake Demon was a Second-Order Demon?

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