A woman flashed a seductive smile. "So, brother, you're here to compete with the big shots for a living?"
"Ha ha!"
"How could anyone at the Core Formation Realm or above possibly show up here? Even the weakest Core Formation great demon would require someone like the Prefectural Commander to deal with it."
Xue Ping's face turned red. He had no answer. Seeing his reaction, the others lost interest and ignored him.
"Brother Xue, we're new here. We should speak less and observe more." Wang Feng stepped up beside him and offered a few words of comfort.
"Brother Wang, I know that. But they're so overbearing and don't follow a single rule. Aren't they afraid outsiders will laugh at them?" Xue Ping muttered under his breath.
Though his voice was low, this was the Yunzhou headquarters of the Demon Suppression Division. There were experts everywhere, and people at the Meridian Opening Realm were a dime a dozen. Their hearing was far beyond what a mere Body Tempering cultivator could imagine.
"Rules? The Demon Suppression Division's rule is simple: settle things with your fists. Got the guts to fight?" A bald, burly man sneered.
Wang Feng looked awkward. He hurriedly apologized. "Sorry, sorry. My brother here doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut. Please forgive him."
"We've all got our heads on the line, fighting for a future. If you don't have the skill, don't run your mouth." A middle-aged man in a commander's uniform looked at Wang Feng and Xue Ping.
"Quite right, quite right." Wang Feng quickly agreed.
The two had no desire to stay, so they went to find someone else to leave with. Just then, Su Ye took a notice down from the bulletin board.
He paid no attention to the commotion in the hall. His top priority was to take a mission, leave Yunzhou City, and fuse with the Blood Fiend Sky-Severing Stele.
He didn't dare fuse with it inside Yunzhou City. The city was full of experts, and there were formations everywhere; someone might sense what was happening.
Xue Ping strode over to Su Ye, his expression dark. "Su Ye, didn't you hear what they said? And you're still in the mood to take a mission?"
His words reached the ears of those around them. The men who had spoken earlier looked surprised. One of them, Zheng Yu, said, "Is this kid new too? Did he just take down a notice?"
"Didn't notice."
"Neither did I," the man's companions replied.
A young man standing not far from Su Ye suddenly spoke up. "The notice he just took was for Chaiqiao Town."
"Chaiqiao Town? Isn't that place plagued by Mountain Ghosts?"
"I remember now. That notice came in ten days ago. It said they'd need several people at the middle or late stages of the Meridian Opening Realm to handle it safely," one of Zheng Yu's companions interjected.
"He's asking for death. The mission pays well, but you still need the strength to do it."
"Looks like nothing more than a school captain to me. At best, he's in the early or middle stages of the Meridian Opening Realm."
"And his companions are Demon Execution Guards who haven't even cultivated the Meridian Mirror. Isn't that just a suicide mission? Who gave them the nerve?"
The surrounding crowd kept talking.
"Where's their guide? Shouldn't he be doing something? Well, they're done for now," the woman who had spoken earlier said coolly.
When the crowd heard the newcomers were involved, more people joined the discussion. Wang Feng and Xue Ping looked deeply troubled. Xue Ping spoke first. "Su Ye, you took this mission on your own. It has nothing to do with me. You're on your own."
He knew about Su Ye's killing of Magistrate Chen and the other two. In his view, Su Ye had just gotten lucky: Yan Shan had badly wounded the three before Su Ye swooped in and took the credit.
He was confident that although he wasn't as strong as Su Ye, with enough planning he could have taken down Magistrate Chen and the others himself.
Wang Feng sighed. "This... Brother Su, there's nothing I can do either."
Watching the two leave, Ma San spat on the ground. "Forget Xue Ping, but I didn't expect Wang Feng to be just as rotten, despite looking like such a decent fellow."
"My lord, this old horse will go with you."
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Su Ye had expected Wang Feng and Xue Ping to react that way. They had known each other for less than half a month and weren't close. The mission he'd taken was no different from a death sentence for them.
But Ma San's response surprised him. Ignoring the strange looks from the crowd, he called to Ma San. "Let's talk more once we're back at our lodgings."
Beside a carved wooden window, Su Ye signed his name and pressed his thumbprint. Then he and Ma San left the Mission Office, one behind the other. On the way, Su Ye turned and said, "Brother Ma, I plan to go alone this time."
"That Mountain Ghost is powerful," Ma San said anxiously.
"I know what I'm doing. Don't worry."
Seeing Su Ye's resolute expression, Ma San said nothing more.
Not long after leaving Yunzhou City, Su Ye used their mental link to tell Big Black to go on ahead and wait in Chaiqiao Town. Then he found a secluded spot, sat cross-legged on a boulder, and gripped the base of the stele in his hand as he focused on his status panel.
Host: Su Ye Realm: Meridian Opening, Sixth Layer Cultivation Techniques: [Body Tempering Initial Giải · Mortal Grade High Rank] Not Started [Dragon Tiger Body Forging Technique · Yellow Tier Mid-grade] Complete [Fierce Sun Art · Yellow Grade Low Rank] Complete Martial Arts: [Black Fiend Saber Technique · Mortal Grade Middle Rank] Complete [Meteor Hammer Technique · Mortal Grade High Rank] Not Started [Demon Subduing Fist · Mortal Grade Middle Rank] Complete [Sky Rending Leg · Mortal Grade Middle Rank] Complete [Mountain-Splitting, Peak-Pulling · Yellow Tier Mid-grade] Complete Movement Technique: [Flowing Dragon Steps · Mortal Grade Middle Rank] (Complete) Divine Artifact: [Blood Fiend Sky-Severing Stele] One-fifth incomplete; can be fused Assistance Points: 1236
The word "Fuse" had appeared beside the divine artifact long ago, but he'd never had the right opportunity. Now the time had come, and he chose to fuse without hesitation.
Spend 1000 Assistance Points. Fusion of [Blood Fiend Sky-Severing Stele · Incomplete] begins.
The solid base of the stele in his hand suddenly turned into a hazy mist. From the system's prompt, Su Ye gathered that the object had been condensed from the martial essence of a mighty expert.
Only powerhouses of the True Martial Realm or higher could fuse and refine it by using their martial insights to communicate with the power of heaven and earth. Those without sufficient strength couldn't fuse it; they couldn't even refine it in the slightest.
As the mist streamed into Su Ye's body, an astonishing sight appeared in his sea of consciousness. Surging torrents of blood fiend energy gathered there.
Their source was the fragment of the Blood Fiend Sky-Severing Stele. As it poured into Su Ye's sea of consciousness, it gradually became a vast ocean of blood.
The instant the source of killing intent fully fused into Su Ye's sea of consciousness, a blood fiend might so powerful it made one tremble surged forth.
It burst from his sea of consciousness, spread through every limb and bone, then erupted from his body. In an instant, the skies shifted. For dozens of miles around, everything turned blood-red as fiendish winds howled.
Under the blood fiend energy's onslaught, his body grew more than ten times stronger than before. Without thinking, he gripped the Ghost Head Saber and swung it with all his might at his left arm.
"Clang!"
The sound of metal striking metal rang out. Su Ye froze, surprised that the blade hadn't been ruined in battle, only to be ruined by his own hand.
The blade, over a meter long, now had a deep dent in it as thick as an arm.
"Forget it. As the old saying goes, out with the old and in with the new.
"With my strength now, I could crush my former self with one hand.
A massive stream of information suddenly flooded Su Ye's mind. Before he could examine it, a line of text slowly appeared on the panel.
Obtained [Blood Fiend Heaven Intercepting Palm · Heaven Grade Middle Rank]. Cannot be upgraded.
This was a Heaven-Grade martial art—and a middle rank one at that.
Su Ye could barely contain his delight. Heaven-Grade martial arts were extraordinary; the difference of a single rank was like the gulf between heaven and earth.
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