An Unknown Bird Demon

After Prefect Hu slapped his jaw back into place, the interrogation finally began to go smoothly.

Prefect Hu wiped his hands, picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip, and asked in a low voice, "Name!"

"Cao Yongjun."

"Where are you from?"

"Shiwu Village, Yuzhou."

"What's your cultivation realm?"

"Sixth Level of the Opening Meridians Realm."

"Why... Hmm?"

The hand holding Prefect Hu's teacup trembled slightly. He abruptly raised his head and stared at the man with wide eyes.

Sixth Level of the Opening Meridians Realm...

That meant he had opened six meridians. He was practically guaranteed to break through to the Xiantian Realm, with only a tiny chance of failure.

Generally speaking, the Xiantian Realm warriors who had appeared in Qiulin County before had all attempted their breakthroughs after opening just four or five meridians.

That was because opening meridians became more difficult with each one.

Most warriors who knew they lacked talent didn't waste time opening more meridians. Instead, they went straight for a breakthrough to the Xiantian Realm.

Prefect Hu had already opened four meridians, but he wasn't in a hurry to break through. He came from a decent Lineage, which could provide him with plenty of support and cultivation resources.

Moreover, as Qiulin County's County Deputy, he could claim a share of the credit whenever one of his subordinates slew a demon. So he was confident he could open another one or two meridians without too much effort.

Even so, in his estimation, opening six meridians would already be an impressive achievement.

Once a warrior had opened six meridians, the odds of breaking through to the Xiantian Realm increased dramatically. It was practically a certainty.

And there was even a chance to glimpse the realm beyond Xiantian.

But now, this Demon Cultivator before him was actually... Wait!

Suddenly, he realized something was wrong.

How had Shen Lin managed to capture him???

The sixth level of the Opening Meridians Realm, and a Demon Cultivator to boot!

A warrior of the same realm could hardly stand a chance against him.

Before reaching Xiantian, warriors were still mortal, flesh and blood, even if they possessed Qi and Blood Force.

Even someone who had opened every meridian in his body could still be wounded by a sharp weapon or a crossbow bolt.

But these Demon Cultivators, who practiced demonic arts, were different.

Even at the Opening Meridians Realm, they could wield all kinds of strange abilities.

When Hu Dongxing had first joined the County Office, he'd once helped the previous County Deputy hunt down a Demon Cultivator.

That Demon Cultivator had been at the third level of the Opening Meridians Realm.

The County Deputy at the time, however, had been at the fifth level, and could attempt a breakthrough to the Xiantian Realm at any moment.

Even so, the County Deputy hadn't underestimated his opponent. He'd gathered nearly every warrior in Qiulin County and attacked alongside the armored soldiers of the Patrol Office.

Hu Dongxing had never forgotten that battle.

Three Opening Meridians Realm warriors had died, including the previous County Deputy, who had failed an attempt to break through on the spot, and two Attendants from major Lineages.

More than half the warriors in the County Office had been killed or wounded, and the Patrol Office's armored soldiers had been nearly wiped out.

It was all because that Demon Cultivator had possessed a peculiar ability: he could control blood.

Ordinary people below the warrior realm would have their blood sucked dry in an instant, without the Demon Cultivator even touching them.

The Patrol Office soldiers' sturdy armor had been completely useless.

Warriors could hold out a little longer, but their bodies would soon be drained of strength, leaving them unable to focus on fighting.

Only those at the Opening Meridians Realm could use their abundant Qi and Blood Force to suppress the turmoil in their blood.

But even that wasn't enough to defeat him.

The Demon Cultivator could condense blood into armor and weapons. Even a direct hit from the Patrol Office's crossbow bolts couldn't pierce his defenses.

It was like the True Essence protective barrier of a Xiantian warrior.

Prefect Hu had assumed that this wretched-looking fellow was merely a Demon Cultivator who had just entered the Opening Meridians Realm.

If so, it wouldn't have been hard to believe that Shen Lin had beaten him through sheer dumb luck.

But after hearing his cultivation realm, Prefect Hu felt a headache coming on.

Sixth Level of the Opening Meridians Realm. He was even stronger than the Demon Cultivator in Hu Dongxing's memory.

How on earth had Shen Lin...

"Then how did you..."

Prefect Hu began to ask without thinking. But just as the words left his mouth, he seemed to realize something. His expression turned serious, and he changed the question. "With cultivation like yours, why did you ambush the County Magistrate's nephew? Do you have accomplices? What exactly are you after?"

The barrage of questions seemed to leave Cao Yongjun stunned. He merely stared blankly at Prefect Hu.

"Speak! Or have you still not had enough of our methods?"

Prefect Hu's expression darkened, his heart filled with anxiety.

A Demon Cultivator of this level couldn't have appeared out of nowhere.

Without someone providing him with resources, even a Demon Cultivator couldn't have opened six meridians so easily.

But if he belonged to an organized group of Demon Cultivators, and they had done this to target the County Magistrate...

At the thought, Prefect Hu grew even more anxious. He sprang to his feet, desperate to get an answer as quickly as possible.

The next moment, his expression froze and his pupils shrank.

Only after standing up and looking down did he notice the tiny black feather perched on the crown of Cao Yongjun's head.

Something's wrong!

He jerked his head up and spotted the night sky through a small opening in the roof.

"Scoundrel, how dare you!!!"

He roared as Qi and Blood Force burst from his body. Then he smashed through the roof and leaped outside.

Cao Yongjun was dead!

Right before his eyes, someone had silenced him without making a sound.

The black feather had pierced deep into Cao Yongjun's skull. Even a Demon Cultivator was beyond saving.

The most important thing now was to catch the one who had done it.

Sure enough, the instant Prefect Hu leaped through the roof, he caught sight of a shadow.

The shadow seemed to ride the wind, drifting from roof to roof without making the slightest sound.

The next moment, the shadow paused and glanced back.

Compared to him, Prefect Hu was making quite a racket.

With a roar, Prefect Hu charged straight at him like a cannonball, the buildings shaking with each thunderous crash.

"Reckless fool. If it weren't for... Hmph!"

The shadow muttered with some exasperation, then sped up.

He'd killed Cao Yongjun with a single strike, so he was clearly no weakling.

In fact, he was far stronger than the reckless Prefect Hu.

Hu Dongxing knew that too.

But the reason his opponent dared to keep chasing him without a care was simple: they were in Qiulin County!

A county under human control!

The next moment, waves of vigorous Qi and Blood Force erupted from all over the city.

They belonged to the warriors at the Opening Meridians Realm living in the city.

There were at least a dozen of them—far more than the number of Opening Meridians Realm warriors Qiulin County had publicly acknowledged.

If he were surrounded by so many people...

At the thought, the shadow sighed and abruptly stopped.

Hu Dongxing, chasing behind him, narrowed his eyes. He drew the long saber at his waist, his face full of wariness.

But his opponent didn't attack. Instead, he bent his knees slightly, then sprang into the air.

With a single leap, he soared more than ten meters high.

Pfft!

With a ripping sound, a pair of black-feathered wings burst from his back. He gave them a light flap and flew into the sky.

"Damn it!"

Hu Dongxing watched as the figure flew into the distance, shrinking into a tiny black speck before vanishing. His expression was grim.

Since when had such a powerful Bird Demon appeared in Qiulin County?