[Slain the Enlightened Ape Demon. Not yet Xiantian. Lifespan: 150 years. Remaining lifespan: 53 years. Absorption complete.]
[Shen Lin]
[Martial Arts Mastered: Blood Battle Saber Technique (Perfection)]
[Cultivation Techniques Mastered: None]
[Remaining Lifespan: One year]
[Demon Lifespan: 53 years]
As the system's notification rang out, Shen Lin finally let out a long breath.
It wasn't that he was afraid Head Constable Wu would snatch the Ape Demon from him. Rather...
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Amid the dull clamor, a squad of soldiers in armor, long spears in hand, came running over from nearby.
Seeing this, Head Constable Wu rallied his strength and stepped beside Shen Lin.
"The demon in the city should be handled by our Inspection Office. You've crossed into our jurisdiction!"
A tall man in black iron armor rode up to the two of them.
Shen Lin furrowed his brow and muttered inwardly, What a nuisance.
When the Great Wei Dynasty was first established, an Inspection Office had been set up in every county to deal with demon troubles. Each office had fifty men, all clad in armor.
Lesser demons couldn't even breach the defenses of these armored soldiers.
Even more formidable demons, like the Ape Demon they'd just fought and the Mantis Demon before it—creatures that had cultivated demonic energy—could only meet their doom if surrounded by armored soldiers.
After all, they still couldn't withstand blades and weapons with their bare bodies.
And the Inspection Office had powerful crossbows at its disposal.
Even Shen Lin, now in the Opening Meridians Realm, wouldn't dare claim he could escape unscathed under a barrage of those crossbows.
Head Constable Wu took a deep breath and smiled. "Inspector Cheng, that's not quite right. Though the culprit was a demon, it still committed a crime. Maintaining order and arresting criminals are the duties of our Criminal Division."
With more than a dozen gleaming spearheads pointed at him, he showed not a trace of fear.
Though local Inspectors had held great authority in the dynasty's early days, things weren't the same now.
Once the demon troubles had subsided, demons became rare in this peaceful age, and the Inspection Office had long since lost its former clout.
The dozen-odd soldiers before them might all be armored and even have a crossbow cart, but in truth, they'd brought out everything they had.
Besides, it was their Criminal Division that had slain the Ape Demon. Head Constable Wu naturally had every reason to stand tall.
Cheng Yi fell silent for a moment, then suddenly drew a deep breath and shouted, "All Inspection Office personnel, heed my command! Advance and secure the demon's corpse. Don't let it disturb the people!"
"Yes, sir!"
The armored soldiers shouted in unison and marched forward.
Head Constable Wu's expression changed.
That bastard meant to use force.
Had he gone mad?
"Cheng Yi! You're going to attack your own colleagues?"
"Colleagues?" Cheng Yi smiled, eyeing Head Constable Wu with disdain. "The Inspection Office's soldiers are all registered military personnel of Great Wei. You think you're fit to call yourselves our colleagues?"
The remark left Head Constable Wu so furious he laughed.
"Fine, fine! Then today you'll have to step over my corpse and hand it over along with the demon's body!"
Cheng Yi's expression remained unchanged. He gave no response.
The armored soldiers didn't slow down in the slightest. They kept advancing.
Seeing this, Shen Lin drew a deep breath and placed his hand on his saber hilt.
Until now, he'd only shown the strength of an ordinary martial artist.
But it seemed he could no longer hide his Opening Meridians Realm cultivation.
The fluctuations of Qi and Blood Force coming from Inspector Cheng were roughly on par with his own.
Just as the tension reached its breaking point, a booming voice rang out from nearby.
"Inspector Cheng, you certainly throw your weight around!"
At the sound of that voice, Inspector Cheng whipped around, a trace of wariness appearing on his face.
Three figures came sprinting down the street.
Seeing them, Shen Lin searched through his predecessor's memories until he finally identified the leading man.
The head of the Criminal Division, Qiulin County's County Lieutenant, Hu Dongxing.
An Opening Meridians Realm cultivator—and, according to his predecessor's memories, the strongest person in Qiulin County.
Two other Criminal Division head constables followed behind him.
One of them was Sun Zhi.
After Sun Zhi had returned to the County Office with the Tiger Demon's corpse, he'd seen that no one suspected a thing and realized his secret hadn't been exposed.
But had Shen Lin and the other man truly failed to notice, or were they deliberately keeping quiet?
He'd just been about to sound Kong Yu out when the County Lieutenant summoned him. So he'd followed him here.
Now, he and Shen Lin met each other's eyes across the crowd.
When Sun Zhi saw the inscrutable smile at the corner of Shen Lin's mouth, his heart lurched. He immediately realized Shen Lin had uncovered his secret.
But with things so complicated, he couldn't speak with Shen Lin. He could only set the matter aside for now.
"Inspector Cheng, our Criminal Division found this demon first, and it was one of our people who killed it. If you try to seize it by force, aren't you afraid we'll take this to the County Magistrate?"
Hu Dongxing's expression was stern, his displeasure plain.
Realizing there was no turning the situation around, Cheng Yi acted decisively. Without replying, he called his men back.
Before leaving, he looked at Shen Lin and asked, "What's your name?"
Shen Lin froze for a moment, unsure why Cheng Yi had ignored even the County Lieutenant, yet singled him out to ask his name.
He didn't have time to think it over. Cupping his fists, he said, "I'm Shen Lin, sir. It's an honor to meet you, Inspector Cheng."
Cheng Yi nodded and said thoughtfully, "You're quite something."
Leaving behind those strangely cryptic words, he turned and walked away.
"More than quite something. Brother Shen's my lucky star!"
Hu Dongxing muttered as he came over and patted Shen Lin on the shoulder. "You've killed another demon in a single day. Excellent, excellent! A promising young man!"
After praising Shen Lin, he turned to Sun Zhi with a smile. "But you deserve the most credit. Not only did you bring a new martial artist into our ranks, you also brought back a Tiger Demon with a rare bloodline. I'll personally put in a request for your commendation with the Demon Suppression Bureau!"
Just then, the constables under Head Constable Wu hurried over as well.
Hu Dongxing glanced at them but didn't reprimand them.
After all, they were ordinary people who hadn't yet cultivated Qi and Blood Force. Naturally, they couldn't keep up with the Ape Demon and Head Constable Wu.
"Come on, boys, follow me! I'm in a good mood today! We're drinking at Yanbin Restaurant!"
Sun Zhi added, "Sir, Chief Qian is still at the County Office. Should I go fetch him?"
"That's right, that's right! Get Old Qian. And I remember the pretty boy who came back with this lad earlier was called... Damn it, what was his name?"
"Kong Yu!"
"Right, Kong Yu! Wealthy Zhang's live-in... son-in-law! Bring him too. He deserves some credit this time as well!"
Sun Zhi bowed and agreed, then went back to the County Office alone to fetch them.
The others followed Hu Dongxing as he swaggered toward the finest restaurant in Qiulin County.
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