"Brother Chen Fan, you..."
"Aiya!"
Wang Chao gazed at Chen Fan's departing back and let out a long sigh. Then he quickly rose from the ground, swung onto his horse, and chased after Chen Fan.
After running at full speed for an hour and a half, everyone finally returned to the Jinyiwei Baihu Office Barracks before sunset.
"Jinyiwei Chen Fan has returned to report after slaying seven wolf demons at Black Bear Gully Village!"
When Chen Fan returned to the Jinyiwei barracks, he saw that Zongqi Officer Li Mo was indeed still waiting for them at the Baihu Office.
"Slaying seven wolf demons?"
"How could that be possible?"
"He must be bragging. Didn't he only recently break through to the Spirit Concealment Realm Second Pass? How could he possibly slay seven wolf demons?"
"Even if those seven wolf demons had stretched out their necks for him to chop, he probably would have needed several hundred strikes, right?"
"That makes sense. It took dozens of strikes just to kill a Wild Boar Demon on its last legs. To kill seven wolf demons, he would need at least several hundred strikes!"
"..."
The Jinyiwei were not of one mind, and there was competition between the various squads. Upon hearing Chen Fan boast so shamelessly, everyone began discussing it among themselves, mostly with mockery and ridicule.
"Do you have proof?"
Zongqi Officer Li Mo did not say anything inappropriate. Instead, he casually asked Chen Fan to prove that his words were true.
"The proof is right here!"
Chen Fan took seven thick wolf tails from the cloth bag he carried with him and placed them on the table before Li Mo. Li Mo's eyelids twitched violently several times at the sight.
"They really are seven wolf demons?"
"How could that be possible?"
"The one who went to Black Bear Gully Village for a meal was Scarface, the third-ranked figure in the Howling Moon Wolf Demon gang. In terms of strength, he was only beneath the wolf king Howling Moon and White Wolf. Even a Martial Artist in the Spirit Concealment Realm Fourth Pass couldn't have slain him unscathed, could they?"
Li Mo was secretly astonished.
"Are there any witnesses?"
Li Mo asked again.
"We are willing to testify!"
Wang Chao and the other members of the Jinyiwei Ninth Squad spoke in unison.
"Good!"
"The eyewitnesses and physical evidence are both present. This merit is confirmed."
"Jinyiwei Chen Fan slew six wolf demons in the Spirit Concealment Realm Third Pass and one wolf demon in the Spirit Concealment Realm Fourth Pass. His total merit comes to ten thousand points!"
Zongqi Officer Li Mo spoke in a ringing voice, then prepared to dip his brush in ink and record Chen Fan's merit in the merit register.
Ten thousand Merit Points were enough to earn a promotion to Jinyiwei Xiaoqi Officer. If his strength was sufficient, it was not impossible for him to leap straight to Zongqi Officer!
This was a heaven-shattering fortune!
"Zongqi, wait!"
Just then, a highly ill-timed voice rang out. It belonged to Sun Jian, the Xiaoqi Officer of the Jinyiwei First Squad.
As the captain of the first-ranked squad among the ten squads of the Ping'an County Jinyiwei Baihu Office, Sun Jian stood at the top among all the Xiaoqi Officers in both seniority and strength.
It was said that he had already reached the peak of the Spirit Concealment Realm Third Pass. In the future, he was certain to enter the Fourth Pass. Once he did, he would take over Huang Chengyue's position and become the new Zongqi Officer of the Ping'an County Jinyiwei Baihu Office.
Most importantly, he and Li Mo were extremely close, making him Li Mo's trusted subordinate.
For him to stand up and raise objections at this moment was probably inseparable from Li Mo.
"Sun Jian, what do you have to say?"
Li Mo glanced at Sun Jian and asked.
"I would like to ask Brother Chen Fan how you slew these seven wolf demons?"
"You should know that among these seven wolf demons, one was in the Spirit Concealment Realm Fourth Pass, while the other six were in the Spirit Concealment Realm Third Pass. Even a Human Race Martial Artist in the Spirit Concealment Realm Fifth Pass would probably find it difficult to slay seven wolf demons like that. So how did you manage it?"
"This isn't just my question. I think everyone present has their doubts as well, so I ask Brother Chen Fan to enlighten us!"
Sun Jian cupped his hands toward Chen Fan as he spoke.
"Coincidentally, I happen to be in the Spirit Concealment Realm Fifth Pass!"
Chen Fan spoke calmly.
"You're in the Spirit Concealment Realm Fifth Pass?"
"Hahahaha."
Upon hearing this, Sun Jian immediately burst into loud laughter, and the others also laughed one after another.
This was simply impossible!
Chen Fan had only joined the Jinyiwei a year ago. Although he trained hard and was diligent, everyone knew exactly what his strength was. How could he have reached the Spirit Concealment Realm Fifth Pass in a single year?
"Chen Fan, don't you even know how to make up a believable lie?"
"If you're a Martial Artist in the Spirit Concealment Realm Fifth Pass, then I'm a Martial Artist in the Spirit Aperture Realm!"
Sun Jian looked at Chen Fan with disdain and spoke coldly.
"I heard Sun Tou is a Martial Artist at the peak of the Spirit Concealment Realm Third Pass. If you don't believe me, how about we spar?"
Chen Fan let out a cold laugh and suggested it.
"Who did you hear that from?"
"I broke through to the Spirit Concealment Realm Fourth Pass half a year ago. Do you still have the courage to compete with me?"
Sun Jian spoke arrogantly.
Although he had only just entered the Spirit Concealment Realm Fourth Pass and had spent most of the past year stabilizing his realm, he was the fourth person—apart from the Baihu and the two Zongqi Officers—to enter the Spirit Concealment Realm Fourth Pass. He had every right to be proud.
He was even waiting for Huang Chengyue to retire or return home in old age. Once that happened, he could directly be promoted to Jinyiwei Zongqi Officer of the Ping'an County Baihu Office!
"What is there to fear?"
Chen Fan replied.
"Then let's go to the Training Ground and fight three hundred rounds!"
Sun Jian spoke in a deep voice.
Although he did not quite believe that Chen Fan could slay seven wolf demons by himself, he had not looked down on this young man either.
"There's no need. Here is fine. I'm in a hurry to eat."
Chen Fan said indifferently.
"Arrogant brat!"
"Take my blade!"
Sun Jian flew into a rage upon hearing this. He drew the Em broidered Spring Blade in his hand and slashed it at Chen Fan. He was using Draw Sword Slash as well—and at the perfected level.
It was clear from this that he had also put tremendous effort into practicing the blade technique.
Although this slash was powerful, it was nothing to Chen Fan now. He casually drew his blade, and in the next second, his blade was already resting against Sun Jian's neck, while the blade in Sun Jian's hand had somehow fallen to the ground.
"Sun Tou, do you still want to bring out the strength of your Spirit Aperture Realm cultivation and teach me a lesson?"
Chen Fan smiled calmly as he spoke.
"I admit defeat. I'm completely convinced!"
Sun Jian's eyes dimmed, while Li Mo's face was filled with astonishment and his heart pounded violently.
He had actually broken through to the Spirit Concealment Realm Fifth Pass as well, but he publicly claimed to be in the Spirit Concealment Realm Fourth Pass. After all, who didn't have two trump cards?
But he knew that he could not slay seven wolf demons while fighting one against seven, nor could he defeat Sun Jian, who had just entered the Spirit Concealment Realm Fourth Pass, with such ease.
He felt that he and Lord Cao had kicked an iron plate this time!
"Zongqi Li, I remember that our Jinyiwei have a rule: once someone accumulates ten thousand Merit Points, they can be directly promoted to Xiaoqi Officer. If they possess the strength of the Spirit Concealment Realm Fifth Pass, they can be promoted to Zongqi Officer as an exceptional measure."
"I wonder whether this rule still applies in our Baihu Office?"
Chen Fan asked.
"Since it is a rule of the Jinyiwei, then it is a rule of our Baihu Office."
"However, as you can see, the positions of Xiaoqi Officer and Zongqi Officer in our Ping'an County Jinyiwei Baihu Office are currently full. According to precedent, we can temporarily grant you the corresponding treatment. Once a vacancy appears, you can fill it."
"Alternatively, we can have the Baihu Master report this matter to the Longyuan Prefecture Jinyiwei Commander's Office, which can approve and arrange the transfer. What do you think?"
Li Mo gave Chen Fan a meaningful look before asking.
"I'm willing to step down to the second line. Chen Fan can take my position!"
At that moment, Huang Chengyue appeared before everyone and spoke in a ringing voice.
Before you continue