Not Convinced?

The Great Tang had stood for eight hundred years. Though customs were no longer as strict as they had been under the previous dynasty, women could study and practice martial arts, and even serve as officials at court.

But in the end, it was still a feudal dynasty.

Women were born physically weaker, with less vital energy and blood. In the path of martial arts, they were already a step behind men.

Ordinary martial arts sects took in female disciples mostly for show—or for some other purpose.

Never mind the Demon Suppression Bureau, where people lived by the blade and risked their lives fighting demons.

"Silence!"

Liu Chen's face darkened as he shouted.

"Team Leader Liu, I don't mean anything by it."

"Which of our Mysterious Battalion brothers hasn't crawled out of a pile of corpses? This delicate little girl, with her tender skin and soft flesh, is supposed to go fight demons with us?"

"Are we sending her to her death, or letting her drag us down?"

His words were crude, but they reflected what most of those present were thinking.

Jiang Yuechu glanced over and saw a burly, thick-necked man step out from the crowd.

When he saw her looking at him, he grinned, his eyes full of provocation.

Liu Chen's face turned livid with anger. He was about to lash out.

But a hand came to rest lightly on his shoulder.

Jiang Yuechu stepped past him, walked forward, and looked calmly at the man.

"Not convinced?"

Zhao Hu froze, then threw back his head and laughed, baring a row of yellow teeth.

"Not convinced!"

Seeing the tension between them, the Demon Suppression Guards nearby stopped what they were doing and began to chatter.

"This... are they going to fight?"

"Old Zhao's a master at the middle Bone Resonance Realm. His Mountain-Splitting Fist could snap the bones of an ordinary burly man with one hit."

"Hey, it's good for a young girl to be spirited, but what a shame her eyes don't work..."

The crowd had barely gotten a few words in when a sharp whoosh suddenly cut through the air.

Swish—

Everyone hurriedly turned toward the sound, but the girl who had been standing there had vanished into thin air.

Zhao Hu's vision blurred. He shuddered in fright, and before he could even fight back, immense force seized his neck.

The next instant, the world spun.

Boom—

A thunderous crash.

The towering Zhao Hu was lifted by one hand and slammed hard into a pillar in the courtyard!

The pillar shuddered violently, shaking several black tiles loose from the eaves.

Clatter—

The tiles hit the ground and shattered.

The dozen or so men watching in the courtyard were so shocked that their eyes nearly popped out of their heads.

Zhao Hu was plastered against the pillar like a hanging scroll. He slid slowly down and collapsed onto the ground.

His face was drained of color. He couldn't even summon the slightest thought of fighting back.

From start to finish.

It had taken no more than the blink of an eye.

The courtyard fell into deathly silence.

Jiang Yuechu brushed the dirt from her hands and looked over the crowd, now too frightened to make a sound.

"..."

The men who had been jeering moments earlier all lowered their heads, wishing they could stuff them between their legs.

The tremendous commotion naturally roused the others in the barracks.

"What the hell was that?"

"Fuck, which bastard's torn the building down?"

One door after another flew open, and a stream of tough-looking men poured out.

Soon, the crowd parted of its own accord.

A handsome young man in a dark, black robe, with red lips and pearly white teeth, stepped out at an unhurried pace, surrounded by a throng of men.

He glanced at the scene in the courtyard and furrowed his brow slightly.

"What happened?"

The young man's voice was clear and gentle, utterly out of place among the rough men gathered in the courtyard.

The dozen or so men who had been watching the commotion immediately bowed and clasped their fists when they saw him, their expressions respectful.

"Lord Xu!"

When he questioned them, the men looked at one another, stammering and unable to answer.

They couldn't exactly say that a dozen grown men had been cowed by a little girl who'd just joined them, could they?

Seeing that no one answered, the handsome young man didn't get angry. His gaze shifted back to Jiang Yuechu.

Jiang Yuechu was looking at him too, meeting his searching gaze without the slightest attempt to avoid it.

"..."

Liu Chen finally steeled himself and broke the silence.

He stepped forward and cupped his fist toward the young man. "The brothers are used to sparring. They got a little carried away and disturbed you, my lord. It's nothing serious."

"Oh... so she's the woman Lord Wei mentioned?"

At those words,

the men who had just rushed out of their rooms stared in confusion.

But those who had already been in the courtyard suddenly felt their hearts skip. In an instant, everything became clear.

No wonder!

No wonder this young girl looked so young, yet had such ruthless methods!

It turned out she was someone General Wei had personally approved to join them!

Liu Chen nodded. "This is Miss Jiang."

The handsome young man inclined his head. His gaze was indifferent as it settled on Jiang Yuechu once more.

"The Demon Suppression Bureau doesn't care about your background; it only cares about your abilities. Since Lord Wei thinks highly of you, you must have something exceptional about you. Don't waste what you've got."

Seeing how respectfully the men treated the young man—even Liu Chen stood with his head bowed—Jiang Yuechu had already guessed who he was.

She bowed slightly, neither servile nor haughty.

"Thank you for your guidance, my lord."

"Mm."

The young man gave a brief reply, seeming to have little more to say, then waved his hand.

"If there's nothing else, everyone can disperse."

As he spoke, he cast an almost imperceptible glance at the pillar, now marked with a crack.

"Damage to public property must be paid for. The cost of repairing this pillar will be deducted from the monthly pay of those two."

With that, he paid the others no further attention. He turned, clasped his hands behind his back, and walked away.

"..."

Jiang Yuechu's mouth twitched.

She'd been docked pay on her very first day at work.

If she'd known, she should've slammed that man into the ground instead.

As the handsome young man left, the oppressive atmosphere in the courtyard dispersed.

Liu Chen instructed a few men to carry Zhao Hu, still collapsed on the ground, to the infirmary.

Only then did the people in the courtyard gradually disperse.

Liu Chen turned to Jiang Yuechu, a hint of apology on his face.

"Now that you've joined the Demon Suppression Bureau, we're all brothers who'd risk our lives for each other, sharing the same pot. Zhao Hu's mouth is a little foul, but he's not a bad person. You'll see for yourself. Just... be patient with him and don't take it to heart."

Jiang Yuechu nodded, her tone even. "I'm not that petty."

"That's good, that's good."

Liu Chen breathed a sigh of relief and gestured for her to follow. "Come on. I'll take you to collect a few things."

The two headed to the storeroom, one after the other.

Inside, a one-eyed old man was dozing in a chair. At the sound of their arrival, he opened his eyes irritably.

Liu Chen handed over the paperwork. The old man glanced at it, then slowly got to his feet, took a small white porcelain bottle from a nearby shelf, and tossed it over.

Liu Chen explained, "This is a Blood-Hidden Pill. The General Headquarters makes it from demon flesh and blood, refined with dozens of kinds of spirit medicine. It helps martial artists at the String-Hearing and even Bone Resonance Realms build up their vital energy and blood. You're a ninth-rank Demon Suppression Guard now, so by the rules, you can claim one bottle a month."

As he spoke, Liu Chen hesitated, as if weighing his words.

"By rights, every newly recruited Demon Suppression Guard can go to the Library Pavilion and claim a basic demon-slaying martial art to protect themselves, but..."

He looked at Jiang Yuechu, then ultimately shook his head.

"But from what I can see, your blade work has already found its own path. The Demon Suppression Bureau's basic martial arts probably wouldn't do you much good."

Jiang Yuechu nodded. She didn't particularly mind.

She knew exactly what she was capable of.

Without the Hundred Demons Compendium, if she had to learn martial arts on her own—even the most basic kind—she had no idea how many years it would take.

Besides, since she had a cheat, why waste time studying all this herself?

She'd have to be out of her mind.