Demonized Human

Hearing this.

Zhuang Mingyuan immediately felt a weight lift from his heart.

To them, anyone who came from the Demon Suppression Bureau meant that the Demon Suppression Bureau was an absolutely sacred place.

Once someone swore in the name of the Demon Suppression Bureau,

they would absolutely not go back on their word so easily.

Besides, he was merely a minor Meridian Opening martial artist, hardly worth breaking a promise over.

After giving it some thought,

Zhuang Mingyuan finally confessed, "Long ago, demons descended upon the world and wrought havoc across the land. A powerful demon appeared near Lin'an City and was ultimately slain by an unknown expert.

That fallen demon had not completely vanished from heaven and earth.

According to rumors, that powerful demon had left behind essence blood somewhere near Lin'an City, and before long, it would fully emerge into the world.

When that happened, many experts would surely come to fight over the demon's essence blood."

"Demon essence blood!?"

Shen Changqing's expression changed slightly.

Demons were far stronger than ordinary specters. Though the Demon Suppression Prison seemed to hold quite a few demons, they had all been personally captured and imprisoned by the Demon Suppression Bureau's top experts.

In truth,

every single demon was unimaginably powerful.

Even though he had already broken through to the Innate Realm, he still had no way to contend against a demon.

Likewise,

a demon's essence blood was a rare treasure to certain people.

Moreover—

judging by what Zhuang Mingyuan had said, that drop of demon essence blood might not have come from a low-level demon. It could very well have belonged to an even more powerful one.

After a long while,

Shen Changqing frowned deeply. "What level is the demon essence blood you mentioned?"

"I don't know, but according to the rumors, it is at least the essence blood of a mid-level demon."

Zhuang Mingyuan had originally wanted to shake his head, but the chill against his neck stopped him from making that motion.

Faced with Shen Changqing's questioning,

he revealed nearly everything he knew.

"Rumors? Where did you hear these rumors?"

"You may not know this, but the news that demon essence blood is about to emerge in Lin'an City is no secret. Quite a few factions have already received word."

"Hmph. If every faction truly knew, how could the Demon Suppression Bureau possibly be unaware!"

Shen Changqing sneered disdainfully.

Although there had been an error in the intelligence this time, that did not negate the Demon Suppression Bureau's intelligence-gathering capabilities.

If demon essence blood were truly about to emerge, and many factions had received the news,

then the Demon Suppression Bureau

would never have failed to catch even a whisper of it.

Zhuang Mingyuan gave a bitter smile. "The Demon Suppression Bureau has many powerful experts. Rumor has it that the unknown expert who slew that demon had some connection to the Bureau. Given the Bureau's status and position, it would be perfectly normal for them not to think much of a single drop of demon essence blood.

I have already told you everything I can.

I only hope you will honor your promise and spare my life!"

"Fine!"

Shen Changqing nodded. The hand gripping his saber did not withdraw. Instead, it swept directly across Zhuang Mingyuan's neck.

The razor-sharp blade,

combined with the transformed Pure Yang True Qi,

in an instant,

severed Zhuang Mingyuan's head.

That scorching power forcibly cauterized the wound, preventing much blood from spurting out.

As his head fell to the ground, Zhuang Mingyuan's eyes remained wide, still filled with disbelief.

He had broken his word!

The other man had truly disregarded the Demon Suppression Bureau's honor and brazenly gone back on his promise!

Even in death,

Zhuang Mingyuan could not accept it.

"Still too naive!"

Shen Changqing looked at Zhuang Mingyuan, who had died with his eyes open, shook his head, and revealed a mocking smile.

Even he had not expected

that someone who had lived so long could still be this naive.

What was the Demon Suppression Bureau's honor worth? You could not eat it.

Still,

the information Shen Changqing had obtained from Zhuang Mingyuan was rather useful to him.

"Demon essence blood is about to emerge, and it is at least from a mid-level demon!"

"Does the Demon Suppression Bureau truly not care, or has it simply not received the news—"

Shen Changqing could not be sure.

But since he had learned of this, he naturally had to report it back to the Demon Suppression Bureau. As for what to do with it, that would be for the Bureau to decide.

At that moment,

a faint aura rose from Zhuang Mingyuan's body and instantly drifted toward Shen Changqing.

"This is—"

Sensing that familiar feeling, Shen Changqing's gaze flickered, and he immediately focused his mind.

Name: Shen Changqing

Faction: Great Qin Demon Suppression Bureau

Identity: Probationary Demon Slayer

Martial Arts: Thirteen Guardians Body-Hardening Art (Fifteenth Level, Can Be Improved), Pure Yang Art (Eleventh Level, Cannot Be Improved), Seven-Kill Saber Art (Second Level), Iron Sand Palm (Second Level)

Slaughter: 4

The slaughter value that had been emptied now directly became four points.

Thinking of this,

Shen Changqing took out the Pure Spirit Jade Pendant from his robes again. He saw a thick black line on it, and beside that black line, an additional one had appeared at some unknown point, far thinner than the first.

The Pure Spirit Jade Pendant

served as proof of whether a probationary demon slayer had completed their mission.

Only when a demon or specter was slain, or when one died within a certain range, could the jade pendant capture its aura.

That thick black line

had been left behind after the specter from Ancient Moon Village died.

Now, another black line had appeared.

Without a doubt,

it was because of Zhuang Mingyuan.

"The Pure Spirit Jade Pendant can only capture the aura of demons and specters. Since it can capture an aura from Zhuang Mingyuan, that indirectly proves he is no longer truly human, but something akin to a demon or specter!"

Shen Changqing's gaze was indifferent.

Within his field of vision, Zhuang Mingyuan's headless body lay quietly there.

Only the blood that had been sealed away for so long had broken through the severed wound's restraint, flowing across the ground and corroding it badly.

No matter how one looked at it,

the current Zhuang Mingyuan no longer possessed the slightest trace of what a human should be.

People like this, who had betrayed humanity, had a single collective name in the Demon Suppression Bureau's records: demonized humans!

So-called demonized humans

were people who had abandoned humanity and defected to demons and specters.

They sold their bodies and souls in exchange for powerful strength and long lifespans from demons and specters.

But as the price,

these people would gradually become cruel and bloodthirsty, until their minds were corroded by demons and specters and they sank completely into depravity.

It sounded terrifying.

Yet before the temptation of power and longevity, some people inevitably fell into it.

To them,

whether they were human or not did not matter. As long as they could live longer, that was enough.

To be honest,

Shen Changqing's understanding of demonized humans had only been fragmentary, gleaned from the Archive Pavilion. Zhuang Mingyuan was the first demonized human he had encountered.

Before this,

he had never known that killing a demonized human could also earn slaughter value.

He gathered some dead branches.

Then he placed Zhuang Mingyuan's corpse on top of them.

When he activated his transformed Pure Yang True Qi, scorching heat instantly erupted and directly ignited the dead branches.

Raging flames burned fiercely, swiftly swallowing the corpse whole.

Shen Changqing stood some distance away, silently watching the scene.

PS: Since you said it was short, I'll post one more chapter!