What, Mu Yang killed all these rat demons?

"Aah—!!!"

Watching his brothers die before his eyes, Hui Da let out an earth-shaking roar. Terrifying demon aura erupted from his body like a volcanic explosion.

The might of a Third-Rank Late Stage swept across the entire scene.

Li Chuang, Seventh Uncle, and the other surviving villagers could not withstand such terrifying pressure. Already wounded, their vision went black, and they fainted on the spot.

"I'll kill you!!"

Hui Da's eyes turned crimson, and every stiff hair on his body stood on end.

At this moment, he could no longer spare a thought for anything else. His mind was filled only with avenging his brothers.

He stomped down fiercely, swung a pair of millstone-sized claws, and smashed them ruthlessly toward Mu Yang.

The power of that claw strike was so terrifying that even human martial artists in the same Blood-Marrow Realm would never dare receive it head-on.

After all, everyone knew that at the same level, demons possessed physiques far stronger than human martial artists.

Yet in the face of this hate-filled blow, Mu Yang's expression remained calm.

He raised the Feather-Command Broadblade, pouring the immense strength of over twenty-five thousand jin from one arm into the blade.

Empowered by two and a half times the strength of an ordinary Blood-Marrow Realm Perfection martial artist, the Feather-Command Broadblade became like lightning, slicing through the air with a series of hums.

"Clang—!!"

"Slash—!!"

Two sounds rang out in succession.

The Feather-Command Broadblade effortlessly cleaved apart Hui Da's claws, which were as hard as refined steel, tore through his tough hide, and split him neatly in two from shoulder to waist.

Hui Da's expression froze.

He lowered his head and looked at his severed body, his eyes filled with disbelief.

He was a Third-Rank Late Stage demon!

He was only one step away from Third-Rank Perfection!

How could he... how could he be killed by a single slash!?

It was over.

The rat demon clan of Yellow Wind Mountain was likely doomed.

That was Hui Da's final thought.

The light faded from his eyes. His body crashed to the ground in two halves, blood and organs spraying everywhere.

[ Ding! Detected that the host has slain a Third-Rank rat demon. Equipment Rat Demon Corpse (Third Rank) has met the conditions for permanent solidification. This equipment has been permanently solidified! ]

[ Ding! Detected that the host has slain a Third-Rank rat demon. Equipment Bronze Skin Technique has met the conditions for permanent solidification. This equipment has been permanently solidified! ]

[ Ding! Detected that the host has slain a Third-Rank rat demon. Equipment Iron Sand Palm has met the conditions for permanent solidification. This equipment has been permanently solidified! ]

[ Current number of empty Equipment Slots: 4 ]

As the notification sounded, Mu Yang sheathed his blade.

A fierce wind suddenly swept past, rolling up a sky full of blood mist.

He stood amid the demon corpses strewn across the ground. Not a trace of blood stained his dark black martial outfit, and his gaze was calm as still water.

Thus, all six rat demons that had plagued Li Village were executed!

At the entrance of Li Village.

A dark black figure galloped over like an arrow released from its bow, the gusts he brought whipping the roadside branches into rustling.

Xue She stopped short. Looking at the deathly silent village before him, his heart sank sharply.

Collapsed walls and shattered ruins, bloodstained scraps of cloth, mangled limbs...

There were no cries, no wails, not even the sounds of battle.

Was I too late? Xue She thought.

He had rushed here at full speed. Could that kid Mu Yang really not hold on for even this short while?

Xue She did not dare think further. Power surged through his legs, and with a flash, he hurried toward the center of the village.

The deeper he went, the thicker the stench of blood became.

Having detected a faint trace of demon aura, he had long since placed a hand on his sword hilt, ready to fight at any moment.

Yet when he quietly arrived at the village center, the sight before him left him rooted to the spot.

On the open ground covered in dark red bloodstains, six enormous rat heads had been stacked neatly together like a small tower.

The ones below were somewhat smaller. With a single glance, Xue She knew they belonged to First and Second Rank rat demons.

But when he looked at the one on top, even his breathing slowed by half a beat.

"A... a Third-Rank rat demon!"

The oversized head, the fur as hard as steel needles, and the faint yet still frightening demon aura lingering after death all proved that this was a genuine Third-Rank rat demon head.

"Hisss—"

After confirming it, Xue She's pupils contracted sharply, and he sucked in a cold breath.

From the time Mu Yang set out to the time he arrived, no more than a quarter of an hour had passed.

In such a short time, Mu Yang had killed all six rat demons by himself?

There had even been a Third-Rank demon among them?

And judging from the cuts on these heads, every single one had been cleanly beheaded with one slash.

Could it be that he had not woken up yet and was still dreaming...

It was no wonder Xue She doubted himself.

He was the chief constable of Qingxi County's Constable Office. He had trained in martial arts for more than thirty years, and his strength had long reached the Blood-Marrow Realm Late Stage. Both his movement technique and swordsmanship had reached Perfection. Even so, facing six demons, including one at Third-Rank Late Stage, he would not dare claim that he could kill them all within a quarter of an hour.

Much less leave behind cuts this clean.

"With strength like this, does he even need my protection?"

The corner of Xue She's mouth twitched, and a helpless, amused expression appeared on his face.

Once he had confirmed that Mu Yang was unharmed, he relaxed and began searching for Mu Yang, wanting to see what sort of bearing this young man possessed.

Yet after searching around, he did not see anyone wearing a constable's uniform.

He did, however, spot several injured villagers tending to one another's wounds.

"Where is he?"

Xue She frowned slightly and walked over to a lightly injured villager nearby. "Sir, have you seen a young man wearing a constable's uniform?"

The villager raised his head. Only after seeing Xue She's familiar official uniform did he say tremblingly, "O-officer, you mean Constable Mu? He asked us which way Yellow Wind Mountain was, then left."

"Yellow Wind Mountain?!"

Xue She's expression changed drastically.

This was bad!

Could that kid have gone blood-crazed from killing and decided to charge alone into Yellow Wind Mountain?

Yellow Wind Old Monster of Yellow Wind Mountain was no ordinary rat demon.

Though that old monster was merely at Third-Rank Perfection, his Demon Fiend Fishy Wind had been cultivated to an unfathomable level. When driven by demon aura, it could whip up black wind that corroded flesh and Blood Qi.

Even a Fourth-Stage Condensing Qi Realm martial artist could suffer torn tendons and broken bones if caught carelessly within that fishy wind. Given enough time, it could even threaten their life.

Moreover, Mu Yang had just finished a great battle and was no longer at his peak, while the other side waited rested and ready. With one side gaining and the other losing, his chances of victory were slim indeed!

No, such an excellent seedling could not be buried in Yellow Wind Mountain!

"Clatter, clatter, clatter—!!"

Just as Xue She was burning with anxiety, hurried hoofbeats suddenly rang out from the distance.

Xue She turned to look and saw more than twenty constables riding hard from the village entrance.

The man at their head was none other than Wu Cai, one of Qingxi County's four head constables, at Second-Rank Tendon-Bone Realm Perfection.

"Head Constable Xue?"

Upon seeing Xue She standing in the clearing, Wu Cai first froze, then the worry on his face immediately turned into delight.

With Head Constable Xue here, Mu Yang was surely fine!

The other constables following behind Wu Cai also saw Xue She, as well as the six enormous rat heads piled up behind him.

"Good heavens, six rat heads!!"

"That one on top is huge. Could it be a Third-Rank rat demon?"

"S-so many rat heads? Could the chief constable have killed them all?"

Everyone looked toward Xue She, their eyes filled with admiration.

After all, in their eyes, throughout all of Qingxi County, only Chief Constable Xue She possessed such terrifying strength.

Wu Cai also reined in his horse, leaped down, and said with heartfelt praise, "Head Constable Xue truly is mighty! Taking on six alone without suffering a scratch!"

Yet Xue She merely shook his head, his tone complicated. "I didn't kill them. I only arrived just now."

"Not you?"

Wu Cai froze.

The surrounding constables also froze, looking at one another.

If the chief constable had not killed them, then who had?

Could it be...

They suddenly remembered why they had come to Li Village: to slay demons, and...

To save Mu Yang!

An unbelievable thought surfaced in everyone's mind at once.

"Could these... could these all have been killed by Head Constable Mu?"

Old Fang, carrying medicine in the group, swallowed hard. Even his voice trembled.

Xue She nodded. "It should have been him. I asked the villagers. Aside from him, no one else came here."

"Hiss—!!"

The entire place was instantly filled with the sound of sharp intakes of breath.

Wu Cai's eyes widened even further, his mouth hanging open wide enough to fit an egg.

He knew Mu Yang was strong and had slain Second Rank demons twice before.

But he never imagined that Mu Yang could fight six rat demons alone, including a Third-Rank one, and kill every last one of them!

"I knew it! My brother Mu is absolutely no ordinary man!"

After coming back to his senses, Wu Cai immediately broke into a grin and slapped his thigh. "No wonder he dared come here alone. He had long been confident of victory! I told you, Brother Mu definitely isn't the sort to act recklessly just because of a momentary impulse!"

Watching Wu Cai change his face in an instant, Old Ye could not help muttering softly, "Head Constable Wu, that's not what you said on the way here. You kept saying Head Constable Mu was young and hot-blooded, that he acted impulsively, and that once we rescued him, you'd have to teach him a proper lesson so he'd know how high the sky was and how thick the earth was."

"Ahem, ahem!"

Having been exposed, Wu Cai's old face reddened. He coughed twice and said, "That's not important. By the way, Head Constable Xue, where is Brother Mu? Why don't I see him?"

At those words, Xue She's expression immediately darkened. "Mu Yang... went to Yellow Wind Mountain."

"What!!"

Wu Cai cried out, his voice shaking the heavens.

"We can discuss the details later. You lead the men and tend to the wounded first. I need to set off immediately and persuade Mu Yang to come back!" Xue She said.

Hearing this, Wu Cai gritted his teeth. "Head Constable Xue, leave the brothers here. I'll go with you. One more man means one more person to watch your back."

"Fine."

Xue She glanced at the fine horse beside Wu Cai and nodded.

With a mount's aid, Wu Cai should be able to keep up with his speed.