Night Patrol in the Capital City, the Holy Demon God Sect's Recruitment!

Night Patrol in the Capital City, the Holy Demon God Sect's Recruitment! Lin Changqing left the prince's residence and strolled north along Vermilion Bird Street.

He wore an ordinary black robe, neither the exclusive dragon-patterned robe of Prince Wu'an nor a grand entourage of servants.

He had thought he was dressed discreetly enough.

But he had forgotten that only three days had passed since the investiture ceremony, and his portrait had already been plastered across every street and alley in the Capital City.

"Eh? Isn't that... isn't that Prince Wu'an?!"

A man eating a late-night snack by the roadside shot to his feet, even dropping his chopsticks.

At his shout, half the street turned to look.

"Prince Wu'an? Where, where?"

"The one in black! That's Prince Wu'an!"

"It really is Prince Wu'an! He looks exactly like the portrait on the notice!"

"Long live Prince Wu'an!"

No one knew who shouted first, but the entire street erupted.

A middle-aged man in a brocade robe squeezed his way to the front, his face piled high with smiles.

"Your Highness Prince Wu'an! I am the head of the Zhang Family in the southern city. I have long admired Your Highness's great name! Might Your Highness honor my humble home with a brief visit?"

"Your Highness! I'm from the Li Family in the eastern city!"

"Your Highness Prince Wu'an! My daughter is sixteen this year, skilled in the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting..."

More and more people gathered, packing Vermilion Bird Street three layers deep within and three layers without until not even water could pass through.

Some held up bowls of wine to offer a toast, some raised their children and wanted Lin Changqing to touch their heads for good fortune, while others held up brush and ink, hoping for a piece of calligraphy.

Lin Changqing looked at the scene and smiled helplessly.

Had he known that merely taking a stroll would cause such a commotion, he would have disguised himself or worn a bamboo hat.

"Everyone."

Lin Changqing raised a hand, his voice soft yet clear in every ear.

"I merely came out for a casual walk tonight. There is no need for everyone to make such a fuss."

"Go on, then. Those who should do business, do business; those who should stroll, stroll."

He released a faint trace of saintly pressure.

It was not oppressive, but rather a gentle pushing force.

The crowd involuntarily parted to either side, opening a path.

But no one left.

Everyone stood along both sides of the street, craning their necks to look his way.

Lin Changqing did not mind. He simply continued strolling on his own.

All along the way, a crowd followed behind him.

He paid them no heed, eating and drinking as he pleased, utterly carefree.

This feeling of being watched by countless people was rather interesting.

When Lin Changqing reached Xuanwu Lake, he found a window seat in a teahouse by the shore.

The teahouse owner personally served him tea and poured his water, refusing to accept payment no matter what.

"For Your Highness Prince Wu'an to grace my humble establishment with tea is this establishment's blessing! Charge you? If I charged you, my ancestors would leap out of their graves and curse me!"

Lin Changqing did not insist further and took a sip from his teacup.

The Capital City truly was prosperous.

It was many times more prosperous than Green Province City.

Leaning back in his chair, Lin Changqing relaxed for once.

He remained in the teahouse until late at night.

Only when the people on the streets gradually dwindled and the lights on the pleasure boats went out one after another did he finally rise.

Then he leisurely made his way back.

The night had deepened, and few pedestrians remained on the long street.

Lin Changqing crossed Vermilion Bird Street and turned into a somewhat secluded alley.

He had not gone far before he suddenly stopped.

His senses had long since spread out, and every aura within dozens of miles was clearly presented in his mind.

Several auras lurked roughly a hundred zhang behind him.

They had concealed themselves well, and they seemed to carry some sort of treasure capable of blocking perception.

But before the divine sense of a Martial Saint Peak... such tricks were little different from standing naked.

What concerned Lin Changqing even more was that while these auras belonged to the Human Race, they carried a faint trace of a Demon's scent.

It was faint, so faint that it was almost impossible to detect.

But it could not escape his senses.

"Human Race traitors who have sided with the Demons?"

Lin Changqing instantly recalled what Su Gan and the Sixth Ancestor had told him in the Imperial Palace a few days ago.

Many Human Race factions had now secretly sided with the Demons, stirring up trouble within the Human Race.

When Su Gan had said this, his face had been filled with gritted-teeth hatred.

Lin Changqing had not paid much attention at the time.

He had not expected to encounter them so soon.

The corners of Lin Changqing's mouth lifted in a cold smile, and then his figure flashed as he vanished from the spot.

At the same time.

On the roof of a residence a hundred zhang away, several men in black lay prone upon the tiles.

The leader was a middle-aged man at the Eighth-Rank Grandmaster realm.

Seven men followed behind him, every one of them a Seventh-Rank Grandmaster.

All of them wore dark gray cloaks covered in densely packed spirit patterns.

These were concealment treasures bestowed by the branch sect of the Holy Demon God Sect—the Shadow Escape Cloaks.

Once worn, they could completely conceal one's aura. Even Eighth-Rank Grandmasters of the same realm would be unable to detect them through perception alone unless they saw them with their own eyes.

The branch sect had repeatedly guaranteed that as long as they did not get too close, these cloaks would work even before a Ninth-Rank Martial Saint.

"The cult leader said that as long as we figure out his patterns of movement, the rest will be easy."

The middle-aged man lowered his voice.

"See where he usually goes and what sort of people he likes to associate with."

"Guardian, I heard some rumors from the court officials who have pledged themselves to our Holy Sect. They say the emperor of Great Yu intends to marry Princess Yunshu to him. Should we make use of that?"

One of the subordinates behind him asked quietly.

"Not yet. This information has not been confirmed."

The middle-aged man waved a hand.

"Wait until the news is verified... hmm?"

He froze halfway through his sentence.

He rubbed his eyes and looked into the alley again.

Then his entire body stiffened.

Lin Changqing, who had just been walking through the alley, had vanished into thin air.

"What happened?!"

The middle-aged man abruptly turned to his subordinates.

"Which of you saw where he went?"

All seven subordinates wore blank expressions as they shook their heads in unison.

The middle-aged man's heart tightened, and an ominous premonition surged up within him.

He cultivated a special secret perception art that allowed him to silently transmit information to his subordinates through mental fluctuations.

This was also one of the treasures specially bestowed by the Holy Demon God Sect.

For this operation, from concealment to communication, they had used the finest equipment the branch sect possessed.

Logically, there was no way they could have been discovered.

"Everyone, communicate with the secret art. Do not make a sound."

The middle-aged man issued the order in his mind.

"Search carefully. He could not have gone far..."

Before he could finish.

A terrifying pressure descended from the heavens, crashing down upon them like a massive mountain.

That pressure directly locked onto all of them, leaving them unable to move even a finger!

The middle-aged man's pupils suddenly constricted.

His secret art was still operating, but his mind was filled with buzzing thunder.

"Not good...!"

The two words had only just surfaced in his mind.

The surrounding scenery abruptly changed.

The residence, the streets, and the night sky all vanished, replaced by a pitch-black void.

Spatial Shift!

The instant those four words flashed through the middle-aged man's mind, his body slammed heavily into the ground.

The others also crashed down, tumbling into a heap.

When they struggled to raise their heads, they discovered that their surroundings had become a desolate wilderness.

Before them lay a dark forest, while behind them stretched rolling mountain ranges.

This was a mountain forest dozens of miles outside the Capital City!

And Lin Changqing stood before them.

His hands clasped behind his back, his expression devoid of emotion.

His black robe fluttered softly in the night wind, and his eyes were cold as ice.

The middle-aged man felt the blood in his entire body turn cold.

They had been discovered!

And they had been discovered less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea after they began following him!

The crucial point was that they wore the branch sect's finest concealment treasures!

Hadn't the branch sect repeatedly guaranteed it? Hadn't they said the Shadow Escape Cloaks would work even before a Ninth-Rank Martial Saint?

Where had that effectiveness gone?

This was practically shoving people into a fire pit!

He cursed the fool responsible for providing the treasures at the branch sect ten thousand times over, but not a trace showed on his face.

The middle-aged man's eyes shifted as he forced a smile and struggled up from the ground.

"This must be the renowned Evergreen Saint Venerable. Forgive my disrespect."

He cupped his fists in salute, his tone respectful.

"Saint Venerable, please do not misunderstand. We merely admire your great name and wished to witness your bearing. We bear no ill intent, absolutely no..."

Before he could finish.

An icy aura rushed toward him.

Lin Changqing's gaze fell upon him like a blade, his voice calm.

"Next time you follow someone, first rein in that nauseating Demon stench on you."

The middle-aged man's face turned deathly pale.

So the secret weapon specially bestowed upon them by the Holy Demon God Sect was utterly worthless before a Martial Saint Peak!

All eight of them froze in place, cold sweat streaming down from their foreheads in large drops.

The middle-aged man's mind raced madly.

What now? Fight?

What a joke.

Their opponent was a Ninth-Rank Martial Saint Peak. Even if they joined forces, they could not withstand a single thought from him.

Escaping was even more impossible.

With a casual wave, he had shifted them from the Capital City to this wilderness. Trying to flee from such a person was a joke.

If he could manipulate space at will, where could they possibly run?

In response to the requests of our many readers, the VIP membership ad-free feature is now available.

Click to view

At that moment.

An invisible saintly pressure burst forth from Lin Changqing, crushing down upon the eight of them.

Boom!

The bodies of all eight people were forced flat against the ground at once, their faces pressed to the earth as though they had been nailed there.

Their bones creaked and groaned, and their organs were compressed until they nearly shattered.

The middle-aged man clenched his teeth and exhausted all his strength just to barely raise his head.

He knew that if he did not reveal everything now, he would have no chance left.

"Saint... Saint Venerable!"

His voice warped beneath the immense pressure.

"We truly bear no ill intent! We are members of the Holy Demon God Sect! We came this time under the cult leader's orders to invite the Saint Venerable to join our Holy Demon God Sect!"

Lin Changqing said nothing.

He merely looked down at him from above, his gaze cold and indifferent.

When the middle-aged man saw that Lin Changqing had not interrupted him, a flicker of hope ignited in his heart.

He hurriedly continued, "Saint Venerable, you have lived in seclusion and cultivated bitterly for twenty years. You may not know the strength of our Holy Demon God Sect! Our sect has no fewer Martial Saint-level experts than one can count on both hands, and our followers are spread across every corner of the Heavenly Martial Continent. We even have people in the capital cities of every major dynasty!"

"If you join us, the Sect Master said you may name any conditions you wish!"

Lin Changqing raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Oh? Any conditions I wish?"

Seeing that he had finally reacted, the middle-aged man redoubled his efforts to persuade him.

"That's right! So long as the Saint Venerable is willing to join us, there will be as many Spirit Crystals, pills, cultivation techniques, and divine weapons as you desire! Your annual offering alone will be no less than two million Top-grade Spirit Crystals! Every treasure in the treasury will be yours to choose from!"

"The Sect Master also said that if the Saint Venerable is willing to join, he is willing to step down and yield his position, offering the title of Sect Master with both hands!"

"When that time comes, the entire Holy Demon God Sect will follow the Saint Venerable's lead! Every Martial Saint in the sect, every follower, every resource—all of it will be at the Saint Venerable's command!"

"More than that, our Holy Demon God Sect has an even more powerful backer behind us..."

His voice dropped even lower, carrying a hint of mystery.

"What the Saint Venerable does not know is that the Demon seal is about to collapse. The saints of the Demon Realm will soon descend upon the world, and when that happens, the entire Heavenly Martial Continent will be reshuffled!"

"With the Saint Venerable's heaven-reaching cultivation, if you join us, then once the Demon Realm descends, you will stand above ten thousand beneath one!"

"No—you will stand on equal footing with them!"

"Lord Demon Saint personally promised that any Human Race members who render great service before the descent will be granted noble titles and high offices in the Demon Court established by the Holy Demon Race, enjoying wealth and glory forever!"

"But if the Saint Venerable insists on standing with Great Yu and the Anti-Demon Alliance, then when the armies of the Demon Realm press upon our borders, no matter how heaven-reaching your cultivation may be, how could you withstand Lord Demon Emperor's divine might?"

Having said this, he looked at Lin Changqing with a face full of expectation.

"Saint Venerable, those who understand the times are heroes! Why should an unparalleled genius like you accompany Great Yu to its death?"

"Join us, and you will be the next Sect Master! The entire Holy Demon God Sect will be yours!"

The few subordinates around him chimed in as well, their eyes carrying the confidence of those who had nothing to fear.

"Yes, Saint Venerable! Our Sect Master's word is as good as gold!"

"If you join us, we'll serve you like oxen and horses!"

In their eyes, these terms were already an offer of staggering generosity.

They were willing to yield even the position of Sect Master, hand over the entire Holy Demon God Sect, and add conditions even more generous than those offered by the Great Yu Dynasty.

Even a Ninth-Rank Martial Saint could not possibly remain unmoved!

The middle-aged man was already calculating how he would claim credit from the Sect Master after Lin Changqing agreed.

After hearing him out, Lin Changqing fell silent for a moment.

Then he slowly spoke.

"What a generous offer."

Joy surged in the middle-aged man's heart.

There was a chance!

But Lin Changqing's next words made his entire body stiffen.

"However..."

Lin Changqing's gaze suddenly turned icy, his voice carrying bone-piercing cold.

"Have you misunderstood something? You want me to join a traitorous organization that has submitted to Demons, to keep company with beasts who betray the Human Race and grovel at the feet of Demons?"

He stepped forward, and the saintly pressure around him grew heavier still.

"You want me to become a Demon's dog, just like you?"

"You think I would care for that?"

"Traitors and spies are more detestable than Demons."

"You people were born among the Human Race and raised among the Human Race, yet you willingly become the running dogs of Demons, betray your compatriots, and help the tyrant commit evil."

"You deserve death even more than Demons."

The moment his words fell—

The saintly pressure around Lin Changqing erupted with a thunderous boom.

It was more than ten times stronger than before!

Purple-gold light exploded across the night sky, and the entire mountain forest trembled.

Boom!

The meridians of all eight people were instantly shattered! Their bones broke inch by inch!

Their screams exploded through the night.

"Ah—!"

"Spare us! Saint Venerable, spare us!"

"It hurts! It hurts so much I'm dying! Ahhh!"

Their bodies twitched on the ground like rag sacks, every inch of bone making cracking sounds.

Yet strangely, none of them passed out.

Lin Changqing had injected a thread of power into their bodies, keeping them conscious.

They felt every shred of pain with perfect clarity.

He had done it deliberately.

There was no need for mercy toward traitors.

The eight people convulsed on the ground, weak sobs and wails escaping their mouths.

Blood seeped from their seven orifices, dyeing the ground red.

Lin Changqing withdrew his gaze and no longer looked at them.

He raised his right hand and slashed through the empty air before him.

Riiip!

Space was torn open once more, revealing a rift.

With a sweep of his sleeve, an invisible force swept up all eight people and hurled them into the Spatial Rift.

Then he stepped into it.

Capital City, Demon Suppressing Division Headquarters.

It was already late at night, yet the guards at the headquarters gate still stood ramrod straight.

Suddenly, an immense saintly pressure descended from the heavens.

The guards' faces changed. Before they could draw their blades, they saw a rift torn open in the space before them.

A young man in black stepped out of the rift, followed by eight black-clad people covered in blood and screaming without end.

"P-Prince Wu'an?!"

The guard recognized him and immediately dropped to one knee.

"Greetings, Prince Wu'an!"

Lin Changqing gave a slight nod and threw the eight half-dead black-clad people onto the ground behind him.

"Call Xiao Qianjun out."

Deep within the Demon Suppressing Division Headquarters.

Xiao Qianjun was reviewing official documents beneath a lamp, his brow tightly furrowed.

Capital City had not been peaceful lately.

He had received intelligence reports from several sources saying that Demon spies appeared to be operating in the city.

Yet after investigating again and again, he had never found any definite leads.

Just then, a terrifying saintly pressure suddenly descended upon the headquarters.

Xiao Qianjun shot to his feet.

"This is... Prince Wu'an?!"

His figure flashed, and he rushed to the front courtyard at top speed.

Then he saw Lin Changqing, whose killing intent had yet to fade, along with the eight black-clad people on the ground, covered in blood and screaming endlessly.

The strange scent mixed with the aura of the Human Race and Demons made him understand at once.

Xiao Qianjun's expression instantly turned livid.

"Prince Wu'an, this is..."

Lin Changqing spoke calmly.

"People from the Holy Demon God Sect. They followed me and wanted to recruit me."

"The Holy Demon God Sect?"

Xiao Qianjun frowned. He had heard that name before.

Recently, they had been operating frequently in secret throughout Great Yu, recruiting forces everywhere with exceedingly covert methods.

He had not expected them to be so bold as to operate in Capital City itself.

What he had expected even less was that these people would be audacious enough to follow a Ninth-Rank Martial Saint Peak!

"There are eight in total. They are all from the Holy Demon God Sect's Capital Branch Sect."

"I'm handing them over to you. How much you can pry out of them depends on your ability."

After saying that, Lin Changqing turned to leave.

After hearing this, Xiao Qianjun's face was ashen.

There were actually spies within Capital City who had submitted to Demons, and they had openly followed the reigning Prince Wu'an.

This was a slap across the face of the Demon Suppressing Division!

As the Chief Commander of the Demon Suppressing Division, he was responsible for every matter related to Demons within and outside Capital City.

Yet he had failed to discover a den of human traitors hidden right beneath his nose! Prince Wu'an had even needed to capture them himself and deliver them right before him!

Xiao Qianjun's old face burned with shame.

"Please calm your anger, Prince Wu'an!"

He bowed deeply, his voice full of guilt and rage.

"This matter is this subordinate's dereliction of duty! This subordinate will investigate it to the very end and will not let a single fish slip through the net!"

"On behalf of the entire Demon Suppressing Division, this subordinate thanks Prince Wu'an for lending a hand! If there is any progress in the interrogation, this subordinate will report it at once!"

He straightened and shouted sternly at the personal guards behind him.

"Men! Throw these eight beasts into the death cells and interrogate them harshly!"

Several Demon Suppressing Division soldiers rushed forward and dragged away the eight half-dead black-clad people.

Lin Changqing nodded and was about to leave.

Just then—

A system notification suddenly rang out in his mind.

["Ding! Random mission triggered: Exterminate the Holy Demon God Sect's Capital Branch Sect den within Capital City (0/1). Reward: Early Martial Saint Stage mount—Golden Firmament Holy Qilin."]

["Golden Firmament Holy Qilin: A descendant of the ancient Qilin bloodline, covered in golden scales, its four hooves treading Golden Thunder. It can travel tens of thousands of miles in a single day.

Its cultivation will automatically rise along with the host's strength. Its current realm is the Early Martial Saint Stage. It is soul-bound to the host and absolutely loyal. Should the host perish, the mount will be annihilated."]

Lin Changqing halted.

He turned around, his gaze landing on the black-clad people being dragged away.

A glimmer lit up in his eyes.

He had merely intended to clean up a few pieces of trash along the way. He had not expected these neither-human-nor-ghost things to trigger a system mission for him.

And the reward... a Qilin mount!

A mount at the Early Martial Saint Stage!

It could even automatically increase its realm along with the growth of his strength!

It could travel tens of thousands of miles in a day, faster than even his tearing through space.

And it was soul-bound and absolutely loyal!

When you encounter advertisements such as "Are you a True Person?", simply ignore them and close them. Do not scan codes or send text messages!