Yang energy erupted from the Black Blade, scorching as the blazing sun.
Old Monkey's heart lurched. Qin An's voice echoed in his ears as he raised his saber across his chest.
Clang!
Steel rang against steel. A searing heat rushed into Old Monkey's face.
"A saber technique beyond the Body Infusion Realm?"
The sabers collided. Old Monkey's blade shattered, fragments flying in every direction.
The Black Blade whistled through the air and plunged into Old Monkey's chest.
Blood ran down the Black Blade, mingling with the rain.
Through the curtain of rain, Old Monkey saw a pair of calm eyes.
"If you're this strong, why did you run?"
He could not understand it.
With that one strike beyond the Body Infusion Realm, Qin An could have cut him down in front of everyone.
Why pretend he could not win? Did he find it amusing?
Qin An calmly pulled out the Black Blade and let the blood spill. "It wasn't reliable."
Old Monkey understood what he meant and stared wide-eyed.
A saber technique beyond the Body Infusion Realm, and he called it unreliable? Anyone who heard that would drop their jaw to the ground.
"I've still got one last move!"
Old Monkey gritted his teeth, and the tail behind him swelled rapidly.
Once demons reached the Body Infusion Realm, they could refine parts of their own bodies.
He had refined his tail. When it swelled, it weighed a thousand jun and could split mountains and smash stone.
If it struck Qin An, it would surely drag him into the yellow earth alongside Old Monkey.
Qin An clenched his left fist. Scorching energy coated it as he punched Old Monkey in the face.
The blow snapped Old Monkey's head back, leaving his face aching.
Before he could react, a chill touched his neck, and the world tilted sideways.
His head hit the ground. Rain beat mercilessly against his face.
Old Monkey's eyes bulged. Even in death, he could not understand how he had fallen to a greenhorn.
Qin An wiped the Black Blade on Old Monkey's body. "Too much windup."
This was no game. It was a fight to the death.
If he did not use a move like that at the start, he would never get another chance.
Who would give a demon time to unleash its ultimate move?
Qin An crouched and expertly butchered Old Monkey's corpse.
Moments later, a fist-sized Blood Crystal rested in his palm.
Qin An circulated the energy within him and absorbed the Blood Crystal. "The Evil Extermination Division really is a perfect fit for me."
Butchering demons increased his Butcher Profession proficiency, while his Scholar Profession required him to read. As it happened, he could exchange merits for cultivation methods at the Evil Extermination Division.
Two birds with one stone.
And with Blood Crystals to gain, Qin An did not consider slaying demons a nuisance.
The rain began to ease, though a hazy mist remained.
Black Blade in hand, Qin An kicked Old Monkey's corpse aside and headed toward the village.
In the village.
Tang Lingwei spat blood onto her saber and stared coldly ahead.
Gao Quan and Yao Feng sat collapsed on the ground, their clothes in tatters and their bodies covered in wounds.
The other Prefecture Clerks of the Evil Extermination Division lay sprawled in disarray, their faces pale as paper and their bodies drenched in blood.
Old Tree waved his branches and split his dry bark into a grin. "You can't hold on much longer. Why bother? Let Grandpa Tree drain you dry and spare you the suffering."
Tang Lingwei gritted her teeth. Her body swayed on the verge of collapse.
At most, this old tree had reached Body Infusion Realm Perfection, the same level as her.
With her subordinates beside her, Tang Lingwei had been confident she could cut him down.
But for some reason, Old Tree seemed to have an endless source of replenishment. He had fought her at peak strength the entire time.
She grew weaker, while Old Tree only grew fiercer.
Now Tang Lingwei's body was empty. She could not draw on the slightest trace of true energy.
They would likely all die here.
A root reached toward Tang Lingwei and brushed the hair from her forehead.
Tang Lingwei tried to raise her saber, but pain immediately tore through her entire body.
"If you can't hold on, then stop trying. Grandpa Tree will take your life."
Old Tree suddenly straightened a branch and thrust it toward Tang Lingwei's eye.
If it struck, it would punch straight through the back of her skull.
Tang Lingwei stared at it, fury blazing in her eyes.
She had risen from among the common folk and joined the Evil Extermination Division, devoting herself to strengthening her team.
She had done it all to slay demons and banish evil.
When she was a child, demons had killed her entire family. She carried that hatred in her heart.
Even as her fellow officers schemed against one another and tore away all pretense of civility over talented recruits, Tang Lingwei had persisted.
But today, she was going to die.
Alongside her anger, Tang Lingwei felt a measure of guilt.
Every one of these brothers in the Evil Extermination Division had been rejected by others, and she had taken them in.
She had thought they could make something of themselves. Instead, they would all die with her today.
Qin An, their newest recruit, had not even enjoyed a single benefit of joining the Evil Extermination Division.
The thought drove Tang Lingwei deeper into despair.
Just then, the straightened branch began to tremble.
Tang Lingwei's eyes widened as she saw a black blade descend from above.
Behind it came a young man dressed in black.
His face was stern, his eyes calm as lake water, but the blade in his hand flashed like a bolt of silk and split the branch in two.
"Qin An?" Tang Lingwei said in shock.
She had never expected Qin An to survive.
A Monkey Demon at Body Infusion Realm Perfection, one who had been at that level for years, had chased him. Yet he was still alive.
Young Master Hou, whom Qin An had killed in Ding County, had been strong, but he had only reached Body Infusion Realm Perfection through a secret art. He had been a wax spearhead plated in silver.
Old Monkey, however, had truly reached Body Infusion Realm Perfection. Had he failed to kill Qin An?
While Tang Lingwei stood stunned, Qin An tossed her something from his left hand.
She caught it by reflex, and pain swept through her entire body.
But when she saw what she held, she forgot her pain completely.
Old Monkey's blood-covered head stared back at her, its eyes wide and unclosed in death.
He had killed the Monkey Demon?
Tang Lingwei stood frozen like a wooden statue.
A large foot shattered her thoughts.
Qin An kicked her in the chest, sending her flying into the distance.
Pain wracked Tang Lingwei's body. Before she could react, she heard Qin An's voice.
"Everyone, get back."
"If you can move, you live."
"If you can't, you die."
For reasons they themselves might not have understood, the badly wounded Prefecture Clerks obeyed Qin An and retreated into the distance.
Black Blade in hand, Qin An turned toward Old Tree. "Go on. Kill one of them. Let me see you try."
The dense mass of roots froze.
"How did you figure it out?" Old Tree asked coldly.
"The farther away they are, the weaker your roots become," Qin An said slowly. "And you haven't moved an inch. Your reach has a limit."
Old Tree's voice darkened. "So what? You can't kill me. By the time you take them back to the Evil Extermination Division and return, there'll be nothing left here."
He had never imagined Qin An would uncover every weakness he had.
Qin An ran a finger along the Black Blade and looked at Old Tree. "Why would I go back?"
Old Tree faltered.
Tang Lingwei also looked at Qin An in confusion, unable to fathom what he intended.
Qin An raised the Black Blade and pointed it at Old Tree. "Why not just kill you?"
Before you continue