Demon Suppression Bureau

The middle-aged man in the lead glared furiously, thrusting a compass-like object straight before Father Su.

"You brazen commoner! You still dare to quibble? Open your dog eyes wide and see what this is!"

Father Su had traveled far and wide as a merchant in his younger days, so he had naturally seen quite a few strange and rare objects.

He recognized at a glance that the compass-like object before him was the Great Yan Kingdom's treasured artifact for seeking demons and hunting monsters—the Demon-Seeking Spirit Compass.

It was said that the current Imperial Preceptor of Great Yan Kingdom had exhausted all his efforts to forge it by combining eighteen precious materials with a wisp of his own true intent.

It was said that every city's Demon Suppression Bureau possessed such a Demon-Seeking Spirit Compass, specially used to search for demons and monsters hidden within the city.

As long as true qi was poured into the Demon-Seeking Spirit Compass, it would automatically activate.

So long as demonic or monstrous aura existed within ten li, the needle on the compass would automatically point toward the direction it sensed.

When Father Su clearly saw the compass's search result in the middle-aged man's hand, it was as though all the strength had been drained from his body. He could not even stand steadily.

The needle floated above the compass, pointing firmly in one direction—the very place behind Father Su where the Su Household's tower ship was docked.

"M-My lord, could it be that the demon just happened to be hiding beneath the Su Household's tower ship?"

Even at this point, Father Su was clearly still unwilling to give up.

The middle-aged man in the lead cast him a cold glance and barked in a deep voice, "A dead duck with a hard beak. Men, take him away. The rest of you, come with me."

"Board the ship and capture the demon!"

With that, the leading man ignored Father Su's cries of injustice and led his men directly onto the Su Household's tower ship.

Though Father Su was restrained on both sides, he still refused to behave.

He kept shouting.

"I've been wronged, my lord, I've been wron—"

Before he could finish, a sudden heavy slap sent the rest of his words back down his throat.

That single blow sent blood streaming from Father Su's mouth.

Having felt the severity of the situation, Father Su lowered his head silently like a wilted old dog.

He let the two Demon Suppression Bureau men on either side escort him away.

On the deck,

The leading man studied the traces of Wu Yi's battle with the Skin-Painting Demon just moments ago, his eyes narrowing into slits.

At that moment, someone silently walked up behind him and asked tentatively, "Chief Banner Officer Wang, isn't this ship a little too quiet?"

Indeed. From the time they had shouted from below until they boarded the ship, how long had it been?

Normally, upon hearing there was a demon aboard, people should have been scared out of their wits and fled the ship in a panic. By now, the ship ought to have been full of shouting and running.

Yet the ship was eerily silent, with only the sound of wind and waves striking the hull reaching their ears.

Either this entire ship was full of demons, or everyone aboard had long since died...

At that thought, Chief Banner Officer Wang's expression grew heavy, and he immediately gave an order.

"Everyone, stay on guard!"

A sudden scream shattered the silence.

Chief Banner Officer Wang inwardly cursed.

He immediately turned to look beneath the ship.

Father Su, who had just been escorted like an old dog, was now displaying a bloodthirsty and terrifying visage.

With a casual slap, he smashed the head of the Demon Suppression Guard standing to his left into his shoulders.

Red and white fluid exploded outward, splattering everywhere.

The corpse crumpled to the ground on the spot.

In the blink of an eye, Father Su opened his gaping bloody maw and swallowed the head of the Demon Suppression Guard on his right whole in a single bite.

The scream from earlier had come from him.

Father Su seemed to bite off the Demon Suppression Guard's head with effortless ease.

The head burst apart instantly like a watermelon struck by an external force.

The other Demon Suppression Guards aboard watched this happen with bloodshot eyes, wishing they could tear this demon apart with their own hands.

They wanted to eat its flesh raw and sleep upon its hide!

Without question, seeing two of their comrades die before their eyes filled every one of them with boundless fury.

Yet beneath their fury was also shock that this demon had been so bold as to kill right under their noses.

Chief Banner Officer Wang had not let his anger cloud his mind. His brow furrowed tightly, and his right hand gripped the saber at his waist steadily.

Even he had failed to notice anything unusual about this demon earlier.

This demon was likely no simple creature—at the very least, it was an existence on the same level as him.

As if sensing the gazes of the Demon Suppression Guards aboard the ship,

Father Su slowly turned to look at them and grinned.

Rows of fine, sharp teeth were exposed, blood still staining the corners of his mouth. The sight was exceedingly chilling.

The demon seemed to be provoking them.

"Everyone, follow me and capture this demon."

Chief Banner Officer Wang gave the order in a deep voice.

Then, with a leap, he jumped straight to the ground and instantly drew his saber, hacking down at Father Su.

He unleashed a Mount Hua Cleaver!

Seeing Chief Banner Officer Wang slash toward him, Father Su's grin became even more smug.

He let out a strange cry, catching everyone off guard.

Chief Banner Officer Wang, still in midair, realized what was happening at once, but it was already too late.

In an instant, crisp sounds of wooden planks breaking rang out one after another behind him, accompanied by human screams.

Damn it, this demon was so treacherous!

Chief Banner Officer Wang's eyes nearly split apart as he watched Father Su grow ever more pleased with himself.

I'll deal with you, you vile beast, first! He fiercely increased the force of his downward slash.

The worst-case scenario had still happened...

"What?!"

"The Wild Wolf Gang was behind this too?"

Inside True Intent Martial Hall, after Li Kuai heard Zhou Man recount the entire matter, he realized that he had wrongly blamed his good brother and immediately reconciled with him.

So it turned out that the Wild Wolf Gang had done it all. Earlier, when Li Kuai had gone to Zhou Man's home, Zhou Man had refused to let him in because members of the Wild Wolf Gang had been inside at the time.

In order not to drag Li Kuai down with him, Zhou Man had no choice but to harden his heart and drive away his good brother.

He had also announced on the spot that he was withdrawing from True Intent Martial Hall, all so he would not cause the martial hall trouble afterward.

As for how the Wild Wolf Gang had found Zhou Man, he explained that it had happened when he first went to Cloudwater Wharf to work as a laborer.

The first time he carried sacks, he was inexperienced and failed to control the number of sacks properly, causing the topmost sack to fall to the ground.

The overseer had discovered it and was about to give him two lashes, but Uncle Liu had pleaded for him, sparing him the suffering of flesh and skin.

Later, when the Wild Wolf Gang came to his door, they demanded that Zhou Man compensate them for the losses from the damaged goods inside the sack.

They demanded a full twenty taels of silver!

Zhou Man was penniless. How could he possibly repay it? He could only agree to their demand and continue working as a laborer at Cloudwater Wharf.

As for why he had continued working as a laborer at Cloudwater Wharf,

Wu Yi and Zhou Man exchanged a glance, both understanding without speaking of the demon matter.

"Brother Yi, this Wild Wolf Gang is too wicked! They've committed every evil under heaven!"

Li Kuai looked at Wu Yi and spoke indignantly.

"What happened? What else did the Wild Wolf Gang do?"

Zhou Man, who knew nothing about the martial hall's affairs, looked at Li Kuai with unconcealed confusion.

Through Li Kuai's account, Zhou Man learned of the series of events that had previously taken place at the martial hall.

"By the looks of it, this Wild Wolf Gang truly has no law or heaven!"

Clearly affected by Li Kuai's emotions, Zhou Man could not help clenching his fists.

"Don't rush. In a few days, I'll definitely collect this debt from the Wild Wolf Gang."

Of course Wu Yi intended to collect this debt. After all, he had not forgotten being thrown into the mass grave by the Wild Wolf Gang.

The two disciples were both startled upon hearing this.

Zhou Man, who had been rescued from demons by Wu Yi, was fine. He knew that when the hall master did not act, that was one thing—but when he did, he shocked the world.

But Li Kuai knew nothing of this, so he hurriedly said, "Brother Yi, don't do anything foolish! The Wild Wolf Gang has two Martial Artists at the peak of the Skin-Flesh Realm holding down the fort!"

Wu Yi lowered his head to look at the panel, then looked at his two disciples and merely smiled without saying a word...

[

Bronze Energy: 1 (accumulating)

...